:)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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.