Vogue Knitting, Spring 2007

Welcome back to another round of "What were they thinking?" though my reviews aren't so scathing as usual (sorry if that disappoints anyone). It remains an eternal mystery, why VK can come up with really nice stuff for summer, yet turns out weird, freaky, or inappropriate for the season crap for winter. (Matter of fact, some of this is nice-but-not-seasonal, too.) I confess there are things in this issue I want to knit. So brace yourselves.

But first, before I get into VK, some exerpts from the advertising for you to puzzle over.

From Alchemy yarns:



From Berroco:



And from Decadent Fibers:



Okay. So. The magazine. Articles include one on the Baby Surprise Jacket and variations by Meg Swansen; an article about Koigu and how they do things and their business; an article about necklines from Nicky Epstein; and an article on closures (buttonholes, frogs, toggles, etc). The neckline and closure articles are worth the cost of the magazine, in my opinion. Lots of excellent information on alternatives to the usual stuff. Particularly useful for fixing up this season's crop of patterns with asymmetrical necklines, hems, and openings.

There's a 'season's forecast' photo montage showing what was on the runways for spring. Horrifying, but not Vogue's fault. In that case they're just repeating the news. The new yarn page actually displays the yarns in a way that makes it possible to tell what their structure is for once. Bonus points.

ON TO THE PATTERNS! As usual, words are mine unless in quotes, then they're Vogue's. Patterns referred to by number, not page. Photos are from the Vogue Knitting website. Though one of these days I'm going to scan in ALL the designs for one of these issues... Pretty sure that's legal for 'review purposes'. Haha.


The first section is "Land Ahoy" with nautical themes. (So original.) Lots of navy and white.



1. Short-sleeved cotton tee with stripes and some stranded color. Other than the obvious horizontal stripe problem, it's quite nice, if stupidly modeled. (Shoot the stylist. Please.) The model is wearing high heels with straps up to her knees, bikini bottoms, the sweater, and holding a bag. Oh yes. We go out like that all the time.

2. Mesh beach coverup in "Svale" from Dale of Norway. Useful, seasonal, nice, appropriate fiber... is this a sign of the apocalypse? I'm not wild about the hood, but that's just personal.




3. Red cotton tank. Back shaping so it doesn't just hang. Again, nice. I'm starting to worry.




4. Cabled cardigan. Nice enough, if oversized and boxy. It makes the model look rather large, and you know she's a twig. So I'm not sure it'd be flattering to anyone.




5. Cabled cotton tee with funky shoulder strapping. Lameass styling again - who hangs around in a short-sleeved sweater, bikini bottoms, high heels, jewelry, and sunglasses? I desperately want to knit this for myself and IT DOES NOT COME IN MY SIZE. Either I tweak the pattern, or I knit it and use it to inspire my diet. Thank you Vogue, for thinking size large means a 38 inch/98 cm bust. Assholes.




6. Navy and white cotton V-neck pullover. Nice except for the BIG HONKING NAVY STRIPE AROUND THE WAIST. Because we all need to make our waists look bigger. Though if you knit this and skipped the waist accents, it'd be a nice summer sweater.




7. More navy and white - this one is a double-breasted cardigan with a hood. (I'm not making it up.) What is the deal with hoods in summer?? Am I the only one who thinks it's stupid? At least the sweater has a waist.



Next section: "The Case for Lace" - because we all need convinced to knit lace these days. It's not like it's a sudden new craze or anything. Urgh. My big complaint about this entire section is, ALL THE LACE IS WHITE. Nothing says 'grandma' quite like a big expanse of knitted white lace. Plus it all looks the same.



8. V-Neck lace pullover in, get this, ALPACA SILK BLEND. In summer? Are they INSANE? I don't care if it has holes in it, you'll die of heat stroke.

9. Lace dress that's openwork so that you'd have to wear it over a slip, thereby making you wear two layers in summer and totally defeating the purpose of wearing lace (coolness) to begin with. At least it's knit in cotton, and would be kind of flattering to most figures.




10. Jacket knit in several directions (diagonal fronts, straight back). Also done in cotton. This is probably the pick of the litter if you want to knit some lace for summer, but I just flat-out don't like the lace patterns. For what that's worth.




