I hope everyone had a dandy new year celebration! We celebrated quietly at home and it was delightful.
I didn’t finish my Cobblestone, but I decided I get a 1-week grace period to count it for a successful Sweater-a-month 2008.For 2009, I’m going to do a socks or sweater a month, but I suspect it will be mainly sweaters, since I’m a practical gal and buying nice wool socks is much cheaper than buying nice wool sweaters.
Reminder for Kansas/MO fiberphiles: Saturday after next (1/10) is the first annual Winter Woolfest in Wamego! Please come out and help make it a big hit! It’s a free day of fibery fun, with free demonstrations and vendors all day.
But the real star of the day will be the knit/crochet/spin/weave/felt-in and the fun of making your craft with other fiber enthusiasts. I’m very excited about it! And I’ll be doing a drum carding demo and a knitter’s loom demo, plus I’m planning to have a DIY carding station at my booth.
If you’re in Kansas or western MO & want to promote it on your blog or website, I’ve made some banners:
You can link to http://settlersfarm.com/Winterwoolfest2009.html or http://winterwoolfest.com
One of my uberlist items is to sell off 30% of my considerable yarn stash (gasp!). Maybe I’ll use the proceeds to get myself something I’ve been longing for. The thing I’ve been longing for the most is well beyond the range of a destash, so maybe I’ll put it towards consumer debt. After all, I’ve also been longing to be debt-free (free any time in the forseeable future is a pipe dream, but maybe less constricted?).
I can’t believe it’s the end of the year already! Besides the impossibly long remainder of my unfinished Uberlist, I have half a torso and both sleeves of a Cobblestone to somehow finish today. Ack, indeed.
But I do love working on my new Uberlist! I am trying very hard to pad it mostly with easy things, since my new year ambitions are always preposteriously overblown and quickly deflated.
This year’s calendars are a lot of work, but I’ve well pleased with them! Delighted, in fact.
Vintage yearbook pictures of all sorts grace the covers. There are weekly planner pages, illustrations to color with the included pre-sharpened colored pencils, and an attached file band that you can use to close your book or mark your page.
Every one has a different cover! You can pick a theme, sport or age group, and I can try to match it.
And a different picture inside, too. There’s also the 2009 at-a-glance calendar.
Big montly calendars fold out. Each month there’s a quick activity/list on the flap…
…and a bigger one on the opposite side. The months are all bright colors…
…and the folded edges form sturdy tabs to make flipping to your desired month quick and easy.
My inexpertly rendered drawings came from yearbook and family photos.
Inside the back cover, there is a handmade pocket made from recycled commercial calendar pages (see! hanging on to my 90s calendars for a decade wasn’t idiotic!) and recipe cards, and a strip of stickers mounted next to it. Yay! Buy one here!
I love calendar time because my calendars are fabulous and marvelously fun to make. I also love calendar time because I love love love a new year. It’s the big annual mulligan for the year before. But I hate calendar time because I’m always behind as it is, and designing and mass-producing a handfinished product always kills me. Of course, my version of mass production is only a couple hundred.
This year, every single cover is different (hand-cut from old 50s and 60s year books), and besides matting (read: placing atop a slightly larger paper cutout; nothing dramatic and professional) them all, I’m also laminating them all, because the hand-applied cutouts can get a little fragile over time. But I need to keep the edges all orderly and clean so they can be bound properly. So laminating also means trimming and trimming and trimming and relaminating and relaminating and relaminating. As much as I love spending my afternoons shaving off hairline curls of plastic with a razor blade… you know.
2009 is The Year of the Dreamer. And the old yearbook pictures are so much fun! This year, people can order a surprise, or they can ask for a general category. Really, you could ask after something really specific, but it’s a crapshoot whether I’ll actually have it. There are class photo grids and group pictures from grade school to high school, extra-curricular clubs, various sports, classroom scenes, senior portraits! Many of the 60s yearbook candid shots have corny captions, about what you’d expect from a 1960s yearbook staffer.
Specifically, there are (many only have one in each category): cheerleading, drill team, pep squad, marching band, twirlers, orchestra, drum majors, classrooms, swim team, tennis, football, basketball, school dances, grades K - 12, groups of prissy girls, groups of dapper young men, queens, bowling club, class officers, school dances, baseball, cafeteria and snack bar ladies, groups of little children in freaking adorable 50s outfits, goody-goody 50s hair (boys and girls), and lots and lots of poufy Aqua-Netted 60s girls’ hairdos.
If you haven’t seen my calendars before, each year a choose a theme, and they include pictures to color, grown-up activities, and weekly and monthly engagement calendars. I try to use salvaged or recycled materials & they’re all hand-finished. This year, in addition to the one of a kind, fancy laminated covers, I’m also making pockets out of the glossy color pages of old wall and engagement calendars I’ve been hoarding for theoretical future craftiness. One of the calendars I’m using was from 1997! My birthday was marked “27 years old, and what have you done?” Sigh. Back when 27 seemed an advanced age. Oh! And they come with a little package of colored pencils!
Here are some more of this year’s covers:
P.S. They’re for sale here (the photos on the store page are from last year–I’ll be adding pictures of the 2009 finished product this weekend).
This comment came in on my Winter Woolfest post & I though it was worth bumping up! It takes 5 seconds and you could win a lovely Stewart, Tabori & Chang book.
We’ve heard that this is going to be an extra-crafty holiday season and we’re excited to learn more about how people are making the handmade part of their gift-giving plans.
We’ve posted a little holiday questionnaire on our blog and we’d love it if you would share the link with your readers (and answer the questions yourself, of course). The more the merrier.
On December 12, we’ll randomly choose five responses and send the writer of each one the STC Craft book of his or her choice.
I’m so excited to have a new fiber festival right around the corner (well, in country terms; it’s still an hour away :)). Jennifer Schermerhorn (Settlers Farm yarn & fiber shop, Whirled Yarn, and Yarn School) is organizing a fiber festival this January: Winter Woolfest. The date (Saturday, January 10) was chosen in honor of Roc Day (aka Rock Day aka Distaff Day; January 7), the traditional day the women returned to spinning and weaving after 12th Night. But with Jennifer’s style & charm, that will probably be the most traditional thing about it.
Jennifer is such an inspiring fiber enthusiast. She keeps a spinner’s flock of sheep, goats & bunnies, teaches fiber classes in the community, including a lot of kids’ classes, and runs an amazing yarn store in Wamego. And she’s got three young kids, three dogs, and who knows how many cats & chickens. I just think it’s amazing the way she really promotes fiber in the community & especially to kids (she says the boys are always the most enthusiastic spinners!). Kansas can be amazing and inspiring, but it can also be really conservative and closed-off and fuddy-duddyish, so it’s a thrill when people get really excited and actually do things!
Okay, before I get all misty-eyed, some details…. There will be free demonstrations, yarn & fiber vendors, mini-classes & activities for the kiddies. It’s also a great opportunity to get local fiber! And if you want to bring along non-fiber friends & family, Wamego’s also home of the famous Oz Museum.
