Knithound Brooklyn

Sneak Peek

2011-03-18T10:48:00.002-04:00

My last little hurrah before going back to work full time.

Though it's doubtful I'll actually finish this before Monday, I am having fun knitting a few rows between house cleaning and errand running. This yarn is handspun, and is striping up super sweet.

Talismans

2011-03-15T21:22:00.002-04:00

Sometimes knitting is more than making a garment. In this case, the knitting was done as a way to make a talisman. The project, which I named my Bread Line Cardigan was made specifically to evoke the good fortune I'd need to avoid standing on one, ever.

Lucky me, lucky sweater. Yesterday I sealed a deal that ensures we won't have to stand on any bread lines. I credit this sweater for bringing good luck (oh, and lots of hard work and many many meetings, but I really won't bore you with the details).

I had the yarn in my stash since forever, and it never left the front of mind. I obsessed over this yarn - Berrocco Cuzco. SO SOFT. Lofty. Squishy. I loved it from the moment I bought it but could not find a pattern to work up until Aidez (Ravelry link) came along.

The pattern is fantastic. It works up really fast, the cables look far more complicated than they are. It was really fun to knit, despite some of my own insecurity on sizing, which meant I knit the back three times! Chalk that up to stupid second guessing. Need to stop the second guessing!

Now that I've worn the sweater a dozen times or more, the yarn does show some wear, with pills and fuzz. But I still love the sweater and am really glad I made it.

You can get all the blow by blow details by linking through to the Ravelry project page, above. If you're looking for a fast, fun and very satisfying project and you have some bulky yarn in your stash, I recommend this pattern. It's has the casual comfort of a knock-around weekend sweater if you wear it without a belt. The cables give it that classic Aran quality, and adding a belt gives it a bit of pizzazz.

And if you need a talisman of your own, well then this is the sweater for you. Because it definitely brought me some incredible good luck and it's sure to do the same for you, too.

Roots

2011-02-25T17:08:00.004-05:00

Bread baking: the latest frontier. This started about a month ago when my friend Lynn convinced me to try a recipe for Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and I'd tasted some of her rolls, which were pretty yummy.

The first attempt wasn't pretty. Kind of like the first few knitting projects. It's dense, and under cooked. Didn't taste bad, but I knew it could be better. I made note of the mistakes.

Back to the drawing board, as they say. I found and tried another recipe, and now I am full on into the tinkering.

By round three, I had a decent crust, and it looked more like what I am aiming for, but I think there's still room for improvement.

Like knitting and yarn making, bread is simple in concept and can be hard to do well. It takes practice to understand how a few basic ingredients and some simple actions can add up to something quite spectacular. Sometimes I wonder if I have Amish roots?

Meanwhile there's lots of bread consumption going on - which may affect sizing my upcoming sweater knitting! Ohboy.

Super Wash

2011-02-21T20:24:00.003-05:00

One of the diversionary tangents I've been noodling within my knitting realm is Superwash yarn. I want to find a reliable range of Superwash wool yarns for baby knitting. Or any kind of gift to those who may not be finely tuned to Proper.Wool.Care. You know the type: the people you love dearly despite their inattention to the wooly.

It started when I delivered this set back in December. With lots of anxiety thanks to questions about my color choice - I got attitude about the color choice. More than once. Oy.

But color wasn't the issue. Well, maybe part of the issue come to think of it; I recall struggling a bit to find a girl color (that wasn't the obvious PINK). I used Knit Picks Swish DK to make this February Baby Sweater from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac, and a matching February Baby Hat by Teeweewonders and it is perfectly acceptable yarn, ostensibly well priced for a Superwash Merino and it made a cute set for a newborn baby girl. I like DK weight yarns, that was my original motivation.

But I have to say, this isn't my favorite yarn - something about the texture didn't agree with my hypersensitive nerve endings in the right hand. It felt nice after blocking but the knitting was noticeably not soothing. And let's say you run out of yarn before the project is finished. Guess what, if you order just one skein, and because it's mail order only, you will quickly learn the shipping costs more than the yarn! Oh sure, I could ordered lots more yarn to qualify for free shipping, but that means spending more for less. And the truth is, I'm trying to clear space in the stash closet for yarns I really really really want. For me.

And so it began. The new tangent, a finely tuned radar, on the lookout for better options.

Another baby project, another chance to try some new (to me) Superwash yarns. Here I knit the same pattern the adorable Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap) using two completely different yarns.

The apricot hat used Tosh Merino Light from Madeline Tosh. A Merino fingering weight, single yarn that's hand-dyed, with a very generous put up at 440 yards. I bought the yarn and then came home to read comments on Ravelry relating big issues winding the yarn. Thank goodness I had no problems. Other than a tired arm from cranking the ball winder forever - 440 yards is a lot of winding! I had none of the nerve damage issues while knitting up the hat. And this tiny project barely put a dent in the skein, so there's lots more for future baby projects. I liked this one enough to know this is a Superwash keeper.

Next up, the lilac hat, knit from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted Solid. It's an Aran weight, lightly plied yarn with a put up of 225 yards. It's a tad splitty but nothing I couldn't handle. It's soft, and feels nice going through the hands, but I did notice a tendency for the yarn to look a bit worn after working it a bit. To compensate, I went down a needle size on this hat project thinking a tighter gauge would reduce the chances for the yarn to fuzz and pill. I really liked this yarn. And despite it being a bit pricey at $20.00 per skein, I'll seek it out again for future projects. Especially baby projects such as hats, booties, even small sweaters that won't break the bank.

I don't have any more baby projects in the near future so I won't have a chance to try out a few I have in mind, including Cascade 220 Superwash, Berrocco Weekend and Berrocco Vintage (which comes in both a DK and a worsted line!). All seem to have excellent color ranges, decent put up at a reasonable price. Before you know it someone else will announce they're having a baby and that means I'll be trying these yarns soon.

An Eternity

2011-02-12T18:25:00.004-05:00

It took a bit of an eternity to finish spinning the yarn but once I finally completed it, boy it didn't take long to hit the needles and transform into one of the softest, warmest, coziest neck warmers I've ever worn.

The fiber: Natchwoolie Super Fine 19 Micron Merino, naturally dyed. Really nice prep - it wasn't over processed like so much combed top. This one had life and it was a joy to spin. It flowed like butter through my hands and made me seriously reconsider my typical aversion to Merino. Likely caused by the processed to death Merino combed tops I'd spun in the past. Now I know.

The yarn: 400 yards of two ply, started in November but abandoned for over two months when I suddenly lost the spinning mojo. Thankfully, it came back the end of January. I probably could have plied this a bit better, but I think I was so impatient to get the spinning done, once I returned to the wheel.

The project: Eternity Scarf, by Michele Wang. Fast, and easy and very effective - it's always the simple stuff that works the best. These double wrap scarf/cowl thingies are turning up all over NYC so for once I am somewhat current with 'fashion'.

And life goes on...plugging away on a few things big and small. Fingers crossed we've turned the corner on this eternal winter!

Mirabilis - Amazing, Wondrous, Remarkable

2011-02-03T12:09:00.008-05:00

So much going on around the world!! Sometimes it feels like I'm living/watching a hurricane. Or, as they are known on the other side of the world, a cyclone. Which got me thinking about the most recent project to come off the needles. Because it's a true spiral and it reminds me of some of the weather photos cropping up.

But really, I am getting ahead of myself. This is really a story about how to use up a yarn that was sitting in my stash, and how it was quickly diverted from its original purpose to fulfill another. And how the power of swatching will often dictate a project's outcome.

Here, the swatch, made while commuting to the recent Vogue Knitting Live a couple of weeks ago. A subject for another post! Soon! Maybe.

Zegna Baruffa, Settembre Tweed, a super wash yarn from Italy, purchased when Joan Vass shut down her business in summer 2008. I couldn't find any finished projects using this yarn, meaning a swatch was absolutely necessary. And it revealed lots to me. Like no way would this end up as a garment; I hate color pooling and a bit too busy for my taste. Too bad, because I've had it in mind for an Ingenue for so long I was a bit disappointed.

But once the yarn came out of the bin, I was hell bent to find a use for it. Kind of a self imposed rule I have. One way to set up some boundaries and then see how it turns out. Not that I am militant about self imposed boundaries, but it is interesting to see how creating a rule set defines a project's evolution. In this case, I had a couple of notions contributing to the outcome:

1. It's super wash yarn. Which translates to baby worthy in my book.
2. It's a busy yarn, so maybe something non-garment would work?
3. I have 10 skeins at 132 yards per skein. 1,320 yards! What is the best way to USE.IT.UP? (especially since it wasn't exactly showing its best side to me in swatch form).
4. Lately I've had blankets on my mind and in my lap. Let's face it - this is one brutal winter we're having. So blankets seem especially relevant right now.

Which is how I ended up finding Mirabilis by Daniel Yuhas, a pattern that really intrigued me. Confession - I have a queue of projects so large I have them organized by category! Yes, obsessive, I know. So what. Anyway, the blanket category only has 9 or 10 projects and one of them is actually a round blanket using a pinwheel shape. But for some reason, this spiral one eluded the queue. How could that be? I mean, Daniel is my friend! I remember when he designed this thing a few summers ago. Anyway, no matter. I decided to jump the queue and get this project on the needles.

What fun! What a clever, innovative pattern! From the unusual cast on, to the genius of moving around and around, by shifting stitch markers, to the very clever way the border is knit on, the whole thing was a pleasure to watch as it grew and then unfolded. Literally. I wish I'd taken the time to photograph this thing while it was still on the needles because it looked like a gigantic Rastafarian hat until I was about halfway through the border at which point it started to open up, like a flower opening for all the world to see. It was pretty amazing, actually, and I really got a kick out the whole thing start to finish.

I thought I was making a baby blanket. But I also knew it would be on the large side. As you can see, it is kinda big, almost the width of my dining room table. That might be too big for a baby, what do you think? I have no idea, not having any babies nearby. Maybe it's more like a lap blanket for an adult? Anyway it is nice and warm. A good thing for a blanket to be, baby or adult sized. You see, I doubled the yarn which served two purposes - using it up (all but approx. 65 yards!) while creating a squishy, bouncy, cozy blanket.

And if it doesn't get gifted as a baby blanket, I have another 10 balls of the same yarn, in a nice yellow that would work equally well and I have a bit of a blanket fever happening. It's entirely conceivable there will be another blanket to share in about a week. If you want to learn more about this blanket in the meantime, here's my Ravelry link.

Hey, Daniel - nice work! The genius of this pattern - the construction and the design reminded me of Norah's designs. Remember that poncho?

Foggy Blizzard

2010-12-27T14:10:00.007-05:00

Whew!! It's been awhile since I've posted to the blog. Life has begun to spiral into new directions and my focus has shifted a bit. It's all good stuff, and I am really optimistic on 2011. But this is a knitting blog, so for now I'll stick to the knitting. ;)

So. I made a sweater for my husband! My project notes indicate I started this the end of May and finished it up about a month ago. Today, post blizzard snow shoveling we got a few pics and I can finally tell you about it.

This is the Fog Sweater, designed by Tiennie and knit up in Cascade Eco Wool. Knitting this last summer was nearly impossible between the wrist pain and the terrible heat, so it was put aside for a couple of months. But once the weather cooled down I got back into it.

There's not much to say about knitting 1x1 rib that hasn't already been said. It gets a bit tedious and knitting something this big, in the round, it gets heavy and bulky once you put a few inches into the project. But it's mindless enough and can be done in a half coma at the end of a long work day.

The sleeves needed some attention as the first version ended up way too bulky - the pattern had me increase to something like 124 stitches around which seemed really huge and long, if following the pattern, increasing every 4th row. I got as far as 120 stitches and attached one sleeve. When Jose tried it on, I could see there was way too much fabric under the arms and it was seriously over bulky. So I ripped it back and settled on 110 stitches, with an 8 row sleeve cap. You can see there's still a good amount of bulk under the arms, but it's acceptable.

The next issue was the neck/collar. I tried a folded collar, but that ended up looking silly - like he was wearing a deep sea diver suit but missing the huge bubble helmet. So I ripped that out and started over, with the folded turtleneck, as written in the pattern, more or less. I still think it's a bit too wide, but making any other adjustment would require re-writing the pattern and doing some decreases in the neckline/shoulder area and really I wanted to move on to new projects, so this is it.

Now, if I were going to make this again, in addition to reworking the pattern for a narrower neck opening, I would also knit in a few short rows across the back. Because it has a tendency to ride up just a bit. Not that Jose notices, but I see it. In fact, I had to tug the sweater down a bit before taking this shot.

Cascade Eco Wool is favored by many knitters, but I found it a bit rough to work with, and had to stop frequently to moisturize my hands. Does that happen to you? The nerves in my hands have become ultra sensitive and working with certain yarns can be hard on them. That's not to say I will shun the yarn completely, because it is a wonderful value and does work up nice once it's blocked out.

Now here is the most important thing I can say about this project: the sweater is well worn and loved, and this is immensely pleasing. I had fears he would find excuses to not wear it, but that hasn't happened. This is a sweater guy, no doubt about it. Some guys aren't - they wear button down shirts and jackets but no sweaters. I don't get it but I don't have to worry about it, since that's not my world. He sort of can't get enough of the hand knits. A double edged sword. Because no sooner do I finish a huge project like this, when the pressure starts for the next one! Sweet!

Corespun Baby Cakes

2010-11-26T16:06:00.003-05:00

One of my goals when I set out in 2010 was to play with corespun yarn. I finally sat down and made up a few samplers using a Loop Baby Cake pack purchased nearly a year ago. These were fun to make, and somewhat liberating in that I didn't get all hung up on perfection.

The blue/green one, which I named Ocean Reef Party, is probably my favorite. Because I love the colors, and it may be one of the better ones I made.

I'm not a huge fan of the glittery Angelina that many of these types of batts contain. And I prefer their use in moderation, not excess. Some of these had an abundance of the stuff. I am forever picking the individual fibers from the rug in the family room. Despite that one small drawback, I plan on making more corespun yarn. For now I am pondering how to incorporate these bits and bobs into future knitting projects.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am grateful for so many things: health, gainful employment, family near and far, loving and being loved, my hounds, friends and of course all the fibery things.

Sunday Break

2010-11-14T15:50:00.008-05:00

These last few weeks have been really crazy busy. After much cleaning, reorganizing and housekeeping these last few weeks, I took a break this afternoon to finish a pair of Fingerless Mitts (Ravelry project link). These are headed to the office for a work friend.

I love knitting with handspun. When I first started spinning, all I wanted to do was make the yarn. Now I often spin with a project in mind. This was the Double Dog Dare Shetland from Southern Cross Fibres. I made a 3 ply yarn knowing I'd be making fingerless mitts with it. It's destiny was set when my friend saw a photo of the un-spun fiber and oohed over it.

The pattern is pretty straightforward and has become sort of a handspun recipe. These were knit on US3 needles, to make a slightly firmer fabric (to keep out the wind). I cast on 36 sts and just winged the first one till I got it right, taking notes along the way, and then using the notes to make the second.

