This is mostly a knitting blog. Sometimes pictures of things I've made, sometimes not. I'm a guy who knits, I usually attend a men's stitch 'n' bitch on Monday nights, and I prefer natural fibres to artificial ones. I have a love-hate relationship with bamboo yarns: I love what they can do and how they look, I hate how they are made. I've been knitting since about 2003, though I really didn't get into it until 2005, while convelescing with a broken leg. I must have discovered something good, 'cause I'm still knitting years later.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Cataloguing My Yarn

So the house is still clean from the graduation/birthday party. The 12 bins of yarn have been moved to the basement (it's dry, it's clean, and it will be fine there, and safer from a cat who is becoming incontinent). I reckon that I could bring the yarn up, one bin at a time, and start cataloguing what I've got in those bins. Every now and then, when I open up a bin, I see something that I've forgotten about. Where did that come from? When did I buy it? What was I thinking about when I got it? Usually, that last question can be answered with, "It's blue, it's soft, it's my favourite colour, what's not to like?"

Now that school is done and I have the time, I've given a lot of thought to how to catalogue the yarn. Should I create a spreadsheet? Can I attach pictures to it? What would I include?
Brand; Fibre; Colour; No. of Skeins; Yardage; Place Purchased; Anticipated Project; Bin No.; Picture.

I've been getting more involoved in my Ravelry account. When I joined Ravelry it was still in beta. The only way one could post a picture was to have a Flickr or Smugmug account. I don't much like Flickr, since I don't want to pay about $25 per year to maintain the account. But Ravelry is out of beta, and one can attach a picture directly to one's account. I'm thinking that I can use Ravelry as a means for cataloguing my yarn. Maybe I'll keep a separate spreadsheet, as well. But I'll have all my yarn at my fingertips, at least digitally, when I need to know what's in the bins. If I need to make a hat for someone, I'll know what colours and fibres are available, and I'll know what bin it is in, and where to find it.

The Ravelry Stash does have some limitations, but it does allow for pictures. The spreadsheet doesn't really allow for that, so I reckon a mix of the two will work. I'll update this project in the future, since now that the yarn stash is out of sight, it seems a bit more manageable: one bin brought up at a time, instead of an overwhelming 12 bins staring at me in the other room.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

When I began writing this blog back in November (or was it October?), I really didn't have any plans further than it was going to be my knitting blog, where I talk about all things yarn and wonderful, patterns, projects, stash, knitting insecurities (I haz 'em!) and so on. Since I also have a LiveJournal account, I thought I'd keep my knitting stuff here, and not post knitting stuff there, except maybe to post a link to what's here. Haven't actually done that. In fact, if I post something here, like a picture of a WIP, I usually post it as well on FaceBook and LiveJournal. I have to figure this stuff out.

I'm up to sixteen followers now on this here knitting-blog-thingy. That makes me happy. Due to a dearth of comments, I'm not sure if anyone is actually reading it, but I reckon in the long run that doesn't matter. I'm still having fun writing it.

I moved my stash to the basement, in it's twelve big bins. It was taking up too much room, and now it is under the stairs to the basement. It means I have to travel downstairs to raid my stash, but hell, think of the exercise!


A friend of mine likes to design fake magazine covers, and this year he did one on hobbies. This is the cover he designed for me. The photo was taken by Jess.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Milestones

It's been a whirlwind week. I had a birthday, and hit one of the big milestones that ends in zero, and I graduated from Library School, taking my MS in LIS. No, I did not attend the graduation. I've been to enough graduations already, and the speaker for this one didn't excite me.

However, birthdays and graduations mean gifts, and one of the gifts I got was a knitting book! Imagine that, a knitting book! Who knew? Well, Franco and Adrian knew. And they also knew that yes, I did get up to watch the Royal Wedding last month. So what else could they send to such a knitter?



Yes, you can knit your own Royal Wedding, complete with Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince Harry, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Prince Philip, and HM, the Queen. Oh, and the corgis. There is also a pattern for a royal guard, and patterns for clothing to make some guests. This was released before the wedding took place, so if one wants, one can knit the correct colours, and put the Queen in a yellow dress, and William in a red jacket, and Kate in long sleeves. I wonder if I could knit Princess Beatrice's hat?




Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Librarian Who Knits

This post is remotely connected to knitting.

I have just applied for a job at a university library in the western part of my state. It is a job that I can probably do, though not one for which I specifically prepared. My focus was on cataloguing and rare books/preservation. In fact, preservation is what I think I'd really like to get into, though that is no longer the sexy, money-grabbing field it once was.

However, if I get this job, I will be in the general vicinity of Webs. If you think my yarn stash is big now (12 bins and counting!), wait til I've been around Webs for a year!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Franklin's Lecture

So, yeah, I thought I was all done with lectures after last Saturday. But tonight I went and listened to Franklin Habit, of the Panopticon, talk to the Common Cod Fiber Guild, on antique knitting patterns.

He was spellbinding.

And pretty damn funny.

Why couldn't all the lectures I attended over the last four years have been half as funny as the one I attended tonight? And now I'm itching to go out and make some Victorian lace shawls. Or muffatees. Wouldn't you love to have a muffatee? I know I would. You can find some muffatee patterns here: http://www.knitheaven.com/vintagepatterns/knn_contents.htm

Franklin Habit has a book out of knitting cartoons, called It Itches.

I got it signed.
It reads, For Ken! It's a guy thing...
Boston, 2011
[heart] Franklin Habit
Doesn't he have lovely handwriting? I studied calligraphy for 15 years, and my handwriting is illegible.


Chatting with the crowd.


Franklin Habit and me.
Signing books

It was a terrific evening, and I wouldn't have been able to go if it weren't for the kindness of Annie. Thank you, Annie, for enabling me to attend the best lecture of the academic year.


Monday, May 9, 2011

So I'm no longer a student. I have successfully completed my master's degree in Library and Information Science, and am now looking for a job. Anyone need an Information Professional? This means, of course, that I will have more time to devote to knitting. I haven't gotten much done over the last few weeks, as the pressure to churn out term papers got ever greater. But the last class meeting of the term was on Saturday, 7 May, and I am pretty damn sure that I am done with gathering graduate degrees.

So, there is now time to knit. And I've got a lot of projects on the needles that are begging, just begging, to be finished. One is the Noro scarf, another the red/black dragon. Then there are the hats. And the sweaters. I sometimes wonder if I'm a multi-tasker, or just ADD. I am starting to think it is the latter. But now that I don't have to go to class in the evenings, I can do some knitting when I get home. Of course, tonight is Nine Inch Needles, my men's knitting group, and tomorrow there is an English Country Dance, and I haven't been to one of those since there was snow on the ground. And who knows what else will come up during the week?

For now, though, I have a lot of knitting to think about and to complete. The photo below is Lyle's scarf, in Cascade Eco-Duo, on size US 7 needles. It is the Irish Hiking Scarf pattern, a link to which is below the picture.



The pattern can be found here: http://www.helloyarn.com/irishhikingscarf.pdf

I am having my doubts about using this particular yarn for this pattern, since the yarn is so fuzzy. But I am going to go ahead with it and finish it (and I'm not even half way there, yet). After blocking it the cables will pop and if it gets fuzzy, well, so be it.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

I know I haven't updated in over a week.
It's the end of my last semester in library school, and I am inundated with final papers.
Passed one in today, will pass one in tomorrow.

Please send chocolate yarn!