January One -- Stash
June 18, 2007
Yarn Crawl
I ended up visiting five yarn stores on my vacation and, like a good knitter, I bought something at every one! Here you go:
My first visit, like two hours after I got off the plane, was to Artfibers, the fabled San Francisco mecca. If I had to compare this store to another, I'd have to say Habu in NYC. Not because they're anything alike - really they're not - but because they're similar in that they're SO DISSIMILAR to any other yarn store you've ever been to. Crazy different.
Artfibers is on the second floor of a building, so there's no storefront. When you walk in, there's a desk straight ahead in front of a wall of needles and notions and then it's just wire shelving everywhere. Little notes identify the yarns and there are lots of swatches and everything's pretty much on cones, so it's not like you can really handle the yarn. (Oh but you can! More on that in a minute!) There didn't seem to be any specific organization to the place, so I wandered around for a bit looking at stuff and made my way to the front of the store where there were a bunch of chairs and a couple of jars of straight needles. I was in the tasting area.
In case you're not familiar with Artfibers, probably the most unique thing about the place - besides the fabulously different and varied yarns - is the tasting bar. It is allowed and ENCOURAGED for you to make swatches of yarns you're interested in. I can think of no better way to sell yarn than to have customers actually KNIT with it! There are bins in the back with smallish lots of all of the yarns in the store - many in various colorways - and you just pick your yarn, take a seat and start knitting! It's FANTASTIC! I made two swatches:
That's Ming on the left and Kurosawa on the right. Both yarns are 50% silk, 50% extrafine merino - but oh my god they couldn't be more different. The Ming is an incredibly soft single ply that knit up shows you that it will probably start to pill the minute it's off the needles. As much as I loved it, I wanted sweater yarn, not something so delicate. So I went to the Kurosawa which is a FOUR ply. It's like knitting with a fantastically soft cotton. It was a bit splitty in the knitting but the stockinette is just gorgeous.
Lovely, no? I'm seeing a long sleeve v-neck pullover. Simple - to show off the beauty of the yarn. This stuff will knit up nice and tough. I'd be surprised if it pills badly. Incidentally, I bought two cones of color #5.
While I was waiting to pay, I completely fell in love with Fauve.
It's a cotton, hemp, nylon mix that's just unlike anything I've ever seen knit up. I didn't have time to make my own swatch, but the one online shows the yarn pretty well. There's the muted hemp/cotton, and then this sparkly crazy nylon. I bought a little more than 300 yds - I might even make a scarf, I love this stuff so much. It took me forever to pick a color! I drove everyone crazy asking which one they liked best. I ended up with #4.
If you're ever in San Francisco, you MUST go to Artfibers and knit up a swatch. It really is so different! I loved it!
The other yarn store in SF I wanted to try was ImagiKnit. This is more of a typical yarn store, but they have a TON of yarn. It seemed special enough to make the trip so on our last morning in SF, I hopped in a cab and went WAY across town. It was...okay. The store itself is very nice with a very shabby chic look and two huge rooms filled with yarn. There really is a TON of yarn - most of it's your typical LYS fare - big names and some little names. I bought my requisite souvenir Koigu:
P900. I bought the last two skeins and even though they're the same dyelot, they're pretty different. I also bought some Claudia's Silk Lace in the superfun Lipstick colorway.
I just love the color. Imagiknit, though, was a bit of a disappointment. Sure, there was yarn galore. Sure the store setting was comfortable and fun and there was LOTS of room. But I got that vibe. You know which vibe I mean. The vibe that says you're not part of our little clique, which is the only reason we've got this huge store in the first place, so we can knit with our friends, and you're not a friend, so we'll gladly take your money, but we're not going to be encouraging about it. It could've been me. I'm sure there are people out there reading this thinking this is completely wrong because it's the best yarn store in the world, but I tried to engage them and they just didn't care. I even did the embarrassing old lady trick where you try to make conversation with everyone and I felt like I was rebuffed. Anyway, the yarn is pretty and really that's all that matters. I won't make the effort next time though.
My next stop was Article Pract, across the Bay Bridge in Oakland. Now there's a yarn store! The place is PACKED full and it was funky and seems like a lot of fun and I bought the best bag in the universe and it was ON SALE!
OMG! It's all velvet and soft and the blue faille lining is fantastic and matches perfectly and it fits great on my shoulder and the cutout is perfect for my arm and I love it so much I'm afraid to use it! It's Offhand Designs, Ursula style and I was so happy I skipped to the car to show G. It's the Sahara Stripe colorway. I was sorry I didn't buy any yarn at Article Pract, and while they had lots of yarn, there wasn't anything super special for me like the bag. I mean, really, I don't need any yarn. But the woman behind the counter was very nice and really I was just so happy with the bag she could have called me fat and I would've thanked her. Yes - it's THAT good! I would definitely go back to Article Pract. Very nice store.
On our first full day at the Lake, we drove the 72-mile loop that takes you all the way around and on the way we stopped at The Wool Tree in South Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately, they don't have a website. It was a small, but nice store, with your typical LYS fare. The woman working there was very nice and chatty with me. I ended up with an older Interweave Crochet. Didn't want to walk out empty handed.
My last yarn store of the trip was Jimmy Beans Wool. I was really hoping to get here and the last night we stayed in Reno, so it wasn't very far from our hotel. When I walked in they were getting ready for an event later that evening with Ann Norling. Unfortunately I couldn't stay, but I was certainly invited to. VERY nice group of ladies at the store. VERY nice. Solicitous without being OVERLY solicitous. Fun and funny and it's a great little store. They have a SUPERIOR collection of Lorna's Laces and when I asked for the Tahoe colorway, which I didn't see on the shelf, they checked their inventory and came out with all I needed. I bought the two prizes while I was there and some other contest yarn and I was happy to spend my money with them. I've shopped online with them before, and will be happy to do it again.
So that's the yarn crawl story. I love visiting yarn shops when I travel - most of them are pretty similar, but sometimes you get a nice surprise.
Here's what I knit on most of my trip:
I'm loving knitting this! It's my Wing O' The Moth shawl (details here.) I love the yarn - the color, the feel - and I love the texture of the unblocked lace.
And here it is pulled out a little bit.
I can't wait to finish and block this baby! I'm just about to the end of the first chart. I think there's like 40 rows and the edging after that. Not long now.
And this picture is for Ann:
I can't wait! More on this as soon as Annie gets her share. ;-)
Posted by Cara at 03:01 PM | Comments (79)
February 13, 2007
Knit Nite
I'm LOVING all the contest entries! I love the confessional nature of some of them. I love when people share their stories. And for the record, G and I never celebrate Valentine's Day. I can barely remember a present or a card even. We don't even celebrate Thanksgiving - so VDay is really off the radar. Besides, we're one of those couples you love to hate in that every day around here is VDay. We're so in looooooooove. (Don't hate me cause you ain't me!)
More trip news! Firstly, let me just say that blogging can oftentimes feel like a job. Sure - sometimes it's a fun job, but sometimes it's not and don't let anyone tell you it's easy to come up with something on a fairly regular basis. I mean, I knit a lot - but I don't knit THAT much. (Not that I'm really complaining, per se. I know full well that I have CHOSEN to do this. I could take it all down in a second but I would honestly miss it. Breaks are good. For the most part this blog has brought nothing but goodness into my life. THANK YOU for that.) Anyway, when I'm thinking ugh - I have to write something witty and funny and smart and take pretty pictures and knit something fabulous or I know no one will ever read my blog again - my faith in blogging is RESTORED!
I mean, how else would I have ever had the chance to hang out with SUCH fabulous people?! How else? So far now I've met bloggers in Maryland, New York, Boston, Chicago, LA, The Peninsula. I've met bloggers from Wisconsin, Utah, Georgia, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Pennsylvania. Canada. I've met people in my own backyard that have become some of my favorite people in the world - all through this little blog. My trip out to the Central Coast of California was no exception. Or it's called the Peninsula. Or South Bay. The area just south of San Francisco where all the computers companies reside. Near Stanford University. Seriously - this is THE fiber community. They've got like a million shops out there and everyone knows everyone and everyone (from what I could see) likes and RESPECTS everyone and the shops are all in on it with each other and they all carry really different yarns with almost NO overlap. I visited three stores (there are like a million more) and they were all very different in style and layout - but they were all equally warm and inviting and I would've been comfortable kicking up my heels and knitting for a while in any one of them.
My knitblogger adventure started Friday night. The incomparable Cookie picked me up and took me to dinner with Nathania, Jeni, and NO BLOG Hannah - who it turns out - is my long, lost twin. (GET OFF THE MYSPACE GIRL and grow up. Get yourself a BLOG!) I'm positive I laughed more than I ate and I was instantly comfortable with everyone. Which is saying a lot for people you've never met before (or met for just a little while - DUDES! I was at Nathania's Bridal Shower!)
After dinner, we walked a few blocks to a coffee shop and hooked up with Kristi, Jocelyn, Freecia, Lu, Lisa, who came out with her gorgeous 2wk old son that seriously made my ovaries ache, Linda and Jill.
We ended up moving to a crepe place a couple doors down because the first place couldn't accomodate us and we preceded to get thrown out of the crepe place. We're so bad. HAHAHAHA! No, really, they wanted to close. So then we stood in the street because we could NOT STOP YAPPING. Nathania's got a picture of us!
The next day, Nona picked me up and we headed out for a yarn crawl with Cookie and Kristi! I was really excited to hang with Nona - I've long been a fan of her blog and her new swatch project is INSPIRED! What she can do with a log cabin square just stirs my heart. Our first stop was Full Thread Ahead where Hollis, the owner, was super generous and let us into the Secret Stitches Stash where I picked out the most beautiful yarn I've ever seen!
Have you ever? It's HandMaiden Sea Silk in the Straw colorway (such a pedestrian name!), but let's be honest here - that's pure gold folks.
Everyone was in agreement that this was definitely MY COLOR and it was all I could do to stop smelling it and fondling it and generally behaving with it in a very unladylike way. Thank you Hollis! I will definitely use this yarn for something very, very special!
Our next stop was Uncommon Threads - and unfortunately I didn't get to hang here long enough. The back table was a VERY inviting spot and it would've been a lot of fun to hang with the knitters I met back there. And they had fudge. What more could you ask for?
We rushed out of Uncommon Threads so we could get to Purlescence before it closed. Another VERY fine knitting shop! I couldn't leave empty-handed two stores in a row, so I picked up some Louet Gems and Claudia's Handpainted for some potential Anemoi Mittens!
I'm thinking of a stained glass effect. We'll see. After we closed down Purlescence, Kristi, Cookie, Nona and I did what knitters do best - we hung out and knit! Some delicious local flavor and fantastic conversation was the end to a perfect knitty couple of days.
I can't thank you all enough for taking time out of your busy lives to spend time with me! It was a blast and I loved knitting and talking and hanging with all of you! Anytime you're in my neighborhood - SHOUT! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Next up tomorrow.... A LEGEND is revealed!
Posted by Cara at 10:13 AM | Comments (51)
October 17, 2006
Shop Early, Shop Often
It had been a long time since I bought any STR. I was seeing some new colors out there and I was feeling left out. So I called Tina and Kaci and said this is how many skeins I want - send me your new favorites. This is what they sent me:
| 1. Gunmetal Grey 2. Henpecked 3. Chicabiddy 4. Cock-eyed 5. Dreidel 6. Love-In-Idleness 7. Jail House Rock 8. Puck's Mischief | 9. Sunstone 10. Rhode Island Red 11. Downpour 12. Purple Rain 13. Heart Throb 14. In the Navy 15. Blue Brick Wall 16. Rocktober |
That knitting malaise I was feeling? It's suddenly gone! Imagine that! Needless to say, I will not be buying any STR at Rhinebeck, so please don't blame me if it sells out quickly. I was smart, and shopped from home. ;-) Also, for all the newbies going to the festival this year, Blue Moon does not have a booth at Rhinebeck - Toni Neil from The Fold has exclusive Rhinebeck rights to STR. Good luck! I'm not sure I'm going to buy anything at Rhinebeck (famous last words.) I was going to buy a WooLee Winder too, but they aren't going to be at the festival, so I ordered that online too. I'm sure I'll find something.
Back to my fabulous yarn and how inspired I am. The other day Ann said to me - look at these socks! - and my heart skipped a beat! OH MY LORD! Those are some of the most beautiful socks I've ever seen. I tried the Pomatomus sock with some STR and didn't like how it worked out - to be honest - I love the texture of the pattern but I really don't think it does variegated yarns justice. But this! Semi-solid STR! PERFECTION! I quickly scanned my stash for something that would work - and I settled on Sunstone (the golden orange in the picture above - lower right corner.) I'm totally ripping off Elliphantom. I was hoping to have some sock to show you, but I literally had to cast on like six times. Don't ask. Maybe tomorrow - I can't wait to get into the pattern part. Fantastic!
Posted by Cara at 12:30 AM | Comments (62)
September 13, 2006
Random Knits
because it's Wednesday.
Thanks for indulging me the last couple of days. It feels good to get all that stuff off my chest and you can't know how much I appreciate the audience. I'm pretty sure Ann wishes I never went to New Orleans, even if she is the only one who got a souvenir gift.
Want to see what I bought while I was there?
Koigu, P852 and 2340
Six skeins of Koigu from the Garden District Needlework Shop. This yarn is destined for knee highs - see how the EXACT same shade of the semi solid green shows up in the variegated? DUDE! There's your ribbing, heel and toe right there. It's taking everything in my power not to cast on for these RIGHT THIS SECOND. Sad really.
And, more Koigu:
Koigu, P706 and P516
This time from The Quarterstitch. Destined for socks, I guess. Too pretty to pass up and look how they wrapped up my yarn!
At one point while I was purchasing the yarn I ran out to catch a Second Line going by - and when I came back she had unwrapped all the yarn that she had already wrapped up. I said, oh did you think I wasn't coming back? And she said no - I did a crappy job so I wanted to do it over. A girl after my own heart!!
I also got a Rebuild T-shirt which I've finally taken off for the first time in three days so I could photograph it for you. And a DESIRE NOLA magnet.
Lest you think it's all been bleeding hearts around here, I have been knitting. I finished the first Koigu Knee Sock!
I love the way it looks, but the fit is off a bit from the STR knee highs - even though I kept adding rounds and adding rounds. The stitch gauge is about the same, but the row gauge seems to be way off. I'm going to have to recalculate for the NOLA knee highs, but for the next purple one I'll do the same thing. They fit fine - they just sink a little bit. Not fall down, just sink. Does that make sense? I want them to STAND AT ATTENTION! Anyway, Koigu is just so much different than STR and I still prefer STR over just about anything, but it's nice to mix things up a bit. Couple more shots of the sock:
Now, I hate to disappoint all you log cabin lovers (and haters - because really - if I'm not knitting log cabins - what will you hate? ;-) ) but I'm putting my ONLY (and this just doesn't seem possible) size 5 addis to work on something else.
It's SERAPHIM. Knit in none other than MY OWN FREAKING HANDSPUN!!!!!! I'm almost positive I will have enough yarn for the shawl as written, but Mim has given instructions for increasing or decreasing if need be. It's really weird to be knitting with your own yarn. You have no one to curse out but yourself when the yarn is a pain in the ass. BUT I'm LOVING IT! Look at the nubly wonky weird stitches! Aren't they precious?
I declare on THIS DAY, September 13, 2006, that this shawl is MY RHINEBECK PROJECT. I will finish it before Rhinebeck. And I will WEAR it at Rhinebeck. I was going to do the Top Down BW sweater for Rhinebeck but it's just not calling out to me AT THIS MOMENT (you know what a fickle bitch I am.) The hardest part of getting this done in time will be NOT casting on for the NOLA knee highs. NO KNEE HIGHS. NONE. KNEE HIGHS BAD. Handspun Lace project good.
Posted by Cara at 10:23 AM | Comments (42)
July 20, 2006
My Kind of Town
Onto the Fiber Portion of my Chicago Trip!
Friday night, after I was sufficiently dried off and G was on his way to his obligations, I headed out to Loopy Yarns. As soon as I walked into the store, I spied Karen, who was talking with Michelle. We all chatted for a bit - my plans in the city, etc. and then they went on to shop the fabulous sales at Loopy. I just haven't been feeling the yarn store love lately - I certainly don't need any yarn - not for a long long time - and I'm more interested in knitting what I have and making my own, so I wandered around a bit and ran into Tere. Tere was in town from Santa Barbara picking up her daughter and Tere is blogless but she needs to go out right now and get a blog. We talked for a while and then sat down to knit with a group of women at the store - including Vicki, Loopy's welcoming proprietress. It was great to sit around and knit with everyone and of course I bought something before I left - I'm not completely crazy! Loopy's is known for their Lorna's Laces collection - a Chicago establishment - so I bought some of the last LL fiber they had in the store!