There's always a bit of trial and error when going this route, as I often need to knit something to a certain point, try it on and then make adjustments as necessary. In this case, once I finished both mitts, I realized they were too short at the top. Last night I ripped down the garter edge, inserted a few stockinette rows and then finished off the garter edge again. Much better now. I think mitts should come to the second knuckles otherwise they aren't warm enough.

I'm nearly finished with a sweater, which needed some modifying to get a good fit. Almost there; maybe next weekend will mark the end of this one.

My spinning group decided to do a little Sock Knit Along, to help a couple of newbies learn sock knitting. So I decided to make a pair for my Mom. I raced through the first one, and of course a week has gone by without casting on for #2. Good thing Christmas is still over a month away.

Walkathon

2010-10-23T16:49:00.004-04:00

About a month ago Mom expressed interest in the Prospect Park Walkathon. We arose today to a wonderful blue sky and crisp Fall air, perfect for a 5K walk in the Park.

This being her first Walk-a-Thon, I encouraged her to do some stretching before we set out. This may also be the first time Mom has done any calisthenics! Since this is primarily a knitting blog, allow me to point out Mom's hat, a Koolhaas I made for myself about three years ago and which migrated to Mom within months of completion.

The trees are still not at their peak but they are starting to look nice. The sun was nice and warm on our faces.

As we rounded the East side of the Park, I got a view of my favorite tree, recently cut in half by the Brooklyn Tornado of 2010. Heartbreak. I'm still ripped about this one.

She got a bit tired around 4KM, but I wouldn't let her stop! Mean daughter. I am proud of her, and though she cramped up wicked big time a few hours later, she was delighted to say she finished! Astute blog readers will notice my outfit is eerily similar to last week's. Once I finish a sweater I kind of wear it all the time, you know? Closer observation reveals all these hand knits are also hand spun. Whoa! Now I'm delighted, too!

Sheep and Wool the Rhinebeck way

2010-10-18T19:30:00.004-04:00

Wow, four years of Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. And this year it was a mighty social occasion. My virtual world collided quite wonderfully with the real. I met so many of my favorite peeps! What a blast!

All these awesome, creative, interesting people in one spot! It was a dazzling display of yarny goodness. Complete with zany antics from knitters and coaches alike.

The Spin City group swept several of the competitions this year with ribbons awarded for yarn and hand knits. Our Jayne took 2 blue ribbons. We are so proud of her and all the winners - Dawn (2 ribbons!) , Donna, Jayne, Lynn, Paula and Cat!

Cathy rocked the hand spun shawl made entirely from Loop Baby Cakes, thus creating the perfect foil for spinners wandering into the Loop booth. Loop at Rhinebeck and Maryland this year - what a wonderful triumph for Steph who, along with many Spin City members all worked tirelessly to put on a fantastic display and deliver top notch customer service.

Marjorie spun and knit that sweater you see on her husband - very beautiful - the saddle shoulders are terrific.

And by some miracle of good luck I finished Zinnia in time to wear on Saturday. Four years ago the idea of spinning my own yarn to make a sweater was unthinkable.

Most of all, Sheep & Wool is a chance to hang out with friends, revel in the things we love, and celebrate our hard work and creative spirits.

Food for the soul.

New Yarn

2010-10-09T16:26:00.003-04:00

Yarns completed in August and September.

From Left to Right:

1. Hello Yarn Winter Storage. I got lucky and came into another 4 oz. of the lovely Winter Storage fiber so I spun it up and now I've got enough for a sweater. I'll cast on for that sometime in October.
2. Gnomespun Shetland 2 ply in a lovely soft heathered Moss Green. I love this yarn and love the fiber prep. If you haven't tried Gnomespun Fibers, don't wait for a rainy day - go get some now.
3. The little bits on top are a couple of samplers made from fibers in my stash. I bought a second wheel back in July, a used Majacraft Rose. These yarns are my attempt to adjust to the new wheel. I still have lots to learn about it and I think it will be a wonderful journey. The wheel offers a wide range of options for yarn making.
4. The green and purple underneath is Hello Yarn, Grouch, spun from Falkland fiber. I used the Rose to spin the singles and then plied using my Sonata with the Jumbo Flyer and Jumbo bobbins. When Judith MacKenzie* examined the yarn, she proclaimed it perfect for a weaving project. Who am I to argue with this advice?!
5. The black yarn is 2 ply Shetland from Wild Apple Hill Farm, just like the Zinnia I'm using for my sweater. This was one of the fibers I wanted to make during the Tour de Fleece but ran out of time. Well, I made a nice aran weight yarn and really like how this and the Moss Shetland work together. I might try a color work project, though I'd like to collect a few more before I embark.
6. Double Dog Dare Shetland from Southern Cross Fibre Club spun up as a worsted weight 3 ply yarn. This too, was on the Tour de Fleece pile and got done right after I crossed the finish line. I want to make some fingerless mitts for a work colleague with this yarn.

*Judith MacKenzie was one of the teachers leading Fiber Fallout, a wonderful Fiber Retreat I attended with a few of my Spin City pals at the end of September. I had a fantastic time and shot a few pics so I'll save my stories for another time. Meeting Judith was definitely a high point. I also learned a few really neat Estonian knit stitches, and now I have a few ideas for multicolor handspun yarns.

Not Finish, Not an Option

2010-10-05T19:21:00.005-04:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Crisp air, blue skies, sunny days (well not these last two weeks but you know what I mean) lots of yummy apples and of course, Rhinebeck around the corner. Sheep and Wool! I love October!

I know every knitter planning on being there is feverishly working on their Rhinebeck sweater/hat/scarf/shawl/you name it. It's what we do! Because we are among kindred spirits, people who really get it, you know? And of course, we want to be well-attired.

I too, am working feverishly and am making some progress. With a bit of luck, this sweater will be ready by next weekend.

I've since completed one sleeve and am about to cast on for the second. The knitting has been easy so far, and I've made a few modifications to the pattern.

But the hard part looms ahead. I always get stalled at the finishing. I lack the confidence to attach sleeves properly and I get hung up wanting them to be perfect. This time I'm gonna have to just suck it up and do it. Because not finishing the sweater is not an option. I really want to honor the shepherd who brought Zinnia's fleece to market last year and wearing the finished sweater is really the only way to do that. Plus, I need something warm and comfortable to wear.

Gawd, I hope I haven't jinxed myself...

World Wide Spin in Public Day

2010-09-21T20:44:00.003-04:00

Really, isn't that what we do at least once a week? Well, yes. But not on this scale! Complete with scenery! We had our share of looky-lous, that's for sure. And I'm pretty certain Donald Trump never imagined this scene would be visible from his cookie cutter condos.

Spin City came out in force Saturday to represent and make yarn. Boy, did we make yarn.

We're talking drop dead gorgeous Polwarth from THE Nancy Ortmann of Montana fame. Um...I know what I want for Christmas!

Kids learned how to separate vegetable matter from gleaned wool. Not just any gleaned wool, but wool gathered by Outward Bound kids in the UK from ancient sheep breeds.

Jayne, our group historian brought this basket of gleaned wool bits. She finds the most amazing things on EBay, I tell you.

Christina decided to show us her progress on The Huntress. And as you can see, this is the perfect garment for hunting down tourists who carelessly block sidewalks and dawdle in cross walks. Come on, admit it: you want one too.

This event topped the charts on the fun meter. I got lots more pics over on Flickr if you feel like reliving the experience.

Hill Country

2010-09-14T21:37:00.008-04:00

Matchy matchy! The pattern is Hill Country Hat from Clara Parke's book, The Knitter's Book of Wool. A wonderful pattern, from a wonderful book. Easy, engaging, and it showcases hand spun yarns really well.

So these hats are both made from yarn spun at different stages of my spinning 'career'. Sort of a study of Jacob Sheep's Wool over time. The gray came from Mass Sheep and Wool Festival and got spun into yarn in Summer '09, one of my first attempts at long draw. Not as successful as the Brown hat, spun Spring '10. Visible improvement!

That's a Jacob sheep, and you can see they have two sets of horns. An ancient and rare breed, I think they are coming into their own with hand spinners. There were lots of them on display at the Garden State Sheep & Wool Festival last weekend and I predict there will be many at Rhinebeck this year. I do love Jacob and will spin more. Maybe even a sweater - I bet this stuff would cable nicely, it's so springy!

In both cases I had to double the yarn to approximate the required gauge. And boy, are these hats squishy!! While the Brown fits the Pumpkin Head perfectly, the Gray is a tad big for me. But it will work so I'll leave it be.

That brown yarn was a delightful gift of roving from the Rooster. I made careful note of the shepherd's name because someday I'd like to place an order and then mosey on up to Ithaca to pick it up! I like meeting the sheep in person! Rooster also included some amazing music in that gift package, thank you thank you, for expanding my horizons, Amy!

I love both of the hats, but am really proud of the Brown. It looks great, it fits well, it's from gifted roving and was in turn made into a gift from a decently spun yarn. Pay it forward.

As a set these hats tell the story of a hand spinner learning her craft while using materials sourced from the region, and then knitting very wearable and attractive (and warm) garments for the family. What's not to love?!

PS - photo credit for all but the sheep shot: Fran Janik www.franjanik.com

Garden State Sheep & Wool Festival

2010-09-12T15:34:00.003-04:00

Several of us piled into the car and headed down to Lambertville area to pet some sheep at the Garden State Sheep & Wool Festival. We met a few breeders, learned a few things about fleece judging, and pet sheep and alpacas till our hands were lanolin soft from the grease!

Mama alpaca was protective of her 3 day old cria. So cute.

But let's face it, llamas and alpacas are also really funny looking.

We ran into friends and met a few Ravelers, putting faces to names, always a good thing. I did feel bad for the vendors as it was evident not many attendees opened their wallets. Me included, what with that expensive (and rock-solid) deck in mid construction.

With Rhinebeck a month away, and piles of unspun fiber in my stash, I didn't have much of a fiber appetite. There was a farm stand on the way home, where I could not resist buying a 'candy lope' (sic).

Triple S

2010-09-12T13:53:00.004-04:00

Shelburne Shaelyn Shawl. Shelburne commemorates the Vermont trip; Shaelyn being the pattern, written by Leila Raabe and obviously, Shawl because it is. Triple S.

Knitting on this shawl commenced a week before we left and then got tons of attention during the long trip up and back, along with hotel tv knitting time. I bound off somewhere around Waterbury CT on our way home. Very very pleased with this project.

As I got further into it I couldn't shake the vision of having a large shawl to wrap around my shoulders on those early Sunday mornings when I venture downstairs to make the coffee and the house is still a bit chilly. That vision was so persistent I had to add a full pattern repeat.

This yarn percolated up from the stash (!), having been purchased two years ago at Rhinebeck. Swift River Farm Prescott, a blend of natural color Shetland with 5% Bombyx silk. Yummy stuff and very earthy. It felt like hand spun in many ways. And speaking of hand spun, I pulled out some very early pink 2 ply yarn and used it as trim. Very very pleased with this project.

The entire project took about a week. The pattern is well written, versatile and easy to memorize. It lends itself to variation, as you can see here and here. There are also some beautiful ones over on Ravelry using single colors. A perfect pattern to use for hand spun, too. I'd definitely knit this one again.

There's something about the combined colors that is reminiscent of earlier times. Being at the Shelburne and seeing the folk art and craft cemented the idea to use the pink for trim. It was a "maybe" when I threw it in the carry along bag. By the end of the weekend I realized it was a prescient move. Very very pleased with this project.

ETA: Wow, I must be tired or something. I meant to make note when I was writing earlier - the initial germ of idea to add a contrast border came from all the beautiful shawls brokeknits has made. Her wild bright color edgings really resonated with me. Thanks, Katie!

Shelburne

2010-09-12T11:30:00.003-04:00

Shelburne Museum is home to one of the finest quilt collections in the US. I have tremendous admiration for quilters and quilting. It takes time, patience, precision and skill to execute these complex designs.

Our visit to the Shelburne coincided with two special exhibits involving quilts. The first was a wonderful display of the Museums crazy quilt collection, the first time they've come out of storage in over 10 years.

I am by no means an expert on quilting and all the variations thereof. I am fascinated by the seeming randomness of crazy quilt 'squares', the variety of materials used, the wonderful stitch embroidery and embellishments. These elements add up to a much more direct and personal narrative than the traditional quilts. It really appealed to me, and I could imagine trying my hand at something similar.

There were lots of traditional quilts on display as well. Some incorporated embroidery,

some were made with tiny triangles that radiated out from a center square,

some had blocks made with duck feet.

The second big exhibit involving quilts was deeply moving as it involved Alzheimer Disease.

Quilts made by quilters who have experienced Alzheimers', telling stories through quilts. To say I was choked up is putting it mildly. The stories attached to these quilts blew me away. I had to sit down and get a grip after going through this exhibit.

We spent a day and a half going through this amazing Museum consisting of nearly 40 buildings, some historic and relocated to the Museum's grounds, others built in situ to house special collections. The variety and breadth of folk art, craft, tools, fine art and all things handmade was astounding. Well worth a visit especially for those involved in any form of craft.

Vermont Family Trip

2010-09-10T10:45:00.004-04:00

When I say family, I mean of the four-legged variety. Over Labor Day weekend, we packed the car with our stuff, which included dog beds, food, bowls and lots of treats. Nothing but the sweet comforts of home for our babies. A six hour drive landed us in Burlington where we checked into a dog friendly hotel.

Rudy proceeded to bark at everyone in the lobby, setting Lola into a good howling fit. Ever hear a Coonhound do their thing? Think Harbor Seal. That would be pretty accurate. I almost died. That's when the front desk clerk reminded me there's a $50 fine for dogs barking in the guest rooms. Which pretty much meant we'd be hauling them with us whenever we ventured off the the premises.

Turns out that was the worst moment. The rest of the weekend was pretty good, dog-wise. Lola is a real trooper, and remained calm and happy throughout the trip. I'd venture to say it was the best time she's had in a very long while. She travels well, settling into the car and watching the action from between the front seats. Rudy is a bit more high maintenance. He's insecure and suffers from separation anxiety. As a result he grew clingier than usual and was hyper-alert to sounds outside our hotel room.

We found a wonderful dog park along the waterfront in Burlington, so that became our daily destination before and after Shelburne Museum visits. It's a nice city, with lots of outdoor eating and a dog friendly vibe.

I have tons of pics from the Shelburne which I'll post separately. It's an amazing place and we had a fantastic time exploring the vast property and wonderful treasures.

Nupps

2010-09-02T21:41:00.009-04:00

Whammo!! Here we are, September! It's true what they say about time going faster the older you get. I'm trying to keep up with all of you through your blogs, and just doing that is getting harder and harder to manage.

So, let's see...what's going on?

- We're having a deck built off the kitchen. A Big Deal. Involving large sums of cash. Ouch. and Yay!

- We finally installed new countertops in the kitchen. Double Yay!

- We're going away for Labor Day, to Vermont. A long expressed wish come true coupled with visiting friends. Taking the doggies with us. That should be interesting.