I’m going to have a vendor’s booth there, complete with a fiber grab bags & a DIY carding station, and I hope to give some fiber demos. If you want to rent a booth (prices TBA, but they’ll be very reasonable) or give a demo, contact Jennifer (from the Winter Woolfest link)!
Yesterday, we had a holiday Spinsters Club at Jennifer’s store, and I was very naughty! I went, shall we say, a little over my gift certificate… Here’s what I got:
Frog Tree 2-ply merino in 2 colors, Opal Sock, Fannie’s Fingering Weight in Pecan Pie, Jojoland Rhythm self-striping marled, 3 bags of angelina, Toto’s Toes Sock, and Jojoland Cashmere, and some US7 16″ so I don’t have to use my Denise neeldles with the stitch holder cord to knit the sleeves on my Cobblestone. I hardly ever treat myself to hand-dyed yarn (after all, the price is the labor, and I have all those dyes… I always talk myself out of it but rarely actually go dye myself my own yarn) and I never buy luxury yarn, so two skeins of hand-dyed and a skein of cashmere were really nutty. But the cashmere was only $27 for 2 ounces, and the colors were stunning. I almost got a blood red, but I always get blood red (see–right in the same picture!) and this periwinkle looks lovely with the dark browns I constantly wear. Anyway, shopping! Woo hoo! About 40% went on my gift certificate. I should probably do some earnest destashing to cover the rest. But will I?
We also did a white elephant fiber swap. I LOVE what I got and I can’t believe I didn’t get robbed. Maybe I had a pathetic, pleading look on my face–I could kind of feel it rising up whenever anyone looked my way. I fully respect the santity of the white elephant and would never begrudge thievery, so I wouldn’t have begrudged the theft. And I would have totally stolen this from someone else, so it’s so exciting that it made it home with me! It’s dyed alpaca top and dyed-to-match kid mohair locks! And the greens are bluey enough that they will not make me look cadaverous. Hooray! Here’s my prize (it’s greener in real life):
Here’s what I brought to the swap:
4oz layered superwash merino/alpaca + sparkle batt. Jennifer opened it, but Cathy stole it. I think I’m going to make more for Art Club.
Hey, look! 2 previous Art Club Cuckoobatts, plus yarn made from it from a couple of batt club members, are in this month’s Spin-off! There were also batts and thoughts from Steph Gorin of Loop, Linda Diak of Grafton Fibers, Natasha Fialkov of Luxe Fibre, Jae Skuse of Wooly Treasures, and Scartabello of Terra Bella Spun, so they’re in charming company!
The bottom section shows Sea Hag cuckoobatt + yarns spun from it.
And here’s my favorite Art Club cuckoobatt of all time!
I’m sending this off to Kelly Sue Monday to photograph it on a real, live baby. In the meantime…
I haven’t re-tested my pattern, so please let me know if you find errors. And if you’re a chart wiz & want to chart the colorwork or cables, lemme know & I’ll add it!
SIZE: 0-6mos
YARN
1 ball (or about half a ball of leftovers) Knit Picks Merino Style, in a berryish color
1 ball (or about 20 yds of leftovers) Knit Picks Merino Style, in a greenish color. I used Petal and Asparagus because that’s what I had on hand, but a darker red or raspberry color, and the darkest green, would look much nicer, I think.
NEEDLES
US3 DPNs, 2 circulars, or 1 long circular for magic loop (your choice)
INSTRUCTIONS
CO 72 with berryish color. Join rnd, being careful not to twist stiches.
Edging (Note: you can use a size down to make this part snugger. It’s probably a good idea, but I did not.)
Rnd 1: *P3, K4, P2, K4, P3, K2, repeat from * to end of rnd.
Rnds 2-4: Repeat Rnd 1.
Continuing…
Rnd 5 and all others, except as noted (basic pattern): *P3, K10, P3, K2, repeat from * to end of rnd.
Rnd 10 (cable): *P3, C10B, P3, K2, P3, C10F, P3, K2repeat from * to end of rnd.
Rnd 15 (1st seeds rnd): Repeat Rnd 5, but meanwhile, incorporate one green stitch every 4th st, starting with the 2nd stitch (i.e., 1 berry stitch to start, then 1 green stich, 3 berry stiches, 1 green stitch, 3 berry stitches… down the rnd). Carry green yarn loosely behind berry color so fabric doesn’t bunch, and loosely between rnds as well (there will be 3 berry rounds before the next green)
Rnd 19 (2nd seeds rnd): Repeat Rnd 5, but meanwhile incorporate one green stitch every 4th stitch (i.e., 3 berry st, 1 green st, 3 berry st, 1 green st…down the rnd).
Rnd 22 (3rd seeds rnd): Repeat Rnd 15.
Rnd 25 (4th seeds rnd): Repeat Rnd 5, and meanwhile, starting with first stitch, knit every other stitch green.
Rnd 26 (cable): Repeat Rnd 10.
Rnd 27 (5th seeds rnd): Repeat Rnd 5, and meanwhile, starting with second stitch, knit every other stitch green.
Rnd 29 (6th seeds rnd): Repeat Rnd 25.
Rnd 30 (1st decrease rnd, first green rnd): Change to green yarn (don’t break berry–you’ll use it again, making flecks in the green like the green flecks in the berry). *P3, K2tog, K6, ssk, P3, K2, repeat from * to end of rnd–64st
Rnd 31 (2nd decreas rnd): *P3, K2tog, K4, ssk, P3, K2, repeat from * to end of rnd–56 st.
Rnd 32 (3rd decrease rnd + 1st berry flecks rnd): While working decrease pattern, work colorwork pattern in the reverse of the first colorwork pattern. So, starting with 2nd st, and every 4th st thereafter, work one berry st every 4th st (i.e., 1 green st to start rnd, 1 berry st, 3 green st, 1 berry st, 3 green st… down the rnd). At the same time, work this decrease: *P3, K2tog, K2, ssk, P3, K2, repeat from * to end of rnd–48 st.
Rnd 33 (4th decrease): *P3, K2tog, ssk, P3, K2, repeat from * to end of rnd–40 st.
Rnd 34 (5th decrease): *K3tog, ssk, K3tog, K2, repeat from * to end–20 st.
Rnd 35 (6th decrese rnd + 2nd berry flecks rnd): Starting with green, alternate with berry every other stitch, and work the following decrease: *K3, K2tog, repeat from * to end.–16 st.
Rnd 36 (7th decrease): *K1, K2tog, repeat from * to end–8 st.
Stem
Knit 9 rnds of stem.
Last rnd: *K2tog, repeat across rnd. Break yarn, use yarn needle to slip end through all live stitchs, cinch, and weave in ends.
abbreviations
CO CAST ON
C10B Slip 5 st onto cable needle, move the cable-held stitches to the back of your work, K the next 5 st off your left needle, then K the 5 held st off the cable needle
C10F Slip 5 st onto cable needle, move the cable-held stitches to the front of your work, K the next 5 st off your left needle, then K the 5 held st off the cable needle
DPNs Double-pointed needles, a set of 4 or 5
K2tog Knit 2 st together as one
K3tog Knit 3 st together as one
P purl
rnd(s) round(s)
ssk slip 2 st knitwise, then knit those stitches together as one
st stitch(es)
Yippee! What a big day! George from Ewephoria Farms came by mid-day with four beautiful sheepies for me!
