O Canada! I Love to Shop In Thee!

While we were in Victoria, I forced my ever patient family to walk a good distance to a yarn shop I found in the yellow pages. (It was weird having to resort to analog research techniques...seeing as how I didn't want to pay the international rates to use my cell phone.)

We easily found the Beehive Wool Shop on Douglas Street...I loved that it was a wool shop, instead of a yarn shop. (Does that mean it is an LWS instead of an LYS?) It had a lot of space, great light, and loads of charm. The staff was delightfully helpful as well. AND it has been in business for over a century. AMAZING. Loved it. Highly recommend it. Go to Canada. Go to Victoria. Go to this shop.

I, of course, purchased some yarn. I wanted it to be Canadian yarn, er...wool, so I selected a skein of Tough Love sock yarn from Sweet Georgia Yarns. This yarn company is located in Vancouver, Canada...and the yarn is hand dyed. I dithered back and forth on the colorway before settling on "Violet Hill".

The fun thing was that when we got back to the ferry's customs to cross back into the US, the customs official asked if I had anything to declare. He sure gave me a funny look when I said yarn!

Canadian Silliness

When I was home for Christmas, Mom and Dad took Sister and I up to Victoria for a brief jaunt. Funny how one forgets that Canada is a foreign country. It was so much like Washington, and yet so completely different. (Funny how you can travel a couple of hours and all of a sudden everyone pronounces their vowels in a quaint and exciting way.)

While there I walked past this amusing hat on sign post. It led me to wonder, was this an act of purposeful urban kniting grafitti...or did someone lose their actual hat and it was placed there for safekeeping?

I'll never know for sure.

And it'll probably bother me.

Forever.

Packing...as usual

Normally I have a hard time packing for trips.

But for this trip to CA I am keeping it simple:

Commission socks.

That's it.

So proud of me.

Clementine Cardi

As I mentioned in my last post, I have started work on a version of the Brompton Cardigan out of Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Clementine. (And let me just say, this yarn is a DREAM to work with. It has amazing stitch definition, and is very soft. It doesn't dry my hands out like some yarns have a tendency to do.)

I cast on the cardigan while I was at my grandparents' house last weekend.

I cast it on, and merrily started working on the basketweave collar. I knit about 6 rows. It did not look right. At all.

I figured that I had messed up back towards the beginning. At this point it was going to be faster to rip it all out and start over than to try to frog back 5 rows.

So I ripped it all out.

I started again. This time I paid more attention and realized by the fourth row that it did not look right. At all.

I read the pattern carefully. Hmmm...if the pattern is a multiple of four, then this stitch pattern has an error in it. It appears to be written for knitting in the round, but I am knitting the collar flat. Huh.

I checked the pattern online, looking for links to any errata. Someone else had commented that the basketweave pattern appeared to be mistyped. The designer disagreed, but stated that it was basically a 2x2 rib that alternated every 3 rows.

If that is the case then the pattern WAS written wrong!

I ripped it out again, and this time IGNORED the stitch pattern and knit a 2x2 rib, alternating every 3 rows.

Success!

I don't know which was more frustrating, that the designer wouldn't admit she typed the pattern wrong...or the fact that I knew it was wrong, but kept trying it anyway.

(I have now moved on, and am trucking my way through the raglan shaping and stockinette...with fingers crossed that the remainder of the pattern is written correctly.)

Roaming

I am in College Station this weekend visiting my grandparents. (And my aunt, uncle, and cousins who live on the same piece of property...)

I love visiting them.

It is a five hour drive, which sort of stinks. If I am the driver, I can't knit. I can, on the other hand, listen to two audio books I have been wanting to "read".

Being here is GREAT. There are no expectations on me when I am here. I am not responsible for anything or anyone. I can just be. It is a wonderful feeling.

I can sit here and knit without feeling guilty. I am not shirking my duties, because I have none.

Mayhap I will finally finish the second Rivendell sock.

(Also...I heard a fun rumor that there may be a yarn shop in town...)

Twilight Knitting

I love the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyers. They have even inspired me to knit!

My parents live but a few hours from Forks, the town in which the books are set...so as part of my grad school graduation frivolity...on Monday we made a pilgrimage.

