FYI – YARN RECALL

October 16, 2006 By

A yarn store I’ve frequented, The Knit With, located in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, sent out a notice today of a Yarn Recall. They are recalling the following yarns:

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino
KFI Cashmereno DK
Noro Amagi
Noro Cash Iroha
Noro Lotus

The Knit With states in their letter that after expert analysis of these yarns, it was found that they do not have the stated cashmere content. It should be noted that KFI, the distributor of the above listed yarns, does not agree with their findings. The Knit With is accepting returns of the yarns listed above, regardless of when you bought the yarn or if you’ve used it or not. A store credit will be issued for the net price paid plus 10% of the purchase price on top of that. The letter they attached is very heartfelt – they seem deeply disturbed by their findings.

The letter and recall are available here.

I’ve closed and deleted all of the comments on this post. I hate to do it, but honestly, I don’t really want my blog to become a debate arena. I posted the recall because it came to my inbox and I thought it was important to pass along to my readers. Clearly there are two sides to every story and it’s up to all involved to do what’s best for their businesses and purchases. Personally, I’ve knit with and don’t like the yarns listed, so it doesn’t matter to me whether you sell it, buy it or make it. Thank you for reading.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

575 Days

October 15, 2006 By

Or 1 year, 6 months, 26 days. Or 82 weeks. 13,800 hours. 828,000 minutes. 49,680,000 seconds. That’s how long it has taken me to finish Short Rows.

I bought the pattern for this sweater on a visit to Boston in February 2005. I met Wendy and Colleen for the first time – I got the knitter’s tour of Beantown! Then, I bought the yarn. And on March 21, 2005, I cast on.

The knit was not without problems. First I had to figure out a way to deal with the ends. Once I had that figured out, I knit the back, knit a sleeve, started knitting the front, and found out my gauge was WAY OFF. So off it spawned a friggin’ t-shirt.

I didn’t even bother ripping out the finished back. I just knit a new one. It only took me six months to finish both the new back and the front. Then I had the ends to deal with. I knit both sleeves at the same time, and miracle of miracles, almost exactly a year from when I started, all the parts were done!

Why then, you might ask, did it take me another seven months to finish the damn thing?

I have no idea.

Pattern: Short Row Striped Pullover by Fiona Ellis. Interweave Knits, Fall 2003
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton in French Navy (909), Aloof (958), BIlberry (959), Laurel (960) and Antique (900)
Needles: Addi Turbo US #6 and #7

Huh. It’s finished. I think I would be much happier if I was about 15 lbs skinnier. When I started the sweater I was probably about 10 lbs skinnier. And then I wasn’t and then I was and now I’m definitely not. I mean, really, zig zagging stripes across the girls? Not the best fashion statement. And it’s too short. But I think if I lost a little weight in my chest it wouldn’t be too short. You know what I mean? And in one of those pictures (or maybe more) it looks like my boobs are around my waist – but I promise you they aren’t. I hefted up those ta-tas big time. The sleeves are PERFECT. They hit right in the middle of my hand – nice and long. And the yarn is one of my favorites of all time. Great to knit with – great to wear. It’s so freaking soft against the skin. We’ll see how it wears.

This is by far my most accomplished knit to date. It’s not a hard knit per se – the short rows are pretty easy once you get going with them. The neck decreases on the front get a little bit weird and wonky, but they work – I guess. There’s a mistake in the pattern as written, but Interweave has errata posted. I debated the collar quite a bit – after all those short rows and stripes the pattern called for intarsia on the neckline. I ended up going with a fabulous solution from my friend Flaire. Navy on the back, stripes on the front. You can see it in the pictures above. I think it worked out pretty well. The part of this sweater I’m most proud of, to be perfectly honest, is that I wove in all the ends. I didn’t take a short cut – no matter how awful it was. Every single one of them was woven in – Ann says I should wear it inside out if I’m so proud of it and maybe I will.

I gotta tell you – it feels really really weird and really really fantastic to have this sweater finished. Really really.

PS – Georgie took the pictures! Thanks, G-Love! And I swear to all that is holy – MY BOOBS ARE NOT THAT DROOPY!

Filed Under: Short Rows

Oh Crap.

October 13, 2006 By

I’m bored again. No. That’s not really true – I’m more like…disinterested. Yeah. That’s it. Snow was talking the other day about blogging becoming a chore and while I don’t feel like the blogging has become a chore, I do feel like I’m completely off my rhythm. I like to blog. I like it a lot. I like waking up in the morning and reading my emails and a few blogs and all the while churning up a post in my head. Some days are easier than others, but there’s always something to say.

