Month: February 2012

Leaping Lizards!

We get an extra day today! Make the most of it, I say.

Here’s the wrap up on Wintergrass. It was a terrific festival. The theme this year was international bluegrass, and there were groups from the Czech Republic, Italy, Sweden, Japan, and Switzerland. We saw all of the non-US groups except for the Swiss group, and they were all good. Väsen, the group from Sweden, has been to Wintergrass a couple of times before, and they are always a hit. Despite the fierce competition from many other fine bands, they were also my favorite group of the weekend. Here are their photos.

That instrument is a nyckelharpa. They play Swedish folk music, sort of. You really have to listen to it. Here you go!

There were lots of other great things going on. Here are just some photos…




Ok, I have to comment on that one. That’s a young lady we met in the restaurant at breakfast one morning. The instrument is a stumpf fiddle, made at home with a variety of pots, pans, a toilet plunger, and a wooden car horn. She even played it for us.

That’s not her in the video, obviously.

There was some spinning! I didn’t spin during the performances, since I think it’s a bit distracting, but did during the breaks. I also did some knitting during the music.

And those are done done done!

Project Details:

Yarn: Pink Carrot Creations, color is Carrot Top. I bought this in Ketchikan when we were on our Alaskan cruise.

Pattern: same damn pattern as always

Needles: size 1, sterling silver needles from Celtic Swan.

Started: Oh who knows. Probably in November, since that’s when I finished the last pair.

Finished: Today!

For: Me

There you go! I really need to kick it into gear and finish more socks. My sock collection is starting to show its age, so I need some new ones. Bluegrass festivals are terrific for sock knitting!

And here are the new socks:

The yarn is Tinsel Toes, from Unique Sheep, in Primary Ink. For the record, I’m using Ivore needles in 2.00. I snapped one of them this morning while doing the picot hem, which irritates me to no end. These are my favorite needles, a little hard to come by. I can’t find them in the US anymore, though I have a website in Australia that still sells them, albeit with exorbitant shipping costs. I have a couple extra from another set, so I’m good to go for now, and there might be a spare set or two on the way just for insurance. I’ve had these a long time, and this is the first time I’ve ever broken one. Most people hate these because they are very long, and very flexible, but I adore them.

Last but not least, we’re on our way out of town again. It’s about time for some warm and sun, since we’ve put up with months of cold, damp, rainy, windy, dark, gloomy, and tree-killing weather. We’re headed for Puerto Vallarta tomorrow! We’ll have internet access there, hopefully, so I should be able to update!

I’m off to pack!

This And That

Just as the title says. First up is knitting. No photo, but I’m almost done with the second sleeve of the Faery sweater. Then it’s the hood and the button band, and it will be done done done, probably just in time for summer. There was a brief dust up with the second sleeve. I sat down last week to start working on it, found the finished first sleeve and all of my very cryptic notes, and found a ball of yarn to cast on. As I was doing so, I had the distinct feeling of deja vu. I almost chalked it up to the fact that this was in fact the second sleeve, and I indeed had done it before. Some little voice in my head made me go upstairs to my disaster of an office. I hunted through about six knitting bags before I found it. Not only had I cast on for the second sleeve, I had finished the cabled cuff and about eight inches of sleeve. Sheesh. I need a better organizational system. Either that, or I need to cut back on the vodka martinis. The theory* that the alcohol only kills the weak brain cells, leaving me smarter, may be wrong. Sorry, Cliff.

Next is the dyepot. I did some fiber prep last weekend, and did a bit of dyeing this week. Here you go.

That is undyed wool yarn, pre-mordanted in a copper sulfate solution. The pretty blue crystals in the jar are the copper. I liked the color so well that I almost left it like that. Almost. Here’s the dye stuff.

That is a bowl full of mostly marigolds. I had topped all the marigolds in our pots last fall when they were at the very end of the season, and spread them out to dry. I got a little paper bag of more mixed flowers in my last CSA dye shipment, and mixed the two. Here is the dye pot simmering.

That simmered away for about an hour, then I let it sit overnight before straining the flowers out. Then the wet yarn went in, that simmered for an hour, and again sat overnight. Here’s what I got for my trouble.

I think that is just the most gorgeous bronze color. I put a bunch of alum mordanted Polwarth top in the same dye pot yesterday, It is draining right now. It’s a bit hard to tell when it’s wet, but I think it will be a paler less vibrant version of the same color. So far it is exactly the color of something Lucy might hork up, so it might get overdyed. We’ll see. I’m pretty pleased with the yarn, though.

Next up is food. Tuesday of course was Mardi Gras, and we celebrated in style at the Knitting Doctor household.

Yum. The dinner was shrimp etouffee, rice, braised kale, and bread. And wine, of course.

Last but not least, you might notice that sweatshirt that I am wearing up there. This is Wintergrass weekend, and we are off later today for the festival. We have tickets to hear Itzhak Perlman at the symphony tonight, then the rest of the weekend is all bluegrass, all the time. I have my knitting and spindle packed and I’m off to follow the call of the banjos! I’ll update as I can!

*”Well you see, Norm, it’s like this . . . A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the heard is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first . This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. And that, Norm, is why you always feel smarter after a few beers.”


 

The Color Of The Day…

Is red!

I’ve finished the first sleeve for the True Blood Faery sweater, and am well on my way with the second sleeve. I don’t really feel like I’m on Sleeve Island with this for some reason, I think it’s the cable section. I  can be pretty entertained by knitting the same cable over and over and over and over…

Then I’ll have the hood and the button bands to go. Of course the button band is about a million stitches long, and it’s double since you knit it, then do a turning row, then knit it again. Then you get to SEW the damn thing. And it goes all the way around the hood. Terrific. It’s a good thing that I’m into mindless knitting most of the time.

Here’s the body, all done, ready for the sleeves and hood. And button bands.

Here’s something else red:

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Corgis!

Ok, ok. I sort of forgot about the blog. Here’s the quick update, in list format.

Work’s been a bit busy. I could just stop there, and hit “publish” and be done with it.

We did finally get the huge downed maple out of the back yard. It’s now in pieces in the front yard, awaiting a log splitter to turn it into firewood.

I haven’t been doing much knitting on old projects. I have a bazillion of them, and I am just bored to death with them.

So I started a new project. If any one of you honestly says that you wouldn’t do the same, I still won’t believe you.

Here it is:

 

And another shot.

Don’t ask, I have no idea what it’s going to be. It’s the first clue of a mystery project. I’m suspecting a hat of some type, but we’ll see. John thinks it’s half of a bikini top.

I had a little dust-up with the circular cast on, and finally searched out a you tube video on the Emily Ocker cast on, and figured out how to use the magic loop technique to get the thing started. The yarn is from Abstract Fibers, and the designer is Mary Scott Huff. Here’s the Ravelry link. I forgot how much fun color work is!

Then there are Corgis. When you don’t know what else to blog about, there are always dogs. There’s one of them up there in that photo. You can tell he’s not very energetic today. We’re also dog sitting for friends today.

Riley really thinks that three Corgis are an unnecessary number of Corgis. She really wishes she were still an only dog.

Last but not least, I am making roasted garlic pasta sauce for supper tonight. The garlic is roasting in the oven, and the house smells divine!

I’m off to knit!