read it and wheeze

So long, farewell

2009-08-07T12:37:00.003-06:00

Oh, my poor neglected blog. What's the answer to having a blog that never gets updated? Start a new one, of course!

I'm moving! You can find me over at Yarnadoodledoo where I'll be sure to keep updating with all the sock yarn I've been dyeing as of late.

Thanks for reading! See y'all at the new place!

New tricks for an old dog

2009-05-29T10:49:00.004-06:00

As a die-hard top-down sock knitter, I finally decided it was time to try some toe-up socks. I had tried once before, but my cast-on was such a mess, I gave up and cast on for the cuff. And why mess with something that's going so well? Top-down socks and I were BFFs. This past weekend I headed over to Border's with my 40% off coupon in hand and I picked up Wendy Knits' book "Socks from the Toe Up". I'm not afraid to admit it: I'm shamelessly hooked on these patterns. I love them, and the book is really pretty to look at too! The instructions are really clear, and I managed to whip up Judy's Magic Cast-on with no problems. Another thing I really like about the patterns in this book is that the lace patterns are really easy to memorize, and not some 18 row chart of sheer headache-inducing insanity.

This is the Diagonal Lace (Rav link) pattern and I'm totally in love with it. I'm also using some of our Yarnadoodledoo sock yarn in the Cerise colorway. Erin and I tried out a variety of yarn bases, and I think we've settled on the one we want. This yarn is so sproingy and funt to knit with! Awesome pattern + lovely yarn = KNITTING JOY

I've also been spinning and planning a sweater, because summer in the South is the perfect time to knit a sweater, right? Right. I'm thinking top down raglan with handspun yoke. I'll have picks of the handspun this weekend.

Oh, and we've been dyeing. Lots of dyeing.

Last night the mister and I watched that last episode of The Wire that we hadn't seen. No more new (to us) Wire episodes ever! I'm so bummed! That being said, when's the new "East Bound and Down" season start?

I found out today at the allergy clinic that I'm going to have to keep on going 3 times a week for 4 more weeks. A normal person would probably be discouraged by this fact, however I immediately thought, "More morning knitting time! Excellent!"

Can you have too much yarn?

2009-05-11T10:03:00.002-06:00

I keep inundating y'all with yarn photos, but this time, I just have to share as this yarn makes me want to jump around like a kid who's had too many pixie sticks.

I bring you: Verve - 480 yards of a 90/10 superwash merino/nylon blend. It's up for sale in the shop, which was a hard decision for me. I wanted to keep it and roll around in it (don't tell anyone).

Also, have y'all seen the mods for the Monkey sock pattern by Cookie A.? Here it is! (link goes right to the .pdf) And if you've got big clodhoppers like myself, this is where the party's at. I'm knitting them out of some hand dyed purple variegated yarn, and it's so pretty I squeal everytime I look at it. I'll post pictures soon!

Yarnadoodledoo, take two

2009-05-07T07:09:00.004-06:00

Oh me. I can't stop dyeing.

Here's some more for you:

This is an Alpaca / Superwash Merino blend. Nom nom nom. This actually was dyed by the lovely Erin.

I think I might knit this one up next:

They're all up at the shop, if you'd like to browse. Yarnadoodledoo!

Yarnadoodledoo!

2009-05-05T10:09:00.003-06:00

So, my friend Erin and I have been complaining for ages about sock yarn skeins that don't have the proper yardage for large lady feet (we're both US size 11). So, instead of whinging and moaning (as we're wont to do), we decided to start dyeing our own! And bringing it to the masses! Behold, Yarnadoodledoo!

After some fun and successful dyeing attempts, we decided to open up shop.

Berry Stained! 460 yards of superwash glory!

Bantam! This one is so gorgeous, I may want to keep it.

This one isn't for sale, but I wanted to put it up here for posterity. The first yarn dyed! It's like an Easter Egg!

Yay, sock yarn! Yay knitting!

I think I'm obsessed

2009-04-13T10:53:00.003-06:00

About 2 weeks ago, I attended a session with Lynne Vogel of Twisted Sisters fame at Haus of Yarn here in Nashville. The whole class was absolutely fantastic. We learned about mixing colors and fun techniques. Lynne showed Erin and I the finer points of spinning sock yarn, and boy howdy, did I take to heart! I was obsessed! I immediately came home and started spinning up 4 oz. of Hello Yarn's "Peat" fiber club offering, and decided to ply it with some alpaca roving I picked up at Yarn School. I thought 8 oz. of a two-ply yarn should be enough for my giant lady feet.

And was I right!

I managed to get 647 yds onto a 4 oz bobbin! And you know what this means, right? I probably can get another skein of similar length out of what's left on the 2 bobbins! Insanity!

I have arrived! I can spin sock yarn!

I love socks.

2009-03-17T13:26:00.004-06:00

It's official. I love knitting socks. I can't stop and I'm hoarding sock yarn. I'm even spinning it. I may have a problem.

The latest project consists of two plain ol'vanilla socks, knit out of Noro Kureyon sock.

The only issue I have is that I have US size 11 lady feet. Some fun patterns aren't geared for my Northern European peasant DNA. I also feel that some variegated and self-striping sock yarn should just be knit plain without any pattern. Let the yarn be the centerpiece, not the pattern. I started these socks over a ton of times because I couldn't decided what to do. That being said, I'm currently knitting some lovely variegated sock yarn with a lacey pattern. We'll see what happens. If it's too tight on my feet, though, it'll be ripped out. Damn my large lady feet!

a cowl in sunshine

2009-02-16T09:03:00.003-06:00

The wham bam thank you lamb (rav link) is one of the easiest projects ever, and has awesome results. Here it is, in all its handspun glory:

This was actually made up this weekend for my mother's friend. She was going to get a beret, but somehow I kept TWISTING when casting on, causing many profanities to come flying out of my mouth. Moral of the story: garter stitch cowls make fast and fun presents (esp. when using handspun! oh! the joy!)

Don't mind the wet hair:

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T17:43:00.003-06:00

Here's the pattern, in case you're interested.

I'm sticking with you

2009-02-10T22:29:00.002-06:00

In attempt to beef up my sewing prowess, I made a log cabin pillow this evening!

It's a little clumsy, but I'm pretty pleased!

(I ran out of stuffing).

The pattern came from "The Crafter's Companion" and it was easy as pie. I modified the back, since I was taking the easy way out and was just using some polyfil I had laying around. I'm quite pleased, even though it is a little goofy.