Here they are, very much keeping their distance. They wouldn’t let me get close enough to get real closeups. Maybe this weekend? I’ll name them in a couple of weeks when they cozy up to me and I can tell a little more about their personalities. Left to right, we have: Chocolate Romeny yearling ewe, (black-factored) white Merino ewe lamb, and two Shetland wether (castrated male) lambs. I’d put them at about 150, 100, and 40-50 pounds each, respectively. The Romney is full-grown, the Merino will be slightly smaller than her, and the two boys will be about 100 pounds each.
The boys are buddies, and very curious and friendly. Does anyone know what markings the guy on the left has? There are different names for all of the different Shetland markings.
Here he is on his own. I think the horns will curl around as he gets older.
George didn’t end up bringing the retired chocolate Merino ewe (Tina decided a move at her age would be disruptive), but he did bring an extra Shetland wether lambykin buddy for my other Shetland wether. He also brought goodies! He gave me two old hay feeders, which was great, because hanging the one I bought from Orshlen would have required framing in a brace, and these hang right over the poles in the barn–plus they’re cuter! He also brought a show-and-tell bucket full of supplies I should get, and gave me a explanation of what each is for. And half a bag of the sweet feed they’ve been getting to mix halvsies with mine so they can adjust, and a lead. Oh! And some LUSCIOUS combed top from Tina that I’m going to carry in my etsy store.
George pulled up the trailer and unloaded them one at a time, stopping to trim hooves and give worming injections. He sat the Romney or her butt, but worked on the Merino standing (she struggled a bunch, then finally flopped over and lay down on her side). He let me watch/try trimming on the Romney & Merino–I was kind of timid about it, but I’m sure I’ll gain confidence. I think the Shetlands’ hooves were fine–but they’re way less daunting anyway because they’re friendlier and less than half the size of the others. He also demonstrated the worming injections–I used to give Kiki allergy injections & it’s the same, just a subcutaneous shot–and showed me how the oral dosing plunger thing works. I won’t have to worm them again until March. I don’t know whether I’ll go oral or injection. (Any advice?)
Let me tell you, the Merino and Romney wanted nothing to do with me! They wouldn’t let me anywhere near them, and bounded off to the farthest end of the yard whenver I approached, then eyed me with suspicion and/or contempt.
Soon I’m sure they’ll undwind and quit being so darn stuck up! The Shetlands were much braver and easygoing, especially when there was grain involved. They’re actually very doggy! But the two big girls wouldn’t even tolerate me with grain.
But by the end of the day, the boys were coming up for scratches, and the Merino was snooping around me while I rushed around in the twilight, trying to think of anything I might be forgetting. I’m hoping she’ll be friendly tomorrow so I can measure her for a jacket! By nightfall, the Romney was still suspicious, but even she was more relaxed.
I think I need to get a big bucket for their grain instead of the little tin I brought out today. I remember Tina had a great big bucket she used, and when I was walking around with a big plastic planter full of wood blocks to stuff into the depressions around the posts (I’ll replace them with dirt tomorrow), everyone found me suddenly charming and came over to investigate.
I still need to make the barn door, and get Ron’s help (or maybe have Ron and another boy do it…) moving the dead freezer out of the basement and out to the barn. I’m going to use it to store feed and mineral, since it’s vermin proof & airtight. It’s also big enough to hold everything, for both the chickens and sheep (that’s: a bag of scratch, a bag of layer ration, a bag of sweet feed, one of sheep mineral, one of rock salt, and grit–and there will probably be plenty of room for other sundries as well. I may build a big shelf/table that goes over it where I can put the extra straw bales and the current hay bale (the feeders each hold about a quarter bale). I’ll have to do the math and decide if it will work with the freezer lid open. And I need to install the solar security light, and some small solar spots to give the chickens some PM light during the winter. Aside from that and flashing the eaves, and maybe adding some storage shelves, we’re pretty much good to go!
Here’s the back side of our recycled barn. I still need to make/hang the barn door. And we’re going to put the deck back above the roof so we can keep it as a patio space. The near side is old doors, the striped side is made of old baseboards.
I also really want to design a winter water passive solar heater. Here’s my idea: an insulated plywood box, painted black to absorb heat. Inside is a sturdy tub filled with chicken litter and waste hay that will produce heat as it composts. Above it sits the rubber water tub, which rests in a cutout in the top of the box. Off to one side is a solar heat collector based loosely on the Mother Earth News heat grabber plans, with some ideas from an implementation I saw on Instructables. A hinged plexi cover covers 2/3 of the tub, so the sheep can still drink, but it’s less exposed to weather and can absorb some heat during the day. Maybe only the bottom 3/4 is insulated, and the top quarter of the box is open to allow flow of warm air in from the solar collector. Needs some kind of out vent, maybe leave a channel with holes at the bottom so as the air cools and sinks, it will flow back out? The solar collector will face south, and the whole apparatus will be sheltered from the north by the barn.
I need to go to bed soon, so I can be all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed tomorrow morning. I have to staple (big heavy farm staples, not staple-gun staples) a temporary barrier over the open area along/in front of the ramp of our crazy barn. In a perfect world, I’d actually put a gate there instead, and since I haven’t give up on the perfect world, I don’t want to completely commit to the horse fence plan. On the other hand, I don’t intend to put the hay in the same location next year, so a convenient gate right now will be more or less pointless later. I should probably go with the horse fence barrier as planned.
Anyway, none of this makes sense if you can’t see the barn, so I’ll have to take a bunch of pictures tomorrow when the sheep arrive!
What else? Oh, and it looks like there will indeed be a calendar for 2009, for those who have asked. The Year of the Dreamer. But it won’t be ready until the first week of December!
Made this tonight (unblocked):
Pattern: Leaf-Band Alpaca-Merino Hat from Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders
Yarn: Knit Picks Decadance, 1 skein
Time: Under 2 hours, even with frequent breaks to check on the soup I was cooking, do dishes, attend to the needy cats, etc.
Notes: Easy and cute. I left the nipple off the top (very last rnd) and added an extra rnd before the decreases. Next time, I’d add 2-3 extras. I have a small head which for some reason means hats always slip up off my head. (Do I like my hats pulled down too far? Are they too loose? It’s a mystery. Hats almost never stay on right.) Otherwise unchanged, except that I opted for one big button instead of 3 small ones. The button’s just for show, although I think I tacked my little fake placket down too tightly so it doesn’t have the right effect.
This is a Christmas present, and I think I have enough yarn to make a matching cowl or neck warmer. I also have one more matching button. Yay!
REGISTER NOW! Space is very limited for this intimate winter workshop. Learn to make the weird, wonderful yarn of Pluckyfluff in our weird, wonderful old rural schoolhouse. And to whet your appetite, a little Pluckyfluff yarn porn:
I can’t call it officially officially finished, because I think I’m going to need to unravel the sleeves from the cast-on edge an reknit the border (unless Ron decides today he loves overlong sleeves), but it’s done pending unravel & reknit. I don’t use a lot of patterns, so it was fun having the work done for me. This is a very solid pattern, definitely a keeper. There’s one change I’d recommend if you’re an odd size. I’ll try it on the next one I make & report back.
