Neil Gaiman on Hanukkah and Christmas

Thanks to Laura Gayle for the link!

Neil Gaiman writes about his family's Hanukkah/Christmas struggle and the kids' ultimate triumph.

At our house, we never would even think of having a tree. But I was surrounded by non-Jewish friends, so I got my yearnings out of my system by decorating my German friend Monica's tree and spending xmas day with them. Their traditions included drinking Henkel Trocken punch [the addition of frozen strawberries made it punch], listening to the ultimate irony -- Barbara Streisand singing xmas songs -- and general post-holiday sloth. Oh, and Monica's brother's rum balls...Martin could make a mean rum ball!

In my later high school years, I subbed in for a christian friend at her job, one day a year -- xmas, of course. It was at the nicest nursing home in London, Ontario, and all I had to do as receptionist was answer phones and deliver Poinsettia plants to the residents as they trickled in all day. So strange to have the non-residents say, "bless you for giving up your xmas!" to me, over and over, year after year. Everyone said that.

I spent the day doing the job, calling Monica's family to celebrate long-distance, and working my way through the previous year's worth of New Yorker Magazine cartoons, issue by issue. [Heaven.] At the end of my shift, I opened the special desk drawer, removed my pay envelope and went home to my tinsel-free family.

I never wanted not to be Jewish. Like Neil, I just wanted the bling in my house, too.

--> Bling achieved.

if you are a US citizen, you have only one thing to do today.

and it's not knitting*.


It's not just your right to vote, it's your responsibility as a citizen of the United States. Drop me a comment when you're done and I will give you a yay out loud in the Knitty offices!

I voted absentee in September. Now it's just the waiting.

*in case there's a line up at your polling station, you should totally bring your knitting. I would!

no, seriously. Devo!

Thank you to everyone for the good wishes! Special thanks to Rache in the comments who found the FTP app that is TOTALLY going to solve 1/2 of the remainder of my connectivity problems. Brilliant! Now if someone can just find an app that will let me run Keynote presentations from the iPhone -- because look at this projector! -- I'll be all set!

---

Meanwhile, in Knitty parts [why does that sound dirty?], I'm wondering why I am hearing zero Devo web buzz after the surprise came out. Dudes. I know Nicky named her scarf Skullface, and I haven't even asked her about the Devo resemblance, but I feel this cannot be ignored.

We knitters now have a chart for Devo heads. Why are we not running to our stashes, casting on for Devo socks, Devo cowls, Devo tunics of extreme proportions? It's not even fair isle...it's MOSAIC! Even I can do mosaic knitting!

Nobody? It's just me?

I leave you to mock me in the comments. I can take it. Sort of.

nu-uh she di-n't!

Okay, I didn't realize. The non-wool yarn that Beth at Lorna's Laces is using for my colorway? She's been calling it "Amy Friendly Yarn" in messages to me.

But dudes. That's its official name in stores and everything. I'm sure it's the height of ego to be amused by this, but I can't help it.

Proof? Here's the stuff for sale and everything:
- at The Loopy Ewe

- at Jimmy Beans Wool

There is giggling on this side of the keyboard.

blog local

just found Sarah's blog through a post on Facebook -- Diggin’ the Dirt. and she's only got 2 subscribers including me? that's nuts. go read her!

there are great bloggers all over the world, but all of a sudden, i'm discovering really cool Toronto-based crafty bloggers. which means when they write about resources, i have access to them too! Sarah's one -- she writes about knitting, gardening and cooking [canning especially caught my attention]. Another is Karyn at Make Something who writes as cool a crafting blog as any i've ever seen, and she's local. she also runs a cool sewing studio in town which i've been meaning to check out.

so there. you can eat local and shop local. i say you should also blog local! :-)

quick cold-brew coffee primer for Jacquie

because i miss her. :-)

there are lots of posts all over the web about this. here's a short one, condensed with what i've learned so far and my [simple] methods.

ingredients:
- a French Press coffee pot, which i just happened to have around* the house. you can do the same with a big jar and a fine sieve. i just like having a use for something that was in the basement.

- medium-coarse ground coffee [mine so far is a blend of 1/3 ethopian beans, 2/3 sumatran. supposedly blends make better cold-brew, or so i've read]. if you can grind them just before brewing, that's best

- water

- time

here's what i do:
- grind some beans -- a small handful makes about 2/3c
- measure exactly 2/3c and put it in the bottom of the French Press
- measure exactly 1.5c of water from the Brita pitcher and pour it on top
- i have one of those Nigella scrambly whisks and i mix up the whole mess until all the coffee grounds are wet
- put the plunger lid on top, UNplunged, and leave on the kitchen counter for 12 hours, no more. [more = bitterness]
- push the plunger down and pour the coffee concentrate into another container [i use a glass jar] and put in the fridge

to make my favorite milky, sweet latte, so far the blend is:

1 part coffee concentrate
1 part 2% milk
.5 part sugar-free vanilla syrup

that makes it quite milky and sweet. that's today's mix, anyway -- i will likely fine tune it.

if you like regular coffee, the coffee concentrate should be diluted 1:1 with water. but i don't like regular coffee, so i have no opinion.

---

i make this stuff because i think and work better with one single coffee in me in the morning, and my kitchen is closer than any coffee shop and much cheaper. also, this stuff is really delicious and, as advertised, feels less acidy on the tum [which is something i have to deal with].

*the final irony is that this bodum french press? it came as a gift from Starbucks. i'm not kidding. when the less-big coffee giant first came to Toronto in the late '90s, i was annoyed that there was no website of any sort for Starbucks [that's how long ago it was] where i could find the nearest location. so i started my own. [!]

amusingly, Starbucks head office found out about it and wrote to thank me [again, !!] and ask for my address. they sent me a box of coffee stuff, most of which we still have, and this coffee press was in that box. so my home-brew is courtesy of Starbucks, saving me at least $4 every time i make one myself. :-)

the best bunny story i've read all week

did you know Tina from Blue Moon has recently brought home a new bunny? he's absolutely beautiful. go read her post and i dare you not to melt.

---

i've been messing about with cold-brewed coffee, trying to get the proportions of coffee to milk right. i'm getting closer. the beans are from the Merchants of Green Coffee, in lieu of my most-favorite Stumptown. it's all about proximity, and i can get it freshly roasted, which i'm told is the big dealy key thing. blend so far is 1/3 ethopian beans, 2/3 sumatran.

i like a latte kind of drink, so i am not adding water to the coffee concentrate. i'm closer today than ever, but it's still not right. when i get it right, i'll share the proportions.

oh, and my lattes include sugar-free vanilla syrup. you wanna tell me i'm a coffee wuss? go ahead. try. i like it sweet, and so there.

---

my gretel is on hold. i am trying to knit from stash, not for financial reasons, but because it's just damned greedy to have a good bit of yarn and not look there first for supplies for a project.

sadly, all my stash options are not working out. the closest is a lovely skein of Silk Cotton from [sigh] Handmaiden, in the most beautiful colors of faded yellow to grey [i think it might be Dandelion, but my skein is much more muted than any i see on the web]. except it's probably 25 yards short of being enough to finish the hat. will i be brave enough to cast on, knowing i might not have enough to finish? we'll see!

meanwhile, i am knitting greedily on my new sweater -- Amy's Vintage Office in the Amy Friendly Yarn [bamboo/silk] and i cannot believe how fabulous this yarn is. it's not as slippery as pure silk and it's not as wussy as pure bamboo. it's kind of heaven.

pictures later. right now, work!

much better.

I walked into the salon with my chopped-off mess, removed my baseball cap and, no kidding, everyone in the salon gasped audibly. There was head shaking. My guy came over and ran his fingers through the chopped-up mess and didn't seem worried.

I'd gotten, it seems, one of the technically worst haircuts ever seen. Proportions? Non-existant. I looked like I was losing my hair on the left side [not joking] it was chopped up so unevenly and so short, and I had a big DuranDuran bang that didn't belong anywhere. The before pictures I took [yes, Anonymous, I did take them, but you'll never see them] aren't even clear enough to see how bad it was.

But here are the after pictures. The pink is something I had done ages ago and there's still enough left to see it. [I do love it.]

The bang now makes sense in context with the hair, having been properly layered and angled into the rest of it. Everything else is pretty much Demi Moore in GI Jane, but on purpose this time. I don't look like a 6-year-old hacked at me with blunt scissors.

I can't explain why the same woman who gave my friend J a fabulous, perfectly suited to her, proportional and well-executed cut could mess up so badly on me. But I am grateful that my guy is good natured and likes a challenge. He actually said he was glad I had this done so that he could try super-short on me. That's my boy.

So now if you see me at Rhinebeck, you'll know it's actually me.

I'm off to cast on an Urchin in my handspun. I think my head will be colder this winter than usual. :-)

who is stealing my stuff?!

This is driving me crazy.

First, this shawl, last photographed in its infancy [but actually two full skeins of knitting last time I saw it -- almost done!] is MISSING. I took it with me on the Alaksa cruise and I can't remember seeing it since. This doesn't bode well. I didn't knit much of anything on that cruise, so I was pretty sure the shawl stayed in my bag the whole freaking time. Except it's not there or anywhere.

