knit2-tink3

Knit, Purl, Spin, Spin, Dye, Dye, Dye . . .

2008-02-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

Ah, February. The time of year when my sister and I call each other and say "We must have that seasonal affective disorder thingy." The time of year my neighborhood looks the most like the subdivision Pete Seeger describes in his song "Little Boxes." Indeed, they are all made out of ticky-tacky. . . and I'm living in one . . .

(Pausing to slog through a ditch chock-a-block with existential angst.)

Back again! However: bleak as it is, February would be so much worse without knitting, spinning and dyeing. I've been forcing myself to work with bright colors lately. Knitting grey in February would be too funereal -- I'd feel like Morticia Adams. (Wasn't she always knitting her own shroud?)

Here's Exhibit A, a Forest Canopy Shawl I'm working on, using some lovely autumnal sock yarn from Fleece Artist:

I think I get to keep this one, as no one else I know wears orange.

This next one goes to an unnamed relative, however. It is the Shetland Triangle pattern from Wrap Style, in a cashmere/silk yarn from Sarah's Yarns. I hand dyed it a deep purply-pink:

And I dyed several batches of sock yarn . . . to varying degrees of success . . . which might also end up becoming shawls . . .

Gee willikers, Batman, it might be time for this snore-inducing yarn to get OVER-DYED!!

My favorite of this batch . . . forgot it in the crock pot and when I came running downstairs at 1 AM, it was GORGEOUS! (Note to self: Forget yarn in crock pot more often . . .)

Eh. It's okay. Pretty, blue . . . better than a sharp stick in the eye.

And I knit a second pair of toe-up 2-on-one circular socks bases on tutorials found here and here. The first is a web tutorial from Silver's Place, the second is a free download from Knitpicks. I combined the 2 and got actual wearable sockage! My sock knitting skills are remedial, so wearable sockage is never a sure thing . . .

The next sweater, knit from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, started life PUCE. It must have been a really good sale . . . who looks good in puce? What yarn designer says: "Our spring line will not be complete without at least a nod to the puce contingent" ?

You think I'm joking . . . hold on . . . I'm digging through files with one hand, typing with the other . . . Voila! I challenge you to think of anyone who would look good in this:

GACK!

Guaranteed to wash out a bevy of homecoming queens with one sleeve tied behind its back.

I actually finished this pinky-mauve monstrosity about 2 years ago and wondered why I never wore it. This year I pulled it out of a drawer and a long dormant epiphany squawked in my ear: "IT'S THE HIDEOUS COLOR!"

Yes, yes it was. And, speaking of hideous color, it's time to do my grey, grey roots. Until the snow melts, I recommend you knit something bright, think aestival thoughts, and avoid ruminating on subdivisions, Pete Seeger, or existential angst. Beyond these frosty borders, there be dragons . . .

Darth Vader Vanquished

2008-01-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

Ding dong, Darth* is dead – er – finished, I mean. Ellen from Spinners With Altitude did the math, and estimates there are almost a quarter of a million garter stitches in this behemoth:

Hanne Falkernberg Ballerina Project Notes:

First off, I used a size 2 needle, and should have used a 1. (My regular readers will notice a pattern here . . .) I thought I was getting close-enough-for-me gauge. I hoped. When the last stitch was bound off, I tossed on Miss Ballerina, and the fit seemed okay. Then I made an error in judgment: I decided to wet block the ballerina on Mitzy.

I had good reasons for doing so: Since Mitzy is a double of my figure; I could block my jacket precisely to my measurements. I thought I would experiment with string blocking the hem, to make sure the drape was right. On Mitzy, I could fuss with the hem length so that it was ‘just right.”

What I didn’t think about is: Water makes wool heavy. Garter stitch likes to stretch, and all that water weight made my ballerina grow to alarming proportions. I did not take pictures, but the sleeves gained at least 4 inches. A 6’2” Amazon warrior would look great in this jacket: I looked like little bunny foo-foo dressed in Mommy’s clothes.

At this point I retired to the davenport to gather my thoughts with a cool rag on my forehead and three fingers of Bushmills in my clenched fist. (We knit to relax, right?)

The next day I re-soaked the amazing expanding Ballerina, and attempted to flat block it back into shape with wires and about 200 blocking pins. Let it dry. (I’m in Colorado, things dry fast.) Unpinned, flung it on: ARGGH. Sleeves at least 2” too long STILL. I tried tacking them up, which looked like crap. And the fabric was way too flimsy – it looked as stretched and tired as last year’s underpants. I untacked the sleeves and considered my options. These included:

1.) Frogging the whole damn thing. Which brings to mind:

2.) Impaling myself on my Addi Turbo laceweights (messy).
3.) Seeing if I could find a VW bug that needed a cozy (unlikely).
4.) Throwing the beast in the washer and praying for mercy.

Well. Based on my experience working with raw Cotswold, wool from the harrier breeds of sheep doesn’t felt too easily. And while I know there’s a fair amount of difference, fiber-wise, between Cotswold and Shetland (what the Ballerina is made of), I was willing to risk it. I stuffed the acres of ballerina in a big mesh bag, and put it through a wash cycle. I did not hover, I was beyond hovering. I went and cleaned the kitchen and tried not to think about what wooly horror I might be birthing. I was feeling a little dramatic.

I pulled open the mesh bag, grabbed Darth, and saw that he had hardly changed at all! The fabric had tightened up some, but not enough. I returned him to the bag, and washed him again. After this wash, the size seemed about right. I flat blocked him, and that is where I am now. So, here’s how this project is currently breaking down:

What I like:
1. After felting, the fabric is much softer and fuzzier, and the drape is still good.

2. The felted fabric blocks the wind, and is warm enough for me on all but the coldest day.

3. Darth is, to my way of thinking, classic, stylish, lightweight and warm: a good coat for running errands, shopping, etc.

What I don’t like:
1. No pockets! I am still thinking about how to fix this one . . .

2. The back hem is not right. I need to reblock yet again, and currently can not face the task.

3. Sometimes (when it was cold and windy) the Ballerina just whipped around me. Brrr. I wanted a simple closure for those times. I tried using a nice shawl pin, but it kept falling off. I finally sewed on a couple of large snaps. So far, I’m liking this solution. Still considering adding a toggle closure, but need to look at what’s available out there. It would have to be just the right one.

About the photos: There's no arguing about it: Pictures of knitted wearables are more helpful if they show the item modeled by an actual human. I'm working on it -- I've had a month of bad hair days.

* Early on I named him Darth because he was big and black and kicking my pale Scottish patookey.

Who's laughing now, Darth? Hmm? BWAH-HA-HA!

Did you ever have one of those days . . .

2008-01-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

. . . when the Christmas tree is still up and threatening to spontaneously combust, and the kitchen looks like a bomb went off (which it sort of did; more on that later), and you're still in your pajamas at noon-ish and every plant in the house looks like it hasn’t been watered in a month (which it hasn’t), and the public library is about ready to hunt you down with bloodhounds and an elephant gun to get back that monstrous stack of overdue books moldering by the back door . . .

. . . And you think: Wow! What a swell day to catch up on my blog! As a matter of fact, why not make a public proclamation? Officially, January 8 is now Catch up on Your Blog (C.U.O.Y.B.) Day. I’ve never been any good at snappy acronyms. First off:

New yarn! Old projects! Really old projects!

(some clickable)

Somehow or another, an aggressive band of houligan yarn has breached my security perimeter and infiltrated my house. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Offenders include:

Jojoland Melody Superwash, color #17
I saw this Swiss Cheese Scarf (free pattern by Winnie Shih) on Ravelry and had to have one immediately. However, this is NOT mindless knitting, as some Ravelry comments indicate. There is a 17 row pattern repeat which you do need to follow. It’s an easy pattern, but it ain’t mindless. As an adjective, I think “mindless” is way overused in the knitting community. Either that or I’m this village’s idiot.

Brooks Farm Yarn Duet
I originally bought this yarn for me, but when it arrived, it screamed the name of a RELATIVE, damn it. I tried reasoning with it, but come to find out the yarn has been to Sunday school. “It is better to give than to receive,” said this lovely mélange of mohair and merino. Crap. It is going to be another clapotis.

Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Moose Creek
Alright, alright, I bought this mainly because I am THIS close to completing my frequent shopper card at Table Rock Llama & Fiber Arts, which is kind of a big deal. You spend $200 at Table Rock, and they give you a gift certificate for $40! Also, I do really like the yarn . . . um, until it turned aggressive on me and threatened to shave my cat unless I brought it home. Immediately.

Debbie Mumm Traditions in Midnight
I never knew what “worming” was until I met this yarn. Bad, bad yarn. No soup for you! It went right back to Joann Fabrics. What was I thinking, buying mystery yarn at Joann Fabrics?

(clickable)

Old Shale Smoke Ring (by Cosette Cornelius-Bates)
... in Malabrigo lace weight Verde
I really enjoyed this project. My pattern notes: knit 10” on a #6 circular, 6” on a #7, and 6” on a #8 to finish. I wanted a lo-oo-ong smoke ring, so that when I use it as a hood it still has plenty of fabric to cover the back of the neck and upper back. Also, used a loose sewn bind-off for a super-stretchy edge. Sometimes I wish I could live in a cave lined with Malabrigo lace weight. I’d be the grouchy one yelling at the other cave-dwellers’ kids to get their rocks and pointy sticks out of my yard.

Shoulder Cozy from Wrap Style
...in some really nice Reynolds yarn I can’t remember the name of …
This has been finished for a dog’s age, but I’ve never like the way it fits. I’ve decided it needs a good blocking: pins, wires, other instruments of discipline. . .

Eunny Jang’s Anemoi mittens in koigu print and Knit Picks bare. One mitten done. Fun Pattern . Need to re-do the thumb on this one; I knit it too short. Don't you just hate that?

Adrian Bizilia’s We Call Them Pirates hat for Techboy.
Here you see him wearing it on his 17th birthday. I tried to make him a from-scratch chocolate cake earlier in the day, and the $%^! Thing literally blew up in my oven. So he ended up with a turtle cheesecake from King Soopers. Tasty.

Not tasty.

And my Ballerina is done! Since real life (ack.) is calling, I will save that saga for tomorrow. Cheers all.

Grumpy Head Cold. Messages. Happiness a Tiny Dot on the Horizon . . .

2007-11-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

Bleah. I've been fighting a head cold for a week-and-a-half. I keep saying to myself: If this isn't better in 2 more days, I'm going to the doctor. Two days later: If this isn't better in 2 more days, I'm going to the doctor. And repeat.

Also, I've received a couple of messages from readers who don't log in when they leave a message. I just wanted to let you know that if you don't log in, I can't reply. There's no address for me to reply to. Unless you leave me your e-mail in the text of the message (?). I guess that would work, too. My understanding of blogging protocols and procedures is rudimentary, at best. But: I didn't want anyone to think I was ignoring them.

I think this head cold is making me a touch paranoid. And maybe a little bit grumpy. Of course the whole reality that it is now dark at 5:15 at night isn't helping, either. Time to pull myself up by my chintzy winter chukkah straps and get happy.

Check back tomorrow for possible attitude improvement. It might happen,it might not. Damn cold.

Big Box on the Front Porch

2007-11-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

The Corriedale/CVM blend. Thank you, Jesus!

I **love** a big box on the front porch. I need to order in my paper towels, toilet paper, cat food, furnace filters and what not, just so I can get more big boxes on my font porch. Recently, this arrived:

A Large Box!!

And I recognized the box! This is the box from the cheap roaster oven I bought at Wal-Mart -- excellent for steam setting acid dyed yarn and roving.

I had put my Bond and CVM fleeces in this box 2 weeks ago, and sent them to Spinderella Fiber Mills in Utah. And now . . . Spinderella was using the same box to send the roving back to me! (Recycle! Reuse! Renegotiate! Or something . . .)

So I opened said box and found:

I was apoplectic with roving joy. Here we have almost 4 lbs. of a Corriedale/CVM blend (for some reason Spinderella thought it was a Corriedale/Finn blend), and almost 3 lbs of grey Bond. My Taos wool! Come back home to roost! Can I have a whoop, whoop?!

Oh, it is ** so-ooo** pretty, I am almost swooning. This is light, attenuated roving like I've never seen before. We're talking NO pre-drafting, just sit your butt down on the ottoman and go!
Um . . . I may not have time to blog for a while. I have almost 7 **pounds** of roving to spin! And lovely roving is:

* addictive

* non-fattening

* legal.

Therefore, I must leave you ladies (and Krystofer), to the business of life. For now, I must spin.

Cats Negotiate Truce. Tech Boy Nearly Smiles.

2007-10-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

If you've ever added an additional cat to your household, you know the drill. For an unknowable (but hopefully brief) time cat A circles cat B, they make failing-car-transmission noises at each other, then stalk about on stiff legs, swishing tails as broad as feather dusters. They howl and hiss and stomp their little kitty feet. If either of the cats is Siamese, encounters tend to sound like two tone-deaf coloraturas screaming the Best of AC/DC. Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap . . .

After a week-and-a-half, I sat "the boys" down and told them: Enough already. We can't sleep because of the racket, and the husband has taken to calling our upstairs hallway "The de-militarized zone" because of the number and volume of feline attacks. Bailey gave me his usual "huh?" look, but Herbert has an uncanny way of tilting his head when I speak that makes me feel like he's translating. This afternoon, I found this:

All quiet on the Western Front. Shalom, wee kitty cats.

Also, just when I was considering putting Tech Boy out on the curb with a pork chop tied around his neck, I caught him being sweet to his cat.

"Surly Teenager" . . . redundant??

The savage beast soothes the Adolescent Golem of Doom

Closest he's been to a bona fide smile in 2 weeks (thanks, Bailey).

