If it's quiet 'round the blog, must be coming up on Summer Knitty time!

Hi, y'all! How's it going?

Lots of Knitty production going on here, which is why it gets blog-silent for a while. I'm furiously busy, but writing about what I'm doing during production season is not the most scintillating reading. Never think I've forgotten you. I have had enough free brain-space to keep up the Twitter posts...because 140 characters is easy peasy!

Meanwhile, the iPod is on shuffle and this season, the Tragically Hip and a little Amanda Palmer are keeping me company as I code and Photoshop and try to keep up with the e-mail.

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So, is that all that's happening around here? Well, actually, the biggest news is that I just found out I'm going to teach at WEBS! All the details are on my tour page. Northampton + vicinity Knittyheads...come out and represent!

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What else? Well, I have set a goal for myself. I want to teach in Hawaii. There are quite a few knitting shops and dangit, I can't get the leis out of my head. And yes, the fact that it's the land of the ukulele, my newest and most sincere love, might be another reason I'm really hoping to go. Posting my travel/teaching dreams to this blog has worked before, so I'm going to try it again:

Anyone out there have LYS connections in Hawaii?
introductions most sincerely welcomed! you can reach me at
[my first name] AT amysinger DOT ca

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Not in Hawaii, but you'd like me to come teach at your LYS? I would love to do that! Write me and let's see what we can get happening!

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In knitting news, I am ready to bind off Ishbel , but the remaining yarn may not be enough. Yes, I know that the size I am knitting calls for more than 400 yards and this skein is about 400 yards. I guess I just believe in the power of positive thinking.

I had to frog back half a repeat and invent my own way to get the points in place on the outside edge, and will have no idea if it's worked until I actually sit down to bind off. However I have a lot of work to do [see 2nd paragraph above :)] and am saving this as a reward for work completed.

So I'm getting back to it.

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Don't forget the Hawaii thing.

What is a person to do with all this technology?

I loves me some new technology. Shiny is good. And I have fallen for Twitter in a huge way. Writing a blog post can take an hour, depending on how much info I need to share. Writing a Tweet [a single twitter post, no longer than 140 characters] takes less than a minute, if even that. Perfect for short-attention-span girl. And perfect for communicating silly things and even important things quickly.

It's getting so that Twitter will spread news faster than the conventional news media does. It's an amazing thing to be witnessing, the birth of this new medium of communication.

Anyway, I'm *not* abandoning the blog; not at all. But I am blogging less frequently. So in order to provide ongoing evidence that I am still alive -- and to share little tidbits of news, some Knitty-related and some not -- I've added a Twitter feed to the right sidebar. It's under the little blue birdie icon. It'll show the last three things I've posted.

Big stuff and the WWW will continue to appear on the blog. And should I feel all expository, there will be actual real blog posts. I just didn't want to leave anyone wondering.

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While I'm here, a few things of interest:

- I'm going to be at the Maryland Sheep & Wool festival for the first time ever [!] this weekend, and I hope to see you there! I'll be toting shwag [new buttons!] and if you are too shy to ask, just don't be. Come up and say hi. That's why I'm there! My homebase for the weekend will be Jennie the Potter's booth, so if you really need a button fix, that's where to hang out.

- I'm also going to be doing some cool pre-festival stuff at Lovelyarns. I've got my own button on their front page! [giggle] Anyway, I haven't been out that way since 2004 [!], so if you'd like to hear my No Sheep lecture and ask questions -- about No Sheep stuff or anything else Knittyish, please come and fill the auditorium! Details are on the Lovelyarns site. And if you'd like any books signed, just bring them with. I'll be glad to pull out the sharpie after the lecture.

- On the needles, because people like to know, is a chemo cap for a friend's mom who's just started radiation. I found this pattern and the mom in question liked it a lot. As I swatched, though, I couldn't imagine having garter stitch against a sensitive scalp, so I switched to stockinette and matched the gauge. It's a great pattern and swaps easily into stockinette, and worn with the smooth side in, it'll look quite similar to the picture anyway. And I'm knitting it in a variegated colorway of Fixation, so I don't even have to change colors. Knitting chemo caps is such a bittersweet thing to do. I'm sure we'd all love never to have to knit another one, but being able to help in a small way is a good thing.

- I'm also going to cast on another sweater. Another Liesl, this time with the higher neck and in a totally different yarn. Liesl is the sweater I find most flattering on my body and the one I never hesitate to reach for. So I should have another. I was going to use the Mission Falls cotton I have stashed, but a morning newsletter from Lettuce Knit suggested Rowan Summer Tweed for the sweater, and that's a brilliant idea. In fact, I have a sweater's worth in Brilliant [a super-sexy deep pink] and am going to cast on as soon as the chemo cap is done.