Lorna's Laces Wool Top
in Sherbet
Thanks girls for your hospitality!!
The next morning I was on my own for breakfast (which I had in bed, thank you very much) and then G and I headed out to MARENGO!!! To visit TONI! At THE FOLD! Toni, you'll remember, was one of the very generous souls (along with Tina at Blue Moon) to donate the wheel to Spin Out! I've known Toni since I first bought a spindle last summer. Since then she's outfitted me with STR and a wheel! NOTHING was going to keep me from The Fold. Not even the horrendous traffic on I-90!
On our way out, we made a pit stop at Superdawg!
Mr. and Mrs. Superdawg
G and I consider ourselves junk food afficienados and will travel far and wide for some good junk. Superdawg fit the bill! YAY!
Fortified, we headed back out onto I-90 towards NothingvilleWisconsin. We drove through farmlands and saw cows and horses and which is always a treat for us city folk and finally we arrived at Toni's place. Listen - I don't have ANY pictures. I SUCK! When we got there the sheep were outside and it was HOT and we were later than we wanted to be so I was anxious to get inside and when we left, the sheep had gone into the barn. So no pictures. I was having too much fun to stop and take any.
Okay. So I get there and Toni gives me a huge hug and I'm happy and G changes into his bathingsuit and finds himself a nice spot on the deck with a direct line to the UV Rays and I go off to spin. When I bought my Lendrum I had really never tried any wheels - just bought it site unseen on the expert advice of many people. I'm happy to say that I tried a bunch of different wheels at Toni's and I'm still VERY HAPPY with my Lendrum. It was the absolute BEST choice for me.
The first wheel I wanted to test was the Schacht Matchless. I was afraid I'd love it because it's expensive and pretty and thank god I didn't. So not as smooth as my Lendrum. Then I tried the Ashford Traditional because I saw Delia spinning with it at Spin Out and thought it was pretty and eh. Nothing special. Toni had me sit at the wheel we gave away - a Majacraft Suzie Pro - which I have to say was pretty nice. Not bad. As close to the Lendrum as any. And then she killed me. KILLED ME! She had me spin on the GORGEOUS Black Walnut Lendrum Saxony she's got there, right in the shop for everyone to see, and OH MY GOD! I FELL IN LOVE!!! The worst part is that when I was talking about it nonstop on the drive back to Chicago G was confused and thought I had actually bought it. DAMN! And it was the right way and everything - turns out that I spin left-handed. Who knew? I just do what's comfortable. Guess my left hand isn't useless afterall. Anyway. I love that wheel. Apparently so do some other people! (DUDE! I will so fight you for it!)
Ahhh.
What's that? Oh yeah. Of course, I didn't leave empty handed. How could I leave empty handed? I bought some new fiber!
Interlacements Silk Roving
Color 206
100% Merino
I'm planning on maybe plying the Silk with some white Cormo I have from Maryland - I think that would look pretty cool - and the purple merino is destined for an experiment in 3-Ply. Don't you think that will be neat? I'm excited. Not enough time to spin. Maybe if I had two wheels? NONONONO! I can't get another wheel!!!
Ahhh.
Alright. I'm okay. Whew. I also bought some fun tools. I have one niddy noddy which I hate. It's unfinished and cheapy looking and I have to stick paper towel into one end or the stick comes out. Blech. I was SO HAPPY to see that Toni had the Niddy Noddy I had been coveting!
It's a Nancy's Knit Knacks Niddy Noddy (say that ten times fast.) The little balls screw into the top and bottom to hold it all together so no need for paper towels! And I like the plain look of it. Very happy. Can't wait to use it!
I also got some fun tools:
A baby niddy noddy for sample skeins and a WPI tool - I think they may be made by the same person, or maybe not. I know that the niddy noddy is from Charis Yarn.
I also bought a book and the lastest issue of Spin Off and I think that's it. I had SUCH a great time and Toni's shop is FANTASTIC! Forget the spinning stuff - which she has in abundance - she's got a KICKASS selection of yarn and books. I urge anyone in the area to get out there! It's SO WORTH it! If not for the yarn, then for Toni's stellar hospitality.
We lucked out on the way back and managed to avoid the horrific traffic we witnessed driving out there and G got home in time for his dinner and I was able to clean myself up in time to meet with Bonne Marie and Theresa! We headed out for drinks (Cosmos for them, Shirley Temples for me - I'm a freak!) and to wait for blogless Helen who was coming out to play! After drinks we all piled on the Love Bus (Bonne Marie's beloved #66) and headed out to Navy Pier. We arrived JUST IN TIME FOR FIREWORKS!!! I love me some fireworks! After ice cream and some obligatory knitting, it was time to say good night. Helen escorted me back to my hotel - I think I was half asleep - sorry Helen - and my second night in Chi-town was over. It was SO FANTASTIC meeting you girls!!! I was so happy to have the opportunity to hang out. Thank you! (Tere - I'm so so sorry I didn't call you. For the life of me I could not find your information! Hopefully we'll meet again!)
The rest of my time in Chicago was fairly uneventful. Well, uneventful in a knitterly way. We went to the Southside on Sunday to find the house G spent his first four years in and hung out at the beach right by our hotel for a bit - the beach? In the middle of the city? SUPER COOL! Went to dinner Sunday night (Cafe Spiaggia - eh. Only so so.) Monday was too hot to do anything so I hung around and knit while G worked and then we left for home! All in all a very nice trip and I loved Chicago! Hopefully we'll be back soon. When it's a bit cooler.
Thanks again all you Chicagoans for your hospitality! Anytime you're in my hood, I hope to return the favor!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 09:43 AM | Comments (32)
April 01, 2006
Flash Your Stash 2006
This is NOT a joke. I repeat. This is NOT A JOKE. This is really my stash, and I'm warning you now, it's going to be VERY ugly. And not in the sense of oh my god it's going to be ugly because it's actually going to be so good you'll be so envious you'll want to kill me and steal my stash, I mean the pictures are pretty damn awful. The light was waning in the afternoon sun and it was hot in my bedroom even though I peeled out all of the clay caulk shit G used to seal the windows and moving stuff around was boring and sweaty and by the end I really didn't care how much fucking yarn I have. But I know YOU do, so I'm showing it to you. Don't say I never did anything for you. ;-)
Here's the stash. All of it. I'm proud of the fact that it can all fit into the space next to my bed in our bedroom - and that's including the fabulous dresser which I now love more than anything (be sure to click the links if you don't know the whole story.) (Sometimes I just run my hand along the top and open the drawers to smell the soap and look at the yarn and then I close them so I can fondle the drawer pulls. Ahhhh. I really do love it that much.) This is a picture of the bins in their natural habitat:
The other stuff on top of the closet are shoe boxes and empty notebooks (I used to journal and I have a lot of empty notebooks. Now I blog.) and empty picture frames. This is the walk-in closet in our bedroom which holds all my clothes, shoes, other crap and a lot of my yarn. Before you go all feeling sorry for G because I got the walk-in closet, he has a dresser in the bedroom, a WHOLE OTHER ROOM in the house with a closet and tons of drawer space and another closet in another room in the house. He's well taken care of space wise. Believe me.
In case you didn't notice, I numbered all the containers, so I'll start with number 1.
1) This is the fabu leather basket I got at a kick-ass sale at Crate and Barrel. It holds a bunch of WIPs and is usually in the living room.
Among the projects pictures here are the Prarie Blanket, Short Rows, BDFS, the long abandoned Sunshine Sock, the Powell 106 shawl, other stuff I don't even know about anymore. (If you'd like to see more about these projects, check the sidebar for links. I'm feeling quite lazy.)
2) This clear bin with a white top (one of two) holds some nice (read: expensive!) stuff:
You've got your Chocolate Calmer in the front, Rowan CashSoft (a gift from Jen!), ArtYarns Supermerino - in purple/pinks and in orange - enough for two kid sweaters, Brooks Farm from Maryland - two bags, Donegal Tweed for a felted bag, Jo Sharp Desert Garden - a bag from WEBS, various Manos, some Malabrigo, some Cotton Fine left over from my Flower Basket Shawl - or actually some extra in purple as an alternative. There may be other stuff in there, but I can't tell from the picture and I already threw it back in the bin.
3) This is the JO SHARP BIN!
Remember like a year ago, or maybe even longer, when elann.com was selling all that Jo Sharp super cheap. Yeah. I bought a lot of it. But I've swatched some and knit some and this is the yarn I think about most when I'm thinking about knitting from my stash. We've got Silkroad Aran in a light blue, Silkroad Ultra in a chocolate color, Silkroad Aran Tweed in a grayish color for a sweater for my dad that I SWEAR I'm going to knit someday. Soon, Daddy, soon. Some leftover Silkroad Aran Tweed in a navy blue that I used for G's vest. Silkroad Aran Tweed in a lighter blue - possibly an aran for me. I've swatched it AND I bought buttons. Kiss of death. And finally, two colors of Silkroad DK Tweed in a pink and a green. This is the stuff I'm always thinking about.
4) The smallish clear bin.
This is a little bin which holds all the stuff that I haven't had a chance to put some place special. All the fabulous yarn my best pal Kris sent me. A birthday present from Elspeth. Some Trekking and Regia sock yarn, all purchased BSTR - before Socks That Rock. My birthday Starmore collection.
5) Smaller blue bin in the back.
Ann! This one's for you! In the front on the left is all the yarn I bought to make the Flower Basket Bag that was in Vogue a few issues back. The one with the trellis like pattern and four thousand flowers and you felt it? Knit on size 19 addis or something? Yeah. I never made it. One day. Also there's some Cascade 220 in really bright colors that I actually bought for a photo shoot I was thinking about that never really worked out. I tried it but it turned out to be a bad idea. And some Chasing Rainbows tussah/merino blend that I think I had earmarked for a Clapotis. Some Rowan All Seasons Cotton in the horried Tapestry color that they discontinued but I wasn't smart enough to realize they discontinued it because it's ugly as shit. I used this to make the Pinwheel Blanket for my nephew that I've learned to loathe (the blanket, of course. Not my nephew. Him I LOVE TO DEATH!) I never gave it to him. The boy turns one next week. In the same bag is a sweater's worth of some very expensive hand-dyed merino/mohair yarn I bought at Maryland last year. It's still pretty. And some Peruvian Highland Wool, another yarn I've learned to hate.
6) The big blue bin.
This is the proverbial junk drawer bin. It's got all the leftover bits of yarn and half used balls and swatches (although I recently gifted my niece a TON of swatches - mostly acrylic stuff - to use as blankets for her dolls) and all the ACRYLIC and projects that I really need to rip and reclaim the yarn. Like I said, the junk drawer.
7 & 8) The dresser (and the little box in front!)
We'll start with the fiber:
This pile actually makes me the most nervous. When am I going to spin all this up!?! I keep the fibers in the shelves behind doors in the dresser. I also keep my handspun yarn there.
My handspun. Claudia's handspun, which I like to take out and study because it's so beautifully spun. A vendor at Rhinebeck's handspun. Some other stuff.
The top big drawer in the middle area and the top top small middle drawer hold this:
Here we've got the Koigu, the Cherry Tree Hill, some Tiny Toes, some of Felicia's yarn, some Vesper, some Fleece Artist, other sock yarn stuff. This is the mostly handpainted sock yarn that's not STR.
And last, but not at all least, I leave you with my Socks That Rock collection, which gets three drawers (a large and two mediums):
And yes. This one really is as good as it looks.
Hope you enjoyed my stash! God help me.
Posted by Cara at 12:04 AM | Comments (60)
February 22, 2006
Exorcism!
NO CAVITIES! YAY! None for me, none for Georgie! Safe for another six months. Whew!
I'm writing this Tuesday night because tomorrow I'm going to meet Ann and Daughter#2 (hey Ann - will I have to call her Daughter #2? Or does she have a more conventional name?) to give them the oh my god its been 15 years since I graduated from college tour of NYU. I hope I don't forget all the good score corners at Washington Square. There will be lunch and there will be yarn shops in the mix. Even though I didn't knit when I was in college. Ann canceled on me because she's hacking up a lung and was generous enough to keep her Avian Flu away from me. And she more than made up for it with this photograph. Please, PLEASE go read her post. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. Oh my god I LOVE YOU ANN!
This post, though, is about exorcism. (That should be good for the google hits!) You all know about the sideboard brouhaha, and in order to put it all past us and load up that baby with yarn, I felt like I needed to exorcise the evil karma that came along with my mistake. I've been thinking about what I could do and this morning I said to G I should burn the directions and he said that was perfect. So I did it. (G wasn't home when I actually did do it and I think if he saw the amount of FIRE produced he would've changed his mind in a hurry!)
First, I followed Ann's advice and found myself a metal bowl and put it in my sink. Then I collected the materials I wanted to burn. (You should know, that this was really about burning stuff. I never burn stuff but somehow I really wanted to burn stuff. You know?) I thought about it and I decided that besides the directions, I would put some scraps of yarn from my past jaywalkers and a bit of fiber. So STR and Corriedale went into the pot.
I put it all in the bowl and lit the stuff on FIRE.
KIDS! Do NOT try this at home!
I gotta tell you FIRE is scary. I let the sucker burn for a couple of seconds and then there were flames like everywhere and THEN I remembered to grab the camera. Duh. Anyway, so I snapped a few pictures and then turned on the faucet. Tina at BMFA told me the yarn and fiber would smell like shit when it burned and it didn't really, but honestly, I don't know if the yarn/fiber ever really caught on fire. But it was bad anyway and I put the fan on in the kitchen. Then the phone rang and I was freaked that it was the building calling me to complain about the smoke (there really wasn't any at all) but it was just Ann.
So I burned the stuff, but that didn't seem like enough. So I went back into my bedroom and built myself a little shrine of STR and then lit my favorite candle ever and really the only candles I ever burn - Lemon Verbena from L'Occitane.
I lit the candle and said the Shehecheyanu. When I was done, I turned and looked out the window and found this:
I'm loading up this baby tonight! Pictures
Okay. I'm back! I had a lot of fun loading up this sideboard and I can't believe how much it will hold! I bought this big ass basket to hold fiber in the living room near the wheel, but it all fits into the cabinet. Oh well. Now listen, before I show you the pictures of my yarn in the cabinet looking all cosy and warm and loved, you have to promise that you won't get mad when you see all the Socks That Rock yarn. PROMISE! You see Tina and I have become really good friends and we talk all the time and in the course of our conversations about the work I'm doing for them and all the other good collaborative projects we have planned and what's the weather like where YOU are because here it's shitty I might just order lots of yarn. Like if I see or hear about a color I don't have, I tell her to send it. And being the good businesswoman that she is - she does. G has never made a comment about the yarn all over the house - asked how much I've spent, etc, but when he saw the STR drawer, well, he stepped back a bit. He didn't say anything verbally - but man the body language said it all! LOL!
Without further ado - the sort of filled up yarn cabinet! (The closed drawers have nothing in them - top little drawers will be for needles and notions. The other drawers for yarn to be determined later.)
Before I put anything in the drawers and spaces, I sliced up some pieces of amazing smelling soap that Janet had sent me.
I figured this was a great way to get rid of the icky Ikea particleboard smell. I'm not sure what flavor this is - but it's kind of got a citrusy smell - I love me some citrus smell. (Maybe Lemongrass? Janet is that right?) I wrapped each piece of soap in tissue paper. I also added some cedar balls to each space.
In each of the side spaces, we have my fiber collection. Undyed fibers and miscellaneous fibers and handspun yarns on the left:
And on the right side we have all of my dyed Biffle and other assorted dyed fibers.
Then, in the middle, we have the special sock yarn drawer - i.e. - yarn that isn't STR, but isn't Regia either. You've got your Koigu, your Lorna's Laces, your Cherry Tree Hill, some Twinkletoes, some Artyarns Ultramerino 4, some Vesper and some other assorted stuff.
Okay. Now here it is. Remember you PROMISED not to get mad.
In the top picture is all the STR I have still in skanks (that's a double, sometimes triple layer of yarn.) The bottom picture is what I have already wound up. I counted that I have about 37 skanks unknit. There are two in the process of being knit, and 8 pairs finished. I've also given away A LOT of this yarn. At least fifteen skanks. And in the interest of full disclosure, I'm expecting a package today or tomorrow. But not all of that's for me. Some of it will be given away.
ETA: My stash, in its entirety, is MUCH larger. What's in the sideboard is pretty much everything that had been residing on the floor in my living room - although there was some shifting around of stuff. The rest of the stash is safely tucked away in bins in my closet. I've got a lot - more than some, but not as much as others, I'm sure.
So there you have it! My beautiful yarn cabinet that I look on with only love. The exorcism worked!
Hope you have a demon free day!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 10:47 AM | Comments (54)
November 30, 2005
Wealth
Click here for the true story.