- I took a weaving class this summer. I know, I've been holding out on you guys. There's still two more classes and I'm working on my "final project". This image is part of the learning sampler. There's a three week break before we wrap up and I promise to show and tell as we near completion.

- I am knitting again. There is numbness but not as bad. I actually think the pain originates in my shoulder, the right one which was injured in a yoga class several years ago and hasn't been right since. And interesting, it's the same hand that uses the mouse at work. It's all connected, I'm sure. And it's much more noticeable with bigger needles. Carpal tunnel, repetetive stress.

- To counteract the lack of knitting for nearly two months, I made two dozen of these.

- I had an unnatural obsession with Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream cones this summer. Which means my fall agenda now includes mandatory visits to the park for 2 mile runs. Ooof.

- Very natural obsessive listening to Alejandro Escovedo since seeing him live this summer. He is amaaaazing live. And the new album rocks.

photo by Jose Gaytan
josegaytan.com

- Who doesn't love a little Steve Earle? We caught two shows at City Winery in July. Great venue, they will come to know us on a first name basis. I never get tired of Steve.

photo by Jose Gaytan
josegaytan.com

- The month of August saw less spinning, and meanwhile tons more fiber entered the home. Now I feel smothered by the avalanche of 4 oz. bags of wool piled in my office. My version of crack. It gives me a glimpse into the life of an addict: intense joyous highs followed by guilt-ridden lows. I need to spin more, give away more, weave more...I need to stop worrying, and be grateful I can afford it.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Okay. So what's that lovely confection at the top of this blog post? Ah! A shawlette named Annis. Brought about through a Knit Along I jumped into on Ravelry (without looking first, so typical). Lace. With NUPPS. um. Using really skinny, poolry made (not by me!) hand spun yarn. Yarn I bought at Rhinebeck 2007. A long marination by anyone's standards.

Of course I had a few challenges before I saw the other side of this project. Few projects I touch go from start to finish without a hitch! In this case, most of the issues are attributable to the yarn.

I remember buying the little skeins at the end of the first day, in a stall that was nearly cleaned out of yarn. The seller convinced me that despite being under plied, it would work out fine once blocked. What she failed to mention is how challenging it is to knit under plied yarn on big needles! It's splitty! And throw in a few rows of these nupp things and it all goes to hell in a handbasket right quick. You try p7tog with super splitty yarn. Good luck on ya. It took four attempts, ripping and restarting, each time working up 363 stitches at the cast on. Yikes. At one point I seriously considered starting over with different yarn. But the allure of this gorgeous deep dark purple kept pulling me back into the project.

Last Sunday, during a visit to Governor's Island with my friend mknits, (poor thing, had no idea this was part of the grand plan that day...but she's good natured and very sweet to agree to my bossy ways!) I captured the ethereal lightness of this little shawl.

It has an interesting construction, being shaped with short rows and starting at the bottom/widest part. The pattern calls for lace weight yarn and is intentionally knit on large needles to create a very airy, light fabric. This thing is truly weightless. And the shaping means it stays on the shoulders easily. I especially love how the deep purple color adds a Victorian quality to this little piece. It's old fashioned but frothy at the same time.

The lady who sold me the yarn was right. It did block out nicely. The nupps are just okay. I think I can do better next time I encounter them in a project. However. Let it be known, I am no nupp fan and won't actively seek them out with the possible exception of Swallowtail Shawl, long on my knitting to do list. But with better yarn.

Weeners! We Have Weeners!

2010-08-16T01:42:00.006-04:00

Rain! We actually got about 30 minutes of rain this afternoon! I think (hope) we've turned the corner on this brutal heat - the last few days have held out a promise that Fall is right around the corner.

I wanted to take pics of two newest skeins of yarn I've finished but we spent the afternoon playing the ponies! I did win $10.80 on one horse in the 5th race, woo hoo! It was fun and so nice to be outside without a blazing sun. Sometimes I wonder if I am part vampire, I avoid the sun that much.

But I have a weener here on the old blog! I consulted the Random Number Generator and the winner is #16!! Yay!

I'll tell you a little story. When I was a girl I was completely horse crazy. Though I didn't own a horse, I did ride regularly with a stable and even competed in some of the local horse shows. The one year I competed and won some blue ribbons I wore #16 on my back. I've liked that number ever since. So I was truly delighted when the Random Number Generator spat out #16.

I must have horses on my brain today.

Anyway, this little yarn giveaway was fun. Thank you, everyone for your sweet comments. I enjoyed this enough that I might have more giveaways in the very near future.

SarahB, send me your address using the linky in my profile and I hope you enjoy knitting this yarn - I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Prize Winners!!

2010-08-08T16:10:00.005-04:00

Sunday afternoon, August in Brooklyn. I want to take a nap!

But first I have some things to share. Like the promised and long overdue Tour de Fleece wrap up. You recall I wanted to spin 3 lbs of fiber. This was the pile before I started.

And this the pile I ended up spinning.

Not all of it, but I am very very pleased with the results so I am happy. Some stats for you: I spun 2.25 lbs of fiber, 2,670 yards of yarn. By my standards that's alot but there are spinners on Ravelry who spun 7 and 8 lbs of fiber. Whoa! I need to take a vacation next year and devote an entire week to spinning.

The Hello Yarn pink/green/boggy brown yarn is destined to be a sweater. I have over 680 yards in that ginormous skein and I was very lucky to come into possession of one more bag of this highly coveted fiber! With another 4 oz to spin up I should have enough for a cute cropped cardigan and I think I have a pattern in mind!

You all know Zinnia is destined to be a sweater and yes, thanks to the kindness of blog reading friends, I now have the pattern! Zinnia has been doubly lucky for me, by the way, because on the last day of the Tour I submitted a photo to the Natural Yarn thread on Ravelry and won a prize! Woo Hoo, Yay! More fiber, coming right up!

Time to spread some Handspun Love. As my thanks for your ongoing support and encouragement, loyal comments and far-flung friendship, I'm putting Istanbul Sunset up for a Prize Giveaway! Yup, that's what I'm sayin!

Simply leave a comment to this post no later than Sunday August 15 and I'll select a winner using Random Number Generator.

Some of you have never knit with handspun before and trust me, this will spoil you for more. And hey, maybe I will coax a few of you over to the dark side that is spinning. It's not the worst thing that could happen...heh heh. :)

So rock on with your comments and good luck everyone! Oh and you can get all the technical deets for the yarn here.

Where Did I Put That Thing, Anyway?

2010-08-05T16:14:00.004-04:00

Here we are, August already! The Tour de Fleece feels like it was a million years ago, and I haven't done a good blog wrap up post. I promise, I have one in the wings. With special surprises, too!

But I wanted to tell you a funny.

I finished spinning up all the Gray Shetland, my Zinnia. This yarn is wonderful. I can't stop fondling it and I pinch myself because I sort of can't believe I pulled off 5 skeins, 1700+ yards of consistent, mostly even sport weight yarn! Seriously, I am that excited about this yarn.

So of course the next thing I get to obsess over is what shall Zinnia become? Oh, fun! Honestly, the planning can be as much fun as the doing. Or no, the planning is a part of the doing, really. And it's fun. For me. Shut up!

And! I think I've found what I want to do, the Gathered Pullover from Interweave Knits.

Now that I've landed in this place, the past 10 days have been about mulling over the design modifications I'll make and organizing myself to give this project my full attention.

So last night around midnight I decide I'd like to go to bed with the pattern and read it through, just to familiarize myself, you know?

I searched the book case for Interweave, Winter 2007. Not there. Should have been. Hmmm. Search the desk, my WIP pile, the dining room table, the kitchen book case (highly unlikely), the family room book case, and a few other places. No Winter 2007 anywhere. I found Fall, I found Spring. No Winter. Hmmmm.

Next, as a last ditch effort, (it's now nearly 1AM), I go online to Ravelry and quick search the other patterns in that issue. You know, so I could maybe cross reference to something I may have knit in the past?

And then it dawns on me. I never bought that issue! No wonder I couldn't find it! It simply doesn't exist in my home. DOH.

Spin City meets Hipnic on the High Line

2010-07-28T18:58:00.007-04:00

Spin City's meet up on Monday evening at the High Line converged with an event called Hipnic, who also did their own spinning, of sorts. The event was captured and posted to YouTube -

Over the course of the evening, the lines between the two groups merged into a single cohesive whole. Which is nicely described by the New York Times.

I'm still kicking myself for bailing out but that kitchen thing needed attention since the plumber didn't get to us till Monday. Oh well, it was a lovely evening for all my friends!

Push On

2010-07-24T20:02:00.004-04:00

A nasty head cold, insufferable heat, plumbing disconnected in the kitchen since Tuesday, husband with a flu. Life is grand over at Chez Knithound, I tell ya.

We got a new counter top. After 7 years of living with...are you ready for this...marine varnished plywood...(ahem)...we finally got the new counter top. BUT. The sink was disconnected Tuesday morning, I drove it out to the fabricator in Long Island (took 1/2 a day!), they installed the counter tops yesterday and here we are, Saturday evening with no kitchen plumbing! Seems the fabricator failed to instruct me to have the plumber come back after they were finished. Um...didn't you say you were reinstalling? Ohhhh, remounting, not reconnecting! aha. And the plumber called this morning, yes we will be by later today. Not.

So here we are, both sick as can be, the kitchen in complete disarray, the AC firing on high but not cutting it. What's a knithound to do but spin yarn.

The Tour de Fleece/Tour de France ends tomorrow. I won't be finished with the 3 pounds I set as the goal, but I am making my way through that lovely Shetland roving.

It's wonderful. 408 yards, 12 wpi. The second skein just came out of the bath, 368 yards. More singles tonight. I have nothing better to do the rest of the evening, and at least making yarn is taking the edge off my bad case of cranky.

Loop Cloud = Tweedy Yarn

2010-07-20T19:27:00.006-04:00

Those of you who know me on Facebook know this is my profile pic:

Well, that poofy cloud (shout out to Steph who works her magic on a daily basis) in my arms became yarn sometime around March - April. I have no excuse for not showing it to you sooner.

Spinning this gave me a chance to practice long draw, an obsession that began with this yarn and shows no signs of abatement. It was interesting to feel the differences in the various fibers as they moved through my fingers.

I was a bit surprised at how tweedy the yarn became upon finishing. I'd never worked a cloud like this before and didn't know what to expect.

Now the next challenge is to find the right project for it. We had a lively discussion about various shawl patterns one evening in my spin group. And I queued up one in particular that might work.

But I could also use this in a woven project, and with weaving, I don't even know what I don't know. A whole world of unknown possibilities.

I have over 440 yards of 2 ply, DK yarn from about 5.5 oz of fiber. Lots of options with this yield. It will work itself out in time.

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Oh, one more thing: YOU GUYS!!!! You are all so supportive and thank you thank you thank you for your patience and understanding while I ~~beat a dead horse~~ worked out my thoughts on my HOBBIES. I really appreciated hearing from all of you.

Shetland

2010-07-19T11:46:00.010-04:00

We're headed into the third week of the Tour de Fleece and to date I've finished two yarns (pics to come soon) and am well into the biggest pile of fluff I'd included in the Tour spinning set - the gray Shetland.

You see two bobbins here, but I'm actually on my 5th bobbin. With each bobbin holding approximately 3 oz of woolen spun singles, it means I'll finish up nearly one pound of singles sometime this evening. And judging by what still remains to spin, I'd say this roving is closer to 2 lb! Looks like I underestimated the fiber amount by 8 oz and this is great news because there should be enough yarn to make a sweater! Spinning a long draw moves fast despite the challenge of maintaining consistency. It's going well enough and overall I am pretty excited about this one.

The Tour ends Sunday and if I can get these singles into some finished 2 ply, it will be an accomplishment. I had set out to do more, but this infernal heat has really hampered my progress! Our house has room air conditioners, but not in every room. Every year that passes I recall how much I thoroughly dislike this time of year - I am so grateful I don't live further south where this beastly season lasts even longer. UGH.

About That Hobby...

2010-07-12T21:52:00.004-04:00

Hi. I'm back and if you don't mind, I'll continue with the thoughts on work and play, ego and identity. Where was I? Oh yea, I was struggling with how to monetize the knitting and then I saw that article in the New York Times....

About three years ago I started a new job at a large corporation. And you'll recall I noted the self help industry's implied message that I am a lesser human because I wasn't pursuing the THING. The livin' the dream thing. I took it to heart with the result that I was twisted in despair. I resisted the day job, convinced of a better life...somewhere else.

The despair pushed me to spend money and time with a coach and I took classes to gain a license. While knitting and spinning, I was also doing a ton of soul searching. That New York Times article arrived at an interesting moment in this time line, because I was about to take a serious leap. But then I didn't. For a ton of reasons, I didn't.

Around that time I had a conversation with a friend, an artist who has struggled all her adult life to earn a living and lives pretty much hand to mouth. The reality of that kind of living is, it consumes so much energy.

Anyway, she said, "You are so lucky. You have a job that pays the bills and that means you can pursue your knitting and spinning without all that pressure." A simple and obvious statement, but the way she said it and the tone of relief she expressed for me, was profound and I was ready to hear it. In that one moment, something shifted.

The shift has meant that I now embrace a very simple concept that I somehow missed in all that noise and psychic, manic energy. Please don't laugh too loud, but I finally realized and accepted that it's simply okay to have a hobby.

That is, having a hobby is valuable in and of itself. It makes a person interesting. It adds dimension to a human existence. A person can have a job, and have hobbies and be happy and well rounded. Fulfilled. Most important for me, it is liberating. Because there isn't the pressure to earn from what I love, I can love it even more. Without that pressure I can follow any path or or branch I want. No limits, no time constraint, no worry about making it work.

I know!! DUH. Really. Seriously. DUH!! Call me a "Sunday knitter" if you wish. I won't take offense, nor do I scorn the thought. My identity is that of knitter and spinner, and maybe soon, weaver. I identify with the hobbies and have a job, too.

Thank goodness I saw the light before it was too late.

***************
The Tour de Fleece continues, and the yarn you see above is Hello Yarn Fiber Club, Winter Storage, 686 yards of DK/Worsted weight. It's a monster huge skein, 8 oz of fiber converted to yarn during the biggest heat wave to come along so far this year.

2010-07-10T10:20:00.011-04:00

While I am noodling around with the notions of work, play, ego, identity and creating value from fluff, sticks and string, this showed up last week on Mason-Dixon Knitting:

I thought it was amazing timing! So I reached out to chucksmithnyc for permission to share. He graciously agreed I need to pay it forward. Renate speaks truth. Maybe I will get lucky and meet her.

Tour de Fleece

2010-07-08T12:48:00.003-04:00

Oh my gosh! I just realized I may have forgotten to show you what my spinning plans for the Tour de Fleece! I am so sorry. Let's fix that right now:

Three pounds of fiber. The giant gray balls total 1.5 lbs of Shetland lamb roving, from a lamb named Zinnia. I love Zinnias by the way. There's also .5 lb of black Shetland roving from the same farm, Wild Apple Hill Farm in Hudson, NY.