I, of course, wore the Twilight/Blood and Shadows scarf that I made.



It was a big hit. Edward liked it.



Alice liked it, too.



I am big nerd.

Beware the Blogging Knitter

While pursuing yet more fun on my graduation vacation with my parents, I found myself in the small town of La Connor, WA. It is one of those adorable towns that is full of antique shops, bakeries, and artisan galleries.

It also had a yarn shop. The yarn shop was called Jennings Yarn & Needlecraft.

It was, without a doubt, the worst yarn shop experience of my life. (And that includes the shop where staff followed me around because they thought I was going to shop lift.)

Mom, Dad, and I went in there. I was actually initially impressed. It had quite a nice selection of Noro Kureyon (although it was priced quite a bit higher than the going market rate)...not to mention quite a few inspiring luxury fibers. (Angora. I love angora.)

However...the service was abysmal. The owner/employee was standing right there at the counter when we came in. Yet, we spent a good 5-10 minutes in the shop before we were even acknowledged. (The person cannot claim that she didn't see us...I mean, Dad is 6'5"...) Once we were acknowledged, it was with a curt hello. And that only came after Mom POINTEDLY stared at the woman as we walked by the register. Another 5-10 minutes passed, and the lady finally finally left the counter and came back to the back part of the shop.

She asked: "Did you want something?"
I answered: "Nothing specific."

Rather than saying she was available to help if I had any questions, or muttering any other number of polite stock sales phrases, she wheeled on her heel and went back to the register. I was baffled. I even had to stand at the counter a moment or two before she bothered to ask if I was ready to check out.

As we walked out of the shop, Mom marveled at the utter horror that seemed to pass for customer service. I told Mom that we could take comfort in the fact that they didn't know who they were ignoring. I am a blogger. I am a knitting blogger. One should not raise the ire of a literate and proliferate knitting blogger. I would eviscerate them in online literature.

Jennings Yarn & Needlecraft is in a delightful setting, but the staff is definitely below par. The fine fibers can not begin to make up for the shabby treatment. I can find better yarn elsewhere, the same yarn at a better price elsewhere, and anything I want online. I do not have to put up with your snottiness. And no one else should either!

AVOID THIS SHOP!!!

Technology Failure

I didn't want to lug Custom Knits up here to WA with me...but I didn't have a chance to photocopy the pages I needed for the skirt I am working on.

That's fine. I have an iPhone. It has a handy dandy notepad feature. As you may recall from an earlier post, I had previously typed the pertinent parts of the pattern into my phone. And by previously, I mean over a week ago.

Epic fail.

By the time I got past the first notation for decreases, I couldn't remember whether or not the number of completed pattern repeats I had listed were cumulative. The first decrease came after seven repeats. Then I had written 10 repeats, second decrease. Did this mean that I needed to knit 10 more repeats before the decrease, or that I needed to decrease after the 10th from the cast on?

ARGH!!!

Luckily I have a tendency to overpack knitting-wise, and have other projects to work on.

Maybe I will get a chance to glance at a copy of the book at a store today or tomorrow.

If not, I just hauled 7 skeins of yarn across 2 state lines for nothing!

Flight Delays

I went out of town Sunday-Tuesday. Specifically, I went to Texas. More specifically, I went to Abilene. On my way, due to late arriving planes and subsequent maintenance issues, I got stuck at DFW airport. My total layover was originally scheduled for an hour...this quickly, or actually gradually, extended to over 3 hours.

I was fine. I had knitting.

I am working on the skirt from Custom Knits. It is an easily memorizable stitch pattern, only 13 stitches and 6 rows to keep track of. Rather than take the book in my carry on, I significantly abbreviated the pattern in the notepad function on my iPhone.

As I knit away, around and around, a twenty-something guy across the row from me kept staring. I politely ignored him, and continued people watching. Eventually he caught my eye. I paused my audio book, and pulled out one of my ear buds.

"Sorry to keep staring, but what are you doing?"
"I'm knitting."
"But you aren't looking."
"It is an easy stitch pattern."
"Wow. That's cool, cause it doesn't look easy."

I smiled, and returned to my knitting and watching. A few minutes went by, and he caught my eye again. I again paused my audio book.