Anything Could Happen

2009-02-10T10:24:00.004-06:00

After a sublime heat wave here in Middle Tennessee, my mind is wandering to making nice clothes. It must be noted I have attempted 3 shirts in my lifetime, and they all resulted with less that appealing results. The lovely Hazel Evelyn has been sewing up some fantastic clothes, and all I can say is: I'm inspired!

So, if anyone has any basic or easy (I cannot stress this enough) pattern suggestion for spring/summer clothing, send them my way!

My sweater is almost finished, and I'll have pictures soon. With all the stripes comes MASSIVE weaving in of ends, and that's clearly my least favorite part. Let's not talk about all the semi-finished projects I have laying around that just need that final part.

I've been spinning! I dyed this too!

Cassingle Revival

2009-01-14T10:07:00.003-06:00

I've been busy! Lots of spinning and knitting as of late. I'm working on a top-down raglan in which the body is already finished, but the one picture I have of it isn't so hot. I'll try to get a good one up soon.

But yarn! Oh my! The yarn! I've been making lots of that!

This is up in my etsy shop, as is this:

On the post Christmas, knitting for me front, I took some handspun and made myself a cowl yesterday, while recovering from a migraine.

This:

became this:

It's the Wham Bam Thank You Lamb neckwarmer! I cast on 35 stitches, and probably would have been better suited to cast on 30, as this is snug, and not too drapey. But it's warm and it does its job for these freakishly cold days here in Tennessee. I thought I escaped days of 7 degree temperatures when I left Buffalo! I shouldn't complain, though. Any excuse to wear lots of hand knits is a good one.

hooray beret, take 2!

2008-12-06T10:40:00.004-06:00

Quick update:

I think I may have perfected my pattern for the perfect amount of slouch. After a few missteps of not decreasing properly (does anyone want a beret that comes to a gnome-like point?) and re-reading some Elizabeth Zimmerman, I figured out how I wanted to do my beret, and here you go!

(don't mind the photo - it was midnight and I was paler than usual, but thrilled with my completed hand knit in all its slouchy glory)

I have another on the needles right now for xmas presents! Hooray!

hooray beret!

2008-12-02T12:09:00.003-06:00

Hello my lovelies!

I've been doing a fair bit of dyeing lately, but I must get myself in gear for Christmas knitting! I think I've fallen head over heels in love with the beret. I started knitting up Le Slouch, but I wasn't sure I wanted something that drapey. I had seen the lovely Miss Click Clack's beret's on Ravelry (and her blog) and I am inspired! So great! I knit one up last night, and I'm not totally in love with the Le Slouch decreases, and have decided to stick with EZ's Tam O'Shanter's decrease instructions.

Hooray Beret!

Also, if you're in the Greater Nashville Area, you may want to check out my friend Ruth's trunk show at Queen Bee this Thursday!

	Thursday, December 4, 2008
Time:	5:30pm - 8:30pm
Location:	Queen Bee
Street:	1200 Villa Place STE. 110 Edgehill Village @ Music Row

And now here are some pictures of fiber!

Happy Christmas Knitting!

PS - I'll be back with photos of the poncho my mother requested that I knit her, and pictures of BERETS!

pressure drop

2008-11-12T10:15:00.003-06:00

I love dyeing! I can't stop! I got 2lbs. from Ms. Hello Yarn, 2 pounds from the fiber fest, and I've been going to town ever since. I love it! Oh, and I ordered another pound of BFL yesterday, and more dyes.

This is what I've been up to recently:

I think this one is by far my favorite. I'm calling it "Pleased as Punch"! I dyed 8 oz of it (South African Fine Wool) and kept 4oz for myself. The other half is up on etsy. Part of me doesn't want to part with it, but I need funds to keep this addiction going. South African Fine is really nice! It was really nice to spin up.

Here's some more South African Fine, which you find on my etsy shop:

I've also been spinning what I've been dyeing too. Yeah, all my free time is pretty much consumed with spinning, dyeing and going to Trader Joe's (which just opened up here - I'm completely smitten).

This is some Corriedale I dyed and spun up (the first test run in my new, well, old, Crock Pot):

And here's some hand dyed and spun Shetland which is delightfully soft (and will probably be a Christmas present for my knitter sister-in-law):

Oscar the Yarn

2008-10-20T14:35:00.004-06:00

Hello, all!

More spinning up in this piece! Seriously, I'm addicted to novelty yarn. I didn't think I would love knitting with it, but it was a lot of fun! I took the Peas and Carrots and made a GIANT cowl for myself (pictures to follow). It's neat, even if it is the color of dinner's vegetables.

Here's the latest installment of Molly's Wild and Crazy Adventure with novelty yarn:

It's about 37 yards of beehive and coiled goodness! I have another skein of this too, which is very similar (I added some natural romney rolags to the mix). I really don't know what do with it, now that I have made myself the cowl to end all cowls. So, I've taken Rachel (aka Porpoise) and I'm throwing it up (metaphorically, not vomiting) on my new Etsy shop to see what will happen! Go and have a look!

mellow yellow

2008-10-15T09:30:00.003-06:00

Help! I think I'm addicted to spinning beehive yarn! It's so much fun!

I learned how to do these fancy tricks at Yarn School (I even dyed some of this roving there, the more orange stuff was kettle-dyed at last year's Dye Day). My wheel is not loving the new techniques immensely (the orifice is a bit small and the hooks, oh, the hooks). But, no bother. I keep going and making the fun beehives.
I'm pleased as punch with this stuff. I really have no idea, though, what I'm going to make with it. Suggestions appreciated.

Yay, beehives and coils!

Yarn School!

2008-10-14T12:50:00.008-06:00

So, I've been meaning to post about Yarn School for some time now, but things got in the way, like illness (stomach virus THEN sinus infection), but I'm back in business now!

Yarn School was absolutely fantastic! I had the best time! Everyone was so lovely and I learned so much. Kansas! The town of Harveyville (pop. 250) was really great and we were treated to the Spookyville parade!

The Harveyville Project, run by Nikol and Ron, is really quite awesome. The school itself was just completely badass and really just amazing. I'm so happy I got to go!

So, the first day we arrived we had a meet and greet. The next day we split up into 2 groups (the Sharks and the Jets - a certifiable knife fight!) and my group went off for dye class; crockpot dyeing, microwave dyeing, handpainting, you name it. It was fantastic.

For lunch, we took a field trip to Wildcat Hollow Alpaca Farm to meet alpacas and buy lots of wonderful alpaca related goodness. I ended up buying some raw alpaca fleece that I ended up washing, carding and spinning (which Deb named Chewpacca, as it really looked like I skinned Chewbacca).