Then the handpainted fibers are from three different clubs - we have Shetland (Double Dog Dare) from Southern Cross Fibres, South African Fine Wool (Istanbul Sunset) from Spunky Eclectic and two bumps of Finn (Winter Storage) from Hello Yarn Fiber.

My last two posts featured the singles I've already spun up, and over the course of the Tour I'll continue to post the progress!

Do You Think You Can Sell That?

2010-07-07T13:54:00.007-04:00

Judging from the comments you all left on my last post, it looks like we are all in the same boat! Glad to have you aboard! Heh. Boy, do I know it. Bethany, you hit on the second thing I hear (we all hear) often - "You know, you could sell that." I guess it's meant to be complimentary, indicating that the project is so well done, it has monetary value. That people would actually spend money on it. They would willingly buy it. But we all know the truth - no one would pay what it's really worth, when you factor the time that went into making it.

What I want to talk about, actually to mull over, in this public forum, is work. You see, I've been thinking through lots of stuff when it comes to the idea of work. What work is, and what it means to me.

Four years ago I started knitting. I was initially attracted to the pretty colors - that's what drew me in to the local yarn store. Then it became about the tactile experience, the idea that I could make something with my hands. It was empowering! It was FUN! It was a way to channel some energy into something productive. And it represented the opposite of the tech world I live in 9 to 5.

Very quickly I also realized it was a fantastic way to shut out all the turmoil going on around me. Believe me when I tell you, there was much turmoil. Which we can maybe cover in the future, but not for now.

Throughout this time, the little voice was asking, 'Is there a way to turn this into a new career?" "How can I make money at this?" "What's the new and unique thing I can bring to market?" And I had other voices saying the same thing, "You know, you could sell that." "You should open a Yarn Store!" "Why don't you sell what you make, then at least you would be doing something."

And of course, the entire Self Help Industry is/was touting the notion that earning a living at doing the one thing that makes you happy is the key to all salvation. There is the implication in all of this that a person is somehow a lesser human being if she hasn't cracked the code on melding the passion with the money making. I recall a conversation in which a painter told me he was struggling to find a way to be a full time 'artist'. He scorned the notion of being a "Sunday painter". His identity requires he earn a living from his painting and anything less appears to be unacceptable.

You see, I had allowed myself to be convinced that if I felt as passionately about knitting and spinning and fiber then I needed to find a way to monetize it. To earn my living off it. That it can only be considered real if I could translate that passion into earning a living. And this notion got me tangled up for about three years, causing me great angst. I questioned my choices, and asked myself how can I make change, change what I do with my time.

And then I stumbled across this, which made me hit the pause button. What is work? What is fun? What if the thing I have fun doing becomes work? Would it still be fun? What is more important? Work? Ego? Identity? Fun?

********************************************************
Many of you asked about the bobbin I posted yesterday. It's 4 oz. of Spunky Eclectic hand painted South African Fine wool, called Istanbul Sunset from Club offering in November 2009. I spun it up on Saturday and Sunday, and intend to Navajo ply it after it rests a bit. I like how it looks so far. And this isn't the first time that the spun singles are nicer than the fiber, to my eye at least.

What Are You Going to DO With It All?

2010-07-06T15:41:00.004-04:00

Because of my Mom's physical proximity, she sees much of the stuff I make over the days and weeks. She often admires it politely, rarely even touches it and then invariably asks, "What in the WORLD are you going to DO with it?" This comes up most times when I show her my yarns.

There is often eye-rolling accompanying the question. I have other relatives who kind of do the same thing.

It's clear they don't understand what I am doing. They certainly do not understand that there is joy in the making. That for me, it's all that really matters. If it gets made into something else, well that's fine. But if it remains as yarn in a skein, and I had a good time making it, that's fine too.

They come from a time when everything needed a purpose. And I suppose my hobby seems frivolous to them. My Mom thinks I should be selling the yarn and knitting to make money. Otherwise, she thinks I am wasting my time.

I've arrived at a place where when the question is asked, I reply, "Oh, am I supposed to DO something with it?!"

More Bobbin Clearing

2010-07-05T15:44:00.003-04:00

Well we are full on into the Tour de Fleece, but I did want to show you one more yarn before I go into complete overload.

This is a 3 ply yarn made from Hello Yarn Club fiber, called Parritch. The fiber is Targhee, one of my favorites because it is so squishy and bouncy. After I finished plying and put this baby into a nice warm bath it exploded into a wonderful bouncy yarn. Just like I thought it would.

There's about 344 yards of fingering/sport weight yarn here, enough for a simple pair of incredibly bouncy squwooshy socks. If I ever get back to knitting again... (not gonna think about it right now.)

Before I sign off, I want to thank you all for your comments and well wishes. I've got quite a few blog posts piling up in my head, things I've been thinking about and wanting to put out there - about life, career choices, moving forward, being centered. There are also some lovely projects that deserve some blog attention.

Alas, these will all have to wait till another day, because right now I really want to get back to spinning for the Tour.

Bobbin Clearing

2010-06-29T21:28:00.005-04:00

Well, we are getting down to the wire with Tour de Fleece a mere 4 days away. Yay! Time to get those bobbins cleared!

Remember the Romney rolags I hand carded from the Natchwoolie club? Here's the yarn.

Pretty pictures, but what you don't see is all the 'faults'. I'll fess up right now. I can be a real miserly type and just hate 'wasting' fiber. Ha. Joke's on me, because in the end, the little junky short cuts and bits should have been discarded with ruthless abandon before getting near my hand cards. Instead, they ended up in the rolags and I now have neppy, lumpy yarn.

Plus I'm still getting the hang of the long draw. And to top it all off, I over plied, something I did on both yarns presented here. Note to self - ease up on the plying, yo!

The result is very rustic, and a bit scratchy. In fairness, the fiber was sort of scratchy to begin with. Sensitive types will not enjoy this yarn. It will take some thinking to figure out what to do with it, but I am glad I spun it for no other reason than it serves as an object lesson for me. The biggest lesson: be absolutely ruthless about what goes onto the hand cards. Garbage in, garbage out. And slow down the treadling on the ply, girl!

Technical details: 218 yds., Aran weight, woolen spun (mostly), 2 ply from 4 oz. of natural dyed Romney locks and hand carded into rolags.

The second yarn off the bobbins is this tweedy mix. Maybe you remember me trying to seduce all you spinners out there to head over to Knot My Day Job on esty back in January.

I loved spinning this batt and learned alot while making this yarn. It was fun tearing off sections and just spinning in a carefree long draw. This is the one where long draw finally clicked.

So here's what went into the making of the batt: hand dyed Merino, Alpaca, Silk (Bombyx), wool neps, faux cashmere and Angelina for the sparkle! The batt was so sexy I had a mad crush the minute I spotted it. Still do! I call this yarn Tweed and Sparkle. It reminds me of a country girl who thinks she needs to punk it out a bit upon arrival in the big city. Sparkle and shine!

It's over plied like the first yarn but not as much. Considering the span of 4 months between start and finish, I am pleased with the semi-consistency. Again, a woolen spun which takes practice!

Technical details: Approximately 240 yds, mostly Aran weight, from 5 oz of fiber, spun woolen, 2 ply from a carded batt. Lovely stuff. And best of all, I have another batt to practice on, after the Tour!

Stay tuned, one more yarn before the big event!

Mid June Progress

2010-06-20T12:42:00.007-04:00

Thank you everyone, for your concern and suggestions on how to heal my hands! They are doing better. In an attempt to do things other than knitting, I went horse back riding a few weeks ago. Fun, but really hard on the wrists! Ooops.

Those of you who are riders will surely see many things wrong in my form, but considering I haven't been riding in over 20 years, I was amazed I could stay on the horse, post a trot and keep him moving. Tonka is half draft horse and I really like how solid he feels and how nicely he moves! If my hands can stand it, it might be killer fun to work with this guy, doing a bit of basic Dressage training, something we could learn together.

In the meantime, I bought a brace for my right hand and wearing that for a few days really helped. The pain and numbness is mostly in the thumb. I'm trying to knit without putting too much pressure on the right thumb, which is sometimes rather comical and all the time awkward feeling. Mostly I knit in much smaller bursts.

So that sweater I'm making? It's moving along very slowly (13 inches of the body and nearly one full sleeve completed). All my other knitting projects are just not happening right now. There is some crochet, a small project that takes little time and doesn't put too much strain on my hands.

These coasters are going to be a set of six, intended as a house gift for my boss later this summer.

I am spinning. Thankfully I am able to do that in slightly bigger bursts, and if I use a long draw, then things move along quite nicely. I'm trying to fill up and then clear off all my bobbins before the big July event, Le Tour de Fleece.

This bobbin set contains the Hello Yarn Targhee in the Parritch colorway As you can see it will be 3 ply when I put the jumbo flyer on the wheel. I loved spinning this fiber, though because I was doing a worsted draw, it caused me some pain, thus it took a little longer to reach this stage. I wanted to really control the gauge on these singles in order to achieve a nice, well rounded yarn. So far, so good.

This bobbin contains half of the Knot My Day Job red batt that I started back in January. I got distracted, took the bobbin off the wheel and then forgot about it. Now I want to finish it! Of course, I don't have a sample nor any notes so when I put it back on the wheel I had no recollection on how to set my whorl and brake band. Oh well, I decided to go with what I wanted now, so 2/3 of this bobbin are heavier singles than the first 1/3. I'm doing a supported long draw and moving rather quickly, as it doesn't strain my right wrist as much. The second bobbin is well underway; it won't be long before we see how this yarn turns out.

But before I put the jumbo flyer on and start plying, I want to fill up one more set of bobbins. These wonderful rolags are from 4 oz. of Romney locks dyed using wonderful natural dyes in pinks and magentas. The fiber comes from one of my newer clubs, and one I haven't discussed on this blog to date. This is the April offering from Natchwoolie Steady Dye It club. Six months of dyed fibers and rovings using all natural dyes.

Most of the club shipments have been Merino, either top or roving. This one was locks and it was intriguing to me. It necessitated buying hand carders to process. In about a month's time I carded up the locks into a lovely pile of rolags. I found carding to be a pleasant chore, unlike combing which for some reason I do not relish in the same way.

All of this needs to be finished before July 3, the start of the Tour de Fleece. I have my fibers selected and I have an idea on how I will spin most of them. Maybe I can find some time later this week to show you what I want to do.

In the meantime, I want to get outside and enjoy the 7th Avenue Street Fair. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.

Numb

2010-06-11T15:27:00.003-04:00

Back in April I grew weary of all the gift knitting and needed something for me. The PhotoMan was out of town, and I devoted the down time to knitting this as quickly as I could. I wanted to get some wearing time before the weather turned too warm.

But knitting with this yarn (Classic Elite Soft Linen) made my hands feel strange. After about 30 minutes I felt like I needed hand cream and the texture would skeeve me out a bit.

Still, I like the way this scarf turned out - the pattern is Butternut Scarf by Anne Hanson. I used up all 3 skeins in the making, so yay for more stash burning.

I actually think this project may have caused some nerve damage, because it's been hard to knit ever since. I have a strange numbness in my palms and fingers, things are tingly and heavy. It became apparent that the culmination of constant knitting for four solid years has affected my hands.

And so, I've forced myself to simply stop. I haven't knit in nearly two weeks. And I am barely spinning right now - just a bit on the spindle and a few minutes a day on the wheel. For me, a huge break in the routine. It's a bit maddening, and although it makes me feel a bit lost, it is forcing me to find new ways to fill my time.

The good news is it appears to be helping, because the numbness is easing up a bit. A forced moratorium isn't a bad thing. It may mean less frequent visits to this blog, too. And less time on the computer in general.

I'm going to take the summer to reflect on all of it.

Sprout

2010-06-03T07:14:00.003-04:00

No drama, no issues. Just a nice, pleasant spin project with pleasing results. Sprout, from Southern Cross Fibres, the September 2009 club offering. This is a nice mix of fibers - 80% Polwarth (which the spinning world is currently bonkers over) and 20% Tussah Silk.

I didn't think I'd be able to control this fiber because of the silk, but it worked fine. I took my time, used a worsted draw, and ended up with 342 yards of Fingering weight yarn.

I see something incorporating a Feather and Fan motif for this one, what do you think?

Foggy

2010-06-02T11:34:00.005-04:00

A work in progress - Fog Sweater, using Cascade Eco Wool. The yarn was purchased for this project over a year ago. As many of you knitters know, these skeins are huge, - 8 oz of yarn per skein so four of them nearly fill a storage bin and weigh 2 lbs! Converting the stored yarn into a garment will take a big bite out of storage space!

This pattern is knit in the round which is great in that the front and back will be done up to the arm pits but as the knitting grows, so it grows in weight. The weight, combined with 1x1 rib strains my wrists and I need to take frequent breaks. I imagine by the time we get to the shoulders this thing will slow down considerably simply because of the physical effort required.

You can see it started as a much larger garment but I quickly realized it was way way way too big. This happened about two weeks ago on a Sunday evening, halfway through an episode of "Treme", on HBO. It went like this: "Honey, I think this sweater may be a bit big on you. Do you mind trying it on if I take this off the needles and put it on a lifeline?" "Do I have to? It's going to be hot! " "It's four inches of knitting. How hot can that be?"

Thirty minutes later we had the verdict and I went to bed. Defeated and relieved. An entire weekend of knitting wasted, but relieved the newer version would take less time because there will be fewer stitches to knit!

I used a cable cast on, which when putting 240 stitches onto a needle makes sense to me, rather than trying to estimate the length required for a long tail cast on. And it works well for ribbing, this is a 4x2 ribbed edge.

Now I want to talk about something that's really bugging me about my knitting. These ridges? Do you see them? I noticed them when I knit the little baby bolero, and chalked it up to the yarn, which is a very fine merino cable ply yarn that looks like a single but is actually lots of teeny tiny 2 ply yarns twisted into a single ply. The next time it showed up was when I knit one of the pairs of fingerless mitts, and again, I thought it was the yarn, because that yarn has a similar put up. But it's coming up again, in this sweater.

And this project uses a woolen spun two ply, Cascade Eco Wool. My experience with this yarn goes back to last summer when I knit the ill-fated Garter Ridge Blanket. I hated the way the project looked and abandoned it after knitting all the sections. I don't know about you, but I find Garter Stitch to be very unforgiving, showing all manner of tension flaws. And this yarn is also unforgiving in terms of tension irregularities. Which made the combination of the two just awful!

Which leads me to realize that it's me. I am doing something in the knitting to cause these problems! I think I am tugging the stitches when moving from knit to purl. Anyway it's bugging the shit out of me! Each time I look at this project it's all I see.

These kinds of technical flaws are a sure fire way to kill my enthusiasm for a project and I have to work hard to overcome my nagging doubts. Should I rip it down and start the body section over again? Should I learn to knit English style? Would that improve the appearance? Is this issue simply an unintended consequence of knitting 1x1 rib with a woolen spun yarn?

