Startitis (who's surprised?)

After some serious stashing at Stitches Midwest (maybe 3 or 4 shopping bags on the floor and some more lovely kits winging their way Chicago-ward from Habu, Webs, a California store with cheap baby alpaca, and Black Water Abbey...I'll photograph the pile I have now so you can all gawk at my lack of self-control)...I need to start something right. NOW. Something that I can finish fast and therefore use to justify the number of future projects sitting on the living room floor (because there's no more room under the beds or in the extra dresser).

Thusly I have cast on for a bulky quick cardigan. I'm using lovely Classic Elite Marl La, a 100% wool yarn that's basically 4 strands of yarn held together, not plied, and each strand is a different complementary color. I'm using "Crazy Copper" #8527. Here's a close-up from Royal Yarns:

I'll use the Weekend Neck Down Jacket pattern from Knitting Pure and Simple (it's #0234 and available on Elann for a mere $4).

So for now I leave it up to you to picture me with size 17 circs completely full of gigantic stitches and not even to the widest part of the pattern...I think I'm building muscle.

Reviveth thouself, blog!

Much time and knitting has gone by. I have decided that fact should not stop me from blogging, which I have gotten strong urges to do for the past few weeks.

Though I wasn't working from late April until the end of July, and therefore had lots of free time, I didn't feel like blogging. I did plan a wedding and then get married in it (how convenient!), and I did knit quite a bit. Check out the sidebar for a sampling of FOs. I also finished a couple Secret Items for a friend (for Xmas) and a camo dog sweater for a lovely neighbor Shih Tzu. Photos to come ASAP.

In that time, I went to Maryland Sheep & Wool with my mom and good friend Bekah, and also went to Stitches Midwest with my mom (and took two classes with her). It was my second annual trip to each fest. Otherwise I didn't stash much, which is pretty good for me -- only a couple of skeins on sale here and there from Mosaic Yarn Studio and Arcadia.

This Saturday is the stash swap and yarn adventure at Arcadia. However, emphasis on SWAP. I really need to destash, period, especially considering all the great stuff I got in the last few months. The new finds really do trump the old stuff in many ways. I guess I'll use the stash swap as a warm-up to a full-fledged sale/giveaway.

When I update regularly for a while, I may do a little blog contest with yarny prizes. I still can't bear to destash any books or patterns, but honestly those don't bug me in the way oodles of yarn does.

A warm-up photo until I get back to the home computer (Banana Nut is her name):

Eli the cat in a too-small shoebox.
Photo courtesy of brother-in-law pro photog. Yay David!

Nonstop action!

Knitting? Not really.

It's all work and wedding around here!

I haven't even finished the failed Olympic knitting yet. Seriously! What the heck.

Soon it will be more knitting, because I quit my job. No new one lined up yet, but I have big plans and a strong desire for an income and benefits (mmmm health insurance).

My mission: Get over my funk this weekend with my lovely knitting friend, Hannah (back from Spain - yay!). Do some knitting and send out some resumes. Photos of fun and knitting to come on Monday!

What's happening, Clappy?

For the Knitting Olympics, I'm chugging along on a Clapotis. As promised yesterday, here are some progress photos, featuring lovely cats getting in the %$#@! way...

I'm doing the version as called for in the pattern, with the option to add more straight rows if I have time (the only downside to doing this for the Olympics: I may just decide to fudge and go with the pattern even though I want it to be longer...must weigh the options responsibly). Right now I'm about to drop the ninth ladder (9th repeat of the 13 called for, and still almost a week to go. Not bad!)

I'm using up to two 500 yd hanks of Brooks Farm Harmony (mohair/wool/silk blend) in a beautiful "spring flame" colorway. (Thanks to Rikeesha for the comment comparing my Clappy to the Olympic flame!)

(Click to enlarge)

I think this accurately shows the colors: from yellow to orange to pink to purple, with some muted browns mixed about.

This photo was taken today on the back of my sunny overstuffed chair. I also endeavored to photo my Clappy in the window, on the cat's window seat. Bad idea.


Eli got veeerrrry curious and the Clappy had to be moved posthaste. No permanent damage was done, though he did get a couple claws in. I should have foreseen this from yesterday's behavior from...


...Margot. I didn't get a shot of her in the act of making bread* out of Clappy, but when she finished with that she sat DOWN. on. it. When Margot sits, there's no point trying to move her. I eventually pried her off and wisely moved Clappy to the other side of me.

But it's all worth it. Behold La Clapotis burning like the Olympic flame!



Feel your jealousy sear your soul! Sing, "How much is that Clappy in the window?" PRICELESS! Bwa haha haha!

I'm better now.