The next day was spent learning spinning techniques, relaxing, carding, etc. It was grand. I had absolutely the best time. I learned such fun things as Navajo plying and spinning novelty yarns, and seriously, I haven't been able to stop since. I'm not kidding. I'm addicted.

I cannot stress how lovely everyone was and how much I learned. The food was absolutely fantastic and I'm already scheming to see how I can go again next year.

I have plenty of more pictures from the event on my Flickr page!

Motor Away

2008-09-22T08:10:00.006-06:00

We're having a little problem here in Middle Tennessee with a gasoline shortage, so my trips outside the home this weekend have been severely limited. 50% of the gas stations in Nashville are without gas, and those that do have gasoline have lines down the street. I've always been one to stay out of a panic, so I've been home this weekend knitting THIS:

I love this pattern! I'm using Spun 2 Ways : Socks at Any Size and Any Gauge from Spin-Off magazine! Yes! This is the 391 yards of handspun I successfully spun up! I'm so proud! Thus far, it's smooth sailing. Also, I love this pattern because if you're like me, and your yarn has some unsightly unevenness to it *cough cough*, it magically hides it!

Yarn School is in a couple of days, and I'm so giddy I can't believe it. Seriously. I'm like a little kid.

A Summer Wasting

2008-09-15T10:53:00.003-06:00

I'm still alive! I promise! I've been swept up in a world of presidential elections, spinning, knitting, and cleaning my house. Truth be told, I'll be happy if I don't have an aneurysm by the time this election is over.

On a happier note, I'm going to Yarn School in a next week! It starts on my birthday! I'm thrilled!

On the project front, here's something I have been working on for a friend's wedding. It's gotten considerably bigger, but alas, I don't have a more recent picture. It's a log cabin blanket out of Cascade Ecological wool.

I've also been knitting the Morning Surf scarf from SpinOff magazine for my sister's birthday. I just finished it last night, and will be blocking it soon! Obviously, dear reader, her birthday was last week, and in Read It and Wheeze form, I am terribly late.

And hooray me! I successfully spun 391 yds of sock yarn! YES! That will cover my gigantic lady feet! VICTORY! I shall take pictures of that soon!

Who knows where the time goes?

2008-07-18T07:01:00.004-06:00

Hello all! I'm back from wedding celebrations and drives across the country! I'm now officially Mrs. Wheezy and all is well! The wedding went off spendidly, and I'm happy to announce that both celebrations in TN and Buffalo are over. HUGE RELIEF. Things on the knitting and spinning front have been relatively quiet as I try to regain some composure to my life. I'm working on some socks for my dad, that were a belated Father's Day present *cough cough* (the man has size 13 feet-- they take a while!).

On the production front, however, I've made some amazing BREAD from a recipe given to me as part of a wedding present from my friends Mark and Amy. It's absolutely stunning bread! All you need is a large dutch oven (5.5 L or bigger) to bake it, and you're good to go!

The dutch oven keeps the bread so nice and moist, and you get to put your choice of flour, whole wheat or corn mean on the outside to give it that nice artisan glow on the outside. Give it a go! You won't be disappointed! Delicious fresh bread without all the crazy preservatives that only costs you about $1! Less than that! Insanity! I actually made bread with my amazing new bread machine this morning for Mr. Wheezy, as per his request (he's getting his wisdom teeth out today), and I have to say, it's not as good as this stuff! No way!

And there are all sorts of ways you can mix it up! Add some beer! And some whole wheat! Go nuts!

Le Wimple

2008-06-12T21:20:00.005-06:00

Better late than never for a Mother's Day present, eh? I finally finished weaving in the ends of the wimple I knit up for my mother. It gets cold up there in Buffalo, and she needs something to cover up her ears when she goes out walking! I ran a little bit short on yarn, but no biggie. You can hardly tell, right? Right.

Here are the stats:

Name: Wavy Feathers Wimple

Yarn: vanCalcar Acres Jennifer's FlockSock Sock Yarn

Needle: US 5

Colorway: Leaves of Grass

I received this in a yarn swap from Ravelry and wasn't so sure of the yardage, so with my large feet, I decided to go the route of the wimple instead of being devastated by having too small socks. I'm quite pleased with the results! This was pretty easy knit!

Now I'm off to finish my dad's socks for Father's day and catch up on emails. Ahem.

A Nice Day for a White Wedding

2008-06-11T09:34:00.005-06:00

THE WEDDING IS OVER. I am so happy about this. It was a grand time, but I am utterly exhausted, even after our trip to the mountains. But, dear reader, I am happy to announce that I am done talking about wedding-related activities and can get back to the fun stuff: knitting, spinning, crochet, etc.

That being said, I really didn't get that much knitting done on our trip to Gatlinburg. The view was pretty outstanding, and I managed to get a new digital camera (a Canon Powershot 720 IS). I love the mountains! And, the temperature was at least 15 degrees cooler up there. It was around 95 degrees on the day of our wedding (did I mention that?) Gross.

I'll definitely have more pictures of the wedding on my Flickr in the near future if you'd like to check those out.

And finally, I'll leave you with the best meal we had while in Gatlinburg, at The Trout House:

Am I the Same Girl? (yes I am)

2008-05-27T15:54:00.002-06:00

So, I decided it was time for a new look! I couldn't find a free Blogger template I was happy with, so I sort of came up with one of my own (with the help of Suckmylolly.com) and my pretty basic CSS coding skills.

So, let me know what you think! I've always had a soft spot for gingham table cloths!

xx
molly

Fiber Fests and Wedding Planning

2008-05-25T21:03:00.007-06:00

In the midst of getting ready for the wedding which is less than two weeks away (iieeeeeee!) Marissa and I headed down to Dickson, TN for the Middle Tennessee Sheep, Wool and Fiber Festival this past weekend where I spent far too much money and too a much need break from stressing and thinking about where I'm going to seat people at tables. It was a really nice time! 2 buildings filled with local fiber producers

I also entered a skein into the novice skein competition and took top honors! Ok, so there was only one other entry in the novice category, but still, hooray me!

I also bought a lot of fiber. Fancy that. I'm going to give socks another go with some superwash Merino dyed by a lady from my spinning group. Yay! So excited! I so wish I could just spin and not work on wedding stuff. Ugh. Obligations.

So, dear reader, I apologize for the lack of posts. Once this whole wedding ruckus is over and I have more spinning / knitting time, things will be back in action.

I'm still standin'

2008-05-08T11:22:00.006-06:00

Fear not, I'm still alive, dear reader! This whole wedding nonsense is really getting to me! It's less than a month away!

