tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70469083779420132752024-02-22T16:44:09.641-05:00The K is SilentKenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.comBlogger335125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-39880319136845636782019-09-30T12:40:00.002-04:002019-09-30T12:40:59.797-04:00Back For A BitI've taken about a year's hiatus from writing this here blog thingy. Honestly, I think blogs are a thing of the past. Everything is Instagram now. But I think I'll keep writing. Part of the reason I took some time off was because I wasn't really doing a lot of knitting. I was buying yarn. And as my friend Lucy says, the act of buying yarn and the act of knitting are two very different acts, which only sometimes intersect. I went to Rinebeck last October (I've got a draft of my essay on that, which I never published), and earlier this year I went to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival. This past weekend I went to a fibre festival in Vicksburg, MS. And in November I'll be going to one in central Massachusetts. To buy more YAAAAARRRRRNNNN!<br />
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Like I need more. I have all these wonderful ideas for what I'm going to make with it, but I never quite get there. Oooh, these yarns are something person X will love! I'll make them a something. And then I search Ravelry for patterns and never quite see anything I really love, or want to try, or which jumps out at me and says, "Knit me!" Sometimes it sucks not having the knitting design gene. But I did get some gorgeous yarns, and I do have plans to make at least one thing with them. The others will sit in zip-lock baggies in my stash and mock me. I tell my husband that I'm buying yarn now while I can afford it so that when I retire and can't afford it I'll have something to knit. I don't think he believes me.<br />
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Anyway, I did get some lovely yarns and here are a couple of them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjOffqKOwxHsxwSV5fvh0sIvRmDEGkzQZfArHCRYf-tY3RA_9i-q_2S7JZZx7spQCcxorPtDg2EhmDn7TDZOOv8bvETxfVzBfbMwGk8wNG4uFlALcrm38B9LEsMODjTsaADZr-nHjLWtg/s1600/IMG_20190928_115437294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="969" data-original-width="727" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjOffqKOwxHsxwSV5fvh0sIvRmDEGkzQZfArHCRYf-tY3RA_9i-q_2S7JZZx7spQCcxorPtDg2EhmDn7TDZOOv8bvETxfVzBfbMwGk8wNG4uFlALcrm38B9LEsMODjTsaADZr-nHjLWtg/s400/IMG_20190928_115437294.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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From <a href="https://leadingmenfiberarts.bigcartel.com/">LeadingMenFiberArts</a>, this lovely purple yarn. And I love the name of the colourway: Drama Queen. It's such a bright and happy shade of purple, I can't imagine any drama queen being this cheerful!<br />
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From <a href="https://www.lazycatyarn.com/">Lazy Cat Yarn</a>, this amazing not-quite-blue-not-quite-purple, Blue Iris. I know for whom I want to make something with this,but I may need to get a second colour to make the project I have in mind. But this really glows.<br />
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From <a href="https://craftingmychaos.com/">Crafting My Chaos</a>, I bought the red skein of yarn. I really wanted the yellow as well, but I didn't have the money for it, and also, it's a bit too Gryffindor for me. I'm a Ravenclaw, so I only got the red. But man! Is it intense!<br />
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I got some other things, but the photos don't show them to their best advantage, and I'll highlight them in another post. Especially the stuff from <a href="https://www.kimariesknitknacks.com/">Kimmarie</a>. I already have a pattern and an idea for the yarns I got from her!<br />
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So there you have it. Some new yarns. I did knit six lace scarves last year. I don't think I took pictures of them, other than while they were on the blocking board. And since I use a cardboard sewing board, they really aren't shown to their best advantage. I really need to learn how to photograph my knitting!Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-23177644542890882022018-10-14T23:23:00.000-04:002018-10-14T23:23:41.069-04:00This Is Where I Get To SqueeThis is the part where I squee like a little kid.<br />
Why?<br />
Because there's a better than 50% chance that I'll be going to Reinbeck this year.<br />
Squeeeee!<br />
It isn't settled yet, but it's a possible, and as Eleanor of Aquitaine says in <i>The Lion in Winter</i>, "In a world where carpenters are resurrected, anything is possible."<br />
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Here's the deal. On Friday I fly up to Boston for the Bat Mitzvah of my friend Naomi, whose parents are some of my closest and dearest friends. I've known Naomi since the day she was born, and used to babysit her. At one point she wanted to be a lawyer, an architect, and an interior designer, all at once. It's a lot of schooling, but hell, she's a smart kid. That was when she was eight, now, at a stately 13, I wonder if she still wants to become all those things. Anyway, our friend Kim* will also be at the Bat Mitzvah, and she lives in Schenectady. We could go to Reinbeck on Sunday. I would have to be back in the Boston area by Monday, but it's possible that I can get there this year. And I've been putting aside money from each paycheque for such a yarn carnage, so if the stars align, you know I'll be there.<br />
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If I am unable to make it to Reinbeck, at least I get to see dear friends, eat some amazing food, and get to experience a little bit of fall (while the humidity has abated somewhat, it's still in the high 80s here in the Crescent City, and it's still uncomfortably hot to me). I hope there are still some leaves in colour when I get up there, though I know I've totally missed the peak colour, and most everything will be brown. But if I can see one sugar maple. . . .<br />
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Speaking of sugar maples, a friend from the far northern reaches of Vermont was visiting last week, and she brought me a whole <i>gallon</i> of Vermont maple syrup! Such riches! Such extravagance! Such deliciousness! That stuff can't be had for love or money down here.<br />
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So now I hope that Kim and I can swing this trip. I haven't been to Reinbeck in a wicked long time. It will be good to see it again. So, fingers, toes, and eyes all crossed (which makes it decidedly difficult to type!).<br />
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*One of my fondest memories of Naomi is from when she was about two. She'd point at Kim and say, "Ken!" then she'd point at me and say, "Kim!" and then she'd dissolve into a fit of giggles, and then she'd do it all over again. Even at two she noted the similarity of our names.<br />
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<br />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-51908136275967044202018-10-02T16:32:00.002-04:002018-10-02T16:32:41.028-04:00Toe In the Water: A Return to My BlogWell, hello. It's been a while. Sorry about that. I was busy knitting. I fell in love with a pattern, and by the fifth iteration of it, I had fallen quite out of love with it. I still need to finish that fifth iteration, and make two more. I hate to think of knitting as penance for my sins, but there you are. Sometimes that's exactly what it is.<div>
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In the last seven or so months that I've been away from this blog, I visited the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival in May; I bought many gorgeous yarns, and passed even more by, since I was on a limited budget. I've enjoyed New Orleans Pride, Southern Decadence, and am planning a trip to Boston for a bat mitzvah later this month. My yarn stash has increased, despite my attempts to knit my stash, which has been an abysmal failure, I got defriended on Facebook by two people for whom I was making hats (nothing I did or said, I think they were just cleaning up their friends' lists of people they'd never met in real life, but I'll never know, will I? I'm not taking it personally. Well, yes I am, fuck them with a steak knife, but I struggle to be all Zen about it). I've already given one of the hats away, and am currently looking for a recipient of the other hat. Not everyone I know is yarn worthy. Life has had triumphs and set backs, like all lives.</div>
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I have been working on the Dragon Scale pattern. I've done it in Baah's London Blue. I've done it in Mad Color Fiber's Land of Oz green. I've done it in Zen Garden's red. I've done it in Mad Color Fiber's Amethyst. I'm currently doing it in Madline Tosh's Blood Run Cold, which is a gorgeous red, and is the only one that isn't merino, since this line is in Blue Face Leicester. I'm struggling with this last one, since I'm a bit bored of the pattern. I find that when I actually knit it , I sort of enjoy it (except for the purled backside), but I'm unable to work up some enthusiasm about it. But two or three more repeats of the pattern, and I should be done. That's a mercy.</div>
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Here's a picture of me talking to a llama at the NHS&WF, May, 2018</div>
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-70054427522741426652018-02-26T11:55:00.003-05:002018-02-26T11:55:42.431-05:00Plans gone awry, and others to fruitionSome days I just can't brain because I have the dumb. I had yesterday off, with not plans other than to throw some clothes in the washer to fetch groceries sometime before bed. So tried to knit. I dropped a stitch on a hat, and so help me, was completely unable to pick it up and ladder it through with a crochet hook. I know how to pick up stitches with a crochet hook. It's plain stockinette. I did nothing but split the wool of each stitch. So frustrating.<br />
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Then I thought I could knit. I'm doing the fairly easy dragon scale pattern. I know that one starts on the <i>bottom</i> row of a pattern and moves to the left. I can read Hebrew and Arabic, I know about reading from right to left. Instead, while I read it in the correct direction, I started on the <i>top</i> row, rather than the bottom. Then I did the purl row right after it, so now I have to rows of 40 stitches each to tink. I decided I was not smart enough yesterday to fool around with sticks and string any more, so I just put it away. A perfectly good day for knitting gone to waste.<br />
