Arrival of a Package

A package came LAST Monday.

A package from KnitPicks.

It was patiently waiting on my patio when I got home from the airport.

Pretty yarn.

Very pretty yarn.

Very pretty pettable yarn.

I had to ignore the pretty pettable yarn for a week as I rushed to finish my schoolwork and work work.

But now I opened the yarn.

The pretty yarn.

The very pretty yarn.

The very pretty pettable yarn.

Will I be able to stop petting it long enough to pop some of it on the swift and ball it up?

That remains to be seen.

...

...

...still petting.

Jaunty Jester

Last month when I was in Florida, Jester braved the elements to take me to a yarn shop. In addition to her own display of courage, her Then Boy demonstrated copious amounts of trust by allowing us to borrow his SUV.

I felt a large debt of gratitude to them both...and whenever I feel thankful, I express my thanks through handknits.

While we were in Knit 'n Knibble, Jester saw a beautiful alpaca/llama/silk/every-expensive-fiber-you-can-imagine blend beanie. It was knit in a spiral openwork pattern. She loved it. She wanted it. She couldn't make or afford it.

I looked at the beanie very closely. Imagine my surprise when I realized that it was basically a worsted weight Envy Hat...pretty much identical to the ones I made for friends, coworkers, and cousins. I told her that I would make one for her, and that I probably had stash yarn that would work. Later that day I also told Then Boy I would make him a basic beanie if he just let me know what color he wanted.

Now a month has past, and Jester is home on Spring Break. I had finished Then Boy's beanie last week while watching a movie that required my close attention. Lacking any other brainless projects to work on, I churned out a twin version of Sk8's beanie from the same yarn. Super fast. Super easy. I gave it to Jester Sunday morning at church. I also took a bag full of various burgundy, purple, and magenta yarns to church so that she could pick out what she wanted for her hat. I knit that whole thing up during the Academy Awards. I gave her her Envy Hat this afternoon when she and I took Whiz out for frozen yogurt.

Hats finished! Debt of Gratitude paid in full! On to the next project!

Celebrating Sis-In-Law with 80's Dance

Sis-in-Law just had her birthday on Monday...and since I was seeing her last night, I decided that a day-late-gift-delivery was perfectly warranted. (I did call her on the actual day, and left her a message and everything. I even let her know that her present was arriving with me last night. I did my due diligence.)

But back to the subject at hand. She just had her birthday. And I have known for forever what I was going to give her, since she had asked me flat out several months ago if I could make legwarmers for her sometime.

Certainly.

I love knitting for people. And I especially love knitting things I know that they want!

So I made her:

The Misty Dawn Legwarmers!

For inspiration, before and during knitting, I watched:

Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, Footloose, Fame, and Center Stage (which isn't 80's, but is very legwarmer friendly).

Gotta love the library's great DVD collection!

I also did a lot of knitting at the movie theater during Edge of Darkness, the new Mel Gibson movie. Since the Misty Dawns are in-the-round stockinette, they made for perfect knitting in the dark. Also, the action and pacing of the film made me knit faster...heart rate up, needles flashing!

I was thinking about writing up the pattern, but I think I'll wait and see how they work out for Sis-in-Law fit-wise...since I totally knit them on the fly...that way I can make any necessary adjustments before posting it.

How Did That Happen?

Somehow I have a pressing queue of time sensitive projects.

A queue which is bordering on the insanity of a Christmas queue!

It includes:

• Additional samples for the felted purse class


• Baby burp rags for friends who continue to reproduce


• The birthday gift for Sis-In-Law, which I am really enjoying making


• Commission wrist warmers and fingerless gloves (technically these don't have a due date...but it would probably be best to deliver them while it is still cold!)

In addition to these items...I also have several things that I would like to make for me!

I am only one knitter. I can only do so much.

(Breathe in. Breathe out. Remind myself that the fate of the world does not depend on my completing knitting projects. And be grateful for it.)

Yarn Shop Review...and Mom!

Mom is in town this weekend...mostly to visit Nephew. However, today she is all mine!