Okay, I've got prep to do for the trip, so I'll sign off. See you soon!

New lace, and it's not Tuscany.

I started something new on the weekend and it felt so strange. After a little knitting, I realized this: I have not knit any lace of any sort except Tuscany...for 2 years. (I don't count Montego Bay as lace).

So clearly it was time I shook my head loose and saw what would come out. It looked like this:



Can you identify it? It's quite famous, designed by someone famous for lace triangles. Here, have a closer look:



Puckery! Swirly! Yes, it's a Shetland Triangle. I have wanted to knit one for at least two years and don't know what took me so long.

The yarn is a skein of Tess Designer Yarns' Cascade Silk that's been marinating in the stash for -- no exaggeration -- FIVE YEARS. It may be a little too variegated for this shawl, but I think it works just fine. I've wanted this pattern and this yarn made real for a long time, so might as well do them together and cross two things off my list!



I'm liberating another skein of laceweight [though this is arguably heavier than average laceweight, it is being knit into lace and that counts].

The yarn was in my stash so very long because I really wanted to design something original with it. I was unsuccessful, more than once. Just another reminder of the kind of mind and skill it takes to be a knitting designer more than once every other 2 years. You real designers rock, you know.

You thought I was kidding?

We really do have a lot of shops that specialize in down products, many of them started by European immigrants to Canada in middle of the 20th century. Some are big chains, but I love finding an independent shop where they really understand their craft.

How do you find such luxuries in Canada? Why, simply visit the website of The Down Association of Canada. That's where I found Daniadown -- the company I bought the twin duvets from earlier this year. I'm not sure where I'll be taking the two-pillow project, but that's what the whole winter is for.

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Meanwhile, it's quiet around the blog and you guys know why. We're on the new server now and, knock wood, all seems to be as promised. Hub is going happynuts with programming things he was unable to on the old server. My happy geek boy.

Speaking of my geek boy, question: I've blindly cast on [after swatching and getting gauge] for a pair of kilt hose. I have 4 balls of Bulky Fixation and I'm wondering if that will be enough for his size-10 feet. Does anyone have any feedback for me?

[He doesn't read the blog. He's very much NOT a blog boy.]

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I'm picking up a special present at the airport today. I'm selfishly excited to have my good friend moving here. I know the next few months will be a challenge for her and Sandra, but I'm hoping I can help a little.

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Okay, head back down!

in aid of election eve/day harmony, Cat Bordhi stylee

Cat Bordhi sent me a note today that pointed all of us to her online Moebius tutorial [above] as a metaphor for unity. In her e-mail, she wrote, "...I hope that you will be able to send it on to knitting friends as it may bring peace to them during the next few days, regardless of their political viewpoints. And it may help support the world to regain a sense of grace and true humanity."

If you have never done a Cat Bordhi-style moebius, never tried to learn her unique and brilliant [but potentially intimidating until you actually DO it] cast on, you now have no excuse not to give it a shot. The video above will help you get there.

To read her whole message including design and yarn suggestions, click here. For those who like it short and sweet, here's what I think is the pithiest bit:

So - here is why the Moebius is a perfect expression of the best of humanity, and the healing of the fractured country and world that I trust is coming:

1. The Moebius *appears* to have two surfaces and two edges - ie, polarities such as black and white, right and wrong, good and bad, Republican and Democrat - but when you follow the surface around you will run right into your starting point without ever having changed to the other "side." For there isn't one. Everything flows into itself. Polarities are an illusion. What lies beneath the apparent polarities is oneness, beauty, and grace. In a Moebius you can see it, hold it, be awed by it. Once the frenzy dies down, hopefully those with opposing views will slowly rediscover their common humanity.

I love how Cat's brain works. How lucky we are to have her as one of us.

I'll be casting on a new moebius tonight. Who's with us?

knitting! in progress! um, wow!

this would be Gretel-in-progress, being knit in Handmaiden Swiss Mountain Silk Cotton in [probably] Dandelion. have i made errors following the chart? yup. do i care? not enough to frog. soldiering on. i actually started this hat about 15 times with different yarns and needles, so now that i'm this far, i'm going on until absolute folly is apparent, or i end up with a hat.