Breaks are nice too. Don’t get me wrong. When I’m in my routine, I’m a M-F blogger and that can get tiresome (not just for me, I’m sure) so it’s nice when I get a few days during the week to ignore bloglines and emails and just not worry about writing something smart and pithy. But it’s been too long since I’ve been out of the routine. I feel like I lost my blog mojo a bit. I’m determined to get it back though.

And the knitting. Oh god don’t get me started on the knitting. I am so freaking bored I don’t know what to do with myself. And dissatisfied. I’m thisclose to finishing a project I started a long long time ago and it’s anti-climactic to say the least. I’m fatter than I was when I started it (which is a whole other issue and one that I’m very very upset about. Do I get off my fat ass? NO.) and it doesn’t fit as well as I’d like it to and well, I’m just not feeling the love. Which is sad.

Knee socks progress and I still love them, but stockinette is finally getting to me a bit. But I really don’t feel like making a different kind of sock and I like these and I want them finished. And there are like fourteen more to finish as well. Blah.

What I really want to do is finally make the Am Kamin* sweater. BUT, that will require some major swatching because I don’t know what yarn I’m going to use and I just want to jump in and DO IT but I have to have patience and then I have to order yarn and I just pulled a piece of skin off of my cuticle and it freaking hurts and is bleeding and when I think about all the work I have to do just get STARTED with this sweater it makes me exasperated and I go back to knitting knee highs. And then I get bored. Fucking circle of crap.

This is supposed to be my favorite time of year and I’m tired and I have a lot of work to do (the busy season has started for work) and all I want to do is crawl in to bed and watch 87 hours of Another World (which my DVR decided to stop taping for two days – that and Gilmore Girls. Is my DVR judging me? It didn’t have any problem taping Grey’s Anatomy or Studio 60.)

I want my routine back. I want to wake up and sit at the computer, blog a bit, go out for a nice run, come home and eat my NEW FAVORITE BREAKFAST (thank you forever Annie!) and get my work done and end the day next to my favorite boy knitting away on a fabulous project.

And to top it all off? They stopped making my favorite tampons. Tell me that doesn’t fucking suck.

Happy Friday the 13th. Sorry for the rant. Better day tomorrow.

* The Crossed In Translation blog is still down. I inadvertently deleted it from the server and I have yet to get it back and running. One of these days I’ll get it back up. I’m sorry. Please be patient.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Haiku You, You Haikuing Haiku!!!

October 10, 2006 By

Please accept my apologies for announcing the Haiku Contest winners so late. But really – YOU try reading four hundred haikus. And THEN choosing winners. I blame no one but myself. And maybe Ann because I like to blame her for stuff.

RANDOM WINNERS:

FAILLE

boyfriend sweater, one
fantastic idea (not)
knit him socks instead


JODIE

Yarn Pirate Plunder
January One treasure
Sock wool for peg leg

(Jodie writes that she really does have a peg leg! So all you wanna be pirates beware. Jodie’s the REAL DEAL! 😉 )

CHRIS

January One
warms the worm with hand knit socks
how fantastic dude


PEGERELLA

A worm is lucky.
Knit but one fantastic sock,
Whole body yarn fest

THE CHOSEN ONES

KATHY

Dude buys me some yarn
Hopes to get me in the sack
I knit socks and laugh

Kathy’s haiku is by far my favorite. I just love that it tells a complete story – there’s a conflict – motivation – an arc to it – character development – resolution. In three little lines. It’s a perfect story and I’m utterly jealous that I didn’t write it. WELL DONE Kathy. Extremely well done.

LISA

Pirate needs warm spot
To put his worm in winter
Maybe sock, or sheep.

DUDE! Don’t tell me NOT to pick it and then give me this! Because really I’m PERVERSE at heart and I freaking love it. NOW TELL ME WHO YOU ARE?!?! LISA (IF THAT’S YOUR REAL NAME) LEAVE ME A COMMENT OR SEND ME AN EMAIL WITH YOUR ADDRESS. YOUR ANON EMAIL BOUNCED BACK.

ELLENE

Glad I’m not a worm.
No feet, no socks, no fingers.
Couldn’t even knit.

