a bevy of knitters

OK. We’ll go back to talking about knitting, now. But before we do… did you read the incredulous tone of the pingback to the previous post? … That’s right, a blogger whose focus is knitting hacked WordPress… The ping came from a very nice person who is as unhappy with the WP admin panels as I am, so I don’t want to give him any grief. (But I did wander over to his blog and tease him just a little.)

Thursday night I definitely left my comfort zone, but I had the best time! Several months ago, I had been asked to speak about Judy’s Magic Cast-on at the April meeting of the Tigard Knitting Guild. I was very pleased and excited to accept.

And I started thinking that I really should try to figure out exactly what I was going to say. And then I got busy and I didn’t. But I did think about teaching JMCO to a crowd and wondering exactly how people in the back were going to see it. The largest group I’ve taught it to before would probably be one of my sock classes. And that would be around five or six intrepid knitters.

This was around… 50.

A week ago at Tangle, I spied some US#19 circular needles - these are really big, gentle reader. I bought two - one in wood and one in metal. And I bought two balls of the bulkiest yarn I could find in the brightest colors that Alice had, and I hatched a plot.

more knitters

At the appointed time I arrived at the appointed place. I had yarn, needles, my current projects and a few items to show some cool things that JMCO can be used to do. There weren’t many people there yet, and I knew some of them. All were warm and welcoming, and I was invited to join a table. I sat and knitted and waited for the meeting to began and reminded myself that it would be a good idea to figure out what I was going to say.

Now, I know I am going to hear howls of protest when I say this, but I’m really a shy person. Once I get to know people, then I’m not shy at all. But in crowds where I don’t know people… yeah. I realize that some people are totally comfortable speaking to thousands of people. I’m not one of them. I have to force myself to come out of my shell and talk to people. Even knitters. And the knitters kept coming and coming and coming. And I just kept knitting and knitting and knitting. I knit two inches on the Salish Sea Socks - last December’s Rockin’ Sock Club pattern - all of which had to be frogged out the next day.

The meeting got rolling, and before I knew it, I was being introduced. I rose from my chair, waved at the crowd, took a deep breath, and started in.

It turns out that my voice is loud enough that I didn’t need a mike. Whodda thunk it? (I hear you laughing out there.)

I totally winged it, telling about how I had developed JMCO when I was home sick, and why it was cool. And then I called for volunteers. One volunteer played Judy’s Index Finger, and one volunteer played Judy’s Thumb. I handed each a ball of yarn, tied the ends together in the middle, and, holding up my humongo needles, demonstrated the cast on. The needles were so big that I actually needed both hands to hold them and loop the yarn around. Once I had demo’d, I showed off a few FOs that I had started with JMCO: two pairs of socks, and The Wings Of The Raven, and a bag that I’m pretty sure I started with JMCO. Well… I could have, so it got the point across.

and even more knitters

And then I wandered amongst the tables, helping the knitters master JMCO and having a really marvelous time with everyone. In the pictures, you can see a bunch of wonderful knitters, concentrating on winding that yarn just right.

When I had circled the entire room and made it back to my table, I answered questions, took a few photos, thanked everyone for welcoming me into their fold, and sat down with relief. I used almost exactly my allotted time. Whew.

It was amazing and fun and I’m so glad that I did it! But I’m not sure that I’m even going to become comfortable speaking in front of crowds.

I’d also like to talk to you a bit more about the Great Adirondacks Soxie yarn. The link is just the first place I found that actually had a picture of the color. As you were, I was a bit surprised that they compared this yarn to Koigu. It’s nothing like. For one thing, although it felt softer after washing and would be OK to wear, it’s obviously not Merino. And the most obvious difference: I’ve never had Koigu pool or stripe. Ever. I couldn’t keep this from striping.

Interestingly enough, at the TKG meeting I sat next to Karen, who was knitting lace with this same yarn in a blue and green colorway. And, although I could see that the colors in the ball were lovely, in the scarf the colors looked darker and just not as luminous. Karen mentioned that this was the second time she’d used Great Adirondacks, and both times she’d been disappointed with the colors - lovely in the skein, not so much in the FO. And she had not knit socks either time! So I feel vindicated.

I still haven’t decided what to do with that second skein. I think it will need to be something like entrelac to get the biggest punch from the colors that I can.