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Something that did go well was that my friend Greg came over to learn how to do the decreases for his hat. I'd taught him to knit last month, gave him some yarn and needles for Christmas, and we sat down, he learned quickly, and I started him on a hat in the round. I did not tell him that knitting in the round is a little harder than knitting flat. What he didn't know did not kill him. So now he's made a really kick-ass hat. He came by to learn the decrease pattern, so we did that for a bit. His stitches are still a bit tight, and he had a bit of a challenge to knit two together, but he did it and eventually he'll relax his tension to something a little easier to manage.<br />
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This is the hat Greg made, with yarn I got for him. I cannot remember the brand, but I do know it is a superwash wool. His colour choices were black and red. He has decided he never wants to knit in black yarn ever again. And I don't blame him.<br />
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-79354737859668111792018-02-22T12:27:00.003-05:002018-02-22T12:27:58.082-05:00New Hats and Stash BustingWhile I haven't posted much, I have been trying to knit some every day. I completed two hats, made from yarn that I got at <a href="https://www.foreveryarn.com/">Forever Yarn</a>, one for me and one for Brandon. I had noted that I kept buying yarn there, but never knitting it up. So I finally sat down and used some yarn from that store. Here are the results:<br />
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The yarn is <a href="https://woolfolkyarn.com/">Woolfolk</a> and the yarn is super soft Merino. I can't tell you what the colourways are, since they don't really list them on their website, so we'll call them Grey and Creme. That works for me. I had a lot of fun making these hats since the wool was so wonderful to work with.<br />
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I have been thinking of other things to make with yarn bought at this particular shop, and I'm scouring Ravelry for patterns. The first time I was there I got some gorgeous <a href="http://www.shibuiknits.com/">Shibui</a> Silk Cloud in a red colourway that has since been discontinued. I have three skeins, 330 yards each, and I'm at a loss for what to make. The patterns I seem to like most blend the Silk Cloud with other yarns, and I'm trying to stash bust, not buy more yarn.<br />
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I can't remember the name of the colourway, but I'm so disappointed that they discontinued it. This is a true "fuck-me-red".<br />
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I've been thinking of stash busting, and last night I cast on and knit the first four rows of some <a href="http://www.baahyarn.com/">Baah </a>La Jolla (in London Blue). No pictures yet, since four rows of garter in fingering weight yarn doesn't look like anything, but my plan is to make the Dragon Scale scarf, and you can see it by clicking the link <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/dragon-scale-scarf">dragon scale scarf</a>. I think it's really pretty. If I make this for the three friends at our annual Div School reunion, that's three skeins out of my stash. I know I have some purple La Jolla, so now I need to check the stash for other colours.<br />
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I like the idea of stash busting. I think I'll make a list of who should get what, and get started on some of these projects. And I hope I'll be able to post some of them before too long.<br />
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<br />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-32231708676630582732018-01-20T19:40:00.003-05:002018-01-20T19:40:51.443-05:00Forever Yarn Visit 2018I've been home from Pennsylvania for the better part of a week now, and I had all last week off from work (New Orleans really does shut down when it gets a snow dusting), and I'm only now getting around to writing this up. Bad knitter, no Malabrigo!<br />
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As we do every winter, we had our annual reunion in Sellersville. As I do every reunion, I made my way to <a href="https://www.foreveryarn.com/">Forever Yarn</a> to visit Yan and to add some beautiful stuff to my stash. I actually made it to the shop twice, since Yan was not there on Saturday, since she was at Vogue Knitting. But she was there on Sunday! But to assuage my sorrow at not seeing Yan, I got some <a href="http://www.madelinetosh.com/">Madeline Tosh</a> Twist Light.<br />
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The green is Forsta 426 and the speckled is SS Jade, and I'm thinking a Death of the Moon shawl.</div>
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I returned to the shop on Sunday, and got to see Yan. Since the store has moved to a new location, she gave me a little tour. The walls are white and there is a big window that lets in lots of light. It's much brighter and cheerier than the old store, and while everything isn't out yet, I'm looking forward to next year's visit, the wall cubbies all filled with gorgeous yarn.</div>
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I picked up a few more skeins. Yan suggested something I've never seen before, <a href="https://woolfolkyarn.com/">Woolfolk</a>. It is a very soft Merino wool, worsted weight and is the softest stuff I've ever knit with. I hate to say it but it makes things like Mad Tosh and Malabrigo Rios feel rough. Brandon picked out a skein and I've already started knitting it. Unfortunately, it's white, and will have to be washed when I'm done. White yarn seems to pick up every bit of dirt on your hands.</div>
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One project on the needles, one ready to be wound up. The grey skein will become a hat, too. The colourways are Too and T2. *Sigh* I kind of wish colour names would reflect reality and not some bizarre nomenclature that is meaningless. This shit is worse than Mad Tosh's colour names.</div>
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This yarn, <a href="https://woolenboon.com/">Woolen Boon</a>, comes from New Hampshire, and how could I resist anything with the tag line, "Wicked Pretty Yarn For All"? I'm not sure what it will become, but it sure is pretty. Colourway is Dress Blues.</div>
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For the second year in a row I got some <a href="https://www.qingfibre.com/">Qing</a>, a hand dyed yarn from England. Brandon picked it out and I need to figure what I can make for him with this. The colourway is Fox Glove.</div>
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New to the store is <a href="https://www.walkcollection.com/en/">Walk</a>, a hand dyed yarn from Germany. The colourway is Treasure Island, and I think it could make a right pretty shawl.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2foh-kosfjb0y8p8PA6dM9Amu3ZKrWG70Mx8rOAywJ6jlu6qHDlNaxW1dk1JEOuK8kWciy_T3sL0tbbkye3ShxCknOFktqZKIQQC03I31uVwoYRmk1sP-a4LbPp_uoVp8ZVsW3jsupeYO/s1600/IMAG1027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2foh-kosfjb0y8p8PA6dM9Amu3ZKrWG70Mx8rOAywJ6jlu6qHDlNaxW1dk1JEOuK8kWciy_T3sL0tbbkye3ShxCknOFktqZKIQQC03I31uVwoYRmk1sP-a4LbPp_uoVp8ZVsW3jsupeYO/s400/IMAG1027.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.shibuiknits.com/">Shibui</a> Silk Mohair is something one can never go wrong with, and I saw a larger shawl paired with <a href="http://habutextiles.com/">Habu</a>, a simple knit on big needles. It was knit with two skeins but I wanted more of a scarf, so with a cast on of 30 stitches I think I can make a right pretty scarf for myself. Or someone else. The Shibui colourway is Blueprint.</div>
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Finally, Yan gave me a skein of Madeline Tosh Merono Light, colourway Laurel. A little bit of lagniappe far away from the home of lagniappe. I very much appreciate the gift.</div>
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I have been visiting Forever Yarn for several years: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018, and I don't think I've ever knit anything from the yarn I've gotten there. It's become part of my core stash. I need to look up all the things I've gotten there and start knitting it. It's such beautiful yarn, and it would probably be happy becoming something beautiful and useful.</div>
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-36843057818911375572017-11-21T14:49:00.002-05:002017-11-21T14:50:43.382-05:00After the long time of not knitting. . . .Since June, I have not done any real knitting. I say that I've lost my knitting mojo, and I haven't really touched the projects I have going since then. I think part of it is linked to depression. While I love New Orleans and I like living here, I am homesick for Boston (Narnia and the North!). I miss the fall colours, the brilliant oranges and reds of the sugar maples, and the cool sweater weather, which we don't really experience in Louisiana.<br />
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Last year, after I moved here, a friend asked me to knit him a hat. I have an ample stash, much of it dedicated to becoming hats eventually, so I agreed. Of course, he wanted a black hat, and I don't keep a lot of black yarn in my stash. I put the project aside, to address later. Last week, after not being able to get back into my complicated patterns already on the needles, nor being too interested in the projects for which I bought a lovely pattern (the yarn is from the stash), I just sat there, staring blankly at the tools of my craft. So I remembered he wanted a hat, and I thought that making something simple and not too challenging might be the way to ease back into doing what I love so much. I went to the Quarter Stitch and picked up some lovely Malabrigo Rios in Pearl Ten. Black with a silver sheen to it, the yarn looks like a black pearl. My friend gets his black hat, and I get to knit something other than jet black yarn.<br />
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I finished it last night. I'll give it to him sometime over the holiday weekend. It was not difficult to knit, I actually enjoyed it, and loved counting out the decreases when I reached those rows.<br />