Herbert and Darth

2007-10-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Well, the T’s are dotted and the I’s are crossed – we are officially new parents! Here’s our 3-year-old bouncing baby boy:

Herbert the Tonkinese

I’ve got to tell you a little bit of Herb’s story. Skip down a bit if you’re not a cat person. Herby was surrendered to a local animal shelter because the owner’s son had developed allergies. What most people don’t know about Siamese and Siamese-type breeds is that they tend to have a strong bond with their people – more similar to what dogs have. This trait combined with native intelligence can make a Siamese freak out in a shelter situation – and that’s what happened to Herb. The shelter was going to euthanize him because he was deemed “unadoptable,” “anti-social,” and “catatonic”!!

That’s when a good-hearted tech (who was familiar with how badly the shelter experience can affect Siamese) called Rocky Mountain Siamese Rescue. The good folks at RMSR picked up Herby and found him a foster home. For 4 months Paige at RMSR fostered him, until my family “discovered” Herb at a local cat show (RMSR had a booth there), just waiting to become part of a forever family.

Here I am on my kitty perch in the window, having a snooze.

Herb is a sweet, loving boy who loves to be petted and talked to. He and Bailey are in negotiations as to who will be the dominant cat. Each day they get a little bit closer to one another, and their “conversations” are getting progressively more civilized. If you’re interested in giving a remarkable kitty a second chance, please check out Rocky Mountain Siamese Rescue. They are great to work with, and their dedication to homeless animals is an inspiration.

_________________________________

Here are my most recent photos of Darth Vader (unblocked). As you can see, I’m almost half done.

(Yes, the back is supposed to be longer than the front. )

There is a little bit of a “neck sag issue” in the back. There is a finishing band added around the edges at the end, and I think I will pick up fewer stitches along the back neck edge than suggested to help tighten the line here.

Ellen from my knit group is also knitting a Ballerina now. It is amazing how different our fabric looks – Ellen’s is much firmer and more “professional” looking. Mine reflects a certain fondness for beer. But, as you can see on Mitzy, it fits, and that’s all that really matters, right?

Right.

What I'm NOT Doing Tonight

2007-10-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

Another lumpy bag arrived in the mail today. I tried to stifle my excitement as I went looking for the scissors. One quick slice, and there it was:

"Please spin me right away! Darth Vader doesn't mind waiting . . ."

"Please click on me, too! I'm even prettier up close!"

Why the little mohairy vixen. She knows I promised not to spin at all until I have finished Darth's second gusset. Must resist urge to spin. Must be strong!

This forward little roving is from Sakina Needles, an internet store I discovered while surfing last week. Her prices were good, and the colors were even better, so I placed an exceedingly tiny order. Minuscule. Hardly worth mentioning.

Anyway, I placed this atom-sized order on Tuesday, and it arrived in Thursday's mail. Holy Cow, Batman! When I checked the return address, I realized why. Sakina is just 60 miles away. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship . . .

Merino, Mohair, Chair-in-the-Making, and Darth

2007-10-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

That's Corriedale on the left, and Bond on the right. I think.

click to see the fleecy goodness up-close and personal.

Tonight I must spend some time with Darth Vader (aka my black Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina jacket). But before I drag my reluctant Scottish patookey off to its dark fate, here is a wee update on recent projects:

On the Bobbin:

I don’t usually like spinning merino, but I **love** this color, and so made an exception with this roving. I got this on my Taos trip -- this is from Taos Sunflower, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it again. Getting used to the “slip” of the merino is a challenge. I found that pre-drafting the heck out of the roving helped a lot. I had to modify my pre-drafting technique a little also: Instead of fewer tugs further apart (works with longer staples), I had to use tiny micro-tugs every few inches (works with Merino). Also adjusted my wheel to a slightly higher ratio, which makes it spin faster.

Once the fiber was as attenuated as it was going to get, I split it in two and spun from that. Makes a nice single. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it.

This is from the mohair roving I bought at the wool market, from Kai Ranch Mohair. I love this funky yarn, and spinning mohair is a blast. If I had a teensy bit more of this roving, I would be tempted to used the bright yarn for the yolk of a circular-knit sweater, with the bottom portion of the sweater either solid black or brown. I've also considered using it with the merino from Taos Sunflower . . . I love them together, but I'm not sure I would love myself clothed in that much screaming green AND orange.

I bought a spinning chair recently on e-bay. When it got here, I was mostly happy with it. Except for the cushion attached to the seat. The cushion was covered with some very slippery silk-like fabric, and the foam inside was very wimpy. When I sat on the chair, I smashed the cushion flat, slid off the slippery fabric, and ended up on the carpet. Clearly there was a problem.

Spinning Chair -- It lost the Evil Teflon Cushion as soon as I could find a screwdriver.

SO: I am looking through my fabric library, trying to find a nice, sturdy cotton brocade. I’ve already purchased a heavy-duty foam cushion. I’m planning on keeping this simple: Make the welting, sew the cushion, staple it onto the seat back with my handy-dandy upholstery staple gun – voila!! – usable spinning chair! (Lord willing.)

And finally, for those who are interested in raw fleece, here's one more pics of staples from the Corriedale and Bond fleeces I sent to Spinderella's last week. I'm amazed by how similar these 2 fleeces are:

Bond and Corriedale. Or Corriedale and Bond. Soon to be picked and processed into roving.

Darth Vader is demanding attention. Sometime this week, I am taking pictures of him. Because it will make me feel better. It will be good to look at tangible proof that this is not the garter stitch time sucking black hole from which I will never escape. “Look,” I can say to myself “Two weeks ago you were only half way done with the first gusset! Now you are clearly three-quarters of the way done with the first gusset!”

May the Force Be With Us All.

Back to Taos . . .

2007-10-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

One thing that was good about Casa Cucaracha: It was within easy walking distance of Kit Carson Park, where the wool festival is located. Saturday was a beautiful day . . . maybe 75 degrees with a slight breeze.

This festival looks a lot different than other “wool fests” I’ve been to. First of all, exhibitors are set up in a big open square formation (instead of rows). Second, there is no “main tent.” Instead, each exhibitor has his own mini-tent. I like it. You walk, you duck into a tent when something looks interesting, and if an interesting tent is too crowded the first time around the square, you catch it the second time around. Kit Carson Park is lovely – with big deciduous trees (sorry, I’m not good with naming tree species) providing shade.

The other thing that is very different: Dogs are allowed. Now, I like dogs, but I wasn’t sure how having a bunch of dogs at a fiber festival would work. After 2 days of co-existing with the canines, I have to say it was one of the best doggie groups I have ever witnessed. The dogs were happy, friendly, and their owners were keeping them in line and cleaning up after them. I didn’t witness one episode of bad doggie behavior . . . and I saw Goldens, Corgis (several), a Great Pyrenees, German Shepherds, itty-bitty mystery dogs in purses . . . you name it. It was like they were all on Doggie Probation and knew they had to behave themselves.

I came to the festival looking for: 1.) A fleece. Or two. 2.) Wool combs. 3.) A diz, which is used with wool combs, and 4.) Interesting hand dyed roving. By the time I had almost made my first full loop of the exhibit tents, I was starting to panic. No fleece! (Except for Navajo Churro, which I didn’t want.) No wool combs! No dizzes! Lots of yarn, but not much roving.

Then I saw it: The Natural Colored Fleece Booth. I beetled right over there as fast as my bermuda-shorts clad legs would take me.

Bond and CVM and Teasdale; Corriedale and Alpaca and Merino: Oh my! It was so nice to put my hands in so many different types of fleece. To see (and feel!) the difference those little sheep coats make. I’ll level with you – I forgot to put my camera in my backpack, so I don’t have pictures. You’ll have to imaging rows and rows of bushel baskets, some on the ground, some on shelves higher than my head, but each containing a gem of a fleece – the cream of the crop. Some were bedecked with ribbons won at local fairs.

There were plenty of white, and it was delightful to see all the variations on grey: silver-grey, rose-grey . . . pale dove, almost mauve, salt-and-pepper. “Moorit” is a word I had to look up recently – it means reddish brown – and there were several lovely moorit fleeces as well. I was in heaven as I went from basket to basket, finally putting a sense memory to terms I’d only read about: Broad crimp, fine crimp, lofty, dense, blunt tips, tapering tips.

The ladies staffing the booth were so kind and helpful. At first I was hesitant to open the plastic bags the fleeces were stored in. Right away a kind lady encouraged me to do so, and to pull off a hunk if I wanted to examine the staple length more closely! These ladies knew that their products would sell themselves . . .

Prices varied greatly. I saw some small but lovely Corriedale fleeces for $25-$30. Almost every fleece I examined was coated, and prices reflected that. $15 per pound seemed the average.

After an extended examination and re-examination of all things woolly, I picked out a white CVM (California Variegated Mutant) from Windy Hill Farm in Casper, WY and a medium gray Bond from Gleason’s Fine Woollies in Lyons, CO. Here are some photos I took at home:

Raw Bond Fleece (unwashed)

Washed Bond Fleece. Hard to capture the subtle shifts in color . . .

Washed CVM fleece. It washed up so white and lofty!

I washed the wool up in my tub at home. Oh my gosh. I don’t think I will ever deal with a non-coated fleece again! The lanolin floated away, and the resulting wool is just delicious. I decided to send it all to Spinderella’s fiber mill in Utah, as I’ve heard good things about them and their prices seem very reasonable. I’m blending the CVM fleece 50/50 with a lovely Corriedale fleece I already had. I should end up with 4 lbs of white roving and maybe 2.5 lbs of the grey Bond.

I never did find the wool combs in Taos, although I did hear other festival-goers asking for them! The response I heard was “Well, you can always find those on the Internet . . .” I did find some gorgeous mohair roving, which I’ve spun and plied. I’m washing it today, and will have photos later this week.

After a full day at the festival, I dropped my wool off at my room and walked into town. I love the local bookstore, “Moby Dickens,” as well as the funky antique door place, the paper store, and La Lana Wools. I had a nice wander around, and then enjoyed a lovely half carafe of wine and the chicken mango enchiladas at the Apple Tree Restaurant.

I stretched dinner a little, knowing that I had to go home to . . . El Cucaracha. But I didn’t want to walk home in the dark, so I polished off my cake and coffee and headed back to my own wee hotel purgatory.

Dimness suited Casa Cucaracha. Twilight was its friend. Nothing looked quite as bad as it had at noon. There were a group of fiber fanatics (we can spot each other, can’t we?) having an impromptu picnic in the courtyard. I’d opened my window earlier, and the place had aired out a little. I turned back my bedding, and upon seeing pristine cotton sheets I breathed a sigh of relief. (The worst hotel room I’ve ever stayed in had someone else’s hair on my sheets. For a while after that, I travelled with my own sheets.)

I changed into pajamas and settled in to hover over my Wool Festival bounty. I couldn’t help myself – I washed up little handfuls of both fleeces. (Casa Cucaracha did have VERY hot water – great for washing fleece.) I put a towel down in the front hall and left the 2 woolly puffballs to dry.

I’d brought my wheel, but the room was just too dim for spinning. Or for working on Darth Vader. I gave up and settled down to a night of bad TV. I turned in early, amazed at how quiet it was . . . I couldn’t hear another soul . . .

I was awakened at roughly 2 AM by the amorous sounds that always wake you at 2 AM at a bad hotel. Oh, good grief. Keep it down, lady. Nobody wants to hear your high opera in here. I turned to my bedside table, where I had stashed my earplugs earlier in the evening. Once those were safely in place, I passed an uneventful night and slept quite well, actually.

Before leaving I stopped at Michael’s Kitchen. Whenever I visit Taos I have to eat at Michael’s at least once. If you ever go, have the blintzes. They are to die for. After breakfast I circled the exhibit grounds one more time, then headed home.

I made one pit stop on my way out of town, and I’m glad I did. I went a few miles out of my way to visit Taos Sunflower, a fiber store in Arroyo Seco, NM. There I found some great yarns – including a nice selection of Malabrigo lace weight, one of my all time favorites. Their prices were good and their staff was friendly. I’m adding Taos Sunflower to my list of “must visit” places when I’m in Taos.

It was a beautiful day for a drive, and I enjoyed the fresh, sheepy smell of my fleeces all the way home.

Swatch-a-Palooza

2007-10-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

ArtFibers Yarns, L to R: Nirvana, Golden Chai, Kyoto, Galicia, Valparaiso (Clickable)

My ArtFibers swatch order came yesterday, and I wasted no time. This is a lovely grouping – heavy on the silk. Here are my reviews.

Notes:
• I’m a very loose knitter, so I generally use a needle 2 sizes smaller than what is recommended.

• I’ve included 2 price listings, one for the smallest skein or cone offered, and one for a theoretical “sweater” quantity.

• For more information on ArtFibers, please see the paragraph which follows the reviews.

Valparaiso
50% baby alpaca, 50% merino
My gauge: 4.5 st/in & 6 rows/in
My needles: #4 bamboos
Price: 290 yard cone / $19
1015 yards/$66.50

This sport/light worsted weight 10-ply yarn has a soft, cottony hand – so soft, in fact, that I kept going back to it in wonder. There is NO itch factor (I’m sensitive to wool), so if you’re looking for a good wool blend for next-to-skin wear, this one should be perfect. It comes in 10 softly variegated solid-ish colors. I swatched this using a size 4 needle, but probably should have used a 3.

Kyoto
69% silk, 25% super kid mohair, 6% extrafine wool
My gauge: 3.5 st/in & 4.5 rows/in
My needles: #9 Brittney birch
Price: 220 yard cone / $22
990 yards / $99

I love this yarn, but I don’t think the color I chose really shows it off to its best advantage. Kyoto is a great combination of silken shininess and mohairy fuzziness. It feels fluffy on the skin, and should make great hats, mittens and scarves. There are 19 colors offered, each a super-subtle variegated solid. This yarn feels quite luxurious – I’m hard pressed to think of anything in my LYS of comparable richness, especially for the price.