Pacific Northwest Shawl

There was a brief moment of sun during the dark Pacific Northwest winter, and it was at the right angle to reach my yard, so I ran out and snapped some pictures of the Pacific Northwest Shawl. Light in Portland in the winter is an uncommon phenomenon. And my house is on the north side of a mountain. The top of the mountain is at just the right height to block the sun for most of the cold months. Very early morning and late afternoon are about the only times I might get light. If it’s not raining. The front yard gets a little sun, where it’s not in the shadow of the house. My yard in the winter is a cold, gloomy, damp and gray place.

I’m from a part of the country where gloom is not normal. In southeastern Idaho, rain in the summer was unusual. It snowed in the winter. But it was usually bright and sunny after the snow passed. Sometimes there would be cloudy days. But in the winter, even when cloudy it’s bright because the sky is white and the snow is white and there’s a lot of light (although not much in the way of shadows, effectively killing depth perception). The first winter I lived in Portland, it was so dark and drab. I got used to seeing the world in black and white and gray. When the sun came out in the spring, I couldn’t believe what a bright thing color was! I’d never had anything to contrast it with before. I’ve never taken it for granted again.

up close and personal

But I digress.

Here’s a closeup of the Pacific Northwest Shawl.

Taking these fence shots was actually fairly interesting, as the day was breezy. The PNWS weighs almost nothing. It contains less than 2 oz. of yarn (maybe 50 grams). It’s held against the fence mostly by the wind — I’m not kidding here. There’s nothing holding it up. The top edge is resting against the ends of the lattice uprights. But that’s it.

The breezes had a fun time rippling it and playing with the edges. I had to wait for brief breeze intermissions to take pictures that might (hopefully) be in focus.

No, I’m not going to indicate the area that had to be mended because of the stitches that dropped during blocking. If you can’t see it… well, that’s sort of the point, isn’t it?

http://www.fibertrends.com/viewer/patterns/S2000.html

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Skacel Merino Lace, 100% Merino lace weight, in color 165 Emerald
• Needles: US#6, various brands over the long, long lifespan of this project
• Pattern: Pacific Northwest Shawl by Fibertrends

Blue Brick Wall socks

When I hopped on the Ferry to go to Friday Harbor, I had a lace shawl and three pairs of socks on the needles with me. So I did what any red-blooded knitter would do.

I cast on another pair of socks.

Because, you know, I had wound up a skein of STR just in case I finished all of my other projects. Ahem.

It was a skein that I had won at Cat’s book signing last fall. Blue Brick Wall.

Maybe it was because I’d been driving all day and was tired. Maybe my blood sugar was low. Or maybe it was just one of those perverse days. Whatever. It was Blue Brick Wall, so I knit a brick-ish sort of pattern. (It’s actually the back side of a basket weave.) And the cuff is moss stitch because, well, moss grows on brick walls, doesn’t it? The socks are posing against my rock wall. Moss grows there. The lovely, thick sock blockers are courtesy of Bobbie’s husband ToolMan.

The really interesting thing about these is that, other than a small splotch of brown over the gussets, there’s no pooling and no striping. I’m so used to STR striping at the gauge I knit it in that I’m not quite sure what to make of it. But I really, really, like the way that these came out.

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Blue Moon Socks That Rock Light (100% superwash merino / 4.5oz, 360yds per skein); one skein of Blue Brick Wall
• Needles: a pair of Addi Lace, US#1
• Pattern: My own.

Wings Of The Raven

A fellow retreater snapped these pictures of Wings Of A Raven for me when the sun came out on San Juan Island. (Thank you, again, fellow retreater!)

I love this first picture because it almost shows how the colors shift in the light. See how it looks black across my back, but the left wing has flashes of blue on it?

And my hair is almost behaving itself, miracle of miracles! But I could use a little tan on my arms, it appears.

The second shot of the sun streaming through the lace shows off the feather pattern nicely, I think.

Every place I have worn this shawl I’ve gotten lots of compliments. People just want to touch it and pet it and I do, too. Of all of the objects I’ve knit, I have to admit this is one of my favorite. And I’m going to wear it a lot. Because black, you know, goes with everything. It’s the new black, or something like that.

