a rare and beautiful destash

I hardly ever do this, but I went through my stash this weekend with a tough-love eye and pulled out what I thought I wouldn't use.

I only came up with this: a sweater's worth -- 15 balls -- of Rowan Cotton Tape I bought when Elann had it on closeout.

Price: $80 for 15 balls of sullen (dark brown) + 1 bonus ball of swish (aqua) to use for tipping at the edges, if you so desire. Shipping extra. sold!

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Also, this spindle still needs a home:



Cascade Mount Ranier spindle, 26g/.91oz
The signature spindle from Cascade...brand new, used briefly by me, excellent/like new condition.
Price: $40usd sold!

Shipping extra. Paypal, please.

anyone going to Target today?

I need this -- the new B52s album special 2-disk edition. Jillian's Target is sold out. If you find one, please buy it for me and I'll send you paypal or cash or whatever you like -- plus postage.

Save me! Please?

[p.s. it's only available at Target, and we don't have Target in Canada...]

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eta: Bobbi went to Target and found a copy for me. Thank you, Bobbi! [we love the internets.]

what I did during Earth Hour

I was reading the latest issue of Spin Off by battery operated lantern light and realized that if I didn't pull out the wheel right then, I was clearly missing a strange anachronistic opportunity.

So this was me, spinning by candlelight [and a little battery-operated Coleman lantern], and it was very nice. I'm working on filling a bobbin with aqua-blue bamboo, and got quite a nice bit done tonight. Remarkable how much of spinning is touch-based, so not a lot of light was needed. Then again, I haven't really looked at what I spun in the dark. :-)

Have I mentioned recently how much I love my Schacht Ladybug? I do. I will elaborate in the next Knittyspin column.

p.s. in case you somehow missed it, Earth Hour details here. sure it's a gimmick, but anything that gets us to remember to turn off the lights is a good gimmick imo. our whole neighborhood is pretty much still dark and it's 10pm. really cool.

i am SUCH a geek

proof here.

wooot! we have a winner, really!

congratulations, qriouscrafter! i've sent you the code in a message. let me know if you don't receive it!

Liberate your laceweight...the campaign continues

Every time anyone sees me working on my Longterm Laceweight tube scarf, jaws drop and at least one person says something like, "I want to do this!" But I haven't seen any evidence that people are actually cracking open their pet skeins of laceweight and casting on...until last night.

Emily was at Lettuce Knit last night, wearing her first completed Liberated Laceweight project -- a beautiful, insanely simple [the bang yourself on your forehead simple in its perfect brilliance] shawl. Laceweight, knit in eye of partridge. What a brilliant way to show off variegated yarn without having to fight a complex lace pattern. And Emily assures me it was nearly as mindless as my stockinette tube with faux seams. Here's another post with more in-progress pictures and her reason for jumping on my tiny bandwagon.

Here. Look at the gorgeousness:


Freaking gorgeous, Emily.

Now come on. I know you've got at least one skein of laceweight just sitting there, gathering dust, in your stash. You bought it because it was beautiful but maybe you don't knit so much superfine lace. Well, it's time to crack that skein open and start knitting something perfectly fine-gauge, mindless, and sense-pleasing. Trust me. It'll make you feel good.



[and if you do, take the button and tell me about it. i'll tell you i have at least 2 more skeins in the queue for when this one is finished.]

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p.s. yes, I think fingering counts too. If you bought it cause it's pretty but aren't casting on for the more-complex project you intended to make with it [even if it was socks], then come on down!

does anyone have a suggestion for Balletmommy -- something mindless with creamy cashmere laceweight?

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Pithy instructions [:-)] for the stockinette tube scarf, as requested

once i found the correct needle size to give the fabric i wanted, i chose the shortest circular needle i could find (in this case, a knitpicks 16” in size 0 – i would have preferred addi turbo lace, but they don’t go that small).

i then cast on just enough stitches to go comfortably around the circular without having to force it. divide that number of stitches in half and place a marker on each side. then choose some sort of faux seam treatment. i am doing p1, k1, p1, after each marker, and all the rest is straight knit.

keeping it simplel.

a winner!

it's damned good i didn't have to choose a winner based on why you wanted the discount, because so many of you told stories that made me all warm inside. you guys are good people.

instead, i did as i said, and went to the random number generator. plugged in 57 as the total (inclusive, of course) and the number it chose?



so the 12th comment gets it...and that's Sarah! [what's your e-mail address?]**

thanks to everyone who commented. i knew there were more lurkers hanging about. hi to you all!