Second, I just bought replacement size US6 tips for my needles and used them. And now they're missing. And for some ridiculous reason, I have no other size 6 needles in my house. I have ripped up couch cushions, looked under piles and in things that don't even vaguely relate to knitting and NO NEEDLES.

This is putting a serious cramp in my Vintage Office project starting. Grr.

---

Today, I'm doing the unthinkable. I'm going to see a different hairdresser. My guy doesn't read my blog, so it's safe to report this here.

He's a friend and a lovely guy. We're friends with his wife and his kids. But I just need to see someone different after more than 10 years.

I feel like a sleazebag. But I do have a story prepared in case I decide I'm going back to him after the cut today.

And if I don't, how the hell do I handle that, because he still cuts hub's hair. Oh, dangit -- he's the one that moved another half hour further away from us. Am I to blame, really? He forced me into it!

Blue Moon nooz!

Did you wonder how my Blue Moon sweater was going? I can't imagine you did, but for the sake of ongoing knitting content -- and because it's SO GORGEOUS -- here's where I'm at. This picture is quite color accurate -- the colorway is Gypsum, and the yarn is Luscious Silk, a recent addition to the line at Blue Moon! [I get very excited when my favorite yarn companies start adding Amy-friendly yarns to their lines, as you can tell.]


Sadly for me, I didn't start knitting from two different skeins until, well, you can see where I did, and that's just life. It'll make the right front look like an, um, art piece. Yeah, that's just what I meant to do! [snork.] The pattern is Kristi Porter's Sonnet, transfigured into lace to make the yarn I have go further, and because silk is warmer than wool, so solid silk would be steamy to wear! Toes included in the shot for scale.

I'm halfway [or more] through the back and progress is quite speedy. I keep getting motivated to get to the solid-knit row pair in the super-simple lace repeat, which keeps moving me forward.

---

Speaking of all things Blue Moon, have you heard about this? It's going to be so insanely cool. Sounds like a cannot-miss event of a lifetime! I wanna go.

What has happened since last I wrote...

• I became a cover girl [as designer only. Julia is the super-hot model in my knitwear on the ONLY hot day so far this month. And she looked so good in the cowl, I had to give it to her.]
  
  
• Wait, cover? What cover? Don't you know about Knittyspin? This issue, it got its own cover. Dang well about time, too.
  
  
• Yup, fall Knitty came out, and this time, we've got yer printer-friendly pages for ya! This is why I have been a hermit the last month or so.
  
  
• My uke fingers are all soft again. Poo. Haven't been able to touch the thing in a week. Back at it to get my fretting fingers back in shape!
  
  
• I have been knitting behind the scenes for relaxation! Progress is being made on the Luscious Silk lace Sonnet. Photos forthcoming, but don't you dare make me get the camera out again today, okay?

I'm sure there's more, but I can barely see the screen now, so I say byebye. Big love. Sleepies now.

got an hour to kill?

Yup, I done opened my mouth again. This time, the podcast was CraftSanity, and what you'll hear is me sounding more like me than any other interview I've done.

You know how sometimes you know stuff but you haven't had to articulate it so the stuff just floats around your head, all nebulous? Well, in this podcast, Jennifer, the host, got it all out of me.

I'm not one for Mission Statements. I think they're kind of pompous and usually pretty generic. But this podcast is about as close as I'll get to stating Knitty's mission...so if you are interested in why Knitty does things the way we do, give it a listen.

And then come back and tell me what you think, will you?

before there was dood...

there was this stuff. the tv show it goes along with [Swingtown] is amusing enough, but i really am liking the music. serious flashback time.

---

my tour de fleece experience is off the rails. i haven't spun in 3 days, but i have been working hard on Knitty and am cutting myself some slack.

the 2 ounces of tussah is half spun already, so i'm sure i'll finish by the end of the challenge. perhaps that's the problem. set a harder challenge and you can't let it drop without a disaster.

---

also, i'm beading again. i am stuck at how to finish the bands of peyote i've completed so they look professional and are functional without being uncomfortable to wear. i'm expecting a few bead books to arrive up here shortly, and i think they'll help significantly.

and in the downtime since i picked it up last, my large-bead peyote has become tidier [or at least i've figured out how to keep it tidier now]. pictures forthcoming shortly.

---

really, lots of work going on here. thank heavens i didn't plan any travel this summer. i'd be out of my mind if i had to go anywhere beyond the back yard or one of my two LYSs.

a little more of TNNA

So you saw I got to spend a little time with Franklin. Then I read his blog and found the image at left...which was part of the best post on TNNA I've ever read. You must read it. It's here. The cartoons made me snort in my chair. Out loud, even. I believe I scared the rabbits.

As usual, lots of the stuff I got to peek at will become parts of future issues of Knitty, so I can't talk about them here. Here's what I can tell you.

I lost my voice suddenly, while talking to co-zone-of-funner Shannon Okey on Friday night. Yes, the night before the trade show. It just suddenly went pop, and was gone. Some time after this photo was taken. [BTW, I may look pensive in the shot, but really, I'm just thinking. :-)]

This photo shows that I didn't need to have a voice to have fun. This is the gang at the Tip Top again, posing for miss Mim.

Meanwhile, between the shmoozing and the business card swapping and much of what Franklin chronicles in that blog post above, there was also some surprise gifting.

Beth, who owns and operates the delightful Spinning Loft in Howell, MI brought little pouches, branded with her adorable shop logo [my favorite sheepies!] for a whole bunch of us. My pouch was filled with 2 oz of undyed Seacell. Yes, I buried my nose in it. I can't wait to spin it. On a spindle, even. I wrote more about my new love affair with my spindles in my most recent Knittyspin column, in case you missed it. So Beth, thank you for a kickass and super-timely present!

And then there's Abby, she of Abby's Yarns? I have no idea what I did to deserve this [probably nothing :-)], but she gifted me with her handspun. HER. HANDSPUN. There was nearly an embarrassing moment which involved plotzing and the aftermath there of, but I managed to hold it together.

Hang on. You can't really see the yarn [did I mention it is Abby's handspun?] in that shot. Look here:

Laceweight singles so delicious you could eat them with a tiny laceweight-enabled spoon. Public additional thanks [beyond my hugging and stuff] to Abby for this beauteous eye candy.

And now, I've got to run out to The Purple Purl [this is not a hardship, let's be clear on that]. It's time for the June Yarn Roundtable and just WAIT till the knitters see what I've got for them tonight!

[Tomorrow is all about the Harlot, Franklin and knitting in public. Let's hope the rain holds off, because wet knitters make a funny noise when you squeeze them.]

---

p.s.! did you know? The Purple Purl is having a KIP day event tomorrow, too! So after I go nuts at Lettuce Knit, I'll be heading back to the Purl to knit in the park with my girls. Join us!

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.

---

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!

where i am

dateline: venice, FL
beach time: 10 minutes [too crowded]
pool time: hours and hours
skin condition: lightly pink
favorite thing consumed: lemon picked from a tree nearby
current state: sore throat [mild but threatening]
current location: bed

the place my folks rented is decorated in late grocery-store-sale-section, but it's got everything we need, the beds are comfy and the pool is fabulous. i hope i am not really sick so i get to go in again before i have to fly home. more pics here, and more to come when i get them off the camera.

hub is home with a killer cold in snow and freezing rain. that's not fair, but we guess it's better that he didn't fly all the way here to be stuck in bed.

nighty.

blueberry love + flaaaaridaaaaah

way back when my gall bladder and i broke up, the Purlescence girls sent me a get-well love package. it worked! :-)

the sparkly stuff on the right is Blue Heron Rayon Metallic in the deliciously named color Blueberry. i've had it hanging in front of my desk since it arrived and last night, a little lost without a quick-knit sweater to work on, i cracked it open and cast on for the simplest thing ever: a triangular shawl in garter stitch based on the Tuscany silhouette. perfect travel knitting and so beautiful to look at.

---

travel knitting? why, yes. this is very odd to me, but i'm going to florida. this is something many people do every winter, but i've never gotten to be one of them. until this year, when my chicago-based parents got all, "winter is too cold! we must escape!" and rented a place on the gulf side for the whole month. the whole fam has been invited to visit sometime during the span, and my week starts tomorrow.

luckily for me, the house has wi-fi, because i'm full-on into spring Knitty mode and can't stop. but it will be mighty nice to take breaks and such by the pool in the backyard. wow.

so...i'm not into touristy stuff, but is there some amazing fibery thing i can't miss that's gulf-side, an hour or so south of Tampa?

---

hub's staying home to concentrate on programming, watch many boring documentaries and fuss over the bunnies.

---

psst:


yup, that's color accurate. can you stand it?

i'm not saying oy vey, really.

Miko was taking pictures of my Artfibers coat [this is the first one that I finished ages ago] and making me giggle. my eyes get very small when i giggle. Scout thinks it's me saying, "oy vey!"

so here. my finished coat. i do adore it -- it fits well, and my absolute favorite touch was jillian's idea:

the final 4 rows of the collar are knit in my first real handspun [from silk hankies]. it turned out to be a good enough gauge match and there's something about the color that sets off the purple perfectly. jillian, you are a genius.

the other Artfibers sweater turns out not to be so flattering when closed on my frame. here's a closeup of the front:


shawl pin purchased at the Purple Purl to celebrate my finishing! i actually think i'll wear it on the purple coat instead -- it suits it better.


this is the front, closed. again, not the best angle, if you ask me. and here's the back:


it's got that shruggy back construction, because of the way its made. doesn't bother me. notice the length is perfect, despite my neurotic worryings.

i'll try again tonight to get a pretty pic of it from the front, because it CAN look flattering when open.

so there. TWO FO pics in one post. please try not to die from the shock.

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.

---

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!

---



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.

done!

it's done. and yeah, my hands are tender.

but it's not blocked yet, in case he wants to wear it in THIS:



and now...back to Imogen!

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.

i baked.

it must be one of the signs of the apocalypse: i baked muffins. these muffins, actually. i have had this recipe printed out and magnetted onto my fridge for months, and finally realized i had all of the ingredients [except two] so i started baking. and then sent hub out for the eggs and applesauce. :-)

minor changes: i used regular all-purpose flour instead of half whole wheat. 3 eggs instead of 2 and 2 egg whites [seemed wasteful to me] but everything else as spec'd. it took longer to bake, probably because of my recipe changes, but was very yum. hub, who says he hates pumpkin pie, loves 'em. of course, he doesn't know they're pumpkin muffins. he just said they were nice and moist. i used silicone cupcake liners and, having heard that they stick, used non-stick spray first. bingo, no sticking.

i also did what one of her readers suggested and made soft cookies [see above] out of the rest of the batch, with the addition of a sprinkling more flour.

actually, the only sign of the apocalypse is the current state of my kitchen. pumpkin batter in little blurps everywhere. this is why i don't bake more often.

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.

oh. oh. ohhhhhhhh.

i was as a house afire last night. the top was together, and all i had to do was [oh, how simple, right?] overlock the remaining raw seams, attach the top to the twin sheet i bought for the purpose and sew 'em together.

it was as i was struggling with the latter that i remembered why i don't quilt much any more. sewing anything large-scale isn't fun for me, not at all. BUT! this isn't a quilt. it doesn't have to lay perfectly flat front to back. it's simply a big pillowcase for a fluffy duvet. fluffy is forgiving.

so i forged on ahead. discovered some shortcuts to make it easier, and also discovered that they don't really cut sheets on grain [do they? except where else do you get a piece of super-soft 70" wide fabric without a seam, so i sucked it up and kept going].

unwashed, i slipped the cover on the duvet and admired my handiwork. but it wasn't enough. so i slept under it. and i haven't slept that well in ages. there's something about the puffiness of a good duvet [our last one WASN'T a good one] and the inticing crackle of the high-thread-count cotton the duvet is made out of as you move in the night.

it's all mighty, mighty fine. and very, very pretty.

in order to keep motivated, i post no pictures and will not until the second is made and the bed is dressed properly. you want to talk about second-sock syndrome? how's second-duvet-cover syndrome sound??

going! bye!

i ran out of thread!

the duvets arrived earlier this week, so i finished all the rotary cutting of the strips and sat at the bernina for the first time in years. it still purrs like keety.

single duvet top #1 is assembled and most of the seams are faux-serged at the back so they don't fray all over the place. however, i have run out of sewing-weight thread and must go out and replenish if work is to continue.

i am obsessed. must go.

w00t!

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!

come. join us. what? my eyes are not all spirally swirls. what are you talking about?

Tivo's been available [the service] in Canada for a while. I went on and on about the convoluted process to obtain the magical Tivo box here.

Well, now you can get the box in Canada without any hoopla or rigamarole. Join us. You know you want to.

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.

---

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



---

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.

the complete look

[i snork at myself. that sounds so silly.]

but seriously. you saw the new hair. you heard about the new glasses, bought at my eye doctor's office [which i had to return when their lab did such a horrible job of filling my rx -- and I got a full refund on those because it was so badly screwed up]. well, these are my NEW new glasses, extra special because Denny helped me choose them.




instead of rimless, these are half-rimmed, which are great for progressives. for anyone in Toronto who's a tough, fussy fit like i am, i can highly recommend Crystal Beach Optical @ 416-698-3937. Ted has a fully equipped shop and is a really detail-oriented professional. patient, thorough. nice guy. good selection of frames.

that is all. off to the Yarn Roundtable!

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.

---

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?

2007 recap in pictures and short phrases...

...because why not, really?

I'm a little stunned at all that's gone on this year, now that I'm looking back. It certainly explains the current state of my house.


No Sheep for You was published [and I got my preview copy + chocolate early in the year.]


I got to hang, briefly, with the Purlesence girls while at the big knitting trade show, TNNA.


I bought my first Habu kit, which is still in this exact state [though Henry has grown] because my brain can't process the pattern.


Cupcakes came to the beach. I have visited Life is Sweet many times since then.


I finished a sweater and started a new one.



Jillian and I had the final photoshoot for More Big Girl Knits...at the cupcake shop, of course!


The year of speaking engagements/travel began at the DKC!


I got to do Breakfast Television again with the sexiest models ever!


I finally got to visit The Fold and my head exploded.


I re-visited the KW Knitters' Guild and managed not to faint in front of Sally Melville and Debbie New this time. Progress!


Loopy Yarn love in Chicago!


Jillian and I made a pilgrimage to the homeland of her heart...Hill Country Weavers in Austin, TX. I fell in love with the place, despite the shvitz factor.


I knit with steel.


I crocheted. And liked it. Haven't done it since, though.


I discovered Zulugrass and met the kickass Scout on her home turf [Albuquerque] where she dyed me some matching yarn.


I bent sterling silver.


Hub put the dead cedar hedge out of its misery.


Massimo the Vespa joined our family, a gift from Grandma.

The next three sort of blur together in a delicious happy memory:

Bainbridge Island, Washington

Portland, Oregon

The Purlescence girls of Sunnyvale, CA, show me San Francisco and, most importantly...


No picture here. My gallbladder and I broke up, permanently.


While I was healing, Hub had a fence put in our backyard to replace the hedge.


I healed quickly enough to visit Loop in Philadelphia!


I went to SOAR and so did Denny! I can now spin yarn that I'm proud to show off!


Hub and I went to Oslo, Norway, and finally met Theresa!


Hub and I went to London, England!

And then it got nice and quiet. It's been, as you can see, an incredible year. Actually, rather more mind-blowing in retrospect. I have Flickr albums full of memories, many more blogs to follow of new friends met all over the world, and now, one last thing.

One of my favorite things about Norway was...the bedding. Really. Everyone gets their own duvet, even in a shared bed. And in the morning, you get up and fold it in half [the long way] and it looks so very Scandinavian and insanely tidy with zero effort. I loved it. No trying to fluff a huge king-sized duvet. No fighting for covers. Then Theresa made new duvet covers and that was it. I was lost:


I ordered us a pair of basic twin duvets [no, not the Icelandic Eiderdown at $2900/ea -- try the Anniversary]. We didn't get each other presents for whatever holiday it is we're celebrating this time of year, so dang it, we could have them. I have enough Amy Butler fabric and vintage linen put aside to make two perfect covers. And sewing two twin covers well seems much more achievable than sewing one huge king-sized cover, though I could probably have done it...badly.

Guess what I'll be doing this week?

Happy new year, everyone!

whew

ripped.
reknit.
fixed. all better now.

i'm going to have to talk Tina into carrying this colorway [again? did she ever or was it ust an experiment?]. it's amazing.

---

off to the MIL's house to eat the traditional xmas party feast. they're Guyanese-Canadian, so it's a bit of a mishmosh of black-eyed peas [yum], meat-based stuffing, [i don't touch the stuff. the idea of it scares me], black pudding [see previous, times a thousand], probably something macaroni-ish with cheese [yum] and the staple of the meal: KFC. i eat KFC about once a year now, and this is the time. gimme somadat crispy stuff with extra transfat, baby!

meanwhile, i got my jewish holiday fix when i was home with my fam for dad's party/chanukah. i even had a side order of latkes with my breakfast when we went to Max's deli in Highland Park.

so all is right with the world.

----

it's quiet here in bloggy land, but i'm not going anywhere and am thrilled. some of the local knitfolk are having parties to take advantage of their weekday freedom, and the Purple Purl is having a pajama party/knit in on New Year's day that you'd have to chain me to my bed to miss.

oh, and it's pouring rain and 8c outside. and i just don't care. i'm off to eat the Colonel.

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.

catchup

So we're back. Hub and I returned last night from a week at my folks' place. We celebrated dad's 70th [THAT was a party, let me tell you...no one can organize a shindig better than my mama], ate a lot of really good food and I rediscovered Mr Pibb.

Did you know? They're making it again, except it's now Pibb, and the diet version is Pibb Zero. Whatever.

My sister and I loved this stuff when it was just Mr back when we were kids. This new Pibb incarnation seems to be only available in a portion of the US. It's like Dr Pepper, but more subtle. I love it.

---

So for this trip to Chicago, we drove. We've got a little Subaru [it's a 4wd car], so travel on possibly slippery roads is less scary to us than it might have been. However, we managed to drive on the two driest December days ever, and that was nice.

Because we drove [we usually fly because you just can't count on December weather to behave], we were also able to stay an extra day and avoid the ice storms threatening our travel route home. And hang with the fam and sample my sister's delicious cooking -- a mexican feast this time.

Oh, and we ordered this with our Amazon gift certificates from my sister and her hub. I do not like reading maps and am, therefore, bad at it. Hub hates getting lost. I hate backtracking. This device is a marriage saver. We call it the lady in the box, and the lady in the box got us home stress free. [sidenote: I'd used this exact model when I visited Scout in an Avis rental car in ABQ last June and marvelled at how easy it was to use, had super-quick recalculation when I decided to take an alternate route and never steered me wrong. The Amazon price was significantly lower now than when I last checked in June. Love this thing.]

---

The buns [both of them] are in great shape. They were fawned over at the bunny spa and came home totally relaxed and happy. We're lucky to have such a great vet's office so close to our home.

We'll be keeping an eye on Boeing, of course. But if she doesn't show further symptoms of the bladder stone, there's no reason to remove it. [If she were a boy bunny, that wouldn't be the case.] We also brought home timothy-based pellets, but confusingly, they have the same calcium content [0.8%] as the alfalfa-based ones we'd been using. I'm going to have to look into this.

---

So that's all for now. I've got new tea to sample, lots of catchup work to do on Knitty, and a serious machete needs to be taken to the clutter in our house. But before I go, this:

via Neil Gaiman's Journal, this delicious set of reviews at Amazon.co.uk. Savor them.

when all else fails...

...cut your hair off!



I still have the sticky out parts at the back of my neck, but now have little wee bangs and stuff. I like. Even the hub likes.

p.s. these are the old glasses. the new ones won't come for a few weeks. i do like these, but they're not going to last much longer. frameless are a bit delicate for even careful me.

p.p.s. i had no idea i was copying jacquie until she left her comment. SHE DID IT FIRST, people. though her bangs are much more bangy than mine are. :-) of course, if she'd ever blog, we'd see a picture of her hair and how different it is from mine and i'm blathering now, aren't i?

eee!

this is it. my last stationary day for 3 weeks. i'm off to SOAR tomorrow!

eeee!

freaking out? yes. but happy freaking now.

my suitcase? is not big enough. jillian and carla have filled an entire station wagon with their stuff [and maybe a few things for me :-)], so i guess it's not surprising that i'll need two bags.

eeeee!

i'm *this close* to binding off both sleeves for the Artfibers silk coat and must finish tonight. knitting from 4 cones of yarn at once is not good plane knitting. but i'll bring the pieces with me and hope to come home with a finished coat!

the churning noise my macbook is making now? it's encoding my copy of Lucy Neatby's Knitting Gems Vol. 1, so i can bring it with me on my iPod. why? because she's got a billion different ways to do a button band and all of them are smarter, easier and better looking than knitting a strip and sewing it on. i don't retain new techniques well at first, so it's a real treat to bring Lucy with me so she can show me over and over again until it's locked in my brain.

plane/downtime knitting? new sock. two skeins of Sock Candy in Little Bunny Foo Foo. pattern? in keeping with my love of the mindless, easy knit, something new, spotted first on Harlot's blog, thanks to Presbytera. a sock that starts, toe up, with 8 sts by 8 rows? dear lord, i am in heaven.

did i mention that my suitcase is too small?

eeeeeeeee!

i'll be bringing my portable solution with me, so i can make sure you get a special treat on Tuesday morning.

it may not be an iPhone or even a Treo, but i can use it to blog, view the web in full color on a rather large screen, check e-mail and do all sorts of other stuff. handy, eh?

for now, must sign off. will blog if i can on the road, but mostly, i'll just be having fun with the girls [and boys?] in the UP.

nuit blanche Toronto 2007

a string of diamonds, zone A.

---

note to self: you don't like crowds. next time, go to bed at 8pm, get up at 2 and walk through a much quieter, still-cool experience.

---

favorite exhibit: the cool drums and percussion on queen, east of dufferin

favorite hands on: making boondoggle [gimp] weavy stuff at Camp Night Owl in Trinity Bellwoods Park

most disappointing payoff after a long wait in line: ghost station [the abandoned subway station under Bay]. it was spooky for about 15 seconds. then it was just loud and dark. hrm.

a few more pics at Flickr for those who also like blurry tiny lights in the night sky.

Calendar contest news, and other things too

Item 1: Check your spam filters, because I've sent out 12 congratulatory messages to the winners of the 2008 Calendar Contest. It was harder than ever to pick this year's selection of winners. We got so many great photos but only have 12 spots. So if you didn't get my happy message, you may very well end up in the honorable mention gallery! The calendar will be released along with the fall surprise. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Item 2: Panic in the Knitty household this morning. We are out of Stumptown's Hair Bender blend. I bought 2 lbs of beans when I was in Portland, and it's all gone. Does anyone know if they'll ship to Canada? Their website is spectacularly unhelpful! SOLVED! Thanks to Audrey and dameknitsalot for their help. I called, told them I'd take the responsibility for the time delay [the 2 lbs we had lasted about 2 months and still tasted great at the end. maybe it would have been better if it was fresher, but we don't live in Portland, so we deal with it. :-)] and they're shipping 4 lovely lbs of whole bean Hair Bender to our door. Happiness has returned!

Item 3: QUESTION: has anyone taken an Ashford Joy wheel [in the soft case] onto an airplane? Does it fit in the allowed spaces? Please dish. I need to know what to do! I'm damned well not shipping it as luggage and I am sure I read somewhere that it's carry-on sized. ANSWER: Shannon Okey, world-traveller and spinner, assures me that it fits, and if not, flight attendants will treat it like a delicate instrument. :-) It also measures JUST 45" [all dimensions totalled], so that means it's legal.

Item 4: I love Northern Spy apples. It's Northern Spy apple season. Some misguided people think the Northern Spy is a pie apple. In fact, it is the best, crispiest, most perfectly tangy apple that ever grew on a tree.

That is all.

where i was this weekend.

[apologies in advance to those who love motorcycles. i am not one of you. in fact, you probably want to look away now. come back tomorrow when my anti-motorcycle posting phase will be over.]

thanks to the puffer [it really did the trick in stopping my cough and making me acceptable in society again], i was able to go ahead with my weekend plans: motorcycle classes. now why would i, who doesn't care a thing about motorcycles, take this course? i was told to. by all my scooter-driving friends who had taken the course themselves.

this means i had to learn how to drive a manual transmission bike. no one offers this course on scooters. you have to ride a real motorcycle. instead of two happy handgrips, one being the throttle [on my vespa], with a brake lever in front of each, i had to deal with my left lever being my clutch, the right lever being my front brake, the left handgrip with no function whatsoever, except to rest your hand on and the right handgrip as the throttle. but i'm not done. the back brake? it's in front of your right footpeg. and where's the shifter? in front of your left footpeg. and besides that, they're ugly. i drove a 125cc yamaha dirt bike. [seriously. that was the one i could control the best.]

you wonder why i didn't want to do this? yes, it was as annoying as it sounds. it's the same reason we don't have a manual car any more. shifting while driving isn't fun for me.

despite this, i paid attention to the teachers [they were good], did what they told me to [with a minimum of protest] and the hollow ache i felt in the pit of my stomach as they told us about each next skill we'd be practising usually went away soon after we got on the bikes. the hollow ache happened ALL THROUGH the weekend, right up until the test.

which i passed. my worst sin [besides once going outside of the lines] was going too slowly. sue me.

am i sorry i spent my weekend riding a bike i didn't like? nope. it was actually quite worthwhile. i learned all sorts of safety stuff, including evasive maneuvers and quick stops, and that's the reason i took the class in the first place. most every skill [except how to shift the manual transmission] applies to my vespa, too, which is why i went. good learning, even if i had to ride an ugly bike to get it.

do i want a motorcycle now? what do you think?

massimo and i get to drive to the ministry tomorrow, bring the paperwork they gave me at the class and get my license upgraded to an M2. which means i don't have to leave knit nights early any more! can i get a w00t?

call me! and a little pinkness

Hope you are liking fall Knitty. I was quite glad to get it up and mostly bug free, too. The cold is now a spasmy cough, so the doc prescribed Flovent. Erp.

And to celebrate, I'm doing Shannon's Knitgrrl podcast today. Did you know it was a live call-in show? Seriously. So if you've got any questions for me, please call in! The show page is here, and the number to call to speak to Shannon and I is (718) 664-9504. Show starts at 2pm eastern time today [Friday] and there's nothing worse than a call-in show with no callers. Please, don't leave me hanging. Yes, mom, you can call in if you want. :-)

oops. technical difficulties. so we've rescheduled for 6pm next week, so the west coasters have a chance of getting in. Friday, 6pm. Sorry if you were waiting for us!

---

Oh my. I ordered a seat cover for the Vespa at the end of my west-coast trip. I was giddy on Sunnyvale friends and bubble tea and I ordered this crazy pink snow leopard [i don't even have to say faux fur, do i?] custom seat cover from Crystal, who makes each one herself. I just couldn't handle the BEIGENESS of the seat, even if it was sorta faux suede.

So it's here, and it's the definition of PINK. You will see me coming and going with this under my tush. In fact, it seems this fabric was so popular that it sold out. And no, I'd never order camo. To me, camo = war, even if it's in another color. There was nothing else that grabbed me like the pink snow leopard, so that's what I got. Snork.

Honestly, though, it's very well made, with custom cutouts for the bag hook at the front and the keyhole in the side of the seat, and it's washable. And it makes me giggle when i look at the scoot. But Massimo...you think he is man enough to handle this much pink?

And for anyone who wants one, Crystal will do custom fabric for you. One day, I'll have her do a barkcloth cover for me.

still working, really

But you wanna see what I did on Saturday? My scooter club scheduled a ride to the Burlington Rib Fest. It was a much, MUCH longer ride than I've ever gone on before, but there were lots of other noobs going along too, plus they broke up the route into smaller chunks. Thanks to Dennis who took this pic and has no idea I've scoffed it for the blog.

It was a perfect day for scootering. Sunny and clear and not hot at all.

We drove the Lakeshore all the way to Appleby Line and then headed north, for the "twist and turn" part of the trip through the Escarpment. Yes, turns. Lots of tight ones. After the first bout of tight turns at 40-50kph, I realized I was going to have to take them slower if I was going to stay vertical. We ride in formation, so if one of us goes slow, the people behind them are stuck going slow too. Thankfully, they were kind to the noobs and didn't make us feel bad. And I stayed vertical. It was a beautiful ride, but I was a little too white knuckled to enjoy it as much as I could have.

Never mind. The rest was nice and straight and except for my unbelievably sore tush, easy as pie. [We were on our bikes pretty much from 11am until 9pm.] Still, I'm probably not going to sign up for another long ride for a while. Need to work up to that, I think.

My cute jacket? [Because I know you'll ask.] Lane Bryant denim. My own patches, bought with Jillian when we were in Austin. And the jacket? It R-E-E-K-S. I have two pairs of LB jeans and they stink as well. Like cheap factory stink. Even after two washings. Advice on destinking rather cute denim would be most welcome.

And now, head back down.

Oh, nice girl in the T&T parking lot tonight -- did you like the store?

special friends

I think there's something in the water in Sunnyvale, CA. I actually cried when I left my new Sunnyvale friends at the curb at the airport last month. I really love these guys.

So you can imagine the huge lump of mush I turned into when a box arrived at my house yesterday, and it was from my Sunnyvale girls. Kelli, CJ, Kathy, Sandi, Nathania and Chloe sent me...well, look!


First, this bag. Which Kelli owned a twin of, and which I loudly and annoyingly coveted until she filled her car full of me and the rest of the crew and we went to buy one for me. And when I got there, I promptly remembered all the bags I have at home and chickened out, leaving it behind.

Turns out, they grabbed it when I wasn't looking and bought it for me. And when my innards exploded, they filled it full of yarn, Jujyfruits and my very first pair of Addi Lace [!] turbos and sent it to me as a get well gift. [I popped on the scrabble stitch marker that Caro gave me in Austin and it suits it perfectly. Thanks, Caro!]



What's that?



Two of my favorite yarns in the world. On the left, Artful Yarns Fable [cotton/silk] and on the right, the only bling yarn I covet, and covet so deeply that I might have just a few skeins in other colors already in my stash: Blue Heron Rayon Metallic in BLUEBERRY, which I didn't have and DEEPLY LOVE. The whole bag is full of purple, and everyone at the shop is all about the purple, so this couldn't be a more special reminder of my special friends.

I love you all. Thank you. And a special thank you to Kelli, who arranged the whole shipping thing. Why the hell don't you women live closer? Think of the trouble we could get into on a regular basis!

FYI for downtown Toronto types

People, it's happened. The coolest asian supermarket has opened a shop in the downtown area.

I've been driving up to the one at Warden & Steeles to stock up on cheap/yummy sushi, all sorts of asian prepared goodies [not just Chinese, but stuff from Taiwan and Vietnam and Japan, too], plus all the supplies to make the stuff at home. The produce [the usual stuff plus lots of exotics] is always superfresh, they've got seafood and 40 different kinds of tofu and a whole aisle of frozen dim sum of every description. OH, the bakery!

Now there's one that's just opened at the Docks!

You might think, "we've got Chinatown. What do we need this for?" Just go. You'll see. It's INCREDIBLE.

I'll be taking Massimo over there today. Let's see just how much stuff I can carry on my little scoot.

I <3 Ray Fenwick

Defense Mechanism
Originally uploaded by Ray Fenwick

Somehow, I was lucky enough to stumble across his work on Flickr one day. I'd love to paper my walls with his work.

See more of Ray's work here.

who asked for this cool weather?

*i did!* blame me. i love a happy 20c day. it's like heaven.

---

so, life is going well here in the land of no gallbladder, knock wood. my surgical stuff is mostly healed [externally], though my belly button still looks like someone fought a battle in there. [sorry. tmi.]

last night when going to sleep, i absent-mindedly flopped onto my tummy [my preferred sleeping position] and instantly was told by my internal organs that I AM NOT READY TO DO THAT YET. ow. except for stuff like that, not much hurts now. i'm really amazed at how quickly i've recovered. whoever discovered laparoscopic surgery, thank you!

[hey, a picture of the procedure i had done is on the wikipedia page for Laparoscopic surgery. click for big. wow.]

---

so, Massimo is fine and safe and bored out of his mind, not having been ridden since the day i went into emerg. i've [as is my habit] been obsessively googling Vespa accessories, like the proper boots and cool-weather gear to wear, while waiting to get strong enough to ride again.

[did you know Blundstones are not suitable to be used as scoot boots? because if, god forbid, you go down, the elastic gores at the sides provide zero protection. crap. i already own a pair and thought i was set.]

i have found SUPER CHEAP dr martens 8-hole boots in pure white for so cheap, it's almost offensive, and would take permanent markers to them and make them insanely fun. does anyone know if these would do? are they good at the non-slippy thing [because good traction underfoot is essential for me]. has anyone tried to fit orthotics into a pair of these? [i use the standard Birkenstock footbed as my orthotic.] advice welcome.

when it comes to cool-weather gear, this was one of the first things that caught my eye. a blankie that keeps out wet and cold, so you can be toasty as you scoot! i believe i'll have to get one, and soon.

and regarding my seat, which does look like tan suede from a distance, but is actually waterproof somethingorother, it's just a little too normal for me. so at the end of my west-coast adventures, i ordered a seat cover from crystal. you'll have to wait to see which fabric i picked.

---

oh, and i'm also working on getting fall Knitty® ready, too.

wait -- what's that thingy after "Knitty"? yes, it's a little registered trademark symbol. it's official. rock on.

carnage transformed

The last time you saw our backyard, it looked like this.


While I was getting operated on, hub was busy being general contractor [so to speak] and got the fence done.



The two guys he hired were fabulous and did all the work in less than a week. I'm super impressed, and now just have to wait a year for the wood to weather so we can stain it. A nice sky blue, I think. I'm starting to mentally choose fruit trees, fruiting shrubs and other things to soften the look and make it more lovely to hang around in, but for now, at least we don't live in an urban prairie with zero privacy.

More pics at Flickr. This post brought to you by the people who don't want to hear about health crap any more, and by Vasil, the nice Ukranian fence dude. :-)

Also, DENNY MAKES THE BEST LASAGNA EVER. Thank you, Denny! Please send more!

it's been a week

I'm here!

My folks had scheduled a visit for this week, and I've spent the last few days with them, but not exactly as we'd planned. It was damned nice to have my mama here to take care of me [mentally, mostly], and hub and dad had lovely adventures, including covering for me at the Stitch n Pitch game last night -- I just couldn't do it. [So there are some great photos that you'll see in Knitty, thanks to dad!]

I managed to get out of the house for a few hours yesterday so I could take Mama to Americo and Lettuce Knit. She does knit, you know, and she can touch the stuff I can't, so it was nice to share my favorite places in town with her. Americo is 100% mom's style, but she's a maddeningly focused project knitter, and without something specific to make, she doesn't buy yarn, so she left empty handed. [I know...gasps are being heard 'round the knitblogosphere. It shocks me, too.] I didn't...I had to have more of the cotton/silk in the icy blue/green color. The last two skeins in the shop, to go with the ones I bought on the TTC Knitalong. Still don't know what I'll do with them, but I'll figure it out.

The surgery ouchies are mostly gone now and all I'm dealing with is stuff you don't want me to talk about. Those who've had the surgery will know them quite well. I've been eating as little fat as possible to give my body time to adjust to having no gall bladder [it's the organ that squirts out stuff that helps your stomach digest fat, in case you didn't know that part -- without one, your liver does the same job, but slower], and have been told that this should calm down in another week or so. I'm tired, but fine. This is also my first major surgery in my life [do you count tonsils or wisdom teeth?], and it's been a huge learning experience. General anesthetic makes me weepy. Who'd have guessed? [My mama knew.]

---

Meanwhile, in knitting land, I've done little. Really, too tired to think about it and the process is still a little physically uncomfortable. But when I feel up to it, I am working away on the Artfibers silk coat and I absolutely adore the fabric that Gypsy produces. It's nothing like any other silk yarn [or any other yarn, period!] that I've ever used, and I mean that in a good way. I'll take a progress picture tomorrow, I think, and then you can see how much it's grown. I'm already past the waist shaping!

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So it's been a week and I'm going to try to get back to getting some work done today. I know I've got to start small. Just typing this, I'm already ready for a nap.

lots of catching up to do!

People on the West Coast ask, so I answer!

When will we see the new Big Girl Knits book?

More Big Girl Knits: 25 Designs Full of Color and Texture for Curvy Women: Books: Jillian Moreno,Amy R. Singer.

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What were those DVDs you recommended in class?
Lucy Neatby's Knitting Essentials, Sock Techniques & Knitting Gems. The cool bind off [Modified Conventional Bind Off] is in Knitting Essentials 1, and there are surprising, amazing and EASY tips all knitters will want to know in every volume.

Lucy is amazing.

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What were the needles you were knitting your Tuscany with?
Lantern Moon Destiny Circulars

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What were the needles you were drooling over?
Addi Lace Turbo Needles
[Write the company and ask them to start making sizes above US 6! They're absolutely incredible.]

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Was there anything else? I'm still a little jet lagged. Drop a note in the comments and I'll update the post. :-)

yarny souvenirs

Because I'm me with the non-wool thingy, I make it a point to try to find something unique and non-woolly when i travel to a shop. It's getting harder as my stash grows, but Churchmouse made it easy:



Shoalwater Bay laceweight silk, color: pond. 1200 yards that I plan to ply again, making 600 yards of 4-ply silk.

The only place you can get this stuff [as far as I know] is at Churchmouse Yarns & Teas. Here, peek at the other colorways I didn't buy.



Knowing I was going to Artfibers, I saved the rest of my budget for that stop. I had planned to buy a sweater's worth of silk, no matter what it cost. This is not something I do often, and if you've read this blog for a while, you probably can't remember the last time I bought a sweater's worth of ANYTHING.

Here's what I got:


That's one strand of Gypsy [col 4]+ one strand of Golden Siam [col 37] held together. It's actually more purple than the pic shows, but my camera has a buggery time capturing purples. Not sure why.

The swatch is a bit of a mess. Why? Because Kira, who is supercool and very skilled at this, measured my swatch and unravelled it to get the most accurate possible estimate of how much yarn I'd need. For this -- slightly shorter [as I am slightly shorter], no turned-back cuff, since the fabric is thick enough, but otherwise, as pictured. Notice the waist shaping, Jillian [!] and the deep-v formed by wearing the big collar open to the 2nd button.

It may be too bulky to be uberflattering on me, but I am choosing to believe that, because it's an outer layer, some slack may be cut me in this case. Also, the total cost was in the area of $200, which seemed quite fine for pure silk. I was very pleased.

Also, if you haven't had a sweater pattern made for you at Artfibers, it's a real treat. They use the Knitscape software, plus Kira's very experienced at tailoring each pattern to the knitter, so she made sure the sleeves were the right circumference at all the right places, and all sorts of other fit issues, too. Extremely cool.

I also grabbed this in a last-minute panic, because it was too beautiful to leave behind.

for a lace shawl of some sort, one day in the future. Of course. It's actually a reddier-purple than the pic shows, and a little more variegated in tone.

Oh, and that person I had lunch with in Portland? Tina, the goddess of Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

These are the hands that dye Socks that Rock.

She sent me home with an obscenely delicious bag of Sock Candy and other sweet things. I'm going to hang it on the wall and just LOOK at it for a while. Just getting to have lunch with Tina and talk with her in person after a few years of e-mails was gift enough. She's an amazing person, which is probably why her yarn is so cool.

More later. I have notes for people who took my classes and can't remember that thing I recommended, etc. :-)

who was i kidding?

Slept not at all on the plane, despite swallowing a whole Gravol [aka Dramamine, for the yanks] and feeling huge sleepiness. Thank god for the iPod.

Came home at 7 am, went straight to bed, and just got up a few hours ago.

I'm not going anywhere tonight. I need to sit still for a little while.

But the photos are up on Flickr, including stops in San Francisco, Portland and Bainbridge Island/Seattle. It was a great trip and I have stories for you and tales of yarn to tell. But not today.

Today? More bed. Nighty.

Finished.

Sigh.

[i am now impervious from Potter spoilage and am returning to the world.]

what i did today

after my book work was done, of course:



I passed my written motorcycle learner's permit thingy -- it's a M1 license. It entitles me to drive undrunk [duh], without a passenger [sorry, denny], not on highways [also duh] and during daylight hours. I then have to take two road tests, over two years, until I have my full motorcycle license.

In Ontario [I learned all this since Friday], a scooter 50cc or less requires something called an LSM license [Low-Speed Motorcycle]. My scooter is 150cc, and therefore qualifies as a motorcycle and requires different testing. Oddly, I can take my road tests on my scooter, never learn to shift gears with my feet or have to bother with a clutch, and still eventually have a license to drive a motorcycle.

Which I will never do. So it's moot.

Insurance paperwork gets done tomorrow. I pick her up on Wednesday. Plotzing? You bet.

Thank you, Grandma

My grandma Lillian [the best grandma in the world] died in 1999 and she left all her grandkids something. I could barely look at the check when it came. I bawled like a baby when I opened a savings account to hold it, because I knew it was stupid not to cash it, but I couldn't bear to touch it. I suppose I'm not the only person to cry in a bank manager's office.

It's been 8 years. I started thinking recently that maybe it was time to turn her last gift into something tangible. Something I've wanted for a very long time, but never really allowed myself to consider. Because it's not a frivolous purchase, but it's not a necessity, either. It's a big deal.

And now it's mine.

A real Vespa [LX 150, Portofino Green] from Motoretta, a place I've looked at with longing for years. [I used to walk into the one on College, look around and sigh audibly.] I'll get it in a few days. First I have to pass my M1 written test at the Ministry [of magic?]. Then the dealers get a license plate for it. Then I get to learn how to ride it.

In the late 1990s, I had a moped, and rode it carefully and well. I avoided streetcar-track streets, rode in the defensive position of the appropriate lane and really liked being able to get all over with it. But it was a spotty thing that only ran when it felt like it and only that if I rode it daily. I sold it for a bit more than what I paid for it and that was that.

This is a cadillac compared to that Honda Moped. It's also much more environmentally friendly than a vintage Vespa [in fact, this page tells me it puts out much less carbon dioxide than a hybrid car. It gets 72mpg. Wow. I looked into electric, but the technology just isn't there yet. Maybe in a few more years, but right now, the bikes are cheap and plasticy and not worth buying.

I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I wonder what grandma would have thought of my choice. I expect she'd just tell me to be safe and careful, and I promise I'll be doing that. I'll be taking a scooter safety course within the next month, because that's how I do things.

I'm also really excited because a simple google search showed me that I can park my new baby for free on the street where the Pay-and-Display meters are in Toronto. Thank you, Toronto City Council. Smart move.

So there you go. I now have my own wheels and don't need to take the car [an efficient small Subaru, but still] for my trips to the beach, to jewelry class and to Lettuce Knit every week. I can park just about anywhere, spit less CO2 into the air, all while riding the bike of my dreams.

Thank you, Grandma.
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p.s. yes, Grandma Lillian is the grandma -- the one Knitty is dedicated to, the one who taught me to knit and the one whose needles are on every page. :-)

carnage.

It's horrific.

We bought this house in 1999 [8 years ago!] for many reasons, but one big one was the lush, super-tall cedar hedge that surrounded the whole back yard. We had a little secret garden where no one could see in and it was so cool and private.

And then we killed it. We didn't mean to. A combination of lack of knowledge and lack of funds to hire a specialist to maintain the hedge meant this beautiful feature had become a horrible, gangly mess by last year. We'd read books and tried to prune it during the years, but it only got uglier. Finally, Hub pruned it way back last fall, hoping it might spur some new growth, but all we had after the spring growth spurt was a hedge skeleton.

Now it's laying flat, roots up, on our back lawn. That's hub there, with the ladder. He's done all the work.

I'm exceedingly sad, and we'll soon be exceedingly more broke because we have to have a fence put up in place of the hedge. A fence has no character. But then again, a fence doesn't need to be pruned. And our neighbor [the one that owns the lovely little shed in the picture] is being kind and splitting the cost of our shared fence with us. I'm sure he's not at all sorry to see the hedge skeleton go.

In place of the hedge, to appease mama nature and allow me not to scream every time I look out my office window, I will be planting a small orchard in the back. A Spy apple tree or two [my favorite]. A nectarine. Hub wants some red grapes. Lots of stuff along the fence, in the area we can now reclaim from the base of the hedge skeleton.

I won't miss the gnats that used to live around the hedge, even when it was healthy, and I hope the birds will find other homes until we can give them more limbs and leaves to feel safe in.

Sigh.

this designing thing takes brains!

Seriously. That's where I've been. I finished the first thing for summer Knitty, which [thanks to my own rules] I can't tell you about. I'll blog it after we go live. I can tell you that I didn't set out to design a pattern for the magazine. I set out to make something I really wanted to have. And then I realized there wasn't another quite like it on the web, so now you can have it, too.

Then there's the other thing. See, I found this amazing yarn [again, can't share deets yet. Sorry] and I wanted to make up something in it for the summer surprise. But this design was harder to push out of my brain and is only now on the needles, being knit.

Anyway, soonish. You're all busy having summer fun anyway, so you can hang on a while, right?

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Meanwhile, in jewelry-making world, all is very interesting. Few FO photos to share with you for reasons beyond my control, but I do have this one:



Thanks to my 40+-year-old eyes, I can't see the wibblyness in the edge of the bezel when I wear it or even when I'm working on it. Only when my macro lens shows it to me. Frustrating? You bet. I think I'll be buying a magnifier. But in any case, this pic does show the depth of the chalcedony stone and the interesting orange glow it gets at certain angles. Amazing, for a piece of polished quartz, eh?

Anyway, the ring is absolutely what I wanted, wibbly bits and all, and I'm very proud of it. I made a matching plain band for my husband in silver [no cab] and it's as comfortable on him as mine is on me. He's actually wearing it.

I also made a pair of silly earrings and a small cuff bracelet. Which is still at Sarah's because someone polluted the tumbler and it needs, um, a bit of repair work. She's gonna make it all better. That one I'll post when I get it back.

Lost wax is very interesting so far, and I'll be excited to see what I can ultimately produce. For now, I've been rooting around the house, collecting all the yellow and broken gold I've been hoarding for years so I can sell it to the refinery and buy the new white gold I'll be using for whatever it is I make.

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Several years ago, I took a weekend class at Riverdale Farm to make a silver ring. I was quite proud of that one as well, but never wear it because it requires longer fingers than I have to be comfortable. [I can wear a child's large gloves, if that helps you imagine how short my fingers are.]





It's about a size 8, is very smooth on the inside and comfortable, as long as you have longer fingers than I. Is anyone interested in purchasing my first silversmithy work? I'll give it a beautiful buff before it leaves here so that it's like new for you, if you want. I'd like $75 for it.

Talk about a collector's item! :-)

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Knitting? Besides, the two things at the top of this post, I've been working on my Sea Silk Tuscany [in moss!] and staring longingly at my pink Cables and Os, which will soon reappear in my WIP file. And the turquoise cotton vest is also nearing completion. I just need to measure me and do some BGK numbers so I can add in some tit room.

I'm stalling, yes.

celebrating up the wazoo!

Fact: Yesterday was June 30, which means it's one year since I've been a happily self-employed magazine editor. I celebrated with a cantaloupe bubble tea and plowing through some Knitty work.

Fact: Today is Canada Day. In Toronto, a good portion of our population goes elsewhere on long weekends. What they leave behind is a quieter, more peaceful Toronto. Hub and I love it. [He also has a theory: those who leave for long weekends are the most stressed out and they make it a priority to own cottages or book campgrounds or whatever. So the people left in town are naturally calmer, happier drivers, all that rot. I just think it's the lack of congestion that makes us all happier. Never mind. It sure is nice in Toronto on long weekends.]

Fact: Happy Canada Day!
[that wasn't a fact, but I've established a style here and needed to go with it.]

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Okay, never mind. So, what's up in Knitty editor world? Lots of good stuff.

I've just finished my silversmithy class, and was having pangs of withdrawal. I really am enjoying the class, the company [the other students are a blast] and especially our teacher, Sarah. My final projects are still in the tumbler, getting a nice, soft patina, so pics will come in a few days.

Sarah teaches many different classes. When hub and I were in her shop yesterday [to adjust the ring I made for him at the last class], her studio was full of people making their own wedding rings. How freaking cool is that? It's a special class she has for engaged couples. A guy and a girl were at the bench, banging away at theirs. Two guys were sitting at the bench, working on their set. God, I love Toronto. Anyway, very cool.

So I'm taking Sarah's lost-wax casting course next, starting this Tuesday. I'm doing it primarily because I have to fix my engagement ring. I somehow chipped the diamond a few years ago, and it needs to be recut [by a professional] and then reset. I can't afford to go back to Richard Booth [who does lovely work, but is now out of my price range] to have him fix it. Instead, I'm going to make my own setting [!!], Sarah will help me find a professional to recut the diamond to eliminate the chip, and another professional will do the final setting of the stone into the ring. I may hold my breath for the entire 6 weeks. Sarah is confident I can do it. Me, not so much.

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Also, I'm nearly finished a little thing for summer Knitty. Don't faint. I can't tell you about it, but you'll see it later this month. :-)

Thank you.

I hope the last post didn't sound like it was fishing for compliments, because I certainly got many as a result. Really, I just needed to say out loud what has been on my mind for a long while.

Thank you for being a supportive group who didn't make me regret being forthcoming. I hug you all.

pride spreads

Been thinking about Pride a lot lately. I'm extremely proud to live in a country where people of every sexuality feel comfortable being themselves and have the same rights as everyone else in the country. Their pride is rubbing off on me.

Now, I'm not going to usurp Pride [with a capital P] for my own purposes, but as it's been half of my inspiration for a little shakeup in AmyKnitty world, I needed to mention it.

On Friday, AmyBoogie posted a link to this: A Fat Rant. A beautiful thing, created by Joy Nash, about something close to my heart [and muffintop]. This was the other half of the inspiration thingy. Joy says a lot of good stuff in this video, and if you haven't seen it yet, you must go. Now. Watch it all, and listen carefully. Because she's right.

Don't lecture me about how I co-wrote a book with Jillian about this stuff already. I totally believe in it, know it's right and can see it clearly for others. I just have trouble seeing this clearly for myself.

So screw it. Today I've been going around the web and updating my icon. Because although I am very fond of this picture, which shows me the night before I launched Knitty in 2002, full of optimism, excitement and much less muffintop...

...it hasn't looked like what I see in the mirror for a while. It's been almost 5 years since that was taken and life goes on, dunnit?

This is me now.

I like this picture, too. I think Karen took it for me at the Knit Out in NY last fall. It was a good hair day and I'm smiling. This is me.

I heard the part about the fitness thing, too, Joy. Went kayaking yesterday. Working on it.

Okay, enough already. Back to work.

Happy Pride, Everyone!

post-issue randomness

Ah, the relief of another issue gone live without accidental amputation [it could happen, you know. one must be careful].

Here are the latest things on my mind:

1. When will I hear a yes or no from the SOAR people? I am on the edge of my seat with the waiting! Certainly no one would argue that I need me some serious spinning lessons. Today, maybe? Perhaps I'll hear today?
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2. Chiao Goo makes one hell of a small-gauge crochet hook. For some reason, above a size E [like I even know what that is yet], they change from this loveliness...



to a solid bamboo crochet hook that looks just about like every other. A plain ole bamboo round stick with the hook on the end. Why? I think they did the smaller ones in metal because they couldn't do them in solid bamboo, and as a result, have come up with something magical. The metal/bamboo hook is light, comfortable to hold and ridiculously affordable (suggested retail is below $4 a hook!). If they came in a full range of sizes, I'd buy a whole set. You may quote me on this.

So people...do you crochet? Do you agree with me that the bamboo/metal is an amazing thing? Write the company! I told them this on the floor at TNNA, but if a lot of you write them, they might actually add larger sizes to their metal/bamboo line. Here, this is their parent company's web page -- with an e-mail addy right there for you to use! Their sales manager's name is Juliana -- write and tell her what you think!
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3. My feet. Longtime readers know I've got crappy feet and Birkenstocks have been my salvation. A few good friends have been raving about the superiority of Danskos, so I finally sucked it up and bought a pair. In PINK leather.

Seriously. It's fuschia leather.

The arch is noticeably higher than in Birkenstocks, but not uncomfortably so. I find the height of these shoes amusing [I usually wear flat things] and have worn the shoes twice with socks with absolutely no discomfort. Early verdict: love.

For those who need similar footy gratification, see ShoeDawg.com.
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4. No one prodded about the Americo, but don't tell me you didn't want a little yarn pr0n with your Tuesday coffee.

Cotton wrapped in silk in charcoal and ice green-blue. 1 each. Yum. Don't ask what they're for yet. I don't know. That's half the fun.

Still crunching...so here, meet Eunny!

I got the pleasure of meeting the new editor of Interweave Knits at TNNA -- ms Eunny Jang. Giddy with the cleverness of having brought my little iPod recorder mic thingy, I asked if I could chat with her and share it with Knitty readers. She nicely indulged my out-of-practise interview skills and now you can learn more about the woman who is now at the helm of one of our favorite print mags!

Listen here.

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P.S. Jillian and I were insane, gushing fangirls again at this show. Why? Because we got to meet Amy Butler. Herself. We totally fawned all over her, and she was so sweet and didn't even call security on us. She is tall, lithe, blonde and totally charming. And she's introducing a new line of knitting bags made from her fabrics in her characteristic style. [i.e. irresistable]. I'll be reviewing them in a future issue, but mostly, I just had to say this: AMY BUTLER! Eeeeeeeeeeeeee!

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Want some new Knitty? Take a break over the weekend and we'll see you early next week. Rock the casbah!

drive-by update

So much! TNNA was great! You'll want to read Clara's recap, because she does it right. This time, TNNA was about Knitty-building [adding content, etc] and a few other thingies for me. Just you wait. :-)

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Meanwhile, you all know what I need to be doing now instead of writing a flowery blog post, so a few quick pics will have to hold you while I go back to work!

pic 1: the secret present I was working on in silversmithy class:


Yes. Those are sterling silver brains, handcut out of sheet silver, BY ME, for my beloved Jillian. Anyone who's ever seen us work together knows that we share a brain and are just better together. Her birthday is this coming Saturday, and I wanted to formalize that. So now we share two brains [we each have one of the silver ones]. She loved it. :-)

pic 2: the accessory I wear all the time now that everyone at the show loved:


Those are beads OF GRASS. Seriously. Read this site to learn more about who makes them, why they're cool and how great it is to be able to support a group of crafting women on the other side of the world as we decorate our bodies. I bought mine in Toronto at the UofT bookstore. You can find links to shops through the Zulugrass.com site -- it's all over the place, but without the backstory, I don't know that I would have noticed these.

[for those that care about such things, this is 6 strands, colors chosen by me, twisted three times around my wrist.]

pic 3: a big shoutout of love to Amy O'Neill Houck and Kim Werker. Girls, looky what I did on the plane home!!


That, my friends, is a granny square. CROCHETED by me. In, get this, Alchemy Silk Chenille. Could you plotz? Thanks to Gina and Austin who enabled me into a skein of this gorgeous stuff [colorway Red Run] when I had the best crochet teacher ever [Amy] at my disposal. You need to see how Amy wields a hook [I didn't see Kim's techique, but it's probably just as sexy.] Amy makes it look like hand ballet. And unlike crocheting straight rows that are boring as hell, doing this, once I got the hook size right, was [dear lord, help me] F.U.N.

No, there will be no Crochetty. No, I am not giving up my beloved knitting. But I do want to make granny squares and ripples. And now I can. Thank you, crochet girls!

And now, back to Knitty. Head down, see you soon!

more silversmithyness

We made the first part of our bezels for our cabochons last night. [My stone is chalcedony. A relative of quartz, aka cheap. But I like the milky blue.]


It's amazing to me how rough things start out and how, honestly, crappy they look until they're done. Right now, this looks like poop. But I have faith in Sarah. She will teach us how to un-poop our bezels.

I also started a little cuff bracelet, but it's so ugly right now, I'm not gonna show you nothin.

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How comes only three darling peoples are supporting Team Knitty in the Run for the Cure this time? What did I do wrong?

We did so well last year and this year, it's kinda echoey and eerily quiet in my donation space. If each person who reads Knitty would give just one dollar, we'd have thousands and thousands of dollars to help fight breast cancer!

Here -- just a little taste of what your dollars will help support:

"The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation has allocated millions of dollars in grants supporting the advancement of breast cancer research, education, diagnosis and treatment across the country since 1986.

In 1998, the Foundation became a funding partner of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance (CBCRA). The CBCRA's objective is to coordinate the pooled resources of the nation's largest fundraising organizations (such as the Foundation) along with medical research and advocacy groups supporting Canadian breast cancer research, treatment and educational programs.

Recently, the Foundation announced its commitment of $14 million over five years to leading edge breast cancer research in its Phase Three funding of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance (CBCRA). This is a tremendous example of the Foundation's leadership role with CBCRA. The Foundation's contribution will be allocated to CBCRA strategic initiatives, including research on lifestyle and environmental links to breast cancer."

To read more about what the CBCF does with the money we raise, please visit this page. Thank you.

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Hey! Remember last time I went to TNNA [the big knitting/needlework trade show] in January and told you there'd be no signing of No Sheep for You? Well, I'm very happy to report that this time, there WILL be a signing! If you're lucky enough to be in the knitting trade and will be in Columbus this weekend to attend the show, come see me at the Unicorn Books booth at 1pm on Sunday.

Yay!

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anotha qwiz

knitty -- [adjective]: Visually addictive 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

I can take it, really.

Tell me the truth. If you're hating these things, I'll stop.


[final results above. sigh.]

Monday morning!

Jillian says all things are possible on Monday mornings. Sure. I'll buy that. :-)

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Anyone still watching Nip/Tuck [it's been hard to stick with it, but I am SO fond of Julian McMahon, I force myself.].

I just saw the episode about Conor set in 2026. And thought, "that's gotta be the end of the series." Except it isn't. If they were SMART, that would have been the end of the series, but I'm not sure smartness is an adjective associated with the producers of that show.

However, the brilliance of casting Jennifer Elise Cox [I won't mention which role in case that's a spoiler for someone] cannot be understated.

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I've signed up for a silversmithing class on Tuesday nights. It starts tomorrow! I'm excited!

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Where is my Schwinn? I'm just asking. I've been waiting for months. I want to get my bottom on the seat and start moving about! Let's go, purolator!

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This is particularly disjointed, isn't it? Well, such is life. It's Monday. Anything is possible, especially disjointedness.

Golden Compass [HDM] catch-up for noobs

Okay. I can't remember how I found Philip Pullman -- either through Jillian [whence all good things cometh] or, a strange-but-strong memory of a cute boy reading the first book in a Starbucks, and me subsequently finding it on Audible.com...and falling deeply in love. Maybe both.

The trilogy is called "His Dark Materials". The books are, in order:
- The Golden Compass
- The Subtle Knife
- The Amber Spyglass

It should go without saying that you must read them in order. But I say it anyway, just in case.

Anyway, it's like this. Philip Pullman is an amazing writer. Dare I say that he makes Rowling look like a hack [and I love Ms Rowling. so you see what I'm saying]? He weaves worlds beyond any I've ever immersed myself in and by the time I was done listening to the trilogy, I had physical withdrawal symptoms. I ached to hear more.

Reading the books may be enjoyable, but I encourage you to LISTEN TO THEM. Because unlike most audio books, this trilogy is treated as an audio play. Pullman himself reads the narration, and is perfection. No one could have read it better. And each of the parts is played by a different actor. I can still hear Iorek's voice in my head!

[is it bad that I want an Armoured Bear of my own?]

I think it's very possible that, when the movie comes out, I may be a little let down, because my listening experience with the trilogy was so exquisitely perfect. But I think Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel will help ease my pain somewhat. :-)

Also, how come there are no flights to Svalbard from here?

Health at every size

I appreciate all the comments on the last post. Thank you!

Dr Steph brought this to my attention -- Health at every size. The basic principles are these: "This approach encourages self-acceptance by honoring the natural diversity in body shape and size and by exposing societal prejudice and discrimination against larger individuals. It promotes the benefits of physical activity by encouraging social, pleasure-directed movement. Finally, it helps people to re-connect eating to internally-directed hunger, appetite and satiety cues, leading to a more normal, peaceful relationship with food."

This is exactly what I've come to realize is the only way I want to live the rest of my life. I think it helps to have it laid out so clearly like this. Perhaps I should have it tattooed on my arm. :-)

Teasah

Still on BGK2 panic deadline [heaven help us both!] but I have a camera full of pictures and some great stories to tell you about my time in Illinois.

Hints:
- I went to The Fold and it was more than I even imagined.
- The Loopy Yarns signing was a massive blast and I have several new BFFs. And a sheep.
- I might have brought home some yarn. And fiber. And a spindle. And something else.
- While I was away, it's possible a TV appearance may have been scheduled. Will advise as soon as it's confirmed. Will YouTube it after it's over, if I can.

Also, it seems the secret to really good matzoh balls is actually two secrets:
1. when adding broth to the ball mixture, choose beef. We used Swanson's box-o-beef-broth, and MAN, for some unintuitive reason, it was amazing.
2. don't cook the matzoh balls any longer than necessary. Otherwise they get wimpy, and there's nothing worse than wimpy balls.

Back soon! Promise!

having a wonderful time

How do you amuse two children with a laptop but no video games?


A built-in camera + comic life does the trick.

All is well in A2. BGK2 writing is nearly done and we got a lot of stuff worked out by being in the same room. A real bonus for us [we usually write books by e-mail and Skype].

I'm now in the phase I usually hit after aboug 24 hours here -- wondering how moms do it. I'm not mom material and am glad I get to play Auntie Amy with J's kids. But then I happily return to my very quiet house where the only sound, except for Hub singing to himself in his office [yes, i know he's adorable], is the sound of the rabbits eating things they shouldn't. Parents, I salute you. Jillian, I double-salute you. You are my hero.

Also, Zingerman's makes the best Jewish Rye Bread in the entire known world. I'm bringing three loaves home for the freezer. I'll be at LK tomorrow night, Rachel -- I owe you dinner! Please come!

Dude. I beat Lynyrd Skynyrd

More from Eventful: thanks to all your clicking, I'm the 35th most demanded performer on their list.

I beat Evanescence, even. There is much giggling in the Knitty household today.

what is up with that R?

In my knitting-related work, I'm "Amy R Singer". But why? I'm so not the kind of person that goes in for middle initial-ness, but I had to. Here is why:

1. When I was writing Knit Wit, searching "amy singer" on amazon produced books like this and this. The most famous webby Amy Singer is a lawyer. She's also not me. I figured I'd have to do something to differentiate us all or else searching would be annoying and more than a little confusing. As far as I can tell, I'm the only Amy R Singer on the web -- mission accomplished.

2. My full last name is actually two names, no hyphen, and we put hub's last name before mine...and we both took that name. Hub and I are weird like that. His name is the R part. Mine is the Singer.

3. So what does the R stand for? Not telling. I don't imagine I've got real stalkers [not the nice kind like Karen, who knit you Nauties and hug you], but just in case, I like to make it harder for them to find me.

Thus endeth your trivial factoid of the day.