[i find the best way for me to get accurate gauge swatches for hats is to start the hats, knit an inch or so and then pull from the needles and try on. nothing else works for me.]



this is the gorgeousness of Amy-Friendly Yarn [named by Beth] from Lorna's Laces [silk/bamboo] in Amy's Vintage Office. top-down raglan has begun. LOVING the fabric. yum.

pattern i'm using is based on Stef Japel's top-down raglan formula. i'm trying to understand garment shaping a little better, so i decided it was time to use the formula, not follow a pattern. will this actually result in a wearable sweater? we'll see, won't we? :-)

knitting! really! actual knitting!

a little yarn pr0n to get you in the Saturday knitting mood. last time you saw this yarn, it looked like this. i am so deeply in love with this yarn. as are all the people who've been lucky enough to touch it. there is always a little soft moaning accompanied by noticeably dilated pupils. :-)

i'm knitting Sonnet, but with lace instead of garter and moss stitch. it's a sexy, slippery silk. the finished fabric will, without question, stretch. why am i going on?

i have decided to keep knitting in an act of blind-but-with-a-little-experience-faith. i have mentally upsized my gauge from the actual 4.5sts/in to 4 sts/in, in order to accommodate the fabric growth that we all know will happen. i reduced the needle size so that the fabric is tightly constructed [yet still drapey and lovely] before it gets a chance to grow when worn.

it all sounds like a crapshoot, yes? but it's fast knitting, so i'm not dedicating months of my life to a potential future frogfest.



i'm already at the first armhole, and the fabric is gorgeous. sizewise, i think it will be fine, especially since the lace feels infinitely flexible. in No Sheep, i wrote about how to test your geeky thing before you start knitting to get a good idea of what might happen to the finished fabric. no, i haven't done any of those things. because i'm quite sure that this sweater will either work or it won't, and i just won't know until the body is done. this huge mass of gorgeousness in 2-ply hand dyed silk will do whatever the hell it wants to, and until i've shaped it into a sweater body, no amount of swatching, pre-washing and blocking in advance will predict the result.

and i'm okay with that.

Monday morning randomness

My new favorite Podcast: Answer Me This Podcast -- often rude at times and definitely something for not-easily-offended adults listening privately. Helen and Olly speak their minds and they're damned funny. Well, I think so, anyway.

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Imogen is FINISHED. As Jacquie told me to, I trusted the pattern and it fits really nicely. I realize I owe this blog photos of both my Gypsy projects [Imogen and the purple jacket] and will beg someone at the Purl tomorrow to take them. Pony pants for everyone!

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I'm back on the long-term laceweight stockinette scarf. It grows easily and doesn't often require me even to look at it as I knit. A perfect KIP project. When [if ever] I finish this one, I'll cast on another with a new skein of laceweight. Because I don't think I could have enough of these scarves, and knitting them is a mindless joy.

please don't faint.

This is my current WIP. I'm taking a wee break from Imogen -- almost complete! -- for love. It doesn't look like the kind of yarn I usually use, does it?

See, hub has no winter hat that he'll wear. I was recently in Americo, and couldn't keep my hands off their new dehaired baby llama yarn -- part of their new Eco line [this stuff is natural, as it comes off the llama].


Yes, an animal yarn. [Reminder: I'm allergic to wool, and sensitive to the barbs on all animal fibers.] This one, however, felt quite nice in my hands. Because it was dehaired? Probably. So I went home with one beautiful naturally brown skein, which has been sitting, staring at me for a little while.

And then we were forecasted a snowstorm, and hub's head was cold, and he gave me a PEEEEENK iPod, for heaven's sake! So I just cast on. A little hat for valentine's day for my beloved. The top photo shows me just starting the decreases for the crown using this pattern.

So how is the knitting? Well, keeping in mind that I am accustomed to full-on softness and smoothness running through my fingers as I knit, it's very different. However, it's only a tiny bit uncomfortable from time to time on my princess-and-the-pea fingers. It's just three days of knitting and, at the end, hub will have a wonderful, warm hat, and I will have stretched my fiber boundaries a little. Will I keep knitting with dehaired baby llama? Probably not. But it was nice to know I could.

If it feels this soft to me, I can't imagine what it would feel like to a woolly knitter. Heaven, perhaps?

p.s. In looking for the Americo link, I noticed they now have a yarn catalogue on their website. Please forgive me.

perl grey makes my head hurt

what kind of deranged mind comes up with sweater construction like this? why, Perl Grey, that's who!

i'm not saying it's not brilliant. it just makes my head hurt trying to envision this sort-of-closing-in cocoon turning into anything wearable. EXCEPT that, before i picked up the sts for the front section of the sweater, which is the part that makes my heart beat faster [not kidding, i love it that much], i tried it on and it fits. so i will trust in the Perl and in Jacquie B who told me, "just keep going. it'll work out." and i believe it will.

can you even tell what you're looking at? it's a side-to-side knitted cardigan with integrated sleeves. i'm just now knitting the fronts and the collar at once, with short rows. [for those who will ask, and i don't blame you, this is discontinued Artfibers Gypsy, colorway 11, which is knitting up at exactly pattern gauge, and doesn't that blow my mind? yes, it does. [Kira tells me that Artfibers Bambusa or Sumo would make good subs.]