Golden Chai
100% Golden Tussah Silk
My gauge: 4.5 st/in, 5 rows/in
My needles: #4 bamboo
Price: 330 yard cone / $22
990 yards / $66

In terms of general **sigh** factor, this yarn delivers. It’s a thick and thin silk single-ply that just dances on whatever needles you put it on. And while the silk wows with its rich patina, the varying thickness of the yarn supplies a terrific rustic counterpoint. This really is one of my all-time favorite yarns. And I can’t think of another 100% silk sport weight yarn available for this price. 18 marvelous colors – everything from subtle and girly to metallic and mod. In addition, 9 solid colors are offered of essentially the same yarn under the name “Golden Siam.”

Once again, I should have swatched this with a smaller needle. I do think it would be tough for a loose knitter like me to get a “solid” fabric out of one ply of this yarn -- perhaps double-stranding it might fix this issue. I dream of a slightly oversized, drapey simple pullover made out of Golden Chai.

Nirvana
50% cashmere, 50% silk
My gauge: 5 st/in, 6.5 rows/in
My needles: #4 bamboo
Price: 274 yard cone / $18
959 yards / $63

I wasn’t bowled over by this yarn. What’s not to like about silk and cashmere? Rubbing my fingers over the firm strand I thought “Great cabling yarn . . .” but when I rubbed it on my neck I felt a definite itch! From cashmere? Hmm.

It swatched up nicely, and of all the yarns I sampled, Nirvana seems the most forgiving of uneven tension – the stitches lined up perfectly no matter what I did. After washing, the little swatch “bloomed” and turned into a lovely fabric. The itch was still there, though. Perhaps there are issues with the quality of the cashmere? Seven colors offered, mostly semi-solid pastels.

Galicia
90% silk, 9% super kid mohair, 2% wool
My gauge: 4.5 st/in, 5.5 rows/in
My needles: #5 Brittney birch
Price: 216 yard cone / $24
972 yards / $108

This is subtle 2-ply tweed, and it is my favorite of the lot. I am always overheating, so most wool sweaters are just too much for me. This clever mostly-silk yarn has a definite wooliness” (that’s the mohair) that makes me think of winter sweaters I will actually wear!

Galicia is similar to Kyoto (reviewed above), but on a much smaller scale. The silk gleams under a subtle cloud of mohair. It is currently offered in just 4 jewel-tone colors. And of course, since it’s my favorite, it has to be the most expensive. That being said, $12 per 100 yds is still a great deal for yarn of this quality.

About ArtFibers
ArtFibers is a yarn store in the San Francisco Bay area that also makes yarn under the ArtFibers brand name. They are currently offering free yarn "tastings” to bloggers (see full information below). I’ve ordered from them in the past, and am always amazed at their cost/quality ratio (low/high, respectively).

AF has recently reworked its website and pricing. I like the new pricing structure, but it is somewhat complex. Their yarns are sold on cones of 100, 150, 200, and 250 grams. The nice thing about this is you can combine cone sizes to get the precise amount of yarn your project requires with a minimum of waste and weaving in of yarn ends. Yarns are also available undyed at a price about 30% less than the dyed versions.

If I could change one thing at the ArtFibers website, it would be their color numbering system. I greatly prefer a name to a number. Any description, say “a mix of silvery grains,” is better than “#7”. I’m not sure why so many yarn companies don’t use color names / descriptions any more – they can be so helpful, especially when shopping on the ‘net. I spend a lot of time on the AF site puzzling over little swatch pictures, thinking: “Now is that silver, or taupe, or what?”

Next up: Taos. Wool. Really.

(My color names, top-to-bottom:

acorn, silver shale, electric mango, spring bud, basil)

(hint, hint.)

2007-10-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

So, about the Taos Wool Festival:

I have wanted to go to this shindig for years, but never seem to have the wherewithal to get organized and make the trip. Last month I made the decision: I was going. I called around to a bunch of Taos hotels and listened to the hoots of laughter: You want a room when? Don’t you know that’s the Wool Festival weekend?

Well, yes, I do.

I finally found a hotel willing to give me a room. I have very mixed feelings about this hotel. On the one hand, it was one of the worst hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in. On the other hand, it wasn’t THE worst hotel room I’ve ever stayed in (that honor belongs, coincidentally, to another Taos hotel). E-mail me if you want to know its actual name. For now I’ll just call it Casa Cucaracha.

The grounds of this hotel are nice, with the biggest cottonwood trees I’ve ever seen towering over the little hotel complex:

Also, a nice little courtyard:

But as I approached the door, I had a sinking feeling.

And then I went inside.

I wish I could blog in smell-o-vision, because that was at least half the problem. Musty cigarette-y mystery smell splashed with copious amounts of “Oust” or some similar liquid stink-masker. To my Calvinist soul it smelled like “Eau de Mortal Sin.”

But this was it. There were no other hotel rooms. I shook out the cotton blanket I travel with and covered the bed. I did a closer inspection, and discovered there really wasn’t anything super objectionable . . . the bathroom was passably clean, although in a sad state of disrepair . . . ditto the main room. . .

And then I saw it. In the framed artwork. Ack!! . . .

Maybe it’s not a roach, but it looks mighty roachy to me. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I decided to not think about it (never underestimate the power of denial) and walk over to the Wool Market. I would deal with Casa Cucaracha when I absolutely had to and no earlier.

Tomorrow:
Woolly Goodness.

Darth Vader, Wool in Taos and Herbert

2007-10-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Yes, it has been a dog’s age since I posted. There are various forces which have conspired to keep me from the blogosphere. Nothing sinister, just life and its constant mutability.

First off, I have been doggedly garter-stitching along on my Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina jacket, which I have nicknamed “Darth Vader.” Why? Because it is big and black and it is kicking my butt. My advice to you: Never knit a HF kit in black unless you possess youth and a sunny disposition.

I, however, have neither -- and knitting gazillions of black stitches on size 2 needles tends to give me a headache and the blues simultaneously. Ick.

But I persevere, because I will finish this jacket or die trying. (Note to spouse: If I do die trying, I want to be buried in however much of it I’ve completed.)

Also, as much as the Mystery Shawl 3 was fun to photograph – you could really see progress on the shawl from week to week – the Ballerina is not. I can work on it for 2 days and all I have to show is . . . 2 more inches of black garter stitch. On a really exciting day, perhaps half of a striped gore.

So while I will post some updates on the Ballerina in the future, I don’t think I will be taking many pictures of it.

And, in other news, I have been spending much of my crafting time spinning and working with various fibers. I’m going through a honeymoon phase right now with all things spinning-related, and I just wasn’t sure if my blog readers cared how I (finally) got most of the poop out of the Tunis.

So, gentle reader, this blog will have a subtle shift of focus, at least for a while. . . I just got back from the Taos Wool Festival, and I bought 2 lovely fleeces. One is soaking in my bathtub right now, and I will try to have pictures and more information soon. . .

And finally . . . there may be an addition to my family. Yes, we may soon be hearing the pitter-patter of little paws. Our kitty, Bailey, really needs a playmate, and I fell in love with a Tonkinese named Herbert at a recent local cat show. Herbert is a foster cat in Siamese Rescue, and I have to fill out about a metric ton of paperwork in order to be considered as an adoptive kitty mom. (Getting a kid is much easier than getting a cat.) But I have my hopes up. Here he is:

"Dear Bailey: Here's how to look dignified. Your pal, Herbert."

Artfibers Has Such a Deal for Bloggers!

2007-10-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

I had to pass this along: Artfibers in San Francisco (see their web site here) currently has a great promotion going for bloggers. You can receive 5 free "tastings" of their yarns (It's about 10-15 yards per "taste"), if you e-mail them and let them know:

1.) which yarns you would like, including colors
2.) your blog's URL
3.) your shipping address.

That's it -- free for nothing! Tastings are retail priced at $2.50 each, so this is at least a $15 value, as postage is free as well. Yes, I will be doing reviews when my Artfibers freebies get here!

I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph . . .

2007-09-04T12:18:00.001-07:00

Here are some recent projects . . . in no particular order:

My Hanne Falkenberg Jacket thus far. This is the left front, side gore, and part of the left sleeve.

Dirty, dirty alpaca batt.

Anyone know how to remove this crap?

Cotswold I'm selling on e-bay.

Ho, ho, ho!

Some of the discount fiber I got at the Red Needle's going out of business sale. This is about half of a 4 ounce bundle of hand-dyed roving I bought. It's very fun to spin, and is inspiring me to dye some more roving . . .

A close-up of the merino/cashmere 2-ply I'm spinning. This is soft as a duck's belly, and the brown is very complex and interesting. There are hints of lavender, gold, teal and purple throughout. Click for a close-up, and you'll see what I mean . . .

This skein is a little over 200 yards. That brings my grand total spun so far (of this fiber) to about 450 yards. I still have a fair amount of this to spin -- not sure exactly how much.

And now, because I am trying to be a good, disciplined girl, I will sign off and peruse the want ads. Ick.

Eentsy-teensy Update

2007-09-03T21:33:00.000-07:00

We don’t have pictures, but we do have UPDATE:

I am up to the first sleeve of the Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina jacket. The pattern is intimidating, as it is printed in a puny font, and assumes that I am a way better knitter than I am. I enlarged it 200%, and generally need to read each section of instructions 3-4 times before it gels in my brain. Many times, when the instructions seem incomprehensible, I am reduced to "sleeping on it."

It's a vague magic, but it seems to work, The next day I stumble on, one row at a time. So far (knock on wood), so good.

I knitted about half a sock in the padded footlet pattern before I decided I would rather gargle tacks than knit one more row. I tore it out, and started a similar pattern from knitty. com (find it here), which seems much more congenial.

Washed, picked, and bundled up about 2-1/2 pounds of Cotswold (So why did I buy a Cotswold fleece, if i didn't really want a Cotswold fleece? I think I had it confused with Corriedale . . .) and am selling most of it on e-bay. Cotswold works great for Santa beards . . .

In the process of processing a 3.5 lb Alpaca fleece that is full of grass, hay and ?&*!!. The alpaca itself is lovely, if only I could remove all of the grass, hay and ?&*!!. Any suggestions?

In general, spinning like a mad woman. I have almost a pound of a fabu merino-cashmere blend, and I’m hoping for enough 2-ply to make a sweater. So far I’ve spun about half (8 oz.), and I have one large bobbin full currently waiting to be skeined and set.

Still looking, lackadaisically, for a job. Since it seems that one is not going to crawl up my front walk and accost me, I might need to be a wee bit more vigorous in my search. As you all know (sigh), fiber ain’t free.

Tomorrow: Photos! Lord willing or the crick don’t rise!

Field Trip to Franktown / Warming up the Pfaff

2007-08-21T16:48:00.000-07:00

Occasionally, Bailey channels Janis Joplin.

"Oh Lord / Won't you buy me / a Pound of Catnip?"

I forgot to put the link to Melanie's site in my last entry. She is the multi-talented knitter/ spinner/ designer of Mystery Stole 3 (the "winged" stole shown below). If you're interested in purchasing the pattern, she will have it available at her web site somewhere around the end of August/beginning of September. Find all things Melanie -- including additional lace stole designs – here.

I've started a few new sewing projects:
Mostly because I'm cheap and refuse to spend $115 for a spinning wheel carry bag, I'm designing and making my own. I'm using some old upholstery fabric I had left over from another project, so even if the bag doesn't work out, I'm only minus the cost of zippers and lining. If all goes well, I will try to post photos later this week.

I'm also sewing little carry bags for my new swift (alas, a cheap and ugly metal version, but it seems to work fine -- much better than my knees), extra spinning bobbins, and niddy-noddy. I love this type of project, as these bags are quick, easy, and use up fabric I already have.

Wonderful Pat in Elizabeth, CO sent me an e-mail a few weeks ago letting me know that The Red Needle (knit/spin/weave store) in Franktown was closing up shop and liquidating their inventory.

So of course I had to go and have a look-see. The half-hour drive was glorious. Animals I saw on the way there: Clydesdale-typehorses in pasture, buffalo (bison?), sheep, llamas, cows (of course), lots of lovely horses, alpacas, hawks, bluebirds, yellow finches, and more. Tumbleweeds rolled across the road, and I thought about how I would love to live in the country . . . with llamas and antelope for neighbors. . .

There was much lovely fiber at the Red Needle, all at a very tempting discount. I browsed and browsed, and ended up taking home a little cashmere/merino blend, some flax, almost a pound of BFL, and other goodies.

I was about ready to drive home, when I saw that the store next door (which looked like a nail salon), had a sign in the window saying they also sold spinning wheels! Now this is my type of establishment -- get your nails done (mine always look like gardening implements, which they are), buy a new drive band, peruse the mothers-of-all. I went in.

It was a very cool multi-purpose store. Several "dabs" of products nicely arranged: craft books, jewelry, knitting needles, hand combs, weaving doo-dads (I don't weave, so I can't do any better than that.) And tucked in a corner: A yarn swift marked 40% off. I pounced.

I got home with my booty and sorted it into ziploc bags. Set up my ball winder and wound away. The cat lounged very close to my merino fleece, until finally I caught him with his head in the bag and his motor running at full throttle.

I did not get a manicure. I ran out of cash. The bottom line: I'd rather have a new swift than professionally tended nails. Can I get an "Amen"?

Just the Facts, Ma'am / Photo Lagniappe

2007-08-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

My son (aka “the black hole of need”) came into my room last night to ask me for lunch money and I hissed at him. I was on row 190 of my mystery stole, and like a horse smelling the barn at feeding time, I was undistractable.