Yes, I swatched. This problem wasn't evident in the swatch. I have an idea: maybe I should stop here, go knit up a sleeve and block it to see if the washing will ease out the issues. And use the sleeve as a guide for how this honkin' huge man sized body will work up once it's been blocked.

Well, then, thank you! I think I've come up with a trial solution, now that I've thought it through a bit, so thanks for listening.

Gretel

2010-05-31T17:12:00.002-04:00

My Mom's birthday is just around the corner so I worked up a hat that's been in my queue for some time. The pattern, Gretel, is full of twisty cable turns, whew!

I made the medium slouch version (there are three setups for this pattern), because I didn't think I'd have enough yarn to make the slouchiest size, which has 10 more rows of twists and turns. I'm quite pleased with the outcome and Mom seems to like it, too.

World Record Crochet

2010-05-27T00:22:00.010-04:00

Hi Knitters and Crocheters!

Want to see your name printed in the Guinness Book of World Records? Can you crochet? Perfect! Come on out to Citi Field on Saturday, June 5 and bring your crochet hook! Many of you know that's the day for the annual Stitch N Pitch in our area. What you might not know is it's also a chance to set a World Record for most crocheters in one place, sponsored by Guinness (yes, the Beer Company and keeper of the Guinness Book...) before the first pitch.

Now that I have some crochet experience, I signed up to be part of the event. (true confession - I'm actually angling for a free beer!) Anyway, I followed some link to RSVP yesterday and tonight I received this email:

Dear Lisa,

We're sending you this email because we have only received 130 RSVP's for the Guinness promotion. We need 250 minimum to set a new Guinness World Record. We need more people to RSVP! We are asking that you reach out to anyone you know who loves to crochet and help us make history on Saturday, June 5th at 2:15PM at Citi Field.

The easiest way to purchase tickets is online:

www.mets.com/StitchNPitch
SIGN IN ID - STITCH
PASSWORD - METS

If you would prefer to purchase through a store: http://stitchnpitch.com/snpBuyTickets.asp?team=Mets

Also - here are the details about the Guinness event: http://stitchnpitch.com/pdf/StitchNPitchGuinnessInfo.pdf

JUST IN - Deborah Norville is actually coming to help us kick off the Guinness portion and will be "reporting" in the stands. Also, the NY Times is going to run something in the paper on June 4th - this is what they told me and yes, tickets are on sale up until the day of the event!

We are super excited that over 500 people have purchased tickets to the Mets Stitch N' Pitch; surely most people have "forgotten" to RSVP and will still be participating.

If we had one person more for every person who has already RSVP'd we would easily make the minimum!

Please get more people to participate in Guinness "Most People Crocheting Simultaneously" and remember - you get free yarn, a crochet hook and Mets Project Tote Bag (first 500 people)! Please make sure to RSVP!!

If you have any questions please let us know!

Thanks,

Stitch N' Pitch Team

So, there you have it! Come on out to the ball game. Bring your crochet - which is actually pretty easy to do while socializing...and make some history! The RSVP is the key - and you can use the links above.
See you there!

Tour de Fleece

2010-05-24T15:26:00.015-04:00

This year I'll be joining three teams to participate in the Tour de Fleece (!!).

I'm spinning for Team Crankypants and Team Monkey Farts.

Shut up! You'd be cranky too if you had monkey farts!

And of course, my home team - Team Spin City.

July is going to be very busy.

In the meantime, I've started my training. After that last flame out, I see I'll need to improve my maneuvering on the tight turns and increase my endurance to make it through the event!

Knitting with Handspun

2010-05-23T13:46:00.009-04:00

It was a really long journey for this yarn, but it's finally been put to some good use. Remember when I made it? I do. My lumpy bumpy yarn, which everyone told me I'd never be able to replicate. How true how true!

Over the months I tried a few stitch patterns. Back around Christmas I considered a project based on garter stitch. It didn't thrill me. I even thought of knitting up a baby hat but realized this is my first yarn! It stays with me!

So when I finished the Wurmy Angelfish hat and I was all giddy with the awesomeness that is knitting with handspun, I pulled this yarn out of the handspun stash again and this time did a serious scan of the queued up cowl patterns to find a match. Quickie Cowl (I know!) was the perfect fit. Why hadn't I noticed before?

With a bit of a modification to narrow the width and thus make it long enough to join with buttons, I was able to use up all but 5" of the yarn. Yessssss! I finished it up late one Saturday night a couple of weeks ago and the next morning I surfed till I found the perfect match - handmade ceramic buttons in a pretty light purple, perfect for highlighting the subtle lavender in the yarn. Be sure to check out Julie's selections, she has some really pretty colors in a variety of sizes - http://www.etsy.com/shop/pushingmybuttons.

Somehow I knew when I made the yarn it would eventually be used for something to put around my neck. The yarn is so soft - Cormo is wonderful for soft squooshiness - and the fit is perfect. This is going to be a very cozy neck warmer indeed. But it will have to wait till the seasons turn again, and in the meantime I'll use my newest photo prop, found sitting on the sidewalk just up the block from my house on Friday evening. Discussions in the works on a name, Prudence seems highly likely.

Win Some...Lose Some

2010-05-14T20:16:00.008-04:00

A hot mess wrought from my hands, this is most likely never going to see a set of needles.

What I envisioned and what I created somehow did not meet in the middle!

The vision: Lightly fulled laceweight singles suitable for a shawl, preferably Citron.

The creation: Heavily fulled unevenly spun singles that 1.broke in at least 5 spots when re-skeining, 2.kinked up so bad during the aggressive fulling they now appear as permanent bumps with heavy yarn abrasion, 3. fuzzy, frizzy yarn, 4. showing a very wide variance in diameter from frog's hair to light worsted.

Oh well, it does serve as a learning experience and the first lesson was to place an order on Amazon for Alden Amos' Big Book of Handspinning. Served with a heaping huge slice of Humble Pie!

Wurmy Angelfish

2010-05-11T22:50:00.013-04:00

Some yarns tell you what they want to be with such clarity there is no moment of indecision, no second guessing the choices; it is a direct path from start to finish, as if pre-ordained. This fiber knew it wanted to be Navajo Ply and the yarn knew it wanted to be a hat.

Thank God I listened!

This is Wurmy Angelfish. So named for the pattern and the colorway. Incredibly soft and squoooshy, thanks to the amazing prep by David of Southern Cross Fibres. Navajo ply turns out to be less scary than I thought once I slowed down. Really slowed down.

But that was the only part of this project that was slow. Because the yarn jumped onto the needles on a Sunday evening and flew off around 1AM. The four hours in between were smokin'. Fingers on fire, no anxiety, no hesitation, no ripping, just knit knit knit with such intensity I wasn't aware of anything going on around me. Zen. Or mad driven. You choose.

A bit of slouch in a hat is a good thing. Teetering on the edge of 'crazy old lady in a loud hat', but...not. quite. there.

It was meant to be. Every detail. Like ending in a little blue 'anus' surrounded by a hot magenta halo which was completely unplanned. And that makes me giggle.

I'm kinda glad the weather turned chilly, cause it gives me an excuse to wear this and now I don't wanna take it off! Knitting with handspun is the bomb diggity!!

I Wasn't Kidding...

2010-05-09T15:27:00.003-04:00

I told you there were more fingerless mitts...Ha! Here's a pair just finished up and barely dry...

These mitts are really all about the yarn. Which I bought at my first Rhinebeck in 2007. It was near the end of the day and I was wandering through one of the sheep barns when I saw three little skeins sitting all forlorn by themselves. The husband was tending the area and he didn't know much but I also don't recall asking any questions. It was priced right and seemed lovely, but didn't give it much thought beyond that.

The yarn went to live in my stash till now. I pulled it out to try this pattern (Natalya by Jody Pirrello) and that's when I started to observe what I was really working with. Oooh. A very simple straightforward two ply, but quite special in it's honest presentation. Probably hand spun. Maybe by the farmer's wife? And the color? Very rich, Garnet Red. I'm not completely sure, but it seems the base wool was dark - perhaps a gray or moorit? So was it dyed after it was spun? Was the wool carded with multiple colors? There are glints of gold, green and blue in here. And a shadow of gray or brown. Really lovely stuff.

After these soaked and blocked, the yarn bloomed beautifully. And now the mitts are soft yet sturdy enough for everyday. Best of all, they don't look likely to pill (my nemesis). The cabled pattern makes a nice warm mitt. These are winners in my book.

I started the project fully intending to gift them (as seems to be the normal course of things lately - all gifts, all the time). But after working with the yarn a bit and tweaking the pattern a bit I could not bear to let them go. These are staying with me, and I'll have to make another pair to give as a gift. Oh well.

Fingerless Mitt Mania

2010-05-01T13:34:00.006-04:00

For nearly five months now I've been knitting Fingerless Mitts. Fast and fun, I'm finding these projects are terrific gifts and a great way to use up the small lots of yarn that invariably make their way into the stash.

My Ravelry queue was so heavy with Fingerless Mitts I created a special tab just for them. Which prompted me to create tabs for all manner of knitted categories - Hats, Baby, Cardigans, Pullovers, and on and on and on. Oh man, to know me is to know I am pretty obsessive with the Queue and Stash organization. But it all started with the Fingerless Mitt category.

Once I'd nailed the Fingerless Mitts into their own file tab, I delved deeper into researching suitable yarns, viewing other knitter's finished projects and trolling my own stash to find pattern-yarn matches. All the while making electronic notes to jog my memory once I sit down to actually knit the project. God, the hours I spend in the planning - it boggles the mind! But I guess for me the planning stage is part of the process. And though I often get frustrated that I don't knit faster, or act more spontaneously, the reality is most of my projects require me to marinate the ideas till I am sure and can commit.

These cute blue cabled mitts are the now very ubiquitous Fetching Mitts which everyone in the knitting blog-o-sphere knitted like crazy three years ago (yes, I am very late to this particular party). Quite fetching indeed. A few hours of knitting back in February resulted in a perfect birthday gift. And they hit a sweet spot for me in the Great Houndville Stash Knit Down of 2010. All the technical details are here including the modifications I made - they are longer than called for in the pattern.

Next up is this lovely pattern called Susie's Reading Mitts. Which was perfect since the recipient's name is a bit variation on that. She was so patient waiting for these - the whole Potholder Swap thing kind of jumped to the front of the line in March!

I had a few false starts with this project. In fact, it started as a different pattern but I hated the way it knitted up. That pattern got booted out of my queue and I moved this one to the top. The yarn was deceptive too! It took several changes in needle size before I found the magic combination of fabric drape with heat retention density. I cannot remember why I bought this yarn in the first place, but once I started working it up on this project, I kinda fell hard in love with the color. And used up all but a smidgen of the yarn, so woo-hoo for continued stash reduction. Linky here for more gory details.

This mitt design is lovely - simple and feminine without being fussy. And it invites you to consider small changes - additions or deletions, depending on the yarn being used. I particularly like the picot edge, something I'd never used before. It's a nice touch and worth the effort. This pattern is a winner and it will likely become a standard as I work on building that gift stash.

So the Great Houndville Stash Knit Down is becoming an enjoyable discipline/challenge. It's like a competition with myself to see if I can bring out the best in the yarn by matching it with the perfect pattern. Stay tuned for the next parade of fingerless mitts, there's more where these came from!

:)

2010-04-17T09:15:00.003-04:00

More potholders, this time for my Mother In Law.

PhotoMan heads out to Northern California this morning for a visit with his Mom. Armed with a little gift from me.

This set incorporated a discipline that the Swap Potholders did not. Namely, keeping the color choices limited to 5 and then combining them into different stripe sequences. These colors feel a bit "retro Mexico" to me, so I am quite pleased with the results.

The pattern is really easy, Old Fashioned Potholders by Cathy Irish (that's a Rav link to my project page with info on yarn colors, amount used and all the other gory details including individual pics of each potholder) I love this newest feature on Ravelry, don't you?!.

Making potholders is fun, and a bit addictive.
Happy weekend to all!

Bella Mittens on Steroids

2010-04-12T12:57:00.003-04:00

The gluttony that is my stash is really starting to feel like a guilty burden. It weighs on my conscience and if I can't knit faster I may begin to give some of it away or sell it.

I did hit on one pattern that works up fast and burns up two skeins of yarn (Cascade 109LE, sadly discontinued) for each project. That put a good dent in the bulky yarn bin. Of course, there are several more bins needing similar stash busting attention.

These are the Bella Mittens, a pattern that has captured many a knitter's fancy the last few months. Based on the ones worn by Bella in the Twilight vampire movies (did not like), these mittens are super long, super warm and really squishy (do like).

I have in mind to keep one pair, give one pair away immediately and reserve the third pair for my gift stash.

Gift stash. I don't know if it will work, but I'm thinking of knitting up quick projects that will use up yarn (to ease that burden) and create a selection to grab off a shelf when I need a quick gift. Maybe then I won't feel so pressured. Although I'm thinking hats might be even faster to knit up than mittens.

Catching Up on Projects

2010-04-10T17:07:00.009-04:00

I'm a bit behind on showing some finished projects. For instance, I have this sweater, "Heathered Grapes", (Ariann by Bonne Marie Burns) which took from October 2008 till February 2010 to knit, and another two months to finally tell the story!

The only redemption is that I can say it's been a major wardrobe staple from the minute it came off the blocking boards. Warm, comfortable and despite a few 'issues', I am pleased to have a cardigan to slip on when I need a casual go-with-jeans sweater.

I remember why I put this aside way back in December 2008 - it was the at the point where the sleeves get joined to the body and for some reason, I couldn't get my mind around how to do it. With that Holiday approaching, I put it on the back burner. Little did I know it would be a year before I picked it up again. A familiar refrain, right?

And that's when the fun really started. After serious knitting gymnastics to get two sleeves and the entire body onto one long needle and knitting away for at least a dozen rows (almost 400 stitches per row!!) I learned there was a slight error in the bind off on one sleeve, which made for a wonky lace pattern on one side. Ooops. Painful rip back.

Resuming again, but not doing the raglan decreases correctly took a further three attempts, each filled with multiple rows of knitting and ripping. At the widest point. Yea. Cuz that's how I roll, I guess. At one point I seriously considered cutting the yarn out of this section as it looked pretty pooped out. Which put us to end of January and it was cold! Were it not for needing a new sweater I might have shelved this one forever.

But I am really glad I didn't. I learned lots about sweater construction, and the mistakes I've made in this one will not be repeated in the next sweater: 1. I will make better button holes which will be be positioned in the center of the button band, not near the edge. 2. If I encounter another pattern that combines raglan decreases with a lace pattern, I will take note to mirror the decreases so the lace pattern lines up perfectly on each side and between the raglans. 3. I will pay attention to little details like properly slipping the first stitch to make a smooth edge through the entire project, not 90% of the project. ;)

Along the way, I make a few modifications to the pattern.
1. Knit 2 inches longer in the body before the waist shaping. To cover the hips. Ever widening.
2. Knit a 1x1 rib collar for 4 inches. I think the pattern called for Garter Stitch? I wanted to carry the 1x1 rib up from the button bands into the collar for a seamless look.
3. Used a 3 stitch I-cord for the belt rather than slip stitch crochet. Yes, it takes longer. Worth the effort.