i am also driven with the fire of a well-trained team of dragons to finish this baby and get it on me! finishing the duvet covers has reminded me of the pleasures of the FO, and though i do love a good knit as it goes along, i'm all about the FO.

you wanna see progress?

i'll give you some progress, baby.



that's about 2-2.5 hours of knitting. see? not so bad at all. i am past the danger zone [aka dropped stitches running right to the cast on and causing me to shave my head], so i just keep a small crochet hook nearby for the occasional stitch that slips off the needle and keep on trucking. it's a great KIP project, and as my imogen sweater gets bigger [i'm at the first sleeve already!], it's much more portable, too.

are you knitting along with me? i've made a button for us that you may feel free to poach and use at will.



free a laceweight prisoner from your stash!
choose one, wind it into a ball and cast on!
just because it's tiny and delicate doesn't mean it won't be fun to knit!

Liberate Your Laceweight!

don't you call me crazy.

So last night I began the new project. Here are the supplies:



Want a closer look?


Yes, that's correct. Size 0 needles.

Here's what the fabric looks like:


Do you see those perfect, tiny stitches? Well, trust me, they're there.

This is a simple tube, knit as small as the 16" circs would allow, which meant 190 sts. On each side, a faux seam [p1, k1, p1] so that it will lay flat like the inspiration scarf. Both ends will be seamed shut so it will not curl at the bottom, either.

Now all that remains is a year or so of knitting. I can do that. It seems crazy, but it also seems crazy not to even try. It's easy knitting -- I just have to be careful not to drop a stitch, especially at this tender beginning part.

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p.s. Dear Skacel,
Whyfor you no make Addi Lace Turbos in size 0? Surely lace yarn requires small needles, and there's no more serious need for a tiny needle with a little grip and perfect scoopy points than this project.

I'll be knitting this for a while, so feel free to get on that development wagon and let me know when they're ready. The regular Turbos will have to do for now, but please...save my sanity. Make size 0s, okay?

Love,
Amy



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Meanwhile, last night's Knitty Yarn Roundtable went very, very well. I can say that because the person responsible for the wellness is not me, it's ms Jacquie, hero of my world. She made everything happen including set up and wound balls of yarn [special props to Keri and Sherri on that count] and take down. Thank you, Jacquie! The Purple Purl hostesses were so sweet to us, and it was just an all-around fuzzy kumbaya kind of evening.

We've got three more scheduled: February, April and May. Dates forthcoming soon.

a smack on the head with a can of vegetable juice

that is such a convoluted 70s pop-culture reference, i can't even stand it.

but seriously.

last night, i reached, again, for my new favorite scarf. it looks like this:



clearly, i didn't knit it. i bought it, while in London, at Muji. [it's not on their website...sorry] it's made from recycled cotton, woven into supersoft jersey, and it was cheap and i loved it instantly. it came in the recycled cardboard tube which i re-recycled when i gifted Noah's baby hats to his parents. :-) i wore the scarf everywhere. see?

my husband laughed at me. i'm a knitter, and my favorite scarf is store-bought? ah, poo.

i wore it out for the billionth time again last night to knit night at the Purple Purl. and suddenly realized. i reach for this scarf because it's light, it's cool, it feels good against my neck and it's made of SUPERFINE yarn.

wait a minute. i have lots of laceweight in my stash that i have no idea what to do with. guess what i cracked open when i got home?



i believe this may be an ongoing project of stockinetty love. it will certainly require very small needles. :-)

a nice fresh year

happy around these parts. calm [unusually so.] TNNA is coming up [the big knitting (etc) trade show] and this time, I'm not going. I just need to sit still for a while and work on Knitty from my desk, not from a trade show floor. I feel simultaneously sad [not to see all the knitting peeps I love and missing out on seeing what's new in the biz firsthand] and relieved [knowing I'm taking care of business and my sanity at the same time]. I think I'm a little travelled out. :-)

I've already booked my flight to TNNA Columbus in June, though. I wouldn't miss the June show for anything.

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Meanwhile, around these parts, things are starting, continuing, finishing, in all the best ways.

- Jan 1, I cast on for Imogen. I'm knitting it in a discontinued yarn that I'm lucky enough to have gotten before it went byebye. It's Artfibers Gypsy [of course - you know how much I love the stuff]. Kira tells me that Artfibers Bambusa or Sumo would make good subs. It's colorway 11 -- they'll likely dye almost any of their yarns in this luscious colorway if you ask nicely.



Imogen looks like it will be my ideal sweater -- cozy but still flattering and adjustable to fit whatever my body throws at it that day. Gypsy is my favorite yarn. Damn, I wish they hadn't discontinued it! [Should we start begging in unison?]