Never has a bind off seemed so long. I felt like I lived a whole alternative life while binding off this stole. Cool bind-off, though. Will definitely use it again.

Finally! The Last stitch was bound off and soon the ends were woven in. I soaked the rascal in Eucalan for 15 minutes or so, wrapped him snuggly in a towel, and dragged out my “blocking towel” – a huge beach towel that I like to block on because it is printed with large squares that make blocking easier – as well as blocking wires, pins, yard sticks, etc.

The ugly, though useful, blocking towel

For those of you who like all the details, here is how my stole measured up in the end:

Length: 70.5”
Width: 22.5”
Section #1 length: 40.5”
Wing length: 30”
Wing curve length: 41”
Depth of wing (at midpoint): 26”

Other details:

Yarn: Malabrigo “Velvet Grapes” lace weight – a dream to knit. I used 2 skeins, and have approximately 150 yards (15 grams) left. So I used about 790 yards for this stole.

Finished Weight:
Total weight: 114 grams (about 4 ounces)
Yarn weight: 85 grams (3 ounces)
Bead weight: 29 grams (1 ounce)

*I made all of today’s photos clickable for those who want close-up views.

And looking at my MS3 now, I’m pretty tickled. The merino is so soft, and I love the variegations that run throughout. The weight of the beads helps it stay on. I used 2 different kinds of beads, and that combined with the variegated yarn makes the stole feel a little gypsy-ish. Maybe a little more Carmen than Swan Lake, but that’s fine, too. There are definitely mistakes here, but they aren’t bothering me.

Right now I’m sitting in bed wearing the thing. With the air conditioning on. Feeling a wee bit princess-ish, in my luxury stole – even though I haven’t yet changed out of my pajamas or brushed my hair or teeth. Life is good.

Thanks, Melanie! (Times 100, at least. What a good, generous heart she has.)

And for those of you feeling sorry for the kid whose mother hissed at him: Don't. The kid is 16, and is more effective than the IRS at getting money out of the 'rents. Plus he has a job, and has more money in his checking account than I do in mine. (Of course, HE doesn't have a spinning/knitting jones.) And yet I still feel guilty . . . where is that wallet ?

beading close-up, straight section

Beading close-up, wing

Fetching rear view

The Wing is Flapping / Clue 6 Done

2007-08-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

Shows the join -- a little funky, but not too bad.

(clickable for detail)

I love how the variegated yarn camouflages my mistakes! (also clickable)

The wing looking -- well -- wing-like.

One pleasant surprise of working this clue was how the variegated yarn co-operated with the pattern. I started my second ball right before the join, and the new ball was ever-so-slightly more vibrant than the old one. Those "feathers" really pop. My stitch count was off at the end, so something will have to be fudged in the future.

Hopefully, when clue 7 is released I'll figure out how to deal with the stitch weirdness. I'm hoping clue 7 is heavy on the beadwork. If not, I might have to do some wee pattern alterations. Love doing the beading, and love the elan they give this stole.

Off I go to spin some nice blended top.

Clapotis Reminiscing

2007-08-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

click for close-up view

I knit this Clapotis Shawl last summer -- the (much simpler) equivalent to MS3. It really is a fun knit, once you get used to the pattern. Very modern and un-fangled, but still lacy. I used almost every bit of one skein of Brooks Farm Yarns Riata for this. If you don't know Brooks Farm, click here to visit them -- some of the nicest yarn I've ever knit with.

The pattern is a free download from knitty.com. If you are craving more lace, but want something simpler, have a look at this pattern. It's a great way to show off a variegated yarn in lace.

More Info: Hanne Falkenberg

2007-08-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hanne Falkenberg "Mermaid" --

If Ballerina goes well, this one might be next!

Thanks to those who left comments or e-mailed me directly! A couple of things:

Hanne Falkenberg is Danish, not Dutch. (Sorry, Hanne.) I corrected this in the original post to avoid confusion. Thanks to Ellen for letting me know.

Her kits are generally sold in America for about $260, but you can get them for half of that on e-bay. I bought mine from ecclescakes on e-bay, and my total with shipping from England was $147.50. Prices are similar on ecclescakes' web site here and in this Danish site, which ships to America, here (site is in Danish, but can be figured out. Thanks to Gail for this link).

You can see all the colorways offered for HF kits here. The colorway I wanted (#1) was not listed on e-bay, but Jane at Cucumber Patch (mother ship of ecclescakes) listed it promptly when I e-mailed my request to her.

Finally, there is a very helpful HF KAL group here. Someone in this group has actually gone to the trouble of creating line-by-line spreadsheets of a couple of HF patterns! Now that is dedication. Yep, I'm already signed up. But the rule is: No starting on the Ballerina until the swan bites the dust. Right? --

-- (sigh) Right.

Reason I Must Finish MS3

2007-08-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina Coat (see below)

Many thanks to those of you who sent words of encouragement regarding my MS3 project. Perhaps I am too close to the actual item to be objective. Yesterday I noticed that those last few stitches on the right-hand needle -- the ones we aren't working -- are actually starting to felt. grrr.

On to other matters. I have been looking for a new winter coat for 2 years now. I live in Colorado, in an area with (generally) pretty mild winters, so I wanted something:

lightweight
stylish but not trendy
preferably black
light-to-medium in warmth (I overheat easily)
packable.

For two years I've been after this thing like it's the holy grail. I refused to buy something that wasn't quite right, so kept wearing my old coat, which I loathe. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it. Probably that it was cheap and didn't itch.

Also, for at least two years, I have been coveting kits by Danish designer Hanne Falkenberg. Specifically this coat: On the one hand, many people on the net have "horror stories" of working on HF kits. They are knit on itty bitty needles in garter stitch. Sitting down to knit a Hanne Falkenberg kit is like sitting down to read Moby Dick -- something not to be done lightly. Something which requires serious commitment, fortitude, and possible eye strain.

On the other hand, I love this coat. Everything about it. And knitting lace has made me more comfortable with knitting on 2's and 3's. These kits are expensive -- but can be found for half price on ebay. And I really do need a winter jacket.

So it is ordered. And I have made the commitment to try and have it finished by October 1. (A couple of family birthdays in September will require some of my knitting time. but I can still try . . .)

This week I am getting my resume together and beginning a job search. Something to help support a tiny little knitting habit, and a nascent spinning jones. My ideal job: One in which I get paid to write, travel, knit, spin, and supply half-baked opinions. Yeah, right. I just hope I don't end up in a funny hat asking "Do you want fries with that?"

Update-A-Palooza!!

2007-08-11T22:53:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say that crappy cropping

makes all the difference in this photo.

Truth is it is an accurate representation of a big mess 'o yarn.

Click if you want to see the gory details.

I'm trying to play catch up today, but catch up does not play fair. As soon as I think I'm getting somewhere, I remember ONE MORE THING that should have been on my to-do list. On the list: Blog update. Here goes:

Mystery Stole Update:

I have been fighting with my mystery stole. Mistakes, rip-backs, etc., plus I'm having a hard time visualizing how this will block. And my join looks like crap.

Finally, do you remember how at the beginning of this little dance number, someone on the MS3 board specifically said (Lord, I hope it wasn't Melanie) "Don't slip the first stitch of every row. It will make the blocking too tight."

(Insert whiny font here): But I always slip the first stitch of every row. It makes that nice little chain stitch on the edge . . .

So: Guess who is now worried about the edge of her shawl not being stretchy enough to withstand a vigorous blocking. (Excuse me while I apply fist to forehead, with vigor and conviction.)

I am currently 30 rows into Clue 6, and am in "head down knitting mode." No longer attempting to "read" my knitting or do the Vulcan mind meld with my knitting or even be friends with my knitting. I am just trying to get the dang thing done.

I'm not sure why I'm surprised that the honeymoon is over with this project. Any time I work on a project this size and/or difficulty, I go through a faze where I just want to put on my fuzzy slippers, drive up to the nearest Goodwill collection bin, and pitch the whole thing in without even slowing down. A drive-by abandonment of wayward knit goods.

But I am determined to finish MS3, and finish in a reasonably timely manner. I'll keep you posted -- and if (when! not if!) -- ummm - when I finish clue #6, I will post better photos.

Dyeing/ Spinning Update/ Questions for Readers:

Recent purchases: Cashmere from Sarah's yarn. I'm stocking up for Christmas presents. Buy 8 skeins and you get a price break!

400 yards each
Anyone out there have any ideas for scarf patterns

that take 400 yards? Let me know!

Bought some silk cocoons. Seemed like a good idea at the time . . .

Could someone please tell me what the heck to do with these?

I have already de-bugged them, which was pretty gross.

What now?

Dyed some yarn for the Padded Footlet pattern (In Interweave Press' Favorite Socks). Dark purple for the foot, screamin' green for the accent.

. . .and spun some wonderfully soft Blue Face Leicester (pronounced "lester" -- go figure) roving. I have about 225 yards, and will probably make a scarf with it:

Bailey was much help, as usual.

(Here he is stalking the elusive row counter, under cover of shawl.)

Tomorrow:

My next major knitting project is on its way from across the pond. Check back tomorrow for details!

Mystery Stole Woes and . . . Joy In-a-Box Arrives!

2007-08-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

I ran amok with my mystery shawl last night. I must have knit row 51 5 times before finally giving up and going to bed.

This morning I thought "surely I will sort this out quickly." And the gods laughed. I counted, recounted, and parsed 2 rows -- stitch-by-stitch -- to the chart. Still couldn't figure out where I went wrong (still one extra stitch). Ripped back 2 rows. Still screwy. Ripped back 4 rows and inserted a little colorful midwestern patois for good measure.

All the while I was sitting in my living room, glaring out at the street, wondering where the heck my UPS lady was. This morning I checked UPS tracking on the 'net, and next to my spinning wheel were the wonderful words: OUT FOR DELIVERY.

I needed more than this. I needed a turn-by-turn report as to the UPS lady's exact where-abouts. GPS coordinates would be good. Maybe I could intercept --er-- meet her somewhere, and she could fling my wheel in my general direction. It would save her a stop.

Finally, I got to row 52 on my stole. Relief! I am having such a hard time with clue 5! I think I need to seriously tweak my system. I stomped around the house and ate too much cake and growled at my messy son. Then I took him to his dermatologist appointment.

Got home. Still no wheel. Decided that doing laundry might take my mind off of things. It didn't. Stomped around some more. In desperation, I vacuumed (shudder).

While checking my e-mail for the 18th time, I heard the unmistakable sweet dulcet tones of a UPS truck. And, next thing I knew, the UPS lady (delightful woman that she is) was handing me a smallish box. Light, even.

Within a matter of minutes, my Joy (that's the actual model name) was set up and looking, as my sister says, fab-oo:

Profile shot

Fetching rear view

Bailey fails to see the attraction of any of this.

Birds at the bird feeder, however . . .

Joy and I are still making each other's acquaintance, but so far I am very happy. She treadles like silk, and her pared-down design appeals to me. And -- yes! We have yarn! (Or at least a ply!)

Woo-hoo!

Update-Spinning, Dyeing, etc. & Very Cute Stitch Markers

2007-08-06T17:45:00.001-07:00

(see below for info on these Hide and Sheep markers)

Had another spinning lesson today. Sandy, bless her heart, tried to teach me how to "navajo ply." As I understand it, navajo plying is done with a single strand of yarn when you want to ply it back on itself. It strengthens and thickens the yarn.

One hand is pulling, one hand is pushing, one hand is throwing the yarn around -- yikes. I only have two hands, and they are currently not on speaking terms. To make a long story short, I am now doing what I've come to think of as the " 'ho ply" -- it's a third of a navajo ply, but easier and much less attractive. I will have to work on it on my . . . new spinning wheel.

Gulp.

I am having some serious buyer's remorse, but I found an Ashford Joy on e-bay that was a very, very good deal. Spinning wheels do hold their value, so I could sell it for what I paid for it. If necessary. You can see that my justification strategy is still a little wobbly. Anyway, it is supposed to be here tomorrow, but here's a picture:

How could I not buy this??

_______________________

Here are some updates on recent dying / spinning / knitting projects:

I over-dyed the lettuce-y green silk/cashmere blend. I'm much happier with the new color:

What color is this? Basil? Oregano?
Sour cream found at the back of the fridge with a 2006 "best if bought by date" ?

Spun some bea -u- tiful plum colored Blue Face Leicester roving, then plied it with a multi-color merino single:

I like this. Not sure what I'm going to do with it. Don't have a yarn meter, so have no idea what the yardage is. Enough to make a hat, maybe.

Here's the 2-ply I made with the roving I dyed. I like the yarn more than I liked the roving:

Not a color I'd normally wear, but several in my family would like it. Hmmm.

And I'm 50 rows into the first chart of clue five for MS3. I **love** the new direction the design is taking. It is so unexpected and fresh. However, I am knitting at the speed of an arthritic sloth. Hopefully I will speed up as I get accustomed to the new pattern/design.

__________

Got another one of those lumpy bags in the mail today. Just love those. Inside were some of the prettiest stitch markers I've ever seen. I treated myself to these because, since I've started knitting lace, most of my stitch markers are way too big (see photo below -- the yellow ring is one of my old stitch markers).

I chanced upon an Etsy company that makes these rings. I love the minimalistic design -- nothing to catch your yarn because the metal "join" is under the bead. Prices are reasonable (I paid $10 for both sets of markers, including shipping). Some rings are funky, some traditional, and each set comes in its own little tin:

Based on what I've seen (haven't used them yet), I am giving Hide and Sheep lace stitch markers five tinks on the tink-o-meter!

Diet Shmiet.

