Yup, that's what it's all about. Yarn -- making yarn, making things with yarn, hoarding yarn until your yarn hutch pops open by itself. That's what it's all about, whatever that it is.
First up, making yarn:
Feel like making yarn! bah-dum-dum, bah-dum-dum, feel like making yarn! bah-dum-dum, bah-dum-dum. . .
I started back up on spinning the 8 oz of blue fiber I got in last year's Halloweenie swap on the knittyboard. It's a blend of domestic wool, and really gorgeous. I know the Mister covets the colorway (called "Moody Blues").
Speaking of my honey, his Sam socks are coming along:
I love the color. It's more carrot that hunter cap.
check out this mess of spaghetti:
That's the backside of the secret project I alluded to in my last post. Since taking that photo, I've woven in the ends on one side of it and actually finished the knitting part. Now I have to weave in the rest of the ends and hem it.
Here's the front:
It's a little puckery -- changing colors and keeping things looking nice is hard! The Weird logo is one of the logos used in the comic books that Mike's upcoming book is about. I'm really surprised at how fast I knit this -- I started right before Rhinebeck. Usually a new-to-me technique takes a while. I used the KnitPro application at MicroRevolt to make the chart (I LOVE that application!).
Since I have no more knitting photos for you, I thought I'd post some sleeping cats photos.
Here's Luciano looking much like Marmaduke as he sleeps inside the scratching post:
He loves that thing -- I don't know what he'll do when he no longer fits in it. You can pick it up and turn it sideways, looking in at him, and he purrs. That thing has great acoustics.
He also likes to lay on his back with his feet in the air:
Sometimes he does the classic curled up kitty pose:
Meanwhile, Ellie's most favorite place in the world is on the new sheepskin we bought for her at Rhinebeck:
She's definitely claimed it as her own, and makes bread on it every chance she gets. I did sit on it on the couch one chilly day, and it does help generate heat.
It's been a long time since she fit in the cat scratcher. This photo was taken a month after we adopted her:
She was definitely MUCH younger than the 1.3 years the MSPCA said she was. I wonder how old she was when she had her kittens?
I have a bit of a busy weekend coming up. On Sunday, I'm getting together with several other knitters to put together the blanket squares for the Pine Street Inn Knit-a-Thon I talked about in my last post! This should be exciting!
I don't know when I'll have time to make more progress on my current projects. Maybe tonight, after the gym.
Folks, I've been remiss in posting some of my FOs. I actually took these photos and uploaded them the same day I made my last post; however, two blog posts in the same day bugs the tiny bit of me that is anal-retentive, and I also didn't want to put my FOs in with my Rhinebeck post because they wouldn't fit in there. Again, a tiny bit of me that is anal-retentive (if you saw my housekeeping you would surely see that that bit is not only tiny, it's microscopic. I would say that I'm anal-expulsive, but that's just gross).
Getting that out of the way, here are my fabulous (and still in the to-be-handwashed-pile-since-that-very-day) Socks That Go To Eleven:
This yarn was FUN! It's superwash wool from an Etsy seller called Sharing, who sells really lovely yarns and project bags. This colorway is called "Neon Lights". I used the Chevron pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, and size 1 needles.
Here's a little something I came up with on my own (well, sorta):
I used a houndstooth stitch pattern from an old stitch dictionary book put out by Spinnerin. I was too lazy (yes, I was too lazy, and will be the first to admit it!) to figure out how to convert the stitch pattern to knitting in the round, so the houndstooth part is knitted flat, but the ribbed parts are knitted in the round -- I cast on provisionally so I could pick up the stitches for the cuffs. I had to sew up the seam, of course. I may try to improve on this idea by converting the pattern to the round, and maybe make them fit a little more snugly, especially around the fingers.
It was a stash buster project -- I had a tiny bit of that cornflower blue yarn leftover from some blanket squares I made, and the red was leftover from one of the pairs of alligator mittens I made 3 or 4 years ago. At the time I started these mitts, I didn't know if the yarn was Cascade 220 or Lion Brand Wool-Ease, but I think now that it is Cascade 220, meaning I can't put these in the washer. Crap. The cornflower blue is washable, probably some kind of acrylic.