- Incoming Blue Moon goodies! First, I finally got my hands on a skein of the Raven series -- Silk Thread in Valkyrie. It's insanely beautiful and these lame pictures don't even come close to showing the subtlety of color change.



The Charlie Brown gang are looking on in silent awe. No, I'm not sure what this will be just yet.

- More from Blue Moon! They're now offering EZ's surprise jacket-friendly kits in my favorite non-wool sock yarn, Sock Candy!



This stuff is heavenly and I love how Tina puts the colors together. And you can get two jackets from one kit, if you alternate the colors. Brilliant. I'd better get knitting!

- the last thing that's got the fire under my arse are the duvet-covers-in-progress.



This is, I'm guessing, about half of what I'll need to make two twin duvet covers [just the TOPS, mind you -- the bottoms will be nice white sheets]. I'm cutting a bunch of 11.5" wide strips every night, and then will start assembling these strips into random assortments, lengthwise. I need 6 strips per top. I wanted to do 5, but didn't want ridiculously wide strips, and 7 was more piecing and cutting than I'm in the mood for.

I almost sound like I know what I'm doing here, eh? Well, I used to quilt. Rather a lot. In fact, I didn't knit when I was quilting. Here's what I saved up for over two years in the late 1990s:



It's my Bernina. If I'm lucky, it should last me the rest of my life!

One thing, though: just before I veered away from quilting all the time, I bought this fabric at the big October quilting and needlework festival in Toronto.



I love it, and want to get more. I think it would make great pillowcases! Does anyone know where I might find some? Web searches are proving fruitless and there is no identifying text on the selvedge to help me figure out who made it, even. Help?

FINALLY! progress!

remember this? i just now, at the end of December, got to the separation of the back from the two fronts. i started it in March. clearly i lost steam somewhere around albuquerque.

every row is so damned long [this sweater is knit in one piece to the armholes] and though it's an easy stitch pattern to remember, it's not as mindless or quick as the stuff i usually choose. still, i do love the fabric and picturing actually wearing the thing is keeping me going.

so yes. i'm at the point where i just knit a front or the back and leave the others on holders. while i was shopping at Husfliden in Oslo, i found a freakinghuge stitch holder which was [Theresa and i guessed] for weaving. it was just a few dollars so i bought it. it handily, as i hoped it would, holds an entire back's worth of stitches on it with no scrunching.

pictures tomorrow, perhaps. right now, i'm spent with the excitement of it all.

complete, utter disaster.

thankfully, almost nothing in knitting is irreparable.

this is the 2nd djevellue i've been trying to knit for a week now. i knit a perfectly lovely one on the first try last month, but for some reason, i'm repeatedly making a mess of this one. over and over. again.

here's the first one [same yarn]:


see? lovely. as intended. definitely recognizable as the same hat in the pattern.

here are the messes i've created:




i knit on this for 3 hours at knit night wednesday, in complete denial.
i now know what i did wrong and why it just didn't seem right. [right? how about sane?]

i will rip. again.

Denny's secret

Denny, she likes to do the seaming. Denny, she likes to weave in the ends. Place a pile of knitted pieces in front of Denny, and her eyes light up.

I am guilty of knowing this and intentionally mentioning the doneness of the pieces of my Artfibers coat to Denny while we were at SOAR. I had fear of finishing. Denny had no such fear and had it immaculately seamed within 24 hours.

She was worried [because she knows me] that I might lose steam and not finish the rest. I could not let her down. So I picked up stitches for the collar right away, and packed the unfinished sweater and yarn and took it all over Europe with me.

Jillian suggested the perfect way to end the collar involving my first good handspun. I finished knitting the collar in Theresa's living room and Jillian is [no surprise to me] a genius. Tonight, I finished one side of the button band and, knock wood, I should be able to finish the last side tomorrow. Which means finished sweater for Wednesday at LK. Denny, I will see you on Wednesday [I hope!], with my finished sweater on my person.

For obvious reasons, pictures will have to wait. Denny has to be the first person to see it.

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For those interested, London and SOAR recaps are still forthcoming. :-)

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eta: you have NO idea how close I am to running out of the thinner dark purple silk yarn. please light a candle for me.

eta: psst. done!

keep your hands offa my gypsy

the Artfibers silk coat is the only thing I want to knit right now. this picture shows the fabric as well as is possible without being in the same room with it. it's lush, touchable, fuzzy but not in a gross way and seems almost woolly, without any itch whatsoever.

i always enjoy my knitting [or i switch to another project], but the relationship i am building with Artfibers Gypsy is pretty special. [Golden Siam is wonderful, too, but it's the Gypsy that makes this fabric so infinitely touchable and unique.]

more pics below.

artfibers, I love you

Here's how it starts. [Excuse the nasty photoshoppies. My camera refuses to accurately capture purples, so this is my best approximation.]