2007-08-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Wow -- there are a fair amount of you out there who feel the same way I do about coconut AND raspberry AND cake all in the same mouthful. So I had to make one today . . . so that I could give all of you pictures of the cake . . . yeah, that's the reason.

Crockpot Dyeing

2007-08-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

I got a new crockpot at Wal-Mart the other day, one that can be used exclusively for dyeing. So of course I had to trot right home and try it out.

I had bought a pound of corriedale from an e-bay seller last week, so I decided to divide that up into 4-ounce bundles and dye one of them. So this was the setup:

Using the instruction in Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning (see book review, below), as well as some miscellaneous tips I'd found on the 'net, I began to play with color. I was thinking salmon, plum, and green:

Even looking at this now, I'm thinking: That green is too bright. But apparently the night I dyed this batch, I thought algae-chartreuse was a ducky color. I pre-soaked my yarn in the crock pot, and turned up the heat. It took about 25 minutes or so before the water was good and hot.

I began plopping dye in the water, using a little more green and a little less plum and salmon:

"Dinner!"

Using my handy, dandy, blue plastic dye spoon, I poked at the yarn so the dye would strike deeper. I tried not to mess with it too much, as I know this can lead to disaster. I let it cook for about 40 minutes, then dumped it in the sink:

huh.

This was not exactly what I intended, but I could live with it. I rinsed it, dried it between two towels, and hung it to dry. The next day:

Well, I am moderately satisfied. I'm not over the moon with joy over this roving, but neither am I gnashing my teeth in disappointment. I think it might have potential. Maybe. Tonight I'm spinning -- I will post photos later this week of the resulting yarn. Hopefully.

Coconut Raspberry Cake and High Horse Alert

2007-08-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Preamble. Also, High Horse Alert for the next 2 paragraphs: If you're reading this, you know that clue #5 and the MS3 theme were released yesterday. As I reviewed the group's messages, I got more than a little irate at the pissy tone of a few of the negative posts.

It's fine to disapprove of the direction the design has taken, but I don't understand why people have to: 1.) publicly air a sour, mean attitude, and 2.) say things that are nonconstructive and borderline insulting toward a woman who has given tirelessly of her abilities and time. (Wait just one minute while I dismount the High Horse -- I'm starting to get a nose bleed. There, that's better.)

So I found myself feeling bad for Melanie yesterday, and wondered what I could do. I thought, "If I lived in her town, I would make her my coconut raspberry cake." It is the one thing I make that is any good -- a cook/baker I ain't. This cake is the exception to the rule.

But since I live, oh, 1500 miles away from where she lives, I just posted a little note of support on the MS3 message board, and mentioned that if she were next door I'd thank her with a cake. Someone on the board said "I love coconut. And raspberries. And cake." Well, if any of you are like-minded, you will love this cake. I've probably made it 50+ times, and it's a winner:

Coconut Raspberry Cake
modified from a recipe originally in Cooking Light
Oven: 350 degrees
Bake for: 30 minutes
Pans: 2 9” cake pans

This cake tends to stick. Here is my (almost) guaranteed method for keeping it from sticking: Using your pan as a guide, cut 2 9” circles of parchment paper. First spray the bottom of your pans with nonstick spray, then put parchment paper circles on the bottom. Then re-spray both pans (just bottoms) and flour the pans. (Pain in the neck, but works!)

Cake Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour
2-1/4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1-2/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 large fresh eggs (I think fresh eggs make a diff. w/this cake)
1 14-oz can of coconut milk (either light or regular -- coconut milk is usually found in the Asian foods section in the supermarket.)
1 Tablespoon good quality vanilla extract (OR 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp coconut extract)

Frosting/Filling Ingredients:
1 to 2 pints of raspberries (rinse and thoroughly dry berries early in the day, if possible. I leave mine on several layers of paper towels and flip them over every once in a while to make sure they dry thoroughly.)
2 8-oz blocks of cream cheese, either regular or light (regular makes a denser, less runny frosting and is my preference)
2 tsp vanilla extract (can substitute part with coconut extract, if desired)
2 to 4 cups powdered sugar
½ to 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
** raspberries for garnish, if desired
______________________________________________________
In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl mix sugar and butter until well blended (2-3 minutes) add eggs and beat another 1-2 minutes. Add flour mixture and coconut milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Stir in vanilla (and coconut extract, if desired).

Pour batter into prepared pans. Sharply tap each pan on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake cakes for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cakes for 10 minutes in pans, then transfer to wire racks and cool completely.

(** I’ve cooked the cake one day, cooled it, slipped each layer in a zip lock bag and frozen them, then iced the still slightly frozen cake the next day. This worked out fine – the cake was still very moist.)

Frosting/Filling
Beat cream cheeses together with an electric mixer. Add vanilla extract. Mix in enough sifted powdered sugar to make the frosting spreadable. (I like to add as little sugar as necessary, as I don’t like the frosting too sweet.) Don’t overmix the frosting.

Put a blob of frosting on your cake tray and spread it around. (“Glues” the cake to the tray.) Put first cake layer on tray, then spread with a thin layer of frosting and a single thick layer of raspberries. (The closer the berries are together, the better.) Plop other cake on top and frost. At this point, my cake always looks like a complete mess, but keep going; it gets better.

Press coconut into sides of cake – a messy operation but it hides any imperfections in your frosting job. Sprinkle coconut on top and garnish with raspberries, a couple of mint leaves, a paperclip sculpture of the Eiffel tower, or whatever you have handy.

Store cake loosely covered in a cool area (or refrigerate). Best when eaten within 24-48 hours.

Book Review: Teach Yourself Visually: Spinning

2007-08-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Counting down to Ms3 Clue #5 (& theme reveal!) I have one more book review:

Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning
by Judith MacKenzie McCuin
softcover / 208 pages / $21.99
5 tinks on the tink-o-meter!

Last time I met with my local MS3 group, we were discussing good books on spinning. Many thanks to Linda for recommending this gem by masterspinner Judith MacKenzie McCuin.

Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning may not have a snappy title, but don’t let that stop you from looking it over next time you’re in Borders. This excellent spinning manual not only has a plethora of helpful color photos -- it also has a staggering amount of well organized information.

To give you an idea, here’s a sampling of topics covered: Hand spindling, making a simple hand spindle, types of spinning wheels and what each type does best, what to look for in your first wheel, spinning accessories and tools and how to use them, a thorough overview of fibers, how to wash and card different types of fibers, the difference between the “worsted” and “woolen” drafts, dyeing roving in a crock pot, plying, making specialty yarns, spinning exotic fibers, designing with handspun, weaving your handspun yarn, constructing a loom out of copper pipe . . .

. . . And I have left a lot out! Sometimes I pick up craft books, leaf through them, and am surprised that they don’t just float away -- a lot of fluff out there with not much substance.

TYV:HS is just the opposite: it is so packed with information you feel like you’re getting a 400-page book that has been carefully whittled down to give the reader only the “good stuff” -- a solid, complete and concise tutorial on the art of spinning.

The back of the book holds a helpful glossary of spinning terms and a very detailed index. My one complaint (and it’s a small one) is the binding -- a spiral binding would make this book dang near perfect.

Book Review: Spin to Knit

2007-08-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

Let’s see here: 20 hours and counting. Could clean the house, make a nice dinner, mow the lawn. Yes, it’s come to this. *sigh*

I know: Book reviews!

There are so many new books out right now. I love to go to Barnes & Noble and pore over them. Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time with 2 new books and one old one. As each has been very helpful in its own way, I thought I’d write some mini-reviews. Beginning with --

Spin to Knit / The Knitter’s Guide to Making Yarn
by Shannon Okey
Paperback / 128 pages / $21.95
(4 & ½ tinks on the tink-o-meter)

Being a new spinner (and an old knitter), this book really speaks to me. It’s a great “overview” book -- giving the reader basic instruction on spindle and wheel spinning techniques -- but also filling in the details on cleaning and carding fleece, predrafting fiber, trouble-shooting spinning snafus, and other topics of much interest to the beginning spinner.

Okey’s writing is informative and easy to understand, and the book’s color illustrations are outstanding. I also like how she has numerous profiles of contemporary spinners, weavers, and other artisans throughout the book -- often these little bios can inspire new ideas or give the reader an interesting “snapshot” of unique companies that supply fiber, spindles, etc.

About half of the book is dedicated to learning how to spin, the other half contains 20 patterns to use with your newly spun yarn. In general, the patterns are a good balance between funky and classic. Some of my favorites: A gorgeous shawl designed by the late Crystal Canning, the faux fair isle raglans co-designed by the author and Symeon North, and the Mojave cabled socks by Erin O’Brien.

A how-to glossary in the back gives excellent illustrated instructions on basic techniques, such as how to make I-cord, 3-needle bind off, short rows, kitchener stitch, etc. I wish all knitting books had this, as you never know when you might need a kitchener stitch refresher (I pretty much need one every time I do a sock toe). Add a good resource list and index, and what you get is a well-rounded book that makes it easy to find the information you need.

I *am* taking away ½ tink because the instructions on how to spin on a spinning wheel are a little skimpy. I would have liked 2 pages on "woolen" drafting vs. "worsted" drafting, and maybe a page more on plying. For a more in-depth look on these topics and more, see Teach Yourself VISUALLY Handspinning by Judith MacKenzie McCuin., which will be my next review.

Wheels within Wheels

2007-08-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

clickable for close-up

There was a message yesterday from someone on the MS3 list who was having a hard time keeping her place in the chart. This was my #1 problem when I started. Again and again I would lose stitches, gain stitches, lose rows (??) and rip, rip, rip.

I came up with a system which is all about overkill, but it works for me. I thought I’d do a little tutorial for anyone having “issues” with keeping their place in MS3 charts. First, as soon as the clue is released, I color my charts. Every stitch (except knits) has a color code:

Green: k2tog
Orange: ssk
Yellow: yo
Pink solid: bead placement
Pink “X”: s1, k2tog, psso

Also, I divide each chart into 10-stitch columns, mark these with a sharpie, and color every other one light blue (hard to see this in the photos). I isolate the center stitch, and the two columns on either side of the center stitch have only 9 stitches each (this keeps my stitch count accurate).

I don't tape the 2 charts together, but rather put one chart on each side of a magnetic chart holder (thanks to Linda from my local Ms3 group for this tip).

I set up stitch markers on my stole so that they correspond exactly with the columns on my chart:

All the pretty stitch markers, all in a row . . .

with the center stitch all by himself, the introvert.

On each chart I use 2 post-it index cards which I tape together on the short side. I put a pink hi-lighter line on one edge to help me keep my place. I don’t move the card until after I’ve completed not only the pattern row, but also the next purl-side row.

For me, The color system works better than symbols. As I knit, I usually am muttering, for example “knit 2, over, orange, knit 4, over, orange.”

Finally, I count each column on the purl side to make sure each has the correct number of stitches. It’s super easy to correct a missed yarn over at this point, and missed yarn overs are probably 90% of what screws me up in the first place.

Initially, all this falderal did slow me down. Now I actually think it helps speed me up! I don’t have to ponder each stitch as if it was a mystic rune. (Is this right? I think this is right? Lets see here. . .)

An added benefit is that, if I need to put my knitting down or the kid has an emergency, it is very easy to find my place again. Let’s see, I left off at column 4, 3rd stitch . . . On top of all this, I use a row counter that hangs around my neck. Remember ladies (and Krystofer, of course): Nothing says “knit nerd” like a row counter that hangs around your neck.

Please e-mail me or leave a message here if you have questions. And, in case you're wondering, no -- I'm normally not this Type A. But I am very stubborn, and this stole pattern was initially kicking my butt. We can't have that, can we? (insert Boris Karloff laugh here.)

New & Improved MS3 Photos, Slytherin Kitty, & Spinning the Day Away

2007-08-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

I haven't been happy with most of my shawl photos. The reddish-purple variegated color is really hard to capture, especially when my camera is broken and I'm using my son's -- his is a lot more fangled than mine. So I took purple merino glob outside today and flopped him on a bush. The results are a little "Kodachrome," but the shawl color is right on:

( Clickable if you want the Texas-sized version)

Since I have to return my loaner wheel tomorrow, I decided to spend as much of today as possible spinning. Or at least attempting to spin.

Have you heard those stories about how one day you're spinning like a 10-thumbed baboon and the next you're zipping along like some flaxen haired chick straight out of a Grimm's fairy tale? Well, that would still not be me. HOWEVER, thanks to patient instruction and perseverance, I am improving. Part of what I spun today was suspiciously yarn-like. Not the fingering weight alpaca of my dreams, but a "thick & thin" (read: "Everything from laceweight to bulky on one skein") yarn that is flirting with the fringes of respectability:

(also clickable)

And it actually is alpaca. For some reason, everything else gave me fits today (merino, corriedale, mystery wool), but the Alpaca clipped along as smooth as buddah. Wait 'til Sandy's herd hears about this! They will have to cancel the contract they have out on me.

Also, the entire day the cat has been extremely entertaining. Bailey isn't a kitty Rhodes Scholar or anything, but he is what my mom calls "a character." I made him a little kitty toy out of some over-twisted singles. He played:

He looked very alert for about 30 seconds . . .

My, but that roving looks delicious. Smells interesting, too.

. . . and then he slept.

And I put a woolly purple "S" on his tummy,

and told him he looked like the Slytherin quidditch team mascot.

But then my son walked past and informed me that Slytherin's colors are green and grey. Oh well.

Seventy-six Cents a Yard for This?

2007-08-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Julie for sending me a picture of this yarn-like substance:

. . . which is currently for sale (at a yarn retailer which shall remain anonymous, in case they want to sue my pasty Scottish patookey), for: $26 for 34 yards.

Ahem . . . and would it be too much to say: What the h-e-double-toothpicks?