Pattern: Cobblestone Size: 47 1/2″ Yarn: Webs Donegal Tweed cone closeout, I don’t know how much exactly because I forgot to weigh it before I washed out the spinning oil (maybe that’s insignificant? probably; I’ll weigh it later), but well under a cone. I think I’ll have enough on the cone to make myself a whole sweater.
Pattern Notes: I love this sweater, but I’m not a big fan of bottom-up sweaters because you can’t try them on as you go, which is critical if you don’t have a standard shape. (Ron’s very broad-chested & broad-shouldered for his height; I am shaped like a Tyrannosaurus, little chest and arms, monstrous bottom half).
The pattern’s sleeve measurement matched Ron’s sleeve measurement for his size, but the relaxed fit of the yoke means the sleeves actually hang an inch or so lower. Ron’s going to wear it today and see how he feels about the longish sleeves. If they suck, I’ll unravel them (which is going to be a drag, since it’s the cast-on edge, and the Donegal tweed’s a not-overly sturdy single).
This sweater is gorgeous, but this is why I prefer top-down. I don’t like not knowing if the sweater’s going to fit until it’s done. I knew that going in, and I suspected the sleeve thing might be true before I started. However, I think the yoke would be bunchy if you simply reversed the whole thing, because densely packed decreases are tidier than densely packed increases. So I didn’t want to go that route.
I suspect the perfect compromise would be to knit the yoke only bottom-up, then then knit the sleeves and body down from there. I’m making myself one (matching, ha ha–I still have a cone and a half of the stuff), and I’ll be doing just that. I found that the sleeve increases were very well spaced along the arm and I only had another inch or so to go, so I’ll just do them as decreases at the same spacing. I might gently flare the hemline, but with the soft fit, I’ll probably be fine knitting the torso straight down, as is.
Overall, I’d highly recommend this pattern. It’s well-written, easy to follow, and fast. It’s easy TV knitting, and the gauge is speedy. It knitted so fast, I didn’t have time to get bored. But, truth be told, big swaths of stockinette never bore me because I’m always doing something else when I knit them. I prefer knitting that allows multitasking.
The two sections of short-row shaping are perfect. I’ve only shaped at the neckline before, and I think the added short rows at the armpit are a wonderful addition for a man’s sweater.
If you’ve got standard proportions, bottom-up should do you just fine. Otherwise, I’d knit it as I described above for a more adjustable fit.
I’d advise you to leave nice long tails on the body and first sleeve so you can use them to kitchener the armpits closed without giving yourself anything extra to weave in.
Size notes: I picked the 3rd size based on what appeared a relaxed fit and Ron’s chest measurment (45.5″). But it came out a little big overall, not just long in the sleeves. I gave it a hot soak and spin, then tumble dried it & the yarn plumped up nicely & made the overall fit (aside from the sleeves) just right.
Yarn notes: I have 2 different Webs closeout donegal tweed yarns. One is a light 2-ply, one is a heavier single that seems to be an unwashed version of the Tahki Donegal Tweed. Neither cone is labeled, my order info gives no clue (there’s a “Donegal Tobacco,” a “2/6 Donegal Dark Brown”, and a “2/8 Donegal Gold”–the gold is definitely the lighter 2-ply, but the dk brown 2-ply looks exactly like it), both yarns are long-gone from the Webs site, and the only ravelry listing (2/6 Donegal) seems to show pictures of both types. The one used here is the Tahki-like single.
As you can see in the pre-washing version, the yarn biased strongly in knitting stockinette (but garter was fine), but that relaxed a good deal with the wash. If I were to block it properly instead of tumble-drying, I think I could block all of the bias out. As it is, it’s not very noticeable. This is a very tweedy single, so the stitches are relatively indistinct. As a result, the light slant that the stockinette forces into the garter side panels doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb, like it might with a crisper yarn. Which is good, because I don’t see Ron blocking his sweaters. Washing them in cold/gentle is as much as I can hope for. And I’ve got my hands full with my own laundry.
It was great knitting off the cone. The only joins I had were a 2 knots in the cone & they spit-spliced nicely.
The color changed after washing. The wash water was very dark, and the end color was a much greener brown, which is just fine with me.
This is a rather weak single, but it gets very bondy when it’s washed, which I think will give an overall sturdy fabric. But these two factors will also make it sucky to unravel the sleeves from the cast-on edge. I’ll probably just snip off the cast-on and unravel up after that. The yarn was almost too weak to make it through the whole kitchener armpit, so I don’t think it will tolerate a whole row of tight unraveling. But I’ve got plenty of yarn, so if worse comes to worse, I’ll just chuck the frogged bit and knit with new.
Bottom line, great sweater, and I will definitely knit it again (starting tonight!), but I’ll be knitting the yoke bottom up & the rest down from there.
Ron’s an inveterate Craig’s List addict, and while he was surfing, I noticed this post. It was right after Halloween, so we had a ton of candy bags on hand, so I emailed Lou & got this reply:
The whole point to all this is to get America thinking about what we throw away. when you head for the trash can, think: can i reuse this? can i recycle this? did i need it in the first place? can Lou use it?
we all need to start (or continue) RIGHT NOW, NOT TOMORROW about what we’re putting in the trash and what we’re consuming.
did you know that the trash in your garbage can will most likely be shipped to china or india to be incinerated simply because they have cheaper and more lax environmental laws? there are many other scary facts like that one…
well, here’s what i can re-use in general (the short list :) )
chip bags - I REALLY NEED CHIP BAGS PLEASE!
tortilla chips bags
granola bar wrappers
any food plastic really…
cheese wrappers
shredded cheese packaging
produce bags
shopping bags from stores like department, other merchants, not plastic ones from stop n shop, i have a ton!
other color bags from groceries besides white
bag that cereal comes in (really like those!)
salad mix bags
tortillas bags
smartfood popcorn bags
pretzel bags
wrappers from printer paper, pens, stationary
basically any type of plastic you can fold in half… that’s the test. if you can’t fold it, i can’t use it like plastic tupperware lids, pb containers, salad dressing bottles etc. if it is a bag, we’re good to go.
i especially love bags from out of town like if you’ve traveled and you bought a gift, trinket and the store gave you a bag etc…
newspaper plastic wrappers are great too…
if i can’t use it, i’ll just recycle it anyway so no worries.
please be respectful in not sending me nasty, crumby, fly ridden trash… (you’d be suprised)
The deal: i only need a few pieces to make a wallet for you, if you want it made out of certain pieces, let me know in your mailing… please include $1 for shipping,i know i posted it in the free zone but c’mon, small price to pay for helping the environment and a wallet. you only need to mail a few pieces for the wallet technically but that’s not the point here…
I emailed back about those mylar bags a lot of chips come in (they’re good, too), and have since been rinsing and saving a lot of what would have otherwise gone into the garbage.