Left: Golden Siam, color 37 [a deep bluey purple]
Right: Gypsy, color 4 [a purple that goes from palest lilac to medium purple with hints of red]


[this picture is unretouched -- and pretty color accurate, too. weird.]

[I've jonesed for Gypsy ever since Jillian designed this wrap for Knitty. It's amazing stuff...feels like multiple layers of silk hankies shredded into strips and twisted a little. I wonder how they make it?] It was a bit too cutesy-purple for me on its own, but adding the deeper purple Golden Siam made it just right.

I'm knitting it into an opaque fabric [but it still flows nicely], one strand of each, on US 10 needles. Here's the ribbing:



And here's what it'll look like, sort of, one day:


I've shortened the overall length to match my own height and may not do a double cuff, since the fabric is pretty thick already. Then again, I might! I've also changed the 1x1 rib to a 2x2 and am not knitting it on smaller needles as the pattern prescribes. There will be no ass cupping if I can help it!

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Also purchased on this trip, FABRIC. Yes, fabric. Don't faint.

I couldn't help myself. Right next to Knit/Purl in lovely Portland was Josephine's Dry Goods. They had Amy Butler fabric in the window and I just went in to look. And came out with ITALIAN LINEN instead.



The fact that I suck at sewing clothing didn't stop me. The linen is soft, thick and reminded me of the house we stayed at in Montalcino [the house belongs to the owner of C&C Milano, a company that makes Italian linen...every couch and bed in the place was covered with the stuff!]. I couldn't leave it there. It was also a mere $53 for a whole jacket's worth.

I hope to show you a finished jacket sometime soon. It will likely involve bribery and grovelling. I'm fine with that.

Oh, for those that wish to know, the pattern is from here. Lots of cool patterns on the site, actually.

Bee Fields

I just bought this pattern to knit with this --> handspun laceweight yarn.

It seems oddly kismetty that Sarah most-generously gifted me with exactly enough to make the shawl I've been watching Anne design on her blog for weeks now.

Only time will tell if I can actually make the thing grown on my needles. I specialize in mindless lace, and this is anything but mindless. A challenge. We shall see!

Silversmithy update: we have (almost done) ring!

I missed last week's class -- we attended a cool Luminato event. [Hub is a foley artist, and one of his friends was doing live foley to accompany the movie on stage. It was a brilliant show.] Anyway.

Back last night, and as usual, had a blast and love Sarah and her classes. Also big props to Jen who brought popsicles for all of us [it read 38c on my car's thermometer, for god's sake] -- salvation in ice + sugar. Yum.

Here's the progress from last night:

bezel wall attached to the base, sawed out [not badly for me], sanded for a billion years and then soldered. oops.


see that little dip in the bezel wall? it's at the front on the left. that's where i melted it. never mind. sarah says we can feex, so we are moving on.

we tried to set the stone, but after i'd sanded the bezel down to get rid of the melty evidence, the bezel wall was too shallow to hold the stone in place. so sarah feex for me by grinding out some of the bottom of the bezel.


she did this because, if i slipped [very likely], i'd have had to start all over again. na ga da*.


and her work allowed me to set the stone! it's in! it's in solidly! it's on my finger! i love it!

as you can see, there's still some finishing work to do. the edge of the bezel has to be sanded and smoothed and then i have to buff the ring. but i'm wearing it now anyway [oh, such a surprise! :-)] and will show you the finals when it's really really done.

meanwhile, i'm now in trip-prep mode for Albuquerque and Minneapolis [two more different cities? not possible] and must dash. however, i will say this...

Seattle (Bainbridge Island) -- July 24 & 25 (Churchmouse Yarns & Teas)
Portland -- July 27 (Knit/Purl)

Classes with these shops are almost finalized, and I'm hoping to add a date at Nathania, Sandi and Chloe's shop (Purlescence) in Sunnyvale, CA, that weekend. I'll be doing either the Tuscany shawl class or the No Sheep class [or both at some shops].

I'll have my laptop with me while I'm gone, so as soon as dates/times are finalized, I'll let you know. This is my first west-coast tour, and I'm ecstatic to come and hang with you guys on the left coast!


*you get this, yes? dana carvey doing gb senior in the late '80s.

And now, more knitting!

I'm knitting another Tuscany. For those counting, this would be #3. I wanted to do a summer-weight one, so of course I reached for the Seasilk. In fact, when I saw the super-sized skeins that somehow leaked into the yarnstream [for sale at The Sweet Sheep], I snapped one up pronto. Because people have told me it takes a skein and a half of seasilk to do a nice-sized Tuscany, and that's the yardage in these larger skeins. Again with the two ends to weave in. Happy happy me.