Wings Of The Raven

On the way home, I stopped in Tacoma for the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat. I wasn’t signed up for any classes. But I’d heard that there might be yarn involved. And Tina petted Wings Of A Raven and agreed that it was a perfect pattern for that yarn, which was very of cool.

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Blue Moon Silk Thread (100% silk / 3.5oz, 1250 yds per skein); Two skeins of Thraven — yarn was held doubled while knitting. I had tons left over and maybe could have done this with one skein.
• Needles: Knit Picks Options, US#4
• Pattern: Wings Of A Dream by Melanie Gibbons. This is the symmetrical, two-wings version of Swan Lake. Pattern was knit as written without modification.
• Techniques used: beaded lace

Blue Brick Wall socks

When I hopped on the Ferry to go to Friday Harbor, I had a lace shawl and three pairs of socks on the needles with me. So I did what any red-blooded knitter would do.

I cast on another pair of socks.

Because, you know, I had wound up a skein of STR just in case I finished all of my other projects. Ahem.

It was a skein that I had won at Cat’s book signing last fall. Blue Brick Wall.

Maybe it was because I’d been driving all day and was tired. Maybe my blood sugar was low. Or maybe it was just one of those perverse days. Whatever. It was Blue Brick Wall, so I knit a brick-ish sort of pattern. (It’s actually the back side of a basket weave.) And the cuff is moss stitch because, well, moss grows on brick walls, doesn’t it? The socks are posing against my rock wall. Moss grows there. The lovely, thick sock blockers are courtesy of Bobbie’s husband ToolMan.

The really interesting thing about these is that, other than a small splotch of brown over the gussets, there’s no pooling and no striping. I’m so used to STR striping at the gauge I knit it in that I’m not quite sure what to make of it. But I really, really, like the way that these came out.

It was all designed to be mindless knitting, and it filled the bill admirably. The other projects I had with me were not mindless. Except for the clown barf socks. But… well… you know.

I completed most of the Blue Brick Wall socks while on San Juan Island. It took me awhile to get them finished when I returned because I’ve been slammed. It seems like I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get things done and not accomplishing anything. But, when I look back, I really have managed to get quite a few things taken care of. I’m hoping for a chance to take a deep breath soon.

Because I hate this no-time-to-blog stuff. Blogging, like knitting, is a lifeline for me. And it’s important to stop for a minute to let the madness pass by. A wake-up call in the form of a colleague’s stress-related illness came a couple of weeks ago. My colleague will be, fortunately, OK. But will I be if I keep galloping like this? Breath… slow it down to a jog…

auction

Saturday night my former MIL invited me to a charity auction benefiting one of the local parochial schools. There was a silent auction with lots of interesting stuff. It’s all being displayed on the tables in the back by the balloons. Then a plated dinner that was very tasty, followed by a live auction that was pretty crazy and fun.

In the silent auction, I won a $90 lube-and-oil for $25 (to go to #1 Son), and a really nice crystal martini set for $9 (to stay with me).

I didn’t bid on much in the live auction. The bidders were well oiled by the no-host bar and the wine bottles provided on the tables, and some of the bids were pretty outrageous. Like $5,500 for a reserved parking space by the church, or $2,500 for a quilt created by the 4th-graders. Oh, I know it was all for a good cause, but that sort of level is a little out of my reach! I’m hardly a high-roller.

But MIL and I went together on a spa package at the Bonneville Hotel in the Columbia River Gorge. That will be fun, I think.

We left before all of the bidding was finished. As we stood in the check-out line to find out if we won anything in the silent auction, a sewing machine came up on the block. It was a package with a retail value of $750 and the opening bid was $500. That was too high for me to go. But nobody bid. So the auctioneer (who was a real kick, by the way, and most of the entertainment) kept dropping it down. When it got down to $100… I stepped out of line and lifted up my number. There was one more bid after mine. And then I bid again. So I walked away with an electronic sewing machine, a $100 gift certificate to a fabric store and around $50 in notions for… drum roll please… $300.

All in all it was a really fun time. I hope MIL asks me to go again next year!

And thanks to those of you who sent good wishes to Phoebe. Other than having to flush her litter, everything else in my household is back to what passes for normal. You would never know that Phoebe was ever not feeling well. Of course, the blood test next month will tell the whole tale. But as far as I can tell, she’s her old self again.