"So...is that going to be a sweater or something?"
"No, its a skirt." I held it up.
"I didn't know you could knit skirts."
"You can knit pretty much anything."
"But, what are those hoop things."
"They are stitch markers. They tell me where I am in the pattern. This way I don't have to count higher than 18. And the purple one tells me I am at the beginning of a new row."
"Cool. You don't mind if I keep watching you, do you?"
"Nope, I am pretty much immune to staring."

I went back to my audio book.

As time dragged on, and the delays piled up, I heard another passenger mutter to her husband: "At this rate that girl is going to be able to finish that skirt and wear it to Abilene!"

I didn't quite get it done. But I did do a LOT more than I should have been able to!

Scissors of Doom

This weekend I took a road trip down to SoCal to spend time with some of my old friends.

I did NO knitting. (Knitting while driving is not recommended...)

On Saturday, two guys I went to high school with took me out to a Renaissance Fair in Corona. I had, shockingly, never been to one before!

One of my favorite places was the shop that sold swords. I seriously considered purchasing the hardwood broad sword. It would be so much cooler to attack intruders with a sword than the baseball bat currently residing under my bed. (It would be ideal to never have an intruder to attack in the first place, but it is generally wise to be prepared.)

There also appeared, at first glance, to be a very pretty sheathed dagger lying on the display table next to the swords. It was silver, with red "rubies" on the hilt.

But it wasn't a dagger.

Or, it wasn't only a dagger.

It was, in actuality, a pair of scissors! It has four cutting edges, all of which were very sharp!

I looked at the scissors of doom. I looked at the wooden sword. All of a sudden my baseball bat seemed like sufficient intruder protection.

I bought the scissors. They are now in my knitting bag.

Cutting yarn has never been this cool...or dangerous!

Review: Crafty Hands Yarn Shop

Sister had to teach on Friday, so I took her to her school in the morning, and then had the use of her car until lunch time. I decided to treat myself to the local yarn shop here in Bowling Green, Kentucky!

Crafty Hands Yarn Shop is conveniently located across the parking lot from a Starbucks. It is VERY easy to find. It is on the main drag, right off the freeway. (I mean, after all, even I found it...and without resorting to my iphone's GPS.)

I was greeted by a friendly staff person as soon as I walked in the door. She was bubbly and outgoing. She showed me where the Cascade 220 was, and then wound the skein I needed to complete a project I was working on. I was especially grateful for the fact that as she wound the yarn, she left me alone to browse. Nothing irks me more than looming salespeople.

She saw me admiring some koigu, and showed me a cardigan pattern in a book that uses Koigu AND Cascade 220 in a slipstitch pattern. (It was pretty...but was the only pattern in the whole book that I liked. I decided not to buy the book...I am getting it at the library instead.)

I ended up leaving the shop with one skein of Cascade 220, one skein of Koigu, and a skein of Ty-Dy cotton sock yarn.

And then I went across the parking lot to pick up a coffee.

Heaven.

If you happen to be in the Bowling Green area, I highly recommend this shop. Friendly staff...great selection of yarns...well organized and open floor plan.



[The pictures are from the shop's website...I forgot to take my camera in with me.]

Cable Car

Wednesday was Furlough Fun Day! (All the county libraries were closed due to budgeting...) And so, as usual, my friends and I celebrated our lack of being paid by spending money.

We met at the San Francisco Public Library to get library cards, walked over to the Asian Art Museum and its Shanghai exhibit, and then ate lunch at Francis Ford Coppolla's Cafe Zoetrope. (Which is, by the way, the COOLEST restaurant ever!)

It was still chilly and blustery in the Bay Area...but I was prepared!

I wore my new Cable Car hat!

The yarn is a DK Merino from KnitPicks, and the color is called "fog"...which I thought was perfect for a San Francisco inspired hat!

The pattern is a SuperKnits original...and is being submitted to KnitPicks for inclusion in their Independent Designer Pattern program. We'll see how that goes!

Handknits in other Hemispheres

The Client recently returned from his trip to the Falkland Islands/South America/Antarctica.

He wore the Australis scarf that I made him. He said he really appreciated it in the 20 degree weather! (The picture above was taken in the Gerlache Strait, close to Paradise Bay Antarctica!)