**p.s. Sarah is currently unreachable. If I don't hear from her by Friday morning, I'll pick a new winner! Because dangit, this code needs to get in the hands of another bag ho. :-)

a contest!

Okay, so I recently entered the Moo cards Egg Hunt contest [multiple times] and got one of the prizes, but I just can't use it. So I'm throwing it up here for you guys!

It's a 20% discount on anything at the Timbuk2 shop, and the code is good till May 30 this year.

How can you win? Simple. Leave a comment with the name of the thing you'd buy if you got the discount code. I'll use a random number generator and pick a winner! Make sure you're contactable in your blogger link or with an e-mail address so I can get the code to you if you win!

Comments entered before midnight Pacific time today are eligible. Go to it!

alive! and More Big Girl Knits launch party nooz!

So it's like this. I came home from Ann Arbor, popped out a Knitty :-) [why does that sound dirty?] and then got in the car with hub and drove to Vermont.

The Mindful Knitting retreat was amazing, eye-opening and huge fun. Full deets are being saved for a future article in the Knitty.

Of course, while relaxing, I got a[nother?] cold. So maybe the post-Florida thing was allergies, because this certainly ain't. I have never gone through so much kleenex in 4 days in my whole life.

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Super-quick party announcement, aka SAVE THE DATE!

More Big Girl Knits launch party, v 1.0
location: Threadbear Fiber Arts, East Lansing, MI
date: April 13th, 1pm
the boys know how to throw a big party and we can't wait!

More Big Girl Knits launch party v 1.1
location: Lettuce Knit, Toronto, ON
date: April 26th, 7pm [conveniently timed to let you finish up at the Knitter's Frolic and then come and join us in Kensington Market!]

Jillian and I will be at both parties, as well as
- samples from the book [possibly their only appearance en masse as we have to return them to the designers shortly]
- cupcakes
- the new Big Girls book in the flesh [both shops will have them for sale]

and other surprises!

Bring your friends, turn it into a road trip and let's make these parties huge and memorable!

the face of my weekend

That'd be Henry, Jillian's baby, exactly as I saw him all weekend. I had her kids blasting out PhotoBooth photos on my laptop, and Henry took this one of himself by himself. He's superhero and robot and scary monster all rolled into one, including sound effects...look at the blurry hands the little camera managed to capture!


Of course, Isobel would rather reconstruct anatomy. This is the creepiest of the pics without being gross. You don't want to see the gross ones.

I love these kids. It was a bit of a rough weekend for other reasons, and H & I kept me smiling and giggling all weekend. They don't have to love me, but they do, and it's possibly the most amazing thing I've ever experienced.

Meanwhile, in worky news, the weekend trip to AA was all about the speaking engagement at the big library in town. This place is amazing, and I was treated like royalty [which isn't something I mind at all :-)]. Here are the folks that came out to say hi:



The left side of the room had to deal with flash problems, so their waving is a little worn out [don't blame 'em]. A nice full house, and that always makes me feel good.

The AADL runs a tight ship, and is fully tech'd out. For the first time ever, I handed off my laptop and cable to someone who made it all work [and it wasn't as simple as my usual low-tech solution]. All I had to do was walk up to the podium and try not to pee my pants. [I succeeded.] The event was recorded and I'll link to it here when it's on their site. I had to keep forgetting that they were recording me or else I'd have never said a word.

I also discovered Flax when Jillian and I popped into Acme and bought myself a jacket on megasale to wear at the event. And a clock in vintage green. Which looks amazing in my living room. I could live in that store. And just might.

And Saturday night, I got to hang with Jillian and the SOAR girls -- Carla, Lynne, Beth and Dynese [did i spell that right?] for an evening of amazing food and drink, spinning, and most importantly laughter. These girls make me howl and I'm so glad I've gotten to know them.