I found some nice abalone buttons that work great and have worn the sweater constantly ever since. Most of the time I leave the belt off. But if I want to dress it up, I add it. And if I manage to lose a few pounds*, it will fit across the back and hips just a bit better.

* gained in direct correlation to my finally completely and forever and ever quit smoking** and substituting sweets. Yay me for quitting, now I need to get to Yoga all the time. More on that some other time.

**Yea, my dirty little secret, shut up. I quit, didn't I?

Potholder Landing in Houndville

2010-04-07T19:24:00.003-04:00

Look what I got today! Hee Hee!

The piggy is a charming fellow; the others are all so beautiful and well crafted! I love love love them all.

We are going to have some work done in our kitchen this year and I plan on displaying these properly when the work is finished.

Thank you swappers, I love them so much!

Shopping Manifesto

2010-04-05T17:43:00.003-04:00

To: The various chain stores I am forced to use to buy 'career' clothes (Ann Taylor, Talbot's, etc.)
From: Me, the fed-up shopper

1. Don't offer me a discount on your clothes only when I sign up for yet another credit card. I don't want your credit card. I want to pay cash. Why are you willing to give me a 15% discount only when I run up a debt? You should reward me for paying you cold hard cash. Cash goes straight to your bottom line. Cash is what pays your bills.

2. Why don't you ever have items in Size 10? You have plenty of items in Size 0 and Size 2. But never anything in Size 10. After repeating this mistake for a few seasons, do ya think you'd catch on - the Size 10s sell out because there are more Size 10 women. Maybe you should order MORE Size 10's and LESS Size 2. Whoa, what a concept.

3. NO, I don't want to be on your email list. No, I don't want to give you my Zip Code.

4. What's with the selection these days? Really few choices! Suits with only pants, no skirts. Or vice versa. Or outfits in just one color when there used to be at least three. Let's see a little variety and options. Mix and match options? Please?

5. Can't you find any other country on this planet to manufacture your goods? Does everything have to be Made in China?

6. Slacks should come up to just below the belly button. NOT ride on the hips. How do you expect me to sit down if the pants feel like they are falling off my ass?

7. Can you please find an alternative to the sewn in label? They poke the back of my neck and drive me batty. If you insist on sewing in a label, can you please use cotton thread not nylon fishing wire? You don't use nylon fishing line for the seams, and they are far more important to the garment's integrity. So why do you think you need to affix the label with such an indestructible thread?? Come to think of it, why are the labels so stiff and unyielding?

8. Clean, classic, well fitting with a unique twist. And doesn't cost an arm and a leg. How hard is that?

The Magnolia Edition

2010-04-04T22:59:00.010-04:00

I took a break today, to visit Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

I wanted to see the Magnolias before their burst of glory completely faded.

It was evident the peak arrived sometime earlier this week, but I managed to find a few gems.

The crowds reflected the weather's cooperation, because Jeeper Joe, the joint was jumpin'!

I did manage to do some spinning, some knitting, some fleece combing and some Alpaca fleece washing over the weekend.

I'll have some things to share as soon as these projects get their moment in front of the camera. How was your weekend?

New Yarn

2010-03-29T21:17:00.003-04:00

Let's see...it's been a good long time since I showed you new yarns. I have a few in the works but these three I've finished up over the last six or eight weeks.

First up from a small batt purchased at Rhinebeck, last fall. It's 2-ply, about 96 yards, 12 wpi; from 1.75 oz of hand dyed, hand carded Dorset Sheep's wool from Amondale Farms in Stow MA.
I have no specific plan for this yarn. It represents a step in learning a new technique. In this case, an attempt at long draw yarn, though the truth is, it's closer to a supported long draw.

There's a Handspun Revolution exhibit coming up and a call for entries. This little 40 yard skein came from a teeny little batt handed out as a Holiday party favor. Donna made these on her drum carder after dyeing the fiber with Kool Aid. I need to send this off soon, if they will accept my entry, since I somehow missed the deadline. It's supposed to be part of a huge yarn art installation this May, in Norway.

Last but not least, a lovely plumpy skein of Superfine Merino, 2 ply, 350 yards, 12 wpi - Sport Weight yarn. Always on the lookout for some Funky Carolina fibers, I snagged this bump through a massive Ravely destash last December. This is one of Carrie's club offerings, called "What Light". Very nice colors, the turquoise shots make me happy.

The yarn was spun with a recipient in mind, a friend and knitter recovering from surgery. I thought a little handspun might cheer her up. I'd never spun a superfine Merino and it was good to give it a go, though I feel like I need to practice with this fiber. Lucky for me I have plenty in my stash for that.

The yarns I'm working on now are more representative of my 2010 spinning goals - Navajo ply and Long Draw. I'll be focusing more attention to these techniques, particularly the Long Draw throughout the year.

Orchids

2010-03-28T20:03:00.003-04:00

This Sunday morning I took Mom up to the New York Botanical Garden to see the Orchid show. A nice break from the routine for both of us.

It's been a rough couple of months as we've come to the place in our lives where the role of caretaker transfers from the parent to the child. She's fighting it every step of the way and while I admire the struggle to hold on to independence, it became evident that I needed to take over paying bills, scheduling doctor appointments and arranging day to day tasks.

The level of involvement will only increase in the months to come and at some point I'll need to call in some help. For now we achieved a plateau which I hope will remain stable for the near term.

Our adventure gave her a chance to marvel at how amazing this universe is; how abundant and varied, how intensely colorful and lush. Best of all she forgot her troubles for a bit which was a relief.

I'm going to try to inject more of these little events into her life, while she can still enjoy them. Who knows if she really remembers them a week later, but at least she enjoyed the moment.

I Love A Parade

2010-03-22T01:03:00.003-04:00

Every year on the Sunday following St Patrick's Day, Park Slope Brooklyn has its own little St. Patrick's Day parade. This year's was bigger than any I've seen in the last 8 years.

My favorite part is the Irish Setters and the horses. Only this year there were no horses. The Irish Setters always make me smile.

And the O'Malley Irish Dancing School girls were fun what with the Marie Antoinette hair styles and the costumes.

The parade travels down the main shopping drag and then turns onto our street and marches right past our house. It always brings out the neighbors and today's sunny weather drew a little crowd.

This parade is one of three held each year. It's the most formal of the three, with all the Parochial Schools and Irish organizations, Scout troops and marching bands from NYPD, DSNY, etc.

The other parades are the Halloween parade - a loosely organized affair consisting mostly of a rag tag bunch of kids in their costumes, strolling down 7th Ave. with their parents (also in costume), their dogs (also in costume!!) and a small kazoo style band. That parade is hilarious and adorable at the same time.

Finally there's the Little League Baseball Season Opener parade. It's held on a Saturday morning and the Pee Wees are so cute you want to cry. That parade takes about 10 minutes and then all the kids go into Prospect Park to play ball!

It's a slice of small town America, right in the heart of Big City Brooklyn NY.

Potholder Swap!

2010-03-21T15:39:00.003-04:00

Finito! Potholders in an array of bright crayon box colors. Definitely scratching some deeply rooted itch that never got scratched when I was a kid.

I longed for the giant box of Crayolas and it never arrived. Playing with this cotton yarn is my compensating measure. And the green/orange/chartreuse one on the left? Started on St Patrick's Day, while listening to my newest iPod download - The Chieftans, "San Patricio". An album destined to win a Grammy. Go get it. You won't be sorry.

So, there are actually six potholders in the group shots above, and that's because one of these didn't meet my quality standards and shall remain at home. The other five are on their way to a small town in Western MA, where they will join hundreds of other potholders arriving from around the world (yes, this is a global swap!!). In return, I will get five swapped potholders in the near future. I've been following along on flickr and Ravelry and all of the creations are simply stunning. I can't wait to see what comes back.

Making these potholders taught me the basics. I'm still a beginner, and want to dig a bit deeper. There are a few projects in mind that will expand on the new skills. For me, that's the most rewarding part - learning something new while participating in a virtual community event!

Zoe the Heart Thief

2010-03-13T00:04:00.011-05:00

In late January an Important Friend celebrated a rite of passage by becoming a Grandparent. I learned of the upcoming event last Fall when he expressed his joy at the prospect of spoiling a little girl. Having only sons, I knew this made Zoe's arrival even more special.

The obscenely large yarn stash comes in super handy for events like this and a quick dive into the storage bins unearthed three perfect skeins of Berrocco Pure Merino Heathers in a lovely Cinnabar Lacquer. This yarn was begging to become a Zoe-baby knit because you see, I knew in my bones this kid would be born with black hair, given her half Korean genetics.

But what I didn't plan on was just how completely adorable she would be, that's for sure! Even when not wearing Knithound-made garments, this is one drop dead gorgeous baby! No wonder her Daddy is proud!

There was just enough yarn to make up a little shrug and a little pair of socks - both patterns came from Debbie Bliss's "Simple Baby Knits". And while the shrug took less than a week of effortless and thoroughly enjoyable knitting, I spent another two or three weeks in a sort of mad frenzy of thrifty frugality becoming all-hell bent on making an "extra something" that would round out the gift and use up every inch of that yarn.

Isn't Zoe devastatingly adorable in her color coordinated outfit? And the knits fit! For now anyway, with just enough room to get some more use before she outgrows it all.

I squealed in delight upon receiving these pics. She knows how to steal hearts, gazing right into the camera the way she does. Well, she stole mine, so I imagine she succeeded in stealing Grandpa's heart the minute he laid eyes on her. Welcome to the world, Zoe!

Comments and Replies

2010-03-09T07:41:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone,

I love getting comments to my blog posts - it's great feedback and it makes me feel like I am engaging in more of a dialog than just talking into the wind.

I try to reply, even to just say 'thank you' for commenting. Blogger is frustrating in that sometimes I cannot locate an email to reply to.

I've taken to saving the email addresses that I do have, so I am building up the contact list in my gmail account. This is time consuming, as I haven't found a simple way to do it.

So if you don't hear from me, please don't think I am being rude. I simply cannot find a way to respond on a more personal level.

Thanks, have a great day!

Loopy

2010-03-07T14:05:00.004-05:00

Cathy, Dawn, Lynn and I headed up to Loop yesterday, to spin and play with fiber. It was a FUN and FUNNY day!

What started out as this,

got some juice and blingy goodness added to it...

And was blended into this:

On the ride home, Dawn gave us her baby knitting prescription. Let's just say color coordinating for purple babies...might be a key ingredient! Speaking of key ingredients, sausages served in Parisian brasseries contain some sensitive Donkey parts, especially if you are an American tourist! Ask me how I know.

Circles and Circles

2010-03-02T12:38:00.004-05:00

Last week was completely devoted to learning a new skill - crochet. For some reason, all previous attempts to figure out this craft eluded me and I struggled to 'read' the stitches. Well, I hunkered down and hooked and ripped and hooked and ripped. But I finally banged out a potholder.

The thing is, being able to see the mistakes meant I was learning to read the stitches and that makes all the difference.

I've got four more of these to make in the next two weeks, and I now think it's an achievable goal. And I'm glad I took the time to finally learn this one, because I have a few home-based projects in mind that would really be suitable in crochet.

I've also been thinking about people with a tendency to feign an air of mystery. When taken to the extreme, maybe it's a ruse to hide the fact there's nothing there! Intent without action is merely wishful thinking. Lack of action is simply this: nothing. And I've been putting way too much energy into something that is nothing. Better to focus on what's right in front of me, it's real and I always bet on real.

Coppertone Mitts

2010-02-22T17:18:00.002-05:00

This is the one:

- where I made something nearly perfect and then nearly destroyed them.

- where I combined one of my favorite yarns with a wonderfully written pattern to make a project that hit all the high notes in my brief knitting life.

- where I was so excited about finishing the project I've worn them every day since mid-January.

- where I was wearing them last Tuesday and they smelled like gasoline after I filled the tank.

- where I popped them into a cool bath with some mild soap and a gray scarf with a coffee stain. (Oh virtuous me, getting all clean and everything.)

- where I went merrily about with that thing called my life. Involving on that day: yoga, groceries, cook, eat, clean, email, Olympics and doze on sofa. In that order.

- where I stagger into the bathroom and discover a Rubbermaid container with two distinct and growing pools of dye bleed - one rust, one gray. Like life seeping slowly out of these knits.

Yes. This is the one where the mitts are still here, a little beaten up, but still here. Just like me.

Connecting Randomness

2010-02-20T23:47:00.003-05:00

Remember a couple weeks back I mentioned a stew obsession? It took on a life of its own and sent me to shop for a larger stew pot!

Yep, I bought the LeCreuset French Oven - happy surprise, it was on super sale over at Broadway Panhandler. Pretty, isn't it?

This stew makes a hearty meal for cold winter nights. I modified and adapted a recipe found in Martha Stewart's "Great Food Fast", Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2007.

Moroccan Chicken Stew with Couscous

About 2.5 lbs. skinless bone in chicken thighs (I use organic)
3 or 4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
3 or 4 onions, thinly sliced
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes, and use the juice in the can, too!
1 or 2 cans drained and rinsed chickpeas
Add in enough chicken broth to ensure the mix is covered. The tomato juice will add liquid, but you may need between 1 - 1.5 cups liquid. Use your judgement.
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground tumeric
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
2 or 3 zucchini (about 1 lb.) halved crosswise and quartered lengthwise
Couscous.

1. In a Dutch oven or French oven combine the chicken, carrots, onions, tomatoes, chickpeas, stock and spices. Break up the tomatoes.
2. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cover and simmer on low about 20 minutes. Add in the zucchini and cook another 15 - 20 minutes. The chicken and carrots should be cooked by now, and the zucchini is tender without falling apart.
3. Boil about 1 cup water with a small dollop of olive oil and salt, add 1 cup couscous, stir, cover and set aside for about 5 minutes.
4. Divide the couscous evenly and spoon the chicken, vegetables and broth on top. Enjoy with a nice salad.

Your house will smell yummy and your tummy with thank you. The leftovers are even better.

To Conquer, To Reclaim and A Demise

2010-02-15T19:31:00.005-05:00

The President's Day holiday was a perfect time for me to regroup and organize the projects. Over the weekend I finally finished a sweater that's been languishing for a very long time. Yay! I just need to get some buttons on this thing before the great reveal. Not that I haven't been wearing it non-stop since I finished and blocked it! I can't wait to show you all, because after sitting on the sidelines forever, I picked it up back in December and though I had a few battles before I wrestled it to the ground, I eventually got the upper hand and showed it who's boss around these parts!

With that sweater off the needles and moved into the finished column over on Ravelry (what a great, liberating thing!), I pulled out my giant black hole of a plastic bag, that enormous container to several unfinished projects, a bag full of swatches, items to frog and stray skeins of yarn. What a treasure trove that bag is!

With CathyZ keeping me company this afternoon, I frogged down a sweater,

one really awful feedbag of a hat,

an unfinished fail of a mitten,

and set upon some socks.