The idea that worms can’t knit was a popular one, but I like this the best because it’s very sad for the worm. I mean, can you imagine if we couldn’t knit?! And not knit socks?! Thank you Ellene.

ADELLE

[Ode to her lawn boy, who was the first boy she ever kissed]

Oh lawn boy, you worm
First kiss, drool fall(s) down my face
I sock the poor dude

LOVE THIS! Adelle uses all the correct words and yet the haiku has NOTHING to do with knitting, socks, yarn, etc! Excellent!


THE WORST HAIKU EVER
There was some stiff competition for this designation, but I’m proud to say the winner is:

MARY

January sock
One sheep on linoleum
“What the hell, Frankie!”

Surely there were haikus that were worse, you say. Well there was one about a toenail that made the worst cut, and one about the offspring of worms and sheep which…is that SHIT of some sort? And there were others that just didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever, but Mary’s haiku was intriguing to me in it’s incomprehensibility. Is that a sheep in the kitchen? What’s a January sock? And last, but not least, WHO THE HELL IS FRANKIE?

Okay. That’s it. Nine winners. Thank you all for playing. I’ve learned a very valuable lesson here – I will never, ever, NEVER ask you to write haikus, or any poem for that matter, in order to win yarn again. But be prepared. I may ask you to write a song.

All winners will receive enough sock yarn for a pair of socks and an orange chibi.

HAPPY SOCKTOBERFEST!! I’ve listed some HONORABLE MENTIONS in the jump. ENJOY!!
L, C

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Contest

Spin to Knit!

October 7, 2006 By

Note: Shannon was kind enough to share her day with Seraphim, my recently finished handspun handknit shawl. I’ve peppered the interview with pictures taken at the Getty Museum in LA where the shawl and I were generously photographed by Julia. More pictures and relevant information about this project appear after the jump. Thanks!

hellohello? Is this thing on? Hi everyone! I’d like to introduce you to Shannon Okey, esteemed author of Knitgrrl and Knitgrrl2 and the new Spin to Knit: The Knitter’s Guide to Making Yarn published by Interweave Press. Shannon’s book is sort of a how-to/pattern book with something for everyone interested in spinning.

She teaches you the basics of spindle spinning, wheel spinning, drafting, and plying along side introductions to fantastic spinners, dyers, and fiber artists across the country, as well as giving you great patterns for putting your new handspun yarn to use! It’s all here!

Before we start the interview, I’m going to pull out a joke because I’m a little bit nervous about this and you’ve had some tough interviews this week and I’m not really feeling so Mike Wallace-ish . So a joke it is:

A chicken and an egg are laying in bed together. The chicken rolls over, lights a cigarette, turns to the egg and says “Well, I guess we answered that question.” (I will use every opportunity to tell this joke!)

1/1: So, Shannon, which comes first, the pattern or the handspun?

SO: For me, it’s the handspun. I really, really admire someone like June Oshiro who can sit down and say “I want a yarn with this, this, this and this quality.” Then she sits down and tests and samples to gets just what she wants. I admit it: I have no patience for that. I could if I really wanted to, but I don’t want to. I just want to knit! What happens in practice is something like the Laurabelle Swedish heart shrug in the book: Kristen Welsh spun all these gorgeous little samples from the same roving, plied and drafted differently, thinking I’d just take a look at the samples and use the main yarn instead. Oh no – when you look at that pattern (you can’t tell unless you’re up close) I actually used everything she sent, samples and all. I thought “hey, it’s all from the same roving, it’ll look great” – and it did!

1/1: I just completed my first handspun project, the Seraphim shawl, and while I was spinning away, I knew that I would be using the yarn for a shawl. I just didn’t know which shawl. When spinning yarn that you know you want to use for a large project, how much planning do you think you have to do in advance?

SO: Good for you! I lack patience. (What, you couldn’t have figured that out by my last answer?) I can plan…but usually end up knitting before I really “should.” Maybe it’s just luck, but it always seems to work for me. I was told when I first began to spin that you should spin enough for the entire project before you start knitting, but I don’t think I’ve ever done that! There’s good reasoning behind it – if you’re working with a natural fleece or a multicolor roving, you may want to switch balls occasionally to avoid huge stripes of one color next to another, and if you’re not a super-technical spinner, you may want to balance out the slightly different weights of yarn that result.