Speaking of stash busters and blanket squares:
These are some of the squares I knit up for the Pine Street Inn Knit-a-Thon on November 8. I've knit 12 in all, all of them machine-washable. The Pine Street Inn is a local homeless shelter/assistance program, and the blanket squares are knit to raise funds to help the Inn place homeless people into permanent housing. Several knitters will meet up on November 8 to sew the squares together to make blankets as "housewarming presents" for every person going into his or her new, permanent home. I'm not completely whoring for donations here, but if you want to, my pledge page is here.
Luciano says, "Oh no you di'nt!"
I have a few other projects on the needles. My Swallowtail Shawl hasn't changed much since you last saw it. Shit, that was right after Ken died. I was reluctant to work on it with Luciano around, and it is in a safe place but has a thin layer of cat hair on the top. I really need to work on that soon.
My Lacy Waves Sweater is under the couch. Remember back in June when I had a fit over it and threw it across the room? I started to work on it again, and decided that I just don't love it enough to finish it. Attempting to frog it, with all of the bound-off stitches along the neckline and sleeves, caused it to get off my lap and fly across the room again, so for now, it lives in the box that the yarn came in.
I started a pair of socks for Mike with some of the yarn I purchased at Rhinebeck. That link will just take you to my Ravelry page for them, and the only photo is a photo of the orange yarn I got at Rhinebeck. It's the "Sam" pattern from Cookie A's book "Sock Innovation". It's a slow-going pattern, but it's really interesting with the moving cable and all.
I've been working on a secret project for Mike. It's not a secret from him, but it's a secret from everybody else because it's using intarsia and I've been askeered to say I was doing it in case I mess it up and frog it. Hopefully it's at the point now that I can talk about it. I often have grand plans for things that I want to make, but I don't want to be one of those people who always talks about all these GREAT things she is going to do and how COOL it will be, only to have it never happen. I'm sure y'all know exactly the sort of person I'm talking about. I don't want to be one of those, although I think I in generally come clean when I've fucked up. I hope I do. After all, it's only yarn, it's only projects, and I'm only human.
In the "only human" department, I certain haven't spun in quite a while. Oopsie. I started spinning some gorgeous blue stuff months ago, but I don't think I have a photo. I know I have spun since we got Luciano, because I was surprised at how well-behave he was with my wheel. Since then, he has run around with blue fiber hanging from his mouth -- he pulled the end off my spinning. All fibery things need to be locked up from him, as well as all needles and plastic bags (since both he and Ellie will chew on them). Cats. . . what a concept.
Hopefully soon I'll have some good WIP (and maybe FO) photos for you!
What better way to make a 2 month blog absence comback than a post about Rhinebeck?!?
We left mid-morning Friday and made it to Kingston (where our hotel was) around 3:30. We unfortunately were given a smoking room with the explanation that it was what I had booked. The smell hit us like a ton of bricks once we walked in, but it got a little better after we were there for a while. Unfortunately, most of what we had in that room now smells like cigarettes.
This is what my boobs and I have to say about a smoking room:
I think we may try a different hotel next year, and not just because of the smoking room. We're way overdue for something different. Tradition, smadition.
We got some awesome, but kinda expensive, Mexican food at a place in Kingston called Rosita's. The food was seriously good but a little more than we're used to paying for Mexican, but they did give us A LOT. In fact, half of my dinner will be my lunch today -- our hotel room did have a fridge, and the car stayed cold enough to keep it on the way home.
When we were leaving for breakfast on Saturday morning, about seven turkeys were looking for food along the side of the driveway at the Rodeway:
We were told that it was opening day for turkey hunting season, so I think it was a good thing that they started ducking out of sight when we stopped the car to take photos.
On to the fair!
As usual, there was beautiful fiber everywhere we looked:
As well as displays of projects:
Including some "wearable art":
Her only request for the photo was that I crop out her shoes. She was wearing plain black clogs; I suppose she wished they were painted to match.
There was lots of knitting going on:
And beautiful tools of the trade too:
I barely spun this past year, so I didn't buy a spindle from Golding's. Maybe next year if I'm a good girl and spin more. I love the Tsunami spindles (upper right hand corner), and they do have smaller, lighter weight ones that are fairly reasonably priced (about $44). My other spindles are a $4 job I bought when I decided I wanted to try, and the one I bought from Spinsanity on Etsy for under $20, which is absolutely gorgeous and has the same alpaca project on it from when I first got it about 2 years ago.
Golding's also had this thing of beauty:
HOW BADLY DO YOU WANT THAT? I really wish I had a house large enough to have that on display always. I'm not sure if I want to know the price, if it was indeed for sale.
