Wings Of A Dream (so far)

There hasn’t been a lot of knitting going on at chez PI this week — or at least not much that I can show you. You might notice from the right-hand sidebar countdown that Christmas is coming quickly! I do have a little bit of holiday knitting to complete. Hopefully it will be done today or tomorrow.

I have knit a bit on The Wings Of A Dream. I have finished the first chart and I’m about 1/4 through the second chart.

You will recall that this is Blue Moon Silk Thread in Thraven. I am knitting with a double strand, because this yarn is truly about the size of sewing thread. But, ohhhh…. gentle reader, this is very, very nice to knit with. Is there anything nicer than silk? I admit to being a total silkaholic. I wish there was some way to really show you the colors in the yarn. But it’s pre-dawn early so I’m stuck with artificial light. This was the best I could do. Sometimes it looks black, sometimes it looks blue. Love it, love it, love it!

I still don’t have a decent art-shot of the PNW Shawl (aka The Great Green Glob). Every now and then, Mother Nature likes to remind us that we do, in fact, live in a rain forest. If you have been watching the news lately, you may have seen that we were sort of inundated here in the Pacific Northwest this weekend and early this week. We really had a lot of rain. A lot. I saw one reporter on the news who said, It must be a lot wetter than normal because even the natives are carrying umbrellas. 😆 I don’t know if you saw the video of the salmon swimming up I-5? That was interesting. I don’t ever recall I-5 being closed for so long because of flooding. It might not be open again until next week. Since that is the major route between Portland and Seattle, it’s kind of hard to get to there from here. But the trains are supposed to be running maybe today, so that will help.

Chez PI weathered the storm with no problem, although I did lose my power for about 5 hours on Monday. But so many areas were just devastated. The clean-up is going to take years, I’m afraid. My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes and businesses as entire towns were drowned.

Last Sunday, #1 Son braved the weather and came to my house to do laundry. But the really nice thing about his visit was he also kicked me out of the kitchen and cooked a really nice, spicy curry. Yum. He can do laundry any day if he’s going to cook, too! Although it may seem impossible when they are teenagers, strangely enough, our children do grow up.

#1 Son also asked me if I’d knit him a scarf. He rarely asks me to knit anything for him. So a scarf will be on my needles very soon!

First, just a bit of non-yarn-related info: #1 Son has managed to purchase the ticket for his out-of-the-country trip in January. Of course, he has absolutely no money left and will have to live on water and the good graces of others, but he has 30 days left to figure out how to earn a little spending money. I am, actually, quite proud of him.

In more yarn-related news, I really, really want to show you pictures of the Pacific Northwest Shawl, but the weather refuses to cooperate. As I type this, it is snowing gently and the light is completely flat. According to the weatherpeople, we are expecting a humongous storm later this weekend. But one site reports the chance of scattered sun this afternoon. Should that happen, I will run quickly out and snap as many pics as I can in the hope that I will get one or two worth sharing. But even inside, there’s just no light.

Ann in Richmond mentioned that I had the presence of mind to record the whole repairing-the-GGG process. In reality, after standing across the room, swearing in abject horror, the first thought that really came to mind was I so need to blog this. I grabbed my camera before even edging in for a closer look. How sadly geeky does that make me?

But all of this is not what I really want to talk to you about today.

All knitterly creation stems from one simple element: yarn. It is the baker’s flour, the jeweler’s gold, the gardener’s soil. Yarn is creation, consolation, and chaos all spun together into one perfect ball. It’s a simple concept, twisting fibers together into a continuous thread of yarn. But the variety of fibers, blends, and spins is truley infinite. So is our relationship with yarn. We love it, we covet it, we are knocked senseless by it. Yet sometimes we are baffled, thwarted, and betrayed by it.

Clara Parkes (of Knitter’s Review fame) begins her wonderful new book, The Knitter’s Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn, with that lovely, evocative paragraph.

I immediately wanted to know more. And more. And more.

Want to know how wool and silk are the same (or different)? Where cashmere comes from? What the term worsted really means? Why silk sometimes stinks and how to de-stink it? How viscose is made? What’s good about acrylic? It’s all here. Section 1 contains a ton of information about all of the different fibers, from angora to yak, the special properties of each and how to evaluate them.

Not a spinner? (note: I am not) Never been up close and personal with a llama? Section 2 explores how yarn, from indie to mass-marketed, is prepared, spun and dyed and where you can get organic and minimally processed yarns and fibers in all stages of preparedness.

