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 fo