What fabulous riches gained from yarn! Yarn conceived, created, sold, purchased, gifted by interesting and engaging women. Who just so happen to be very special friends. The socks, well, they warm my feet, but more importantly, they warm my heart! Thank you!
Posted by Cara at 03:42 PM | Comments (38)
November 22, 2005
Pretty In Pink
We're all about full disclosure here at January One, no matter how embarrassing. What you see in the picture above is indeed more sock yarn. You know what? It's really not nice to make fun of people and their disabilities, i.e. obsessive compulsive disorder. Lately I've been really into pink (no, really?) - I don't know. I'm not really what you'd call a girly girl but I like pink these days. I have a couple of pinks shirts heavy in the rotation and a pair of pink cords I like to wear and well everyone should have a few pink days here and there. The yarn on the left is from Felicia over at the Sweet Shop. Not only is the yarn bright and vibrant and PINK, Felicia does a wonderful job packaging everything up. There's a great tag on the yarn and the whole thing came with a lovely personalized note - nice work Felicia. I'm sure the attention to detail will become very apparent when I knit up the yarn. The stuff on the right is Vesper - Neopolitan. Good enough to eat! I'm a sucker for ice cream. When I was growing up we always had ice cream in the house (it's a Philly thing I think) and we'd often have vanillachocolatestrawberry in the freezer. I always thought it was interesting that the vanilla would be gone first. Then the chocolate and lastly the strawberry. Simple pleasures. Sock yarn and ice cream. Tell me, what's better than that?
Nice segue, no? Actually, the jury's still out on these. I'm not sure. I LOVE the reds and pinks and I like them together with the black and grays but I don't know. I'm reserving judgement until the sock is done. This is 17 repeats. I'll start on the heel today. I went to bed at around 12:30PM. Georgie and I had a good night last night - lots of reconnecting, which we desperately needed. We do our own thing so much of the time and when we get really busy it's so hard to feel that connect. We went to dinner and talked about how more than half the married people in our families have gotten divorced and it was awfully sad but at the same time, it brought us closer together - we work hard at what we have and know how fragile and precious our marriage is - no matter how strong as well.
I'm so PUMPED to see how many people have signed up for the Jaywalker KAL. I'm planning a big surprise in January. Should I tell you now? I'm thinking we'll need some big time fun after the holidays to help keep us from those S.A.D. duldrums. How about a race? We'll start sometime in January and see who can knit a pair of Jaywalkers the fastest. What do you think? We'll put lots of specific rules up there (no. of repeats, etc.) and pick a first, second and third winner. Socks That Rock as the spoils of course. Oh and it goes without saying that even though I might race along with you - I will not be one of the winners. Well. I'll be a winner because you're all WINNERS! More details as January approaches.
Posted by Cara at 09:08 AM | Comments (31)
November 16, 2005
Queen Rock
Oh Margene! Not only do you ROCK, you RULE!
Thank you thank you thank you thank you!
die boglines die!
Posted by Cara at 09:28 AM | Comments (5)
November 09, 2005
Put Your Hand Together
First off, I want to brag about the time I spent yesterday with one Baby Xavier and his family. I'll tell you, what that kid lacks in size (he's a teeny one!) he sure makes up with cuteness! And oh my god he is to die for in his Koigu hat. Makes Aunt Cara's heart go pitter pat. Thanks Jen for letting me hang yesterday. It was so good to see all of you home and so, so happy!
Secondly, I'm anxious and pmsy today. I didn't sleep well last night - my imagination often gets the better of me. I'm feeling overwhelmed about the amount of work I have to do - I was feeling positive on Monday and didn't get enough done yesterday and now I have to prepare for class all day today - so I'm behind again.
And I seem to have hit an impasse on Nona's Superfabulous Serial Gloves. I tried putting the fingers all together last night in anticipation of the thumb gusset entry to come soon, and well, I was decidedly underwhelmed. The first couple times I worked it I got some nice big holes. I kept trying to KTBL to tighten things up but that seemed to have the opposite effect. After two tries, I decided that maybe I needed to go down a needle size and knit reallyreallyreally tight to eliminate the holes. (I mean, what's the sense of having gloves with holes between the fingers right - kind of built in air conditioning for the winter - not so nice.)
So I tried it on size #2s. And things went pretty well - I even got so far as to add the pinky and do a few rows. Then I stopped to inspect my work - I still had what appeared to be holes between the fingers. I'm not so sure now. I think underneath what looked like a hole were the stitches that come across the two circs to make the barrier if you will between the finger holes. It's what covers the webbing between your fingers (do you have webbing? I do. It's a hereditary thing I think. My sister barely has any.) I was all ready to accept this as the way it's SUPPOSED to be when I discovered some disturbingly loose stitches on the index finger at the join. After playing with it for a bit, trying to tighten things up, I decided it wasn't good enough and ripped. That's when I went to bed last night fondling the super easy Sunshine Sock I had stolen the size two needles from - ah stockinette. You call to me. My plan in the near future (I MUST WORK!) is to try again with the size #3s and knit reallyreallyreally tight. I'll let you know how it goes - in the meantime, any tips or tricks or reassurance I was doing it right would be greatly appreciated.
I got mail yesterday. Help, please.
Cotton Candy and Pebbles. Lots of it. Mmmmm. Socks That Rock. Thanks Toni!
ETA: The reason I bought two skeins of each is because this is Soft Rock and comes in skanks of 200yds. You need two. The Fire on the Mountain and Rock Star came in skeins of 325yds - you only need one. I specifically asked for two of the smaller skeins because I want to make nice long stockinette PINK cotton candy socks!
ETA2: All my STR yarn comes from Toni at The Fold. Tell her I sent you. (Sorry Toni! ;-) )
Posted by Cara at 09:26 AM | Comments (13)
November 03, 2005
If the Socks Are A Rockin', Don't Come Knockin'
Introducing Rock Star's hippie cousin:
This sock is all about the love and while it still ROCKS, it does in a DUUUUDE, catch my trail kind of way. Its mate has already been started. Maybe a finished pair by next Monday.
I'm feeling really bad about all the Jaywalker's I'm seeing out and about in blogland. Seems many, many people are having problems with gauge. This makes me sad because I'm at the point where I cast on my 76 stitches and rock out. No issues whatsoever. I'm using Addi size #1s. Two circs. I think I might have knit a bit tight on this third sock because my scale's telling me I've got 2oz left to start the second sock. I started out with the same 3.8 oz as the ROCK STAR pair and by the time I got to the second one on that pair I had 1.9 oz left. No biggie. Just a little more wiggle room. Anyway - I'm hoping people can work out their issues with the pattern because I really, really love it. Something about it goes so fast for me. Maybe because I've got all the measurements in my head (like 25 repeats before the heel; 57 before the toe) so I know exactly where I am at all times and how much I have left. And, still, I'm LOVING this yarn. I think I want to get two skeins of Fire on the Mountain so I can make extra long socks. I think the natural pooling in the stockinette is really nice. I'd like to see it run free on some knee highs.
Speaking of SOCKS THAT ROCK - JANET rocks. She won the blogiversary grand prize - a pair of socks, knit by moi, in her choice of SOCKS THAT ROCK colorways. Toni's out of stock, ahem, right now, but Janet - let me know what you want and your size (fingers crossed for small feet) and I'll get started, oh I don't know - how's January sound? Things should be pretty slow by then. ;-)
And Wendy wins the runner-up prize. She'll get some SOCKS THAT ROCK - but she'll have to knit it up herself. Wendy wins because I liked her birthday present suggestion the best. A tiara. You know what? She's absolutely right. I wouldn't have considered myself a tiara kind of girl, but after wearing Charlotte's Butterfly Princess Tiara at various times on Halloween, I'm saying YES! Bring on the diamonds! Every girl needs some sparkle in her life, no? (Although Mason Dixon Ann almost won with her suggestion of pillows. I could use some new pillows Ann, so feel free! And I also need liked Patti's suggestion of a year of housecleaning.)
All the rest of you should worry not. I will most likely be buying myself a wheel and Georgie's got the whole Bruce thing covered. He let me know the other day that we'll be going to see him on November 18th. Look for the hyperventilating to begin around the 10th.
So Janet and Wendy - congratulations and send me your addresses. And then go back and read yesterday's post. HAHAHAHA! I'm pathetic.
When I made my startling confession to being a deadhead, some of you questioned my mention of "the one." I just love how you all leaped to Georgie's defense. So sweet. Have no fear - if you read carefully I put "the one" in quotations marks - clearly demarcating that even though this was a "the one" it wasn't THE the one! Georgie is THE THE ONE. The one and only. As in She's The One. "The One" is the guy I gave that very special gift that you only give once - in a basement rec room with Light My Fire playing in the background. I shit you not. Ahhh. Special Memories. All I have to say is that he was no Steve Lapierre. Of that I'm sure. ;-)
Oh yeah. In the interest of full disclosure I bought some more yarn. Sock yarn at that. Someone stop me.
Pretty purply Koigu. Couldn't resist.
Long coveted Vesper Sock Yarn. Enough said.
Have a great day!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 09:29 AM | Comments (18)
October 26, 2005
A-a-a-CHOO! Snooort. Cough, Cough.
Ah. The soundtrack of my life. I'm sick. Sick. Sick. Sick. I'm kind of a rotten sick person. I expect to be waited on hand and foot and I complain and whine a lot. I think because, secretly, I'm excited to actually HAVE something to complain about. Something tangible like snot running down your face. Like your teeth itching so bad they hurt. Like a drippy eye. You know what I'm talking about.
See that? That's the couch. That's where I slept last night. Believe it or not it was more comfortable than my superfantasticsuperdeluxesuperspecial bed. Now, I think, you know how really sick I am. Thankfully TCM is showing Alfred Hitchcock this week. I watched Notorious last night, and then Rebecca came on, my all time FAVORITE! And after that Suspicion. I taped Rebecca and Suspicion. Gotta look and see what's on tap for tonight.
Want to know what a selfish knitter I am? I'm already on record saying I don't knit no holiday gifts. If I decide to knit something for you, I decide what you get when you get it. That's it. End of story. BUT, I so enjoyed knitting my sockapal2za socks that I volunteered to be an angel. I received my new sock pal's name the other day and high on the ROCK STAR socks, I thought I'd hit the Socks That Rock yarn for my pal.
You see, there was a skank in there that I was pretty perplexed about. Azurite. Muted colors - lavenders, purples, grays. I honestly don't remember how it got in there. I can't see myself picking it. It's not really something I would normally go for - but there it was. Perfect, I thought! My sock pal can have some Socks That Rock as well!
And then I wound the sucker up. And created a nice big tangle in the process. Well, let me tell you, after handling this yarn and looking at it all wound up there ain't no way I'm giving it away. NO WAY no how. It' beautiful.
The picture doesn't do it justice. But more than the colors, the feel of this yarn is truly spectacular. You know those rumors about how Koigu and Cherry Tree Hill are really Gems Opal, just with different dye jobs? I had heard the same about STR. But I think NOT. As soft and nice as Koigu and CTH and even Gems Opal are, STR is like SILK compared to them. Silk. I shit you not.
Because I'm a selfish knitter, my sock pal will be getting some nice blue Cherry Tree Hill that I've got in the stash. I'm thinking some simple (yet elegant) garter rib socks from the Sensational Sock book. That's the plan anyhow.
Oh and I want to cast on for mittens. Mittens are calling me.
I've got a busy night tonight. First on tap, the KnitLit3 reading. I'm not going to be able to stay until the bitter end, but I'll be there. I have to dash over the the theatre, dahling, for an evening of singing and dances and witches. We're going to see Wicked. Someone cast a spell on me please and take my cold away? Please?
Oh and if you see me tonight, I'll be wearing the ROCK STAR socks and I would think very kindly of you if you would only refrain from telling me that my nose actually matches my socks.
Posted by Cara at 11:54 AM | Comments (25)
October 18, 2005
Wicked Nice
I think Alison has the same picture - great minds think wool!
I'm so not sure where to start. Do I begin with Thursday when Vicki ended up at my house, in the ridiculous rain, with me mid- job and mid-cleaning? I did shower to pick her up and thank god I had washed the sheets that morning. Do I tell you how Friday morning I ran around like a chicken with two heads (that seems worse almost than no head) trying to get the jobs finished so I could run to the post office, in the still ridiculous rain? Do I tell you how we stopped for shoes for Vicki - because she didn't anticipate the beyond ridiculous rain and only brought open shoes? (I'll let her tell you that.) Do I tell you that we got home and Ann called to say her and Peggy were down the block and I hadn't showered or packed yet? I just don't know.
How about I start with the 1.5 hours it took us to go about two miles (I'm being extremely literal here) because of flooding. Once again, I'm sorry girls. I wish I had read the directions better. I'd like to think I could've gotten us out of it. But still and all, I think that Ann is secretly glad we got stuck because somehow I got control of the I-Pod and Barry Manilow got extra airplay and now she has something ELSE with which to torture me. Blogless (but not wheel less!) Peggy was the BEST driver - a girl after my own heart - aggressive and pissed and the quintessential NY driver. Yay Peggy! She got us to Rhinebeck (and home) safe and sound under adverse conditions. Listening to Ann and I go back and forth cannot be easy. Thanks again!
We finally got to the hotel in Poughkeepsie (blogger central) about six hours later - including a stop for dinner - to find Kris and Michelle looking for Norma. We invited them in until the festivities started. The cake was delish! Thanks Norma - and congratulations Nathania! Bloggers flowed in and out of Norma's huge room all night. As Juno pointed out, I made the mistake of knitting something that I still needed the pattern for - not a big complicated chart - but a pattern, with like two YOs and some ribbing. I think I ripped 814 times. Next time, only socks for me (like pretty much everyone else) and st st ones at that.
Saturday morning we were up bright and early. I didn't know what knits to bring, since it was raining (AGAIN) and even though it was supposed to stop, it was going to get hot. I had brought DFS, AEC and my one and only pair of handknit socks. Saturday I threw DFS in the car and headed out. My one and only goal, as you may have already heard, was to get to the Socks that Rock Booth before anyone else. I succeeded.
l to r: Fire on the Mountain, Watermelon Tourmaline, ROCKSTAR, Petroglyphs
l to r: Hard ROCK, Azurite
l to r: Black Onyx, Obsidian, Black Onyx
Um. DUH! Ann's going to give me such shit for this, but in my haste to buy up all the SOCKS that ROCK, I missed. I wanted three Black Onyx to make a shawl - something dramatic with fringe (and maybe beads?) so I grabbed three. It wasn't until I got home that I realized only two of them were Black Onyx and one was Obsidian. Although for the life of us, Vicki and I couldn't tell the real difference. It seems like the Obisidian has a bit more brown in it and one of the Black Onyx has a lot of white, but really all of the them look pretty different. At this point, the only reason to get another Black Onyx is because of mental problems and packaging, not because of yarn and dyes. Thought you'd like that story. Oh and if you're counting up the skeins and want to call me a liar because there are only nine, not ten, one is a gift. That's right. Only one. Don't you wish you were the lucky giftee. ;-)
After SOCKS that ROCK, I really didn't care anymore about anything festival related. Oh that's not true. Please. I went shopping for a special someone and elicited the advice of many a blogger/spinner. Julia was particularly helpful. Thanks Julia!
When we finally got out of Building A, it was time for the blogger meet-up. I had mixed feelings about facilitating this one, to be honest. I wasn't going to do it. I did it for Maryland and it was disappointing to me. I think, having the 20/20 vision of hindsight, my expectations were too high. And the area we met was less than condusive to meeting. This fact alone I think contributed to the fact that the Maryland meet-up lasted like ten minutes. So I wasn't going to do it, but then Vicki was coming and she asked for it so I did it. It was great! First off, at MDSW, I picked a bad spot. It was right in the middle of traffic and the line for the t-shirts was still a mile long and, well, it just didn't work. I wanted to meet EVERYONE at MDSW because I didn't know anyone. This time, I was a little more grounded. I came with some great girls. I knew I'd see them (a little too much if you know what I mean.) Wendy and Elisa were sleeping with us that night (more on that later.) A bunch of girls I'd seen the night before. I knew I'd be seeing a bunch at the hotel later on. So for me, there was no pressure. Everyone I met at the meet-up was like gravy, you know? A very different feeling than at MDSW where I felt like if I didn't meet them then, I'd never meet them. And the spot I picked was right on. A big open thoroughfare with benches and plenty of space to linger and talk and move around. People thanked me for setting it up and really, all I did was put some names up on my sidebar. You guys did all the work - you came, you met, you (hopefully) got to talk to some great people who you really wanted to meet. That's all I asked for - and I received ten-fold. The only regrets I have is that there were people that I didn't get to spend ENOUGH time with - they know who they are and all will be rectified. Mwah! Just because I didn't hug you enough doesn't mean I don't love you! I do! I do!