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The next item on the list is a hat for a friend who has Crohn's Disease and has lost a lot of weight and who is always cold. He lives in New England, and it is cold up there right now, so I'll do four inches of ribbing so he can fold it over his ears to keep them warmer. I just have to wind the yarn, Malabrigo Rios, Bobby Blue, and I'll be on my way!</div>
Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-14405920765262541682017-10-05T10:05:00.000-04:002017-10-05T10:05:10.369-04:00Oft gang awryI decided to make a <a href="https://shop.madelinetosh.com/products/honey-cowl">Honey Cowl</a> for my friend Bobbi this year. I'd promised her something a few years back, but never found the right yarn for her. I found out she loves the colour Celadon, and I immediately thought about <a href="https://madelinetosh.com/">Mad Tosh</a>'s colourway, Celadon, in a lovely Vintage. Not having any in my stash, a friend brought me some whilst visiting New Orleans. I've made the Honey Cowl several times, and one year it was my holiday go-to, and I made about eight of them. Not a problem. I checked the pattern, cast on the required 220 stitches, did the four rounds of stockinette, began the purl/slip purl/slip pattern, and upon the second row, discovered I'd purl/purl/slipped and had to pull the whole damn thing out and start anew.<br />
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The second time I cast on the 220 stitches, began knitting it, and upon starting the fifth row, discovered that it was twisted. I frogged the entire thing. And I did check for twisting, no, really, I did! The cable between the needles was very twisty though, and it fooled me. So I bought new needles with a non-twisty cable, and thought I'd lick that problem from the start!<br />
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The third time I cast on the 220 stitches, got past the four rows of stockinette, started the pattern, and dropped a stitch. No problem! I've learned how to pick up stitches with a crochet hook (after knitting for almost 15 years). Except I was in the airport waiting for my flight to Boston and didn't have a crochet hook with me. so I ripped the damn thing out and let it sit for over a week (that'll teach it!).<br />
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The fourth time I cast on the 220 stitches, I got through the four rows of stockinette. I started the purl/slip pattern, I decided to check if we were OK and hadn't twisted, and as I was doing so, more than 15 stitches slipped off. I was able to save about 14 of them, but the last one slipped down to the very end. My efforts to pick it up were less than spectacular and so I ripped the whole thing out.<br />
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Tonight I am going to cast on for the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spiral-staircase-shawl">Spiral Staircase Shawl</a>.Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-75291149305578855732017-09-22T12:05:00.000-04:002017-09-22T12:05:19.806-04:00Boston and Seattle Yarn Carnage!After a brief (!) hiatus, I'm back. I've been in something of a knitting slump this summer, and really haven't done any knitting since June. I'm trying to pick it up again, and finish the two Death of the Moon cowls I have on the needles and maybe start a project for myself. I've been trying to cast on a Honey Cowl in Mad Tosh Celadon, but I've managed to twist it both times I've done so. Might need to try different needles, since the cables in the circulars I'm currently using are rather twisted. Or maybe I can soak them in very hot water to relax them, at least long enough to cast on and start the process.<br />
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Last week I helped some friends move from Boston to Seattle for their retirement. We drove 3200 miles in four days (I'm still exhausted, a week after we arrived), and I had one day in Seattle to go yarn whoring. I also had some time in Boston to do the same, since I was there a few days before we left, and I managed to visit one of my all time favourite shops, <a href="https://www.mindseyeyarns.com/">Mind's Eye</a>. I did not leave empty handed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-PMCq2XxvEojECDST_DiCRKylKdm8Z5qTXU4TLy7ifX4AjAGIdN59QhjgbQ1VKF1LOQ9yAFhtqcLz3s9VSRT-swFG6z0FVGHatdisZlRO1ac8YWSrI8-pukpUqKmP6tX_KfUZGpP6Xrd/s1600/IMAG0807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1202" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk-PMCq2XxvEojECDST_DiCRKylKdm8Z5qTXU4TLy7ifX4AjAGIdN59QhjgbQ1VKF1LOQ9yAFhtqcLz3s9VSRT-swFG6z0FVGHatdisZlRO1ac8YWSrI8-pukpUqKmP6tX_KfUZGpP6Xrd/s400/IMAG0807.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the two bison cows, with a calf each, we saw in North Dakota, at the Painted Canyon, <br />part of the Teddy Roosevelt State park. These beasties are HUGE!</td></tr>
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At Mind's Eye, I got caught up with the owner and one of the employees, which was quite lovely. And I bought some Shibui Silk Cloud and some Shibui Rain to make a scarf, where you hold the two together and make something stunning, which is always the case with <a href="http://www.shibuiknits.com/yarns/">Shibui</a> yarns.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shibui Rain, 100% cotton</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shibui Silk Cloud, 60% Kid Mohair, 40% Silk</td></tr>
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While I cannot remember the name of the pattern, it is a striped scarf, which knits the two yarns together for a length, then just the Silk Cloud, in stripes that get more and more narrow.<br />
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I had a $10 credit, and since I have no idea when I'll be back up in the Boston area, I got these two skeins of Blue Face Leicester, undyed. I love BFL, it's soft and warm and knits up nicely.<br />
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These two hanks from the UK, West Yorkshire Spinners, and going to make a lovely couple or three hats. There is no website, but there is a Facebook page one can visit. I've just liked and followed!<br />
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The knitting group I used to attend no longer meets at the yarn store which hosted us for so many years, for reasons I won't go into here, but I did manage to meet up with them, at a local restaurant. They have a signature yarn, The Teal Gang, which is produced exclusively for them by an indie dyer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTTot0y6QEiYR94MsnuHiRIpH1N439F3pxCGKKpY3q_lCYVtlKiHruzMVAnsYMQ_NKHFdGUhI9BSKltIPMoFD_1IsoDQnhBh637cP1ZnKwivO9HEIeMJSJt3zDBVT2N95jEvl0NnfwOlp/s1600/IMAG0829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1202" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnTTot0y6QEiYR94MsnuHiRIpH1N439F3pxCGKKpY3q_lCYVtlKiHruzMVAnsYMQ_NKHFdGUhI9BSKltIPMoFD_1IsoDQnhBh637cP1ZnKwivO9HEIeMJSJt3zDBVT2N95jEvl0NnfwOlp/s400/IMAG0829.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/SeeJayneKnitYarns">See Janye Knit</a> produces this 75% superwash merino 25% nylon yarn. I can't wait to knit with it. It was very kind of my Boston knitting group to give this yarn to me, and I so very much appreciate it.<br />
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The trip to Seattle was grueling, for several reasons. Three adults, two dogs, two cats, and three birds. Just unloading at each hotel took abut 30 minutes. And we had to sneak the cats and birds in, since most places that are labeled "pet friendly" are only dog friendly.But we managed. We got to Seattle on Friday night, and I had one day to hit the yarn stores. I didn't have much money, and our time constraints let us hit only two, The Artful Ewe in Port Gamble, and Rainy Day Yarns in Gig Harbor.<br />
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At the <a href="http://www.theartfulewe.com/">Artful Ewe</a>, there were so many yarns I wanted to take home with me! I settled on four hanks, all hand dyed, all a blend of Merino, silk, and yak down (60%, 20%, 20%). I really wanted to take the whole store home with me, but settled on these:<br />
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These will become a Death of the Moon shawl for someone, the purple and silver playing off against each other quite nicely.<br />
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These will also become a Death of the Moon shawl for a friend here in New Orleans. The colours are not quite as close as they look in this photo, the brown is a bit deeper and the green a bit more olive. I'm really looking forward to knitting these yarns. And the silk just makes them shimmer.<br />
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At <a href="http://rainydayyarns.com/">Rainy Day Yarns</a>, I told the nice lady that I wanted local dyers, local yarns, things that I couldn't get in New Orleans. She pointed out several sections, and I wanted to take them all home with me. I settled on three skeins. The first, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/HulaHutYarns">Hula Hut Yarns</a>, offered a wonderful selection. This one, Zelda, really appealed to me.<br />
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I have absolutely no idea what I'll make with it, but it's bright and funky. Maybe something for Brandon. I think he'd look good in this colour.<br />
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The owner of the shop also dyes yarn, and I got these two, Midnight in the Harbor and Tangerine. The Tangerine is more of a rich gold, and I'm thinking a shawl using the two skeins together.<br />
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The colours are very Hufflepuff, but when I got them, my friends and I had been talking about apiaries, and all I could think of was bumble bees and honey bees.<br />
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This was the extent of my yarn carnage. Not as bad as it could have been, and not as much as I had wished to bring home with me. But I'm really happy with all my selections.<br />