We don’t produce a lot of trash for an American household. Unless we’re hosting an event or undertaking some big project, we seldom produce more than one bin a month. We recycle almost everything, even though it’s a big messy pain in the ass out her in the sticks, where we don’t have curbs, much less curbside recycling. I always refuse or recycle plastic shopping bags, but food bags and wrappers were something I didn’t quite know how to treat. They’re not typically labeled for recycling, and they’re made out of who-knows-what. I hate the idea of contaminating the recycling queue (I’m a goody-goody about following restrictions), so unless I found a particularly cute one I wanted to sew into something, it would hit the garbage.
Now I’m saving everything: single-serving bags (which I fundamentally hate but sometimes cave and buy with Amazon sales or as snacks when we host events), cheese wrappers, bean bags, those thin plastic bags inside boxes of couscous or cereal. Yay!
A while back I read the etsy lab about fusing plastic, and initially thought I’d fuse and sew plastic for mailers when my really ungreen stock of plastic and tyvek runs out. But my attemps at fusing plastic have been garbage-bound failures and I’m not patient enough to keep trying. Besides, I realized I have more fabric in my stash than I can possibly use in my lifetime, so when the tyvek’s gone, I’m switching to cloth.
And all my once-garbage bound wrappers and bags are getting cleaned and shipped off to Lou.
And the plan is working. Even without the wallet carrot, it really is making me rethink packaging. It’s nice to slim down my garbage production, and I can consider recycling when I make buying choices. For instance: when I buy chips in the future, I’ll pick those packed in plastic instead of the paper-look bags (which look more appealing, but are always lined in plastic anyway). And watching those single-serving bags pile up (instead of letting them disappear into the trash can, where I can hide my shame) has made me regret loosening my morals about buying them (although it’s awesome committed single-serving addicts can keep them out of the trash this way). I think I’m ready to officially re-swear them off. Hooray, Lou!
Right on schedule, the time change has made me feel grouchy and peevish and seeping inertia. Even the election joy couldn’t squelch my winter blahs. Yuck. What I need is:
A super exciting new project I don’t have to frog six times to get right
To be finished with the fracking barn NOW so when George brings my sheepies on Sunday, they’ll have a finished house and we won’t have to be freaking them out with power tools
A mild winter. Fingers crossed, fingers crossed.
The will to clean. I finally caught up with my menacing pile of dishes, but I’m quickly losing track of my kitchen again.
Money. I’m broke again and winter’s freaking EXPENSIVE. I’m so not the ant. Why can’t I be the ant?
The will to card. I can’t get it together. I’m finally sending out my OCTOBER club batts tomorrow. How lame is that? (They’re cute, though!)
Some mad morning energy to help me take charge of my long to-do lists
Finish my 2009 Calendar! I’m still fretting over the year, but I do know what I’m doing for the covers.
Catch up with laundry & all my other chores
Here’s what’s good:
I’m back on track with my monthly sweaters, thanks to two months with surplus sweaters.
I’m making tons of soup!
I’m burning through the old freezer leftovers like I’m on a mission
I’m 1/3 through Ron’s Cobblestone
I think I’m going to make several pinafore dresses for myself this winter.
I’ve finished the torso & Marilyn’s lending me a #7 16″ circular for the sleeves (my 7s have gone missing, as usual). There’s a strong bias, but the yarn’s not washed, so I’m hoping it will relax/correct a little. I swatched & washed the swatch & there was some bias. It blocked out, but it was too small to really get a sense of garment properties. But I’m hopeful.
After it’s done, I want to make myself one, or maybe a matching dress. I have a dress in progress, but I think it’s not long for this world. I have two cones of the stuff, so there should be plenty of yarn for all 3.
Afterwards, I’m making my Sanctuary sweater (or dress; we’ll see). I made the charts today with a demo of Knit Visualizer:
I think it’s more for traditional stitch charting and freeform colorwork charting. I was hoping it would chart alphabets for me, but I had to do them manually. I could maybe go for it if I started doing a lot more colorwork (or if the price came down).
I’m off to eat some lovely stew, but I’ll be back later to whine and/or show off the barn so far.
My mailbox was my bestest friend this week! First, a present from Laura D: lovely autumnal hand-dyed masham (predrafted here; I can’t resist drafting slippery masham) and a sweet vintage apron!
There was also a tiny bag of felt nubbles which has gone missing. I suspect Freddy. I love the Freddy, but he’s a gorram fiber thief. (Okay, it turns out Freddy wasn’t the culprit–I found them in my desk drawer, where I had hidden them from Freddy. But in fairness, I could barely take a picture before he absconded with one of them.)
And I also got some books I ordered, including this one, which represents my newest obsession:
It’s too late to build one for this winter, but I really want to build one in the next year or two as a dual purpose winter gardening/supplemental heat collector. I’m thinking the roof over the science room that leads to the upstairs hall, or maybe on the ground level in the courtyard, leading into the science room windows. Ideally, we’d be able to scrounge salvage windows all year, then build a (recycled, hopefully) timber frame and set it in with all the windows.
In the meantime, I’m going to content myself with building some heat grabbers as a little passive solar test this winter.
My current WIP sweater (I’m behind a month, so this will be my September sweater) is a tweedy purple short-sleeved cropped cardigan requested by my mom. It’s made of seed stitch stripes of purple Malabrigo merino, overdyed handspun local kid mohair single from Laura’s Pygoras, and some leftover Andean Silk from the last purple sweater I made mom. I think I’ll probably trim all the edging with the Malabrigo as I did on the sleeve. I feel weird making a short sleeved sweater when I’m kind of freezing my tits off (though they’ve scheduled several days of sunshine, so hopefully the building can rebuild a little thermal mass this week). But Mama’s in Texas, so short sleeves it is.
My October sweater will be a long-overdue Cobblestone for Ron out of donegal tweed, and then I think I’m going to frog & restart a matching sweater dress I started for myself over the summer. I definitely want some wool dresses this winter. I get sick of wearing jeans all winter, but I don’t have any warm dresses.
I can’t wait to needlefelt them! I just have to figure out what I’m willing to live with indefinitely.
I first saw these crazy felt boots in a Russian museum years ago. Those were miliary boots and didn’t include the rubber galoshi. They looked nutsy at the time (before I was a knitter and understood the warming virtues of wool), but the museum guide said those boots were a big part of the army’s success in the Russian winters of WWII, vs. the Germans, who just had regular leather army boots. Of course, then I didn’t realize how warm wool is, or that it stays warm wet, so I just assumed the Soviet soldiers were crazy frost-proof machines. Now that I’m a wool convert, I really wish I’d've bought some as a souvenir. Thanks to the eBay, I’ve got my own now (under $30/pr incl. shipping).
Here’s how they arrived, with galoshi (rubber overshoes) separate. Apparently these can be worn in snow without the galoshi, but they’re recommended for rainy or street wear. These boots are really awesome. The felt is very dense and rustic, and has a little VM embedded in it.