* Making bread: kitty kneading, and with these fully-loaded kitties that means claws out!

What happened so far in '06

1. January 5: Long-time lovely boyfriend proposed! I accepted.

2. January 6-7, and onward: Called family and friends to share the good news.

3. January 7-present: Knit quite a bit.* Did lots of wedding planning. Told more friends about my blog, yet didn't update it. Some friends commented on heavy knitting content (heehee, sorry, it is what it is!).

4. February 10: Began Knitting Olympics by casting on for Clapotis. Better late than never to get on that bandwagon, eh? (And yes, I am part of Team Clapotis! Go go fellow knitters!)

4. Today: Checked alternate email address (used to be my main one) and realized the Midwest Knitters webring was gonna boot me if I didn't get this blogging show on the road!

So, some more about my Clapotis: I'm using Brooks Farm Harmony (55% mohair, 22.5% silk, 22.5% wool) in an orange/pink/tan/purple blend. Very springy! And as my friend pointed out, very reminiscient of the Olympic flame. Accidental poet, that's me! I have 1,000 yards of this stuff, but I won't use it all. I'm more than halfway through and I haven't even finished one of the 500 yard skeins.

Winding this yarn is wild! I wind half of one skein onto a ball winder and then just leave the rest of the skein dangling from the outside thread. (And I spit-felt ends together when I run into knots, or when the cats chew the yarn apart. Damn cats.)

Come back tomorrow for Clapotis photos! (Maybe tonight, if the lighting isn't as sucky as I think it is...)

* All of the updates I should've made will come in time. This includes photos of FOs like my fuchsia cabled hat, my tightly-knit alpaca helmet, and details on UFOs in progress like Kepler, the Softy scarf, and the "when-will-I-finish-this" girly poncho.

Tagged by the fug

While blogsurfing, I happened upon JenLa's blog -- and the meme got me: create the ugliest Yahoo! Avatar possible.

The two she came up with sort of use up all the good fugly ideas. I went for Le Strange:



It's hard to see her facial expression, which is called "Special" by the avatar program. And you can only barely see the red spidey hanging over the polar bear. That is in honor of Bonne Marie's spidey hat! (While you're there, check out her wacked-out American girl avatar.)

Knitting content, you say? Er, embarrassingly enough, I started another project. A hat from Interweave Knits' winter '05/'06 "cover your ears" hat project. I already hat two skeins of Misti Baby Alpaca Chunky, and I did NOT have a really warm handknit hat that wasn't itchy, so it has begun. Three rows, but still! This will be super-toasty due to its really tight gauge (4 sts/1" on size 7 needles) considering the weight of the yarn and its roomy earflaps. Download the free PDF of 7 hat patterns at Interweave Knits online.

Update at 3:00: Arrrgh, I just remembered another UFO to add to my sidebar: the girly poncho! My friend's daughter needs her recycled silk poncho-fabulous ASAP. I can't believe I forgot about it. (Just need to block, seam, and fringe -- before she grows out of the darn thing!)

Hanging new curtains

That's what I've been doing, bloggily. Thanks to the Knitter's Review Forum and the inimitable Kim, I finally found a good way to monitor my knitting progress! It's in the sidebar. Do you like how the green in-progress color matches the blog background? Me, too. And the finished object color is a pretty yellow. That's what I mean by hanging new curtains -- just a little redecoratin'. A big thanks to Indigirl for posting this information on her website in the first place! Brava.

(Note: I normally use too many parentheticals, in my opinion. As an experiment, I'm switching to italics for this post. Just to see if it annoys me less! I'm a parenthetical thinker/speaker/blogger by nature...As is usual with parentheticals, feel free to skip the italicized stuff if you're in a hurry! Hee.)

Edit: As of now I can't get the progress images to fill up with color. I can see it when I preview my blog but not after I save it. Any and all tips are welcome! Thanks again, Kim! She realized I coded the color wrong. Darn you, HTML and your sneaky ways!

As you can see from the new progress bar, I am down to three projects right now which doesn't include the soon-to-be-frogged, barely-begun Banff, and the remnants of an ill-begotten idea to knit a non-feltable fun fur purse monstrosity -- which I would frog but I don't want the yarn anyway. I finished the Loopy Pillow from Stitch n Bitch Nation and Xmas-gifted it to my Gramma. Pictures to come soon! I would put it as a 100% completion on my progress bar but there's no good shape for a pillow...yet. I may find a way.

On the Kepler see knitalong page here with a link to the free pattern, I have knit the two cabled sleeve bands and begun the first hip band. Not sure if that's worth 20% but I sure feel like it should be. It's in Rowanspun Aran, in an earthy orange called Autumn. Have I mentioned how much I love Cucumberpatch's UK yarn store on eBay? Got this at a deep discount with free shipping.