There were also animals galore:
There were so many super-sweet llamas, but they liked ZMrK more than they liked me, I guess. I didn't get any kisses.
One of the alpacas gave him a kiss as well, and he said they have bad breath.
I only took a few photos at the little zoo. The poor sulcata tortoises were out, and it was freezing! The same with the poor gator. Only a few of the animals gave me good photos:
I really like geese, but they're mean as shit. A couple of them that were much bigger than these once trapped me in the corner when I worked at an animal shelter. I also got bitten by a swan once.
Mike loves feeding goats because they are so obnoxious about it:
It looked like a mosh pit of goat noggins.
A couple of calm ones napped in the back of the pen:
Then there were the bunnies. No shit. They were really cute:
Bunny, meet Dollipede:
Working at said animal shelter provided me with a great many reasons NOT to get a pet bunny: (a), they poop a lot, (b) their pee is very acidic and burned through the fiberglass cages, (c) my eyes and nostrils used to itch like mad when I had to clean their cages, not to mention the little round poops that would roll all over the place, and (d) one of our local shelters is often overrun with homeless bunnies.
But Mike really loved them, as you can see. They are so damned cute. But no, we didn't come home with a bunny.
There were also really cool carved pumpkins:
And the meetups! Woo hoo, the meetups! I went to the Rav meetup "on the hill", and met up with other members of the Lazy, Stupid and Godless group:
I also managed to look like I had a missing front tooth:
That wasn't the only silliness on my part that weekend:
Red Heart Penis For The Win!!!!
Mike got into the silliness as well:
Not as obvious a penis replacement as my Red Heart.
Not silly or perverted; I just like the great big red-eyed tree frog representative for one of the dye companies.
I also finally met my favorite fellow Rubbernecker, Terri:
We had to hit the road shortly after meeting up with and kissing her. Getting home was pretty clear until we hit the Mass Pike, which is the majority of our trip:
Yup, snow. FUCKING SNOW. IN MID-OCTOBER.
It sucked this much:
As it turns out, it only added about an hour and some minutes to our return trip, but that was an hour we could have spent drinking beer.
Now the big question is, "What did I get?". I certainly got less than I did last year, which was less than I got the year before:
I don't think I can leave Rhinebeck without buying one of the Tsock Tsarina's kits:
When I saw the drawing for Golden West, I knew it would be spectacular. What stupid me didn't do is take a photo of the display of the finished object. Well, she's got one on her blog. It is so fucking cool. I hope my skillsnesses are up to knitting this one.
I also got Candy Cane self-striping yarn from Holiday Yarns:
As much as I was tempted, I did not get the Bacon colorway. I think I'd be so hungry every time I looked at my feet (although it would make a really cool scarf, wouldn't it? BACON SCARF!!!!!!)
Also, this:
770 yards, multi-tonal orange, superwash merino sock yarn for $20. Enough to make socks for both Mike AND me! This was from Fessler Spinning and Weaving, not one of the "big name" yarn sellers but really nice folks from Pennsylvania.
I think that Ellen's Half Pint Farm is the best kept yarn secret there is:
475 yards merino/bamboo/nylon in a gorgeous pinky blue colorway (should I call it SkyBluePink?). I used her merino/bamboo blend last year to make the Fawkes socks, if you recall.
This is 400 yards of merino/nylon and the photo doesn't do it justice. Plus it's the softest shit I bought all weekend.
Y'all know I have the best husband in the world, right? And that sometimes I let him buy stuff for me? Yup, he got me this:
Something about it just spoke to me. I love Burgis Brook Alpacas, and the project sitting on the spindle I linked to earlier is alpaca from them. I think that goes back to 2007, but I'm embarrassed to look.
We got a sheepskin rug for the cats:
Once we realized Ellie would be making bread like crazy on one of these, we knew we had to get one. We did, for $38, and it's pretty darn nice.
I also purchased Hiya Hiya DPNs in US Size 00 and 000, for tiny little projects, and some Addi Turbos in US Size 3, 20" for a current WIP that I don't have photos of, and more cheese than we have had in our fridge for a long long time.
We finally got some deep fried artichokes! At 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, there isn't a long line for them. We didn't get the artichokes french (maybe next year), but the deep fried artichokes were worth the wait! I also finally made it inside the booth for The Fold, which is always super crowded (also less crowded on Sunday morning, once they decided to open, which was probably around 10 a.m.), but I wasn't blown away by it at all, nor was I blown away by the colorways of Socks That Rock that were left. I think I am an Ellen's Half Pint Farm/Holiday Yarns loyalist.