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<br />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-52337272302100066912017-06-07T20:35:00.001-04:002017-06-07T20:35:26.727-04:00In Which Our Author Frogs Over 900 Stitches, Reknits Them, and *gasp!* Buys YarnI've been diligently working on the Death of the Moon shawl. I've got 52 rows and the bind off yet to do, so I'm feeling pretty good about it. I had a little hiccup when I discovered that I'd made some mistakes in knitting (I should never knit late at night when I'm tired, when there is insufficient light) and I ended up tinking over 900 stitches. Tinking. Nine Hundred. Stitches. That was a FML moment, to be sure, but once it was done, I got it re-knit in record time, and now I'm coasting to the finish. I did the last purl row last night (338 stitches, I feel like I deserve a prize), and now twenty rows of garter in only one colour. One thing I've been doing differently this time around is that I'm carrying my yarn, rather than cutting it at the end of each colour row. I will mean so many fewer ends to weave in (and I must admit, I still haven't woven in the ends from the first iteration of this shawl, the one in Fog and Emerald that I completed last year). I'm not sure how this will play out in blocking, but if it means I don't have dozens (literally, dozens!) of ends to weave in, I'll be happy. I shan't post a picture because it just looks like a big lump of grey and red yarn. But soon, very soon!<br />
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My friend Franklin posted on his FB page the note that <a href="https://neighborhood-fiber-co.myshopify.com/">Neighborhood Fiber</a> were making Pride Flag yarns! I have bought some of Neighborhood's yarns when on visits to Pennsylvania at <a href="https://www.foreveryarn.com/">Forever Yarn</a>, the only shop I've discovered that carries them, but I've never knit with them. I think next year that will be my goal, to knit up what is in my stash. All that aside, since June is Pride month, I got these wonderful yarns on order!<br />
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I have absolutely no idea what I will knit with this collection, but I'm sure it will be fabulous!Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-25945014510815111252017-05-17T13:36:00.001-04:002017-05-17T13:36:38.872-04:00Oooh! Look! A Knitting Post<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I finished the Irish Hiking Scarf I made for my boss. Finally. I have to admit, while it is a beautiful scarf, and let's face it, cables impress the natives, after knitting about ten of them, it's rather boring. I actually found myself avoiding my knitting because I was so bored, and I knew if I cast anything else onto the needles, boss's scarf would become another UFO. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, what have I cast on? Just another <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/death-of-the-moon">Death of the Moon</a> shawl by Josh Ryks. It's the fourth one I've cast on, only one of which has been completed. The other two are probably going to be frogged and started again. I have to say, it's not all that hard a pattern, but I had to cast it on several times to get it to work out. And at one point I think I missed a purled yarn-over, because I was off one stitch (I just kibf to make up for it, I was not going to tink back two rows of over 80 stitches each). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This one is for Kristen. The yarn is <a href="http://www.periwinklesheep.com/">Periwinkle Sheep</a>, the colourways are Thunderstorm (the grey) and Audrey Hepburn (the red). I'm almost done with the second section, and will start to add the Audrey Hepburn in the third section. I love the way this shawl looks, but I always have a hard time keeping the stitch count right. But when it's done? Wow! it's a stunner.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Death of the Moon: The Beginning</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I got involved in a conversation on Facebook today, and ended up chatting with someone who is an Indie Dyer. <a href="https://www.thefiberists.com/">The Fiberists</a> have some really pretty yarns, and I may have to break my promise not to buy (too much) yarn this year. Made by Geeks, the yarns are named after various scientists (Curie, Newton, Franklin, Hopper, among others). I've been perusing their wares, and I have to admit, I've already got a wish list. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of the yarns, taken from the website:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bnLu7bSYR1BN10ZYD2Z97hJzJvgUzw1Lfi6wKF70Cg8cwGObfWdePPpFL6r1Uvb_rlT_rL2kKyjFZk1axUTTDsBXjpQnwsdVCF8mhSMov_An19M0i1u91AEhfCCJgegs-ghgzi3PgRCi/s1600/audobon+sport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0bnLu7bSYR1BN10ZYD2Z97hJzJvgUzw1Lfi6wKF70Cg8cwGObfWdePPpFL6r1Uvb_rlT_rL2kKyjFZk1axUTTDsBXjpQnwsdVCF8mhSMov_An19M0i1u91AEhfCCJgegs-ghgzi3PgRCi/s400/audobon+sport.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Audobon Sport, Hippopotamus Amphibius</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curie Heavy Worsted, Lapis Lazuli</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1G5IqxqgdROkSJEs2OBAfqPeeYiWtjq6OUC4zLQA0Z_XDpUZFk4riD3JYHzmPh-VDSnV3Jxql24CroFnEitTCbY4QGsKgA0NIDK_IYHgDKTBMhmQFKIZSwmV7czLj9bDMikvtPVxGhBx1/s1600/audobon+worsted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1G5IqxqgdROkSJEs2OBAfqPeeYiWtjq6OUC4zLQA0Z_XDpUZFk4riD3JYHzmPh-VDSnV3Jxql24CroFnEitTCbY4QGsKgA0NIDK_IYHgDKTBMhmQFKIZSwmV7czLj9bDMikvtPVxGhBx1/s400/audobon+worsted.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Audobon Worsted, Fire Opal</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I definitely have to get this into my stash! I already know what I want! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Is that bad?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which leads me to another woe. Fibre fests. I wasn't able to go to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival this year (alas, it happened last week), and the fibre festival we went to last year in Mississippi has been cancelled. I have a four day weekend in October, and I went on line to see if there were any fibre fests anywhere in the country, and you know, there are festivals the weekends before the one I have off, and there are festivals in the weekends after I have off, but there are not fibre festivals the actual weekend I have off. And it's not like I have a choice of weekends to take off, because the university where I work is closed for fall break (what the hell is fall break? when I was at university (four of 'em) we had spring break and a four day weekend over Thanksgiving, but never a fall break!). So it looks like I'm SOL for getting to a fibre festival this year. I feel like twirling my mustaches and saying, "Curses, foiled again!"</span>Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-31050980180620207172017-05-08T15:33:00.000-04:002017-05-08T16:35:09.660-04:00Nothing in this Post is About KnittingIt's been a couple of months since I've posted. Naughty me. Sorry. I've been busy with other projects, and sadly, most of them have not included knitting. But now I'm back, and I'm ready to start the Holiday knitting! Tonight is the only night this week that I don't have plans for the evening. My only night at home, as it were.<br />
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The following has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with knitting.<br />
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The project that has been eating most of my time has been my novice project for the Big Easy Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. I joined this group in February, 2016, shortly after I moved to New Orleans. I have moved through the stages, Aspirant, Postulant, Novice. I'm at the Novice stage now, and since my novice project is successfully completed, I am ready to elevate to Fully Professed. I will be a Guard with the SPI, and I'm really excited, and a bit nervous, even though I've been assured there is nothing for which I need to be nervous.<br />
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The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are an international group of 21st Century Queer Nuns, who expiate stigmatic guilt and promulgate universal joy. Or, in layman's terms, we are a 501(c)3 organisation that does fundraising for underfunded organisations, HIV/AIDS education, While mostly comprised of gay men, the organisation welcomes men and women, cis- and transgender, gay, straight, bisexual, and every other orientation. All that is asked is that members be in sympathy with the goals of the organisation.<br />
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Novice projects are expected of each person, Sister or Guard, in order to move up to the final rung of the ladder, Fully Professed. In the Big Easy Sisters, both Sisters and Guards are co-equal, have a vote, and do all the work. Novice projects are to benefit the larger community or the House (our own organisation), and I opted to do something to benefit the House. Our website hadn't been updated in over two years, and there were people listed as members who were no longer attached to the House, people who had elevated to Fully Professed who were listed as Novices, and some who weren't listed at all, but were very much a part of the organisation. So I undertook the task of making a working website that reflected the House as it is now, not as it was two years ago.<br />
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I am almost done. There are two more pages to do, and I'll be finished. I've published it, made it public, and those final pages will be added by the end of May. May I present to you, <a href="https://www.thebigeasysisters.org/">The Big Easy Sisters</a>, Parish of the Muddy Waters. I've included a couple of pictures.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost the entire House, for the Memorial Service for Sister Cathi Terr, 3/17</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sister Shir Madness and Guard Buddha Bear carrying the banner at the Southern Decadence Parade, 9/16</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5x0IJl5iMCp881fNsVdMio4oSdv-yU61fJ87kW-0XJb0fFOz90rbvq79j5YOjsmK2IHLkjeO-RkX8u88KT-28dXRnCI8g0BLUc_AbtmElqAghZ_Em_8HRY258DMh-c-PKl_5gT6_43sB/s1600/13528840_600508470111036_5040433235186038164_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5x0IJl5iMCp881fNsVdMio4oSdv-yU61fJ87kW-0XJb0fFOz90rbvq79j5YOjsmK2IHLkjeO-RkX8u88KT-28dXRnCI8g0BLUc_AbtmElqAghZ_Em_8HRY258DMh-c-PKl_5gT6_43sB/s400/13528840_600508470111036_5040433235186038164_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sister Mary Pat McCooter, Sister Magically Delicious, Sister Gloree Bea, Guard Buddha Bear, Sister Shir Madness<br />