The swirl cap is a pattern from Vogue Knitting On the Go Caps & Hats. I've been attracted to it for a long time and can now actually make it, what with my new abilities to cable and read cable charts. It's in fuchsia Rowan Cashsoft DK -- drool. Yay for Arcadia!

NOW after typing that I realize the Rowan whore I am this season. Yay! Not to mention the recent stash acquisitions due to discontinued Polar and Rowanspun (I got DK). And I have a few colors of Kid Classic that stare at me whenever I peek at them in their drawer. I did get to use a bit for the trim on my Ladybug Shrug, at least.

Well, the scarf for my boyfriend's aunt and my friend, Lell, is in Berroco Softy, in a dark muted green. Not really a less expensive yarn than Rowan, but I got it in sale sale sale at the Webs booth at Stitches Midwest this summer. The Softy is true to its name. A tip: this yarn, with its occasional fluffyfluffs along a nylon strand, really doesn't look good in either garter stitch or stockinette. I'm using a suggested broken rib pattern, and it looks tons better. A new discovery. Not that I plan on becoming a novelty yarn expert or nothing. Yeesh. This scarf is really almost done, but I only put 80% because I have to attach FRINGE. Lell, let it be known I love ya!

Photos of FOs, WIPs, and stash acquisitions from across the country to come! Still waiting on yarn packages to arrive. And three hundred hugs to my boyfriend's dad for insuring that yarn package. He even insured it for the right amount! Seriously, bless him. How many non-fiber addicts do you think could correctly assess the worth of handpainted yarn?! Though now he knows how much I really can drop on really tasty wool.

Off to bed. Shouldn't have had that latte at 5:30!

More stash for sale!

Visit my yarn stash sale listings and help me make room for my boyfriend in el apartamento!

More on the knitting grind in the coming days...things are finally calming down here in Chi-town with work, play, life in general, and all the yada yada. Knitting has been occurring, undocumented as it may be!

FOtos! (A fotolicious FO extravaganza)

I had no luck finding photos of my completed-and-quickly-gifted Russian Winter hat from Debbie Stoller's Stitch n Bitch Nation. Let me just say I knit it in unforgiving wool eyelash yarn, DOUBLED, and had to pick up a bajillion stitches to knit the cute bonnet. Ugh. It was floppy and cute, though not really me. It was definitely Hannah, though! And so I gave it to her. I hope it keeps her warm in Spain, where she's going for the long winter to volunteer and enjoy the lingual/cultural experience. (For all y'all who are curious what this hat looks like, maybe I'll scan or take a photo of the model in the book. I made an all-white fluffy monsta version!)

Now, some palpable, look-it-me Finished Objects (FOs):

1. First and foremost, the Honey cardigan from Rowan's Ribbon Twist Collection, out of Ribbon Twist color 111 ribble. I made the medium size and used just under 8 balls. Here's the goofy umbrella-grasping model. Note the weird pose -- she's turned to the side and the sweater is very pulled in around her waist. This is because it's a naturally, er, tubby sweater. I may add in a hook and eye closure at the front where the belt ties in front. Right now the belt just sort of gathers the sweater fabric and doesn't do much for my silhouette, shall we say. But I still love Honey, My First Sweater. (Awww!) And I'm glad I chose this pattern from Ribbon Twist and not a pullover, as the unspun wool in the yarn is HOT HOT HOT.

Adaptations: I omitted the pom-poms on the belt, and did the belt as a two-stitch I-cord instead of twisted cord as the pattern suggested.

Model time! (Click on thumbnails to see larger image)


Closeups


2. Second, my one skein wonder made out of two balls of Debbie Bliss Soho in reds and less than half a ball of Rowan Kid Classic in #823 reed, a heathered gray and dark red. I ran out of Soho and was left with less than a yard. I even felted the ends together! Sheesh, Debbie. Gimme some more yarn here. But now I get to count this as a pattern adaptation and a "design element." Lemons into lemonade!

The shrug is a little big. I was too eager to begin knitting to wash my gauge swatch, and the completed Soho bloomed into 3.5 stitches per inch after gently washing. And boy did that red bleed.

Putting on the sass


From the front, the merest shruggy corners peep around


Thanks to my dahling, Charlie, for photographing me. This is the view I had of the living room while posing. Note Charlie and the kitties watching soccer on TV.


Speaking of photographers, the darling Kelly of the Midwest Knitters Blogring took photos of me meeting Stephanie Pearl-McPhee at her book signing at Arcadia Knitting. She lightened them up for me, even! And at work I Photoshopped them even a bit more. Excuse the graininess, which I amplified with further futzing. [s](Kelly, do you have a blog? All I have is your email. Drop me a note!)[/s] Thanks Kelly!! Visit her at kellynorby.blogspot.com!