Overall, it was a great time. I went with lower than usual expectations; I don't know why, but I felt like I was setting myself up for some sort of disappointment as far as socializing goes. Maybe it was my own social anxiety getting in my way. As it stands now, I think it was the most fun we have ever had at Rhinebeck. I'm already looking forward to next year!
This is the gorgeous sock yarn I purchased from this etsy vendor last month. I wasn't sure what I wanted to knit with it -- I did look for a pattern called "Angels" because I wanted to call them "Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin" with a rock and roll nod to the Runaways, but alas. I also thought about knitting Monkey, but, to be honest, I don't really like the way really wildly colored yarn looks in that pattern. So I knit up a swatch and let that be the deciding factor.
Hmmm. . . it will knit up in very thin stripes. Aha! A Chevron pattern would be perfect!
So, even though I did knit up some socks in a Chevron pattern before (and they sure were wild), I decided to knit them again, but better.
And the name? It's a reference to Spinal Tap, of course!
I'll leave you with some other pretties -- some vintage knitting, crochet and tatting magazines that I got at a yard sale the other day for a quarter each!
Here are a few that I picked up at Brimfield Antique Fair last month:
I feel so full of fail right now. Not only have a barely blogged this summer (summer? don't you mean YEAR???), but I finished my socks two weeks ago and haven't posted them yet.
I hope to now turn that fail into a WIN!
Gratuitous Ellie shot:
Hopefully I can gain some readers back by posting cute kittie pictures.
It's never not funny when Luciano does this. He looks like a cat skin rug. Or a leaf gecko. I can never decide which one.
He does Pilates too:
And delivers the smackdown to his poor big sister:
The funniest part of that picture? Ellie's face!!! She looks like she's thinking, "Holy shit -- here it comes!" I've seen her give him an unprecedented wallop a couple of times, though.
Last Saturday's brunch was also full of win:
I'd weigh a million pounds if I did that every week. We only go to this diner on the way to one of our hiking spots. For the record, it's the "50s Diner Special", which is 2 eggs any style, choice of 2 meats, home fries, choice of a short stack of pancakes or French toast, and a bottomless cup of coffee for under $9. I've never finished it.
Another win is putting grapes in your cheeks and lips and taking funny photos:
It's really hard to do without cracking up, and thus looking like the Cowardly Lion:
A cute baby, laughing and trying to grab at your camera -- that, too, is full of win:
Okay, so I was going to post about some crazy internet drama (relating to the Yarn Harlot, Ravelry banned members, Sock Summit, stalking, moebius panties, etc.) that is full of fail, but decided to turn my post into one that is full of happy things. So there, drama llamas! :-p
I participated in a swap on the Rubberneckers forum on Ravelry. My swap spoiler, a blogless (afaik) Stanzi, was able to give me my presents in person because she was visiting her sister in Boston for a week!
Here we are at the Dogwood Cafe:
Stanzi looks awesome -- she looks like her! Me, well, I'm a little pasty and puffy looking, making me wonder if I ever look like that? Do I need to lay off the beer and ice cream? I think it's all in my smile -- sometimes a wide smile pushes my cheeks out and makes my eyes disappear. Yes, I've analyzed.
Here's some of the pretties Stanzi gave me:
Mmmmm. . . Sumdrama -- I mean, Sundara Yarns! The Rubberneckers refer to it as "Sumdrama" because of the drama that arises when some people get this yarn that other people think they're entitled to. It's exclusive, you know. This stuff IS gorgeous, and a color that could be in danger if ZMrK decided to pick up the needles.
Lovingly handmade project bag! I love that it's shaped like a ballerina slipper case (well, sort of) and it has a handle to slip over your wrist. I have no idea how to make this style project bag, but I like it.
Two Rubberneckers themed badges, and a cute sheepy zipper pull. Dollipede is something the mods threaten us with when we're bad (if you think that's freaky, don't ask about the Lotus Bewb). And WANK because so much of the drama the Rubberneckers watch is just WANK WANK WANK about [pick a subject: the disagree button, copyright, exclusive yarn, acrylic vs. wool, breastfeeding, politics, and Whatever Wank Hasn't Even Been Thought Of Yet.] If it exists, there will be wank about it.