New Orleans Pride, 6/16</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sister Yoko Ohnoshe Dinnit, Sister Moana Moansalott, Sister Eileen Eulick. James, Sister Magically Delicious<br />
Guard Buddha Bear, Guard Ten Buck U, Aspiriant Brandon, Gerald, Mardi Gras, 2/17</td></tr>
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<br />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-32617743400062522932017-02-19T08:43:00.001-05:002017-02-19T08:43:56.392-05:00Forever Yarn, Doylestown, PAIt's the annual trip to Pennsylvania for the reunion with my old housemates and some other friends from our divinity school days. The reunion I missed last year because I'd just moved to New Orleans. But I'm here this year, and another couple had to miss because of a horrible virus one of them picked up from the kindergarten where she teaches. But their (young adult) daughters are here, and they are such delightful young persons!<br />
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Every time I come to this reunion, we make our way to Doylestown, about 25 minutes from where my friends live, and hit up a couple of shops, the same ones every year: the yarn store, the used book store, and the chocolate shop. I missed the book store this year because I spent so much time in the yarn store, but I did manage to make it to the chocolate shop!<br />
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I walked into <a href="http://www.foreveryarn.com/">Forever Yarn</a>, and immediately was greeted by Yan, the owner, with a delighted smile and a hug. We caught up on the news, I apologised for missing the shop last year, and she took me around showing me new yarns, the <a href="https://madelinetosh.com/">Madeline Tosh</a> (she knows my weakness!), and was particularly proud of the <a href="http://swiftyarns.com/">Swift Yarn</a>, and the colourway the dyer made personal colourway, Uptown Graffiti. Just lovely. It was a terrific time with her, and the other ladies who were sitting around the table knitting. Brandon was with me, and actually picked out a skein of yarn for me to make him a hat. Seriously, I need to teach him how to knit.<br />
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My haul was modest, a mere six skeins (plus one that Brandon bought). I'm on a limited budget, you know. I think I'm going to start saving for next year's haul with my next paycheque. This year's haul includes the following:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAfmF1exKoI9XaWEQtZAMf-jl5gZeg0QDXfqNcJ6NX2F0KqvpPJxc9XtejfqMmpF1g4GgRWWEYlPyFEvxAdnV_Wda_-G3kNblyAlBeLD-SEM1yGKhUnLVlqyUv-KwgiY-qodkKiAzV8bG/s1600/DSC05738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAfmF1exKoI9XaWEQtZAMf-jl5gZeg0QDXfqNcJ6NX2F0KqvpPJxc9XtejfqMmpF1g4GgRWWEYlPyFEvxAdnV_Wda_-G3kNblyAlBeLD-SEM1yGKhUnLVlqyUv-KwgiY-qodkKiAzV8bG/s400/DSC05738.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Of course I had to get some Madeline Tosh! I can't get it at any store in New Orleans, and I need to feed my addiction. I'm thinking a hat or a striped scarf with this, the red is Tart, and the off-white is Birch Grey, in DK weight. I always love the names that the Tosh folk come up with for colours.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sWdy75U7f-anQDxFlGqPeGk4H0w3fb5WBh4uH1QXUNNa36ySW02sUsg6uhshsg_hz6hY9t6voLsV2eIW-0uTbbw1LfovnsW8blvx9lXcMGK4uKerhw-YYdsTHyoKvx3Xv5TAQZc6ydaM/s1600/DSC05739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sWdy75U7f-anQDxFlGqPeGk4H0w3fb5WBh4uH1QXUNNa36ySW02sUsg6uhshsg_hz6hY9t6voLsV2eIW-0uTbbw1LfovnsW8blvx9lXcMGK4uKerhw-YYdsTHyoKvx3Xv5TAQZc6ydaM/s400/DSC05739.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
More Tosh! Silki Merino this time. The colourway is Beach Bonfire, and it's a 50-50 blend of silk and merino wool. Brandon likes pink, and picked this out, and has requested a hat. It's a DK weight and really feels good.<br />
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A new yarn being carried is <a href="http://swiftyarns.com/">Swift Yarns</a>, which are hand dyed in New York City! These two skeins are 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon. And no, I'm not making socks with them.<br />
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The dark blue colourway is named Lady Macbeth, the white-speckled-with-blue is Blueberry Hill. I'm thinking another Death of the Moon shawl for these. The picture does not do them justice.</div>
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This is also Swift Yarns, in Yan's signature colourway, Uptown Graffiti. She gave this skein to me, a bit of lagniappe. Such a New Orleans feel, and her generosity is so very much appreciated. It is a four ply sport weight yarn, made of superwash merino.</div>
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Brandon bought some yarn for me to make a hat for him. Not a colourway I would have chosen, but he likes the bright, the bodacious, the neon. The colourway is Venus</div>
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/QingFiber?section_id=18927115">Qing Fiber</a> (pronounced "Ching," like the last Chinese dynasty), are hand dyed in the UK. The fibre content is 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, and 10% nylon. It is surprisingly soft, and will make a nice warm hat for the not very cold winters we have in New Orleans. I'm looking forward to knitting this up, since the shop samples Yan had were very lovely and had a nice drape. Please note the link is to the dyer's Etsy page.</div>
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Finally, a photo of Yan and me, holding my new yarns. Yan insisted we take the picture in front of the Madeline Tosh display, since I have such a love for that yarn.</div>
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Yan, the owner of the shop, and your author, holding my newest acquisitions to my stash.</div>
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-8122308122675361312017-02-15T13:00:00.000-05:002017-02-15T13:00:27.041-05:00From UFO to WIPI know I haven't been writing much. I've actually been knitting. A lot. No, really, but I'm writing this at work and don't have any pictures of my current project with me, so you'll just have to take my word. I picked up an old UFO, a sweater I promised to my friend Brad. I was unable to attend our reunion last year, and being clever, I knew I had so much time to work on it that I put it off to work on other projects. Now we're leaving for the reunion tomorrow night, and I'm nowhere near where I want to be. I didn't actually want to finish it, but I did want it to be at the place where I could join the front panel to the back. Since I only see Brad once a year I wanted to measure the panels against him, to make sure they fit, because he's 6'4" and I've never knit anything for anyone so tall. The pattern doesn't quite take into consideration someone of Brad's dimensions.<br />
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The back panel is done. I think, but I won't really know until I measure it against him. The front panel, well, I've been working like a busy beaver on it for the last week, getting up at 4:30 in the morning so I can get 10 or 12 or more rows done each morning, which equals about two inches of fabric. I'm in the middle of the seventh repeat of the pattern, and just did the cable plus two rows before I left for work this morning, and we're at about 14 inches now. I had planned to knit the day away on Sunday, maybe doing thirty or forty rows (between six and eight inches of fabric) while listening to the <a href="https://egyptianhistorypodcast.com/">Egyptian History podcast</a> of which I've become so fond (what do you want to know about Hatshepsut and Thutmose III? I'm all about the 18th Dynasty!). But alas! I was convinced to appear in a commercial filming for the NOLA Tourism Board, and spent the entire day, from 7:00 AM til 5:00 PM working on the damn thing. I won't say I had a terrible time,but it was rather tiring to be on my feet all day. I'd never done anything like it, and while I'm glad I've done it, I feel absolutely no reason to ever do it again. I feel much the same way about the Grateful Dead. I'm so happy that I went to one of their concerts once, but never felt the need to go a second time. And now, well, I can't. So it all works out in the end.<br />
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Tonight I have to pack for our trip, since we are driving from New Orleans to just north of Philadelphia. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to knit in the car on Friday, when I'm not doing my share of the driving, But I had wanted to work on smaller projects, like a hat for Kyle and a scarf for Karen. Projects that are more easily managed in the tight confines of a compact car.<br />
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As may be, I know I won't be anywhere near ready to join the two panels when we leave tomorrow, but I have made a valiant attempt at it, and am not displeased with the progress I've made. But still, I do wish I could have pulled it off.<br />
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I have made this sweater before, and this gives an idea of what the finished project will look like. Though the current iteration is in a different shade of blue, denim, as opposed to Persian. I had made this for myself, but had gained so much weight by the time I finished it (a couple years after starting it, since I was interrupted by grad school), that I ended up giving it to my friend Brian. Then I lost all that weight, but by then, it was too late to ask for it back. The pattern is a <a href="http://www.yankeeknitterdesigns.com/">Yankee Knitter Design</a>, pattern #30. The yarn I am using is <a href="http://www.brownsheep.com/yarns/lambs-pride/">Lamb's Pride</a> bulky, in denim blue.Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-80500129308940633572017-01-31T06:40:00.001-05:002017-01-31T06:40:25.565-05:00Lagniappe and What I Worked ForWell hello, 2017! I can honestly and desperately ask, "What fresh hell is this?"<br />
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But enough about politics. I need a respite from the fray, from marches and on-line arguments with trolls and people so stupid I cannot believe they can walk and breathe at the same time.<br />