Here are two photos of Stephanie with me (ME!). In the first I am giving Stephanie a measuring tape. She mentioned in her newest book how she can never find hers. The one I gave her was a weird freebie from West Virginia University. Cheap of me, or original? You decide. The second is the requisite starry-eyed pose. Isn't Stephanie SO LOVABLE? Yes. The answer is yes.


Projects in progress (UFOs):

1. Kepler (woo!). I restarted this great design -- check out the knitalong for more information and links to the free design. This is Rowanspun Aran in a pretty orange tweed, called "Autumn." I did alter the photo to try to make the color truer. No flash was used...


2. Multidirectional scarf, pattern from Holiday Handknits, the new Melanie Falick pattern book. It's really faboo! This will be gifted to my friend Rikeesha, who loves these colors -- as do I, so that works out! I'm using the recommended yarn, Fiesta La Boheme in Sedona, just because I had it on hand and didn't really want to knit the originally planned triangular shawl. Pattern says to use one skein for the scarf AND hat -- yeah right. Though I did buy seconds of the yarn, so maybe it's less than usual. In the photo, the fresh skein shows the colors better.


3. Broken rib stitch scarf out of goofy but pretty dark green (#2962) Berroco Softy, bought from Webs's booth at Stitches Midwest and cast on in a fit of excitement, then left to marinate in the knitting basket for a few months. (No photos of this one; it doesn't photograph well and isn't too exciting anyway.) I got the "pattern" free with purchase. It turned out very helpful, as I wouldn't have thought to use this stitch with this yarn. But regular ribbing and garter stitch and drop stitch (all of which I tried early on) looked godawful. Thank goodness I take anything that's free!

Some more cute photos I uploaded while getting these FOtos online:

White Sox celebration in Chicago! Buildings downtown lit up saying "Sox" and "Sox Win." Click for the whole photo; these are details.


Holding Eli the cat in a basket


Eli loves this basket I ordered from the Greater Good online store. You can choose to shop the store and give your donation to animals, breast cancer research, rainforest acreage, and more. Most items are $2.95 flat rate shipping, and many items are handmade, free trade items. It's also the click-one-a-day hub -- your clicks determine the money donated by the advertisers that day. Thanks to Amy for reminding me to do my daily clicks!

So much work, I just gotta breathe

Wow, I really need to step up my game. I have two big FOs since my last post almost a month ago -- the first sweater I ever did do (awww) and a cute little 2.5-skein version of a one-skein wonder. I'll take some modeling shots -- ooh la la -- tomorrow after work.

The last full week of work before Thanksgiving, and before my big work fundraising event, is almost over. I cannot express my relief! So much stress and such exhaustion, almost to a delightful conclusion. (The fundraiser should be a big hit, on the upswing!)

One more FO: I made a goofy fuzzy white hat -- the Russian-looking number out of Stitch n Bitch Nation. I gifted it to my dear Hannah on her way to Espana, though, and didn't photograph the hat carefully. I'll flip through my shots of her the night I gifted it; I think I have one. So irresponsible of me! Sigh. Must...keep...track...of knitting...

WIP List (wip it good):

1. multidirectional scarf, Fiesta La Boheme in Sedona (black/ecru/fuchsia) for Rikeesha on NDH* -- approx. 60% done.

2. Kepler with Rowanspun aran in autumnal orange, almost completed first sleeve cable band, about 10% done.

3. broken rib scarf, Berroco Softy in dark green, NDH gift for somebody (ain't telling), about 25% done.

So that's six pictures I pledge, oh so solemnly, come the weekend. Thanks to all five of you who read this!

*NDH=non-denominational holiday. I'm considering switcing over to New Year's. Is the solstice truly non-dem or is it more earthy-wiccan? Tell me your thoughts, O Five Wise Readers.

Weekend! Sing a great big song!!!

Ahhhh. This shall be the best weekend ever!

It was a very very long week. Perhaps eight or twelve days long. And there are fun plans for this weekend, albeit bittersweet ones.

My dear friend and former coworker (co-volunteer?) Hannah and her darling boyfriend Jesse are going to Spain for a few months. They may stay longer, and when they come back to the U.S. they may never come back to Chicago. I am heartbroken. BUT they are having a big party tomorrow, then my boy and I are having a fun day with them Sunday. Yay!

Hannah, you are a great knitting buddy and a wonderful, creative, hilarious person. Also bubbly and Muppet-like in the most positive way. Come back soon! I'm already missing you! And even missing our boys playing video games while we knit!