The two pairs are quite different. The black ones are much lighter, more flexible felt, the little rubber overshoes slid on quite easily. They’re also shorter. I had to work pretty hard to get the overshoes on the brown ones, which are almost twice as thick and VERY stiff. They’re also a size larger, but oddly, both fit just fine. You can see below how much stiffer and thicker the brown ones are below:
The strangest thing about these boots is that there’s not a clear left or right, and they’re semi-handmade, so the two are slightly different shapes. I’m guessing they’ll break in and soften up a bit, and I’m assuming if I’m consistent in my wear, I’ll end up with a distinct right and left boot (or not, if I’m not).
The wool is really coarse and scratchy, so I’ll probably make some merino or alpaca liners to fit inside the boot part. That seems better than socks, which would stay with my foot and abrade against the boot. And liners would only go to the ankle, thus not getting stinky and requiring washing.
Anyway, I dont’ know what to felt on them yet! I think I might have (read: compell) Ron draw on them & then needlefelt whatever he draws.
I may use them as a template to make some knitted then felted indoor ones, something a little softer and more slipper-like. I’m also tempted to buy an extra pair and cut it down to just the size of the galoshi for some cloggy slippers. Hm. Or just a bit taller, then needlefelt on a knitted fair isle border… Hm.
The only downside I see is that they’d be less than ideal for really nasty, wet weather, because I’m guessing they’d take forever to dry. Besides, I have to find a fault, because I already ordered some nice warm boots for the winter (I ordered them right before these, but they haven’t yet arrived).
In the past, I’ve bought kiddie boots from Land’s End (the size 6 big kids fits my women’s 7.5-8 foot & the 7 fit’s Ron’s 8.5-9 men’s foot), and while they’re cheap, warm, and pretty sturdy, I was tired of my purple ones (clearance color) from last year and the pink (also clearance) from the year before, so I decided to Goodwill them while they still had about 90% of their useful life intact and get something a little nicer and more fitted for this year. Sadly, they don’t seem to be making the awesome kids’ Extreme Squall boots anymore, but I found women’s Extreme Squall 7s in magenta on clearance hoping they’d run large. They didn’t, but Marilyn, who has little doll feet, bought them off me. After googling “warmest boots,” I decided to order a couple of these and these on clearance from L.L. Bean (I used code 3004296 for free shipping). I’ll keep the pair I prefer & return the other.
I disapprove of legwarmers as a general fashion accessory, but Karl (our resident who departed this morning) is a real live dancer/choreographer, so I was delighted to make him legwarmers. I went with a Flashdance palette in handspun merino: one ply Barbie pink, one ply black.
The XOXO cable comes from Adrian Bizila’s Besotted Scarf. It’s a very pretty, simple cable, though it gets lost in the marl here. It would be more adorable in a solid color.
The same pattern with fewer stitches makes arm warmers (included in pattern).
I must admit that these were absurdly cozy, so despite my not being a dancer and my longstanding objection to non-dance employment legwarmers, and I’m very much tempted to make some for myself, strictly for at-home wear. (I mean, I wouldn’t wear house slippers as shoes, but I wear them at home. So what’s the diff?). They were also pretty speedy to knit, under 4 hours each.
Medium/large was a good size for me. I have large calves. These were sized to fit Karl from low on his ankle to just under his knee, about 16″. He’s tall, so they were longer on me, going down over my heels.
Yarn: 6-8 oz of chunky handspun merino balanced 2-ply, about 350 yards
Needles: US#3 and US#9 16″ circular needles (or dpns; or longer needles for magic loop)
Gauge: 15.5 st = 4″ on US 9 needles
Size: arm warmers (small/medium adult legwarmers , medium/large adult legwarmers)
With smaller needles, CO 30 (40, 50). I used the Twisted German Cast-on, but anything stretchy will do. PM, then Join round, being careful not to twist stitches.
Work 20 rnds in K1P1 ribbing.
Switch to larger needles. Work 4 full repeats of Besotted Cable, then work first 4 rnds of cable. For longer leg warmers, work extra repeats, but always finish with the first 4 rnds of the pattern.
Switch to smaller needles. Work 20 rnds in K1P1 ribbing, then CO loosely in pattern.
Besotted Cable (single), cribbed from Adrian’s Besotted Scarf:
Worked over 16-rnd repeat.
All rnds (except as noted): P2, K8, P2, K to end or rnd
Rnd 3 & 7: P2, C4B, C4F, P2, K to end or rnd
Rnd 11 & 15: P2, C4F, C4B, P2, K to end or rnd
C4B: Slip 2 onto cable needle. Move held stitches to back of work. Knit the next 2 stitches on your left needle, followed by the two stitches you were holding to the back.
C4F: Slip 2 onto cable needle. Move held stitches to back of front. Knit the next 2 stitches on your left needle, followed by the two stitches you were holding to the front.
So at least half of my Interweave Knits collection went missing during Yarn School, including the issue with Cobblestone, which I was planning to make Ron for his birthday this month. Boo. I’m hoping it was an honest mistake and whoever walked off with them will realize and return them to me. Or better yet, that someone was perusing a big stack of them in some isolated spot, which they’ll tell me about now so I can retrieve them (I already checked all the common & guest rooms with no luck, but there are many hidey-holes in this place). I’m positive one of those two things will happen, because I can’t abide the thought of actual stealing. It’s just too disappointing. (Update: It’s looking up! I found a few of the behind the pits, and while many are still at large, including the one I need, I’m feeling hopeful! Now whoever moved he rest of them somewhere weird, email me and tell me where to find them!)
For today anyway, missing half my back issues is probably for the best, since I really should be working on my taxes and I’ve already exhausted most of my other avenues of procrastination.
Oh! And if you left Yarn School before lunch on Sunday, you may well have won a door prize in absentia! Half the prizes went to folks who had scooted already. I’ll be packing them up and shipping them out next week.
The minute I finish my taxes, I’ll gather up my Yarn School pictures and post them. In the meantime, a mere 2 of mine, and a big pile of everyone else’s:
Well, it’s two weeks to Fiber School and I’m going a little nuts. I’m keep bouncing between deliriously excited and a little panicked. Right at this very second, I’m deliriously excited.
And guess what!? I’m finally getting sheep! They’re really coming, can you believe it? Tina’s bringing them out on the 23rd, so they’ll be here for Fiber School! (We have a few openings–treat yourself! It’s going to be awesome!) There will be one black Romney ewe (who apparently has gotten a little snitty of late–but I plan to kill her with kindness), one merino ewe lamb (white, if I remember, but with a spotted mom, so she has the genetics for color), and one Shetland wether (castraded male) lamb with curly horns! He’s tan. Yay!
I only have a picture of Fattypants aka Fancypants aka Trouble, so the others will be a surprise! Here she is in full fleece, looking inscrutable.
But we’ve let it go forever, and now we’re scrambling to convert this playground into a barn. And to help matters, it’s been pouring all freaking week.
This is an old picture, but the current view’s no good, because there’s a big stack of hay blocking it. At present, there’s a nice secure woven wire fence around it, with several gates to make rotating them with portable electric fencing super easy. Clicking the picture will take you to its flickr page, which has notes on what goes where.
All the areas under the platforms will be walled in, with doors and windows for utility/comfort. The large platform to the left of the ramp will be raised a foot so you can walk under it, but human people can still use it as a deck. The two taller platforms, including the one under the slide, will be for the chickens, while the larger area will go to the sheepies. There will be a door in between so you can access either side, but the chicken side can stay warmer in the winter while the sheep get nice fresh air.