Where are the pictures you ask? Welp, even though I carried that big ass honking camera around for two days, I really didn't take any pictures. Besides what you will see here - the only other ones I took are over on Kay's blog. The conditions at these shows are less than stellar for photography and I was too busy having fun with friends (old and new) to worry about getting the perfect picture. I should've left the camera in the car, but god forbid I should miss something like this:
Ann - you found the booth, right? (Kay actually spied this sign.)
So I had to have the camera. But, alas, I didn't even get a good picture of a sheep. Sorry to disappoint.
Where was I? Oh yeah. If you aren't bored out of your mind already, read on.
Midway throught the afternoon I met up with Kay and Carrie and became their personal fair grounds tour guide, if you will. Is docent more accurate? (Here on the left you have Norm Hall's wood. Large sheep testicles to your right. And there go those NUNS again! What was with the NUNS? They were freaking me out!) I hope I did a good job for them. We wandered from barn to barn to barn, meeting up with bloggers everywhere! (I can't believe I pretty much remembered everybody's name. Except for Kellee. I'm sorry Kellee. I kept forgetting your name and your blog. I know it now and won't forget! Obsession du Jour! Already in my bloglines!)
People accused me of enabling, but they didn't do too badly themselves. I got this beautiful merino barber pole yarn while wandering around with Kay:
Lisa Ann Merian's Licorice Twist yarn from The Spinners Hill Shop.
She calls the yarn Licorice Twist, not the colorway. She doesn't name the colorways. Hand-dyed and hand-spun.
I liked it so much, I went back for more:
I've got about 1000 yds of the red/orange and 500 of the blue. I'm going to make mittens out of the blue - for Sandy's Mitten A-Long. Maybe for me. Maybe for the kids. Not sure yet.
All too soon they were making announcements that the fair was closing for the day! I met back up with my cohorts and we went back to the hotel - exhausted and satisfied.
After watching Vicki and Ann get drunk on Sheep Shearer wine (there may or may not have been talk of penis tape measures. I don't know for sure - I was trying to KNIT!), we headed to the lobby for pizza and knitting. Sort of a Pepperoni laced Stitch N' Bitch. The pizza guys would come and deliver pies and we'd send them back out for more. TJ's, right? Good pie. Not NYC good, but good. We knit and spun and laughed and laughed and laughed. There was A LOT of laughing. The good kind too, not where people are pointing at you and laughing. Although, to be honest, there was some of that (not mentioning any names ANN!)
Here's where I get all philosophical and goofy. After Maryland, there seemed to be a dearthplethora (thanks Debi!) of posts lamenting the high school atmosphere. People felt left out, it was too cliquey. I was one of them. It was a hard thing, Maryland (and that's not to say I didn't have a great time!) As I said before, my expectations were very high - I knew practically NO ONE and I wanted to know EVERYONE. It's not like I didn't want to know everyone at Rhinebeck, I did. But at the same time, I didn't feel the pressure. And I would be VERY surprised if posts pop up about high school after this one. That's not to say that people didn't have that feeling. I'm sure people felt left out and snubbed and excluded (and I'm SO SORRY if you feel like I contributed to that in any way - I SINCERELY DIDN'T MEAN TO!) But the whole event had such a warm, sisterly atmosphere. People were friendly. They WANTED to see what you bought, what you knit, tell you how lovely it was, rub you up and down and ooh and ahh over your knit. They wanted you to have a good time, to have a good time themselves. I was very nervous about going - because of the feelings I had after Maryland (that this group wouldn't get along with that group, etc.) and because of the anxiety I suffered over the summer and it ALL WORKED OUT. For me, at least. Thank you Vicki, Ann, Peg, Wendy my love, and Elisa, who I didn't manage to ask about her sexual history until AFTER we slept together, for making me feel so comfortable and cared for that I NEVER HAD TO TAKE A XANAX!
I'm all verkelmpt. I MISS YOU GUYS!
You know you're all sympatico when you're safely snuggled all in bed and Vicki says, "Hey, what side of the bed do you usually sleep on?" AND WE'RE ALL FOUR OF US ON OUR SIDES OF THE BED! No discussion about who will sleep where or who snores or nothing, we all just climbed in and were immediately where we needed to be. In case you're wondering, if you're facing the bed, Vicki and I sleep on the left, Wendy and Elisa on the right.
On Sunday, when we got to the festival, I went off on my own for a bit - too much togetherness and honestly the girls were a bit slow with their shopping. At that point I was in stealth mode to try and make sure I didn't miss anything. I thought I hadn't (although reading through everyone else's blog entries it might seem that I had. I don't remember half the vendors they're talking about!) I think I went through those barns like ten times each. Don't tell anyone, but by noon I was bored. Eeek!
But before I got bored, I tried one of these:
A Majacraft Rose Wheel
Uh oh.
No, no sillies! I didn't buy it, but Peggy did! Yay Peggy! Hope you love it! But I was very, very intrigued. So intrigued that later in the day I made my way over to Robin Spinning Wheels and had Kim give me a lesson! Kim, thank you!!! It was so great to meet you! The wheel was gorgeous and I think I warmed up the seat just enough that Laurie might still be there. Or maybe she just put her name on some list. Apparently Gilbert only has a two-year wait for his wood. ;-)
I've got to say, I think I want a wheel. I'm leaning toward a Lendrum because Toni says they're fabulous and Ann loves hers and it can do everything! AND, they're not too expensive. I can get the double treadle with the works for under $500. My birthday, you may know, is only 75 days away. We'll see. I want to try some more - Jen and I might head out to The Spinnery. She thinks she's going to buying a wheel soon, so maybe I can play with hers for a bit. Or rent one. And Ann says I can come over anytime if I can brave the dogs. We'll see. I'm not making any promises to the coven, but I think a wheel might be much better for me than a spindle.
Did I buy anything else? I did - some more sock yarn, if you can believe it! Some of this will be gifted away:
Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm
100% wool on the left, 80% wool 20% nylon on the right. Hand-dyed.
l to r: Dorchester Farms Handpainted (Wendy and Elisa's neighborhood!) and the last of the Spirit Trail sock yarn!
Next year, I'm hitting Spirit Trail first. You've been warned.
And last but not least, possibly my favorite purchase of the weekend:
My sheepy hat (the last one!) and Llama shirts for the kids!
The ride home was uneventful thankfully. Vicki and I vegged on the couch all evening - and I finally cast on for the second Sunshine Sock. Now that it's cast on, though, I might just have to knit a ROCK STAR sock. It's calling to me in bright pink fuschia sounds.
We had lunch with Jen on Monday, then it was off to the airport for Vicki and back to reality for me. I can't say it enough though, what a fanfuckingtastic time! Thanks to all! See you next year!
Posted by Cara at 11:48 AM | Comments (29)
August 23, 2005
World Peace
I've decided that if I spent half of the time and energy I spend on my anxiety, worrying about whether or not I'll be anxious, thinking about NOT thinking - well, frankly, I'd have found the solution to world peace by now. Either that or I'd be building the Google Elevator.
Something, anything more productive than driving yourself crazy and then having to pull yourself out of the hole.
Margene, zen master, has an interesting post on Motivation today. I'm thinking in a similar, yet opposite direction. What kind of LACK of motivation allows you to slip down that slope - fully conscious of what's going to happen THROUGH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE - and yet you can't get off your ass to stop it? Do I need to feel like shit for some reason? Am I going to come out the other side with some great revelation? I KNOW how to stop it - even before it really starts, yet I let it happen. Granted, there were lots of things this summer working against me (Hello? People who control the Weather?) but still.
You know what? What's done is done. This is who I am. I just hope it doesn't take me too long to get through it. I am SO OVER me.
On to knitting.
Look! Is it a bird? A plane? A superhero? No. It's just a Short Row back - T2 style.
Take Two
It's seems a little bit wonkier than the first version, but I've decided that because of the short rows, this will never be a flat knit. Blocking may help, but there are so many ends and so many starts and stops with the yarn. The size looks good - I've compared it to my prototype (the pullover in my closet that fits nice) and it's right on. I've woven in half the ends and I feel good about the other half. The front is next, as soon as possible, and I'll deal with the sleeves last. I have company coming tomorrow for a couple of days, so we'll see how I do with it.
Socks are stalled. The Sunshine sock is stockinette and I need that like I need another hole in the head. Mindless knitting equates to idle hands. Which means the devils are hard at work. I've got (maybe) one more repeat on the long lost never ending Retro Rib sock and then I can turn the heel. Don't hold your breath.
Since socks aren't doing the trick, I started something new. After finishing the Flower Basket Shawl and the Acorn Socks, I wanted some more lace. But I couldn't find a yarn or pattern that I was happy with. I didn't want to do the Leaf Lace - too similar to FBS. I actually bought two Robert Powell shawl patterns - #103 (pattern) and #106 (kit). The kit came with 4 oz. of Jamieson & Smith 2-ply jumper-weight in Cream which I will probably never knit (look for a contest soon!) but I still like the patterns. Couldn't decide on a yarn.
And then I saw this. And this. And this. And I bought some of this. And here we go!
Sivia Harding's Diamond Fantasy Shawl
Twinkletoes Sock Yarn - Foggy Dew
I also bought some Twinkletoes Denim Multi - hard to photograph though.
So far I'm liking the pattern - although I have yet to finish the first repeat section. But it's easy to understand and I feel like I will have the charts figured out - you know what I mean - when you GET the lace pattern - pretty soon.
The yarn. I don't know. I definitely like the colors and the weight and the texture. I don't know if I'd ever use this for socks though - it's kind of scratchy - but for the shawl I think it will be good. It seems like it will block well. One thing though - when I was winding up the Denim Multi - the yarn broke once at the beginning and once at the end of the wind. May be I was too tough with it? But it also has a few knots here and there, which annoy me. Juries still out on this - but like I said - I can't imagine I'd use it for socks. Maybe there are lots of shawls in my future. I do have like 1500 yds of the denim. Not sure what I was thinking there. Or NOT thinking. Hahahahahaha.
I started this post on a dark note and I'm going to finish it on a good one. A couple of weeks ago I received an email to my blog address asking if I was the same person who wrote a story entitled "The BBC" which appeared in Fourteen Hills, the literary journal out of San Franciso State University. I replied that indeed I was. Welp, it turns out that FH is putting out an anthology of fiction from the first ten years of the journal and they've decided to include my story. I also found out my story will appear along side some of my favorite writers! Lydia Davis! Lynne Tillman! Peter Orner! Pam Houston! Next to little ol' me! What an ego boost! As you know, my writing has suffered the last couple of years - but this has spurred me on! I actually took out a story yesterday - one I've been wanting to revise - and read it and took notes! This could be it the opening I've needed....
Open up the windows and sing out loud! It's a beautiful day today!
Posted by Cara at 12:17 PM | Comments (19)
August 01, 2005
Got Gauge?
I want a t-shirt that says this. Who's going to help me design it? We can sell it and give the proceeds to charity. I'm not kidding. I need a t-shirt that says "got gauge?" and maybe one that says "swatch-n-bitch". What do you think?
This weekend was all about the knit, baby. And even though there was some phenomenally BAD news of the knitting variety, I enjoyed the weekend and thinking about my knits.
I'm leading off with the bad, because, well, it's so bad that I want EVERYONE to read it - none of this skimming through and missing it at the end.
Okay. Here goes.
Friday night, I FINALLY cast on the front of Short Rows. And guess what? I GOT GAUGE!!!! This may seem like a good thing, but trust me, it's very, very, very bad. Why you ask? Because when I knit the back, I didn't get gauge. Or at least I thought I didn't - I seem to remember measuring it a bunch of times. I even remember starting it a couple of times and ripping it because I DIDN'T get gauge. I deliberately, painstakingly decided to move up a size in the pattern - which would leave me with a sweater conveniently between the medium and large size. Nice and comfortable for me. But while I was casting on and knitting the front, something kept nagging at me about the back. It just seemed, so, I don't know, HUGE. And I kept pushing those bad feelings down, down into the locked closet of my brain that sucks all the bad thoughts in like a hoover - as I've been training myself to do. (It's working. A little bit. Everyday.)
But. I just couldn't let it alone.
Sunday, I got out a sweater I have that fits pretty good and put the two backs together. Then I took out not one, but three tape measures. Sure enough I GOT FUCKING GAUGE! The sweater matches perfectly to the dimensions the pattern lists for a large. It is WAY too big.
I think you all know where this is going. Do I really have to say it? At least I didn't get too far on the front (honestly, I was getting bored pretty quickly. What happened to all the love?) I'm going to cast on again for a back. In the size I should've done the whole time. I'm going to knit said back, and compare the two. Then I'm going to rip the sleeve I'VE ALREADY KNIT, because I can salvage the yarn easily. I think I might just leave the first back and buy more yarn. The thought of ripping it, after I've cut and WOVEN IN all those ends is enough to - I don't know - NEVER KNIT AGAIN?! What's a few extra dollars for a project I really loved (once) and want to get right? Don't you agree? Eventually I can rip out the bad back and make something with the yarn. But right now, I think that would just be way too depressing.
That's it. That's my awful knitty news. Feel sorry for me. Seriously - I WANT the pity.
On to the GOOD!
I found a new knitting store this weekend. I was looking through the new VK and came across some interesting notions. When I went on the website to see where they were sold, I found Stix-n-Stitches in Montclair, NJ. They literally opened about a week ago. The store was very nice - nice wood - roomy - lots of cool notions and stuff. Tons of Classic Elite yarns. I asked the proprietress, Sheila, what kinds of new yarns she was going to get in. No Noro or Debbie Bliss, because another yarn store in town is going to carry it. What about Rowan, I asked. Another new store opening up is going to carry that, so no. I found this really, really interesting. What do you think? Is she limiting her business by not carrying yarns that other stores in the area are carrying? I'm not sure what I think about this.
One thing she does have is a full line of ArtYarns - which happens to be one of my all time favorites - so that's good!
That's Ultramerino 4 - a new fingering weight yarn. They've come out with Ultramerino 6 as well to go along with the 8. Good stuff. Oh and I bought some circular needle size markers as well. They clip onto the wire and clip right off. Never seen them before - maybe they'll help.
All in all - a nice store that I definitely plan on going back to - Jen - whenever you're ready!
I spent a lot of time looking through stitch pattern books this weekend. I was pulling together cable patterns for my dad's sweater and also looking for stitch patterns for squares for the John Glick Afghan Project. Some fits and starts, but I've managed to identify all of the cables and I've finished one square and started another.
Both squares are from Cascade 220 I had in the stash. I love the blue-green heather color and I have more, so I might make another one with this. The stitch on that one is the Quaker Ridge from Barbara Walker - I figured it was fitting for John since by all accounts he was a peace loving man, traits the Quakers embody. The brown square stitch is called Jacob's Ladder or Ladder of Life - both of which I thought were appropriate. I've tried to infuse the squares with love. I hope they bring comfort to the recipient.
And last but not least, when your knitting gets you down, KNIT SOCKS!
I'm calling these my Walking on Sunshine socks! I'm hoping to remember the bright, warm, NOT HUMID, sunny day I started them on when I'm wearing them on a particularly cold and gray winter day. Also, they match my bright orange flip flops (which I won't be posting a picture of - they've turned black under my toes and well, ew.)
I'm using Trekking XXL Crazy Stripes in Color 38 - I'm loving me some stripes and stockinette and hey, you can never have too many socks, right Margene? (Check it out - she's got FOUR FEET!)
Posted by Cara at 10:58 AM | Comments (22)
July 28, 2005
Hold Everything!!!
Look what just came in the mail!
From the lovely Juno! Thank you! Thank you! (You enablers are good, let me tell you!)
Hold my calls for awhile will you? I've got some stuff to spin....
Posted by Cara at 02:27 PM | Comments (3)
July 18, 2005
What I Did on My Summer Vacation...
by Cara.
Super long. Proceed at own risk.
First off, I got a lot of knitting done. Everday we were awakened (early - NY time!) by G's office with one crisis after another. It wasn't fun for either of us, but I did get a lot accomplished:
One sock pal sock down (although I need to fix the toe close) and one almost done. I was hoping for two repeats on the plane home last night - I managed to finish all four. Now I only have nine rows of the lace before I do the heel. I should be finished with it in a day or two. I LOVE these socks. Sorry, sock pal, but I've been trying them on left and right. (I even tried them on for the flight attendant last night when she asked what I was knitting.)
I'm not usually a big fan of lace socks, but these are different. As G said, there's just a hint of skin peeking through - and the color of this Koigu is just beautiful. I'm in love. It's going to be VERY hard to give them up. (That's okay - I'll just make myself a pair!)
The pattern is very well written (thank you Evelyn Clark) and it goes so fast, really. I have nothing to complain about at all. (And all that ripping I've done - completely my own fault.)