Did you know? Americo got their summer yarns [aka the non-woolly kind] in stock recently, and I grabbed three skeins of the cotton/silk in sky blue. This bundle is all three skeins twisted together. I love that they do this at Americo. Dammit, I love everything at Americo. The yarn even smells good...delicately botanical. I think it just picks it up from being in the store, but it lasts a while as you knit, and even sensitive-nose me likes the aroma. Mmm.


The puffy part is cotton. The shimmery binder thread is silk. What will this be? Can you say moebius? I thought you could.

They have this yarn in a billion colors [almost] and variations on it as well -- lumpier, bumpier, smoother and the new stuff - cream or black laceweight pure silk. Desirable? I think you know. I loves me the Americo. If you're in town to see Ms Harlot tonight, be sure to stop at Americo before you leave the city limits. Promise me.

Thank you.

silversmithy!

We're having a blast on Tuesday nights. What a great class! This week, the last of us finished soldering our bands closed and then we got to bang the crap out of them with a rawhide mallet until they were round like real rings. Wanna see?


Not bad, eh? It's intentionally shaped that way so that the two ends meet straight on.


Unless, of course, your sawing technique is as unpractised as mine. Look at that huge gap!


But look! All filled in with solder [which is a really cool process that uses the torch and is very challenging for me who can't see so good close up].


Not looking much like a ring, though, is it?


There. That's better!

It's been on my hand since the class and is insanely comfortable. It's not even close to done [there's polishing to do and stuff and then we still have to make the bezel and set the cabochon on top], but it's a ring and I made it and I'm all proud and stuff.

We're also allowed to do other projects during our time at the workshop, and what I'm currently working on cannot be disclosed here for reasons that will become apparent later on. Suffice to say that it requires the one thing I'm really bad at: sawing. Perhaps by the time I'm done, I'll be better? I can hope.

Gloves off.

Who the gloves were on for, that I don't know. Me, maybe. But it's time and I'm just going to say it.

I'm really, really tired of my body ruining my knitting fun.

If you've read my blog for a while, you know my body size doesn't stay the same size for more than 2 seconds in a row. Wonder why I knit so many lacy shawls? It's because they always fit.

I've been big and little [relatively speaking] over and over again my whole life. Even when I'm in a reasonably stable body-size period, no measurement stays the same for more than a month or so. I've come to accept this. I've panicked-dieted from real big to what I consider the perfect size [for me...which is about a 14] more than once in my life. But I can only sustain that panicked state for so long. Operating based on underlying panic doesn't make me happy. It does nothing but keep me in mental freak-out overdrive and fool me into throwing out larger pairs of jeans that I'm likely going to need when the panic subsides.

Aside: This is not a rant about dieting and how I'm going to embrace it again and dammit, this time it will stick! I am D.O.N.E. with dieting, and that includes the most-sensible diet of all, Weight Watchers. I can only stay on the program when I'm in panic mode. How could that possibly be a healthy way to live my life?

This rant is the result of another sweater. I cast on for a really cute super-deep-u-necked fitted vest last night in the hand-dyed deep aqua cotton I bought at the Knitter's Frolic. And then I ripped it out before I finished the first row, because I can feel that my body wants to be a little smaller. I've pretty much been the queen of the slugs all winter, meeting writing deadlines, and now it's time to get out of the house and off my ass.

But what size will I be? Do I have to wait till I get to wherever that is to knit my damned aqua fitted vest? If I knit it now and it's too big by a few inches, it won't be a fitted sexy vest.

I am very aware of -- and believe in -- the BGK philosophy: knit for your body NOW, as it is, no blinders on. But I'm also very aware of how frustrating that can be if you're like me and your body doesn't stay the same size long enough for a sweater to fit you by the time you're done [too big, too small, what's the diff?].

Jillian and I have talked about this and we have no answer except to knit a wrap. I don't want a wrap. I want that damned aqua fitted vest.

A friend has recently gotten noticeably smaller [several inches in the chest, at least], right in the middle of a knitting project. What did she do when it turned out to be too big? She frogged it and has started over. She's a braver woman than I.

Instead, I'm knitting on my deep pink Cables & Os, which will look good and be forgiving of any up-or-downsizing of this body of mine. But the hand-dyed aqua cotton is in a basket, staring at me. I think it's pretty cruel that what I do for relaxation and enjoyment has to be so strongly tied to the size of my body.

Scrapbookers don't have this problem, do they?