I returned safe and sound from Buffalo from the shower (flew up, drove back with the parents). You'll be happy to know that I finished the dishcloths AHEAD of schedule and here's the final result. They were a complete hit! Coupled with my mom's coasters, it was the craftiest shower I'd ever seen!

I'm fortunate enough to have such lovely friends, and now I'm stocked! 5 air bake cookie sheets! When I opened my red Kitchen Aid Mixer, everyone applauded. It was a delight!

While I'm not a fan of shower "games' my mother, unbeknownst to me, made everyone go around and tell their favorite memory of me. My neighbor, who's known me all my life, said that when I was three, I used to waddle up to her husband in the driveway and offer him a beer. I would also roll up on my tricyle and ask if they had any good cookies. I must have been a charming child.

On the regular knitting front, I can't seem to get anything done, as I'm feeling so spastic with all this wedding planning. I am trying unsuccessfully to knit some socks for my mom for Mother's day, but that is just going horribly wrong, as I seem to be falling asleep on the couch every night.

Oh me.

If I can survive this month, I think I'll be okay. Most of the planning is done, by I fear my sanity may be lost forever.

hello, little garden!

2008-04-14T20:30:00.005-06:00

This past weekend was an absolute bust. On my hurried way out the door to the spinning guild meeting I haphazardly put my spinning wheel in the back of Mr. Wheezy-to-Be's van without thoroughly securing it. Well, I made my first turn and I heard a blood-curdling wooden THUNK come from the back. The wheel had fallen over. I pulled over to the nearest parking lot to see what had happened and SOMETHING WAS BROKEN. The dowel pin that holds the mother of all had snapped in two, and by the time I realized this, tears were streaming down my face.

I arrived home, 5 minutes later and proclaimed "I BROKE MY WHEEL!" I ran upstairs to consult the general wisdom of Ravelry, and when I came back downstairs, wiping tears from my eyes, Ben was on the phone with a Kromski dealer in Oregon ordering me a new dowel pin and consulting with them on how to repair the broken part. YAY. BEST FIANCE EVER.

So, I made my way to our neighborhood hardware store (yes! we still have one of those!) to buy some Elmer's wood glue, and to our local health food grocer to buy some sandwiches, I noticed a plant sale! Yes! A local organic farmer had some heirloom seedlings for sale! I discussed with them the fact that I was container gardening, and I had had some pretty big containers (kitty litter containers, etc.).

Now I shall present you with the beginning of the Fresh Step Garden 2008

I'm using some giant kitty litter containers with holes drilled into them, and a big paint mixing bucket from Home Depot, which is an idea I got from the wonderful You Grow Girl.

Let's see, I purchased a bunch of heirloom and organic plants from Eaton's Creek Organics. On the tomato front we have: Mark Twain, Manyel, and Large Red. Peppers representing this year are Giant Marconi and Straddon's Select Pepper. I also picked up some lavender, sweet basil, red basil and thyme from them.

Quite happily, I made my merry way to Gardens of Babylon at the Farmer's Market where I picked up a beautiful spearmint plant, some lettuce and cilantro. I was then off to Home Depot where I rounded off the day with a purchase of an organic strawberry and chamomile plant, along with potting soil and additional pots.

It was a good way to calm myself down after the trauma of breaking your spinning wheel (which is fine, and in working order, by the way). The past few nights, there's been a threat of frost, so these fellas have had to stay indoors, but tomorrow night after work, they will receive proper homes!

keep on knitting in the free world

2008-04-11T16:04:00.006-06:00

The Yarn Harlot's visit to Nashville was most excellent! I was able to pick up her new book, "Things I Learned from Knitting... whether I wanted to or not" and got it autographed. There was a good turnout, and it was fun to be surrounded by that many knitters all at once. I must say, the Harlot is the Queen of the Deadpan and the Mistress of the Dry Wit. There is no one to equal her is humor. I had a blast. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my somewhat reliable digital camera was left with my somewhat tolerable camera phone.

When I got my book signed, I brought up the fact that I understood cold (something she mentioned in the Q&A section of the evening - that Southerners just don't understand what it's like) as I'm from Buffalo. I didn't mention our respective hockey teams, (Sabres v. Leafs) as that is a conversation that may have ended in fisticuffs. We're two ladies, after all, even though there is a deep and vast rivalry between the Niagara Peninsula that can never be amended, I'm afraid. I was tempted to bring it up, though, especially because neither of our teams made the playoffs.

Update on the Nutkins: I think my gauge is whack. I think I knit too tightly! After looking at Melissa's amazingly blue Nutkin socks, I think I'm an extremely tight knitter, especially when it comes to pattern knitting. When it's an easy peasy vanilla sock pattern, who cares? Tight is fine. But patterns, oh boy! No wonder the blasted thing doesn't fit!

I found a sock I was knitting for Mr. Wheezy-in-87-days (oh my!), and I got a chunk of it done while listening to the Harlot. I finished it last night, and got another big chunk of it done today while they had us in the basement of the library during a tornado warning. Thank god I never go anywhere without my knitting. It's just like what the Harlot said, and I'm paraphrasing here: Knitters are not patient. We look it, but take our knitting needles away from us, and we'd commit petty crimes.

That's how I felt today. I would have started screaming at students who took up multiple seats while 80 y/o professor emeritus had to sit on the floor (someone else gave them a talking to, don't worry).

Most excellent!

2008-04-09T06:21:00.004-06:00

The Middle Tennessee Sheep, Wool and Fiber Festival has been announced!

Unfortunately, it's right before the wedding, but I will taking some "sanity time" and head on out there. It's about an hour outside of Nashville, and will need to spend some time with sheep and spinning wheels.

And tonight, I have a date with The Yarn Harlot at a Borders out in Brentwood, TN! Let's hope it's not too bonkers and I can get in the door (this is a notoriously small Borders).

I can't stay away from cotton

2008-04-05T15:32:00.007-06:00

In taking a break from the last few dishcloths, and planning my container garden, I came across this pattern on You Grow Girl. The pattern was a little trying for a novice crocheter like myself, but after a second go-round, I manage to come up with some pleasing results! My friend Karen requested I make one for her when I see her at the end of the month for the wedding shower!

Speaking of wedding showers, my hostess gifts arrived from the lovely Melissa of Bridgman Pottery, and they're more lovely than I could have ever imagined, so get over there and shop already!