For me, the advance planning would come in only if I know I only have X amount of the one roving I want to use – say I’m making a sweater and there’s nowhere near enough fiber, but I’ll supplement with another yarn (handspun or commercial – that’s the beautiful part about many patterns in Spin to Knit – you can mix and match handspun with stuff from the store if you like). I’d spin up the limited-amount stuff first, measure how much I have and then figure out what comes next, whether it’s buying 500 yards of yarn at the store to mix in, or spinning something else to make up the shortfall.

1/1: One of the things I love about Spin to Knit is that you have sort of a laissez-faire approach to the whole craft. If the yarn looks good, it’s a WIN! I completely agree. I can’t really be bothered with all of the technical stuff – I just want to spin pretty yarn that I can use. But what I found with my own project is that handspun doesn’t act like commercial yarn. (DUH.) I actually had to switch needle sizes halfway through the project because one skein of yarn was so different from the other skein of yarn. Do you have any suggestions for working around the peculiarities of handspun? Other than having an open mind and being flexible?

SO: This is where Denise and other interchangeable-needle-tip needles really come in handy! That’s probably my favorite way to address that particular problem. In the case of something like a sweater, I actually think the slightly different gauges give it character – after all, if you wanted a 100% perfectly-knit sweater you probably wouldn’t even handknit it, you’d go to the store! But with something more delicate like a lace shawl, you don’t want some big slub in the middle of a pattern repeat, right? In that case, I’d probably rip out the slubby section and go to the next “good” section. You’re right: open mind + flexibility = success.

1/1: Another one of my favorite parts of the book are your interviews with fiber artists from all over the place. They all have great stories to tell and I love the tips! I can’t wait to try Angela Ho’s spice shaker cap plying template (p. 71) where she suggests using a cap with holes to keep the various singles in order when plying. Any other fantastic tips that didn’t make it into the book?

SO: More than you could imagine. I’d tell you, but then what would I put in Spin to Knit 2? (Which doesn’t actually exist yet, but might if enough of you buy this one. Wait – was that a little too obvious?)

1/1: The absolute BEST part of the book for me? The pre-drafting section. Hands down. GREAT pictures of what the fiber looks like before during and after pre-drafting. Excellent. When I was first learning to spin, pre-drafting was what made everything click for me. I don’t remember where I first learned about it ( it wasn’t
in any of the books I had at the time) but it was ESSENTIAL to learning how to spin and it wasn’t talked about enough. Not really a question, I guess, but I just wanted to say thanks for that section. Nicely done.

SO: Say thanks to my mom, the photographer. She’s the one who had to resist the urge to run off and play with the dog during the photoshoot. I’ll send her your regards…

1/1: What is your favorite handspun project EVER? And what’s your favorite handspun yarn EVER? Do you have any fiber preferences when it comes to spinning?

SO: Oooooooh, you’re going to make me decide among my children? Come on, Solomon, that’s unfair. Ok, if you had me up against a firing-squad wall, I’d say the hat on the cover, because it’s made of the very first roving I ever dyed, and I just love it. Sentimental value + awesome colors. As for favorite handspun yarn ever, I am very very partial to the one that got away – lesson learned, if you see something online you like, buy it immediately because when it’s gone, it’s gone. It was shades of purple plied with a yellow plying thread, which made it look like irises. I wouldn’t have even knitted it, I just would’ve wanted to stare at it all day.

Fiber-wise, I’m all about the wool… or wool with a little something extra blended in, like tencel (which dyes a slightly different shade than the surrounding fiber, and makes a cool effect when you spin it).

1/1: What attracted you to spinning? I know for me, it was all about color. I wanted to make gorgeous barber pole yarns. I didn’t really care about that whole sheep to shawl thing. What about you? Ready to raise some sheep?

SO: Oh yes. Color, please, yesthankyouma’am. I do want sheep, but my ever-patient and loving boyfriend says no, you live in the city. (So I’m working on that. Anyone got land in southern Maine they want to sell? We’ll move in a heartbeat).

1/1: Last Spring I sort of organized this event, which I called Spin Out. It was a lot of fun and we managed to raise a little bit of cash and turn on some new spinners. I’m thinking of doing it again next year – want to come and play with us? I promise it will be fun. SAY YES!

SO: How could I say no to an emphatic request like that? Of course!

Thank you Shannon for providing a new resource for spinners! One that’s accessible on all levels, beautifully crafted and chock full of fibery goodness. Good luck with the book and the rest of your tour. I’m sure you’re in GREAT hands with Lolly on Monday. Although if she starts talking about socks, I say RUN. 😉

Keep reading for pictures and info on my handspun shawl….