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Tomorrow, hub and I are off to Vermont [by car...so please think dry road thoughts for us] to spend the weekend with Tara Jon Manning and attendees at her Mindful Knitting Retreat. I've wanted to go for several years and this year things just came together. It's also hub's birthday this weekend, so maybe we'll get a chance to sneak out to Sarducci's in Montpelier for dinner. It's our favorite place.

I think I'm sounding a little scattered. This issue of Knitty had a whole bunch of new stuff happening in it and it took more brain power than usual to make it go. People seem to be liking it and that makes me really happy.

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Stand by: We'll soon be announcing launch party dates for More Big Girl Knits for two locations: East Lansing, MI and Toronto! Dates are in April, and we should have news shortly. We hope you'll come and party with us!

Remindah!

I'm going to do the speaking thing at the Ann Arbor District Library this weekend! I'll be giving my No Sheep for You talk, complete with laptop and clicky thing and a microphone, even. I'll bring swatches from the book and we'll talk non-wool fibers and Knitty stuff until the cows come home, or they throw us out. Whichever comes first. There will also be a sneak preview of the new Big Girls book -- More Big Girl Knits...including your chance to rub shoulders with my beloved co-author, Jillian Moreno. Like all library stuff, attendance is free! Woot!

You may have heard about this legendary library from another knitting Torontonian. Well, now it's my turn. Except I won't need to fly in, thankfully...I'll be taking the train. :-)

No Sheep/Knitty® Knit-in

Date: Sunday, March 9

Time: 2-3:30pm [knit-in following the program; library closes at 6pm] -- don't forget you'll be setting your clock forward before you go to bed on Saturday night! I don't want to miss you!

Location: Multipurpose Room at the Downtown Library, 343 South Fifth Avenue, (at the corner of Williams and Fourth).

Notes: Parking is free on Sunday at the lot next door. The Library will open at noon. Seats at the program are first come first serve. In the event of a capacity crowd, overflow will be simulcasted from the 4th floor Boardroom.

Program information:
Learn the ins and outs of fibers that aren't wool and never had four legs. We'll learn about cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo, lyocell, rayon, soy, the new synthetics and more, plus the most delicious non-wool of all: silk. Learn about the GeeKY thing [hint: it involves knitting]. It's the tool that will help you to how to substitute non-wool fibers when the pattern calls for wool and get a great result. Here's a secret -- it's WAY more than matching the gauge.

Bring your non-wool questions and your knitting! I will be glad to sign copies of No Sheep for You [someone will have them for sale at the event if you don't have one and would like one], and if we've got time left, we'll have a knit-in!

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Okay, so that's the story. Will you come? I would love to fill up the room with Knitty-loving knitters -- non-woollies, woollies, girls and guys of every size and every other kind of knitter. I'm up for a massive knit-in if you guys are...so please come and bring your knitting peeps!

Will I see you there?

this is when it gets quiet around here

but since it's for a good reason, i hope you'll forgive me.

all is well! very busy, coding, thinking, planning. time for another one of those "what i'm thinking about" posts:

- did you hear the latest Cast On? [hint: i'm in a bit of it :-)]. i don't call Knitty a "zine" however. we're an online magazine. that's probably just semantics, but i'm big on semantics, me. :-) in any case, really interesting perspective from the Anticraft, Weavezine and Magknits editrixes...we should all have coffee one day. can you imagine the talk at that table?

- my mindless projects are going well, but i am aching to knit something more to wear. so it's back into active duty for cables & os. current state: one front nearly complete. the back and other front to do, plus sleeves. [this one is knit in the round to the armholes, so it's a lot less work left to do than it sounds]

- the voices that are making Knitty happen this time are rickie lee jones, patty griffin, patty larkin, dar williams, jason mraz, joni mitchell, james taylor, natalie merchant, shawn colvin, sonia dada, erykah badu and the be good tanyas.

- i believe i'll be knitting a ysolda-y slouchy beret before the week is out. in pale blue raw silk from Fiddlesticks

and that is all. back to work! [is there an emoticon for a whip cracking? :-)]