Threadfest, or, 35 Feet High and Rising

2008-04-01T19:46:00.009-06:00

Finally, I got around to taking some pictures of my loot from Threadfest! Vintage patterns galore! And all of these treasures were mine for under five dollars!

My goal is to make as much as I possibly can. While I can't imagine I'll be knitting and Coco Chanel-esque dress suits anytime soon, there are plenty of great patterns that provide great inspiration. There are some great patchwork crocheted scarves, amazing parkas, you name it! I am so excited at all the possibilities!

On the dishcloth front, which seems to be occupying a huge part of my life, I can safely say THE END IS IN SIGHT. Sure, I have about 5 more to do, and I still have to weave in all those godforsaken ends, but I plan to be done by this weekend. I fear for my sanity. I only had 35 done, with one more about to be finished.

And with that, I'll leave you with a picture of The Leaning Tower of Dishcloths:

SevenThings

2008-03-27T19:39:00.015-06:00

The lovely Melissa of Bridgman Pottery tagged me with a 7 random creative things meme of things I probably haven't talked about before, so here we go!

1- I knit. A lot. I once knit my friend Andrew a ZoSo scarf on a dare. He would taunt me with pictures of Jimmy Page's handknit ZoSo sweater during boring library school classes, so eventually, I gave in when I moved down to Nashville. It didn't take me too long, which was surprising, because the thing was MASSIVE. I guess you can get a lot done when you move to a new city and have no friends. Sad!

2- I used to have a radio show here in Nashville for about 2 years. It was called Karaoke Blackout. It was a lot of fun, but with wedding planning and work, it was just too much.

Here's the playlist from my last show:
bob marley and the wailers - i'm dreaming of a white christmas - destiny : rare ska sides from studio one
the left banke - i've got something on my mind - walk away renee / pretty ballerina smash records
neil young and crazy horse - everybody knows this is nowhere- everybody knows this is nowhere
petula clark - i wanna see morning with him - memphis
annette poindexter and the pieces of peace - mama - eccentric soul, v. 2 : twinight's lunar rotation
tanya tucker - delta dawn - delta dawn
the pastels - nothing to be done - sittin' pretty
maxine brown - whatever happened to our love? - one kiss can lead to another
low - just like christmas - christmas
george jones - treasure of love - the definitive collection, 1955-1962
the clean - billy two - anthology
joe tex - show me - greatest hits!!!
the essex green - mrs. bean - everything is green
the fall - stepping out - psykick dancehall
p.p. arnold - the first cut is the deepest - one kiss can lead to another
loretta lynn - your squaw is on the warpath - loretta lynn writes'em and sings'em
desmond dekker - this woman - the definitive collection
donovan - epistle to dippy - the essential donovan
the monochrome set - eine symphone des grauens - compendium
the shangri-las - give him a great big kiss - the very best of the shangri-las
bob dylan w/ johnny cash - girl from the north country - nashville skyline
harry nilsson- gotta get up - nilsson schmilsson
bob wills - buffalo twist -1000 greatest country hits
dusty springfield - bring him back - love songs
sloan -she says what she means - navy blues
the visitors - bliss - miss
desperate bicycles - smokescreen - desperate bicycles anthology
glenda collins - if you gotta pick a baby - this little girl's gone rockin'
tammy wynette - your good girl's gonna go bad - your good girl's gonna go bad
the maytals - monkey girl - the king kong compilation
the nashville ramblers - the trains - children of nuggets rhino Rock
the jam - that's entertainment - greatest hits
emmylou harris - bluebird wine - pieces of the sky
charlie rich - you can have her - the complete smash session
television personalities - this angry silence - and don't the kids just love it
tommy roe - sweet pea - greatest hits
tina turner - river deep, mountain high - tina turner : the collected recordings
phyllis dillon - perfidia trojan - reggae sisters
josephine foster and the supposed - all the leaves are gone - all the leaves are gone
the pale fountains - thank you - longshot for your love

3- I knit a curtain for the kitchen of our new place! Every time I do the washing up, I get to admire my handiwork!

4- Handspun yarn, and yarn dyed with marigolds! (the yellow yarn, obv.). The first two skeins on the left are some of my first attempts at spinning on my then new wheel. The yellow yarn was my first attempt at dyeing with natural dyes. It was spun by Beth of 3 Creeks Farm who hosted the Dye Day for our spinning group and sold me my wheel. I also dyed the purple yarn with some jacquard dyes at home.

5- The Papi Chullo I knit for my dad for snowblowing the driving in Buffalo! This was Christmas knitting for 2007. It's 100% alpaca, and oh so luxurious and warm.

6- I had a piece in an art zine called Swelt (we had a gallery opening and everything!). Alas, I have no more of my catalog card illustrations (I am a librarian, after all). I'll leave you with this:

7- And the last, let's see: I'm debating between socks and pies. I do make a lot of both, so I guess I leave you with a picture of each.

A lovely berry pie:

And the Waving Ripple socks I knit for my mother:

I guess I'm supposed to tag some more folks now. When I was tagged, I thought it was so sweet, but I hope it doesn't feel like receiving chain mail! So, Denyse, Marissa, and Hazel Evelyn, whaddya think?

i dream of a team of altidores

2008-03-25T21:50:00.007-06:00

After a long weekend of entertaining a contingent of New Yorkers in town for the US U-23 Olympic Qualifiers, which I am happy to announce, that the US is a part of (for soccer), not much knitting and/or crafting got done. I was planning on knitting some socks during the tailgaiting portion of Sunday's events, but I was too busy eating ribs and making merry before the horrendously boring loss to Honduras. Also, we made pork pies. From scratch. Yeah, they took forever. We made homemade aspic and everything! Intense!

Well, things have since calmed down, and I'm making progress on the Nutkin socks, but I'm sad to announce that there is no way in Hades that they'll fit my US ladies size 11 (might I add painfully flat) feet. My sister has much smaller feet. Perhaps she will like them.

I noticed mention of this on Ravelry, and Mr. Wheezy-to-be brought me a print copy of this article today. Threadfest!

You'll find literally thousands of yards of trim, fabric and yarn, as well as quilt scraps, partially finished projects, crochet hooks and whatever other notions people in the community have donated.

COUNT ME IN.

Now, do I take an extended lunch on Friday on take Mr. Wheezy with me on Saturday afternoon? Oh, decisions!?