I picked her up at the airport, and we went into Lafayette...which is very cute! I wish I had gone there sooner.

We parked at the new library, and enjoyed it's wonderment. We walked to a little diner called Squirrel's Cafe...which inexplicably served traditional English fare.

Then we did what we came to do. We went to the yarn shop.

Yarn Boutique was a very nice store. It had a huge selection, and high quality luxury yarns that I had never even heard of. I will definitely be going back because the selection was astounding. Also, the staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and knew their stock. (This was particularly important since they have a TON of yarn stuffed into a very small space. I sort of figured out the organization system, but not quite. If I had needed something specific, I would have needed a lot of help finding it.)

I asked Mom to sum up what she thought of the Yarn Boutique in a few words...and here is her review: friendly, great selection, crowded.

We rounded off our day with dinner at Sweet Tomatos, and a couple of quilt stores in the area. Tonight I will drive her up to Brother and Sis-in-Law's and leave her there.

Today was fun. I love being just Mom and I!

New Needles

For Christmas, Mom gave me 2 pairs of nickel plated circular knitting needles from knitpicks to use for sock knitting. She thought it was silly that I only had one pair of sock needles, and she loves the knitpick ones.

She, of course, was anxious to get my opinion on them. I, however, didn't have spare sock yarn with me on my trip.

What's a girl to do?

(Buy more yarn of course!)

I went out to coffee with my friend Spirit that Saturday morning, and sweet-talked her into taking me to Pacific Fabrics. There I was forced to buy some Crystal Palace Panda Superwash in "Dark Night" just so I could test drive the needles. What a hardship!

I cast on my boring old plain vanilla 2x2 rib socks. This not only gave me a purse portable brain-free project, but it allowed me to focus more on the needles than the yarn or pattern.

Needle Review: These are AMAZING. I HIGHLY recommend them. I like these more than...gasp...Addi Turbos. (And they are a fraction of the price!) The points are sharp, the needles slide gleefully into the stitches, and the purple cable makes me smile. So...thanks Mom!

(FYI: The color "Dark Night" -sounds like- Dark Knight -another name for- Batman -who lives in- Gotham...thus the socks are called the Gotham Socks...)

Open Letter To Wendy Bernard

Dear Wendy Bernard (Exalted author of Custom Knits)-

I purchased your book.

This is unusual...I usually check books out at the library, and only purchase if there are at least 3 projects in the book that I definitely want to make. Your book had a record breaking 9...and several others that I might alter...which I guess is sort of the point of the book.

Because I am not used to knitting top-down-in-the-round sweaters (my previous projects all being misadventures in bulky yarns and horrible seaming), I decided to practice the technique on the project that I was the least in love with. (Please note, still in love with it...just not in that desperate, must make, will die with out it, sort of way.) I chose your "Ingenue" sweater. I loved the classic old-movie feel. I call mine the MDM (using my initials to honor of MGM, old movies, and ingenue actresses from ages past.)

Again, because I was not sure how it would work, I was nervous about investing large amounts of money in materials. So, I cheaped out. I bought acrylic yarn from the craft store. Total cost: $7.45.

Well...I am done with it now...after overcoming a minor case of second sleeve syndrome.



AND YOUR PATTERN WAS AWESOME!!!! Very well written, very straight forward, and a joy to follow. I feel confident about making and customizing the other sweaters in your book...and the skirt. I love the skirt.

I don't know if you did this on purpose, but the way the book is actually put together and bound, the pages stay open to where I need them...without me having weigh them down...and without me having to "break" the spine. And it wasn't just a fluke with the Ingenue pattern. Every pattern stays open. Which is wonderful!

What's more...the sweater looks amazing. It is a little roomier than I would have liked (I forgot about negative ease...), but that is my fault, not yours. The fact that it only cost $7.45 is just icing on the cake...imagine how much better the next one will be out of quality yarn! I am getting goosebumps just thinking about it!