I don't feel nearly so bad about my yarn blob. In fact, I feel so much better I think I will go spin. And if it turns out crappily, perhaps I will arrange it very artistically and try to sell it on e-bay. No . . . I couldn't do it. What comes around goes around, and I'm not ready to release Yarn Blob out into the general populace. . .

Be afraid . . . be very afraid

I have the potential ability to suck $26 out of innocent, unsuspecting wallets!

MS3 Clue #4 - Done and Friday Can't Come Fast Enough

2007-07-31T18:10:00.000-07:00

Here's the merino Mystery stole, just waiting for clue #5:

Sucker is getting long -- currently about 40" X 19" in this semi-blocked state.

I added beads to the little hexagons -- I love how they look, although they did add some weight.

Hmmmm . . .shawl might multi-task as weaponry?? Perhaps the CIA might be interested?

Another detail shot. I think this one is clickable.

Anyway, it's ***Tuesday***. Yep. Tuesday. So that would mean I've got . . . let's see here . . . carry the two . . . sixty-two hours to wait. Sixty-freaking two.

Currently repressing nearly explosive desire to whine my fool head off. Must sign off now, before I succumb . . .

Offending Innocent Alpaca and Spinning Omni-gauge Yarn

2007-07-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

So I had my second spinning lesson. During which Sandy looked at my yarnish globs, and then made a few adjustments to increase the amount of twist I was getting on my yarn. Turns out that unlike most new spinners, I didn't have enough spin in my yarn, thus the problem with it falling apart like 8-year-old underpants. I did manage to spin a yarn-like substance:

Which I swatched into this:

Now, if you look closely (?!), you'll see that this yarn has no discernible gauge. Or rather, it contains all gauges in a very small area. Sandy calls it "designer yarn," which I appreciate, but I'm pretty sure that only a designer suffering from severe astigmatism would put her name on this.

The purple yarn is a nice corriedale blend, which I get along with better than the (slicker) merino or alpaca. Although, after seeing Sandy's little alpaca herd, I felt a little bit guilty.

"Really -- you would rather spin wool???"

I guess that's okay. **Sigh** . . .

don't give it another thought . . .

**Sob!** All this gorgeous micron count . . . for nothing!!

I tried to reassure them that, hopefully, some day I would be coordinated enough to spin alpaca, but they just gazed at me with their huge liquid eyes. Sure lady. That's what all the rotten sheep-lovers say.

Giving New Meaning to the Term "Slow Learner"

2007-07-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

So I had my first spinning lesson yesterday, from a delightful lady named Sandy. Sandy has her work cut out for her. Spinning involves your feet doing one thing while your hands do something else entirely and your eyes flit about like secret service agents' just waiting for something to go wrong so you can correct it BEFORE it becomes Major Screaming Disaster.

People say they do it to relax.

The bad news is, apparently, I really suck. (Sandy would never say such a thing. She was quite encouraging, and I'm sure she has seen monkeys that spin worse than me.) See that yarn glob up there? THAT is what I spun last night. (Actually, I did spin about 3 yards of something that looks like yarn. Sort of. I'm keeping that tiny little skein in a Very Safe Place, to look at when I want to impale myself on my orifice hook.)

The good news: Apparently I can recycle the "yarn glob" into felted kitty toys for the cats at the Erie County Humane Society. (Which makes me feel slightly less despondent and wasteful and useless.)

The better news: Just look at my "loaner" wheel:

Oh, it is so pretty. A much nicer wheel than I could possibly afford right now, a Kromski Sonata. It's such a serious wheel -- and it has such presence. Every time I look at it, I feel like it's saying: Enough internet, enough television, enough cheap trashy summer novels. Sit down and spin. It's the only way to learn. (It says this in an English accent, in spite of the fact that it is from Poland. Go figure.)

So, on the good side I have a patient wonderful teacher, a great wheel to learn on, mistakes that are recyclable and some new fiber to learn on (more on that in a minute). Oh, and one more good thing: When I stopped by the library, several of my "holds" were waiting for me, including Hands On Spinning. (Oh, how I love the Pikes Peak Library District.) On the bad side I have, well, (how to put this nicely?) --- Me. Co-ordinated I ain't.

But I want to spin, damn it, so I did some research and found out that alpaca and merino (the 2 fibers I'm currently using) can be a little "slick" for beginning spinners. Several spinners recommended slightly coarser wools with a little more crimp, such as corriedale, for newbies.

So early (for me) this morning I trotted right down to my LYS where there was (mixed blessing alert!!) a SALE. I said to myself: No looking at the yarns! Fiber only! And not much of that! Well, I did have a wee nest egg -- my mom sent me a check for my birthday. So I dipped into this to buy myself 8 oz. of corriedale in a lovely plum (I know, I know: purple again. It was between that and red and I was afraid that spinning red would make me even more short-tempered and apt to cuss.) Also: a very nice Kromski niddy-noddy (used to wind skeins, up 'til now I've used a homemade cardboard model), and another pair of size 4 straights (for knitting lace). Voila:

Thanks, Mom

. . . and everything was 25% off.

(*** Note to Colorado Springs readers: The sale is at Knitters Kove on Union today and tomorrow only. It's one of those mystery discount sales where your discount can be either 20, 25, or 30% off your entire purchase depending on which token you pull out of the box. Plus you get an additional 5% off if you come dressed like a pirate. One lady asked for (& got) the discount because she was wearing a scarf -- seemed like cheating to me, but far be it for me to come between anyone and their additional 5% off. My advice: bring a bandanna. Or a peg leg. Maybe a parrot.)

So tonight I get to knit, spin, read about spinning, and go to a local MS3 group meeting.

Life is good.

Bailey ponders the mystery.

On Spinning, Squirrels, and Small Things That Make Me Happy

2007-07-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Years ago, I decided to teach myself how to spin using a drop spindle. I did what I usually do, and bought materials and a book (exactly what I did years ago when I taught myself how to knit out of Kids Knitting, a great book by Melanie Falick).

Only this time it didn't work. I read, and I practiced, and I said many, many words that surely bruised our Lord's ears, but I did not spin any yarn. So: I bought another spindle, more roving, another book, thinking that perhaps the first set was somehow faulty.

The first thing you should know about me, is that I am persistent. Some have said "stubborn." Some have said worse. The second thing you know is that sometimes, I'm not stubborn enough.

A related aside: During the height of the "What Would Jesus Do?" craze -- when every other preteen you met was wearing a WWJD? bracelet, I decided that in many instances we all would be better served by asking "What Would a Squirrel Do?"Here's my train of thought: I think in most situations I KNOW what Jesus would do. He would be loving, kind, firm and honest. He wouldn't lose hope; he would forgive the jerks around him. And yes, I think it's good to remember all of these things.

But so often I fail not because I don't know what's right, but because I quit too soon, or I get too frustrated, or I let my failures define me. Thus: What would a squirrel do ("WWASD?")

Squirrels give me hope. They are rodents with brains the size of beebees, but they will just keep jumping on your bird feeder until that thing pays off like a Los Vegas slot machine. People spend fifty to a hundred dollars -- and more! -- to get "squirrel proof" bird feeders. I bought one once. It slowed the squirrel down a little, but it did not stop him. I don't know if there is any force in the universe equal to a squirrel's single-minded unrelenting focus when faced with what he perceives to be dinner. I want that focus.

So, I started over with the 2nd drop spindle, admired the gorgeous roving I'd bought (merino! ooh! ah!) and prepared to spin. I tried rolling the spindle on one thigh, on the other thigh; I stood on a chair while dropping the spindle. Nothing. I read. I re-read. I checked out additional books from the library. I did research on the internet. I turned drop spindle spinning into A Project.

In short, I took all the fun out of it. After weeks of looking at my drop spindles with all the warmth and joy usually reserved for a cold sore, I thought: "This is just not for you right now. Some day, this may be for you. But right now the universe is saying uh-uh." I'm pretty sure Jesus was with me on this one. I know his ears were aching.

So I tucked away the roving, spindles, et. al and went on to something else.

A couple of weeks ago I met a nice lady named Sandy who teaches wheel spinning, and she lives just up the road. I gave my husband the kind of birthday hint that works on engineers: "A great birthday present for me would be spinning lessons. Here's the business card of a lady who gives them." Then I remind him again a couple of days later . . .

So -- guess what?? I got spinning lessons for my birthday! The first one is tomorrow, and I am soo--ooo-oo excited. Sandy is even going to loan me a wheel so that I can practice at home. And I'm saying to the universe, the squirrels, and to Jesus: I am ready to learn how to spin! Teach me! I hardly recognize myself, I am feeling so hyper and perky. The very picture of your average squirrel faced with the average bird feeder.

__________________________________________

On another front, someone on the MS3 board published this hint, which I think is a true keeper:

To easily wind a center-pull ball of yarn, start with a small plastic pill bottle, put the leading end of the yarn inside the bottle, snap the lid on and wind away. When finished you can take the lid off the bottle, push the bottle out, and you will have a perfect center-pull ball!

I tried this last night and was so impressed with the results that I got a little wind happy. Here are exhibits A, B, &C:

Can this Much MS3 Joy be Normal? Part B

2007-07-24T19:15:00.002-07:00

Last Friday I bound out of bed, grabbed my laptop, and I had **NO** internet. Knowing that desperate times require desperate measures, I went fishing for a wireless network, any wireless network, that would let me download the new MS3 Clue. One of my non-password-protected neighbors obliged and I had my adobe file! Yes!

And then the printer wouldn’t work. It was like one of Job’s (more minor) trials! Arggh! So I went over to Kinko’s, printed out my clue, and breathed a mighty sigh of relief. All-in-all it was 45 minutes of high drama, but when I got home I was as happy as a mouse knee-deep in corn nuts.

“Good grief,” my son said “This Mystery Shawl thing is like crack cocaine for knitters.”

Of course I argued the point. A little. But I started thinking about it: Why exactly do I like this project so much?

I just watched the movie “High Fidelity,” with John Cusack. His character has a penchant for making “Top 10 Lists.” So here’s my

Top 10 Reasons MS3 is Highly Addictive:

Decadent yarn and pretty beads fulfill the frilly, girly side of a suburban mom who is starved for Glamour.

The pattern is a challenge, but each challenge is a manageable 50-row “bite.” (Okay, sometimes a 100-row “bite,” but those are spread out over 2 weeks.)
Melanie’s impeccable design aesthetic. Just like Chanel or Dior or Erte -- Melanie’s talent makes her incapable of creating something ugly, or pedestrian, or drab. I literally can hardly wait to see where she will lead us.
The online group is comprised of 99.99 % Good Folks and only .01% whack-a-doodles (based on my general eyeballing of the group’s posts). The spirit of the group is kind, helpful, and fun.
I’m finally learning 2 things I’ve always wanted to learn: Fine lace work and beading.
Group member’s photos of stoles-in-progress never fail to inspire and amaze me.
Feeling a kinship with thousands of knitters working on the same project, world-wide. I like imagining the thousands of hands -- in every color hands come in -- eagerly interpreting this pattern -- sending wisps of wool and bright, starry beads out into a world that needs beauty and creativity and warmth.
Dollar-for-dollar, this is one cheap date. I don’t know if I’ve never had so much fun for $35 (what my MS3 yarn & beads cost).
Learning how to read charts and read my own knitting. Three weeks into this shindig, I’m still making mistakes. But -- thanks to the group -- I’m learning invaluable tips on how to prevent and fix problems with a minimum of agita.
Two words: calorie free

Tomorrow: Why does a girl who does not spin have all of this roving?:

Can this Much MS3 Joy be Normal?, Part 1

2007-07-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

I finished chart E (½ of Clue #4) for my Mystery Stole 3 this morning. I’m trying to decide just why I’m having such a good time with this project -- because my family will tell you I am having WA-AAA-AAY too much fun with MS3.

Basically I live with two guys who get a daily update on 1.) My MS3 progress 2.) the MS3 Group’s general health and welfare, and 3.) any MS3 brouhahas or tempests-in-a-teacups (I.e., the knitter who was concerned about possibly knitting a stole proclaiming in artistic yarn-overs: “SATAN IS MY CO-PILOT.” Or something. You think you‘ve heard it all but crafty people can go crazy in innumerable directions, so there are always surprises.)

But I digress. Do either of the guys I live with WANT to know the details about my knit goods or knit groups? Definitely not. But I am so enthralled with MS3, they get it anyway!

I mean, how many times have I nodded and smiled politely while hearing all about how “the smildorf on the gluttensplat isn‘t operational for those DOD guys, so I’m gonna have to go to Dallas and meet with (unspellable) and (unpronounceable).” (This from the husband, an engineer.)

Or: “ Like I worked six point five hours STRAIGHT today. Hello? Hardly a break or anything. Is that even legal? And a customer spilled a Route 44 limeade on my new Rocket Dogs -- my socks soaked that stuff up like sponges and I had soggy sticky toes the rest of the shift. . . Mom, can you even get limeade out of suede?” (this from the kid, 16 years old and working his first summer job.)

But I’m a female, and as apt to nurture as any of my kind, so I listen to both the incomprehensible and the inane. (I’m sure my husband thinks the same thing when I point out row # eleventy-four, where “I missed the yarn over on both ends of the row and fudged the bead placement!”) We’re all trying to share what we’re passionate about, or what feels important, even if it’s soda-soaked socks, non-functional gluttensplats, and yarn-overs that have gone AWOL.

So I lug my stole around the house, asking these 2 men their opinions and listening closely to their responses, which are -- of course -- all wrong.

Dyeing in a Heat Wave

2007-07-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

cashmere & silk . . . what's not to like?