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This past weekend <a href="http://www.bornsideyarns.com/">Bornside Yarns</a> had their annual sale. The way it works is that Miss Bette puts up an on-line list of her sale yarns, mostly things that have either been discontinued by the manufacturer, or things she has decided no longer sell well enough to keep in stock. It's a first come, first serve sale, and as things are sold, they are marked, <i>Out of Stock</i>. I was asked to be one of the people who came in on Saturday morning to help fill the orders. We took the lists in the order in which they were received and put each item into a large brown grocery bag. These were tallied up, the customers, some local, some distant, were notified, and we, who had been asked to help in this endeavour, were paid in yarn. Ooooh, yarn! I had decided not to buy any sale yarn when I heard about it, because I really am trying to knit my stash (and so far have knit two projects this year with stash yarn!). But Miss Bette promised, so I took her up on it. And this is what I got.<br />
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Two red, one green, one black and one brown skein each of Nature's Shepherd, by <a href="http://www.brownsheep.com/yarns/">Brown Sheep</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red is labeled as <i>Fire</i> and the black as <i>Obsidian</i></td></tr>
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The plan is to make a red pussy hat for a friend, and then with the remainder to make a red and black wool hat for someone. Red and black were my high school colours, so it is with mixed feelings hat I approach that project, seeing as I considered my years in Junior and Senior High School to be exercises in state sponsored terrorism.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The green is labeled <i>Clover</i> and the brown as <i>Rich Earth</i></td></tr>
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I fell in love with the green yarn while I was helping to pack the bags, and no one claimed it after all the orders were filled so I decided it needed to come home with me. I am thinking either a striped scarf or a hat. I'm leaning toward the hat idea, because scarves can be boring to make.<br />
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There was also some <a href="http://www.knitrowan.com/">Rowan</a> to be had. Rowan yarns are in a bit of a tizzy because from what I understand their British maker has discontinued them, or the distributor has stopped distributing them (which explains the cessation of the British Sheep Breeds yarns that I loved so much, and which I bought in abundance when they were discontinued).<br />
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These four skeins would make wonderful hats or scarves. Pure wool, they are soft and so knittable. And such a lovely dark navy blue.<br />
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The other Rowan yarn I scored was two skeins of a blue and purple heathered yarn.<br />
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You can't really see it in this picture, but there is a very subtle heathering to this lovely wool.<br />
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The last thing I came away with was three skeins of <a href="http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/home.php">Classic Elite</a> Silky Alpaca (70% baby alpaca, 30% silk). There were two skeins on sale, and I decided to get them, but there was a third skein on display, a bit shop worn, which Miss Bette added to my haul as lagniappe.<br />
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The colour is listed as Cabernet, and in real life, the yarn really does look like a glass of that wine.<br />
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I'm just giddy thinking about what I can make with all this yarn!<br />
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-31841952390305420702016-12-22T13:27:00.001-05:002016-12-22T13:27:30.444-05:00Fibre Goals for 2017Last night at knit night one of the women made a suggestion that is really resonating with me. Write down your knitting/fibre goals for 2017, and fill a bin with stash yarn that you'd like to knit by the end of the year, emptying the bin. I like this suggestion a whole lot. So I've been thinking about what I could put in such a bin from my extensive stash, what do I want to knit in the coming year?<br />
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<li>Death of the Moon Shawls, for Libby, Carlene, Alexandra, Lisa, Adrienne, Kristen. </li>
<li>Finish Brad's sweater, of which only one panel is done.</li>
<li>finish my double sided dragon scarf.</li>
<li>Finish the brown sweater I've had on the needles for at least five years.</li>
<li>Make a bunch of hats.</li>
<li>Make my Icelandic sweater.</li>
<li>Scarf for Tom.</li>
<li>Learn to use my spinning wheel.</li>
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I think this is biting off a bit more than I can chew, since it takes me so long to make the Death of the Moon shawls (Ravelry pattern, by Josh Rykes), and I've got six of them planned. But if I could make one a month, really dedicate myself to knitting, and maybe do something in the months between, that might work out. And there are other things I want to do, like work with some of the <a href="http://neighborhood-fiber-co.myshopify.com/">Neighborhood Yarn</a> I've picked up over the years from my trips to Pennsylvania and <a href="http://www.foreveryarn.com/">Forever Yarn</a>. I wonder if I could throw in a couple of scarves or shawls using the yarns from that lovely store?</div>
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I also want to make a couple of things for myself next year. I don't think I did that at all this year. I really didn't get a whole lot done, and I'm not exactly proud of that. I want to make more time for knitting and for working with fibre. It's not enough to have an amazing stash. I need to use it as well. I have certainly achieved SABLE and I'm not going to live forever, so I really need to start getting all this gorgeous yarn on the needles and made into a finished object, and into someone's hands.<br />
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Recently I finished the latest (well, second) iteration of Cthulhu's Unspeakable Hat (free Ravelry pattern by Finlay Logan), using <a href="http://www.berroco.com/">Berroco</a> Ultra Alpaca, in black and emerald green.<br />
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The recipient has a large head, and I struggled to make sure the floats were long and the knitted Fair Isle part stretchy enough. I guess I'll know after Christmas when my friend's husband opens his gift.</div>
Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-24683397459301372592016-12-13T22:49:00.000-05:002016-12-13T22:49:07.918-05:00Yarn Acquisition.For someone who is intent on not acquiring new yarn, I seem to be inundated with it recently. Some of it was gifted to me, and some of it was purchased by me. Regardless, I am now the proud owner of fourteen new skeins. And, miraculously, two of them are being knit up even as I type. Well, not exactly as I type, but a project using them is on the needles, and may well be finished soon. I'll post that yarn when the hat is done. . . .<br />
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In my entry of 31 October, I mentioned my friend Kim went to Rhinebeck and wrote me, asking if there was anything I needed. After culling my list to one thing, she sent me the most beautiful skeins of yarn from <a href="http://www.periwinklesheep.com/">The Periwinkle Sheep</a>. One in elderberry and one in vintage blue.<br />
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In November, My friend Sheeri went to the Eastern States Exposition Fiber Festival, and I asked her to get me two skeins of Periwinkle Sheep, so I could make a couple of Death of the Moon shawls (Josh Rykes) with them. She sent me these skeins, in The Witch's Cauldron and Clearing.<br />
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My plan is to pair them thus:<br />
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Vintage blue with The Witch's Cauldron.<br />
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Elderberry and Clearing.<br />
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I'm very excited get to knitting these, and am thinking of making a knitting calendar so I can get all my projects done next year in time for whatever delivery date I need for them.<br />
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Right before Thanksgiving, my friends Erick and Josh came to New Orleans for a visit. Erick is also a knitter, and a few months after I moved here, one of our favourite stores in Boston had a sale (they were going to strip and re-finish the floors), so all the yarn was half price. Erick got there the second day and said the place was almost completely cleaned out. But he was able to find a couple of things for me, which I'm counting as my Christmas present. I plan on wrapping these and opening them on Christmas day.<br />
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Here we see two lovely skeins of <a href="http://www.baahyarn.com/">Baah</a> La Jolla, in Powder blue. I have no idea what these are going to become, so I'll be perusing Ravelry's patterns when the time comes.<br />
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Then there is this single skein of Singin' the Blues. I think this should probably be paired with a very light colour to bring out the variegated shades in the yarn.<br />
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I don't have a lot of reds in my stash, and this addition of Garnet pleases me immensely. I'm trying to imagine a pattern for this, and what will pair best with it.<br />
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Erick also brought a skein of Sage. Another thing to ponder, what to pair it with and what to make with it. I love Baah yarns. The knit so beautifully and feel so good when they're on the needles.<br />
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What would life be like without <a href="http://madelinetosh.com/">Madeline Tosh</a>? I can't find it locally, so Erick brought me Dandelion, which is 90% superwash Merino wool and 10% linen. It's a fingering weight, and I can imagine a light shawl made from this.<br />
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Erick found a bag of DPNs of all sizes, made in China. I am constantly misplacing my DPNs, so maybe these will help me when one of a set disappears.<br />