There is a whole chapter on pills. Not the kind you swallow here, gentle reader, but the kind that form on sweaters (and hats and blankets and scarves and…). Parkes not only explains what to do to remove pills, but also why they form in the first place and how to evaluate a yarn to determine its pill potential. I now have a much better idea of why my Noro Silk Garden jacket always pills like there’s no tomorrow, but my Noro Kochoran sweater, although it is much fluffier and fuzzier, does not.

from Cabled Tea Cozy

Section 3 begins with an exploration of plies, and why we as knitters care. Starting with single-ply yarn and continuing through various numbers of mutiple-plies, Parkes explains how the twists cause the yarn to behave and how knitters can work with that behavior. Following the guidelines here, knitters can match yarns and patterns that will work together. Did you know that simply rewinding a skein of single-ply yarn will stop its tendency to bias in stockinette stitch? I didn’t either, but Parkes explains how and why. Following the chapters on plies are chapters on cabled yarns, textured yarns, and neat things like boucle and chenille. Section 3 ends with a chapter on why yarns felt, why sometimes they won’t, and how to get the best felting results.

Every chapter in Section 3 includes patterns, and every pattern includes a note from the designer about how the yarn was chosen to work with that pattern. And what designers! This is a who’s-who list, gentle reader. Knitters from adventurous beginner to experienced knit-guru will all find patterns here to pique their interest. There are one-skein quickies and lace, blankets and sweaters, bags and socks. You will want to knit them all. Or at least I do.

The book ends with a reference section. How to take care of your yarn, with special notes on different fibers. Determining WPI and yardage requirements. The standard yarn-weight numbering system vs. the older non-standard systems (i.e. #1 = sock / fingering / baby), along with typical gauges and recommended needles for each. A list of abbreviations, including how-to instructions. A recommended reading list; designer bios and a glossary.

I love yarn. I love all the yarns. I love to gaze and fondle and squeeze and pet and smell. Even yarns I would never in a millions years knit with, I love. The Knitter’s Book of Yarn is devoted to such sheer fibery knowledge, with tons of gorgeous yarn-pr0ny pictures, that my inner yarn-geek is fed in the best possible way and I want to just grab my nearest needles and start knitting up a storm.

This book instantly earned a prominent place on my reference shelf.

We can’t all be yarn whisperers, but with The Knitter’s Book of Yarn in hand, we can at least understand our yarn and learn to work with an appreciate it even more than we already do (if that is possible).

The book ends perfectly: Let the journey begin.

Tinker Toy swift

Yes, gentle reader, I’ve finally decided to join the rest of the… what? 12th century or so?… by actually acquiring one of those newfangled gadgets: a swift.

I found the link to this on Ravelry. But here is a direct link to Crafting Jen, who, I’m sure you will agree, is also very crafty.

Yes, that’s right, it’s made from Tinker Toys. Who wouldn’t see such a lovely toy tool and instantly want one? And there’s a toy tool store just right down the street. Isn’t that convenient? Because for some unknown reason, #1 Son, although the proud possessor of blocks and Leggos and Lincoln Logs, apparently never had Tinker Toys. At least I can’t recall that he did. But the Classic Jumbo Set is readily available at the toy tool store and comes with more parts than you can shake a tinker toy stick at.

It only took about 10 minutes of playing with my toys serious building to come up with a working swift. Mine is constructed a bit differently from Jen’s. I wanted mine to sit a little higher so that it’s at the right angle to turn well when sitting on my footstool. It’s very stable and turns very well. The beauty of using Tinker Toys this particular construction method is that it’s really easy to rebuild in any configuration should I want it higher or lower, or the arms longer or shorter or extended to keep a puffy skein from falling off.

It’s small and light enough to go anywhere — like up on a high shelf where Moo Cow can’t get her paws (and teeth) on the yarn. And, when I’m finished with it, I can take it apart and put the pieces back in their can, and they’ll be there the next time I need to wind some yarn.

That, by the way, is Blue Moon Silk Thread in Thraven. It takes awhile to wind 1,250 yards of yarn, so portability is a real asset. Especially since I’m going to have to wind two skeins before I can start what I want to do with this yarn.

Speaking of Moo, she ate her breakfast this morning and it has not come back up. She also seems a lot more like her normal self. I have hope that this means either that she is able to somehow digest silk leaves from my fake tree, or she managed to get rid of all of them. She is very interested in the silk that is on the swift. We had words.

And speaking of #1 Son, he was too ill yesterday to go to work and had to have a special excuse from the doctor. But when I called to see how he was doing, he was in Eugene. So apparently he was not too sick to drive 100 miles with his friends. Parenting continues to be an interesting exercise in futility experience.