It was something like 95 degrees yesterday, but that didn't stop me from getting the dye pot out and steaming some cashmere & silk. I've been wanting to get some more "bimbo knitting" projects going, for when the strain of MS3 gets to be too much for my lackadaisical cerebellum. I thought I'd knit my mom a little shoulder shawl for her birthday in September, perhaps this one from knitting daily:

. . . just a light little something to help with her arthritis. I thought the silk/cashmere blend yarn would be perfect as it's so light and warm. Mom wanted a medium bright purple, and I came up with this:

Something between a butterfly bush flower and a pink petunia:

Here's everything I dyed yesterday: 2 skeins of cashmere/silk (the green one is going to get overdyed), and about 500 yards of silk dk, also medium purple:

The green is a little too "lettuce-y" for me, so I'm going back to the drawing board on that one. The silk is such a rich color -- good thing almost every girl in my family likes purple, because this should make a nice scarf -- but which pattern?? Decision, decisions.

I used Jacquard dyes for this project. They really do seem very forgiving. It's fun to experiment -- adding a dash of red to the purple dye (or a dash of blue) to see how the colors kind of "bend" to another hue. I'd love to expand my dye stash -- Jacquard has such a lovely palette of pre-mixed dyes. Something to add to the ever-expanding wish list . . . The 2 base yarns I used here are Sarah's Yarns silk/cashmere 2-ply and a Colourmart (UK company with some very interesting yarns) dk weight silk.

Also, I just cast on a "Dragon Skin" pattern scarf. I'm just a few rows in, but when I have enough to take pictures of I'll post some here. The yarn I'm using -- a cormo wool/angora/cashmere laceweight that I dyed dark ruby, is a joy to work with. But even though the pattern is **SIMPLE**, I keep screwing it up!! Arggh. Thankfully, the yarn encourages perseverance -- it is so well-mannered, and doesn't seem to mind getting ripped out repeatedly.

Today, I believe I'll do some work on my MS3. Tomorrow: An update on all things mystery-stole related.

Peon Sings Praises of Budget Cashmere

2007-07-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love days when your postman leaves you one of those lumpy tyvek packages? For me, those packages almost always contain yarn.

Today my kid brought such a package upstairs and dropped it at my feet as I was working on the MS3 clue #4. I had a hard time making myself finish my row before reaching for the big scissors and carefully cutting open what must be . . . yes! . . my order from Sarah's Yarns! In addition, there was a smaller package containing 3 patterns I'd ordered from Loop Yarns. It was like a mini-Christmas morning with 85-degree heat. All this and a new super-sized MS3 clue!! Let the wild rumpus begin!

So here's what was inside my Sarah's Yarn order:

Click for close-up. Really, this one is worth the wait!

In short: 2 skeins (800 yards total) of a 2-ply cashmere/silk blend I plan to dye, and "samples" of dk weight bamboo, dk weight cashmere, fingering weight merino/cashmere blend, sport weight spun silk, and 2 different lace weights.

If you haven't bought from Sarah's Yarns before, the deal is you can order free yarn samples for swatching on many of the yarns she carries. If you order just samples, you pay only postage costs. If you order additional products, the samples ship for free. (I'll post photos of the swatches as I knit them up, so you can get an idea.)

The first time I tried out samples from SY, I was shocked by how much yardage there was in each. These are truly generous dollops of yarn -- enough to knit at least a 4" X 4" square, and generally a fair amount more. It's a smart business move on the company's part, because the luxurious yarns do sell themselves.

Just in case you're wondering, no I don't work for SA, and no I haven't received a clandestine bale of cashmere (dropped on my stoop by the cover of a moonless night) in exchange for blubbering about how much I lo-oo--ove their yarn. (Not that I wouldn't accept a clandestine bale of cashmere from just about anyone.) But my orders from SA have been so universally delightful, I wanted to pass the word on. Have I mentioned that I usually receive an SA order 3 to 4 days after I place it? Or that they ship priority for what others charge for parcel post?

I love several of my local yarn stores, but it's hard for them to carry all the yarns I am interested in. Around here, it's especially hard to find a good selection of quality yarns for dyeing. (Undyed cashmere, in particular, is almost impossible find within 40 miles of where I live.) So, with the price of gasoline what it is, I yarn shop on the internet reluctantly -- It's so hard to really know a yarn based on a tiny picture and a one-paragraph description. That's where swatching samples come in handy -- the whole process (i.e. ordering samples, waiting, swatching, waiting again . . .) takes longer, but it's great ordering yarn having swatched it and knowing you will love it when it arrives.

And, finally, there is the $$$ factor. It's not the only factor, but it does rare its ugly head. I want to buy locally, but if local prices are two or three times as much as internet prices, my resolve weakens. Like almost everyone, I'm on a budget. The bottom line: 400 yards of 2-ply 55% silk/45% cashmere is $12.50 at Sarah's Yarns. Seriously. Pure cashmere is just slightly more. I don't know how she does it -- maybe her back yard is cheek-to-jowl full of cashmere goats -- but these prices allow me to knit cashmere on a merino budget.

Here's the patterns that came, which I am also quite thrilled with:

Patterns from Bad Cat Designs / Jade Sapphire

I bought these particular patterns not only because I like them, but because each calls for approximately 400 yards of 2-ply cashmere. I think these will make great gifts -- little kitten-soft handmade luxuries. And (this is a total win-win, as far as I can see) I get the gift of working with blissfully decadent (and easy-on-the-debit-card) yarn. All-in-all, I am currently one copacetic, yarn-besotted peon.

MS3 Undergoes "Renovations"

2007-07-19T11:26:00.001-07:00

click for close-up

Well, I wasn't going to do it. The thing is, for much of this week the phones didn't work, the internet didn't work, and I got really sick of the 6-row repeat in my melon shawl (see below).

So I started casting about, wondering what I could start or finish or mess with. I kept fondly going back to my MS3. Picking it up and sighing and wishing I had more pattern to knit. Once I started looking at it (FIRST MISTAKE), I realized there were certain areas where I wished there were more beads. To be specific, the leafy looking rows, and the flowery rows.

There is one row of leaves where each leaf does not have a bead in the middle, and the more I looked at it, the more I didn't like it. And, to me, it looked like each little flower in the flowery rows near the top of clue 3 needed a bead in its center.

I made myself sit down and think about this. I went back to the chart and figured that, in order to insert the beads and -- while I'm at it -- fix my most egregious errors, I would need to rip out 45 rows.

And the moon must have been in Sagittarius with Jupiter aligning with Mars, because I just said "What the hell" and started ripping. Here are some "after" photos. Please note -- the color is completely off in some of these, I'm not sure why ---

Beads added to leaves - row 175

Flower centers added - you'll have to trust me on this one.

Here's the good news: I seem to be learning this chart, as ripping back and re-knitting 45 rows wasn't nearly the cuss-fess that knitting the same 45 rows was originally. I think I'm learning to slow down, count my stitches on the purl side, keep good track of my stitch markers -- all the low-glamour type stuff that can make a big difference with lace.

"It seems, grasshopper, that lace knitting is teaching you discipline."

( Surely, somewhere, pigs are in flight.)

The kid is going to show me how g-mail works, if the cat will let him. (He thinks the computer is his, or at least the monitor.) So ta-ta for now.

Little House in the Suburbs

2007-07-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

Day 1: The internet guy came out to fix the internet; while he was doing so he broke the phones.

Day 2: No phones, no internet. I feel like Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Day 3: Internet guy comes back and fixes internet and phones. Whole family breaths collective **sigh** of relief.

What did we do back in the "good old days"? We knit, of course! Well, at least some of our fore-mothers and fore-fathers did. My mom tells me that around the time of the depression her father used to knit socks for the whole family. And I can remember my Dad crocheting us kids simple booties to wear around the house. Little did these guys know they were so ahead of their time! I taught my son how to knit when he was in 5th grade, but am forbidden from mentioning it to anyone under 20. (I know you won't tell.) He's actually pretty good -- he learned the longtail cast-on in one session. Of course he knits opposite of me -- American and tight (I'm continental and loose) -- go figure.

So, while the electronics were down, I started thinking about making another needle roll, something that I could use specifically for lace knitting. I piled up some fabrics that looked promising:

A little silk, a little cotton. A dish towel I like. Design-wise, I'm thinking of doing something similar to my all-purpose crochet hook roll-up:

-- but with more different types of compartments for circulars, dps, and a zip pocket for stitch markers and whatnot. I'm still at the putting-it-on-paper stage right now, but I'll keep you posted.

Internet Connection Kaput

2007-07-16T10:31:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to send out a brief note -- my home internet connection is apparently deceased, at least for the time being. My significant other is working on it, but I probably won't be posting again for a few days. (Insert frowny face here.) I'll keep writing -- my word processor still works, thank God for small favors -- and post a long catch-up blogzilla when I'm back up.

P.S. Thank you for the suggestion on the Kiri shawl for the variegated yarn! I think that might work!

MS3 Clue #3

2007-07-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Here's my MS3 stole so far. (The white thread running width-ways is a lifeline at row 150.) If you see something that looks a little whack-a-doodle, that is because there are a few whack-a-doodle things going on here. I pinned and stretched this sucker to see what it would look like at 20" wide and blocked. The stitches really do pop out nicely, and 20" actually seems about right for my stole width. Doesn't it just figure: When gauge doesn't really matter; I get gauge!!

I'm still mulling over whether I'm significantly bothered by the, shall we say, "nonconformist stitches" (?) to rip back 45 rows and fix them. Currently I'm leaning toward "eh, screw it."

Here's a close-up. I really like how the size 6 beads show up, although I think the #8's on the edge are almost invisible.

Ravelry Hard as Nails, in Spite of Whining

2007-07-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

You all have heard the Ravelry buzz, haven't you? It's the new web site, currently in beta testing, that is supposed to do for knitting what e-bay did for online garage sales. Some of these beta testers have reported tantalizing little crumbs of information about how truly beyond beyond Ravelry is. Some of us still on the 10,000-person waiting list to become Ravelry beta testers are feeling a wee bit pissy and jealous. And perhaps a smooch desperate. So I sent the Ravelry team this message:

I don't suppose begging and whining will help make me a beta tester earlier, will it? Just in case:

Please, please! I'll clean my room and mow the dog and feed the lawn!

But I wa-aa-nta be a beta tester! Everyone else is a beta tester, and if I'm not a beta tester soon my entire summer will be ru-uuu-ined! I WANT IT! I WANT IT NOW!!

Still stony and unmoved, aren't you? Heartless SOB.

P.S.: How about blatant bribery: kickbacks, payola, a load of Koigu that just fell off the back of the truck? Let me know.

So I heard back from them today. Apparently, they think I'm joking. Hi-jacked that truck full of Koigu for nothing.

Take this Shawl and FROG IT!

2007-07-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Last night I was listlessly pulling at the shawl I knit for my friend Eileen, and the darn thing started coming apart in my hands! Now is that God giving me a little prompt or what? And frogging it was not the nightmare I was afraid it would be, once I got started.

Everybody has their own system, but here's how I "freshen" used yarn. Wind it on to a long (24" or so) piece of cardboard, tie it off with figure-8 knots in 4 places, soak skein in Eucalan for 20 minutes, squeeze out water, wrap yarn in a towel, sit on it until it's as dry as I can get it, then hang the skein on a plastic coat hanger in my closet with a big bottle of something weighting it. This morning I woke up to this:

Oh, yeah.

Eucalan has restored my motivation.

Mojo-licious: Rich, gorgeous Helen's Lace

These aren't my colors, but Eileen is a green-eyed blond and I think they will look smashing on her. As for patterns . . .I still don't know what I'm going to do with this 1,200 yards of buttery-smooth loveliness. Any ideas? I'm afraid the variegated colorway would not show off a super lacy pattern, so I'm looking for a shawl designed for multi-colored yarn. I think I will be perusing Barbara Walker's 2nd stitch pattern treasury tonight . . .

Screamin' Green Victorian Shawl

2007-07-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

I have heard/read so many stories of knitters who picked up Jane Sowerby's Victorian Lace Today and immediately knew which project they wanted to do first. For me, it was the cover shawl, aka the Melon Pattern Shawl. Here it is:

Ooooh. Aaaah. Just aglow with rich mohairy goodness.

I love everything about it, including the funky green color. The instructions call for Rowan Kidsilk Haze, but after seeing a gorgeous 40% silk/60 % mohair blend online at Sarah's Yarns (available in natural white only), I decided to try and dye my own. What motivated me? Price, for one thing. I could dye my own for less than half the cost of the Kidsilk.

If you would prefer not to discuss filthy lucre, please skip down 2 paragraphs. For everyone else, here's the straight scoop on costs:

Kidsilk Haze, 3 skeins @ 13.50 per sk = 40.50
Sarah's Yarn Kid Mohair Silk, 3 skeins @ $5.50 per sk. = 16.50
Both yarns are 230 yards/25 gms per ball. I already had the acid dye.

In addition to cost considerations, I've been wanting to work on my dyeing skills. Right now I'm something of an "advanced beginner" -- smart enough not to use the dye as a margarita enhancer, but not a lot beyond that.

And, as much as I'm a flighty knitter, I am a serious-as-a-traffic cop dyer. A row of knitting goes bad, you rip it out; a dyepot of woolens goes seriously bad, and they can hear me cussing the next town over. I take my time, use separate "dyeing only" spoons bowls, measuring cups, etc., and pray A LOT. But nothing beats seeing a yarn come up the color you were hoping for. I wanted "CHARTREUSE" and that's what I got:

I'm about 22 pattern repeats into what is supposed to be a 62-pattern-repeat shawl, and there is a cloud on my horizon: Word out on the street is that this shawl is a "yarn hog" and silly me only dyed 700 yards (what the pattern called for). In other words: There is no getting more of this yarn! (Picture knitter hitting her forehead repeatedly with a tailor's ham. It was handy.)