Yeah, everyone else, that's what we do on our "double dates." How cheesy/geeky ARE we???

On another knitting pal note, I'm once again playing Gift Elf through the forums at Knitter's Review. My gift elf this year is the wonderful Michelle (read her blog here). She's so sweet and always writing to me, even when I'm off in lala land and forget to write back for a week or more. I know she'll pick out or knit some fabulous goodies for me! And I thought LAST year was good!

The forums at Knitter's Review: not enough great things can be said. You can search for tips on just about anything, you can join in conversations on the latest yarns or patterns, and all of it is free and run by one woman: Clara. Not only should you use KR's forums, you should read all of Clara's knitting reviews. Then buy some swag from her shop. It supports her site and helps keep flashy nonsense banner ads away. (There are knitting ads, but I actually like them. I am a yarn ho!)

Tomorrow: errands (post office, bank, grocery), KnitPicks order (wheeeee!), par-tay, and another DAY TO SCREW AROUND AND SLEEP IN. Then French food with H & J on Sunday. It don't get no betta.

Is this cool or what?

My friend's e-zine just published a humorous essay I wrote on knitting -- more specifically, on being a Knitter (infinite thanks to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee for coining the capitalized term). Read it and be amused, or at least read it. Or at least be amused that I wrote a knitting essay for a patently non-knitting crowd.

Speaking of Ms. Stephanie herself, she is in the footnotes (yes! footnotes!) of this article, which I wrote so very passionately after meeting her at the Chicago stop of her bookbookbook2 tour. She sadly missed us on her first tour, so the greater Chicagoland area showed up in droves on Saturday, October 1 at Arcadia Knitting on the north side (which is my LYS, thankyouverymuch, yippee!). If you check out Stephanie's post after Chicago, you'll see a photo of ME. Go visit Steph's post but I have now saved the image to my Photobucket account for your viewing pleasure (photo credit to Stephanie).

I am on the left. Yes, I look flushed and ridiculous; good photos of me are few and far between. Do not judge me, ye who have not met me in the flesh.

I feel like a knitting superstar, getting to go out to eat with a REAL knitting AUTHOR, a local knitting HERO (Bonne Marie), and the owners of Arcadia (SUPER SISTERS in knitting HEAVEN). Plus I met another hero and SUPER BLOGGER, Franklin (on the right). What luck I have!

We had much wine and laughter. It was lovely.

The reading itself rocked, too; I met at least three classmates from Stitches Midwest's sweater finishing class with Leslye Solomon, had a new friend take my photo with the Harlot (uploaded image to come), and made a solemn offering to Stephanie: a tape measure. This is funnier, I promise, if you read the new bookbookbook.

Here I am meeting Ms. Pearl-McPhee.

Posed and smiley


Candid! Daring!

Many thanks to Kelly, my photographer -- I cannot remember how we met (was she in my Stitches class? Or friends of some who were?), but if she finds me, MAD PROPS!

I must now go to the place that Kelly works for. (I know this because she sent me a work email.) This is a very inside joke for Kelly and me, though probably just me.

On a side note: I extend my thoughts and love to Stephanie again, after hearing about her friend's death recently. She says she is doing better, but more kind thoughts can't hurt.

The c-word

No, it's not that, you filthy muffin! The c-word of which I speak is "consistency." This is a thing I often lack. Not that I consider myself a hypocrite...just a bit unpredictable!

As my ma would say, good thing I'm cute. Yes? Yes. So now, on to more frequent blog updatery!*

First things first, let's discuss my hair:

Your Hair Should Be Purple

Intense, thoughtful, and unconventional. You're always philosophizing and inspiring others with your insights.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

I don't usually go for these sorts of quizzy things, but hair color I can get into. I haven't dyed my hair wild colors since high school, when my hair was very short and I didn't feel attached to it. Plus I didn't have to worry about employment. But purple can be ascribed to an accident with home dyeing, if I play my cards right. Those dark dark red hair dyes used to make my hair a reddish purple back in Ye Day. But seriously, a new haircut is in order, and maybe a dye job just for fun, too!

The Knitter's Review Secret Pal 3 is AWESOME. My pal gives me great things, which I always forget to photograph before squirreling away the yarn and books and ohso fun goodies! I'll take some photos this week. One great thing she sent recently was a bath mitt kit! Now there's a handy thing to knit for myself, nevermind all those deserving loved ones. They can wait. And collecting stuff for my own secret pal is also joyful. I really get a kick out of this. I have two more packages to make, and two more to receive. The big "reveal" for everyone is November/December. Wooo!