He also was kind enough to bring me back some SWAG!!! He got me a skein of Aran weight wool from the Falkland Islands. The farm that produced it is big into the whole organic/green/undyed thing. I was VERY excited to get the yarn, since I had been looking to buy some that was this exact weight/color. I purchased a cream aran-style beanie for myself almost 10 years ago when I went to Scotland...but over the course of many years, moves, and winters I misplaced it/it was permanently borrowed...I miss it...and now I can replace it with cool Falkland Island Yarn! YAY!!!

Public Displays of Knitting: Florida Edition

Here are a few of the pictures from my Florida trip...a few of the knitterly pictures that is:



Knitting the Gotham Socks at a Starbucks in Temple Terrace.



Knitting Beret Pour Moi on my mattress on the floor of Blondie's dorm room.



Proudly wearing handknits in the college student center with Blondie. (Shortly after the picture was taken, I went back to knitting socks.)



Jester, looking clearly relieved that we have arrived at Knit 'n Knibble in one piece.



The 100% sugar cane yarn that I purchased at Knit 'n Knibble

All in all...I finished 2 projects on this trip, and made significant progress on 2 more. I also wore at least one handknit every single day...a scarf, a beret, socks, or wristwarmers!

Knit 'n Knibble

Jester stole her boyfriend's car while I was in Florida, and took me into a Tampa yarn shop...Knit 'n Knibble. (Isn't that a great name?) It was raining so hard that we could only see a few feet in front of the car, and were driving 20 MPH down the interstate. The roads in town were flooded. We passed some smaller cars that were stalling out in the deep water...luckily we were in an SUV. It was pretty scary. (I bought Jester a Krispy Kreme to make up for the terror that I put her through!)

We eventually found the yarn shop...it had moved, and google hadn't updated the address for it. It was on the same street, just a few blocks further south than we thought.

The shop had two major drawbacks:

The staff were obnoxiously intrusive. When we walked in, Jester and I were greeted by a chorus of hellos. That was fine. An employee asked if they could help us find anything, which was also fine, and actually nice. But then I said no...I was from out of town and just wanting to browse. This means, to those of you unfamiliar with the English language, that I just wanted to look around and see what they had. I wanted to squeeze the skeins and meander about. However, rather than letting us be, two other employees, essentially back to back, came up and asked us the same questions. Now, had this been a large store, like a Michael's or JoAnn's, I would have understood. But it wasn't. I could hear all of their conversations, and knew that they could hear Jester and I turn down help. They went from being friendly and helpful, to being annoying and obnoxious. (Jester actually asked me why they wouldn't leave us alone, and if they thought we were going to steal something. I don't see why they would think we were non-knitters...I was wearing a handknit beret, scarf, and socks...I even told them which book the beret pattern was out of...ugh.)

There were no snacks. The shop is called Knit 'n Knibble. It actually says on it's webpage :“Knit” in a comfortable place where you can enjoy a latte or cappucino while you “Knibble” on cookies and biscotti. This led me to believe that it was a combination coffee shop/yarn shop...also known as heaven on earth. But when we arrived, though we saw lots of tables to work at...there was no "coffee shop" area. Jester finally saw a coffee pot/espresso machine in a corner, but it was a standard home use one. And we never saw any food. (Another reason for the Krispy Kreme run on the way home.) False advertising? Definitely.

Despite this, it was a nice yarn shop with a great selection. Their exotic fiber collection was especially impressive, as was the wall of sock yarn. I bought some Cascade 220 for felted purse samples since they had it priced way below anywhere out here in CA. I also bought two skeins of black fingering weight that is 100% sugar cane. (Blondie licked it when I got back to the dorm. She said it didn't taste like sugar...) They also had some gorgeous samples. Jester fell in love with a sample beanie that was just beyond her ability...it was essentially an adult version of the Envy beanie, so I am going to make it for her. (Well, I am going to make a version of it, since the sample was made from an alpaca, camel, silk blend that was $60/skein...)

To sum up: nice selection, annoying staff, no food...but an afternoon well spent with a wonderful friend!