(Actually, I have already found the yarn to make "Skinny Empire." I am going to use a silk/alpaca blend. I can't wait!)

In closing: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for writing a quality pattern for a quality sweater with a quality fit.

This was the first project I have made in a LONG time that was free of headache, frogging, and despair!

Thank You Again,
Your Devoted Fan and Admirer.

Why I Love My Yarn Shop

I went to Knit This, Purl That this afternoon.

The owner's daughter, who is around my age, was the only staff person. (I feel really bad, but I never can remember her name...luckily this blog doesn't ever use names, so I can call her YarnMaiden.) I shopped, we chatted, we looked at pictures of handknits from movies, and critiqued the shop's Twilight-inspired custom dyed yarn shipment.

I love this store for many reasons:

1. They have a great yarn selection.

2. They are NICE. They will let me wander around and pet/squeeze skeins undisturbed, or chat with me...depending on MY mood, not THEIR mood.

3. They go the extra mile. (Today I had taken in a pattern which called for one skein of a Cascade yarn that KTPT doesn't carry. It did not tell me how many yards I would need. YarnMaiden looked it up online for me while I browsed.)

4. They have stash cards. (Although, I tend to horde my filled cards...since no project ever seems important enough to use my $25 on.)

5. They are right up the street from the BEST THAI RESTAURANT EVER! (Pleasanton Thai House)

Where else can I go to enjoy the softness wonder of alpaca/silk blends, discuss recent and upcoming films (YarnMaiden and I have run into each other at the theater), be inspired by breathtaking works of handknitted art, and laugh at my own knitting foibles?

A good yarn shop is a terrible thing to waste!

Forgotten Projects

I am at Brother's house this weekend. Sis-In-Law is out of town.

I was getting ready to get in the shower this morning and realized I didn't have a towel. I went out to their hall closet to grab one, and saw this:



It is the red afghan that I made Brother for Christmas one year, before he had even met Sis-In-Law.

I had forgotten that I had made it until I saw it there this morning.

Frankly, I was surprised that he still had it. It isn't that great of an afghan, comparatively speaking. I was still a starving undergrad when I made it, so it was lovingly crocheted out of cheap acrylic yarn from Wal-Mart (which was my only option at the time due to geography and budget). I shudder to recall the many hours of Law and Order reruns I watched on TNN while making it.

It has held up shockingly well, considering that it has crossed the country several times, been washed often, and used.

It also has gotten me to think about other "forgotten" projects. I think Sister still has her blue afghan that matches this one. I think I gave a creamy colored one to my aunt in TX, too. But there have been a lot of beanies, scarves, dishcloths, and coffee cup cozies handed out over the years. Many that I can't quite remember...and now I'm wondering how many are still in use/existence...

I am also wondering now how many of the things I cherish have been completely forgotten by those who gave them to me...

Interesting.

It May Be Better To Give Than Receive...

...but receiving can be nice too!

I don't know how long it has been since someone has made something for me...a while. (I think the last was my high school graduation quilt, actually.)

This doesn't bother me. I make so many things myself, that is seems almost silly to expect a handmade item. Usually people support my habits rather than duplicating them. (I love getting yarn, fabric, books, notions, gift cards, etc.)

Still...I was extremely touched when Mama L gave me this for my birthday/Christmas/anytime:



That absolutely beautiful and cozy cheeto-orange hand-crocheted afghan was made with love for me by another person.

(I would also like to point out that this was no small undertaking...the afghan is HUGE! I can wrap myself completely up in it. I watched her work on it for months!)

Thank you Mama L!

A Very Personal Thing

For my birthday, my mom and dad decided (after many not-at-all subtly dropped hints) to give me a nostepinde. A nostepinde is, for those of you who don't know, a Norwegian knitting tool that is used to wind yarn that is in a skein into a center pull ball. It looks sort of like a shorter, squatter wizarding wand. And like the Harry Potter version of wands, they come in a variety of woods, finishes, and carving intricacies.

My parents looked at many many nostepindes, and decided that the choice was WAY too personal. They priced them, determined how much a nice one would cost (including postage), and just gave me the money to buy my own.