More on the knitting front(ier): I have finished re-knitting all the bits to Honey, two sizes smaller than I orginally intended. This meant it was time, last-week-ish, for my first wild and wooly journey into BLOCKING! And I bought blocking wires at Stitches Midwest from my WONDERFUL instructor in sweater finishing, Leslye Solomon. (Hilarious and really knowledgeable. Meet her or better yet learn from her whenever possible.)



I've blocked smaller items before -- an unfelted purse here, a hat there -- but never mastered the wet blocking with needles thing. Wires ROCK! I am preaching-the-gospel-amen over here about it. Plus it makes the sweater look so spiny, so...menacing.

Let it be known that Margot helped me knit this, especially the last stretch: the sleeves (ugh) which I knit at the same time on some long and ridiculously pricy size 17 (!!!) Addis.



I also recently finished the Vivian II, so named for its tiny recipient who already got one hat made in identical yarn but which she has now outgrown. Eli approves.



In other knitting news, I'm going to help my friend Aleeza finish a long-ago stalled sweater by knitting a matching sleeve. Um, I could get in way over my head on this, but it's very worth it to her and to the sweater's eventual recipient, her father, who is currently very ill. Plus this way I get to bring Aleeza back into the knitting "fold" and help her with another ongoing project, a poncho for herself. (It's Aleeza's tiny daughter who will soon get the super-fabulous-colorful little girl poncho out of recycled sari silk and glittery Moonlight Mohair.)

I've joined the Kepler knitalong that dear Amy set up for this free pattern (PDF) by Emily. (EVERYONE, AMY HAD A BABY GIRL - three cheers for the Boogie!) The sweater is faboo, but I'm already stumped. I want to do my fabulous cast-on with waste yarn so I can kitchener the sleeve's cable band together (thanks again to Leslye Solomon!), but the cable pattern calls for doing a slip stitch edging. I know, I know, this is the sort of comment for the knitalong blog, but I had to vent here first. Ahem, done.

And now for some gratuitous cat photos.



Today's post brought to you by (shamelessly poaching) Wendy Knits. Wendy, your kitty is the CUTEST, and that hair color thing was a hoot.

*Footnote: I have yet to delve into the amazing story of the weekend of October 1, 2005, here in sunny Chicago, which involved meeting a Yarn Harlot face-to-face and hobnobbing with the stars! Count on hearing it soon.

Feeling groovy

I am feeling on top of my game today! At least, personally and knitting-ly. Let's do a list!

1. My Knitter's Review Secret Pal is just awesome. I never did post photos of the last items she sent, and I oughta do that. (This was a while ago.) She's always commenting on the blog, sending me notes, and just being thoughtful! I assume my SP is a she. I am allowed to "assume" on my own blog, non?
2. I swatched, and washed my swatch, like a Good Knitting Scout! After taking a sweater finishing class at Stitches Midwest, taught by the talented and hilarious Leslye Solomon, I am both humbled and jazzed about knitting. So much to learn, yet the smallest effort can yield such wonderful results! A kitchener seam from waste yarn is the most magical invisible thing EVER, next to maybe ANGELS. Whoa, dude. And she showed us the differences between washed swatches and unwashed ones...thusly do I wash my Kepler swatch, humbly and with knuckles sore from biting. I want the gauge to be right and I want to start now now now!
3. The little girl poncho I'm making (and designing, I guess...wow, just realized that) for my friend's adorable daughter, Mia the Pink and Purple Lady, is looking fan-tas-teriffic. It's stripes of recycled sari silk and Lion Moonlight Mohair in the bright blue and dark purple colorways (alternating). I'm just doing two rectangles in stockinette and seaming them to make a pointy front 'n' back. I hope I have enough of the sari yarn to fringe a bit. The colors are little girl fabulous (TM)!
4. Lastly, my kitties have been super adorable today, impressing our friend from out of town with their charms. I say this as Margot chews on plastic, of course. Good thing our friend is already in bed!

I hope a list distracts y'all from noticing the lack of images or real knitting content. More to come, I promise!

Cabling like a mofo

I joined the Kepler Knitalong, hosted by Boogie for a sweater designed by Emily at Fathom Harvill. Get a free PDF of this sweater here!



(Click to biggy-size)

The be-yoo-tiful sweater has a cabled band horizontally across the front and back, and at the wrists of the sleeves. The rest is simple stockinette with a boatneck. I'll wait for you to see the pattern now, as I have totally sold you on it.

Come back soon!

Heh. I am currently torn about yarn usage. I have a chunky tweed that would require The Dreaded Maths, and a DK weight tweed that would require more yarn (I'd be about 100-200 yards short, methinks) and is possibly knit too loosely anyway, though I'll wash the swatch next. Mmmm...Rowan felted tweed in Pickle...droooool. Been waiting to use this (50% merino/25% alpaca/25% rayon) for MONTHS. Bought enough for a plain stockinette sweater, and no more. Why don't I have the power of reason?! Usually buying extra yarn is no problem for me (ironic laughter, insertable herein).