Some amazingly soft fiber from Hudson Valley Fiber Farm. This stuff rocks. I'm tempted to keep it natural when I spin it, to have some beautiful off-white handspun fiber. I'll probably get dye-happy with it though.
Not pictured: homemade Buckeyes (they were eaten more of less that night), incredible Belgian Waffles from a shop in her hometown (they're awesome warmed and topped with ice cream), BEER from Cleveland! (Burning River!), some Columbus and Ohio related magnets and postcards, and something else that I can't recall right now because it was about two weeks ago. Amazing I remember the Buckeyes and waffles.
I put together a lovely package for my spoilee, Jennatonnix. I included some handmade stitch markers, which I was smart enough to photograph before shipping off:
I also sent her the purple blue and pink sock yarn, second from the left:
Okay. I have to tell you about this etsy seller, Sharing. Yes, that's her Etsy shop name. I ordered three skeins of sock yarn -- the two on the left, and the one on the far right. The second from the right skein, in the autumn colors? She sent that free. As a thank you. I'm not kidding. Oh, and the content? MERINO/CASHMERE.
The Neon Lights in the front came caked (which is good, because I plan on knitting up that stuff SOON). I tried to find a sock pattern called Angel, because I'd like to call them Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin (after the Runaways song of the same name). But, nope! So I may make monkeys.
Speaking of monkeys. . .
Well, he's not a monkey, but he does like yarn a little too much:
We came home from a hike on Friday night to that. Thankfully it only took about 15 minutes to rewind, and thankfully it doesn't appear he ate any, even though he did chew through a couple of spots.
Yarn needs to be locked up now.
Inspired by Stanzi's project bag, I made myself a project bag (to go with my many projects) with some fabric I had a small amount of:
In case you can't see that too well, yes, those are pink kittens:
I used the tutorial at this blog (which I've had bookmarked forever) and added the handle myself. My handle could use some improvement, which I'll work with on bags I make later (because I will).
The other day, after putting on my makeup, I walked into the other room to see this:
Thankfully, the yarn isn't any sort of super-special yarn. It's some sort of acrylic/fake-mohair/blend that I purchased on eBay years ago when I was buying tons of yarn on eBay. I should make something with it, someday, but I'm not 100% certain how many yards I have. I'd say, not enough for a full scarf, but too much for just a hat. Maybe I'll make a neckwarmer and see what's left.
The night before Luciano did this, he got at my wheel and pulled off the unspun fiber hanging off it, running around with blue wool sticking out of his mouth. He did that again this morning. So, the wheel has to be kept in a room with the door shut (which it is anyway, from the days when Ellie used to chew on the band).
Otherwise, he's still a good kitten. Sure, he does try to climb up on us to get certain foods (peanut butter is a favorite of his -- who would have thought that?). The abundance of cat toys in the house really helps us out there, plus Ellie is the ultimate kitten toy.
It's all worth it for shots like this:
Although I think I prefer his "gangstah" pose:
On to knitting -- I do still knit, you know. I finished one of my floral lace anklets:
The Regia Silk is awesome. Have I mentioned that before? It's so soft and luxurious feeling. I want to wear them all the time, yet I'm afraid of wearing them out quickly. That's the rub with socks, I guess. I wore out many pairs this past winter, and can't knit fast enough to make more.
I haven't worked on the Lacy Waves Top since I posted my frustration on the lace insert. I should go ahead and finish it, then see what it looks like post-blocking, but I'm afraid it may fall victim to being the wrong yarn for this project. Le sigh.
I also haven't worked on the Swallowtail Shawl for a while, mostly because of the attention span involved and because of working on lace with a kitten around may be too distracting. I can't work lace at a knitting group -- I just can't talk or listen while doing it without screwing up.
Much of it may be put on the wayside for the South End Knitters' latest group project -- the Annual Knit-a-Thon to benefit the Pine Street Inn! You can learn about the Pine Street Inn's mission here. My page is still a work-in-progress, and I have yet to cast on for my first square, but I set up a page here. I've never done any charity knitting (mostly because I'm not the Fastest Knitter in the West, or the East, or the Northeast even), so I'm a bit nervous about getting anything done. At least I have until November to do it, and it would make a great commuting knitting project. I've been collecting as many afghan square patterns as I can, and one of my friends has a pretty one on her blog. She makes gorgeous patterns as well; I see a different sweater or tanktop on her every time I see her.