11. Linen tank. Another one that's so openwork it'd have to be worn over something else, but it would look nice over another tank. And it's linen so it would be cool. Very boxy with no shaping, though.



Next section, "Baby Couture - Crib notes for chic heirlooms from four real grownups." Uh huh. As opposed to fake grownups?


12. Blanket and pillow cover out of alpaca/silk/cashmere blend. Cleaning that should be a treat when the baby pukes on it.




13. Simple baby cardigans in baby cashmerino. Nice. By Debbie Bliss. Go figure.

14. Jumpsuit. It's really beyond description, but the closest I can get is, it looks like a garden threw up on a simple white cableknit. Maybe it would be okay if you left off all the frills. Maybe.



15. Another simple baby cardigan, this one with floral embroidery. Done in, amazingly, SUPERWASH WOOL. Amazing. Pretty and useful. Wow.



Next section, "The Paper Chase". Officewear for summer. "Professional panache at its most newsworthy". The photo shoot is in a small room wallpapered with newspapers. One of the lamer themes from VK. (Though it still doesn't beat the packing crates from last year.) The model is anorexic and the photographer took every photo with her head at the exact same angle, so the photos drive you batshit even when the styles aren't too bad.

16. Sideways-knit cardigan thingie. I like it, and it's nice, but it's very slouchy and casual. They tried to dress it up with a funky (humongous) belt, but it still isn't something I'd wear as formal officewear. It's more along the lines of the sweater you keep in your cubicle.

17. A wearable suit. If you're anorexic. The style's fine. It's knitted skirts that make me wonder.

18. Seed stitch vest thingie. Nice, but I'd knit it in silk or alpaca and wear it in winter over a turtleneck. No one needs an extra layer in summer, for crying out loud. And if they DO, it needs sleeves. No idea what it's doing in the warm weather issue.




19. Short-sleeved cardigan thingie with waist shaping. Ditto above on if you need another layer, it needs sleeves. But nice enough.




20. Knitted dress. Anorexic model who still looks pregnant in it. Lameass pose. I need not go on.




21. Sideways-knit tank with a cable across the shoulders. This'd make a nice summer knit for someone looking for something fast and easy. And it comes in plus sizes - probably all the way up to a forty inch bust! oo!



"The Easy Life." Six 'very easy, very vogue' patterns for summer.

22. Halter. Nice if you have no boobs. I actually like it. I just wish I were 15 with no boobs again because that's about the only time in my life I could have worn it without getting arrested.




23. Knit dress. This is my favorite of the whole magazine. It's in horizontal stripes of bright colors, makes the model's butt look two feet wide, and the model is PISSED. She hates that dress. Look at that smile. That smile says "Snap this picture, motherfucker, so I can get the hell out of this." Ahahahaha. You can't beat entertainment like this.

24. Boat-neck sweater. Horizontal strips again, and not something I'd wear in summer. Even though it's cotton, it's thick and heavy.




25. Poncho-cape-beach coverup-thingie. I love this except it's knit in CASHMERE. Who can afford that much square footage in cashmere, and if you could, would you take it to the BEACH??!!?? It'd be really nice in a wool/cotton blend, though.




26. Bathrobe. It's a fucking bathrobe. Brandon Mably once again rides on the coattails of Kaffe Fassett and designs something totally unflattering. The model has got to be a twig, and she looks like she's huge. And it's knit sideways, which means it will grow until the sleeves drag on the floor.

27. Raglan crop-top. Nice, and if we added some inches to the bottom, most of us would even wear it. Though what's with long sleeves and a cropped belly? Am I the only one who thinks that looks stupid, like wearing a hat with shorts and sandals?



"Designer Allure". This is where they get four designers (only one of whom I've heard of) to do sweaters.

28. Lacey short-sleeved cardigan, knit in bulky yarn with horizontal strips. Bad in too many ways to count. The model doesn't look thrilled with it, either.




29. Crocheted lavender cardigan with 3/4 length sleeves and dorky bows. IT ISN'T VOGUE CROCHET, ASSHOLES!




30. Cardigan that I think was supposed to have an Elizabethan line to it and instead makes the model look pregnant. This would be flattering to plus sizes - but oh, yeah, IT DOESN'T COME IN PLUS SIZES. Assholes.