Alright, to bed with me! Friday night is knittin' night with movies, I think. Bonne Marie would agree: Woot! Did I mention I went to her knitting in public last Thursday? This Thursday pales in comparison! Can't wait to see her and the others soon.

The Day After

After what? After coming to terms with the fact that I needed to sell stash. And it feels alright! Mildly (read: devastatingly) embarrassing, to see the part of my stash that is sell-able, implying how much I still have, but it's good for me. And thanks to everyone who has already bought some!

This also means that Today I must reinstate the yarn diet, aka YNBA (yarn non-buying agreement). Must call Mom again.

There was a YNBA button/webring for a while. It was even done by Chicago bloggers! I think they are done with the YNBA, so I think I oughta start my own. I'll even try making a button. Why not? I'll check in with them first...

Photos later this week of the Stitches Midwest stash enhancement (from last weekend) and my upcoming knitting plans! Also, hopefully, some progress bars for my UFOs.

Post-partum, pre-parting? aka Stash Reduction Cometh!

I have given in to my brokeness and lack of space in the urban apartment -- please, take my yarn! Help a girl pay the rent and assuage her guilt.

My stash sale is at http://laurakeetstash.blogspot.com/

and you can also see the slideshow of yarns and prices at http://photobucket.com/albums/v519/laurakeet/Knitting/Stash%20Sale/

More about "vay-kay"

I first saw the phrase "vay-kay" in Seventeen magazine when I was, oh, seventeen or so. My friend Heather and I laughed heartily. I still say it with irony. (Do not judge me, readers, for I am still possessed of Sincere Language Skills.)

After doing the knitting tour of Albuquerque proper, the dahling C and I traveled north to Taos, a wonderful artist community (formerly peopled by D. H. Lawrence and Georgia O'Keefe) featuring the COMPLETELY fabulous and unbelievable La Lana Wools.

One more time: La Lana Wools! Click and buy, fer goodness's sake!!



For most of the additional images, I'll post thumbnails. That one is work BIGNESS, though. Daaaaaaamn, that was some fine yarn and wearables. I wish I had tons more money so I could have bought the woven rugs and more of their patterns. As it was I spend plenty of moolah. Here I lie with enough yarn for four projects:



Note look of complete absorption! At the store I fondled and even test knit the 50/50 silk and wool yarn, Phat Silk, which I bought in green and purple (bee-yoo-tee-FULL) for two scarf projects. It goes with the gigantic curly "tailspun" for a wild and fun neck-wrap.



I also got some 100% silk boucle and more Phat Silk for a faux moebius, which I might make into a real moebius but keep the pretty lace pattern. And I got a gifty for Mom, some of the famous La Lana Forever Random wool with some 100% Bombyx silk to make a lil' drawstring bag.

Aside from knitting-related activities, Taos is gorgeous and adorable simultaneously. Sangre de Cristo mountains, adorable downtown area...twisty, green northern New Mexico back roads, touristy yet arty plaza...fantastico.

Also, great food. We ate at the nice-fancy-ish places at night, so the photos were no good. However, brunch at the diner near our motel was faboo! Huevos rancheros, y'all.



That look means "I feel guilty for eating this, but it is so good!" You can see the shadow of the drippin' queso on my tank top. Mmmm.

On the drive back to Albuquerque, we visited Angel Peak outside Santa Fe so we could take the ski lift up for an off-season view of...the whole damn state, practically!

The ski lift had hooks behind the seats for people to put bikes on. During spring/summer, you can bike down the ski trails. Whoa, dude. Charlie and I got a nice woman, reading a book, to take our photo outside the mountaintop lodge (closed for the season, sadly).



At the bottom of the mountain was a kiddie playland, though C and I couldn't figure out why it was there (this tourist stop is off the beaten path, at least during summer). There was a bouncy inflatable dragon thing that cracked us up, especially after I did this:


Oh, and where else did we stop? Hint: fiber related.



Yep, Victory Ranch Alpacas. I fed that little guy, and this little guy --



-- a total pig who came running when our tour guide opened the gates. Alpacas running = high comedy.

The gift shop had lots of woven and knitted alpaca garments, but most of the yarn available was millspun and not from the alpacas on the ranch. Luckily there was some spun, undyed alpaca as well as some alpaca fiber to fondle. Whee!