Oh and thanks for all your comments the other day - and thanks Alison for the update!
Here's a close-up of the lace:
On to the trip details...
Los Angeles
* A quick note. I bought a new camera for the trip - something portable we could take to the castle since I wasn't lugging my 50 lb. bag in my dress and heels. I'm not really thrilled with the camera - I didn't heed my own best advice - I never finished the manual. I was reading it instead of packing on Sunday night and G said - why don't you save that for the plane and then I knit the whole time on the plane and never read the damn thing. This camera is really for G - the lack of control I had killed me. So anyway, the pictures aren't up to snuff as far as I'm concerned. It really bothers me, but it is what it is. Oh and all the yarn pictures are taken with the GOOD camera at home.
We arrived in LA on Monday noonish (after missing our flight at JFK. LONG story. Suffice it to say we were on the 10AM instead of the 8AM.) and headed straight to our favorite LA spot - the IN-N-OUT right by the airport. Not only is it IN-N-OUT, but you get to watch super huge jet airliners fly right over your head as they land. One of the highlights of the trip was flying OVER the spot we had stood five days earlier as we flew in from SLO to our connection in LA. We're weird, okay?
Then we headed out to our hotel, The Chamberlain, in West Hollywood. Got to say, very nice boutique hotel. They had just finished a refurb and everything looked very nice. It's a sister to The Viceroy in Santa Monica where we stayed last year, but I prefer this one. Much quieter, not as funky. The room was great.
We decided to take a little walk. YES, CALIFORNIANS, I SAID WALK! People literally looked at us like we were crazy as we made our way down La Cienega from Santa Monica to Melrose. I wanted to check out Julia's home away from home (although her home again!) Knit Cafe. What a bright, cozy, inviting place! Suzan, the owner was there and she was very solicitous. Her store is beautiful, and as we were there near close, it was empty but for one lone knitter. I walked around three times trying so hard to find something to buy. I've decided that on these trips of mine, I'm only going to buy yarn that is different than what I can get at home. And since I live in a large Metropolitan Area, there's not much I CAN'T get at home. I was about to buy a t-shirt and then there was some Lorna's Laces, but she only had one skein of the color I liked, so I passed. But a great shop if you're in the neighborhood! I would definitely go again. Thanks Julia for the recommendation! Suzan and I talked about what a great help you've been to her - I'm sure she's so thrilled you're coming home.
On our walk home, I passed a storefront with these casts in the window. It was very spooky.
The neighborhood had mostly antique/furniture/rug stores, but this one didn't even have a name. Just these faces in the window.
Once back at the hotel, we had some time to kill before meeting up with my brother for dinner. What to do, what to do? How about a swim?
The pool was on the roof - overlooking LA (the Hollywood Hills were behind me when I took the picture) and there was no one there but us! What a lovely romantic swim! The water was nice and WARM too. (Everywhere we went people took immense pleasure in telling us the temperature of the pool. Our pool is set to 86 degrees. Our pool is comfortable 80 degrees.)
Wildfiber
MJ and I had finally connected via email and it was my plan to meet her at Wildfiber before we left LA for Santa Barbara. I thought we might miss her because the plan changed and we were going to leave early, but the office called and we didn't get to see MJ until after noon! And I'm so glad we did! This was one of the highlights of the trip! MJ is wonderful in person - so sweet and I really, really enjoyed meeting her - even if it was really quick. And Wildfibers? Oh my god - all I have to say is MJ is one lucky, lucky girl that this place is her LYS.
Here we are in front of the Koigu wall. Can you think of a better place for a photograph?
I bought some of the most beautiful yarn I've ever seen there - MJ helped me pick it out and man was it expensive, but WORTH EVERY PENNY!
Tanglewood Fiber Creations, 100% Superwash Merino, hand dyed, hand spun - softer than soft. Now I have a question for all you spinners out there (not that I'm interested. Okay? OKAY?) - what is it called that gives you the ply where all the different colors are combined - do you know what I'm talking about? Where in one strand you've got lights and dark and I'm thinking this is the twist or something, right? Anyway, it's gorgeous. This is the kind of handspun I really, really love. I wish I had the money to buy more. But it was ALOT. I did get 404 yards, but still. A LOT.
I also bought some Socks that Rock! I've been wanting to try this and I even bought a colorway that closely matches the Lorna's I had wanted over at Knit Cafe. The colorway is Cobalt Bloom.
Wildfiber had a special guest, Prudence Mapstone, and I have to tell you, her work was some of the most beautiful, most inspiring ART (in any medium) I have ever seen. I want to dedicate a whole post to her - hopefully tomorrow.
We said goodbye to LA and MJ and headed out to SB....
Santa Barbara
It took us no time to drive up the coast to SB and after we checked into our hotel, we found a tux for G, had a taco snack and finally headed off to State Street for dinner. The next day was really fun - BB's Knits in the morning. Great store - and they were expecting me! (Thanks Kathie!) I wandered around - what a packed store for a little space and ended up with some Interlacements Toasty Toes (in the Tanglewood Colorway - LOL) and Koigu. Once again, I'm hitting the same color palate.
By sheer coincidence, I ended up a block from In Stitches, which was, to be honest, quite a disappointment. It was nearly empty - of yarn. About night and day from BB's.
Then it was off to the beach - and sock time!
SB was a very nice community - interesting mix of people, stores - it was so much bigger than we expected. We liked our motel/inn - you really could see the beach from our room, surprisingly enough. Overall, a very pleasant stay.
Pismo Beach, San Simeon, Cambria
We made our way to Pismo Beach on Thursday morning - again the office caused delays! We needed to get there with enough time to get ready for dinner that night - the buses were leaving the hotel at 4PM. We got there with time to spare - a quick trip to check out the beach and take a rest by the pool (a balmy 85 degrees, thank you very much!)
Getting on the bus to go to the Castle was pretty funny. Here are all these women and men - dressed to the nines - dripping in jewels (literally - there was one woman who was OOZING diamonds) getting on buses. The trip took about an hour to San Simeon, and then we got off that bus and walked through the tourist center (even funnier - the looks we got) to get on yet another bus to take us to the top - and the castle.
What a ride! The whole time, you can see the castle in your sights, you can't help but think - how the hell did he get all that crap UP THERE!?! It's a twisty, single lane road with lots of drop offs and this is 2005! Imagine it in the 20s, 30s and 40s when they were building it. Incredible, really. There's no other way to describe it.
Once off the bus, we were given the option of a tour. Needless to say, we took it!
La Casa Grande - the main house.
Designed to look like a Spanish Cathedral - with all the trimmings!
A stairway among the elaborate gardens.
(God I wish I had the good camera!)
Outside of a guest house.
The view - the ocean is in the distance.
Can you see the moon peeking out between the trees?
The amazing pool - set at a wonderful 79 degrees!
There was a photographer by the pool taking "prom" pictures. I'm not kidding - G and I had one taken and I'm sure it's the goofiest thing ever - considering how I look in this picture:
Can you say FRUMPY?
That's it - no more pictures of me. I am NOT happy with my body these days. Maybe Jen can take a nice picture of me with the shawl - we'll see. Just know it was perfect and I still love it.
They served hors d'oeuvres along the pool and it got pretty hot up there. We found a shady spot and watched the sun get lower and lower until it was time for dinner. This was what awaited us!
NINE wine glasses per person!
It was craziness! The first course was a foie gras and some other stuff and they served a VERY sweet white. Next was the fish course - DELICIOUS! - lobster in a creamed corn. Yummy. Two whites. The Fowl course was duck - also very nice - two reds - one of my favorites of the night - a Hitching Post 2003 Highliner Pinot Noir. Meat Course was Dry Aged Beef - two reds. The Cheese course - two reds. I was pretty surprised there was no wine with dessert.
Every time a course was served, two sommeliers would come around and pour wine. They never filled the glass, just a taste (a generous taste!) and if you liked it and wanted more, all you had to do was ask. Georgie and I agreed on the wines all night - and it was the left hand side for us every course! (The wine glasses stood side to side and you identified the ones you liked by whether it was on the left or right.)
Here's what the table looked like at the Fowl Course:
And the Cheese course:
And here's the view when I turned to my right while sitting at the table:
All in all it was a tremendous evening! I had way more fun than I thought I would. I'm so glad we got to have the experience!
The next day G had some business meetings in the morning, so I ordered in a nice big breakfast and tried to surf the Internet. We had such poor connections the whole trip - it was weird. Well, LA was good, but other than that - very, very slow. And since G had a lot of work, I had barely any time online. Which was good too. I had a nice break - but, I did miss my blog (and all of you!)
After breakfast, we decided to make the drive up to Cambria to go to Ball & Skein. We also thought we might be able to hit the IN-N-OUT in Atascadero on the drive back - since it would most definitely be our last chance to get there. The shop was very nice - I bought some gifty type items that I won't show here - not yarn - think tools. And while they had a SHITLOAD of yarn, falling off the shelves, to be honest, I didn't buy anything. Sticking to my rule (and honestly totally going overboard at Wildfiber), I was a good girl. I was thisclose to buying some Noro Blossom for Vicki, but luckily she already found some! Cambria was a very pretty town and it would've been nice, if we had more time, to hang out there. But we wanted to go to the beach - always a top priority - and find that IN-N-OUT!
The ride to Atascadero was exciting to say the least - we started out on Route 1 and crossed about 26 miles of Route 46 to get to Route 101. It was NOTHINGness - unless you count rolling hills, sheer drops and cows. I swear I had a panic attack. I was convinced we'd get stuck like Margene! Georgie was sitting in the passenger seat oohing and ahhing and video-ing the NOTHINGness and I could barely breathe OR keep my hands on the wheel. In the end it was worth it - we found the illustrious IN-N-OUT!
We had a nice dinner that evening at Pelican Point in Pismo - with enough Sideways moments (not us - the table next to us - actually it was The Big Chill meets Sideways. Amusing to say the least....) to last about ten years. Seriously. Is it necessary to stick your whole freaking face INTO the wine glass? Maybe if you just drank it.... Who am I? I know nothing about wines. (Athough I do know what tastes good!)
We left the next morning. Whew! What a trip! Glad to be home. Lots of laundry and work to do. G will be out most of the week with work stuff, so I'll miss him even more than I usually do after spending the week 24/7 together. But you'll keep me company right?
Thanks for reading!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 12:07 AM | Comments (29)
June 27, 2005
Cheeseheads and Sharpies
I’ve been avoiding blogging about the last few days, not because it was awful or disappointing – but because it was so good, so lovely, so RIGHT, I’m at a loss for words.
Admittedly, Thursday was a bit stressful. I had been designated cruise director, a job I’m not often given, and since I’ve got that debilitating perfectionism problem, well, you guessed it. I wanted everything to be perfect. Doesn’t really leave you a lot of time to enjoy yourself. But I managed. ;-)
Jen and I headed into the big city around 9:30 and met up with Vicki at her hotel. Lauren met us there and when we could pry Vicki off her bed with seventeen thousand pillows, we headed up to Tender Buttons. I think Vicki got a good picture of the place. It’s basically nirvana for buttons. Button Heaven if you will. VERY overwhelming. But somehow Vicki, Jen and I all managed to find the PERFECT buttons for our projects. (Lauren didn’t need any – but she was essential in the choosing.) Here’s what I found for Bohemia:
Lest the picture isn’t revealing enough – these babies are LEATHER. Aren’t they super perfect for the aran delight this sweater will (hopefully) one day become? As perfect as my buttons are, Vicki’s are better. I hope she shows a picture.
After TB, I took Vicki on her first ever subway ride to meet up with the rest of the gals at School Products. Ann, Nancy (go wish her a happy birthday today!), and Cassie joined the rest of us – I didn’t get anything, but a few of us walked away with goodies. Sadly, Jen had to leave us after School Products (hope you’re having a good time basking in the Caribbean Sun Jen!) but the rest of the troops made our way to Habu. Again, I’ll let others tell you about this place, since I’ve already given you my first impression.
With the tantalizing deliciacies of Habu under our belt, (that’s two yarn stores down, no yarn for Cara) we headed off to the Shake Shack for lunch. Vicki’s husband met us there and we stood in line for supposedly THE BEST BURGER in New York. (I’m sticking with the Burger Joint at the Parker Meridien, but it was very good.) Some guy asked me if they were like In-N-Out. No. They aren’t like In-N-Out. Nothing’s like In-N-Out – but that’s a whole other post.
We ate, we knit, we relaxed on what had to be one of the top ten weather days OF ALL TIME. Seriously. Vicki got really lucky considering the gross, disgusting weather we’ve been having. I’m sure she had a taste of it on Saturday, which I think was one of the hottest days in the city. But on Thursday it was clear, no humidity, blue sky beautiful.
Satiated by our burgers, we took the subway down to Seaport, leaving Nancy to go back to work at my old stomping grounds. I knew I recognized her from somewhere! Great to meet you Nancy. Seaport Yarns is crazy. It used to be a consulting firm, but post-9/11, the proprietress decided to follow her heart and open a yarn store – right in the middle of the consulting firm – at least that’s the story I’ve been told. I welcome a correction. (One thing to note is that of the four yarn stores we went to that day, NONE of them were storefronts. Meaning, three were in office buildings and one was in a residential building on the second floor. Gotta love NYC!) Seaport pretty much has everything and anything and I did come away with a purchase, even though I was made fun of mercilessly. (So what if I’ve only finished ONE pair of socks?!? Can you EVER have enough sock yarn?)
While Seaport has A LOT of yarn, I’d have to say their book/pattern selection is second to none. They have everything.
Cassie had to go after Seaport, so Lauren, Ann, Vicki and I headed uptown to the Yarn Connection to meet up with Kathleen, who was joining us for dinner. By that time, we were pretty much spent. The day started at 10:30 (9:30 for me) and I think we were yarn crawled out. The Yarn Connection provided a lovely table, some punchy conversation and a couple balls of yarn for me.
I’m thinking this will be trim for a long sleeve v-neck sweater (Nothin’ But a T-Shirt? The Vogue Tennis Sweater?) I have a bunch of chocolate brown Calmer, so these two balls will be the accent. What do you think?
After YC, we walked around aimlessly because by that time all my planning skills had pooled in my feet with about ten pounds of water weight (can you say swollen tootsies?) We ended up at some tables off to the side of THE New York Public Library building. Yes, the one with Patience and Fortitude. (How apt!?! We knitters should adopt them as our mascots. Anyone ever try to knit lion mane?)
Soon after, Lauren had to catch a train and the remaining four needed something for dinner. I seriously couldn’t think at that point. What should we feed Vicki? Something New York. Something she can’t really get in Wisconsin. Of course! Pizza! And not just any pizza, but John’s Pizza. My fave. (Okay, they have cheese in Wisconsin, but mozzarella? Please!) So Ann, Kathleen, Vicki and I had pizza. And beer. And laughed and teased and laughed. I had a great time all day, but this was the highlight for me. These girls are irreverent and bitchy (in the BEST sense of the word) and funny and loving and just a BLAST! I’m so glad I got to meet ALL of you. Thanks for giving as good as you got.
Suffice it to say, I didn’t get home until after midnight. Apparently Kathleen and Ann got home much later – but hey – that’s what happens when you live on LonGUYland! ;-)
Want to hear about Friday? Read on…
Friday I gave Vicki (and myself) some time to recover. I felt bad that we didn’t get a chance to see any of the prettier yarn stores in the city, so I went in around 2:30 and we headed down to Purl. (I knew Friday was going to be a great day because I immediately found street parking everywhere we went. I parked a total of FOUR times on Friday and never needed a parking lot. I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but in New York City? That’s a parking day from the gods. And Vicki even got to witness an awesome parallel park job by moi.)
I really only had a couple of things on my shopping list – and number one was sock yarn and a pattern for my Socka-Pal-2-Za. I hit paydirt at Purl: some beautiful tomato red Koigu and a lovely lace pattern from Evelyn Clark. That woman can do no wrong in my book. I also picked up the Koigu colorway I liked and didn’t get the last time I was at Purl.
What’s even better is these new socks will fit in the Knit Red AND Summer of Lace AND Socka-pal-2-za KALS. I’m such a sheep.
While at Purl, we ran into a bunch of the Drafty Ladies and another out of town blogger. It was nice to meet you Alison! Hope you had a great visit! Cassie so kindly pointed Vicki and I in the direction of The Point, where we were supposed to meet Colleen for some knitting time. Colleen was lovely, as always and I’m so glad we got the chance to meet up with her. Cassie and Anne were fabulous knitting companions as well and I even got to see my potty partner Joy again! Best of all, Vicki found the super special yarn she had been wanting – but I’ll let her tell you about it.