You know, gentle reader, #1 Son is so grown up and all that sometimes I forget that for another 8 months he is, officially, a teenager.

#1 Son has been working hard (and this is no joke) and saving his money for a band tour outside the country in January. I have told him in no uncertain terms that TBOM (The Bank Of Mom, a small and thrifty local financial concern) will not extend credit for this venture and is closed to further withdrawals for any business plan that does not result in actually making a living.

The other day, my phone rang and the conversation went something like this:

#1 Son: Hi, mom. I almost have enough saved up for the trip now.

Mom: That’s wonderful. Congratulations. ❗

#1 Son: I need to buy my ticket and get my visa. So could I borrow $100 just until the next paycheck?

Mom: Is everyone else buying their tickets now? ❓

#1 Son: I don’t know.

Mom: Don’t you think it would be a good thing to coordinate with them? Have you talked to them about it? ❓

#1 Son: We had a practice a couple of weeks ago and we sort of talked about it.

Mom: And??? 🙄

#1 Son: Nobody has enough money yet.

Mom: Don’t you think it would be a good idea to coordinate your ticket buying, so you all end up down there at the same time? 😯

#1 Son: We’re not necessarily going at the same time. Colin is going first. And them Mike and Katie and I are going later.

Mom: Maybe you’d want to coordinate with Mike and Katie? When are they buying their tickets? ❓

#1 Son: If we end up on different flights, we’ll just meet each other at the airport.

Mom: [keeping voice calm] When are Mike and Katie getting their visas? 😯

#1 Son: [slowly, thinking through this new idea] Yeah. I suppose we could all buy our tickets at the same time and get our visas together. That might work.

Mom: That sounds like a really good idea! ❗

#1 Son: OK. I’ll call you in a couple of days. Love you!

Mom: Love you, too!

I hung up the phone and started slowly banging my head against my desk.

My colleague in the next cube smiled and asked, Call from your son?

On the knitting front, I have become monogamous to The Great Green Glob. It turns out that the edging is mindless enough that I can knit it while teleconferencing, etc., and TGGG wads up into a small enough space that carrying it around isn’t an issue. I will finish it! I’m only two shells from the center corner.

I’m actually looking forward to the I-cord edge. And I’m not an I-cord lover, so that says a lot about how badly I want this project done.

Besides, the Raven has landed at Blue Moon and some of it will be shortly winging my way, as soon as the lovely ladies there get to my order in the avalanche that hit them when the Raven series went live.

Stay tuned. Film at 11 (or whenever the mailman delivers).

not so globby, but still green

Last weekend wasn’t all Harry Potter. I did take a little time out now and again to work on the Great Green Glob. I finished the pine trees and the sand dollars. Next up is the water. Then bubbles. Then fish. Then one border. Then another one. Then some I-cord. And it keeps on getting bigger and bigger.

Some of it looks a little wonky in the picture. In person, the seagulls are flying straight and the trees line up and the sand dollars are round. I didn’t do that great a job pinning it out for this picture. I really need blocking wires to keep it straight. But, it’s really not nearly as wonky as it looks.

Since birth, the Great Green Glob has lived on a variety of needles. It’s currently on an Addi Lace needle. I really, really, really love those needles. I can’t imagine a better needle for lace — and that include the Knitpicks needle that the Great Green Glob was on previously.

Knitting bouts were but brief interludes. UPS (do those guys have great legs, or what?) delivered my preordered copy of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows at about 11:00 AM on Saturday.

In grade school I used to drive my reading teachers nuts. My reading habits used to drive my Mama nuts, for that matter. As I child, I always had my nose stuck in a book, no matter what else I might be doing at the time. But… confessions, now… I rarely read a book from front to back. I read them back to front. I read them front, then back, then middle. I start randomly in the middle and read towards both ends at the same time. I skip around. If the author skips from character to character, letting one rest for several chapters, I will skip ahead to find out what happens to that character and then go back to catch up to the others.

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

So… I will admit it. I read the last part first because I didn’t want to wade through 750 pages to find out. Then I started back at the beginning, with a resolve to read it cover to cover, no cheating. And I kept my resolve.

Risking being branded a heretic, I will say that I think the beginning was a bit of a slog. But somewhere around the middle, the action picks up considerably. I don’t think that knowing parts of the ending made the middle part any less exciting. I was turning pages quickly and reading fast and I couldn’t wait to get to the next part. The last 1/2 of the book was definitely a good read.

I will not give anything away here, never fear. If you want to start at the end of the book… you’re on your own. I found the ending satisfying. For one who cut her teeth on fantasy, it wasn’t all that surprising (again, this does not imply I don’t think it was a fun read). But it was satisfying. Ends were tied up, questions were answered, etc. I give it

Now… on to other things.