One thing that makes this situation less nerve-wracking is my handy, dandy electronic scale. I don't know what I ever did without one. I can weigh my stole-in progress, see how many grams of yarn I've used:

15 grams for 23 repeats (I weigh the other needle & same # of stitch markers, so I can subtract that number from the working stole weight.)

from this information calculate that there is approximately .652 grams of yarn in each of my pattern repeats, and
multiply out .652 grams times total # of repeats (62) = 40.424 grams.

SO, based on this info, I should have enough yarn, since I have 75 grams and 35 grams (75 minus 40) should be plenty for the border.

Unfortunately, I was an English major and I never trust my math (you probably shouldn't either). Still, I will probably keep weighing my shawl-in-progress -- every 5 repeats or so -- to see if that .652 grams per repeat is holding true. Also (I'm not joking about this), run my calculations past my 16-year-old son, because I can trust his math.

So maybe I'll be okay. If not, 52 pattern repeats should be plenty.

Also, here are a couple of detail photos of the "Cathedral Window" lace pattern I used on the lambspun shawl. The pattern stitch can be found in The Knitter's Bible; If anyone wants more information on how I made my shawl just let me know. I'd be glad to write down my pattern -- it's super-simple.

Fear of Frogs

2007-07-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

I was digging through my sundry pile of wayward knit goods today, looking for inspiration. *Sigh* What I found instead was this little number (modelled by Mitzy): . . .which doesn't look so bad until you get to the incriminating close-ups. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, here is your perp walk:

*The knitting police

Are coming my way ...

They're gonna take away my double points ...

Gonna sell them on e-bay...

*(Sung to the tune of "Bad to the Bone" by

George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers)

So here's the back story: About 5 years ago I wanted to make something really special for my friend Eileen's 60th birthday. (I know! A shawl!! ) No matter that I had never knit a shawl before, or that Eileen's birthday was in --oh -- 3 weeks. I ordered a lovely skein of Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace (50/50 wool silk) and started the pattern printed on the ball band.

From the get-go, this project was a cuss fest. Compared to what I was used to knitting, the yarn was puny, the needles were a matched set of hat pins, and the pattern . . . well, the pattern assumed I had a clue, which I did not. My motto for this project was "Just keep going!" (Wasn't that the last line in "Thelma & Louise" -- like right before they went over the cliff?) I had heard that many errors "came out in the wash" when you were knitting lace, and I was really, really depending on this little truism to save my bacon.

Alas, there is not enough "wash" in the world to erase this shawl's iniquities. I did not finish it in time for Eileen's party (finally gave up and made her a quilt,), and when I did finish it I didn't know what to do with it. It's not that Eileen would have even seen the mistakes -- she's one of the nicest ladies I've ever met, and would have worn the mangled thing with pride. Isn't that the way it goes, though -- the very friends who don't mind substandard knit goods are the people you want to give perfection! (Or as close to perfection as you can muster.)

So, I think I should frog it, wash it, and try again. It has been 5 freaking years, after all. I even thought about knitting another MS3 with this yarn, but I don't think its variegated colors would suit the pattern.

Yep, that is what I need to do. Frog it. But somehow I never get around to it. One of these nights I need to sit down with this wanna-be shawl, a glass of wine and a pair of scissors. Or maybe a bottle of Jim Beam and a machete.

The Sopranos and Clue #2 Don't Mix Well

2007-07-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

I've decided I just can't watch The Sopranos while working on MS3. Which is a dagger in my heart, in its puny little way, as watching The Sopranos while knitting is one of my hallowed calorie-free middle-aged pleasures. But I put in the dvd, started working on Clue #2, and almost immediately was in a world of hurting. I have to accept the fact:MS3, for me, requires both eyes full time. No quick glances to see if Tony and Carmella are getting back together.

So I switched over to Court TV (which normally, for me, does not require peeking), and tinked back to row 100. It took me most of the day, knitting at half the speed of smell to complete clue #2. There are at least 2 errors, but Brad Pitt with a rose between his teeth could not convince me to tear out the 30 rows I'd need to frog to fix them. Here it is:

Yeash, I am such a wimp, whining about my traumatic knit session. Next week maybe I'll try something sane and do 20 rows on Friday, 20 rows on Saturday, and 10 on Sunday. Maybe I'll put on NPR and sit on the front porch and drink lemonade and sing hymns. Right.

On another front, here is the Lambspun stole, blocked. It is loo-oo-oong, measuring about 21" by 81". As usual, I probably over-blocked it a wee bit. I will try to add another picture which shows better pattern detail -- these just show how incredibly loo--oo--oong and gold this monster is.

For now, I am craving mindless bimbo knitting. Also known as Sopranos Knitting. I'll let you if any of the odd balls in my stash makes me an offer I can't refuse.

Shawl Themes "Inappropriate" for a Bride

2007-07-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

1. He’ll Leave You For a Bimbo When You’re 40.
2. Too Late for a Background Check Now.
3. A Short Pictoral History of Last Night’s Bachelor Party
4. His Mother Replaced Your Birth Control Pills With Tic-Tacs.
5. Sure He LOOKS Sincere…
6. Stretch Marks.

2007-07-06T21:28:00.001-07:00

Okay, the Lambspun stole is blocked, but I have not yet had a chance to take photos. I had 2 plantar's warts (ewwww!) removed at the dermatologist yesterday and have been limping around ever since. The good news: This was a great excuse to lah-di-dah around today and knit.

I started MS3 knowing that the project was teetering on the edge of being completely beyond my kin. The only lace I have knit up until now has been simple pattern-repeat lace. Nothing at all artsy. But oh, how gorgeous those artsy stoles are! When I saw Melanie's designs I jumped in, imagining a new Beta version of myself, a stylish woman wearing an artsy, elegant beaded stole. Seeing as how a fair portion of my current wardrobe was purchased at Sam's or on e-bay, it would take a danged big shawl to disguise my mass market paint-stained capris, but a girl has to dream, right?

So I entered this project the same way I enter most projects: Like a rabid bat in a Lladro shop. Slap Dash would just about sum it up. Grabbed my needles and started flinging stitches here and there, all the while trying to keep an eye on The Sopranos. I got to about row 22 and realized I had forgotten to put in about a third of the edge stitch yarn overs. No problem, I tore it out and started again, promising to take more care with this effort.

This time I got to row 46 before I was hopelessly screwed up. Anybody who knits the way I do has to be a serviceable tinker, and I am. I tinked 3 rows, certain that this would set me right. Even then, my stitch count was 3 off, and no amount of counting, re-counting, examining, praying in tongues, or fudging would fix the 3-stitch mystery.

I turned off The Sopranos and leaned over the little scrap of lace, making rabbinical noises (hmmm! haaaa! mmmmm?) as I examined it. After about 15 minutes of this, I tore it out again. Clearly my usual methods were ineffective with this pattern. (A sane person would have figured this out at "go.")

So I pulled out the heavy artillery. Post-It notes. Magnetized rulers. Tape. Many, many hi-lighters. A row counter that hangs around my neck (nothing says "knit nerd" like a row counter that hangs around your neck). I ended up with a setup that looked like this:

Does it or does it not look like a schematic for an intake valve on the Space Shuttle? But this is the only other "knit mode" I possess: Complete Overkill. Systems within systems. I had a close call around row 90 or so when the center stitch started moving around (?!). This freaked me out until I realized that the pattern required it. But Complete Overkill Mode got me through to row 100. Can I say it was fun? Not necessarily. But it was a challenge met, and in the end I felt like I had kicked that Space Shuttle intake valve's butt. That's what really matters, isn't it?

2007-07-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I had really good intentions about telling you the details of my wacky hi-jinks with Mystery Shawl 3. Unfortunately, I have been up to my ass in alligators over here, trying to finish a merino/silk stole that I started last month. The good news: As of this morning, I only had 16 rows to go. The bad news: Each row was 316 stitches of patterned lace. And I did it, casting off that last stitch with a mighty sigh of relief. And here it is as "yarn blob":

Yech! Unblocked lace is truly uninspiring. Here it is again, a little more composed:

I need to give it a good soak in Eucolan and block it, either tonight or tomorrow. I was motivated to finish it because I know once the SECOND CLUE (!) comes out tomorrow, I will once again be a slave to The Mystery. I got the yarn for the shawl pictured here at this year's Wool Market in Estes Park. I bought 2 skeins of this gorgeous hand dye (color:"Brass Button," I think it's more "Old Gold" myself) from the folks at the Lambspun booth. It was so decadent to knit, I decided I wanted a really big pattern to show it off, and, after digging through several knitting books, designed a simple shawl around a pattern called "Cathedral Windows" (from The Knitter's Bible).

So, good Lord willing, I will have pictures to show you tomorrow of this stole blocked and ready to go.

Mystery Stole components

2007-07-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

THE YARN:
Malabrigo lace weight in "Velvet Grapes," purchased online at http://www.yarncountry.com/ . (Order reached me 3 days after I placed it & very good prices.)

THE BEADS: I'm using 2 different types:
For the edge stitch: miyuki hex beads in DBLC-115 (topaz gold luster)
For the inner stitches: miyuki size 6 in 0462 (metallic gold iris)
-- both purchased at http://www.foxdendesigns.com/, another great site. The order got here 2 days after I placed it! ZOOM! Plus they have a great flat rate on priority mail -- all USA orders ship Priority for a flat fee of $4.25.

THE NEEDLES: Brittany birch #4's. I put my swatch on circulars to block it, but prefer to work on straights if possible -- dealing with the cable join on circulars while dealing with LOTS of YOs can turn me into -- dare I say it -- A screaming swaybacked Gorgon.

THE SAGA:
I found out about this knit-along the day before the first clue was released, a Thursday. After looking at Melanie's (gorgeous) previous Mystery Stole designs and other designs in her online shop (at http://pinklemontwist.blogspot.com/), I decided I had to get on the Mystery Stole 3 bandwagon.

After perusing the laceweights in my stash -- mostly Zephyr and knitpicks --which are wonderful yarns -- I decided to look elsewhere for my MS3 yarn. I am still low on the learning curve for lace knitting, and I wanted something a wee bit thicker for my first "serious" lace project.

I considered Koigu, but since the damned family has to eat EVERY day, I had to look elsewhere. I checked out 3 local yarn stores (LYS's), and found nothing. Went back to the internet and discovered Malabrigo lace weight merino, a low-twist thick/thin merino with a beautiful soft hand. And reasonable -- $10 per 477-yard skein. I researched Malabrigo a little more. It's so hard buying yarn online, but after checking out a lot of yarn reviews, I found that most people loved Malabrigo ("buttery soft!" "silky!" "Slap your momma with this yarn and she'll thank you!"), while a minority of traditional knitters don't like it because of the low twist.

I'm more of a wing-and-a-prayer knitter myself, and the Malabrigo colors looked scrumptious. I picked one in a great variegated purple (Velvet Grapes) and sent my order for 2 skeins to yarncountry.com. Foxden Designs has a great selection of Miyuki beads, so I picked a few that looked like they would work with the Malabrigo.

So: Placed orders for yarn and beads on Thursday. Beads came on Saturday, yarn arrived on Monday. And --oh my -- what yarn. It really is one of the nicest lace weights I've ever laid hands on. Very low twist, almost like roving, but it holds together great. My pictures so far do not do the color justice, but it is amazing. I'd say 5-6 different purples blended together, everything from a dark, smokey lilac to an almost black deep plum.

After reading some of the messages on MS3's website (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mysterystole3/, BTW), I decided to go with a finer bead (the #8 hex) for the edge stitch and a larger bead (#6 iris) for the interior of the shawl. Basically, I feel like if I'm going to all of the fussi-tudinessness of placing each of these beads individually, I want them to show up.

Winding the yarn into balls was delicious -- I like hand-winding as I think it lets you get to know the yarn better. Malabrigo was showing itself to be strong and accommodating. If I weren't married, I would date this yarn. Not a single knot in almost 1,000 yards!

And then I started chart A. I hear a few of you out there saying "What about your gauge swatch?" Personally, one of the things I love most about knitting lace is that, IMHO, We don't need no steenking gauge swatch. Am I the only knitter out here who hates to knit gauge swatches? (Can I get an "Amen!"?) And normally I do it, grumpily, because I don't care for sweaters that would accommodate Java the Hut or Olive Oyl, but not me.

But if a knit stole/shawl/scarf is a little bigger or a little smaller -- who cares? I just pick a needle that looks right for the yarn (usually 2 sizes bigger than that recommended for the yarn on the ballband) and cast on, feeling like a knitting heretic because I have broken one of our commandments with impunity: Thou shalt always knit a gauge swatch.

Tomorrow I'll let you know the scintillating details of bead placement, left-and-right leaning decreases, and the controversy over slip-stitched edges. But for now, feed the baby, water your garden, eat a bratwurst, and -- by all means -- knit something.

Mystery Shawl 3

2007-07-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to start a blog, but A.) Life gets in the way, and B.) What would I do with the 157 notebooks which litter my house if I put all of my random thoughts on the computer?

However, something has finally kicked me over the blogosphere edge, and that something is Mystery Shawl 3. I'm loving this knit-along group, but I'm frustrated by the group's website, which is kind of clunky. I want to see pictures of the works-in- progress, but it takes a lot of clicks to get there, and once you're there the photos are often disappointing. I noticed that a lot of the MS3-ers were posting photos to their blogs. Beautiful photos. Lo-ov-er-ly photos with great stitch definition. (My son says there is some mysterious chemical in all yarn that makes knitters certifiably crazy. I will not argue.)

So I'm setting this blog up, primarily, to post photos and updates for MS3, However, I'm sure that other interests will leak in. For now, it's the 4th of July, and my husband and I are going to go shop for steaks. Nothing like a big hunk of red meat to help celebrate your country's break with the colonial oppressors.