After The Point, I got to take Vicki to an exhibit – and not just any exhibit, but the reason Vicki got to come to New York! Seems she really is Royalty! Her husband has developed his own country – with gorgeous maps and money and a compelling history and brilliant paintings. The exhibit was intensely fascinating, as the idea of micro-nations is something I never knew existed. The amount of detail invested in these “nations” is just amazing. Really, truly amazing. I was honored to be their guest. (And the ULTRA UBER COOLNESS that was there was crazy. I mean, all of nerdy super cool NYC seemed to come out for this exhibit. I was impressed!)
Anyway, it was time to say goodbye to my friends. Vicki – I can’t tell you how happy I was to meet you! Completely genuine in all respects, I’m proud to call you my friend. I’m glad I could make your visit a little easier.
Sappy moment over. I’ve got lots of work to do this week. Two jobs in the hopper, the kids are coming for July 4th weekend, I’m still exorcising demons and Georgie needs a ride to the train. Have a great Monday!
Posted by Cara at 08:41 AM | Comments (16)
June 21, 2005
SOCKASTRIPENANZA!
Admittedly, I've gone a bit crazy the past week or so. In more ways than one. My anxiety has reared its ugly head and I've let myself give in to it - something I've been working on for a long, long time. My shrink always says that my being smart and having an excellent imagination are recipes for torture - and torture myself I do! I'm exceedingly good at making myself feel awful! YEEHAW! (See, Margene, I'm working the yeehaws in every where I can.)
Don't feel sorry for me or extend sympathy - unless of course you yourself make yourself crazy - because then I'd like to hear I'm not the only one. (LOL - I'm only half serious.)
Anyway - the craziness has extended into SOCKS! I know. I've made one pair. And it's not like I haven't been collecting sock yarn for a awhile. But the STRIPES made me NUTS!
Columns left to right:
| Opal Petticoat | Regia Cotton Surf #5413 | Trekking Crazy Stripes #48 |
| Regia Mini Ringel #5217 | Regia Cotton Surf #5411 | Trekking Crazy Stripes #39 |
| Regia Crazy Color #5402 | Regia Cotton Surf #5414 | Trekking Crazy Stripes #35 |
| Mountain Colors Wild Rasberry | Regia Cotton Surf #5412 | Trekking Crazy Stripes #38 |
In my defence, It looks like the Cotton Surf and the Trekking Crazy Stripes are being discontinued. Or, if they're not, they were on sale. Seriously, I don't know which ones I want to knit up first! The Cotton Surf #5411 (The Reds) might be for my Sockapalooza 2 Pal. She likes red, stripes and cotton - perfect, no? But she also likes lace. So I might try to find a nice cotton solid (anyone know of any cotton solid sock yarns?) and make the Go With the Flow socks from IK - or I may just go with some nice Koigu instead of Cotton. But I think Go With the Flow is the pattern. Maybe I'll make the exact socks in the magazine. Can I make my sock pal two pairs?
Knitting saved me this weekend. I don't know how many repeats I've completed on FBS, but I've completed 8 baskets on each side of the divide and am two rows into the nines. Experienced FBSers: Does that mean I've done seven repeats? I don't know how to count this.
The pattern is great. I look at the chart at the beginning of the row and I'm gone. I've had some to rip back a row or two, but for the most part it's going well. I like it - the yarn is good, the color is good, the pattern is good. It rescued me from a panic attack the other day on the train - although it is hard to knit when your hands are shaking. But it was a blessing because I HAD to concentrate. You know, get out of my head and all.
I'm home and feeling a bit better. Georgie calms me down. No matter how crazy and evil my thoughts - he can always do me one better! Gotta love him. I'm off to get my hair done today so I can look pretty for Vicki on Thursday. I'm thinking a yarn crawl that day - so anyone in the NYC area interested, send me an email and we'll map out a plan. We've got the whole ISLAND to cover and a contest prize to buy! (Thanks Jackie for the link!)
Oh and this is for Norma:
Posted by Cara at 10:08 AM | Comments (25)
May 15, 2005
From One Saturday to the Next....
My knight in shining armor drove down to Philly Friday night to pick me up - in the end though we didn't get in until Saturday - just after midnight. I had officially been gone more than a week. NOT the plan. Oh well. I'm home - things are falling apart (our TV in the living room, the big mofo, blew up on us last night. NOT what we need right now) - but I'm home.
It was a busy shopping week, to be sure. (I'm regretting some of my purchases in light of the TV situation, but what can you do!)
Here are some pictures from the festival that I finally got around to uploading. You want sheep - you got sheep!
I really didn't take many at all - the lighting inside the barns was pretty dismal and well, I just didn't try that hard. I'm pretty happy with these though.
And during the week there was face painting at the Zoo!
Saturday I had a brief, but intense blogger meet-up! The Wry Punster was in town for a show and I ran into the city to meet with her. The traffic was abyssmal, parking worse (should've NEVER taken the car in!) but as soon as Elspeth was in the passenger seat a spot opened up! Good parking karma if you ask me. We did a brief run through at School Products (I wasn't that impressed to be honest) and a religious experience at Habu. I managed to spend $100 in the fifteen minutes we were there! Seriously amazing stuff.
It's SILK. But it looks like snake-skin and is thick and not really soft at all. Like leather shoe laces, to be honest. I bought it with on of the bags in Loop-de-Loop in mind but there's no way I have enough. I don't know what I'll do with it. Look at it and go ahhhhhh. Really. That might be all I need. SILK! 100 Percent!
Elspeth - it was great to meet you - hopefully, if we do it again - it will be leisurely and quiet and not involve a Saturday at 29th Street. Hope the show was fantastic! (I'm sorry if I talked too much. After we split up, I felt like I talked too much. Maybe I was nervous?)
Want to see the other fibery goodness purchased this week? Keep reading....
From Maryland:
Brooks Farm Four Play
Brooks Farm Duet
FireSong Merino/Mohair
Blogger Gifts from
Peace Fleece, Brooks Farm and Cloverleaf Farms
A local LYS near my sister had a sale. I'm an ass. Along with the yarn, I bought some Addis for knitting two socks on two circulars. Yeah. We'll see. Someone help me.
Donegal Tweed for an Elizabeth Bag
Lorna's Laces Sock Yarn
And last but not least, the Jo Sharp DK Silkroad Tweed in the color I didn't get the last time - from Elann.
Anybody out there knit with Shine? I'm thinking it a cheaper alternative, since I can no longer afford Rowan Wool-Cotton. I've lost it for sure.
Posted by Cara at 11:24 AM | Comments (11)
April 27, 2005
Surely You're Joking! *
Yesterday's New York Times crossoword. Check out 40 Down.
Thanks so much for all the compliments on Short Rows! It means so much. I'll be SO proud of this project when it's finally finished. I've got a long way to go, but I'll get there. I've given myself a projected deadline of June 5th. I'm thinking if all goes well I'll wear it to The Secret Garden opening. Hopefully it won't be too hot! I'm thinking a nice denim skirt? Cross your fingers. I did the first part of the second short row sequence - I figured out that decreases were built into the pattern - but in the end I have one stitch too many. So I'll be ripping out the short rows - AGAIN. Yes. I'm a glutton for punishment (and apparently, chocolate covered raisins.) And the ends are getting really out of hand - so when I rip it, I'm going to try and weave some in. Hopefully clean things up a little so the wires don't get crossed so much, so to speak. It's all good!
Yesterday I did a little shopping, but not before having a fabu lunch with my honey! First I got my hair cut - it looks cute and cleaned up - then met Georgie at a doctor's appointment he had. While we were waiting for him to be seen, I received a mysterious text message. Georgie says to me - who's text messaging you? I said I don't know and wouldn't you know it, the message read KISS THE PERSON TO YOUR RIGHT. He's so sweet! I'm SO, so lucky!
After waiting forever, it was off to TAO for lunch. Georgie's been wanting to take me there, and I have to say, the steak I had was very, very good. The decor was neat as well, but don't you just hate restaurants that don't label the bathroom doors with GIRL/BOY, WOMAN/MAN, FEMALE/MALE? These bathrooms said YIN and YANG. There was a man that was behind me and we both just stood there and I said this is so not fair. Finally we both chose - and you guessed it - we chose UNwisely. The male attendant (who for the record, was in the women's room at first) corrected us. Why? Why is it necessary to be COOL all the time? Anyway. The food was very good.
On the way back I stopped at Borders. I needed to pick up this:
I've listened to it about a dozen times all the way through - it's looped on WINAMP - and for the most part I'm pretty happy with it. For all those people I told it was a cross between Tunnel and TGOTJ - I'm revising that. It's more like a cross between TGOTJ and Lucky Town. But better on both accounts. Nothing's going to make me cry, (there are a few like that on The Rising - My City of Ruins never ceases to amaze me) but I did get a few chills listening to Long Time Comin'. The woman's name is Rosie and it's clear they've been together for a long time. (They have two kids and another on the way.) It's also clear that mistakes have been made but he stills loves her, wants her very much. This is a theme near and dear to my heart. Georgie and I have been together for fifteen years and are very much in love, still. It's always nice to have that validated. This song did that for me. Okay. Enough Bruce. If you want to talk about it, let me know. Email me.
I also bought a couple of knitting books:
Loop-d-Loop by Teva Durham
Instant Expert: Knitting by Ros Badger
I'm really split on these two. I only bought the Ros Badger because I saw a pattern I liked on Kristine's blog (go on over and congratulate her on the new online store! www.knithappens.net!)
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I thought it would be perfect for some Jo Sharp Silkroad Tweed I have stashed. Problem is, the book only gives one pattern size and that happens to be ONE SIZE FITS NONE! You know, one of those anorexic sizes - like if you eat an entire carton of chocolate covered raisins and need to purge for the next week and a half (just kidding!) So, if I want to make this sweater to be able to fit my humongous boobs I'm going to have to do some knitty math - and you all know how much I hate THE MATH! We'll see if I keep the book. It's kind of disappointing all the way around.
But Loop-d-Loop? This book is gorgeous genius. There's a million patterns I'd like to make!
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Click for bigger pictures!
Of course, my favorite is this:
I highly recommend this book - really - it's very, very well done.
And finally - a stash addition:
It's 50% Tussah - 50% Merino from Chasing Rainbow Dyeworks in Mary's colorway. I've got 840 yds. I'm thinking my very own Clap. It's taken a LOOONG time to get here. I bought it on my Boston visit.
Have a great day!
* Surely You're Joking is a reference to Richard Feynman - I bought his collection of letters yesterday. I'm thinking I'll read them out loud to Georgie, since he's the one who introduced me to this phenomenal personality. Check him out if you haven't already. It's worth it. Hey Lauren - I also picked up Freakonomics!
Posted by Cara at 11:47 AM | Comments (15)
March 29, 2005
I've been knitting....
You are Andie Walsh (from Pretty In Pink)!
Misunderstood and full of angst, you are
intelligent, talented and will probably go on
to do great things...once you're out of the
hell of high school.
Which John Hughes Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
I found this quiz over at Kate's. I'm posting this because it just so happens that I was watching Sixteen Candles last night. And as much as I hate to admit it, I think this one might be pretty accurate. High school was almost the death of me. Definitely blossomed as soon as I got out. [Huh - when I got the link for Sixteen Candles on IMDB, I looked up the actor who played Jake - very, very cute - but did he do anything else? Turns out he was the really cute guy in Mermaids too! Michael Schoeffling.]
Here's that oft rumored knitting content:
Remember the Pinwheel Baby Blanket? I can't believe how badly this yarn photographs - the color could not be more off - it's a much deeper yellow - almost brownish in color. But anyway, I'm into the fourth skein. The diameter is 22". I have a long way to go. The skeins are going nowhere at this point. Another thing about this project - there's no way to tell how big it is without taking it off the needles - which is kind of a pain. I'll get through six skeins before I take it off again. I do like the pattern though - the blanket is looking very nice.
Short-Row Pullover
I can't help but have a nagging feeling that this is all going to have to be ripped out and started over. Or I'll get through the back and finally figure out how to make it look nice and then I'll do the front and want to re-do the back.
As you can see, I've started the short-rows. They're not hard at all and actually kind of interesting. The ridiculous part is you have to change yarn colors every five seconds and you can't carry the yarn up really. So I've been trying Johanna's method of knitting in the ends, but I think it's making my stitches all wonky and uneven. Can you see it in the second and third picture? I'm not sure if it's because of the short rows, or the ends, but I'm not entirely happy with it. I'm going to keep knitting - even if it does feel very much like an experiment - to see how the rows even out once I do the next short row section. Right now I'm in straight rows. But the next section will even out the left hand side. I still absolutely love the yarn - and I'm really liking the colors too. Georgie's the best, because he sees it and instantly proclaims it's the best work I've ever done! I say, you say that about everything I do. He does prefer just the stripes though - not the zig zags. I keep trying to tell him that's the best part, but he's not buying it. Anyway, I will persevere.
Jen (belated) birthday gifted me with some wonderfully soft Rowan Classic CashSoft DK! She brought it all the way from London! It's in color #509 which is called lime, but is really a soft pastely mint in my opinion. Another one that doesn't photograph well:
This will make a beautiful baby something - and it's in green - so it doesn't matter whether my sister has a boy or a girl! Speaking of which - did you enter the my guess-the-baby contest? Don't miss out! She could go into labor any second!
I just noticed that all yarns mentioned in this post are from Rowan. Definitely some of the nicest yarns I've ever worked with. They can't seem to go wrong. When that tax check comes in, I'm definitely going to have to join the club.
Kate asked me some really good rebound questions! You can read my answers in the extended entry. Have a great day!
1. In your blog, you've said your birthday characterizes you. What is it about being a New Year's Baby that makes you you?
Well, first off, it’s definitely NOT a normal birthday – no matter how you look at it. And I’m definitely NOT a normal girl. Is it because of my birthday? I don’t know. I think I’m introspective and forward thinking – both attributes that can characterize the day. My shrink likes to think that I have issues with being number one – born on 1/1, I’m the first born in my family – I do have to be the best (No. 1) at everything. Again, birthday or just a coincidence? In the end it’s hard to say what it is about my birthday that makes me, me – I’ve never known anything different. I know I think it sets me a (little) bit apart. Maybe that’s narcisistic thinking? I don’t know. You have to be a little bit narcisistic when you’re born on the FIRST – don’t’ you think? ;-)
2. When did your Bruce fascination start?
Georgie is completely to blame for my Bruce obsession – fascination doesn’t really cut it honey. When Georgie and I started dating, I had been living in New York City for three years. I left home when I was seventeen – so I had only been driving about a year and a half. I didn’t have a car in the city (I’m not that crazy) and G had a car. He used to take me on drives – down to AC, to the mall, etc. and he always had Bruce on the tape player – specifically - at least this is how I remember it – Tunnel of Love. He would sing me all the songs, which he knew backwards and forwards and honest to god I fell in love with them both. Georgie and Bruce are forever intertwined in my heart. I am the more obsessed of the two of us, for sure, but he indulges me – and he loves Bruce too. I think he feels the same way - ultimately it’s all about how Georgie feels about me that somehow translates into Bruce love.
3. In your 100+ things, you mention you still have a baby blanket. My sister and I both do as well. Ours are named "blankie," and my sister still carries hers around (I know, I'm a traitor because I don't -- but I still have it). First, do you have a name for your blanket, and second, any tips for keeping it in good shape?
My blankie is called blankie. There may have been a very brief period in the 70s when I called it Elizabeth Banana because it was/is yellow – but that did not last long at all. I still sleep with my blankie every single night. It travels with me whereever I go and when I fly it goes in my carry on – god forbid it should get lost. I don’t carry it around per se – sometimes I wear it around my neck in the house – when I’m on the computer, or reading. I like to smell it. (I know. Gross.) Otherwise it waits patiently under my pillow until I need it. How to keep it from falling apart? Don’t give it to your kid. My sister’s blanket was co-opted by her daughter and it is literally in shreds now. My niece WILL NOT give it up and that scares me. If I ever have a kid – I swear – they ain’t getting their hands on my blankie. Georgie takes very good care of my blankie – he washes it lovingly – doesn’t dry it too hard. I, of course, put it in hot water and dry it to within an inch of its life. But the best part of blankie living is when it comes out of the dryer.
4. What's the name of the first short story you ever published? What was it about?
The name of my first short story ever published is “Dancing With Jesus in Grove City, Pennsylvania.” It was published in the High Plains Literary Review, Fall/Winter 2001. It’s about Byron and Purdy Somers, a couple at the end of their lives. Byron is coming to terms with the fact that Purdy needs to go into a home as he can’t really take care of her anymore – and in the process he remembers a miraculous time in their marriage.
It’s a pretty fucked up story – very strange, very weird. I’m so glad it was the first one to get published. I love this story – it’s dedicated to George.
Also, the editors saw fit to nominate it for a Pushcart Prize. It didn’t win – not even close – but they liked it that much.