While I know I have no photos updating my progress, I do have video footage of my existence! Here are some highlight from the first game against Canada on Thursday night (I was helping to hold up the giant flag at around 2:35 - 2:38 in - NB my love hand knit bamboo scarf courtesy of my friend Kerry):

stress knitting

2008-03-14T07:16:00.003-06:00

A year ago, when I first endeavored into the wild and crazy world of sock knitting, I never would have guessed that it would now be known as my comfort knitting. Last night, while watching the US men's under 23 soccer team team play, and I tried to sort out who to invite to the rehearsal dinner while I emailed the wedding photographer, in between crocheting those freaking wedding shower dishcloths, I looked longingly at Nancy Bush's Knitting on the road : sock patterns for the traveling knitter as it sat sadly on my shelf. So, what did i do? i stayed up, with my frazzled nerves and attempted to knit the sock that looked like a whiskey cask until midnight. Well, gentle reader, it didn't. The vikkel braid is not to be trifled with past a certain hour in the evening, I'm afraid.

I did, however, through the glory of ravelry and its free pattern browse, find the Nutkin Sock and shall start on that this weekend. Even though my sage coworkers are advising me to keep on keepin' on with the dishcloths, they do not understand the soul-crushing power that working with that much cotton can bring. Also, there's some sort of peace and solace that concentrating on starting of on that first sock brings, before you get the pattern down. It's just really nice and calming, and just what this over-stressed, planned-to-the-max lady needs!

This + a cup of tea = heaven, this weekend

captain easychord

2008-03-12T20:24:00.003-06:00

spring has finally hit tennessee! i think! today was absolutely gorgeous! growing up in the snow belt, spring was such a rewarding season after 5 or 6 months of grueling cold and soul-crushing snow. since the album came out, i like to celebrate the change of seasons by putting on stereolab's sound-dust and celebrating the lovely change of weather. this is a quintessential spring album for me. it's funny how some songs or albums are tied so strongly to parts of our memory, like the time i was driving home from class during a blizzard and leonard cohen's "avalanche" from "songs from a room" just happened to be playing. i can't listen to that album during the summer, but i digress. anyway, i have fond memories of having the windows down on my car, listening to this stereolab album, driving to my job at the archives and saying hello to the niagara river and lake erie on fine may mornings (when spring usually hit in the homeland). definite plus of living in the south: having spring 2 months early!

i had to get away from the dishcloths! i am happy to report i am up to 30! yes! only 10 (or so) to go! so, i spun this past weekend with the roving i picked up from etsy. behold!

It's about 208 yards and a merino colonial blend! Oh so soft and squishy! I love it! I have absolutely no idea what I'll do with it, but I'll sure it'll come to me. Eventually.

It was so nice to spin again and get away from cotton. Don't get me wrong. I love me some cotton, but everything in moderation, including moderation.

Golden Hands are the Devil's Playthings

2008-03-06T07:49:00.003-06:00

After finding out from the lovely Marissa and Denyse about the sheer and vast publication glory that is Golden Hands, I spent the last of my money that was in my Paypal account and purchased this:

I think I might be addicted! I haven't done cross-stitch since I was 9, but that shouldn't stop me, right?

The Decline of Country and Western Civilization

2008-03-03T21:39:00.012-06:00

This past weekend, my folks came down to visit and I am happy to say dishcloth creation was put on hold while wedding planning took over. We also went to the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium downtown, which was great, but I digress. When we weren't running around tasting cupcakes or discussing red Gerbera daisies, we thrift stored (hello, DIY center pieces) and hit Nashville's finest used bookstores. I scored bigtime!

I found this one book from 1973 called "Sew Exciting! Sew Simple!" that is right out of that era's vein of feminism that is sort of self-aware and apologetic, and is sort of like, "It's okay to want to sew your husband a terrycloth bathrobe! Women have been doing it for ages!" It's kind of hilarious. I will treasure it forever.

The other, "The Color Book of Embroidery" is sort of a hippy dippy 70s acid trip through embroidery. It does have a primer on smocking (yay!), but some of the projects are downright frightening (think weird elves) and there are creepy baby blankets that are kind of hilarious. This book was a whopping $2.00. The other was 25 cents. Yes. 25 cents. I picked up another for 2 bucks that is aptly titled and "Encyclopedia of Needlework" which I reckon will come in handy (no pun intended).

The peach colored pillowcases in the background were a gift from my aunt. The beautiful crocheted ends! The other was found thrifting this weekend for 69 cents. I intend to make and apron out of it.

Now this book is a certifiable doozy. It's called "Golden Hands : a comprehensive guides to knitting, dressmaking & needlecraft." Oh, the Kaftans! The owls! It has some utterly amazing things. While looking at some Russian Orthodox-esque tapestry designs in this book, my father told me a story of how he loved the movie"Dr. Zhivago" so much (who can blame him?) that he asked my grandmother to make him a tunic shirt much like Omar Shariff's shirt in the movie. Yeah, she did. WITH EMBROIDERY.

That, ladies and gentleman, is what's in my gene pool. I've just got to tap into that well some more.

that's entertainment

2008-02-26T22:50:00.004-06:00

my roving arrived from etsy today and let me say it's more lovely and squishy than i could have ever imagined. the parents are flying down from the rust belt to thaw out a bit, and i intend on using that as a spinning demonstration as they have yet to see the spinning wheel in action.

the wizard arm shirt has gone on hiatus, as i unfortunately have to do things like go to work and clean my house. so it goes.

but fear not, gentle reader, i am not neglecting the dishcloth. while i have greatly strayed from the original pattern, i have happily wandering into the realm of the geriatric, and have whipped up quite of few granny squares in a small amount of time. stella is quite fond of them, as you can tell. it's only driving me moderately batty. plus, having such lofty goals is a really nice motivating force.

this is probably my favorite granny thus far. behold its old lady glory:

labour for learning

2008-02-24T23:14:00.004-06:00

this weekend. what a mess.

i had a burning desire to make a smock. after some extreme googling and finding some sublime inspiration and tutorials, nothing seemed to come out right.

i did all the measurements as per the instructions which left me with something which my friend elizabeth described as "wizard arms."

no thanks. desmond dekker couldn't even save me.

on the dishcloth front, i have a bunch of granny squares completed and am trying some non-granny-squares (gasp!) crocheted dishcloths, but they're taking too long. i could not even finish a single one during the entirety of the oscars.

oh well.

i could also blame this on the massive misfiring of neurons (or whatever caused my massive banger of a migraine that left me incapacitated and seeking dark spaces all of saturday and most of today). things just aren't right. hopefully tomorrow will be better.

next craft i want to tackle: the embroidering of tea towels.

hot grannies

2008-02-19T22:06:00.006-06:00

i found away to save my sanity! ramona explained the mystery that is known as reading a crochet pattern, and i was off to the races. i totally had a granny square dishcloth done before american idol was over (i voted twice for the dude who did the creepy and awesome version of the monkees' song). behold!