31. Cardigan - in cashmere/silk blend, haha - with short sleeves that have no finishing. It looks like someone took a nice cardigan and chopped the sleeves off it. And the cashmere/silk for summer sounds like heat stroke to me.



And that's it. We got short-changed another couple articles this time around.

Much though I hate to admit it, I think this issue is worth buying. The articles are worth it, and there's one or two knittable/wearable things in here for everybody. Even if you do wind up wearing them in winter.

What is your malfunction?

So I'm taking a nap today (lately, when The Baby sleeps, I sleep) and the phone rings. I hear the husbeast answer it, tell them they have a wrong number, and hang up. I'm about half awake, but I continue just laying there.

A while later, the phone rings again. The husbeast gets it (we have caller ID), snarles "It's still a wrong number" into the phone, and hangs up. (He gets cranky about people disturbing his womenfolk.) I wake up and eventually roll out of bed and start pulling myself together.

While I'm dressing, I hear the phone ring, AGAIN. The husbeast snatches it up and says "What is your malfunction?" into the phone. There's a pause. Then he nearly shouts "I am not calling you, YOU ARE CALLING ME." and hangs up. He turns to see me standing there snickering and says "I'd cuss them out, but it's a little old lady." I snickered some more.

He's taken off to run some errands (The Baby is still asleep). I'm wondering just what I should do if the wrong number calls back again. I'm thinking, order a pizza.

Great Moments in Parenting.

1. Last night as I was cuddling my little goober before bed time, I realized she had dried peanutbutter on her eyelid. No idea how long it was there. Scraping it off without permantly blinding her OR duct-taping her up like a hobbit run afoul of a giant spider was quite a trick.

2. We forced the baby to walk into the grocery store. It took ten minutes.

3. I made sure she ate before we went to the grocery store because she tends to see all that food and howl for it. So she ate first. She howled anyway. Carried on like we were tearing her fingers off. Open-mouthed, take-a-deep-breath HOWLS. AAAAAAAAH! People stared. I hate that.

4. We forced the baby to walk out of the grocery store. It took another ten minutes. Cars had to stop and wait for minutes before they could park.

5. She spotted the Teddy Grahams on the way home and howled the whole way.

6. She is now eating Teddy Grahams for dinner. I suck. I'm tired. I almost don't care.



Next we go back out for more shopping. The Crock-Pot, showing it's obnoxious contrariness to the last, has finally up and died at the most inconvenient moment. Of course.

Spring, sleeves, and evil cats.

The promise of spring that erupted with the pollen count has finally paid off. It's lovely outside; low humidity, 78 degrees, light breeze, low humidity. (In the 'Low Country' - swamp - where I am, this lasts for approximately five minutes, then we are hit with crippling humidity, high temperatures, and mosquitos until October.) I've got all the windows open, the ceiling fans on, and am admiring the flowers. I should get a photo of those flowers...

In between sighing happily out the window, wrestling The Baby, and trying to keep the cat from falling through the screens, I've gone back to this:

Yup. Second sleeve. I hadn't touched it in literally a month, but fortunately I'd left it in a place where I could figure out what was going on. Not only do I need to get this done for the steek-along so that I can use photos of knitting it to tell YOU how to knit it, I try to work on only one sweater at a time, and this is the one sweater. I desperately want to finish it so I can start on something else. (Like a new design to sell, or the Snug pattern for winter Knitty.)

Anyway, after about a half hour of trying to figure out what I was doing, and a half hour of knitting (and a half hour of chatting on the phone), I've got this:



The husbeast, amused at SekhmetYouFucker the other night, snapped another photo for your enjoyment - me trying to use my laptop.



Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go make up a grocery list, and keep on knitting. (Though I'll probably wind up playing Civ4.)

Speaking of books...

Would you guys be interested in me making a couple lists of books, like books suggested for beginners, books suggested for people thinking about design, people interested in XYZ, and then linking to them in the sidebar?

Another book.

I forgot one yesterday, and I'm in a pollen-induced coma (as opposed to a drug-induced coma), so we'll go with that today.



"Andean Inspired Knits" by Helen Hamann.

This is a potentially fantastic book that I feel was knocked back to the simply okay level by some bad design and finishing choices.

It's got a whole lotta cultural information (for a knitting book), history of the Andean region, the Inca, etc. It's got pictures of textiles that inspired the knits, and the link between design and inspiration is very cool - she definitely uses the ideas, but doesn't slavishly copy the originals.

Unfortunately she seems to have this fixation for asymetric and downright goofy necklines and cardigan openings. My reaction to half the designs in the book seems to be "That's cool, but I'd have to change _____." (Fill in the blank, usually with 'neck' or 'weird front opening'.) There are a lot of really nice techniques and unusual-but-good construction methods, and it's sad that some of these designs will probably never get knit due to the funky fronts. The colors also leave something to be desired in a few cases -- she sticks with colors inspired by the original vegetable dyes, but if we're doing 'inspired by', can't we branch out a bit?? It's not like the Inca ever knit anyway and historical accuracy is out the door, so couldn't we at least see some swatches of other color suggestions?

Still, there are a few designs that are great as-is. I think I found my mother-in-law's Christmas sweater for this year - though I'd do it in different colors. (And it's on size sevens, not size ones like last year's insanity.) I think there's a jacket in there that would be fine, too, if the collar is simply left off entirely. I suspect I will also be using the schematics as a starting place for some of my own designs - she's good at hitting a balance between capturing knitting's great potential for drape, without it looking like you're wearing a sack.

Bottom line, if you don't mind changing around patterns (and don't feel you've been ripped off by the designer when you do it), you might like this book. If you're interested in South American textils, there are other books that are better on the subject, but the information that is here, is good. Otherwise, don't bother.



Oh. And I updated the shop. Someone already made off with the Mermaid Tail and the Easter Egg Rainbow, so don't swear at me.

Book Blog!

It has VERY belatedly occurred to me that I should have named my blog "Books and Yarn" or "Books and Knitting" or somesuch (although someone else has probably named their blog that already) instead of naming it after a Saturday Night Live skit and my own bad attitude. I've gotten so many questions about the title that I changed the header caption from something about the Baby, the Husbeast, Sekhmet, and knitting, to what we have now about the Samurai Deli. I'm about to change it again to "FROM THE JOHN BELUSHI SKIT!" I think the real problem is that too few of the Younger Generation have watched vintage SNL to get the joke. (One of my major complaints, all my life, is that too few people get my jokes.)

Oh. And I'm on drugs again and babbling. Bet you'd never have guessed.

After a rather extensive YouTube search, I've only found one bit on Belushi's Samurai character, here. It starts at about 5:25 into the piece.


Anyway. Books. I was gonna talk about books today. Why don't I do that?

Our first contestant, "Creating Original Hand-Knitted Lace" by Margaret Stove. This is the book I got Monday, and I'm STILL deciding if I like it or not. From a technical viewpoint it's very useful. Lots of exercises on learning to knit lace and how it 'works' and all that. I think my problem with it is, it's more basic than what I was looking for. I wanted math and discussion on how to fit dozens of vastly different gauges into one piece. What this is, is how to pick up dropped stitches and repair tears. That doesn't make it a bad book; it's an excellent book on the topic of basic lace knitting. It just wasn't what I was looking for. I've got to say, though, the "Sea Spray and Scallop Shells" shawl has got to be one of the most outragous lace pieces I've ever seen, up there with any wedding ring shawl. There's also a nice bit on the history of lace knitting in the front. And to be totally honest and nitpick at details, I didn't much like the actual writing. The grammar was pretty rough and the writer in me was bothered.

Still can't decide if I like it or not.



Okay, on to the next.

"No Sheep for You" by Amy Singer.

The information portion of this book is great. Lots of stuff on non-wool fibers, including the most useful and comprehensive listing I've ever seen of the new 'processed organics' as I think of them - Soy silk, Sea Silk, corn, bamboo, lyocell, and the original rayon. There's also an unbiased and honest discussion of synthetics. There are charts telling you what these fibers will and won't do - stretch, shrink, block, etc. Also good general info on how to do 'wool effects' with non-wools - cable knitting, color, warmth. All excellent information, particularly if you're into designing or substituting yarns. (Do ANY of us knit patterns with the suggested yarns, any more? Did we ever?)

The patterns are kind of eh. (I submitted two patterns for this book and both were turned down. It is entirely possible this next section is just sour grapes, but I've thought about it and I really don't think so. But I'll be honest and include this information up front.) The patterns seem to have been chosen as much because Amy liked them as because they illustrated the broad versitility of all these available fibers. That's kind of a bummer, 'cause some of these fibers really are awesome.

There are the obligatory cotton cableknit, color cardigan, and cotton blend jackets and sweaters. There's a linen (aka flax) tank. There's a silk hat, a shawl, and a sweater. A hemp pullover. A silk bathrobe (! I'd kill to be able to afford to knit this). Information and two patterns on knitting cotton socks (very useful to all of us who wear socks in summer.) But other than the shawl, there's no LACE. Where's the openwork cotton or linen pullover for summer? Am I the only one who wears those all the time? To me that's THE plant fiber summer knitwear, and there's nothing in there. What about a long, loose tunic? Another summer classic, and it could be knit in just about any of these fibers.

Ah well. Tastes differ, and the actual INFORMATION in the book makes it worth buying. And I think I'm gonna adapt the cotton cable-knit to wool, and make it for my father-in-law for Christmas. There's definitely knitable, wearable stuff in there. It's just not what I'd have chosen. (Gee. It's not my book. Go figure.)



I think the best thing of both these books is the web site I found while researching them: WWW.LACIS.COM I am probably the last lace knitter on the planet to have found this site, but I am swooning with joy. They do mail-order books. They're more geared to costuming than lace knitting per se, but they ARE the publisher of the first book reviews, the knitted lace design book, so they DO knitted lace. It's just not their only thing. Their books are diverse, interesting, and AFFORDABLE. They do mail-order. I'm going to go broke.



A QUICK DYE QUESTION/ANSWER:

There have been several questions about colorfastness with food coloring. With normal wear and reasonable washing (I make no promises if you throw in bleach), it's colorfast. I did some test-felting and lost a bit of color in the red/pink range, but that was when I ran it through my washing machine on super-hot, heavy-duty for fifteen minutes with extra soap. Something a little less extreme will probably felt without the color loss. Some of the reds will probably fade in light, if left laying out in the sun for days at a time.

So the answer, in non-babble, is yes: they're colorfast.


Maybe I'll go babble at the cat now until the baby wakes up from her nap.

Babblebabblebabble.

What is it with Google lately?

Some poor schlep just googled "Sekhmet" and landed on my umpteen "Sekhmet you fucker" posts. I'd pay a lot to know what went through their heads.

It's been a Monday all week long.

The book review is on hold until tomorrow; I'm still reading it and deciding if I like it or not. It's certainly NOT what I was expecting, but that may not be a bad thing. I haven't decided.


The Baby has had this toy, a little drum from LeapFrog that does letters and numbers in LED lights when you pat the top. After her discovery of drumming yesterday morning, it has become her favorite toy.

(Note the disgusted cat in the left foreground.) I swear my child has not been in the same purple pajamas for four days. Just about, but it only seems that way in the photos. At the moment she is wearing something else. Honest. Anyway, here the Baby says "Ooooh. Flashing lights." Best. Photo. Ever. Kudos to the husbeast for snapping it at just the right moment. (Note disgusted cat in left foreground.)




Top five things said while dyeing yarn:

1. I wonder if this is hot enou-ow.
2. GET AWAY FROM THAT! (Shouted at husbands, children, and cats.)
3. Why isn't this working?
4. Maybe it'll look better when it's dry.
5. Damn.



FOUR blog posts yesterday. I don't know what to say. I'm blaming it all on cold medicine and pain drugs. In fact, I'm gonna go take some more. So look out.

Last post tonight, I swear.

But I was just looking over my stats and some poor bastard got dumped to this blog when he did a Google search on strip bars in Daytona Florida.

Ahahahahahaha.

Dye questions.

Hey, gang. I've been getting a good many questions on dyeing, and I'm happy to answer them all (well, mostly all, a girl has to keep a few commercial secrets going, you know... the secret of the Purple Trainwreck will go with me to my grave). I've been answering them in the comments if the questions are posted there, or answering by e-mail if asked there. If you can include your e-mail addy with your questions in the comments, I can e-mail you the answers, if you like.