---

eta: I knew there were more of us with this concern than just me. You want to see the yarn?



and because I know you'll ask:


As is my way, after the moaning and complaining, I've decided to just knit the thing. I will use good BGK principles and add in some design details that may [I hope] act as built-in body-forgiving devices. Jillian's helping me by writing up my pattern. It's not Morrigan, after all. It's not a year-long commitment. It's a vest.

Regarding my original post, I still don't know what the answer is. Maybe I'll invent some kind of cutesy way to take in sweaters with ribbons or pleating or something if I get noticeably smaller. Clever use of shawl pins? If I get bigger, well, knitting stretches. But I'd really like not to get bigger.

I cracked my precious

I've had one skein of Tess Designer Yarns Cascade Silk in Twilight sitting on my skein display rack since I bought it in fall 2004. Two and a half years. You must click on the link. It will explain why I was reluctant to do more than stare at it and occasionally fondle it longingly. The colors! Silver to deepest periwinkle. Mmm. More than any other, THIS was my skein of pet yarn [phrase coined by You Know Who].

Last night, in the middle of working on more BGK2 words [it's all about the words now, baby], I suddenly decided it was time to take it down, crack the label and wind it.

There. She's ready to be knit. I've pulled out my special stitch books and I think I know what pattern to use, even.

I am going to try to design another shawl in the Tuscany vein. [That means a purl-back lace pattern where I start at the bottom and increase upwards. Easy to memorize and really pretty when it's done. That kind of pattern.] This one has to take advantage of [not fight] the long color changes in the yarn, too.

I don't have the carrot of a trip to Italy dangling in front of me to keep me motivated. Right now, it's about proving to myself that I can do this designing thing more than once in my lifetime. We'll see. If it works out, you'll know because I'll post here about it.

small infusion of sanity

Knitty production is hot and heavy now and has been for days. Knitting my complex-yet-beautiful sweater doesn't give me the mental break I need.

But this will:


Wanna see the yarn I'm going to use up close?


I found the pattern here: the purl bee - Purl Beret - Beret Pattern. It calls for Koigu, and I can't think of a better No Sheep sub than Sock Candy. Why this color? Simple. When I was at Rhinebeck last fall, there was one lone skein of this Pretty in Pink. It called to me. But what the hell do you do with one skein of sock yarn?

Clearly it knew I would want to knit it into a beret several months later. Sock Candy is clever that way. Let's hear it for the Sanity Beret!

Knitty, she keep on plugging

Soon!

In the meantime, progress photos for those who love such things. Cables & Os is moving right along. Look.


Look at all those tidy, shiny repeats! Ooh!

But it takes me 30 minutes a row. Really. Why is that?

Cause I'm knitting the fronts and back all at the same time as per the pattern. I don't mind this, because I can see the yardage growing, but MAN it feels slow sometimes.

Never mind. Progress is progress. Once I split the body for the fronts and back, it'll feel like flying! Plus I constantly get to fondle the fabric, knowing this is one of those sweaters I'll have forever.

---

p.s. I confess. I had kind of mentally tuned Berroco out for a while, because their designs were nothing like my taste. A lot of novelty and I don't do novelty.

But have you seen their newsletters recently? Oh heavens, it's a new Berroco, and I love it. What's that? A cotton-blend yarn that's specifically created to mimic what wool does naturally? With added elastic? How very No Sheep! Yay!

Queensland Cotolino, a love poem

on the needles now, the Cables and Os cardigan from No Sheep For You.
Yarn: Queensland Cotolino [60% cotton, 40% linen], color 17

you do not yield easily,
yet you are not as inflexible as your pure sister, linen.
you acquiesce to the needle with a minimum of coaxing.
my twisted rib is happy.

[i will not quit my day job, promise].

---

p.s. No Sheep is in stock at Amazon. Let the plotzing commence!

this instead

Already on the needles, this sweater in exactly the same color as in the book.

I don't feel guilty in the slightest for not choosing another color. I picked the sweater to be in the book. And in this case, this one is just my taste. [Not everything in every book I work on or magazine issue I publish is my taste, or else no one would care for my work very much, I think. But this pink cably, lacy cardigan is just exactly what I hope to be wearing on cool spring nights. Clearly, I'm a delusional optimistic, but it's what I need to keep motivated.]

The yarn was sitting here after a quick delivery from Elann, so I swatched. Twice. Uncharacteristically for me, I had to go up one needle size to get gauge, but then I got it right on. I'm on row two of this big-ass project [it's back and fronts knit all at once, so it'll be slow going for a while] and I'm very fond of the yarn. It's well-behaved stuff, but not hard on the fingers. Looks really pretty in the twisted rib the designer called for.

Okay, back to BGK2 work, Knitty spring [it's coming, you know! Watch for it in March] and other stuff.