Next year, I might even ask Tina & Jennifer to save all their skirtings for me, and I’ll wash them (no worries if they felt), soak them in Borax, and insulate the walls.
Okay, I’d better get back to work! A group from VANS is coming out to do a catalog shoot in the Eskridge school next week (Taj’s gym/classroom segments in Electronical were shot there), and Cathy’s coming next weekend to finish up our collaborative project, so I’m about to be wildly busy for 3 weeks solid. Yee haw!
Dude, I fucking hate election season. I end up enraged every time I listen to the news. The only bright spot is The Daily Show, but it’s reruns this week, so I’m stuck with NPR. Ugh. And I can’t not listen. I whirl into a frenzy of outrage and fact checking and frustration about the millions who get their news from Fox alone, and I end up spending way too much time and energy stewing and seething and clawing around the Internet. A few minutes ago, I fantasized about interrupting a rally by shouting LIAR! at the top of my lungs (which are pretty sturdy, it turns out), and I even tested the volume of my shouting, then did a few crazy, frantic impersonations. Sheesh. I need to put some kind of a politics timer on my machine for the next couple months.
Anyway, to combat the knotting angst and dread, I’m trying to zen out with crafty goodness.
I finished up all my Wildcat Hollow roving. Well, not all of it–I still have a different lot of tri-color and a different lot of fawn for another project; and not completely finished, either as I haven’t yet washed the spun stuff. (Cripes, I’m an irritating literalist.)
Look how pretty!
I used only the first two balls. The other tricolor wasn’t quite as babysoft, so I decided to set it aside for another project. I had 8 oz of solid and 4 oz of tricolor (2oz had a somewhat higher proportion of lighter colors in the mix, producing an overall lighter yarn), then plied it thusly:
Lighter tricolor to itself
Lighter tricolor to darker tricolor
Darker tricolor to itself
Lighter tricolor to solid
Darker tricolor to solid
Solid to itself
I was originally thinking a cardigan, but now I’m thinking maybe a loose drapy pullover with a really long, sloppy turtleneck, not quite a cowl. I’ll wash and swatch it first, then go from there.
Last weekend, Cathy & I started working on our collaborative project. We’re going to finish up next weekend.
My actual birthday is Wednesday, but I’m celebrating already! This came from Sue, for my LYS! And she’s not even a knitter! How about that for an awesome shopper? I’m going to save this as a post Yarn School reward! I don’t know what she’s implying with the tranny rooster, though.
Yesterday’s mail also brought this:
From Jennifer, so completely spoils me. We’re pretty fucking broke right now, what with the new car (the wait was supposed to be 3 months, so we thought we’d have more time to save up a down payment, but it only took 3 weeks, so we ended up having to scrape it together with zero notice), so it’s very exciting to get a wonderful treat. Not only did she remember how much I admired the yarn, but what COLOR I wanted, too! It wasn’t a birthday present per se, but I’m counting it as one.
And a Bay Laurel from Ron! I’ve heard these are hard to grow here (as is rosemary; both grew like weeds in Texas), so I don’t know whether to plant it in a pot or in the garden. I always fail bringing pots in. I’ve read they’re troubled by scale indoors, and my citrus got killed by the scale inside last winter, after surviving scale the previous two (although I just read that humidity takes care of that; so maybe a humidifier would fix me up). But I really like bay in the garden. I just don’t know if I can pull it off. But I need to decide in the next couple days.
I’m trying not to knit or spin too much because I really want to heal up my arm injury (pulled muscle from 2 months ago that I keep re-hurting) before Yarn School. I made a sling and everything. I even wore it for a couple hours. But I did allow myself a little spinning last night:
I started on my second batch of Wildcat Hollow tri-color roving. This lot has a slightly thicker red-brown strip, which makes for a slightly darker yarn. I plan to ply the two together. I did the first spool with a woolen long-draw, but I’m nervous about my arm and can’t do the long draw on the left side, so I’m using a sort of modified woolen draw that’s how I spun before I learned worsted. I’m keeping it short and feeding continuously, but not smoothing the yarn, and letting the twist run up into the fiber and pulling the fiber back from it. Honestly, I don’t think woolen has to be a long draw, does it? I mean, isn’t it just how you let the fibers meet the twist?
I should do some spinning exercises. And by exercises, I mean lessons, not acrobatics.
Here’s Autumn, my favorite Wildcat Hollow cria from last year. Look at her freckles! Isn’t she a doll? And I have her blanket.
I was busy spinning my yummy new Wildcat Hollow tricolor I started at Spinsters Club last weekend when I remembered: my favorite alpaca growers are going to be at the Lincoln Haymarket Farmer’s Market, so if you’re in Lincoln, go say hi!
Ed & Marta from Wildcat Hollow in Eskridge have formed an alpaca cooperative with a handful of other local growers called Alpaca Endeavors & they’ll be in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Haymarket August 30 and September 13 (in stalls 156 & 157) and September 20, October 4 and 11 (in stalls 129 & 130). They’ll have alpaca yarn, roving (single and tricolor), fiber for felting, fine fiber for spinning, plus handmade articles for sale.
I heartily recommend the new Wildcat Hollow tricolors. I’m currently spinning the one on the left, the sort of latte-colored blend, and it’s so soft and yummy. I’m trying my hand at spinning it woolen, which is how I used always to spin before I got fixated on worsted and forgot how. But it’s so soft and fuzzy and alpaca’s so warm that I want to make a really really weightless lofty yarn of it. We’ll see if I’m up to the task.
So far I really like the yarn. I love how when you spin it really fine, you don’t know what wisps of what color will get drawn in and you’ll have little solid stretches followed by contrasty twirly candycane spans followed by really subtle twisties. I don’t know what it’s going to bet yet. Maybe a garter yoke cardigan? I could either do the whole thing in the tricolor, or the yoke could be the tricolor and the rest could be just solid Marguerit (I think she’s the auburn stripe, but I have her solid roving, too).
(My poor old camera’s been ressurected & is still chugging along. For now. My birthday’s next week and Mama’s ponying up a new DSLR. I still haven’t picked, but I’m leaning toward the Sony after trying Jen’s husband’s at Spinsters on Sunday). The yarn’s too fine on the bobbin to tell how it will look plied, so in the meantime, you get pictures of the nice animals who made it! These were from shearing day last spring. It was the day after Yarn School & I was beat and never got around to writing up my little photo essay, which I really want to do, because I attended a really big alpaca shearing & a much smaller one, and the difference was interesting.
Marta with Autumn. She’s named after their granddaughter, who is also a cute leggy teenager, but much less furry.
Autumn’s coat is variegated. It’s her baby coat, so they say she’ll probably be a different color next year. This one goes from almost black to to gray to a reddish fawn. So pretty. I don’t quite know what to do with it, though. I’d hate to have it processed because I’m afraid it would lose its beautiful variation. Then again, it might be a wonderful heather. For the moment, it’s in limbo.