Alpacas are sometimes hungry:



Last bit: We went up one more mountain, this time the Sandias in Albuquerque. C and I went up this mountain via tram, as we did once before when I first visited him in ABQ four years ago. Here is a photo of us smooching. (Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Did I mention C is great? He can do impressions, too, such as Sam the Big Cat doing his lazy/mean face:



So, in summary, the trip was great. Now I only have two more big things to discuss (well, maybe three) to catch up: Stitches Midwest, my mom and bro visiting, and my first "knitting in public" with the Wicker Park group (featuring Bonne Marie and company).

Albuquerque...and back again

Everyone, I had an experience on this, my last vacation: it was my first actual long trip where I could really INDULGE the new yarn fetish.

Background: My mom taught me to knit five years ago, during winter break from my freshman year of college. She had just gotten back into knitting, and luckily one local yarn shop (LYS) still existed in our hometown.

I did my research before departing: LYS in Taos, Albuquerque itself, Santa Fe, and the backroads specials. Wait 'til I tell you about that one.

For the sake of not under/overwhelming anyone who may read this, I'll break this report into parts. I'll throw in some general trip impressions and rememories when appropriate/fun.

Today shall be called Day of the Something/Something-else. Celebrate!

My dahling's family lives in Albuquerque, who lovingly provided a base for us in New Mexico. We flew in on Friday, July 29, late at night. By Saturday my knitting hands were itching, and my baby's mama suggested one of the LYSs I'd found in my research: Village Wools. (Apologies -- as I've been out of the blogosphere for a while, I didn't immediately realize I should've been snapping pictures. LUCKILY, a smarter blogger took some photos, as the store has no website.)



See this knitting fella's blog entry for the full story, from December 2003.



The women I met there were amazing. Two approached me to ask if I wanted help, and the second even teased my dahling. She pointed out the yarn store pup (pettable), a rocking chair (rockable), and a nearby coffee shop (edible). I suppose she correctly interpreted his overwhelmed, blank stare. As the blog linekd above points out, they had an amazing selection of wool and natural fiber yarns, especially Manos del Uruguay. I bought two skeins for my knitting homie Mel -- go Mel! -- who also cat-sat and house-sat. And besides all this, she's beautiful and smart and the sweetest thing since iced chocolate. One variegated fall colors with some great gold, and then a matching solid gold (heh). I offered to help her knit My So-called Scarf. I am a blog LINKER today! See the free scarf/stitch pattern at Sheep in the City!

Funny and true New Mexico fact: the Z-Coil shoes, made in ABQ, are all over the place. I first saw them on a woman at the grocery store. I whispered and pointed to my beloved, repeatedly, as he shrugged, but then he said, "Yeah, those. You've never seen those?"

Check 'em out.

Some knitting "other": I saw the preview for Rowan's fall magazine (#28) on Royal Yarns, then of course had to go to www.knitrowan.com for the real deal (mostly what yarns are in which patterns). My Kid Classic wants to be a dramatic sweater, and I think I have some leftover Ribbon Twist that can form an unholy union with cheapo depot Lion Brand thick'n'quick to make an awesome capelet! This means I have to seam up the wicked Ribbon Twist sweater from this winter, just to assuage my guilt (er, and also to measure how much supposed "leftover" yarn I have...though I'll seam with a complementary yarn for msot of it since it's so bulky).

Edit: I just tried importing photos from darlin's computer, but I chose too many and it was taking forever. Beautiful vistas and shots of La Lana Wools tomorrow!

Uhh...where am I?

No, I have not been kidnapped for weeks. And the knitting I HAVE done in this missing time - not many photos. I know, I know, C'MON LAURA BLOGS ARE FOR PHOTOS.

(You're too nice to shout. Thank you. But I digress.)

What have I done?

• Suede Ugg booties, free pattern from the DIY show Knitty Gritty, which I gave (giggling and squealing) to a coworker before taking a photo
• Back of Smooch is done (!!) and just finished the lace border of the front
• A few inches of a four-year-old girl's poncho out of sari silk, frogged because it stretched

So yes, I still need to finish my Gramma's pillow (from MOTHER'S DAY, bad Laurakeet), which I'm putting off because I think I need to re-knit the loopy side (ah the PAIN) with a garter stitch border (that's listed in the pattern, but I forgot) and a nicer cast-off edge. I also need to adjust my gauge a bit, probably just by adding an extra couple stitches width-wise. Then it will fit on the pillow size I have!

Then it will truly be a labor of love. Margot loves the pillow, here shown in progress (click for a larger pic):




I also have Secret Mom Gift that needs to be seamed and fluffed up (heehee, that's all I write in case La Mama reads this).

Then...I'm almost out of UFO territory (UnFinished Objects, y'all) and into NEW PROJECT TIME WOO!

Sorry for all the shouting. I love the shift key toooo-day!