stella (our little grey cat found wandering on the street at our old apatment) was quite pleased with it too. she must be thrilled for me too, as she wouldn't leave it alone! she was hugging it, swatting it, and giving it lots of love. and yes, dear reader, i have 3 cats, i knit (and crochet!), and am a librarian. i don't have a bun. yet.

stella swipes:

stella loves:

big dreams for a one-trick pony

2008-02-17T22:09:00.005-06:00

oh dear. this weekend.

i think i am reaching near burnout status on those dishcloths.

i was having a hard time starting them, doing YOs. come on, now. the first half of those things are the easiest part and i was messing it up. it was time to take a break. so, i spun some lovely silver alpaca roving i had, and proceeded to get it all over my black shirt while watching My Favorite Year with Peter O'Toole.

so, i managed to get some crocheting done. let's play what's wrong with this picture:

could it be that i forgot the hdc (half double crochet) border on the right hand side? could it be that i was so engrossed in "pride and prejudice" on masterpiece theater? correct!

on the wedding dishcloth front, they are coming along. maybe once my crochet skills get less wonky, and can contribute some of those to mix it up a little and save my sanity.

friday binges

2008-02-15T14:42:00.005-06:00

hello, roving. you will be at my house soon. all 8 oz of you:

in other craft related news, my crochet skills are improving by leaps and bounds! so, i tried to crochet a heart for mr. wheezy-to-be and it ended up looking like a malformed kidney. i'm a beginner. i seem to have gotten the whole single and double crochet ruckus down, and granny squares are my friends. best friends, even.

so, this weekend, it's back to the regular old dishcloths. the garter stitch knit dishcloths. as much as i may want to procrastinate, i must keep on keepin' on, or i will have some very disappointed guests at the wedding shower, and no one wants that. i could tell myself i could practice my crochet and CROCHET the dishcloths, but we all know that i would lose valuable knitting time in the process, and time is of the essence, blah de blah blah.

must focus.

but once that roving comes, though, all bets are off.

love in the retail trade.

2008-02-13T22:59:00.006-06:00

i think it's time for an intervention. someone call the authorities stat.

i can't stop knitting or crocheting with cotton.

the latest offenders:

i also just completed a giant cotton granny square. i think i'm in love.

i tried crocheting a wool heart. it just didn't feel right. my fingers were crying for cotton. should i be concerned?

granny squares et al.

2008-02-10T22:54:00.000-06:00

this weekend my friend ramona came over and we experimented with all things crochet. i first must note that she is an extremely talented crocheter, and crochets beautiful doilies LIKE THE WIND. after seeing this in the Craftzine Blog, we decided to give one a go ourselves! well, it's still drying, and i'm afraid it's a) not salty enough, or b) too big for its britches. i think a smaller doily may be in order.

but it was fun! i may just starch the hell out of it when it's fully dry and see what happens.

while we were waiting for that to dry, ramona introduced me to the glory that is the GRANNY SQUARE. i'm a continental knitter, so holding the yarn was easy peasy for me, and i made to semi-respectable looking squares! apparently, my tension is uber-tight, but with some practice, hopefully, that'll get better.

BEHOLD, THE GRANNIES (and my grandmother's red crochet hook) :

(keep feeling) fascination

2008-02-08T07:25:00.002-06:00

my book, The Crafter's Companion arrived in the mail yesterday, and i spent most of yesterday evening reading it! the introduction provided absolute sense to this entire craft world which a lot of us seem to be immersed in by choice, by habit, by compulsion, and by fun:

"As the back of this book wonders, why do we bothers to make things by hand when we live in a world where our every material desire can be fulfilled by ready-made, shop-bought items? On the large scale, I like to think the the 'craft wave' is a reaction to this world; we create because the mass produced just isn't special enough." (Torborg, 2006)

(I'm such a librarian)

Also, the book has great patterns, which I intend to start on ASAP!

Anyway, I couldn't agree with that any more. I've often wondered why I can never sit in front of the television without having something in my hands. My grandmother was the same way. As I've mentioned before, I come from a long line of crafty ladies, and my dad is quite talented in all sorts of woodworking pursuits. I love that the need to connect with what we create may be hereditary.

Works cited:

Torborg, Anna, ed. (2006). The Crafter's Companion. London: Snowbooks.

hubris, take 2

2008-02-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

here's the dried handspun! it's a lovely shade of green! also note the amazing doily crocheted by my friend and coworker ramona. (don't mind the white bits - that's just the white cotton yarn i tied the skein together with)

the hubris of a man!

2008-02-06T16:32:00.000-06:00

after last night's violent storms, i stayed home from work today, because i had a hard time falling asleep with the weather radio going off every fifteen minutes and the fact that 3 fronts moved in during one evening. it was a bad time for the tennessee, arkansas, kentucky and mississippi. mr. wheezy-to-be and i saw a wall cloud outside our front door about a mile away as the tornado (luckily) lifted over nashville. unfortunately, when it landed, it did some serious damage.

i'm from the snowbelt. i'm not used to this. i'll take 6ft of snow over this any day.

on a happier and non-dishcloth related note (GASP!), i plied up some singles today that i had spun up pre-genius-idea-of-knitting-44-dish-cloths. i picked up 8 oz. of some awesome romney/mohair mix at a local fiber fest back in october. mind you, i could have kept plugging away with the goold ol'cotton, but i didn't want to push it for fear of massive burnout and backlash, which could involve me staying away from natural fibers altogether and knitting with acrylics for 2 years. *faints*

no one wants to see that.

it must be noted that i really want to spin sock yarn. i tried to make some nice 3 ply earlier, but only came up with 265 yards. that, dear reader, will not cover my large size 11 lady feet. so, i split up my 8ozs as best i could, and spun away on the highest ratio, having a grand ol'time.

so, today i two-plied. i was happy as a pig in mud as i was counting how many go-rounds i had on my niddy-noddy. "111! that'll totally make a pair of socks!" (i must also mention here i'm terrible at math). so, i came up stairs, plugged in the numbers in the magical inches to yards converter, and then started crying. ok, i didn't cry, but i lifted my fist in utter sadness and yelled "THE HUBRIS OF A MAN!" it's on't 216 yards, folks. i know i could knit little booties, but i like knitting proper socks. le sigh.

so, i've washed it, and it's currently drying in my shower as i type this. photos to follow. i think the mohair will spice up the romney nicely.