And here’s poor Autumn naked and woeful. Over on the left, I think that’s Marguerit. She’s the darker stripe in the latte tri-color roving. And here’s her blanket, glowing in the sunshine:
This is the shearing table. When they shear alpacas, they either use a table or a system of pulleys on the ground. Either way, the animal has to be tethered firmly. You can’t just flop them on their butts like sheep. With the table, you lean them against it, then swivel it over, strap their feet, and someone holds the wiggly head. Afterwards, they release the feet, swivel the table back down, lower the animal down, and she shakes off and is on her merry way. It’s hard to describe the other way–I’ll try to get pictures up soon. There seemed to be a lot less squalling with the table than the floor method, but that might be because it’s a much smaller farm and the animals are all handled a lot more. At the big farm, most of them are little wild. And the table was a lot slower, but I don’t know whether that’s inherent to the process or because the New Zealanders using the pulleys at the bigger farm were just more experienced. The results are the same either way: naked, puppety critters with mop top hairdos.
YARN: 5 balls Knit Picks Andean Silk
PATTERN: Generic top-down raglan with lace panel, short sleeves, 1×1 ribbing at collar, cuffs & hem
NOTES: No shaping. I wish I had shaped the waist. It’s cute enough, and the yarn has enough drape that it’s not dumpy even though it’s boxy, but it would be way cuter with curves. I have plans to rework this one, making it superawesome! Superawesome. I might give this one to my mom. She seemed to really like it, but maybe she was being polite.
Right now, I’m working on a top-down raglan pinafore dress. It’s not coming along as quickly as I’d hoped because I keep frogging and reworking. My main challenge is really trying to think in terms of a pattern instead of just making it fit me and only me. If I can wrap it up soon (tick tock, tick tock, looking grim), I might have a home for the pattern. The goal is a loose short-sleeved pinafore for winter layering over LS tops, long underwear, summer dresses, etc. And while I do love knitting off the cone, I’m beginning to wonder if I ought to have wound off my donegal and washed it first, since all the stitches lean. And since the skeined stuff is washed, I think. Or is it?
And I’m busting ass getting ready for YARN SCHOOL and FELT SCHOOL! (We still have spots, including some more newly-added private rooms and discounted group rooms! Register now!).
This year, we have 3 official helper bees, PLUS two cooks. I love cooking, but I’m really excited to be out of the kitchen and into the yarny fun this session. Marissa’s menu looks absolutely delectable, and if the weather cooperates, we may get our hands on the last of the bounty of this summer’s CSA for our veggies. And this year, our beef, eggs & some dairy will be local, too!
The best part of all the extra help is that I get to teach a bit more. I’m going to add a prep lesson and a yarn planning lesson to my batt carding demo, and I think I’ll make some yarn samples spun different ways off the same batt.
Speaking of batts, August Cuckoo for Cuckoobatts Club batts went off today. They’re as cute as a button! You don’t get to see them until next month, but in the meantime, here are the last 2 months’ club batts:
July: Head on the Door (alpaca, hand-dyed wool, hand-dyed sparkle, angelina sparkle)
And the last exciting news for the week: One of the cousins gave me an egg yesterday! Here it is, artfully modeled by Irma & Wayne (made by moxie):
The cousins are Patty and Cathy, the 2 black Australorps. They’re named after Patty Duke and Cathy Lane, identical cousins. I was going to call them Patty and Selma, but they don’t have a punchy theme song. You can tell them apart only by Cathy’s lighter feet and Patty’s more iridescent feathers, but not just at first glance. One of them was skulking around inside the coop in the middle of the afternoon. I didn’t catch on until she let out a loud BA-CAAAAAAAWK! and came tearing out of the coop. I ran in and found the egg, but by then she had blended back into the group and I didn’t know who had produced our beautiful first egg.
Afterwards, I made a little privacy curtain for the nest box in hopes they’ll use it instead of dropping it in the corner of the coop:
Unblocked and shitty lighting, but aside from the unbearable itchiness (I’ll have to wear a shirt under, as usual), it was a quick & fun knit & I’m well pleased. The lace is from one of those stitch books. I barely changed it & I’m not crazy about it. I’m a literalist. I want leaves to look like leaves. I’d like to rework the lace pattern a bit more & make it with a pocket. I really tried to give it a pocket, but there just wasn’t enough yarn. And I’d like the repeat out of something that can actually touch my skin without making me crazy.
I really do wish I could toughen up a bit.
Pattern: generic top-down raglan with lace panel, no shaping
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Silk, 5 balls
My poor old well-used and repaired digital camera finally shit the bed. It won’t recognize any cards, fucks up the data if I repeatedly try to make it read them, and it’s old enough that it’s no longer worth fixing. So 2 questions:
What should I get now? I want a fancy (but not too fancy) digital SLR in the $500 neighborhood (including lens). It’s going to be my birthday present, so I have about a month to figure it out. I might try renting a camera locally, but Topeka’s really my only option, because I don’t want to drive 4 hrs round trip.
Is there somewhere I can donate this where they fix cameras & reuse them? A search for “donating broken cameras” got me this, but I can’t tell whether they can fix broken cameras & they don’t have contact info. If it can be fixed up, it’s still a decent camera, and can still take pretty damn lovely pictures in natural light (it’s less brilliant in low light). I think I have all the original cords & several memory cards.
Well, I’m 3 balls in with 2 more to go, so it looks like this will have short sleeves.
Knit Picks Andean Silk, cranberry I think. Sadly, it itches. I’m hoping I’m just more sensitive in warm weather, but lately, everything makes me itch. This is supposed to be merino/silk/superfine alpaca, so it shouldn’t freaking itch. Regular alpaca, sure, but superfine shouldn’t. Anyhoo, we’ll see. If worse comes to worse, I probably have a tight tshirt I can wear under it. Maybe I can even find a great color to show through the lace.
I don’t yet have a copy in my hot little hands, but Shannon Okey’s Alt Fiber is officially out! I designed a very cute A-line linen skirt (in linen stitch–Shannon’s idea) for it. Here’s a sneaky detail shot of the side trim, not yet crisply blocked:
I also just wrote a chapter on knitting for pets in a knitting encyclopedia book.
I feel weird about this craft writing thing. While I love crafts & writing about crafts, I don’t know that it’s quite my niche, but sorting out my niche is too scary. I’ve only done the one book, and its sales were pretty lackluster despite the awesome early press I got (I blame their decision to make it softcover instead of the original hardcover plan–much of its appeal is for non-knitters, but they’re not going to buy a $20 paperback).
Really, I think the problem is that I’m just not driven overall. Well, I’m driven (in a manic, obsessive sort of way), but not ambitious. To make money, to make a name, you have to actually want fame and fortune. And while I think fame and fortune (especially fortune; fame’s less appealing) would be a dreamy side effect, I’m not really enthusiastic about either one. I really admire people who are casually confident and self-promotional. I’m pretty fucking sure of my actual abilities, but I’m shitty at broadcasting that. I’m not confident enough to spread my own word for m
is officially out! I designed a very cute A-line linen skirt (in linen stitch–Shannon’s idea) for it. Here’s a sneaky detail shot of the side trim, not yet crisply blocked: