a rainbow of yarn

Thanks to everyone who posted great places (i.e. yarn shops) to visit in the Boston area. I will try to hit at least a couple.

I have just a tiny bit more yarn pr0n to show you before I go.

I didn’t actually possess this yarn the last time we spoke, but it had been calling to me for months. Every time I went to Tangle I visited it, and petted it, and it talked to me and said take me home, Judy. But I had no project in mind for it, so I was strong and resolute and I put in my earplugs and didn’t listen.

It was hanging on a wall rack with the other lovely, wonderful Blue Heron yarns. Always it hung towards the back of the rack, like a slightly naughty child. But I could always pick it out from across the room. And I would eventually wander over and give it a little pat and say not yet… (You talk to your yarn, don’t you?)

Yesterday, as I plopped down in my favorite Tangle chair and started knitting, I glanced over to the Blue Heron rack.

It wasn’t there!

I felt a momentary twinge of panic. Did someone buy it? Alice had said that many people looked at it and commented about it, but then left it. Maybe it talked loudly enough and went home with someone else! Ack!

Then I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized it was still there. But it was an omen, I decided. So it came home with me.

I don’t know yet what it wants to be. But eventually I will see just the right pattern for it, and then it will be there ready to go. It’s a cotton/rayon/metallic in a colorway called Shadow. I have 425 yard of it, which is enough to do something nice with it. Or it may become a striking edging. We shall see.

Moo Cow the fiber junky
(gratuitous cat picture)

Someone else at my house was interested in it too.

Today the kitties headed over to the Cat Bed & Breakfast for a little fun whilst I trek across the country. I’m not sure how pleased they were. I take that back. I do know. They were not pleased.

Usually I either leave them with tons of food and water, if I’m not going to be gone very long, or I have #1 Son come over and take care of the kitties while the neighbors water the lawn if it needs it and pick up the mail. But #1 Son is on tour and if he is delayed getting home the kitties would be in dire straights. And the Cat B & B is a nice place, as such places go. The only really tough part is rounding them up to get them over there.

It was a hectic day. I first had to pick my friend M up at the airport. She was flying in from a visit with her out-of-town family. Being the geek that I am, I had gone online and set up an email alert to my cell phone for her flight arrival. When it came, it said her flight was early. The airport was a zoo. I fought my way around to the pick-up point through a crowd of insane drivers (is it the full moon?). M wasn’t there. I went around again. No M. I went around a third time. Still no M. (Early flight?)

I drank a big cup of coffee on the way to the airport. By the third time around, I was really hoping to see M. Nature was calling louder than that yarn had. When M wasn’t there, I gritted my teeth and went around again. She was there! Yea! She stuck her head in the window and said her bag still hadn’t shown up and so I should go around again (it’s pick-up only, no parking). I said OK. And as I started off again, I said a few other things under my breath, but gently because my teeth were starting to float if you know what I mean. So instead of going around one more time, I drove away from the airport and far enough down the road that I found a fast-food restaurant where I ran from my car double-quick and ran inside to take advantage of their facilities. With my mind, and other parts of my anatomy, eased, I drove back around the airport, where M was waiting with bag in hand. But I felt a whole lot more relaxed about the whole pick-up thing, and didn’t mind at all driving over to SE Portland to this great little vegetarian Oriental restaurant that #1 Son had turned me on to.

On the way to M’s house after lunch, I mentioned that the kitties were going to the Cat B & B, and how hard they are to catch sometimes when they don’t want to be caught. Be careful not to think about your vacation, M said. Cats pick up on those things and you’ll never find them because they’ll go hide.

So all the way from M’s house to mine, I tried to not think about my vacation.

Do you have vacation coming up? Or maybe dinner? Or a good night’s sleep? Or that project you really need to get to? Try not thinking about it. Go ahead. I’ll wait right here while you give it a go.

What luck did you have not thinking about it?

Yeah.

I pulled into the garage trying to think of other things and mostly not succeeding.

Cat rounding up must be done carefully. Phoebe and Kidd both have a place they can hide where it’s not easy for me to get to them. Once I’ve grabbed one, the jig is up and the other heads for cover. Kidd, once he sees that you’re heading for the garage and so he is destined for a journey, lets go in the same way that I almost did circling the airport to pick up M. So it’s important to keep him… aimed the other direction, if you catch my drift. And all three are big cats. I only have two carriers — a big one that can hold two cats and a smaller one. It can be interesting to stuff a second cat into the big carrier while keeping the first cat still in residence.

So I pulled into the garage trying to think happy catnip, mouse-chasing, kibble-munching thoughts. And not thoughts of vacation and Cat B & B and such.

All three of the kitties were there when I walked in the door. Hmm… I carefully didn’t think… just maybe I could get at least one of them.

I bent down and scratched Phoebe’s head and told her hello, and then just picked her up. She was surprised because she doesn’t like to be held, but she didn’t argue much. It was almost too easy.

Kidd was yawning and stretching on the sofa, only half awake. I carefully didn’t think that I could maybe grab him as well and have the two hard cases wrapped up. I nonchalantly wandered towards the sofa, Phoebe in my arms. Before Kidd knew what had happened, I’d scooped him up, too. I headed towards the garage, only a few feet away.

Now they both knew I was up to something nefarious. Picture this intrepid reporter, arms full of 25 lbs of angry cats, trying to hang on to Phoebe and keep Kidd pointed the other direction while still having one hand free to open the door. If I were an octopus, it might have been easier. Only having two hands made the journey, as short as it was, interesting. I made it to the garage and tipped the big carrier up on end. I put Kidd in and Phoebe right behind him. Whew. Two down.

I cleaned up Kidd’s mess. Missed me, fortunately. And then left Phoebe and Kidd to complain bitterly (and at the top of their lungs) in the garage while I went in search of Moo Cow, The Queen Of The House. She was no longer hanging around the living room. I found her back in my bedroom with a puzzled look on her face. She wasn’t running or hiding because that would not befit her royal station. But she did seem a little miffed that I was doing something not OK with two of her minions. I gave her a reassuring pat while I walked with her to the garage and told her that everything would be just fine, appearances notwithstanding. I’m glad that the small carrier can be opened from the top as well as the side, because Moo can make herself really, really big and plant all of her paws firmly on the sides of the carrier so it’s as difficult as possible to get her inside, and once in she arches her back so you can’t close the top. Tricky is Moo.

I delivered the kitties to the Cat B & B, and gave the staff all my kitty-mom advice: Don’t give Moo anything string-like because she’ll eat it but balls are OK. Don’t give Kidd anything but his regular food because it will make him sick. Phoebe likes her head scratched and sheds when stressed. I almost added wear a sweater if you’re cold, but decided they probably didn’t need that advice.

Margaret just called. Can’t wait to see her. I promised not to drag her around to every yarn store in Massachusetts. She replied You know me. I’ll shop for anything. heh heh She might not know what she’s saying…

[ed. 11:56 pm] P.S. Speaking of lovely things, you must check out Fibergal’s herringbone lace socks. That stitch pattern will need to see my needles soon, I think..

I’m not one of those smart bloggers who can plan ahead and say, I’ll save that one for Friday because I already have something to talk about for Thursday. This has always just seemed to me sort of like a little coffee klatsch with yarn thrown in. So I talk about everything all at once. Because that’s what I do when I coffee klatsch. Sometimes I’m sitting at the table knitting by myself (yes, I realize that means I’m talking to myself too). And sometimes I’m joined by a few friends. Every now and then it’s more like a few thousand friends.

Using free blogging software and being my own webmaster: Worth every penny (ha ha).

Being linked to (in the nicest possible way) by both Wendy and Grumperina on the same day that I boast about the completion of Clapotis #2 on the Mason-Dixon Knitting Slogalong: Priceless. Welcome visitors! Pull up a chair and I’ll pour you a cuppa.

But the sudden 12-fold spike in bandwidth usage (sinking back now to its normal level of semi-obscurity) did point out the need for a few tweaks around here. I’ve been working long hours and what few blogging minutes I’ve had have been mostly spent in shoring up the framework. Wordpress is really great software. But I sort of hack it around a bit. So PI is kinda held together with baling twine and bubble gum. I think the comments are working OK again, and hopefully the pages will load a little faster now. I added a bit more baling twine (knitted into I-cord) and propped it up with a couple of extra 2×4s.

I’ve been working long hours the last couple of weeks to get ready, because — drum roll please — I’m on vacation! Ahh…

My cousin Margaret lives near Boston. For years she’s been trying to get me to come over to the right-hand coast for July 4th. Last year around Thanksgiving I told her that this year I would come for sure and she could plan on it and we were both really excited and I made arrangement to take the time off no matter what. And I kept thinking that really I should call her and let her know that really I was coming… really. There’s a 3-hour time difference. And Margaret and I both keep rather odd hours. I usually remembered to call her around midnight here, and I thought she probably didn’t really want to hear from me at 3:00 AM, even if it was with (hopefully) good I’m coming to see you news. But I kept thinking I really needed to call her. And I kept remembering at midnight.

Then I realized that it was… June… and I still hadn’t called her. And wouldn’t she be surprised if I just showed up on her doorstep? Did she remember that I was coming? And would she even be there? So maybe I really, really needed to actually call her. So I tied a piece of yarn around my finger and remembered to call at a reasonable hour. ring… ring…

Margaret: hello.

Me: Hi. It’s me! How have you been?

Margaret: oh! How are you! It’s great to hear from you!

Me: I’m great. How has your summer been? (Then, because I’m not sure if she remembers I’m coming and I don’t want to look really pushy and such if she’s got other plans) What are you doing for the 4th?

Margaret: (in a sad, slow voice) Nothing. I’m sitting here all by myself. (a slight exaggeration, as her son lives with her)

Me: Would you like some company?

And that was how I ended up planning to travel to the Boston area for a few days around the 4th. But I took extra vacation days, because I need them.

Margaret was not sure she could find things to entertain me with. Although she knows, and I reiterated, that I don’t require much in the way of entertainment. Besides, as I told her, there’s probably a yarn shop or two in Boston. Margaret, who is a muggle (but a very much beloved muggle), said I think there’s one in Marblehead.

So, gentle reader, if you know where the best Boston area local yarn shops are, please comment so I can go armed with a list. Don’t know if I’ll be able to make it to any, but here’s hoping.

java leaf toes in the making

And here are the starts of the Java leaf socks for my Sockapalooza pal. I’m finding this yarn hard to photograph. Of course, it can’t be my skills as a photographer that’s to blame. It’s the yarn. (Right) So I plopped them right on my window sill where I’d get the best possible light.

I wanted to start the leaf pattern right at the end of the toes. But I didn’t want lace all the way at the end, because I didn’t think that would be very comfortable. So I started with stems twining up into the leaves. There are two brioche stitches on either side of the leaf panel. I had planned on a knit/purl sort of diamond pattern on the sides, but as I knit up an inch or so I didn’t like the way it looked. It just wasn’t defined enough on the dark yarn. (It’s darker than it looks in this over-exposed picture.) So I laddered the sides back down and made them stockinette. I’m now planning to twine stems up the sides to the ankle, and have four leaf-panels around the legs, separated by the brioche stitches. And maybe brioche instead of ribbing at the top.

It’s still a work in progress.

The leaf pattern is a fun knit, though. Not so complex that I can’t do other things like watch TV, but still lace and complicated enough to keep my interest.

yarn pr0n

And I think I mentioned that there might have been a little purchase from The Loopy Ewe to assuage my Blacksheep-Gathering-less self.

Just a little.

Left to right —

Stonebarn Fibers Gypsy Girl Creations in Crocus Valley (I love the twist on this yarn and it’s going with me to Boston!)

Seacoast Handpainted Superwash Sock in Meadow (The label says 100% merino, but it feels wonderfully soft and silky.)

Dream In Color Smooshy Sock Yarn in November Muse. (Smooshy is a perfect description for this yarn!)

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Peacock (Needed more to see if the first was an aberration or I’m going to fall in love with this yarn as others have before me.)

Scarlet Fleece It’s Tubular X 2 in Lapis Woodland (thick and warm and I think it will wear well)

I notice a preponderance of minty green, orange/brown, and purple. Hmmm… I don’t have much in the way of these combination in my stash. Well… just a little, maybe. I wonder if my color sensibility is shifting. Or maybe it’s the season.

Now… what projects to take to Boston with me…

The Clapotis That… Ended After All

It’s done! It’s done! It’s done! It’s DONE! Oh yeah! Doin’ the happy dance, oh yeah!

Can you tell I’m pleased, gentle reader?

It’s been a long, hard slog over two years during which I was distracted by many bright, shiny new projects. But at last it is finished. The never-ending song has ended. Ah…..

I slogged away all weekend on the thing. All weekend. I kept wondering why I had decided to knit the thing in this rather unbecoming blah gray. I almost didn’t bother to weave the ends in because… meh. But in the end I did. Then I gave it a bit of a wash in my front-loader on handwash cycle, and plopped it in a pile on the rack in my drier on low heat. Because it’s a Clapotis, after all, and really doesn’t need any blocking. And then I realized that, if I wanted a picture I’d better darn well hurry because the light was going. And it still wasn’t dry. So I took the rack out and popped that baby in the drier and gave it a good go-round on medium heat, because really after two years and steady weekend knitting I was a little sick of the thing anyway and if it felted a bit… well… that would not detract from its charm because at the time I was feeling that it didn’t have any, and wasn’t the cotton content high enough to prevent that? And this is in no way to be construed as advice that you pop your Silky Tweed in the drier!

And then I took it out of the drier. Hmmmmm… it’s soft. Oh. It blocked itself perfectly in the drier. And look how nicely it drapes. It’s actually sort of the color of very faded favorite jeans. Not really gray. But blue gray with some flecks of other colors in it. Hmmmm…. And then I hung it over a branch of my cherry tree and watched it ruffle in the breeze as the late afternoon sun slanted through the grapes. And then I tossed it casually around my shoulders as I picked a few fresh strawberries and took a brief turn around the yard to see if the neighbors’ turtle (missing a week now) had decided to pay a visit after all. oooo… it’s just the right size to be big and cozy.

And then I fell in love.

I can’t believe I let this poor thing languish in a bag for two years! It’s slated now to go with me to work, where its destiny is to provide a bit of warmth on cold days (cold because of the weather or the deep-freeze air conditioner).

The particulars:

• Yarn: Elspeth Lavold Silky Tweed (40% Silk, 30% Cotton, 20% Merino Wool, 10% Viscose), color #13 (Cool Blue) (Note: ball band long ago lost, but that’s what I reported in a long-ago post.)
• Needles: Various over the years, ending with Knitpicks circulars, US#6 (4mm)
• Pattern: Clapotis, with a minor modification. I increased through one skein, knit straight until I had one skein left, and decreased through the last skein. It worked, as I used every inch of yarn and had to fudge the last couple of decreases to have enough, but the fudging isn’t noticeable at all.

cute little scissor keeper

In other new, I wasn’t able to attend the Black Sheep Gathering this year in Eugene. I can’t wait to see the reports from those who did. It’s always suck a fabulous fiberly time! Ahhh… all that yarn. It’s a yarn collector’s paradise, it is!

So instead I had to content myself with a little purchase from The Loopy Ewe. Just a little one. Because I needed yarn for my sock pall, you know. Yeah. That’s what it was. It wasn’t to assuage the pain of my BSG-less existence. No shopping therapy here, nosiree!

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I spent some very nice time looking at all of the wonderful things at The Loopy Ewe. Look at these little scissors with the little scissor-keeper on a fob that clips to the handle so it doesn’t get lost when carelessly tossed into a little sock bag and bounced around inside a purse. Isn’t that the cutest thing?

Don’t you agree that I needed to have this? Head over to The Loopy Ewe and look at all of the lovely, fun, bright colors it comes in. You know you want to.

Ack! I’m starting to sound like a pusher!

java leaf swatch

There might have been some yarn involved in this purchase, also. Just a little. This is Cherry Tree Hill in Java.

I haven’t knit with this yarn before, but I now understand why people are raving about it. Lovely, lovely stuff. Fun to knit. This is the second swatch I’ve done. I found that I really need a size US#0 (2mm) to get a nice, dense fabric.

The stitch pattern is a vining leaf design from an old, old book I borrowed from V at Tangle. I don’t know if it’s also in one of Barbara Walkers books or not. I would be surprised if it isn’t. What looks like ribbing on the sides is actually a brioche stitch. I modified the pattern just a little — instead of cabling the stem stitches with the background, I did a m1, k2tog. It looks OK and will be less annoying to work than two-stitch cables every single row.

I’m considering this for my sock pal’s socks. Since I usually work an all-over pattern, and since I usually knit in brighter or lighter colors, this is a departure for me in more than one direction. But I think it will be a fun knit.

What do you think, gentle reader?

Hi to all you Knitty.com readers that have been hopping over here the last couple of days from the Magic Cast-On article. Please be sure to check out the knotless version, which also has one error in the article corrected (the wrong picture illustrating DPN step 10).

In your life, gentle reader, has there ever been a moment in time when you would give almost anything for a do-over? When you think to yourself, self, what were you thinking? You must have been having a really horrible hair day or something. Ever have that kind of day?

I would give a lot to be able to take back that little knot.

Actually, I offered my first born male child, but there were no takers.

(Just kidding, #1 Son!!! Really. You know I love you, sweety. Put on a sweater if you are cold.)

In my own knitting, I don’t like knots and never use them and eliminate them ruthlessly should I encounter them willy-nilly in a skein of yarn (which I loath. Don’t you think that for the price we pay for yarn, we could get a single strand of it?) But I honestly thought it would be easier for other knitters just starting with the Magic Cast-On to keep the first loop on the needle if it were a little slip-knot.

And thus was born a great deal of interweb discussion — to knot, or not to knot, that was the question.

So I will stand up, now: Hi, I’m Judy, and I’m a knotless knitter. I just twist the yarn around the needle to make the first loop, and hold it there with my right-hand index finger.

If you don’t like the knot, you can do that, too. If you don’t mind the knot and want to continue using it, that’s OK also. My motto is: whatever gets loops of string around your pointy sticks is a wonderful technique and you should keep doing it if it feels good. If it doesn’t feel good, then you should try a different technique until you find one that does feel good, and just keep making loops.

I love to sit with a group of knitters and watch the knitting techniques each uses. Everyone hold the yarn a little differently, makes stitches a little differently, knits fast, knits slow… but they are all knitting and producing beautiful fabric. How cool is that?

The Never-Ending Clapotis

It’s the Clapotis that never ends,
and it goes on and on my friends.
Some knitter started knitting it
not knowing what it was,
and she’ll continue knitting it
forever just because
it’s the Clapotis that never ends…

Well. You get the idea.

I really love the first Clapotis I knit. I still get tons of complements on it when I wear it. And I thought that a large Clapotis would be such a great wrap to use in the office, on those days when the air conditioner turns the place into an arctic deep freeze and I want to call Building Services to inquire if they have heard about global warming, and that maybe, just maybe, in some cases a little of it would be OK.

So I started Clapotis #2. It was a long time ago. It’s been listed on the sidebar of shame since the dawn of time, and I found a post in which I bragged (oh, if I could take back the words) of making good progress on it. Two. Years. Ago. Yeah. Real good progress, there, Judy.

Clapotis #2 is being knit in Elspeth Lavold Silky Tweed. I purchased a number of skeins. Don’t remember how many now, but enough to make a good-sized wrap. With Clapotis #1 I’d had barely enough yarn to finish — there was less than 6″ left, and I’d had to do some creative decreasing to make it. Not wanting to repeat that experience with Clapotis #2, I increased through one skein of yarn. The plan was then to knit the straight part until I had one skein of yarn left. Then work the decreases. I’m glad, now, that I planned it that way because I never would have remembered any other non-standard plan for this long. As we’ve all established, gentle reader, I’m a short-attention-span knitter.

I’m pleased to report that, after some decent knitting time yesterday, I’m down to 1-1/2 balls of yarn. I’m a mere 1/2 of a ball away from starting the decreases. There is actually an end in sight.

Dare I hope I may actually finish this puppy?

The new sock club delivery came yesterday. I have no pictures. I didn’t expect to like every single thing all year. The jury is still out on this one. While this time I do like the pattern, I’m not sure yet about the yarn. We’ll see.

I have many things on my knitting mind right now, anyway. I need to start my Sockapalooza pal’s socks really soon. Really soon. and now that it’s summer again, I’d like to knit the cotton bag that’s been in my head for about a year. I am going to attempt to knit some of those UFOs over there and get them off my list. So I can add new ones. You know how it goes.

It’s quiet around here. #1 Son is off on the road again for three weeks. I had coffee with him yesterday, served along with the usual mom-reminders: drive carefully, be cautious, wear a sweater if you’re cold, eat right, etc. He said, Mom, you’ve told me all that before. You don’t have to keep telling me. I replied that just because your kids grow up doesn’t mean that you stop being a mom, and I was going to keep telling him all that stuff until he was old himself because one of these days, who knows, he might listen.