September 2006 Archives

Here are 4 of the women...

Sunday's small gathering at Julia's was last-minute for me; had I chosen to wash dishes instead of checking my e-mail, I would not have been there. Thanks for the invitation, Julia!

Here's Julia demonstrating how to pre-draft behind Marnie's knitting machine insect, while Mary-Heather takes pictures.

Andrea's knitting away on Marnie's Deciduous Cami, and Kat's working on a pattern for an upcoming book.

I tried some of Andrea's Crosspatch Creations Black Gold fiber. It's an interesting mix of wools (Romney/Montedale and Merino/Romney), silks (Bombyx and Tussah) and rayon. I didn't pay half as much attention to spinning it as I should have, given that we were talking, snacking, and watching Mary-Heather's and Kat's FIRST-EVER spinning efforts. I ended up with 68 yards of semi-consistent plied yarn, balanced, off the nid-nod. Sweet Andrea, she gifted me the whole bag, and Julia gave me some lush pygora and other fibers to try as well! Mary-Heather went home with a great sampling of all the fibers there, and quite possibly, a new hobby (mwaaahahahahahahaha)!

Have a good weekend!

Pattern: Toe-up, as with all my socks. Judy Becker's Magic Cast-on, matching raised increases, short-row heel, 1x1 ribbing in the arch and the leg, tubular 1x1 rib cast-off. All these techniques are Google-able. Googly-woogly.
Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL (75% wool, 25% nylon; 100g; 462 yards) in #61 Green
Needles: US2 dpns

BF: So. Can I finally put my shoes on so we can go for a walk? I need to test-drive these suckers.

BF: These things are warm. And comfy.

MJ: Really. I had no idea. (BF's comment came just after the hundredth "I wish we'd brought the...")

silence

BF: So.

MJ: So.

BF: What's next on the list of things to knit for the boyfriend?

BF and I (and BF's socks) are back from Utah. It was fantastic, and I wish we had pictures, but we'd FORGOTTEN THE CAMERA. Argh. All throughout the week you'd hear either one of us say, "You know, I wish we brought the..." "Shut up about it ALREADY!" We were 40 miles in the middle of nowhere, no point in going into the nearest town and buying some crappy little paper box camera, so we just tried to enjoy the view. Needless to say, we'll be heading back in October. I went to a mini-meetup yesterday; BF painted some of the Utah scenery from memory. I'm trying to scrounge up some material for a more substantial post, so in the meantime you'll just have to do with more gnomey bits.

This hat is tall. Taller than the bowling pin body. And a bee-yatch to seam. That does it, I'm bringing out the dpns next time!

Blogworthy:
◊ Another Liesel: Z of I'm Tinking made hers out of lovely GGH Lamour.
◊ Lori of Dessert Comes First chronicles her ostrich egg adventure.
◊ Oh. My. God. You just need to click here and see for yourself.
◊ And on the subject of eating (did you click on the last link, huh? did you? did you?), we have Delicatessen on DVD. I *highly* recommend it. This from the girl with the gnome thang goin' on, jus' so you know.

It occurred to me that I have yet to post about BF's toe-up socks, which were completed some time ago. I had originally intended to post installments on the various parts of the sock, but the best laid plans blah blah blah. I did, however, write down some of BF's choice commentary while I knitted them:

BF: Those ridges won't dig into my foot, will they?

MJ: Don't worry, an hour into a hike and sock ridges will be the last thing on your mind.

BF: Where's the other one?

MJ: ...

When I finished one sock, I left it on the yarn just in case I ran out on the second sock. Turns out I had enough.

BF: Will you cut the yarn when you're finished knitting? That's like an umbilical cord or something. Or you know, little kids' gloves connected to each other so they don't lose them.

MJ: Wow, you're pretty creative there.

BF: You're going to cut the yarn, right?

BF: Are people really interested in that much detail on a sock?

I'm a form-follows-function kind of girl, so I make do with yarn loops as stitch markers and safety pins as row markers. Here they mark the beginning of a row as well as every 10 rows.

BF: Hey. These. Look. Good.

Finito. Early morning insomnia results in two finished socks. (I remember the early morning, 3a insomnia. I remember dreaming about finished socks. And then I woke up...) I used a tubular bind-off, a great technique that gives 1x1 ribbing a finished look. BF has big feet (don't snicker): these things are practically long sleeves on me.

We're going on yet another trip, back up to Utah to climb and witness fall in all its mapled glory! Six days in Maple Canyon. Margene asked once how I could do this climbing thing: the fear, the danger, the sheer height. It's an obsession to me the way that knitting is to some (and you know who you are). In addition, being out surrounded by natural beauty and calm does wonders to the soul. It certainly doesn't hurt when I successfully redpoint--or even onsight--a particularly hard climb! Have a good weekend.

Blogworthy:
◊ A Breakout-type game that's interrupting my freelance a bit.
◊ Via Kottke, news that Bill Stumpf, maker of the Aeron chair, has passed away.

Gnome body parts! All that's left are the hat and the beard. I *finally* get to use the tubular cast-on! In place of a stockinette stitch cuff for the hat, I'm using a 1x1 rib (fab scoop technique courtesy of Marnie).

There's a bit of sewing in this project. I just shudder at the thought of seaming those micro-thumbs!