[Read more…]

Filed Under: blog book tours, Handknit Handspun, Seraphim

Yarnival!: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

October 5, 2006 By

The next edition of Yarnival, Volume 1, Issue 3 will be edited by yours truly.

Eve has done a fantastic job with both issues, ONE and TWO, and I just hope I can come close to her vision.

Don’t remember what Yarnival! is?

It’s this Internet thing called a Blog Carnival, which is an online compilation of very cool blog entries. Of course, Yarnival! centers around knitting and fiber pursuits and it’s a new way for us to read and get to know different blogs. I, for one, seem to be stuck in my same bloglines rut. Not that I don’t have excellent blogs listed on my bloglines, but there are tons of new blogs out there and I’ve been too lazy to seek them out. YARNIVAL will help us all! Anyone, regardless of the length of time they’ve been blogging or the popularity of their blog, can submit a post to Yarnival. The editor for that edition will choose which ones to include and it will be posted on a certain day of the month. You can read more about Eve’s vision here.

NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR YARNIVAL ISSUE 3!

To submit a blog post, USE THE SUBMISSION FORM. DO NOT leave your submission in the comments. DO NOT email me your submissions. SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED BY FORM ONLY. The deadline to submit is November 1st. The issue will appear on this blog November 15th.

Remember, ANYONE can submit, regardless of how long they’ve been blogging or how long they’ve been involved with the fiber arts. Send in your best blog post! It can be funny, sad, educational – I don’t care – as long as it’s entertaining, well written, interesting and has something to do with the fiber arts. GO FOR IT! What have you got to lose?

YARNIVAL people. YARNIVAL!

PS – If you’d like to edit a future edition of Yarnival!, please contact Eve at her blog, Needle Exchange.

Filed Under: Yarnival!

SOCKS!

October 5, 2006 By

In honor of Lolly’s fantabulous SOCKTOBERFEST, I give you my sockstory:

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I started knitting my first sock in January ’05. It was Koigu and I used size 3 bamboo dpns and a pattern from Ann Budd’s The Knitters Handy Book of Patterns. No one taught me per se, I just followed everyone’s advice to do what the pattern said, and turned the heel as it was written. Let’s just say I didn’t get much farther than this:

I think I lost a dpn somewhere and the sock was slouchy and I hate to rib and the color was boring. I abandoned all sock knitting until…

What was your first pair? How have they “held up” over time?
My first pair of socks were knit in June ’05 after seeing Meredith’s pair of purple stripey socks. I took one look at her stripes and knew I had to have another go at it. This time I used two circulars instead of dpns (the d stands for dreaded) and it only took me 11 days to finish the pair!!!

I used Regia Cotton Surf and while I loved knitting the socks, I haven’t loved wearing them. Cotton just doesn’t work for me for socks. They’ve stretched out quite a bit and haven’t bounced back. BUT I loved knitting with two circulars instead of dpns. LOVED IT! And had every intention of knitting another pair. I started a few other pairs of socks after that but nothing that I really loved. Then I went to Rhinebeck and bought A LOT of Socks That Rock. When I got home I was itching to try it out and I stumbled upon the Jaywalker sock pattern by Grumperina which appeared in the September ’05 Magknits. I thought, hey – this might work.

Let’s just say that the pattern literally changed my life. Between October 2005 and February 2006 I completed 8 pairs of Jaywalkers in STR yarn. I currently have two single jaywalker socks and one mate on the needles.


What would you have done differently?
Absolutely nothing. I feel like my sock journey has been exactly as it should be.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
My love for Socks That Rock is well documented. It is by far my desert island yarn. I could live on it forever. That said, I’ve been enjoying Koigu as of late. I also love Sock Hop yarn and will be spinning up my very own Sock Hop roving for socks very soon. I’ve tried other yarns, but these are the ones I come back to – and when I haven’t knit with STR in a bit, I always fall in love all over again. I make no apologies for my unadulterated affection for this yarn. It is, in a word, perfect.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
I have knit my socks with two cicular needles exclusively. I prefer Addi #1s for my socks. I like to have one circular be longer than the other. I always do the heel on the shorter circular. I’m not sure why. Also, I move the stitches around when picking up the gusset so that half the heel and half the instep are on one needle, and the other halves are on the other. I can’t see myself going any other way on this.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I prefer top down heel flap socks with kitchenered toes. I LOVE to kitchener. LOVE IT.