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I admit to a little retail therapy, <a href="http://zenyarngarden.co/">Zen Yarn Garden</a>'s Serenity Silk. It is 75% superwash Merino, 15% cashmere, and 10% silk. The colourway is Blackberry-viola. Bournside Yarns got some in recently, and I was going to be good and not buy any yarn at all, but my cat, Serious Black, had to be put to sleep the week after Thanksgiving. He had developed a tumour and was not eating, so our vet thought it best to end any discomfort he might be feeling, and we agreed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Kjn0875Qkce35fAASmsgLJ2uPkcIr34Zm1lEz5IfYCjd-2yhMRq43gwHoRthCFCU1j5v7pESCXPkjunkQxxBGnSxV5-NTiBvant-hiWA5W15otuiQf4DzAGclk1vx8N7_Rp5ijUJkR25/s1600/DSC05353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Kjn0875Qkce35fAASmsgLJ2uPkcIr34Zm1lEz5IfYCjd-2yhMRq43gwHoRthCFCU1j5v7pESCXPkjunkQxxBGnSxV5-NTiBvant-hiWA5W15otuiQf4DzAGclk1vx8N7_Rp5ijUJkR25/s400/DSC05353.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Serious Black, the Feline Overlord who is most sincerely missed by his human servants. We only had him for two months, but he really won our hearts. Ave vale atque, Serious Black.<br />
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-33345716663319902892016-11-28T07:12:00.000-05:002016-11-28T07:12:02.181-05:00Some HatsI made some hats! My first ear-flap cap and a beautiful bear Fair Isle hat. One worked out well, the other, well, not so well. The first, the ear-flap cap, was knit in undyed alpaca which I had bought at Rhinebeck in 2011. It's worsted weight, though not tightly spun, so the effect is that it feels softer than alpaca normally does. I got the pattern for free on Ravelry, one by Deby Lake, though I added my own design elements. In the middle section, rather than using a Fair Isle motif, or self striping yarn, I used a solid milk-chocolate colour. I like the way it looks, and I think it will be very warm for its recipient, who lives in upstate New York.<br />
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The only negative thing I can think of about this pattern is the I-cord. They are so boring to knit.<br />
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The second hat came out beautifully. The colour work looks good, I like the yarn, since it's my favourite, <a href="http://madelinetosh.com/">Madeline Tosh</a> Vintage. The colourways are Celadon and Whiskey Barrel, and it looks so good! Unfortunately, even though I went up a needle size when doing the colourwork, the hat is too tight. I can barely get it on, and when I do one can see the floats under the knitting. And I know the person I made it for has a larger head than I do. So I have to scrap this one and figure out how I can knit it so that the floats give more stretch. I might also add a few stitches to the hat, and rework the decreases.<br />
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These hats are done, and I am already on a second forray of Cthulhu's Unspeakable Hat, a Christmas gift my friend Phyllis wants to give to her husband. The ribbing is done, and I've just started the stockinette portion. I hope to have it done by the middle so this week, and if I do, I'll post a picture!Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-60913011233010708712016-11-14T23:29:00.001-05:002016-11-14T23:29:35.160-05:00The Naked EyeI am 55 years old.<br />
I have been wearing glasses since I was 12.<br />
I have been wearing contact lenses since I was 18.<br />
I have been wearing bi-focals since I was 35.<br />
I have been wearing bi-focal contact lenses since I was 49.<br />
This morning I realised that I can see my knitting best when I am not wearing any glasses or contact lenses at all. That's a hell of a thing to realise after going through as many eye exams as I have.<br />
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My very dear and beloved friend Lisa is visiting me in New Orleans, and since we've been friends since we met in 1975, having her with me is like a homecoming. We've gone to the yarn stores, we've walked along the Mississippi, we're going to have beignets this morning. And this morning I woke up earlier than she, and sat in the kitchen knitting a hat, wearing my glasses, looking through the reading lens and realised that when I needed to tink a stitch, or count the stitches on the needle that I was peering <i>under</i> the glasses, using my naked eye. I took off my glasses as I continued to knit, and was amazed that I could actually see my stitches better than I could when I was wearing my glasses.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lisa at one of the many Little Free Libraries in my neighbourhood</td></tr>
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I have known for a long time that I have better vision with glasses than contacts (this has to do with how my very slight astigmatism is actually not corrected in my right eye, because it isn't bad enough to warrent correction). But since I detest wearing glasses I have put up with slightly less than perfect vision in my right eye for the last 37 years. I've learned to adjust and compensate. And I am now wondering if the reason I've stopped knitting as much as I did when I lived in Boston is because, since I usually don't take my lenses out until bed-time, the discomfort of knitting has become greater than the pleasure. Not that I took the damn lenses out earlier, but there seemed to be more light in my room than there is in my current living room. Or maybe my eyes are growing dim with age.<br />
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Since I do not want knitting to be uncomfortable, I shall endeavour to remove my lenses earlier in the evening so I can get some after-work knitting in.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knitting without glasses</td></tr>
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<br />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-25673181399254263212016-11-09T12:17:00.002-05:002016-11-09T12:17:42.603-05:00A Commissioned Hat!Since I cannot do anything else, I shall write about my current knitting.<br />
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I have been commissioned to make a hat for someone with ear flaps. While I know the theory of making such flaps (garter border, stockinette inside), I never knew how many stitches should be between the flaps in the front or in the back. Sure, I usually cast on 96 stitches, but how should those be apportioned between the ear flaps? Luckily, we have Ravelry, and I found <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/earflap-hat-fingerless-mitts--slipper-socks">this pattern</a>, by OC Knitiot Designs, Deby Lake, which I will modify (in other words, I'm using stripes, not Fair Isle).<br />
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I cast on the two I-cord ties, and determined immediately that there is nothing in the world more boring to knit than a couple of I-cords. But I persevered, and am now on the far more interesting ear flaps. Another 11 rows of these, and I'll be able to cast on the body of the hat. I have wanted to make one of these for a while, and this is offering me a fun opportunity to do so. No pictures yet, since there isn't anything to see.<br />
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Of course one needs to have yarn if one is going to make a hat. I searched my stash for undyed alpaca. I had several skeins to choose from, but wanted something in a worsted weight. Way back in 2011, at the only visit I've ever made to <a href="http://sheepandwool.com/">Rhinebeck</a>, I bought a bunch of yarn, including these three skeins of undyed alpaca.<br />
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I got them a the <a href="https://www.redmaplesportswear.com/">Red Maple Sportswear</a> booth, where they sold lots of already-made hats and gloves and other goods. But they had some yarn, and if I remember a-right, they were one of the first booths we encountered, and I was at that point in love with undyed yarns. So I got these three skeins. There isn't enough of any one of them to make a single hat, but I am thinking about stripes after I finish the ear flaps. I have started the I-cords and flaps with the middle darker chocolate yarn. It knits up really nicely, and is very soft and pretty. When I have more than a couple I-cords with tiny triangles depending from them, I'll show some photos. In the meantime, I remember that I knit so I do not kill people.Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-43177478959666881472016-10-31T07:12:00.001-04:002016-10-31T07:12:59.535-04:00Loot from the North, or, Gifts of the MagistraLike every year since 2011, I did not get to <a href="http://sheepandwool.com/">Rhinebeck</a> this year. Mostly because of the distance I'd have to travel. Not living in New England means that New York is no longer just next door. It would involve flights and trying to stuff too much yarn into too little suitcase. But my friend Kim was able to go, and she sent me a lovely letter telling me all about it. She was there for the entire weekend, she camped, even though the evenings were chilly, and she had a wicked good time.<div>
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She also sent me two skeins of yarn! How cool is that? She had e-mailed me and asked if I wanted anything, and I told her a particular yarn I could only find at fibre festivals, and even then, not at all of them, and then completely forgot about it. Until the package arrived in the mail the other day. Two gorgeous skeins of fingering weight yarn, a sweet letter, and the booklet for the festival. </div>
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The yarn is <a href="http://www.periwinklesheep.com/">The Periwinkle Sheep</a>, which only sells to retailers and at fibre festivals (there is an Etsy store, but when I've checked, I never see what I've wanted there). The yarn is 100% superwash Merino, 400 yards each. The colours are Vintage Blue and Elderberry. I've already decided that they are going to become Death of the Moon shawls, and I am trying to decide with what colour I shall pair them. I'm thinking a black for the blue, and maybe a cream or off-white for the purple. Either way, it's going to be wonderful to knit with these skeins. Kim, thank you so very much!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Beautiful Yarn for Beautiful Projects.</div>
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Our cat, Serious Black, checking out the yarn. So far he has not attacked any of my projects or skeins of yarn. After this was taken, he seemed decidedly uninterested in the goods,</div>