Thanks for all the spinning comments, guys! Really, buy the book, it'll help with technique. And of course, buy some gorgeously-dyed Hello Yarn fiber.

Lizard Ridge, a beautiful blanket made out of Noro (you must see), is my favorite of all the projects in Knitty's fall issue. And. Here's Jillian's take on the cover feature. Food for thought.

Hummunuh, hummunuh, hummunuh. I had some unexpected spare time earlier this week--3 hours, to be precise--so I caught up with my bloggy feeds and found this:

Hells yes you bet I signed up for Unni's Knitting Gnomes KAL! I got my Joann coupons, jumped in the truck, barrelled down to the mall, and headed straight for the Lion Brand Wool-Ease and Fun Fur. I surprised myself with that little burst of consumerism, I don't know what overcame me. Maybe because I'm just gnome-crazy? Also, did you know that Fun Fur is more expensive than Wool-Ease? Isn't that silly? Anyway, I used my 40% off coupon for the Fur, and the nice lady at the register used my 10% off coupon on my total purchase. Good deal.

The pattern calls for DK weight, but I like to use what's available, therefore the worsted weight--and conveniently discounted--Wool-Ease. Here are my colors; they're fairly standard. The hat, it must be said, should always be red: fire engine red.

Blogworthy:
◊ The current issue of Spindlicity has an article on Steve Kundert, maker of my favorite top-whorl spindle.
◊ Via the same article, Mr. Kundert's website, where you can buy directly from him.
◊ Finally, my latest obsession. Pretty, eh?

I *finally* got to spin Adrian's oh-my-god-so-beautiful fiber, which I ordered more than nine (!) months ago as a Christmas present to myself. I know (hangs head in shame), why didn't I spin it before?

I don't think I was worthy. Then I borrowed Andrea's copy of Paula Simmons' Spinning for Softness and Speed. And the world came tumbling down.

Hello. Yarn. (he he) Spun speedily and soft like baby angel tushies.

Squishily swooofffttt!!! And hella balanced. Oh yeah.

And because I can't resist, more and more pictures in the sunlight. Brings out the colors. Love the contrasts. As much as I harp on about my crappy point-and-shoot, it can take nice pics once in a while.

This one shows the range of colors. What beautiful colors. I am in love. And I have 4 more ounces!!! (I must be fair to Adrian and mention that she dyed 24 ounces of fiber for me; 8 ounces each of three delectable colorways I'll explain more in detail as I post about them. Adrian is so cool! Go buy her stuff!)

In our back-and-forth emails last year regarding colors, I pointed Adrian to a batch she had dyed previously and said that I wanted *the exact same thing*. She did her magic and came up with this. If you look in her gallery, you may find it; since I trashed all those emails, I don't remember what the link was, but it may be either Holland, "Hand Dyed Merino Wool, or "Sock Yarn". I think it may be the last one. Yeah. I have an additional 4 ounce bag, lucky me, and I'll continue with my softness/speed experiments.

Fiber: Blue-Face Leicester, 3 oz.
Vendor: Hello Yarn
Yield: 161.5 yards of squishiness
Weight: Bulky. Spinning for softness and speed. Oh my. Buy Paula Simmons' Spinning for Softness and Speed directly from her.

Blogworthy:
◊ I've joined the Fair Isle Kitters ring; I'm not sure whether the name is a typo, so I'll keep it at that. It's fall, time for more colorwork! This reminds me of a post by Nona Knits regarding yarn dominance.
◊ I'm still thinking about the Snowdrift Stole.
◊ Via Inhabitat, a beautiful rain windchime chandelier.
◊ Via Kottke, a movie of self-portraits taken over a 5-1/2 year period. You can see when he gets a haircut each time. Also, nice haunting music.
◊ Cool picture of a guy holding the sun.
◊ Stephen Wiltshire, the Human Camera.
◊ Finally, here's an article on High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging. Interesting. Apparently, doable in Adobe Photoshop CS2.

About 2-1/2 months ago BF interrupted my spinning and asked about his socks. After that little discussion, I just *had* to take a picture of this, the sunlight streaming from behind the Taj Mahal-sized house next to us was incredible. Two bobbins later, I was finally done with all the Corriedale. This has been my longest spinning project to date!

Fiber: Louet Olive Green Corriedale, 16 oz.
Vendor: eBay shop Blue Goose Glen
Yield: 1,054 yards
Weight: Worsted

When I first started spinning this fiber, I didn't like its hand much, but I plugged away on it; after all, I had 1 full pound and 1 spindle. A year-and-a-half later, spinning away on the lendrum, I wonder why I ever doubted the Corriedale. Granted, I've improved my prep, drafting, and spinning techniques. It spun so well, and I was so entranced by its sheen. The fiber was evenly dyed, barely a trace of vegetable matter, and so well prepared in the first place. Of course the spinning would be easy.

And yes, my last two skeins were balanced. I'm quite happy with the yield of two-ply yarn. I'm thinking that, with the yardage, a nice sweater or cardigan with a little bit of lace or cable detail.

Gallery Update: Bernadette knit up a Liesel in a lovely blue color. Thanks for emailing me, Bernadette!

Listening to: Witness the Fitness by Roots Manuva. Great rhythm! It also happens to be (climbing reference alert!) the name of a bouldering problem that climbing wunderkind Chris Sharma did in the Ozarks in Arkansas. Okay, just listen to the song!