5. What is your favorite thing about your husband Georgie? Anything from mundane to smooshy sappy will do :).
Impossible. Absolutely impossible to answer. I love him so much it hurts sometimes. To pick one thing, even a million, would be to forget something that makes me so insanely happy and crazy and in love it would be criminal.
Okay. I'll try.
- He has the most beautiful puppy dog eyes I've ever seen. I could stare into them for hours and never be bored.
- I love that he loves the children in our lives in the purest way. He may have trouble showing it sometimes, but he does.
- He's curious like a three yr old. Sometimes it drives me crazy, but most of the time it's astonishing.
- Hands down, one of the most generous souls I've ever met.
- He works exceedingly hard for our family - something for which I am eternally grateful.
I'm going to stop - this doesn't even scratch the surface of the surface. It's hard to put emotion this strong into words. That's why I write fiction. ;-)
Thanks for the questions, Kate. Hope my answers don't disappoint.
Posted by Cara at 12:13 PM | Comments (9)
March 21, 2005
No Bleeding Necessary
What you see here is a pile of good ol' ribby cardi pieces. That's right. I finished the sleeves last night. I'm going to block over night tonight. I haven't even ordered a zipper yet (looks like zipperstop.com is the place to go...) and I still have to decide what kind of neck I want, but I'm almost there. The bulk of the knitting is finished. I can't wait to put it together.
I also managed to put together our taxes this weekend. It wasn't as bad as I thought and resulted in only one screaming match. ;-) We're getting a nice refund. From now on I will be referring to money as yarn. Like "How much yarn are you getting back from Uncle Sam?" "Skeins and Skeins!" There may be a laptop in there too.
It wasn't as exciting as some weekend plans, but I feel like I got a lot accomplished. Which is important because my sister is about a centimeter dilated as we speak - which for those in the know means should could go another three weeks or in the next hour. My brother-in-law and I are both getting jumpy - whenever the phone rings and it's Jolie I'm like WHAT'S UP? Keep your fingers crossed for another couple weeks. Her due date is April 2nd and even though she's done with being pregnant, we'd both like a little more time - I for one have a lot to do.
Here's a picture of the wonderful surprise waiting for me when I got home:
It's Spirit Trail Fiberworks 100% Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in colorway 38-05-02-03 from the fantabulous Annie! Thank you, again! It was a great surprise!
Also waiting for me was a thin package from WEBS with some eagerly awaited patterns:
I want to make the Seeded Cable Cardigan from Farm with my Jo Sharp Stash - either the Desert Garden or the Silkroad Aran DK Tweed (or maybe both if I like the pattern.) I think I'll be swatching (starting a sleeve) very soon. I'm pretty sure I'll be making the Lettuce Edged Pullover from Country Road too. I'll be using Artyarns Supermerino for that for sure!
In the airport, leaving Las Vegas, right after I pulled the handle for the last time, I bought these:
I bought the earrings for the sole purpose of making stitch markers! Aren't they cute? Hopefully they'll bring me good luck. And the dice - well - a girl can't ever have enough dice!
I updated my Arizona blog entry with pictures. Check it out if you'd like. I wasn't completely thrilled with the pictures, but some of them I like. It was a good vacation, but alas feels so far away already.
One last thing. I find it amazing that the Republican party, the party that was all about keeping the government small and out of our lives when I was growing up, now feels that it can step in between a husband and wife AND THE COURTS. The Terry Schiavo case has me running scared. If anything good has come out of it, it's that George and I have had some serious talks about what we'd want in a situation like this. I hope we'll be visiting a lawyer soon. The hypocrisy of Congress has reached hyberbolic levels. They won't allow gays to marry - god forbid we corrupt the sanctity of marriage - but they have no qualms stepping in to reverse a decision that a husband, her legal next of kin, has made for his wife. The age of Big Brother is upon us. I find the political maneuvering despicable and the whole situation so overwhelmingly sad for everyone involved.
Posted by Cara at 03:43 PM | Comments (5)
March 09, 2005
Dream Lovers
I had a whole post practically finished. Didn't save the friggin draft and then accidentally closed the window. That blows. Fucking A that blows.
It's 12:08AM - do you know where your significant other is? Mine's at the office. Stuck. Apparently there's a three hour delay on car services in NYC. He should know - he's in charge of car services (among other things) at his company. I offered to come in and get him, because, you know, I'm the greatest wife that ever lived, but he thinks the reason for the delay is that the roads are treacherous. He said he couldn't live with himself if anything happened to me. Whatever. I want to go to sleep and I can't sleep without him, so....
I was disappointed in the Gilmore Girls tonight. Last week Luke and Lorelai got back together with that passionate middle of the night knock on the door your mom's the biggest bitch that ever lived I can't believe I let her break us up take her in his arms tongue down the throat moment that I rewound, oh, I'd say about fifty times. (It worked though. Luke was the very happy subject of my nicely naughty dream that night. TV is such a lovely thing. Erotic dreams of Tony on Monday, erotic dreams of Luke on Tuesday, erotic dreams of Josh on Wednesday, erotic dreams of Carter on Thursday...the weekend is all about my Georgie. Uck. Scratch that. It sounds so horribly pathetic. Alas, true. But still pathetic.) I wanted a little more passion between the two of them - I mean c'mon. Make-up sex and all that. Has anyone noticed that Lorelai walks like a duck sometimes? I've been watching all the reruns too and you know what? That Dean was a real ASS. And a DUMB ASS at that.
There is knitting to be discussed. Well, not really actual knitting. I tried. I really, really tried. But all I could get tonight was ten freaking rows on the Ribby Cardi sleeves. What is my major malfunction on this thing? I should be shitting these sleeves out in my sleep. Chelsea asked for some tips on how people get motivated with their UFO's and I have to say, I really liked CJ's dice comment. She rolls the dice and whatever number comes up, that's how many rows she has to knit on the project she doesn't really want to be knitting. Then she's allowed to move on to the fun project. I'm totally going to try that.
Georgie just called me again. He's getting a train to the local station and I'm going to pick him up there. At about 12:50AM. Should give me enough time to finish this post.
I'm dreaming of some short rows....
Yummy Rowan Wool Cotton!
I forgot how great this yarn is. When I made Max's sweater, I substituted this for Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere (which I really didn't like). The Wool Cotton was a dream to knit with and I think it will be perfect for this pattern. I'm trying to resist the urge to cast on RIGHT.THIS.MINUTE. The baby blanket is languishing on the needles and the baby's practically here. I was going to make a sweater and hat and other stuff too. I'm tempted to ONLY take the blanket on vacation. To force myself to finish it. But I will probably take the yarn for the short row sleeves. And the baby blanket. And maybe some sock yarn. Where are those dice?
More stash. Got a some backordered Art Yarns today from WEBS:
This will be a cardigan for my best friend's daughter. It doesn't need to be completed until Aug/Sep 2005. I'll cast on today, just in case. I also found a pattern that would be perfect for me - using the Art Yarns Supermerino. I want something for myself in this amazing yarn:
The model looks kind of dorky, but the sweater's pretty. And it even looks like they used Art Yarns. It's a Classic Elite pattern by the way.
I also received the Alchemy Yarns Silk Purse:
Sea of Cortez
Add another project to the list. This one I'd like to have finished by May 20th - my best friend's birthday. Every time I see a new one of these Clapotis (how do you make that plural? Claptoi? Clapotises?), I'm more and more intrigued.
All right. Off to brave the roads for my love. Wish me god speed.
Okay. I'm back. Wasn't so bad. The anti-lock breaks only kicked in twice. Damn it's cold though.
Off to sleep. Perchance to dream....
Posted by Cara at 01:25 AM | Comments (11)
February 28, 2005
Good Company + Good Yarn = Great Time!
Oh.My.God! What a wonderful weekend!
We flew out Friday morning and thankfully the snow Thursday night, while it did nothing to help me with my class, also didn't hurt our trip. We got in around 11:30 or so and checked into our beautiful junior suite - replete with a lovely tea service waiting for us! After a quick snack, I called Colleen and we arranged to meet for lunch. Colleen didn't have a lot of time, since she was heading down to New York to take in the last of The Gates, but we had a great lunch anyway at the Parish Cafe. I had the Veal Pastrami sandwich and it was very, very good. While we were getting to know each other, Colleen filled me on all the good yarn stores to hit - and hit them I did. Thanks Colleen for showing me a good time!
After lunch I went back to the hotel and took a brief nap in preparation for Wendy and our super yarn crawl.
Wendy was so sweet and brought me a gift, thinking I'd been having some bad days lately. It was a yellow laughing bag! Seriously, there's no defense for this thing. (Unfortunately, I asked Wendy to hold it for me, and I forgot to ask for it back. So I went home without it - but Wendy, know it was very appreciated. I smile every time I think about it!)
Our first stop was Windsor Buttons, then A Good Yarn, finally Circles and then off to dinner.
Here is my haul for the weekend:
Really, there's no yarn left in Boston!
I'm going to go through shop by shop, but I figured I'd spare you the details if you don't want them. So if you want every sordid minute of my fabu trip - keep reading! {Warning - it's a freaking novel!}
Windsor Buttons
This store surprised me. When you walk in, there is a wall of buttons to your left, and in front of you is your regular, run of the mill, notions store. Not very impressive, until Wendy led me to the back where all the yarn lived. Lots of Manos, some Artyarns, lots of furry, fuzzy, fun yarns. I didn't go crazy since I was pacing myself and was waiting for A Good Yarn and Cirlces to go nuts.I did find some bright orange chenille - Crystal Palace color #2230. I'm thinking it might work very well as a border on the Pinwheel Blanket.
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I actually did try to get back to Windsor Buttons on Sunday, but alas, they were closed.
Okay - so off we went onto the T - the old-fashioned green-line - to make our way out to Brookline and A Good Yarn.
A Good Yarn
While we were walking up to the shop from the T, Wendy asked me if I read the blue blog. I said, of course! (I mean, really, who doesn't read the blue blog?) She said, well, this is Alison's LYS that she's always talking about. Good to know!
We went in and we're fondling all the wonderful yarns when someone (I think it was Johanna) calls out Alison! Wendy and I whipped our heads around at the same time with knowing smiles - and then we pounced like only blogstalkers can! Thank you Alison for bearing with us! You were so sweet. We had a fun time helping her pick out some yarn - I pushed hard for the Jo Sharp she ended up with - and didn't do too badly ourselves.
Cascade 220 in (l. to r.) #7810, #7826, #7802, #8895 and #7814.
This is for something special - photography related actually. What will it be knitted? Maybe a super crazy felted bag. Not sure actually. But I'm sure I'll find something neat to do with it eventually.
I also bought some wonderful Manos (color #114):
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For sure this is for the very cool scarf I saw on M.J.'s blog the other day. It's My So Called Scarf and can be found at Sheep in the City. Ends up Wendy's making one of these too! It'll look great with my winter puffy jacket. The pattern calls for two skeins, so of course I bought three. I want fringe baby!
Finally I bought a cute baby sweater pattern - I'm pretty sure Wendy got the same one. I'm going to use the tons of All Season's Cotton I have to match the Pinwheel Blanket.
Alison, Johanna and the gang at A Good Yarn were wonderful! It'a great shop - I'd be thrilled if I had an LYS like that near me - lots of yarn, terrific varieties, good company and great assistance.
Circles
So we jumped on a bus and headed off to Circles. Colleen was nice enough to give me a referral card, so I was good to go with 10% off my purchases (thanks again Colleen!)
My big purchase was three hanks of Chasing Rainbows Tussah/Merino combo in Mary's colorway. This stuff is amazing! I don't have pictures, because I had to order it, but trust me. It's going to be a clapotis for me! Yeah! I also walked away with two skiens of Wildfoote Sock Yarn in Tom Cat:
I also picked up a Takhi Yarns Fall/Winter 2004 Pattern book and the Interweave Knits Fall 2003. Basically, I fell in love with the Short-Row Striped Pullover in the IK:
I've got money left on a Yarnmarket.com gift certificate and I think this would look great in Rowan Wool Cotton. Don't you? That means it would be perfect for winter, spring and fall. I think I'll use different colors though.
Circles was really great - what a great place to meet and knit and relax. Some nice Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach playing in the back room - it was a warm and inviting. You Boston gals sure are lucky!
Wendy and I moved on to dinner (we were starving!) and conversation at Village Sushi & Grill. Another great meal in Beantown! Wendy was sweet enough to drive me back to my hotel. I'm sorry you didn't get to hang out - but thanks for a fantastic night!
Newbury Yarns
Saturday morning, Georgie had more business to attend to, so I took a walk in the brisk sunshine to Newbury Yarns. Aldrich, the owner, was there and she helped me match up some more of the fire-red Manos I already have:
Now I have enough for a spicy, firey cardigan! Newbury is set-up by color. Wools, cottons, mohairs - all together by color. It's a little bit strange - but if you were looking for something specific, I'm sure Aldrich would know where it is.
I found some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn that I liked a lot:
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Feels a lot like Koigu. I think the colorway is Tropical Storm.
Peabody/Salem
I met Georgie back at the hotel and we rented a car. Georgie's mom's family is from Boston - his parents met while his father was a student at Hellenic College. They spent some time up in Peabody and Georgie used to spend a couple weeks in the summer there with his Godparents. They own a tannery. One of his favorite places up there is a roast beef/fried clam eatery called Land & Sea. I've been hearing about this place for over fifteen years. We weren't able to make it up there when we got married, so we went this time. It was only about a 1/2 an hour away - and it was worth the trip.
We had roast beef and Georgie had his fried clams - I think his memory was satisfied. Then we drove around the city a little bit before heading off to Salem. Our first stop in Salem was The House of Seven Gables and Hawthorne's birth house. We took a tour of the house - the tour guide was pretty goofy - and his name was Nate - but it was fun. Nice step back in time.
Then we headed over to the Salem Witch Museum. Now here's a good time! The museum is basically a big room with life size dioramas around the walls. The room goes dark - and a loud booming voice comes over the loudspeaker to tell the fateful story of the Salem "witches." It's like a bad horror movie to be sure, and honestly, when I thought about it, it almost makes a joke of a very dark time in our history.
After all was said and done, I did buy a hat and a Scarlett Letter magnet:
And what would a road trip be without a stop in a yarn store?
Arbella Yarns
I received a warm welcome here, although I went through kind of quickly. (Georgie was waiting in the car.) I did manage to walk out with some more Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Yarn in Spring Frost.
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Boston
We had a lovely dinner that evening back in Boston, at a cozy little restaurant in Boston's version of Little Italy - the North End. It was called Prezza. I'd highly recommend it.The next morning we had some time to kill before the train, so we headed out to the Public Garden to see the ducks. I promised my nephew that I'd take pictures of the statue erected in honor of Robert McCloskey's book Make Way for Ducklings.
Here we are:
It was FREEZING!
and here's the ducks on their own:
We took the train home yesterday - the Acela Express. It was a wonderful weekend! Wish it had lasted longer. But that's okay because in two weeks were off to Scottsdale, Arizona! All I have to say is it better be warm!
Hope you enjoyed our little trip...thanks for reading.
Love,
Cara
PS - Don't forget! The new K1R2 Discussion has started - c'mon over!
Posted by Cara at 03:47 PM | Comments (14)
February 17, 2005
Alchemy Yarns of Transformation
Visit them here.
Well, all I have to say is if their yarns are half as good as they are, I'm in for a treat!
I was having a hell of a time finding someone who sells this yarn - if you search the Internet, it's mostly blogs coming up. I called a few of the stores I knew on their retailer list (and a few I didn't) and most, if they had any at all, had just a couple skeins in colors I didn't want. Purl in NYC told me they could order some, but I'd have to buy a whole bag and it would take six months.
So I went to the source. I spoke with Austin out in California and he was the nicest gentleman. He told me that Gina had just painted some Silk Purse in the color I was looking for (Sea of Cortez). He would call me back to find out where it was going. Great. I figured a couple of days, no problem.
He called me back like five minutes later. Gave me the names of two stores that were each getting five skeins of Silk Purse in Sea of Cortez. I had told him I needed seven (I'm guestimating here Clapotis people! I'd like to make a larger version and I know people have had problems with not enough yarn. Each skein is 138 yards. I figured seven would be perfect.) He assured me that while they were each getting five, they had all been painted together and I shouldn't worry about the dyes being off. He also told me that Gina loves to knit her Silk Purse on size 7 needles, instead of the recommened six (I had asked about that too.) Oh and he also told me about their 50/50 yarn, which is more readily available, but I told him my friend couldn't wear any wool. He said Gina's the same way. She can paint the wool, but she can't wear it. He was so very lovely! I'm glad to drop the big bucks on their product for sure.
So I called one of the shops and I've got their five on order! I called the other shop, but the owner was out and I have to speak to her - Monday I'll be calling bright and early. I'm so excited.
