Gotta Knit!

Complicated knitting, Sherlock Holmes and The Man do not mix

While touring Scotland on the bus, I'd started a complicated 5 row scarf pattern that I decided I'd pick up again last night.    I write out the row directions on single index cards so I just flip as I'm done with a row.   Which has worked out quite nicely over the years except for the one rare occasion when I forgot to flip to the next card before putting it away.   Several weeks ago, I was quite engrossed in whatever movie was on and knit up 5 more rows only to look down and discover beautiful stitch pattern had gone wonky.  

Which at that point, I did what the only sane thing I could do. Project, cards and whatnot's were shoved back into the ziplock bag from whence they had come for me to stick my head into the sand and hope next time I pulled it out it wasn't as bad as it looked.   I moved on to Mr. McHottie Carpenter's Baby Blanket at that point.   Which I might add I finished it yesterday at a new City of Decatur wine bar, Tasting a Wine Experience while waiting for The Man to finish shopping at Decatur CD.   Now just have to seam up two sides together and it is giftable.

 Last night I decided to shake the sand out of my ears and be a brave girl.    Being a brave girl entailed looking at the damage for about 10 minutes and hearing Nell in her mom voice "pull out the needle, rip it back and pick up the stitches" several times in progressing stern tones.  Which I finally did and it was fine but think I got a gray hair from it all.   Began to knit while watching Sherlock Holmes on PBS which is where The Man entered the picture.   He kept commenting on the show and asking me questions.   

Then there was the row with an extra stitch.   Looked at the work from near & afar all seemed well so I thought "what the heck I'll just K2tog and all will be well."   Yes, yes, yes, I know what you are all saying right now and that is exactly what my little voice said to but I chose to plunder on.   Imagine my lack of surprise at the next row when I was one stitch short.

Began the unknitting process from there but finally gave up since I would need a jury of my knitting peers at my murder trial of The Man.    He doesn't  quite get unknitting complicated knitting equals not talking to me.   In fact I was asked "why are you so grumpy all of sudden?".

On a completely different sane note, at dusk last night the light was this amazing golden orange hue so the three of us trooped out to enjoy the few minutes of it in the garden.   Someone needed some Mom time.

A Day with Louisa Harding

We actually met her the evening before when she had dinner with us at the hotel.   Think tiny hotel since I believe they only had 8 rooms but the food was great.   Wonderful idea for us 15 knitters to have a chance to sit down and have a chat with her.   Lovely woman and quite enjoyable to talk with.   She is one of those people if you took knitting out of the picture and just met here somewhere you'd like her and want to be friends.

         

The next day the class on the Betty Wrap (scroll to almost the bottom of the page to see it) began.  Now I've gotta be honest here, the Betty Wrap is my least favorite thing in Knitting Little Luxuries book and I wasn't thrilled that this was going to be our lesson with Louisa.   Being even more honest here, I yet again relearned a lesson for probably the 100th time.   Sometimes if you just change the color it completely changes how the pattern looks.   Louisa was working on a Betty Wrap with strong winter colors here and Lordie did it look tons better which gave me hope back.

          

    

The class started out with her putting lots of bags full of 4 skeins of yarn out for us 15 knitters to dive through to find colors we liked.  I dove head first into this bag and held close to my chest so it wouldn't be nabbed for we all had a crazed look in our eyes.

        

Have you ever tried her yarns?   I hadn't and was amazed at the colors, textures and softness of the different types of yarns.   Her yarns have a richness about them that reminded me of high quality diamonds sparkling in the sunshine.  If you haven't ever used or seen her yarns, do yourself a favor and give it a go.   I'm totally in love with them and highly recommend them!  

The yarns we used are: Grace, Sari, Grace (again) and Impression.

              

       

The Grace yarn truly feels like cashmere but it's really 50% silk and 50% Merino.

 

                       

            

                        

         

Sari is easy knitting up for a ribbon that reminded me of my Indian friends all dressed up in their finest Saris.            

                        

                         

                       

    

and Impression stays together so no separating with a pointy needle.   Love, love, love these yarns!    

                       

               

The Betty Wrap (Ravelry link there)  is full of different colored yarn and different textures.   Liked the blending of colors and textures for starting it but when it came down to the lace, I wanted to stay with the same color, same texture and kept on with just the lace only part of the pattern.  Had a chat with Louisa and worked it all out so need to purchase a three more skeins to finish my Betty Wrap with a Debbie twist.  

Packing, Knitting, Thoughts and Things

Oh my stars, I am off to Scotland in 46 hours! 

I know this will sound very strange but honestly it did not hit me till I was riding an escalator in a store today.  I'm riding along and all of a sudden it dawned on me  " I'm going to be in another COUNTRY in two days."   Maybe I was having flashbacks of this way cool full of 7 floors department store in Berlin I had been to way back when the Wall coming down dust was still settling.

Packing has been happening today.   Decided even though I'm going to be gone for something like 10 or 12 days, I'd only pack for 5.   We've got washer & dryer in our cottage so washie, washie, washie.   I'm going to be all black, blue, khaki, gray and blue jeans with gobs of tee shirts.  Raverly tee of course!    Threw in a cool raincoat and some light sweaters.  Started out with 5 pairs of shoes and now down to 3.  Progress right?

Knitting:

Baby Surprise Jacket for the littlest girl carpenter to be is coming along.  Slower than I had thought but it's coming along.   Bernat cottontots in "Pretty in Pink".

               

As for my trip knitting   .     .     .
Think I'm going to work on this in the airplane.

         
            
                   
                   
                        

It's the Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and they nit it in 4 hours so I'm thinking maybe I got a decent shot at 12 hours.   I've got several years old  Malabrigo lace yarn that is a a lovely brown with flecks of red and wee bit of green  colored.

I've still got this much left after making that long Scribble scarf with it. 

               


         

Had gone with several folks suggestions of knitting socks on the airplane.   Even went to Knitch and got the Drop Dead Softness sock yarn ever aka Hand Maiden  Casbah in Rose Garden with colors that make me want to bite into it.  I mean just look at it!    

The yarn is all raspberries, sour cream, pistachios and sweetness thrown in.  I swear looking at this yarn cake I want to make a dessert.   I'm beginning to have my doubts that this will ever wrap around my feet.   Neck probably, feet doubtful.

So books!   Ya'll rock.   Got some wonderful suggestions and off to Borders The Man and I headed.   Except I forgot my list!   Augggghhhhhhh.    I truly did the best I could to remember but it just didn't work out so went with Agatha Christie (can't go wrong there) and  Sue Grafton.    So I will have some great books to check out when I return.   Oh, in case you hadn't noticed I put a cool book on my side bar.   It's "Write It Down, Make It Happen . . ."   Can't tell you how many times I have had to purchase this book.  Every time I loan it out, the book never comes back. 

Sorta in that vein, I had fun on Saturday evening  working on my Treasure Map.   Funny how I am headed to another country and my travel part has tons of photos in it!   I know from personal experience that writing down your goals no matter how outlandish they sound does work.   I had some really cool stuff happen in my 30's that way.  Actually some cool stuff has happened in my 40's too.

Off to finish packing and ponder my other knitting project to bring.  No, Jana, I am NOT bringing the Ombre Blanket with me!   Lord knows it is so big it would need it's own passport.

Feeling Pink

Baby pink for E.Z.'s Baby Surprise Jacket.   

Pink PJ's for the pure sassiness of it.   Slick and shimmery  PJ's that make me feel like a 1940's movie star.   They're a Nick and Nora set I found at Target.   Really am going to have to get the sock monkey set!

Decided to do the increases a wee bit different this time by using the bar between the stitches to do a M1.   Adds little decorative holes to the simple pattern.

Color of the Day is Blue

as in that depth of blue you find in the Caribbean when you're at the beach.   Blue work tee shirt, pale blue walls and popping blue wicked headband from Megan of Treats for Breathing.   She whipped her's up in no time and showed it off at a knitting night and many of us begged her for the recipe.   Um, mean pattern.   Do check out her handspun yarn at Megan's Esty shop .   I'm not the only one that is stunned by the quality of this start up spinner.   I am also friends with the woman who taught Megan to spin and her comment was "I've got nothing left to teach her.  She is a natural."   Let me tell ya that is saying a lot because Mrs HockeyMom is one Mac Daddy spinner and awesome teacher.    In all seriousness ya'll,  if you saw the colors she blends together and the texture your mouth would be dropping like mine each friggin time I see more of her yarn.   We, in our small knitting group, are beginning to fight over it.   Some unnamed hussy's (love ya!!!)   even snatch it up as soon as Megan puts it up in her shop.   Plus, hands down, Megan has the absolute best label I've ever seen for any yarn company.             

                         

Enough with the talents of others and back to my darling headband.   I used per Megan's suggestion the Louet Euroflax 100% linen (machine washable and dryable GASP) in bulky/chunky weight in Blue Fescue (heathers line).   Um, not sure just how much I used but there are 150 yards and I maybe used only a 3rd of the hank which is probably why Megan laughed at me when I purchased the Louet Euroflax just for this project.    Could have easily knit it up in a night but had started the project out with my knitting buddies of bad influence so it took two nights. 

Not sure exactly of the pattern, maybe seed stitch?   I just merrily followed along without giving it a thought once.   Ah, the Joy of Knitting, Eh?

I love my little headband and it seems to be getting along just dandy with my hair. 

Knitterly Things

Bare with me here for I am a wee bit loopy from lack of sleep and then there is the whole healing of humanity thing I do for a living.   Not only does The Man have a cold that had the nerve to relocated to his chest, it also requires multiple coughing trips during the night to the bathroom.  Then there is the whole business of POLLEN season in Atlanta.  He's got inhalers scattered throughout the house sorta like my knitting.   

Came home to find the new Interweave Knits sitting in our mailbox.  Promptly poured myself a glass of wine and started to flip through it only to find myself reading through it.  Whatever you think about Eunny Jang being the Editor, I like her at helm.   It's refreshing to have a younger, fresh breathe of life into knitting.   Reading her letter to us was just like sitting down to chat with her.   Course her level of knitting is World Series level where as I'm in the tee ball league and just happy when my bat actually hits the dang ball.    I did notice when I started turning the pages that the article layouts seem different and much more user friendly.   Actually found myself pausing and reading more that just the 1st paragraphs like I usually do.      

The review of Brooklyn General on page 9 makes me want to show up tomorrow (Fri) for breakfast and a mad knit fest.   Will have to add it to the yarn stores to drag The Man to when we are in NYC.            

Then much to my surprise because I know he does photography and cartoons, Franklin wrote a wonderful article on Elizabeth Zimmerman.  Delores must have been to busy thank goodness.    Check out the photo of E.Z. and her husband way back in the 1930's.  They look like movie stars.   Franklin did a wonderful write up and how it all started and progressed.  Then right after that is her pattern for the Maltese Fisherman's hat.   It's a funny little adult hat that I just love.

            

All of that goodness is followed by a wicked article on color mixing that I know I'll be rereading.   Usually when I need color blending, I rush down to Knitch and beg Nell or Kim to help me.    That Ombre blanket I've been knitting since the Dawn of Time?   Kim helped me pick colors that would work perfectly with our Den's couch.   Nell has helped me numerous times with blending of the same colors.   You wouldn't think picking three colors of blue would take so much work but it did and they loved the scarf when it was gifted.

That color article was where I stopped.   Just to much goodness for one sitting.   The next article sounds fascinating, "From a Studio to a Store Near You" about a professional knit designer and what her world is like.     Page 28

             

As for the patterns, it's the usual for me.   Some I like, some I don't.   Most that I do like I want to noodle with.  Either make the color work going up the sweater smaller, cut out the 2nd pattern of color work and just keep the 1st, etc.   There is that Gossamer Stars scarf that I'm eying to use some yarn I was trying to knit up  Cozy with.   The 8th row was a bear with having to move stitch markets so it stopped there.

Slightest Detour Ahead

Was doing good just minding my own business chugging along on the Ombre Blanket.   All of a sudden at Knitch's Thursday night knit group I had to take a hard swerve to the left.   There was screeching of knitting needles being heard around the world for I was not the only one instantly smitten with a hot of the needles finished project of Megan's Darling Headband.

Wish I could show you just how cute it is finished and on just about ever head that was there but no camera that evening.   You'll just have to trust me that we all loved it so much we begged Megan to write up the pattern.

Megan sent me the pattern on Monday in enough time for me to dash down to Knitch to purchase this rockin hank of Louet Euroflax Linen just in time to meet Megan out for dinner and knitting.  She started cracking up when she saw I'd purchased a hank.  Turns out it the pattern was for left over yarn Euroflax Linen she had.

Isn't that color to die for!               

 

Before and after dinner, I got my knit on and made great headway.   Headway! Snort!  Get it?   Ark, ark, ark.   I just crack myself up.

      

Also tried knitting a totally radically way with the hank just tossed over my legs instead of wound.   You know, I think I like it knitting this way.   More knitting and less fiddling with the ball.

Caps and Conversations

The Knitch Yarn Harlot Chemo caps are going to be delivered today.   My blogless cousin Kathleen, who was Grand Poo Pa of the whole project,  is picking them up at Knitch and off to DeKalb Medical Center and another Chemotherapy Clinic in Atlanta that I can't remember it's name.   Kathleen was sweet to offer to wait to deliver until I could come along.   I declined since professionally and personally I've spent enough time in chemo and radiation clinics in my young years.   side note:   not me getting treatment.

                        
          

Yesterday, early evening, The Man and I were sipping some wine, sitting on our back porch staring at the end of the day before dusk sunlight in our backyard and woods, just talking away.   I told him about the 50+ chemo cap delivery that Kathleen was manning which lead to the following conversation.

         

The Man: "You know, you could make me one of those caps."    

Me: "No problem!   There easy.   What color do you want"   fully expecting him to say black.

The Man: "How about a cap that is black?   and maybe some white at the top?"

Me:   looking mildly puzzled "Okay, I can do that."

The Man: "You know, just like and 8 Ball!   You could knit an 8 in the middle of the white part."

Me;   thinking out loud "I could do that.   Kathleen has a sweater pattern generator I could use for the Intarsia for the 8 or Nell at Knitch could easily figure it out or maybe I could over knit the 8 on the white but I'm not sure about the curves on the 8.".

Long pause where I'm lost in the land of 8 when The Man says "You do know I'll never wear this right?"

Me:  laughing "I'm not going to knit you something that you are not going to wear you little <fill in the blank here>!"

The Man:  "but it would look  cute on you."

at this point I just got up and left with my wine glass.

Caramelizing

New color begun.

                     

Thrilled!   

I am so thrilled,  I'm almost speechless.

Harlotting

Bare with me here.   I've got about an hour till I have to be knitting in the wild and I've got a Yarn Harlot hangover.   Noooooo, not from drinking.  Though I was having a nip off and on from a bottle of wine and then there was that excellent margarita when all the knitters went home.   The hangover part is I am just plain tired.   Really, I've got no idea how Kim and the rest of the Knitch gang does it but that is a whole 'nother post.          

    

Unless you've been under a rock or a poor reader, you know the Harlot cometh or suppose that is cameth to our fair town and rockin LYS Knitch yesterday.               

 

We had two people there with great tee shirts on.   There was the "Man Enough to Knit, Strong Enough to Purl"  that I forgot to snap and the infamous Miss Light Wading for the Unadventurous with this gem. 
    

                               

                      

She also had here wonderful Flame Socks on for the event.   Note to self:  Must ask where she got those shoes!

Kim Nickels of Knitch fame threw a party for 700 knitters and boy did they come.  We even made the Atlanta Journal and Constitution newspaper today.

Wowee, knitters came from all over and it was grand fun!   I got to meet so many new (to me)  knitters since I was working the door.   In Atlanta, it is spring break time so many of the local knitters were away and we had so many folks from out of town here for the event.   Even was eating breakfast this morning with a Dallas,TX knitter!

          

The Yarn Harlot was running just a smidgen late being that she had had a really, really  bad day.   Part One of her bad day she has already posted and I'm sure you'll be reading about part two.  Future cities just might have to bring her some clothes and undies.

         

Yes, I know, dreadful photo.   Better ones to come later in this post.   Bear with me here.

                   

She came out and did the traditional sock and crowd photos and then began to talk.   Before I knew it, she was asking the crowd if they had any questions.   The first one was "do you knit socks?".   Which cracked me up.   Guess they don't read her blog, eh?     Several more questions and all of a sudden I heard a booming voice that did sound a lot like mine asking if she "would ever hike again for beer and toilet paper?"  Holy Crap!   That was me asking her a question in a FULL THEATRE!   I'd thought that story was a scream when I read it and she retold it with even more detail.   I was laughing so hard at her in person version of it.

Working the event I was around her for most of the time she was signing 14 billion books for people that were there.   Have to tell you, every single person she was incredibly nice to, listen to and was excited about their knitting.  She genuinely was all of the above.  Amazing.             

                              

      

Oh!   Got my 3rd chemo cap finished just in the nick of time.

         
                                                   
                                                      
                                  














                                                   

Stephanie loved the Chemo Caps.  Ya'll did a great job!   Kathleen and I aka The Hat Ladies thank you very much!   We had so many incredible caps that I wanted to knit.  They truly were just amazing.   

Poor Stephanie (Knitch employee Stephanie) had to keep getting bigger and bigger baskets to put all them in.   We ended up with so many caps that we had to get the biggest basket Knitch had to hold all of them.

                     

Kathleen and her sock got some kudos too.  Check out the colors on that sock yarn!   Kathleen dyed the yarn and I love the color scheme she did.
   

 
                                                   





                           

After all the knitter's books had been signed, we employees and volunteers got our time with the Yarn Harlot.   You'd think I would bring a small project to work on, right?   So me being me,  the absolute loon of stubborn knitter that I am,  I of course brought the Ombre Blanket with me.   I did give her fair warning it was a big project but don't think she quite got just how big the big part was.   

My blanket promptly attacked the Yarn Harlot.

Had to help wrestle it off of her and we began to just be plain silly with it.

She loved my blanket and was petting it as I explained to her how I'd knitted on it outdoors in 103 degree weather last year.   Stephanie looked at me and said "but it is Alpaca".   I said back to her "yeah, I know.   That is why it is my goal this year not to be doing that!".

Being that I was a volunteer, I was lucky enough to spend more quality time with the Yarn Harlot than most folks at our event.   Have to say she genuinely is a really swell lady.   The sort of person if you just happened to meet somewhere in your life socially you'd want to get to know.