But stopped dead in my tracks when I found this:

Moths! In the socks! Last I saw these socks was oh, maybe about 18 months ago? The PhotoMan wore them but complained they rode down and balled up down under his foot. Not comfortable! I set them aside thinking I'd rip them down and re-knit using a smaller needle and maybe add ribbing.. you know, for greater pleasure. Heh!

Surprise! These socks were unwashed (doh, did I really think he would wash them before handing them back??) Moths love dirty wool. I guess they also like alpaca! This yarn was mostly alpaca with some nylon. Anyway, these are now history - too many holes to deal with and really, I have plenty of yarn (oh you don't say?!?!), so off to the trash these go. Now, I have another pair of socks in need of repair and I'll gladly put time into darning them, but not these.

Besides, there are new conquests in my sights right now to worry about holey socks. The latest obsession is to overcome my chronic crochet-itis condition once and for all. If nothing else happens to me in 2010, Crochet and I are going to become bff's for life.

And I finally launched my Chevron Love Mittens. I rocked the Latvian Braid, after much hemming and hawing...

Conicidentally, these got started on Valentine's Day! I predict good things but first, I need to pick up two circular needles because it quickly became evident wrestling with 8 balls of yarn AND double pointed needles would be an unnecessary disaster in the making!

You can see it's been a busy few days around here, what are you working on?

Random Thoughts

2010-02-09T18:51:00.005-05:00

There's an ad on TV these days that caught my eye (and ear). It hits the nail squarely on the head. Don't we all feel exactly this way when we plug into our iPods?

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Last night the Spin City Group got together for some Show & Tell. You know how I was wondering what to do with the loom I picked up? Leisha has given me some serious inspiration.

These lousy BlackBerry shots don't do the shawls justice but let me tell you, these are gorgeous and they made me very happy. Such wonderful work.

Oh, and Dawn decided the IBM Atrium is the perfect place to hand card her fleece.

I love this. For so many reasons. It must be obvious to all of you, too. Seriously.

It's not a habit of mine to announce my New Year's Resolutions so you didn't see a list from me at the beginning of January. But one of them was a commitment on my part to attend these Meet Ups on a more regular basis. So far, so good. I have a blast every week, and who doesn't need more fun in their life, yo.

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And speaking of TV, I watched a movie over the weekend that had me so blown away I couldn't concentrate on my spinning. For the first time ever, I actually got up from the wheel to actively watch TV. It was Temple Grandin's story on HBO and I thought it was really powerful. I've been aware of her work for years, have been fascinated with how she thinks.

Now, having seen this biography, I have even more respect for her and her work. I may have been moved to tears over her statements about showing some respect to the animals we convert to food. Very compelling and thought provoking stuff.

Long Term Projects

2010-02-06T13:57:00.005-05:00

Some projects have a very long lifespan and this is one of them. Put simply, the grand plan is to make a large knitted lace stole this year. Simple enough, but the path to that outcome requires a few steps. This is a Fleece to Stole project that actually began in October when I bought the fleece at Rhinebeck.

The featured breed at NY Sheep & Wool Festival 2009 was Leicester Longwool, a sheep that produces beautiful, lustrous, curly locks with a very long staple. Not to mention the curls make them completely adorable with their Rastafarian faces!

This is the breed George Washington and Thomas Jefferson imported from England to bolster their existing livestock in early days America. The breed that Robert Bakewell staked his claim to fame while developing selective breeding techniques. He created a hornless sheep with a square meaty body and straight top lines. He also sought out native stock with long lustrous wool. Sadly, over time the breed fell out of favor as other larger breeds came about. So by the time it was chosen as the featured breed at NY Sheep and Wool, the Leicester Longwool is considered a 'rare' breed. If you ever get to visit Colonial Williamsburg, you will see these sheep in the fields and paddocks.

I remember a field trip to Williamsburg back in Junior High School which was a very long time ago. Back then I was more interested in purchasing souvenirs and getting into trouble. Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind another visit now - just like I really want to get up to the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. I'd say both trips are doable in 2010.

Anyway, back to my project. While at Rhinebeck I made a snap decision to purchase a small fleece, a first shearing from a ewe lamb named Sarah, who lives at Heritage Hill Farm in Illinois. I mean, how can you not buy a fleece with a name and it was so cute in the Trader Joe's bag, all smelly in a nice sheepy way. The thing that caught my eye: she was very clean, shiny and had lovely lock formation. And most important to me, at only 2.3 lbs, she was very manageable as my first fleece.

I also picked up 8 oz of pre-washed locks from another supplier, only because I didn't see the fleeces first. More on this bag of locks later.

The first step involved washing the fleece to remove the grease. I've heard that Merino fleeces are super greasy. This little fleece was the complete opposite, thank goodness! I used lingerie bags and a large Rubbermaid container with multiple changes of hot water and Dawn to release the dirt and grease. On average it took two or three soaks and a rinse or two to come clean. And I suppose it can be cleaner, but it's pretty good the way it is. I set out each lingerie bag on an old window screen straddling my bathtub to dry and then put it all away after the Holidays.

All the while I pondered how I wanted to approach the fiber. Each step has choices, each step is new to me. I did a ton of research on the Ravelry Fiber Prep board and watched a few You-Tube videos before deciding this fleeced needs to be combed. A bit labor intensive, and prone to some waste, but the result is beautiful, even, shiny fiber that will spin like a dream.

Here you can see how gorgeous Sarah the lamb fleece is, after a bath. Very lustrous and clean, virtually no vegetable matter.

I'm super super lucky to have generous friends. CathyZ has a nice set of fleece combs and she was willing to teach me how to use them and then let me borrow them nearly indefinitely. So, one Saturday last month I ventured over to her house for a combing lesson.

We combed and combed, and then we dizzed and dizzed. And we made little clouds of lovely fiber. I went home thinking this is crazy, it's exhausting and time consuming and what in the world am I doing attempting this for myself?!? I really wasn't sure I wanted to tackle this project! So daunting!

But over the last few weeks I've gotten more comfortable with the process and if I take it in one or two hour chunks, I realize I can get through this phase. And I've worked out a bit of a routine.

I find that laying out the locks onto a cookie sheet, aligned in three rows, with all the butt ends in one direction seems to work. I then give the locks a bit of spritz (water mixed with a few drops of essential oil) to reduce the static.

Then I lash on about half the cookie sheet's worth of locks onto a comb and work these locks about 4 passes back and forth. I've stopped using a diz altogether because it hurt my right wrist - all that pulling. My little rolags are just okay. I don't think I will win any prizes for my rolags but they will spin up fine.

So I'm over halfway through that 8 oz bag of pre-washed fleece and I have the entire Sarah the Lamb. And I've learned there is a marked difference between the two. The lamb fleece is immaculate compared to the pre-washed locks. I've picked out lots of vegetable matter, second cuts and brittle sections while combing these locks. Which only means by the time I get to combing out little Sarah, it will be so wonderful it will seem like I've been upgraded to first class and I won't mind the journey nearly as much from that seat!

A word or two on the plan: I intend to comb the entire lot, then spin the rolags into a 2-ply laceweight yarn. From there I will dye the yarn, and then knit up a rectangular lace stole. The leading contender for pattern is Myrtle Leaf Shawl with Willow Border from Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby, which calls for 950 yards of laceweight yarn. None of this is committed as I want this process to evolve. I'll delve into these ideas in future posts.

Right now I want to get back to more combing on this SNOWMAGEDDON (hello, Brooklyn - 1 INCH???) afternoon.

Fun in the House

2010-01-31T11:59:00.002-05:00

Reminds me of hot chile peppers, spicy salsa, and dancing to the Latin beats on a hot, sultry summer night. This is yarn that makes me want to break out and shake booty big time.

With those thoughts on my brain, you can just imagine - I had a blast making this yarn. Now that it's finished, it might knit up into a very joyful hat.

Southern Cross Fibre Club, December 2009 - Funhouse.

Falkland wool, fabulous colors.

2 ply, 200 yards, around 11 wpi - but to be sure, I should measure again.

Uh Oh....

2010-01-30T15:15:00.002-05:00

What's this? Don't ask. I have no idea how it ended up on my kitchen table.

I guess I really don't want to leave the house. Ever. Because I keep finding ways to amuse myself right here. And this latest addition is one that I thought about all last year. I have no idea what will come of this.

But if a 10 year old can do it...

First Yarns in 2010

2010-01-23T20:02:00.004-05:00

At last, some new yarns.

3 ply yarn made up from two different Club arrivals. Hello Yarn Fiber Club - Alpine - July 2009, 8 oz. Romney and Southern Cross Fibre Club - Binary Sunset - August 2009, 4 oz. Both are Romney, a wonderful long wool and softer than you would expect from that breed.

I've had this project in mind since last summer when I photographed the bumps and realized these would combine beautifully but was just learning the 3 ply. I felt like I needed to get a few other 3 plys under my belt before tackling this project because I wanted it to be as consistent as my skill would allow.

There's two skeins, total of 504 yards, 3 ply at somewhere between Fingering and DK weight. The plan is to use this yarn in a sweater of some sort, but I haven't worked out which one and how it will be used. Something to ponder over the next few months, and eventually it will speak.

To make these skeins as large as possible I purchased a Jumbo Flyer (bigger bobbins). Last Sunday morning I got up quite early and sat down at the wheel to tackle the ply. The Jumbo adds some drag to the wheel and I broke a sweat! It took four hours but I was so into what was happening I simply could not stop until I was through! Needless to say, I am pleased to pieces with the outcome.

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And here's another, one that surprises me, as it's a bit of a departure from what I usually spin.

This is a nice lofty 2 ply yarn spun from about 6 oz. of Coopworth Roving purchased up at Rhinebeck in October. Coopworth is a wonderful longwool and this roving was unusual in that half was dyed deep Eggplant, the other half left Natural.

I spun this with a low twist, and tried for bulkier singles. It's a bit thick n thin, but it worked out quite nicely once I plied it. I have about 130 yards here, and there's still at least 10 oz of Roving to spin.

This is soft, bouncy, tactile yarn. I am pretty smitten with it and if knit into a hat, I believe it will be quite warm and wooly rustic in a way that makes my heart burst with joy.

Random Goings On

2010-01-22T20:21:00.002-05:00

Here at Chez Knithound, the hounds rule.

We often end up getting shoved off the sofas because they need more room.

Lucky for them they are so cute.

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I've lived in NYC for over 20 years now. I've ridden the subways nearly every day since I arrived. I've become used to seeing rats scurrying down on the tracks. I usually enjoy watching them dart to and fro, and was relieved they were down there. And I am up here. On the platform. Away from them.

Until now. In the last two weeks I have seen rats ON the platform. THREE times, in three different stations. And not in the wee hours of the night. Like during rush hour with people waiting for trains. Rats running along the platform. So far, I've been lucky they were on the opposite platform and not mine. It would not be pretty had they crossed my path. Seriously? I'm giving thought to learning how to golf. Whack! In the meantime, I'm much warier going through the turnstiles. I keep seeing little shadows out of the corner of my eyes.

What is going on, people? I do worry about one of them deciding to take a ride. The idea of being trapped in a subway car with a rat skeeves me beyond belief.

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After a four year hiatus, I started yoga again. Well, I went twice this week. I felt like the walking wounded after the first class. But after the second, I think I can actually feel the muscles in my lower back finally releasing the built up tension. Duh. I think I'm going to try to stick with it this time. It feels good.

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I've been working on a Moroccan Chicken Stew recipe, tinkering with it to make it more flavorful. It has me so intrigued I want to buy a bigger Stew Pot. Like maybe a 7.25 qt. Le Creuset French Oven. I have one of the smaller Oval ones, and it's not big enough. This one stew has me obsessing over making more stews. I am in a serious stew frame of mind. I'll try to get you some pics and when I get that recipe the way I like it, I'll let you all try it out, too.

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I'm knitting these days. Surprised? What I mean is, I'm knitting more than spinning. I have this urge to make a dent in the stash. That didn't stop me from picking up these two kit bags of yarn, destined for two pairs of mittens. Because the other thing I am obsessing about is learning how to knit stranded colorwork. I yearn to knit a Fair Isle type sweater someday. I want to tackle the Swedish Bohus style as well. And to get there, I will practice making mittens.

This is the year I learn stranded knitting.

Remembrance Vest

2010-01-19T22:17:00.008-05:00

Remember that sweater vest I was knitting waaaaay back in November? You know, for Vestvember? Yah, the one to memorialize a decision and execution on a plan? Well hells bells, I finished it! A real garment. That I can wear! The only garment I started and finished for myself in 2009.

The original idea was to make it for PhotoMan, but he deemed the pattern "too bulky". Crazy, right? It didn't take too much argument to switch plans and make it for me, all me. I was secretly thrilled. And here's one for the redemption files: once he saw the vest pieced together, he tried to convince me to let him have it. Thank God it had zero ease on him. Cuz, I wanted this one fer me, I didn't block it big. Heh.

Somehow over the last year or so, I've lost weight. And neglected to measure myself in the interim. How in the world that happened without any attention on my part is a mystery. The result is just a tad boxy. It works fine, but the boxiness translates into a more casual look. If I were to knit this for myself again, I would go down a size or add some waist shaping.

Before I launch any more sweater projects, I need to take careful measurements. I'm thinking of doing that duct tape dress form thing that Wendy Bernard recommends in her book, "Custom Knits". Just need to get a ton of duct tape next time I'm in Home Depot and invite some friends over for a Duct Tape party. Woo hoo!

So I actually finished this project back in early December and have worn it to work several times! For some reason I just couldn't get the camera, the wardrobe and the right light to converge for a good photo shoot. I finally gave up and grabbed a few shots last week before changing out of my work clothes.

This pattern was written by Kirsten Kapur in loving memory of her father, Dr. G, who suffered the terrible Alzheimer's Disease. It felt good to make a contribution toward Alzheimer's research when purchasing the pattern. And Kirsten sure can write a pattern. This one was really easy to follow, fun to knit and makes a very attractive garment!

And the yarn, Classic Elite Skye Tweed. Yup. Discontinued. Dang, it's nice -- after a good soak. A bit dry during the knitting, a bath makes it bloom and soften up real nice. I get the feeling each time I wash it the sweater will get better and better. No signs of pilling, great stitch definition, this yarn was made for cable patterns. And gosh it's TWEED! I so love a good tweed. I'm currently stalking stashes on Ravelry; I'd love a pile of this yarn in gray.

While working on the vest, I raced across town to classes after work and spent four solid weekends in class. Lots of knitting time on the train, and between classes each weekend produced a really quick knit! Classes ended within days of finishing the project! The exam scheduling took a few more weeks to pull off. Wow, December was such a haze of illness and exhaustion. But it's done and I can move on to the next step.

Now, would you buy a house from this vest wearing woman?

You Know You Want Some

2010-01-12T20:58:00.002-05:00

My friend Sara started up an Etsy shop to sell her handmade spindles. Then she got a little crazy and started making fiber batts. I caved sometime before Christmas and bought one.