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Serious Black, who is a cuddle monster.</div>
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I would like to note that on the side of the box in which she sent the yarn, Kim taped an orange-red maple leaf to one side, and wrote a postscript to her note on the other. "P,S, <a href="http://www.indigodragonfly.ca/">Indigo Dragonfly</a> had a colorway called 'Doubting Thomas the Search Engine.' I just cracked up." I did go to Indigo Dragonfly's website, but alas! I could not find that colourway, and surmise that it was made for the festival and is not something they ordinarily have. Still, her postscript made me chuckle.</div>
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-69751030385653766632016-10-24T17:14:00.001-04:002016-10-24T17:14:22.715-04:00Wherein One Ponders Blogdom<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh, dear, I seemed to have missed the sixth anniversary of my blog, 6 October. I don't think I've ever managed to celebrate it, but for some reason I needed to see a post from the first year, and while I was there, I checked the date of the first post and there it was, and I missed it. Damn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I first began writing this here blog-thingy, there were
several blogs which I followed, and for which I created links in a section on
the right-hand side called "fibre folk" since they were blogs by
people who did things with fibre (there's another list of "non-fibre
folk" for blogs that have nothing to do with knitting and fibre). In the
six years that I've been writing this blog, I've noticed that fewer and
fewer blogs are being updated at regular intervals, and several seem to have
been abandoned completely. I regret the passing of Franklin Habit's blog, The Panopticon. It was witty, interesting, and fun to read. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is still writing Yarn Harlot, but not every day like she used to. And I'm certainly not counting myself in their august company. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I blog because I enjoy it. I like writing about my knitting, I
like writing about the yarns I love to use. I am pretty sure that very few
people read this blog, since I can count the comments on it in any given year on
one hand (this does not include my comments back). I read other people's
knitting blogs because I am interested in what other folk are doing with fibre.
Sometimes I'm impressed, sometimes I wonder what they hell they're doing, and
sometimes I am inspired. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I honestly think knitting has shot its wad. It was wildly popular
for a few years in the previous decade, a popularity that lasted from about
2002 to about 2010, and then some new fad came along. The diehards kept at it,
and those who were never really committed to it have moved on to something
else. I think this is reflected in the closing of many yarn shops. In Boston,
from about 2011 til when I left about five shops closed down, and no new ones
opened up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am one of the diehards. I have kept up with knitting, and have
such a big stash that I probably don't need to buy yarn for the rest of my
life. Just the other day I finished one project and looked through my yarn
catalogue to find yarn for the next. I like to knit with others in a group, I
like to knit alone, I like to go to cafes and knit in public (*gasp!*). To
paraphrase Robert A. Heinlein, "A person who knits in public may have
other nasty habits." </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-69106764153970922682016-10-21T13:52:00.001-04:002016-10-21T17:18:35.226-04:00A Recap from 29 AugustBack on 29 August I wrote about how PETA tells lies in its advertisements, that shearing sheep seriously damages, hurts, or kills them. They have a photo of someone holding a fake sheep that has been painted to look like it is bleeding copiously from its wounds. I mentioned in that same post that a shearer from Australia stripped naked (except for his Wellies) and sheared a sheep. I said that I had seen a video of it, but couldn't find it. Well, here is a link to the article about the naked shearer:<br />
<a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/2945871/petas-anti-wool-campaign-mocked-by-naked-sheep-shearer/">Anti Wool Campaign</a><br />
And this is a picture of him doing it<br />
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Neither shearer nor sheep were harmed during this action.<br />
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I continue to knit with fibre from sheep, llamas, alpacas, goats, and bunnies, rather than from yarn made from the remains of dinosaurs which died millions of years ago.a<br />
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<br />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-87239297419046689282016-10-14T16:09:00.003-04:002016-10-14T16:09:59.619-04:00Perceptions in KnittingYesterday at work I had to help staff an informational fair that my office organised. My job was to sit at the front door and have everyone who walked in sign the sign-in sheet (more for a head count than for any other reason, though we should have door prizes next year). This is fairly mindless work, "Good morning, would you please sign the sign-in sheet?" It doesn't use a whole lot of brain cells. I had planned to knit during this time, since I'm making a fairly simple hat, stockinette in the round, with about three inches to go before I begin the decreases. I had hoped to reach the decrease stage yesterday, and then finish the hat off this weekend.<br />
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However, I was dissuaded by my colleagues in the office. You are being paid to work, not to knit, I was told. It wouldn't be seemly to be doing that when you are supposed to be working. And in that moment, I had an insight, maybe even an epiphany.<br />
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There is a fundamental difference in the way in which knitters see what they are doing when they have their needles in their hands, and what non-knitters see when knitters have needles in their hands. For many knitters, knitting is a way to pass the time usefully. If I don't have a complicated project that has me reading pattern lines and checking charts, a simple stockinette cap can make the time go by faster, and I'm accomplishing something at the same time. To a non-knitter, who cannot fathom that knitting can be mindless*, knitting is an activity that one is doing <i>instead of</i> what one is being paid to do, rather than something one is doing in <i>addition to</i> what one is being paid to do. While it is expected that one can multitask at one's desk (really, one can't, one can only do one thing at a time, even if one is doing small pieces of several things, they are still done sequentially), using the time to knit while sitting at the door is seen as doing something other than working. Believe me, asking you to put your name on the sign-in sheet is not an onerous chore, and I'm pretty sure I could have accomplished both at the same time.<br />
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It's a moot point. I didn't knit, my hat still has only about an inch of stockinette, and I still have three inches to go before I begin the decrease rounds. But by damn, I'm going to finish that hat this weekend.<br />
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<a href="http://madelinetosh.com/">Madeline Tosh</a> Vintage, really in Betty Draper's Blues, so a bit darker than this photo shows.<br />
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*Really, what <i>do</i> you think about when you're washing the dishes, or ironing all your shirts for the week? I know that Buddhist monk <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_H%E1%BA%A1nh">Tich Nhat Hanh</a> advises us to "wash the dishes to wash the dishes," meaning we should imbue even the most mundane tasks with intentionality, but I must confess that I am unable to so do. I subscribe to the concept, when doing tasks like washing dishes and ironing shirts, that the hands are busy, but the mind is free, Which is why I don't mind doing them. This also applies to working a stockinette hat in the round, and I'm willing to bet that books on CD would be a good background for such a project.<br />
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<br />Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7046908377942013275.post-88237081380555878592016-09-27T08:26:00.000-04:002016-09-27T08:26:13.865-04:00When Drinking During the Debates isn't an Option<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In <i>The Lion In Winter</i>, Eleanor of Aquitaine picks up a mirror, then puts it down, saying, "I can't look. I'd turn to salt." I felt much the same way about the debates last night. I watched for about eight minutes, and after screaming myself hoarse, I decided to do something productive instead. I organised patterns!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After I moved to New Orleans, I never really finished unpacking. There are still a few boxes of oddments and endments that I just don't know what to do with, where to put, how to organise, but at the same time, things I don't want to get rid of. It's hell living in a location that can't have basements because the water table is so high. Our house actually stands on pylons, and there is space between the building and the ground. I don't want to even imagine what lives under the house. I've seen the cockroaches in this burg.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But one of my boxes contained about 20 or so patterns, and I sat and fitted them into plastic sleeves to keep them all together. Some were duplicated, because I'd forgotten I'd printed them, but I just stuffed them in together. There were all sorts of goodies. A peacock shawl, a Canadian maple leaf toque, a red dragon toque, various shawls and cabled scarves, and even an Icelandic sweater pattern, named OĆ°inn which I'd like to make sometime.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In all, it was a very satisfying experience to get all those patterns into sleeves. I know there are more packed away in various boxes that I haven't gotten to yet, but I will, eventually. </span><br />
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Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06367960115761521788noreply@blogger.com0