anyone who can suggest how many oz of wool i should get to make around 400 yds of 2 or 3 plied sock yarn would be my new best friend. ok, maybe not, but i'd send you a dish cloth.

the harder they come

2008-02-04T22:53:00.000-06:00

stats:

12 dishcloths completed
1 callous developping
1 hole in finger
need to stretch hand on a regular basis
overwhelming sense of pride that i may actually be ahead of schedule

bummers:

still have to weave in ends (blerg)
still have 32 to go

i wish i could say my callous was some rockstar related injury, but alas, it is not. no, it is not from shredding my axe. it's from my US size 8 susan bates needles.

now dear readers, i need some advice. i am planning to finish these dishcloths in the near future, not only to be an industrious knitter, but to also save my sanity. as i've mentioned before, i come from a crafty family, and hand knit thank-you presents would be the perfect gift for the 3 ladies throwing the wedding shower for me. 2 of them are terribly talented quilters, and the other is a jack (jane?) of all crafts. also, if anyone suggests i give them dish cloths, i may just shut this whole operation down (ok, not really).

shawls? i don't have enough time for log cabin blankets, do i? i'm dreamin' big! we can blame that on on glen campbell. he once made me (well, his song did) drive to bowling green, ky just because i was enamoured with that song. ok, so i got lost and ended up in a not so great part of town, but whatever.

PS - don't forget to vote!

epic knitting project, cont'd.

2008-02-01T22:44:00.000-06:00

so, i skivved off a work a bit early today to head off to buy an insane amount of cotton yarn. "how much is an insane amount?" you ask. well, dear reader, 29 skeins of Peaches'n'Creme and 2 1 1b. cones is an insane amount of cotton yarn. the cashier clearly thought i was a bit batty. now, nothing can get in my way of providing delight to all those who attend the wedding shower.

oh, and my mother sent me a text asking if 44 invites was okay. so, officially have 6 dishcloths done (soon to be 7), and only 38 more to go.

even though i have this massive task ahead of me, my mind is already wandering on to what i can create next. no, not to the socks that i've abandoned or the hybrid seamless sweater that i've haplessly thrown aside, but to sewing projects, and learning how to crochet. my coworker and lovely friend ramona made me this absolutely stunning pineapple doily, which makes me want to crochet doilies. en masse. and then i want to frame them. but more on that later.

i also want to dust off the old sewing machine, who, aside from providing me with some lovely marimekko-esque curtains, hasn't done much as of late. clothing, people! i'm talking tops! skirts! even dresses!

le sigh.

back to my dishcloths.

40 days and 40 dishcloths

2008-01-30T17:28:00.000-06:00

So, it's been a good while, hasn't it? Well, let's just say I have a wedding shower coming up (for yours truly), and I volunteered to knit 40 dishcloths for favors. My mother is sewing some really cute and functional drink coasters. When she mentioned this, my crafty DNA kicked in, and I volunteered to help out. Who doesn't love handknit items? Anyway, I did the math and this means I pretty much have to crank out one of these suckers every night.

Here's the thing: it's the easy peasy dishcloth pattern my grandmother taught me.

Thus far I have 4 done.

36 to go.

Wish me luck.

someone stop me, please

2007-06-12T16:27:00.001-06:00

oh, etsy.

so, the sock making is coming along, along with many precious lessons that one needs to experience. or, if i had remembered what people told me, maybe i wouldn't be in the predicament of having one and a half socks done, before i ran out of yarn, and then realized it had then been discontinued.

the socks i'm working on now are some lovely lorna's laces in tuscany. those were originally going to be for me, but now i think i shall send them to my friend in san francisco, as she sent me the most beautiful entrelac scarf.

yay, etsy! you shall ruin me!

my bucket's got a hole in it

2007-05-21T08:31:00.000-06:00

So, the first sock: kind of a disaster!

Did I take time to check my gauge? No.
Was I too excited to knit Continental on tiny dpns? Yes.

Ach well. It's a learning experience, right?

I tried the sock on last night, bursting with pride, until I saw all the dropped stitches, my botched attempt at the Kitchener stitch, etc. Did I cry? Surprisingly, no! B and I decided it was a learning experience, and now I shall practice on the class sock from Sensational Knitted Socks.

sock it to me

2007-05-18T15:01:00.000-06:00

This sock is taking me AGES to finish. Mind you, it's my first sock ever, and kind folks have told me this is normal. Tonight, I plan on focusing on my heel, with no distractions. Starting the heel 4 times would be embarrassing. I think it's inevitable, however. I tried knitting it during the library staff picnic today, but had to keep putting it on the picnic table whenever someone won a prize (which happened once every 30 seconds, really).

I happily mastered the Continental stitch, thanks to a video on the modern internets. I learned a slightly different way from my aunt, which wasn't conducive to purling.

woe is me

2007-05-08T13:22:00.000-06:00

I feel like the way I originally learned how to knit has put me at quite a disservice when trying to knit on circulars or dbpns. I originally learned the "Jam it under your armpit method!" which was great for me to knit dishcloths, scarves, mittens, etc. But now I dream of knitting SOCKS, and after this past weekend's debacle involving US 2 needles ("OMG THESE NEEDLES ARE TINY!"), I feel I must relearn my method.

About 2 years ago, my aunt taught me the Continental Method, which was favored by my grandmother. It worked really well for the ZoSo scarf I was knitting on circulars, for a friend. Ahem.

Am I have such a hard time with practicing due to the fact that I have the long needles? Oh me, I'm so forlorn.

Hopefully, though, the books I'm picking up from the public library will bring me joy and motivation, especially the one on ESTONIAN KNITTING!

so it begins

2007-04-26T11:49:00.000-06:00

I just started bidding on sock yarn on eBay. I have a feeling this is the start of my downward spiral.

frogging along

2007-04-24T15:28:00.000-06:00

I find that when I have a ridiculous knitting project in front of me (usually for someone else), I have no problem cranking it out. But, when it's for me, or it's fairly mundane (a regular old scarf, perhaps in the ripple stitch), I become board and start knitting ballband dishcloths. Perhaps this means I should start on my cardigan.

ala

2006-06-28T14:39:00.000-06:00

it is not necessary, when holding a library conference in new orleans, to wear mardi gras beads to meetings, nor is it necessary to place said beads on the stuffed animal you won at the vendor exhibits.

illustrations published separately

2006-06-13T12:20:00.000-06:00

phrases overheard in the staff lunch room:

"get your own darn dog skull."

"yeah, my cat does the kneading-thing, but then he starts humping."

"you're leaving lunch early? you actually want to work?"