How many pairs have you made?
I have knit seventeen pairs of socks – two pairs were for Sockapalooza, and three pairs of those socks are actually six singles waiting for mates. I’m currently obsessed with knee highs. I’ve finished one pair, one pair is waiting for handspun heels and toes, one pair needs a mate, and my current sock is just about ready for a heel:

The yarn is Koigu – the semi-solid green is 2340 and the variegated is P852. I’m thinking I’m going to start the second sock and knit to the same spot – right before the heel flap. For some reason I like doing knee highs this way.

My plans for Socktoberfest 2006 are all about finishing. Finishing my new knee highs. Finishing my old knee highs. Whatever I get done I get done.

Handknit Socks. They make life better.

Filed Under: Knee Highs, Socks, Socktoberfest 2006

Pencil me in.

October 4, 2006 By

I’m home. This time for good. Or as good as five days. We’ll see.

In those five days, I hope to blog about the following:

— An ode to the socks I have knit and will knit and are knitting in honor of Socktoberfest 2006. (Although that seems redundant already, no? What’s there like 80 million people knitting socks? It’s all good though.)

— Annouce the winners of the Haiku contest. I’m so sorry I’m so behind. I’ll add extra winners because of the guilt. Promise.

— Talk about Shannon Okey’s new book, Spin to Knit! This will actually happen on October 7. I’m part of a BLOG TOUR!

— Show you FO pictures from Seraphim.

There may be some other stuff thrown in there too, but I’m feeling like I have no time for any of this and I want to do all of it and bear with me please. There is more dirty laundry in my house than I’ve seen in my life. (Where have all these clothes come from and who are the people wearing them?! Only two of us live here – last I checked.) There are errands to run and a house run amok (didn’t I just clean this place?) and I’m still freaking tired. Who knew jetlag from the left coast could be so bad.

Oh and for the record: I do NOT feel bad about not knitting for charity. It’s my time, my decision and I’m more than willing to hand over money to a cause I believe in. What I do feel slightly bad about is the handknits for the niece and nephews. I’d absolutely hate for one of them to think I loved them less because I didn’t knit anything for them. That would make me sad.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Seeing Stars

October 1, 2006 By

I’m home. But only for like five minutes. We walked in the door this morning at 7:30AM and I’m getting on a train to go to my sister’s at 4:30. Whoofuckinghoo. I can say that. It’s not Yom Kippur yet.

I am so tired.

I have some stuff to tell you, but I fear that by the time I actually get a chance to get back to blogging and reading blogs I won’t feel like telling you anymore. You know how that goes. But I will say that I SAW STARS while I was in Hollyweird. ACTUAL KNITTING CELEBRITIES. I spent a fantastic day with Julia and MJ at the Getty Center. When I met back up with Georgie he asked about the museum. I told him I never went inside. He asked, did you knit a lot? I told him I never once picked up my needles. Did you go to the knitting stores you talked about? No. What did you do all afternoon? We talked. And talked. And took some goofy and also terrific pictures of me in my shawl and some flowers and then we talked some more. It was the best way to pass an afternoon! Thank you girls!! Thank you for braving LA traffic to spend some time with me!

The one thing I thought a lot about while I was on vacation was Grumperina‘s Ten Knitterly Things About Me That You Might Not Have Known Meme. I wanted to do it the whole time I was away, but I never had a chance, so I’m doing it now.

1. When I find a pair of shoes I like, I buy them in a lot of colors. Same goes with shirts, pants, underwear. I figure why mess with a good thing and who knows when they’ll stop making it (because they always do, trust me – anything good goes away.) I am the SAME WAY with my knitting. If I like a pattern, say, I don’t know, a sock pattern. Or maybe a sock yarn, I will buy it and knit it MANY TIMES OVER. And I see NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS. I find great comfort in familiarity. And I always stop when I get bored. I like to exhaust things.

2. I am a very selfish knitter. You will RARELY see me knit for a charity, a square blanket, a loved one. I’ve made G one vest and one scarf (like the ONLY scarf I’ve ever made) and thankfully he doesn’t like knits because I don’t think I’ll be knitting him anything else anytime soon. I don’t even knit super cute kid stuff for the super cute kids in my life. My poor baby nephew has NOTHING handknit from me. The other kids have hats and a sweater each and blankets. The baby? Nothing. I’m very guilty about this but I still don’t do anything about it. That’s how selfish I am.