What do you think you would get, gentle reader, if you crossed Yahoo Groups, My Space and Widipedia, then added yarn? Well, I’m not sure exactly either, but I’m betting it would look a whole lot like Ravelry. I know you’ve probably heard enough about this already. But, no matter if you don’t plan on organizing yourself, this is a terrific tool. If you haven’t already, go and get yourself in line for an invitation. And there’s a new feature where you can look yourself up and see where you are in the list. I know that people are being sent invitations just as quickly as possible. I waited 3 months for mine. It’s so worth it!

If you’re already on Ravelry, add me to your friends list, or look me up. I’m there as jabecker (I’m so incredibly creative with names — I’ve used this screen name various places for 15 years).

In other news, #1 Son returned from his travels. His first bit of business, I thought, was to find gainful employment. He would, he told me, but not during his birthday week.

Excuse me? Birthday week??? Since when does anyone get a week off just because it’s their birthday? 🙄 Welcome to the real world, my child.

I expressed my displeasure.

#1 Son starts his new job tomorrow. 😉

Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fires has been reviewed extensively in the media. You have to have been living under a rock somewhere not to have run into one or two or twenty reviews. Most reviewers I’ve read have agreed that this Harry Potter is dark, scary, and no place for small kids.

The movie is often dark and foggy, and thanks to the magic of special effects, there are very realistic fire-breathing dragons, scary underwater merpeople, attacking hedges, bad wizards, monsters, huge snakes, etc.

Good guys die in this movie.

So, riddle me this Batman: Whether or not you believe that HP&TGOF deserves its PG-13 rating (and I happen to think it does), why would you take a baby to see it?

#1 Son and I went to see it on Friday. (Note: He’s 17 and I’m way more than that. Neither of us is subject to nightmares.) We went to the Oak Grove Cinema in Milwaukie. It’s a little out of our usual metro-west stomping grounds, true, but #1 Son doesn’t like the theater that’s close to our house. I didn’t really mind checking out a new theater. Since The Westgate closed there are too few theaters left that are more than a cookie-cutter, stadium-seating cinema complex. I was please to find that Oak Grove has tons of character. What’s not to like about a cinema that marks its restrooms in three-foot-tall neon “guys” and “gals” signs?

When the movie started, the theater was about two-thirds full. It was a very mixed audience. I would say that the majority were teenagers or older, with a fair representation of senior citizens. There were also a few younger kids. Behind us were a couple of children that were about 9 or 10. At the end of our row were a man and a woman with two kids: a boy who looked about 5 or 6 and a girl who was maybe 2-1/2 or 3.

The kids behind us had obviously been warned to only whisper during movies. And they did whisper. Very loudly. Through the whole movie. Whispers punctuated by flying popcorn kernels landing in our hair to the beat of chair kicks.

The little girl at the end of the row started crying after the first 15 minutes or so, and she cried and begged to go home through the rest of the movie. And they stayed until the bitter end.

So, our movie-going experience went something like this:

[whisper] Wait till you see this! mommy, I want to go home. [sob] [chair kick] Harry’s not supposed to enter because he’s not old enough but watch what happens! [patter of popcorn falling gently on hair] mommy [sob] please can I go home now? [chair kick]

Yeah, the ambiance left something to be desired.

I would have asked the kids behind us to at least stop whispering. But the last time I did that, the boy I ask to stop started crying instead. (No idea why. I wasn’t mean at all and I asked nicely.) The boy’s mother got really pissed at me, and #1 Son was embarrassed. So this time I just tried to ignore them. If I could have easily reached the couple at the other end of the row, however, I would have knocked their heads together and told them to take their baby home. And I wouldn’t have been nice about it.

Mom’s take:

Oak Grove Cinema: for character and an extra for the restroom neon.

Harry Potter & The Goblet Of Fire: This was the weakest of the books, and I think the weakest of the movies. Despite the necessary trimming to fit a 600-page book into a two-hour movie, it was still too long.

People (of any age) who whisper in movies: for trying, but some whispers can be just as loud as a normal speaking voice and more penetrating. A movie theater is not your family room. Keep your lips zipped.

Parents who take their babies to anything other than G-rated movies: minus 5 Parenting means you get to miss out on things you would like to do but that are inappropriate for your children. Wait until it comes out on DVD or cable.

Parents who refuse to remove a crying baby or child: Minus 5 The rest of us brought kids who could behave appropriately or left them at home. We paid good money to see this movie. Be a lamb and don’t ruin it for us.