And then Sara, in her infinite generosity gave me a huge pillow of fluff in exchange for some fiber I gave her. I am not worthy. A blend of wool, alpaca, merino, bamboo, silk with a bit of bling, in a smoky gray blue. Oooh.

I wish you could reach into your computer to sink your hands in this stuff. It is beyond amazing. She runs the fibers through her carder at least three times. This stuff is super blended and super soft. You need to get some of your own. You won't be sorry.

Long Journey, Fast Finish

2010-01-10T23:40:00.003-05:00

Sometimes yarn sits in my stash for a long time, then migrates from bin storage to a shelf in my office. There it will sit while I ponder what it shall be. This yarn made that journey, arriving on my bookshelf way back in June.

During those months I hatched a plan to knit all the patterns from Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. You've seen some evidence that I am tackling that book in recent months. There's even a special set on Flickr reserved for the project. I've scoured that book from cover to cover, plotting my next moves after making the first pair last summer, the first time the bug bit.

It's strange. Sometimes the decision to pair up a yarn to a pattern is conscious, deliberate. In this case it was more intuitive. I decided on Child's First Sock in Shell Pattern (Ravelry link) and then blindly reached for the yarn on the shelf, mostly out of laziness. It was there! And it was meant to be.

This yarn. Oooh, oooh, I love this yarn - Spirit Trail Fiberworks, Alexandra, 100% Superwash Merino. Bouncy. Squishy. Slight color variation but not at all distracting. Purchased at Rhinebeck in 2008, I guess I needed all this time to instinctively match up the perfect pattern with this wonderful color, this blue/green that reminds me of the Aegean Sea. Not that I've actually been there, but it makes me want to go! I have seen waters this color in the Bahamas, actually.

Once on the needles, this pattern flew like the wind! I mean to tell you, it looks way more complicated than it is. Easy to memorize, there is a rhythm to the stitches and it just flows like...water.

Now, these may be the best fitting socks I've made yet. Here are two things I've learned I need to do to make a perfect fit: 1. Cast on over two needles for a nice stretchy edge. 2. Knit extra rows (in this case, 6 rows) into the heel flap, thus making a longer gusset. I don't know why I didn't think of the second one till these socks, but boy, am I glad I did.

I also love the toe shaping in this pattern, and might make it my go-to for all the patterns in the book, but I'm not committed to that idea yet. It's fun trying out the other variations that crop up from pattern to pattern.

One of the many 'resolutions' I decided on, and one that I think I can stick to is this: if I am going to make any socks in 2010, they will be from this book. But I am getting ahead of myself. Because these socks happen to be the last thing I finished in 2009. In fact, they got in just under the wire on New Year's Eve!

I'm already plotting the next pair...after I work up some mittens!! Because, BOY it's COLD out there!

Two Gentlemen in Fancy Socks

2010-01-10T16:58:00.003-05:00

A few months ago, Brooklyn Bachelor Matthew noted the turn of the weather by saying the cooler air dictated wearing socks. I commented that sock weather is so much better with handmade socks! One thing led to another and before we knew it, we hatched a plan: one pair of handknit socks in exchange for a lovely dinner complete with drinks and dessert.

Our plan got postponed with real life interruptions and now, the air is decidedly cooler. Like FREEZING, so YES, socks are definitely in order! Last night PhotoMan and I exchanged the socks for a lovely and delicious dinner with the Bachelor and OHS. Um, I might have had seconds on the Apple Crisp dessert, yes it was that yummy.

It's not often I repeat a knit project and to do two pairs of socks in a row in the same pattern speaks volumes for the genius that is Nancy Bush. Gentleman's Fancy Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks is so well written, so fun to knit and they look and feel great.

PhotoMan's were knit using Zitron Trekking Pro Natura, a blend of 75% Wool, 25% Bamboo. I loved the pattern while making the green ones. So much so it was easy for me to choose the exact same pattern for the Bachelor, this time using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in a special colorway called "Cookie's Deep Dark Secret". That Lorna's Laces? Yea, it's a win. It will be back in my rotation for sure.

It was a fun evening filled with good wine, conversational banter and laughs, and my offer to to teach OHS to knit stands. What could be better than a whole drawer of handknit socks?

Post Christmas Catch Up

2009-12-27T17:11:00.004-05:00

Has it really been nearly two weeks since my last visit? What a terrible month! A nasty cold that led to a sinus infection knocked me out about a week before Christmas and I'm just becoming a human again. Other stresses contributed to the lousy ennui, and for the first time ever, my knitting and spinning mojo took a serious hit.

I am soo glad to see 2009 head out the door. For so many reasons. 2010 is going to see lots of change. For the better. I have a few big blog posts queued up in my head, about Procrastination, Planning, Changes, and the like. Over time they will tumble out and into the Internets.

Christmas was quiet here. We so desperately needed some quiet time; a chance to rest and refuel. I tackled my cold once and for all and PhotoMan got some much needed rest after a grueling six weeks preparing for a show mounted at Kaffe 1668 in Tribeca. If you are in that neighborhood, stop in for a coffee and see the show - two floors of images mostly taken back in the 1980's and 1990's along the West Side Highway.

My big news is a new camera, which I guess I needed worse than I thought. I've just uploaded a bunch of pics to Flickr and am pleased with some of the results. One of the changes I want to bring about is better photography so this camera comes as a blessing. I might find my old photo mojo after all. It was something I did with serious intent about 15 years ago, but it lapsed. I hate to make statements here and then not follow through, so I hesitate in mentioning anything about rekindling long lost interests...so let's see what happens.

The one thing I managed to finish was a simple Lacy Baktus using some handspun yarn I'd made up back in the Spring, wasn't it? When I'd finished that yarn I was tremendously proud of it, as it represented a sort of milestone at the time, seeming to be more evenly spun. Truth is, it was pretty inconsistent, but the plying was pretty decent. Fortunately this pattern hides a multitude of sins and omissions.

It turned out nicely so I won't go into the gory details on how I still cannot count to eight, thus making this into a mutant mess on my first attempt and having to start over after I reached the 3/4 mark. Or how I carefully weighed the yarn at the outset and carefully weighed it as I knit along, in theory so I could make the 1/2 way point on the project match the 1/2 way point on the project yet I still ended up with almost 20 grams left over. No, I won't delve into that, because it's boring and what's the point?

At the end of the day, I have a lovely neckwarmer and it's seriously cozy and soft. And now I have the added benefit of leftover yarn for another small project.

I think I am going to enjoy this camera very much.

Before I sign off, I want to thank you all, dear readers. I love when you come and visit; I love when you leave comments and words of encouragement. You guys make this journey so much fun!

Here's to a Healthy and Happy New Year for us all!

Crafty YO

2009-12-16T07:21:00.004-05:00

Great news! The laptop is back up and it only cost the out of warranty service fee to get HP Support Tech in India tell me what's wrong. Now I have one more trick in my toolbag in case it happens again.

Lots of knitting, planning and studying going on around here. Not much photography to show, I hope to remedy that over the weekend. In the meantime, I thought you all would enjoy this, thanks to Colleen for turning me on to it.

GLITCH!

2009-12-15T11:15:00.002-05:00

Terrible timing, my computer is in GLITCH mode again. Not the battery, as originally presumed. Troubleshooting with Tech Support commences tonight. Crossing fingers this isn't costly. Be back soon!

Break Away

2009-12-06T11:01:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, despite the crap weather, Cathy and Dawn and I headed up to Garnerville to Steph's monthly Spin In. It was my first visit. Wow, Steph has one seriously awesome set up! She's tucked away in a wonderful collection of buildings that once housed a textile mill. Her space, nearly 3,000 sq ft of workshop is amazing! Workbenches, storage space, and a huge carding machine she bought from Belfast Mills. And best of all, mountains and mountains of colorful fibers!! Color and variety galore.

One lady decided she wanted a custom batt and set the various fibers on the conveyor belt. It's fun seeing the fibers run through this machine and come out the other end as clouds of fluff! Too bad my camera battery died before I could capture more! Oh well, a good excuse to go back again, to capture more of the magic that happens in this place. I'll bring some of my roving and we will play with Steph's fibers to create a custom cloud of my very own.

Dawn was wearing her newest accomplishment, and what an accomplishment it was!

She led a KAL through Spin City over the summer to spin up yarn and make an Aeolian Shawl. All of the projects have been mind boggling in their beauty and execution. Like so many others who participated in this KAL (I sat this one out...), she went from fleece to shawl - preparing the fiber, spinning it to yarn, dyeing it and then knitting it with beads. I stand in awe.

Yesterday was fun all around. I did some of my own spinning, got some good advice on how to spin up my Coopworth roving, and got away from home to clear my head of the recent sh*t storm that arrived at my door in the last week or so.

Red Scarf Project

2009-12-03T20:22:00.007-05:00

We interrupt our regularly scheduled knitting to whip up a charity knit project for the Orphan Foundation of America. The Red Scarf Project aims to provide scarves to foster kids as they prepare to go off to college.

Last week an urgent plea went out to all knitters across the great Internets. The project goals for 2009 were woefully short and knitters were asked to step up fast! The December 15 deadline loomed with over 1500 more scarves to knit.

I marched upstairs, raided my stash for some red (more maroon but it counts) yarn, and in less than 24 hours later this scarf came off the needles and got blocked. The pattern is a simple Mistake Rib, using 1.5 skeins of Cascade 220. (rav deets)

(please to ignore offensive NYC graffiti...sigh!)

C'mon, knitters - you can do it, too! Check the links for the specs and whip out a quick scarf. It will make you feel good. You know you can do it!

Vermeer Light

2009-11-24T16:31:00.003-05:00

Some yarns either in progress or finally complete. Evidence of projects long in the thought process.

The 2 ply lace yarn started as Superwash BFL, dyed by me back around Easter using Kool Aid. Then I spun it super thin on a Bosworth Mini spindle - the one I bought at Mass Sheep and Wool in May. It took forever and I finally just got tired of the whole thing so I still have almost 12 grams left from the original 2 oz. The smaller skein was my attempt at plying on a larger spindle but I realized I didn't have the patience so I switched over to my wheel and produced the larger skein. All in all, there's about 344 yards of super thin 2 ply lace yarn here, and I have no earthly idea what I will do with it. This was more an experiment to see just how thin a yarn I could make. I call the yarn Samba. Shake it up.

Southern Cross Fibres, Binary Sunset, spun onto one bobbin, 4 oz. This will eventually be plied with 2 plys of Hello Yarn Alpine to make a nice, round 3 ply yarn. I want to make a sweater and use the handspun in the yoke. I've been thinking about this one for months. I hope I don't screw it up.

These photos remind me of Dutch painter Jan Vermeer. The colors of the yarn, combined with the blue pillow and the light. I should use a tripod to shoot these days with the wan November light, especially with the Northern exposure from my office window.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers. I will be busy cleaning, cooking, eating and maybe knitting a bit. Family arrives in the next 24 hours and I have much more to do.

Beyond Knitting

2009-11-18T18:13:00.009-05:00

Lest you get to believing all I think about day and night is Knitting and Spinning, let me show you some things that have my attention lately.

First up, a photographer named Richard Barnes with a new series out on National Geographic wherein he photographed mummified animals; these were sacred pets of the Egyptian Pharaohs and kings. These are eerie and fascinating at the same time. There's a slide show over on the NG web site worth checking out. Tell me what you think.

Earlier in his career he photographed starlings in Rome, look at this, it's amazing. If you head over to his web site http://www.richardbarnes.net/index.html you can see a whole series they are fascinating.

I am always interested in depictions of animals. The taxidermy photos on his website are also compelling. They draw me in but repulse me at the same time. I guess that's what he wanted.

I have the same reaction when I look at Walton Ford's paintings. He had a show at the Brooklyn Museum nearly two years ago and it still resonates with me. I've been a Walton Ford fan since forever, and made sure to see his show at the Paul Kasmin Gallery when it came through.

His paintings are huge, super saturated in color and lurid. They harken back to Audubon, but they also tell the story that lies beneath the surface. The terrible history, the one that no one wants to believe happened. There's an impending doom in Ford's paintings and that's what is so fascinating.

Again, this tension of fascination and repulsion. I love that so much about both these artists. They both straddle that edge; they make art you need to experience with your brain and your gut; the work goes way beyond mere decoration.

Lots of people call themselves artists these days. It's so easy! I'll never forget, back when I was heavy into Photography (you'd never know, would you), I remember a guy rolling his eyes and saying "Everybody calls themselves a photographer these days". Today it's 'artist". I think it debases the true meaning of artist when anyone and everyone can appropriate the title. It's almost offensive. But for nothing else, it certainly forces me to put some effort into discerning who is and who is not an artist. Not that I am the world's leading authority on who is and who is not an artist. But sheesh. Come on, this age of entitlement does not mean you can just call yourself and artist and poof! You are one!

There's a book I saw today in Barnes & Noble, I'd love to have it someday: Bird, by Andrew Zuckerman. Gorgeous photographs of birds. Go have a look at the slide show, it's interactive so be sure to pop it into full screen mode and then tell me what you think. See? Now, it reminded me of Walton Ford and of Audubon, and it reminded me of another book I have in my collection already - Survivors, by James Balog, in which animals on the verge of extinction are photographed against white backdrops.

Oh and did you see the crow photograph? Recent chatter on the subject of crows got me curious, so I ordered up a book called Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. Now, when I ordered, I thought it would give me more insight into crow behavior. I've always been a Raptor fan but paid little mind to the Corvids. Well, this book did connect a few dots, but it was more than that. Haupt's story of the crow was a way to weave us into the larger framework of humans, animals and the urban environment. From the crow observations and her stories, Haupt reminds us that we don't need to travel for miles to observe nature. It's all around us.

I still want to learn more about the Crow behavior and there are other books that can show me the way. Okay so the thread here, about art, about photography and about the natural world and the urban environment. Mostly it's about the observing, the seeing, the links to the visceral and to the cerebral. No real conclusions but for my whine about 'artists'. Just more about keeping it real.

There's More Than Tweed In My Future

2009-11-17T20:08:00.004-05:00

What am I up to these days? Goodness all around. There's definitely a bounce in my step, a bit of a smile, anticipation and excitement.

And, there's tweedy knitting happening! Enough to put a smile on the face of any knitter. The yarn has percolated in the stash far too long. I'd set it aside to make this vest for PhotoMan. But he deemed it too 'thick', fearing it would make him look fat. Oh, brother!

No amount of convincing could change his mind and I decided life is too short. I'll make it for myself. And with November being declared Vestvember, what better time than NOW!

The pattern, Dr G's Memory Vest, designed by Kirsten in honor of her father, who suffered from Alzheimers as so many parents do. I know, my Mom is heading there. What a lovely pattern, the knitting just flows, the rhythm easy to pick up.

I've finished the back in less than a week. Furious knitting between classes and studying, on breaks and during travel. Studying?! Cramming, really. 17 out of 20 classes complete, an exam coming up soon. An Important Exam. One that will change my life completely and which I am so excited and eager to take on.

God willing, this Vest will be a marker in time for me, that time when I made a huge decision and decided it is so right, so real and I am so ready.