After a lot of thought, and a false start when the first one I ordered was out of stock, I finally selected this one (#12):



It is made out of Jarrah wood, which is a type of Eucalyptus, and is coming from a yarn shop in Australia!

In fact, not only is it coming...it is here! I got the postal pick-up order in my mailbox this afternoon. Now I just need to go to the post office to sign for it tomorrow! WOOHOO!!!

In the Knick of Time

I finished Blondie's Satchel in time to send it to Florida with her parents!

I forgot that they were leaving a week later than she was!

Frabjous Day! Calloo Callay!

I was really not wanting to ship it!

Lucky Find

There are advantages to working in a library.

There are advantages to being someone who knits in public and works in a library.

There are advantages to being someone who knits in public while working in a library.

I was down at the reference desk today, when one of the Library Foundation members walked down carrying a book.

"You knit, right?"
"Yes."
"And you like old books, right?"
"Yes..." I look askance at her.
"Well, I found an old knitting book in the donation room, and I thought you might like it. I thought I'd give you first dibs." She smiles.

Immediately visions of ill-advised 80's and 90's knitting pattern books flit through my mind.

"Well, thanks. I usually don't get older knitting pattern books because the designs aren't current. But I'll look at it. What is it?" I hedge.
"Here. The patterns are old, but the book looked kinda neat." She hands me the book.

It wasn't at all what I had feared.

It was a treasure.

It was the Complete Guide to Modern Knitting and Crocheting by Alice Carroll. Published in 1942. The patterns were old, but actually surprisingly fashionable. I am thrilled.

Totally worth the $1 that I had to put in the Foundation Donation box.

Close Call

I look forward to my birthday every year for many reasons.

Not the least of which is the discounts I usually get at yarn shops/quilt stores/restaurants, etc.

My FAVORITE LYS offers a 20% discount on your birthday! Woo-Hoo!

...except, my birthday is tomorrow...which is Sunday...when the shop is closed...

Sorrow. Disappointment. Frustration.

So I called them up and asked how to proceed. I was told, and I quote:

"We realize that people are born on days we aren't open!"

This astute observation means that I can come in the day after my birthday (when they ARE open), show my driver's license, and still get my discount!

Joy! Excitement! Anticipation!

Winning Them Over...One Dishcloth at a Time!

I have a co-worker, Candid, whom I adore, who can be...well...a wee bit snarky...which might be why I enjoy her so much. She says what she thinks, bluntly and honestly...if you ask her opinion, you have to be sure you want it because there will be no sugar coating.

She has been quite honest with me about my knitting. She thinks it is perfectly ridiculous for someone young, such as myself, to sit at home knitting and watching movies. She is not exactly a knitting nay-sayer, because she thinks it is fine that I know how to knit, and has even admired things that I have made...she mostly just objects to the frequency of my knitting.

Candid once commented that she didn't understand my dishcloths. She is a sponge sort of gal. She thought they were too pretty to use, and frankly a waste of time. I assured her they were quite utilitarian, more sanitary than a sponge, and completely washable. Then I asked her what color her kitchen things were.

I made her a quick dishcloth out of tan cotton in the Movie Theater I pattern. She took it home, washed some dishes, came back, and agreed that it did work...but that she was reserving judgment until she had washed it.

Now she can't stop RAVING about how wonderful it is. Not only does it wash, it actually works better now that it has been washed a time or two. She can't imagine why she ever used a sponge.

Another knitting nay-sayer won over! (2.3 billion left to go!)

Weirdest Request Ever

I meant to post this eons ago...but I never got the pictures. I am tired of waiting, and at camp, and too tired to write a new post, so here you go:

The Friday before Christmas, at an ornament exchange for church, my friend Psych came up to me and made a request. I had given her an IOU for a handknit on her birthday, and she had finally decided what she wanted. It was the strangest, and most fun-to-execute, request that I have ever received.