I didn't take any pictures in the shop...the staff made me too uncomfortable...but I found the one's here on another blogger's site.

Fun in Florida

I am on another vacation...

This time I met my Dad in Florida for a lectureship at Jester and Blondie's college. So, rather than my usual 2 hour flight, I had approximately 8-9 hours of flying/airport waiting both ways.

Woo-hoo! The opportunity to finish an entire audio book AND a portable project or two...

There were some tough decisions to be made...

Which book? I ended up loading two onto my phone. I went with Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers, and Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer. (The Myers book is for the Teen Book Club I coordinate...the Colfer book is just for fun.)

Which project? I packed 2 felted purse class samples, Beret pour Moi, Gotham socks, and Cornrows. All of the projects are fairly small/portable, but they take varying levels of concentration. Also, none of them required me to bring a pattern...just a few notes typed into my phone.

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!

Proud of my Productivity

Today was a good day, knitting wise. Actually, this whole weekend was very productive on the knitting front.

-I wove in the ends and delivered two baby burp rags at a baby shower this afternoon (Bounce's mom, Vintage, is having a baby boy).

-I designed, knit, then fiddled with and redesigned the purse for the next adult Get Knittin' @ the Library program.

-I started the felting of said purse...unfortunately, it is still really cold, so the booger is taking FOREVER to dry.

-I winged it on yet another gift for Nephew...I will post pictures and pattern once it is delivered.

-I completed the body of Martinelli, one strap, and have started the second strap. It should be done by the end of the week. (Fingers crossed.)

-I got some more burp rags done to replenish the stash.

-I did a wee bit of work on my Gotham socks. (Have I mentioned those?)

-I lined up some knitting lessons with Mama L. I guess learning to knit was one of her resolutions.

-Finally, I picked up several commissions at church last night. 2 sets of luxery yarn wristwarmers, and a pair of fingerless gloves. (I have a new pattern I found for fingerless gloves that I am anxious to try out.)

Not bad for four days...especially four days in which I did endeavor to have some semblance of a social life (shopping trip, New Year's party, baby shower, girls trip to San Jose, dinner out with friends...)!

Packing...?

I have actually finished my knitting to-do list for Christmas. With two days to spare!

This leaves me with an interesting quandary...I no longer have any projects that I have to do...so what projects do I want to do?

I am heading to WA as we speak to be with the family. I needed to take at least 3 projects, one of each type:

1. Purse Project: Beret Pour Moi, which doesn't require a pattern, but does require attention.

2. Brain-free Project: Les Tuileries...which just keeps going and going and going

3. Pattern Project: Martinelli Sweater...I have the goal of completing it by New Years.

(I am also taking my Rivendell socks...they are small and portable, but totally require a chart. I figure they will be good for the car trip to my aunt's for Christmas, or the plane trip home.)

Sometimes I Impress Myself

I took several projects with me to work on on my WA trip last weekend. Specifically: Les Tuileries, a chunky cabled beanie, the last of the Cousins Beanies...and the Rivendell socks.

I have been "working" on the Rivendell socks for over a year now. I purchased the yarn before I moved to CA. I begged my parents for the Eclectic Sole Book for my 2008 birthday. I even cast on once...only to second guess my yarn choice, rip them out, and proceed to knit several other pairs of socks instead of the Rivendells.

Finally, I decided that enough was enough. The original yarn choice was great, and I was not allowing myself to knit any other socks UNTIL I knit the Rivendells.

Truth is...I was scared of them. They have something called a "yarn cluster"...there is a ton of cabling...they REQUIRE a chart. (I can read charts, I just prefer to use written row by row directions...I am less likely to lose my place.)

Anyway...I psyched myself up and cast them on again this last weekend. With all of the driving we did, and with all of the sitting and chatting and drinking tea...I got quite a bit done.

In fact, I had the whole cuff done before the flight back to CA Tuesday morning.

Frankly...I am pretty stinking impressed with how they are turning out. That may not be a humble admission, but it is the truth!

I am proud of me.

(Since the picture was taken, I have actually finished the heel flap and picked up the gusset stitches...the rest of the sock is simple straight-forward vanilla knitting, easy, breezy, and beautiful...I'm just not thinking about the fact that I have TWO feet!)