3. I have VERY specific preferences when it comes to yarn. Preferences that seem to get worse as my knitting goes on. I hate all hairy yarns: Mohair, Angora, Alpaca – anything that gets a halo. Hate it. I like sproingy very very soft yarns and refuse to knit with anything else. This limits me I know, but you know what? I do just fine with my choices. Basically I want to be able to wear it next to my skin and not know I have it on.

4. I only knit with Addi circular needles. EXCLUSIVELY. I really don’t even own any other needles and straight needles make me almost as crazy as DPNs. DPNs are the worst TO ME. Although I will admit to using Susan Bates DPNs when I move socks around on my two circulars. And they’re good for picking up gussets. I will admit that.

5. Knitting for me has a lot to do with color. Moreso than texture or design – which is why I think I like socks so much. A stockinette sock is all about the yarn. Same thing with a garter stitch log cabin. Although I love cables and the way they look and some knit/purl designs and even mosaics or fair isles, the fiddliness of the knitting turns me off a bit.

6. That said, I’m dying to knit a really complicated sweater. I think I’m going to do the Am Kamin finally. I thought about it A LOT while I was away. A lot. A lot a lot. My next project will definitely be a sweater and while I may finish the Barbara Walker neck down sweater, a very complicated (or at least it will look that way) cardigan will be in the works for me. I hope so, at least.

7. I love a purl back row. LOVE IT. I have no problems purling. I actually think I’m a faster purler, sometimes, than a knitter. BUT I hate ribbing with a passion. And I will avoid purling in socks at all costs. I’m not sure why this is – probably because you’re not working with a lot of stitches so there’s a lot of switching back and forth and what I really like is a purl back row. Just that nice long line of get in the rhythm purl. Goodness.

8. I wish I was better at figuring things out. Like finding a pattern I really like but knowing it’s not quite right for my body shape and being able to manipulate things so that it turns out to be what I really want that looks good and feels good and is perfect. I’m sure this is not beyond the scope of my abilities – I don’t doubt that I could figure these things out – but it seems like for some knitters this is intuitive and for me it’s not intuitive and when I think about the work involved I get really tired and want to pick up a sock.

9. I would really love to be able to design a lace shawl. This is something I’ve never spoken about before and I’ve even thought about collaborating with someone on it – but I’m afraid there’s a lot of math involved to get things all perfect and again – there’s that tired thing. Look at that! I just knit another sock!

10. I am a perfectionist. I will rip things back to get them right. Not saying it’s for everyone, and probably no one would notice a mistake, but I would know it’s there, and that’s just not gonna work for me. If I can fix it, I will.

Oh my god – there’s so much I owe you guys! Haiku winners! Updates to the Rhinebeck Blogger Meet Up List! Pictures of Seraphim! (Julia – the brief look I got at the pictures is GREAT!) Hopefully the meme and a couple Pretty Woman Pictures will suffice until I’m back to blogging all regular like. I miss you all!

Filed Under: Memememememe

HARK! The Herald Angel Sings!

September 27, 2006 By

This is how much yarn I had left after weaving in all the ends:

This is a taste of what the shawl looks like blocked:

This is what you get to start when the TSA workers leave your knitting alone (even though the woman should’ve paid me after the body search. Does she think I give that shit away?):

And this is what mother nature does when she is gloriously happy with the way my knitting is progressing:

It’s HOT. But in that dry, no humidity, are they fucking kidding me with that shit burn your skin off kind of heat. Yesterday we found a salt water pool which is like swimming in a silk cocoon filled with the salt of a million tears and despite the heat I am very happy. It will take a while for a full Seraphim photo spread and there are no pre-blocked pictures, BUT I’m planning on two very special blog photographers dueling it out at a photoshoot on Friday. Guaranteed to knock your just started Koigu knee highs off your feet.

If anyone of you are half as good as I am then you are FUCKING FANTASTIC! My first handspun handknit is better than I ever could’ve hoped. Sniff. Sniff. I’m so happy….

PS – The pictures in this post are untouched. I say that because it kind of gives me the heebie jeebies to post untouched photographs. I believe that every single photograph I take SHOULD be touched in some way – Photoshop is my darkroom. You develop film, right? You also develop digital film. This is my belief. So forgive the photographs. I’m not working with all my tools right now.

PPS – And my site STILL looks like crap in IE and Safari. Fuckers.

Filed Under: Handknit Handspun, Knee Highs, Seraphim
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