It seems that her husband, Preacher, has an insanely disgusting big toe on one foot from years of playing soccer. I have never seen the toe in all its glory, but apparently it can make small children cry. While sitting on the couch together, Preacher jokingly told Psych that he should have me knit him a cozy for his toe. (This makes sense in light of that fact that whenever I am at their house...which is often (Monday night bible studies, Tuesday night American Idol, random game nights, movie nights, holiday parties, etc)...I am knitting something. They both thought this was funny. Psych decided to act on it.

She wondered if I could knit a cozy for his toe in time for her to stick it in his Christmas Stocking. I said sure...how long could it take? I actually got it done in time to slip it to her at church on Sunday. It was actually REALLY easy. I basically just made a teeny tiny elongated hat. I even got fancy and put rugby stripes on it for that manly edge.

Apparently it was a hit! Preacher said I should try marketing them to soccer players, because most of the ones he knows also have nasty toes. (Maybe ballerinas, too.) I could start a whole line of toe cozies that would enable people everywhere to continue to wear flip-flops without the nerdiness or overly-warm nature of a full sock/sandal combo!

The Summer of "Me" Projects

I have finished ALL of the baby gifts that I needed to do...FINALLY!!! With the exception of possible presents for my not-yet-existent niece/nephew, I will not be making any more baby burp rags, bunny burp buddies, or dishcloths for at least 6 months!

I have made all of the class samples that I need to make for the library. And I have enough dishcloths/coffee cup cozies in the gift stash to last through the end of the year.

I can knit stuff for me now!

I can finish those scarves I started.

I can felt the Port Townsend Purse...which has been on my to do list since last August.

I can make socks!

I have a whole glorious summer stretching ahead of me. A summer with no graduate school. A summer with no moving.

A summer to knit!

Knitting + Beer Bread = Bliss

Tonight Broseph came over to help me finish with the move. But, since Twilight had been over on Thursday and today was my day off, I was pretty much finished. All that was left to do was hang artwork. After being surprised at how MUCH artwork I had, there wasn't a whole lot for Broseph to do. (Although, I did ask him to open a pickle jar that I had been trying to open all week...there are some things you just need a guy for...)

Once we had all the stuff on the walls, and had eaten some pizza, we decided to watch Music and Lyrics and decompress. I put some beer bread in the over and sat down to...KNIT!!!

It was glorious.

I wove the ends into 2 dishcloths that are samples for library programs:



I wove the ends into the 2 commissioned baby burp rags:



I wove the end into the first bunny burp buddy:



...and then I finished the second bunny burp buddy:



And then I ate some beer bread. Warm. With Butter. And Honey.

It was AMAZING: spending time with a friend, on my orange couch, knitting lots, eating fresh baked bread, in my own apartment, with my own pictures smiling down from the walls. Life is good.

Why I Have A Tub-O-Scarves

Sometimes our house is cold...

It's a big house and it takes a lot of energy to heat it. This is a waste since normally, by midday, it is warm enough outside that the house heats up.

However, mornings and nights it is CHILLY!!!

My tub-o-scarves (and hats), is currently residing in Berkeley's room while we go through the process of room swapping. I went in there the other morning and discovered this:



A very chilly Berkeley bundled up in my seed-stitch gnome hat and neon Shaft scarf. (She wasn't actually dancing around at the time, more hunched over shivering. The dance was for the benefit of the camera.)

Had the tub-o-scarves not been there, I might have instead stumbled upon Berkeley, curled up on the floor, dead from frost-bite or exposure.

Instead, by providing the tub-o-scarves, I have enabled us to be a green, energy-saving, happy, and living family!

...btw I am going to make her her own version of the gnome hat to take to Brazil when she moves there. Since the seasons in South America are backward, it will be useful summer knitting for me and useful winter wearing for her.

Gifts Given

Belle's baby shower was today.
(For which I made oodles of petits fours...not knitted, but still crafty!)

I gave her the sweater for Blossom.

She loved it.

I also delivered the first completed set of baby burp rags...for Baby Peaches.

They were appreciated as well.