If you'd like to know more about Alchemy, there's a nice article about Gina and Austin and their yarns at Knitter's Review.
Posted by Cara at 04:39 PM | Comments (5)
February 15, 2005
100!
For my 100th post, I'm going with pictures galore!
Picot-Boo's debut:
I think this is where she bowled that strike. I kid you not - the child bowled a strike and two spares! |
The blankie and pac are never far behind!
New Stash:
For the VK Flower Basket Bag: Cascade Magnum in colors (from the top) Black, Highland Green, Lichen, and Regal Red. |
For Valentine's Day, I bought myself some Manos, Color # 115 - Flame. I only bought four skeins (that's all they had), but I want more. I want to make a very simple cardigan. For me. |
Thanks for all the feel good wishes. I'm definitely feeling better - not 100% - but much better. (Read: not feeling like yakking anymore!) Tomorrow I hope to be completely better.
Almost forgot - a special thanks to Wendy. Her homemade Valentine was just what I needed yesterday. Thanks again Wendy!
Love, Cara
Posted by Cara at 06:16 PM | Comments (21)
February 08, 2005
It's Official.
I'm fat. Yesterday I tipped the scale slightly passed my "that's it I'm fat" zone. So I'm doing this. I'm hoping that blogging about my success or lack there of will spur me on. Nothing like a little public humiliation to get you off your ass. I did go out and run yesterday - I do the beginning runner's pyramid program in The Runner's Handbook by Bob Glover. It's worked before, goddammit, it will work again! Stayed tuned as I get physical.
[Besides, if we're thinking about trying again in the Summer -- SHHHHH, don't say it out loud!!! -- it might be good to be in some kind of shape. You know, so I can get fat again.]
Thank you Secret Pal!
I received a box from my secret pal!
How did she know I was just looking at this pattern the other day? Particulars: 12 skeins of Schoeller Esslinger Bermuda in Color #25 and the Summer 2004 Interweave Knits, with the suggestion that the yarn might work well with the pattern on p. 21, The Caberet Raglan.
Thank you Secret Pal! Thank you! The yarn is beautiful, and even better, not something I would've thought to buy for myself. Great choice. Thank you!
Okay, I'm off to get coiffed. Cut and color today. The big bucks. I'll be back later to tell all about my color class last night - it was GREAT and Shirley Paden is divalicious. Stayed tuned.
Posted by Cara at 10:11 AM | Comments (9)
January 18, 2005
Taking Back Our Home
This weekend was all about taking back our home. It's kind of falling apart (on the inside and out - we live in a high-rise and the Board has informed us the building needs about $15 million worth of work - who's going to pay for that you ask?) but we're trying to get it back in baby steps.
Last week we had the plumber in - $600 later we have a non-leaking kitchen sink and all three toilets flush, leak free! Yeah for working plumbing! (You may question why we need three toilets if there are only two of in the house. Options, dahling, options.)
So, now that that's out of the way, we can clean things up. The place is a sty. I bought a Swiffer WetJet and I love it, except Georgie (who likes to give goofy names to everything) keeps calling it the Swift Boat thinga-ma-jig. I need to be reminded of that every five minutes for sure! The good thing is my floors might actually be semi-clean now. I love the little scrubby thing on the side too.
Georgie sealed up the windows in the bedrooms so our house is nice and toasty now that it's freezing! And I finally organized my stash! I gave up on the cedar chest - too much money, not enough space - and went with some plastic bins that fit in the closet perfectly. And my stash pretty much fit in one of the bins so I have an emtpy one to fill. I also bought a lovely leather basket type thing at Crate & Barrel the other day - it was marked down a lot - for storing my current projects. I figure I can tote it around if need be, but it will probably sit next to me by the couch. Here's a picture of it filled with Jo Sharp stash!
It's actually not completely filled with Jo Sharp -
my project bags take up most of the basket and the Jo Sharp
accents the top. For a more pleasing picture.
Georgie made a lovely pasta bolognese the other night and for dessert - my own molten chocolate cake! He bought the mix and the ramekins from Williams & Sonoma and made it himself. It was fantastic. We may never go out to eat again.
ETA: Annie asked for a recipe. There is none! It's a kit. They send you the chocolate drops and the cake mix and you melt the chocolate and add water and butter to the mix (two sticks of butter!) then add the chocolate to the mix. Once it's all together, put it into the little ramekins and bake for 12-15 minutes. That's it! So easy and unbelievably good. It makes about 8-12 cakes. We made four and put the rest of the batter in the frig. The next day I scooped out the cold mix into the ramekins, baked it, and it was just as good as fresh. The mix came from Williams & Sonoma.
While School Daze was blocking, I managed to finish the back and start the front of Picot-Boo. I'm still completely in love with this yarn.
This picture was taken with my new 50mm f1.4 lens,
which has an extremely narrow depth of field (that's why so much of it is blurry.)
I thought the picture was interesting.
What I learned in school...
Never do a stair-step bind off on the shoulders (or anywhere for the matter!) What a pain in the ass. I started to seam the shoulders for School Daze last night - it blocked beautifully - and met with all kinds of problems. After consulting my books (they all said don't do it - thanks!) and finding this very, very helpful web page, I think my seams look just fine thank you!
Like the rug underneath the knit? It's Bonne Marie's idea.
I figure if her blocking method works so well, might as well have the rug too!
As an extra bonus, it matches our decor too!
What else? Class went well on Thursday. Cassie sums up the teaching experience pretty well in her post today. It's performance art all the way! I have fourteen people in the class and already I can tell the difference between Fiction I and Fiction II - in F1 they're feeling their way - I want to write, but maybe I don't have what it takes. In F2, they are there for the long haul. So it's all good.
My new camera came as well. But I haven't really played with it yet - I'm waiting for our trip this weekend to beautiful sunny Miami (fingers crossed for the weather.)
Have a great day!
Posted by Cara at 10:54 AM | Comments (8)
December 31, 2004
Picot-Boo
Look what came yesterday!
Isn't it beautiful? And it's so, so soft. AND you can throw it in the washing machine! (My sister will love that!) This amazing yarn is Art Yarns Supermerino in color #108. It will be this cutie little sweater with the picot trim:
Hence, the name Picot-Boo! The pattern comes from the Family Circle Easy Knitting Holiday 2004 Issue. It will be perfect for little Charlotte, who can now say "I love you, Cara!" Yeah!
I almost forgot to show you the secret Xmas gift for Georgie. It was a scarf. You can imagine my horror when I realized it was in America's Team's colors. And me being a Philly girl and all. [You must watch the video on the Philly link! Go Mummers! Go Eagles!]
My dad didn't make it up yesterday - he's under the weather - but he's on his way now. He's bringing me my birthday book! Ever since the day I was born, my father has been giving my siblings and I a book on our birthday. He always writes these sappy inscriptions in the front (You're a woman now! You're a teenager! Always an I'm so proud of you!) None of us ever, EVER open the book before our birthdays. And we always call each other to find out what we got and read the inscription to each other. He keeps it a deep, dark secret. I think my mom always resented that he never told her what the books were, let alone let her in on the gift-giving. Tomorrow will be my 35th book - I have all of them. Some of the stand-outs:
Rain Makes Applesauce for my third birthday.
Sam, Bangs and Moonshine for my fourth.
The Hobbit for my eighth.
Gone with the Wind for my eleventh.
The Fountainhead for my thirteenth.
1984 for my fourteenth birthday, January 1, 1984. (I was too freaked out to read it!)
A Canticle for Leibowitz for my 21st.
Then there were the college years - he gave me biographies of Lillian Hellman and Sylvia Plath back to back. I said, Dad, spare me. No more depressing women! And I don't even like biographies! Since then he's stuck to fiction. We have a little game though, because of all of his children (there are four of us) I read by far the most - and have the most books. Books are my life. It's his special challenge each year to find me something I don't have. Haven't read. Maybe even haven't heard of. He takes pride in the fact that he hasn't given me a duplicate yet. So tune in tomorrow for my birthday book.
Posted by Cara at 11:46 AM | Comments (5)
December 12, 2004
Productivity
[Warning: lots of pictures in this post!]
Well, the fifth times the charm. I literally visited five LYS between Monday and Saturday and finally, on the last visit, I BOUGHT YARN. Fell in love is more like it, but I'll get to that.
I went to visit Handknits in Englewood, New Jersey. I've been wanting to go (Jen, we'll go back - I promise!) and I'm glad I did. This is what a yarn store should be! There was a ton of yarn - rooms and rooms of it! And somewhat organized to boot. There was a back room that had the sale yarns and books. The room next to it had a big table (sort of like a conference room) with all the baby yarns and fingering weight yarns. The front entrance where the checkout was had all of the novelty yarns and the big, big room in the middle had everything else. Lots of Rowan, Karabella, Takhi/Filatura di Crosa/Art Yarns, etc. Clearly the owner takes issue with KFI because there wasn't a Noro or Debbie Bliss to be found. There's a lot to compensate though.
The staff was extrememly helpful without being solicitous. In fact, no one really said anything until I seemed ready for help. And then they were very helpful. I was there much longer than I anticipated.
I was looking for some felting yarn for Sophie - I really wanted Cascade 220. They didn't have any Cascade but the owner was nice enough to go through the store with me and point out all of the yarns that felt well. One of the ones she showed me was the Manos del Uruguay. I've never knit with Manos before, but I've certainly heard of it. I in LOVE now. I'll tell you! I was looking for something to make a Sophie for my sister - and for me. Well I ended up finding the most gorgeous colors!
Aren't they beautiful? The first one is a tan/camel with pink running through it and the second is a pearly pink with gray running through it.
I love this yarn! (Did I say that already?) I absolutely love the color and the texture - I don't even want to knit with it - I just want to look at it and touch it. I think the saleswoman thought I was crazy when I said I was going to felt it - but why not? Just because it's expensive? I know that I carry my other felted bag all the time - much more than I would wear something, I think. So is that bad? I bought all they had in those colors - my idea was that I'd combine them for a larger Sophie for my sister. I thought the tan/pink would look really good with her tan leather jacket and the KSH gloves I'm going to make for her, eventually. But I'm thinking I might buy more of the tan/pink for myself. I've got some Chanukah gelt waiting for me at my sister's - it's got Manos written all over it! If anyone reading has felted this stuff - can you make me feel better? Or tell me I'm crazy? OOOh, I LOVE it!
While I was at Handknits, I also picked up a few more balls of Filatura di Crosa Primo - the yarn I used to knit Max's blue striped hat. I wanted a hat for Charlotte, my niece, and I didn't want it to be blue as well. Charlotte looks good in primary colors - pastels wash her out - so I went with a bright purple/red combination. I think it came out cute!
I know Charlotte will love it - she's really into hats these days and the weather is supposed to turn really cold this week - so the kids will be nice and toasty!
Also, I finally finished the two booga bags I had sitting around. They're for my best friend's daughters (2.5 and 6). I originally made the pink one, but tried to felt in my front loader washer and it didn't really work. When I say it didn't work, I mean I ran it through like five times and it still wasn't really felting well. So I washed it again at my sister's with the blue one. The pink one is a little smaller because of it. They're both made with Noro Kuryeon. I don't remember what colors.
I started my Ribby Cardi!
The color seems really off in this photograph.
I'm not sure about the yarn as far as softness is concerned - it seems a little scratchy in my hands, but it certainly knits up easy. I think this project will go pretty quickly. I'm excited about it!
I even knit some on the geometric scarf last night while watching Spiderman 2. It's looking good and is oh so soft, but it's boring (and a little tedious since the yarn splits) to knit. I'll get there.
Tomorrow I leave for my sister's until Thursday. My brother-in-law is going away so I'm going down to lend a hand. She's pregnant and the kids are crazy! My nephew is excited though. He doesn't really understand time exactly, but he knows I'm coming for the seventh and eighth nights of Chanukah. My sister says every morning he wakes up and asks her, "Which night of Chanukah is it tonight, Mom?" So cute.
And last but not least, Bonne Marie's blocking tip worked perfectly! The Silkroad Aran Tweed exapanded exactly how I'd hoped and the size looks great. It also softened up considerably (not that it wasn't already soft.) I might not start to put it together until I get back from my sister's. There's still lots to do what with the armbands and neckband.
Okay. I'm done! Thanks.
Posted by Cara at 04:11 PM | Comments (4)
December 07, 2004
Yarn Porn...
for Cassie.
Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran
Oooo...look how it bends...feel how soft...caress the curves!
And Max's hat, just in time for Chanukah!
Also, a HUGE thank you to Jo for helping me out with the technical stuff! I realized that my blog looked awful in Netscape and Firefox. She gave me some great suggestions and wahla! It should work ~perfect~ now! Thanks again Jo!
Posted by Cara at 07:20 PM | Comments (1)
December 01, 2004
Dusk
Fun with my Macro Lens.
Posted by Cara at 03:05 PM | Comments (1)
Oops, I did it again!
[Stands up awkwardly] Hi.
[Voice cracks in the middle of a two letter word.]
Cough, cough. [Clears throat awkwardly.]
Hi. My name is Cara. I'm an addict.
[Crowd of knitbloggers and elann.com personnel clap wildly.]
Welcome home!
My husband's going to KILL me!
Damage done today:
 Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Empire |  Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra Truffle |
AND
 Navy |  Deep Denim |  Blue Cloud |
I bought enough of each color of the Jo Sharp to make a sweater, but I only bought two balls each of the Primo - I'm going to make Max a simple ribbed hat with a pompom on top to replace the hat he lost. The Primo seemed good because it's superwash. (You make ask yourself why a soon to be four-year-old needs Filatura di Crosa Primo for a hat instead of an AC Moore special, but c'mon, everyone deserves nice yarn!)
Okay, that's it. I'm done. Except of course for the tres cool Cascade 220 for Sophie!
I feel sick.
On a more positive note, I helped my sister, Jolie, pick up stitches over the phone! She's been alternately working on a booga bag and a ribbed scarf (3x3 ribs). The scarf is for my nephew, her son. Well, last night while she was relaxing on the couch watching either Country Mouse & City Mouse, or the scary episode of George & Martha, or even Spiderman for the sixty millionth time, with Max by her side of course, she decided to work a little on the scarf. Barely, into it, she went to check on Charlotte sleeping upstairs. She left Max alone. With the TV. And the knitting.
When she came back down, you guessed. The addi turbos were missing from the knitting - which was lying quietly on the sofa.
[my sister] Max, where are the needles?
[my nephew] In my pants.
Ah those little boys and their pants. Reminds me of those grown men and their pants.
My sister hasn't been knitting very long, what with two kids under four and a third on the way. She doesn't have much time. Usually she calls me from the car while the kids are sleeping - their generally parked outside her house - with a knitting question. So last night she called me - what do I do? I told her you need to put the stitches back on the needle. We talked a little bit about how to do this, maybe rip back a few rows, etc. We hung up. She called me back about 10 minutes later to say she had done it, but a couple stitches looked funky. We determined they were actually dropped stitches. I told her how to pick them up and she did it! Hey, it worked! she cried. Ooo, I felt so good!
One more note about Jolie, and then I have to go to work TO PAY FOR YARN! I mentioned in an earlier post that I bought the Rowan Vintage Style book to make something for my other sister, Samara. Well, I was flipping through it and wouldn't you know, one of the sweaters Samara was looking at was named Jolie. Very weird, since Jolie is NOT that common a name. Trust me on this. But the truly freaky part is the very next pattern was called COLLETTE. My sister's full name is JOLIE COLETTE! I was dying, but I think my sister was a little more weirded out than amused. I mean, what are the odds?
Posted by Cara at 10:35 AM | Comments (2)
November 29, 2004
the Postman always rings twice
I got some goodies in the mail!
Half of my elann.com delivery came in:
Jo Sharp DK Tweed - Paper Rose
Jo Sharp DK Tweed - Cedar
It's so nice, I want to start knitting with it immediately! I'm thinking cardigans for both colors. Now to find patterns....
And Margaret Klein Wilson was kind enough to send me some Mostly Merino to sample:
I found out about it from a really nice article on Knitter's Review. Margaret sent me a sample in the Worsted Weight and the Fingering Weight. It seems really nice. Thanks again Margaret!
I also got a very nice letter from the United States Botanic Garden requesting my portfolio of macro botanica photographs for a possible exhibit. Clearly I am very excited. It would be wonderful to have another show. My sister-in-law, Margaret, was kind enough to mention me when she went to an exhibit there featuring Andrea Baldeck. Baldeck was one of the jurors in the Morris Arboretum Garden Life Exhibit, which was held in Oct '03 through Apr '04. I had three photographs chosen to be in the exhibit, and Baldeck chose "Sunny Side Left" as her Best in Show selection. It was quite a thrill.
Click for more detail.
Posted by Cara at 08:33 PM | Comments (2)