If you 'spell out' your e-mail address - for instance, mine would be JTheaker AT sc DOT rr DOT com, then programs can't skim it and use it to spam you with mail on how to enlarge your penis.

Or you can just check back to the comments a dozen times until I get to your comment and answer it. Just trying to make things easier. If anyone has a better idea, let me know.

Gross Commercialism.

There were questions. Honest. I'm trying to keep the business part of the shop (as opposed to 'Hey, look, cool yarn!' photos) to a minimum since this is supposed to be an area of fun and idea sharing, not filthy lucre. But THERE WERE QUESTIONS!

I normally only do sock weight (still experimenting with superwash, Peruvian Mystery Sheep, and Merino, so they vary), and a bit of Merino lace weight. Occasionally, worsted weight sneaks in because I like to experiment with it. If you're interested in any weight, up to bulky, or any other kind of animal fiber like alpaca or silk or whatever, e-mail me and we'll discuss cost and such. (In fact I'm looking for a good source for alpaca yarn to dye - anybody got any ideas?) Don't be bashful. I like doing special orders because they're ideas I wouldn't have otherwise, and I try to kep costs down and will do shipping for free to blog readers.

These days I'm going to post yarn to my shop as I finish it, but I have to print out some more labels, so it's likely the Easter Egg and Mermaid Tail (and another two-stripe wonder I'm calling 'Zoomie') will get posted tomorrow. Unfortunately, the other eight tons of yarn I've dyed in the last two days is already spoken for. (At least for now. Special orders get a month to pay for them, then I put them in the shop.)

Thank you, and back to our regularly scheduled knitting, bitching, and book discussions. (I got an interesting book in the mail today.... we'll talk tomorrow. Heeheehee.)

Hey! What's that?

Could it be.... A SOCK?

YES! I have finally finished the damned SOCK! (And now we know what the single-color dip-dyes look like when knit up!) The best part of all is, my kitchen scale says that the sock weighs 22g and the ball of remaining yarn (to the left of my toe)weighs 23g. So I can knit another one! Eeeee! A pair of socks!

I'm so excited I might post the pattern. 'Cause obviously it's so complicated.


The Easter Egg Rainbow is done.

I screwed up when I dyed it, so the pink part is longer than any of the others. It will probably knit up with a pink stripe, then a rainbow-jumble stripe about twice as wide as the pink, then another pink stripe. I really, really want to keep this for myself.


There's Mermaid Tail soaking in my sink, and skeins of yarn hanging everywhere to dry... I kinda like it. Feels all arty.

Tomorrow, a pink dip-dye. Like the aqua sock, only pink.

But for today, I'm gonna work on my scarf. And maybe the arm of the steeked jacket. Can't have you guys getting past me. (Especially since I need to knit ahead to have examples to show you for directions.)

Oh. And The Baby has learned to play the drums on her high chair. I imagine it will get old, FAST, but for now, it's cute.

Resolution, schmesolution.

I swore I would not dye yarn on weekends.

Mostly that was to give myself a break during the week, but since I'm coming off a vacation and being sick, to hell with it. I dyed yarn.

I also thought I was only going to post yarn once a month to my etsy shop, but bugger that. I'm going to post it as I finish it. Unfortunately most of the lot shown above is special order. But there is one thing you guys can look forward to:

Easter egg rainbow.

Done entirely with kid's Easter egg dye in the little pellets (I'm now gleefully anticipating the after-Easter sales - a skein's worth of dye for a buck? I'm all over it). I'd like it more if I didn't know it took eight hours to produce. But the colors are turning out really nice. In part they're soofuckingbright because I'm adding vinegar in an attempt to SPEED UP THE DAMN DIP-DYE PROCESS. But that's okay. Bright is good.

The sock is still ALMOST done. But I don't think there will be enough yarn for a second sock. Boo.

Tomorrow's entertainment? Experimental dyeing with food, Mermaid Tail, and another special order. AND MAYBE I'LL FINISH THE BLEEDING SOCK.

Saturday. Pollen and yarn and stoned cats.

I don't have much to say, because I've been asleep for three days. Even if I was walking around, I swear, I was asleep. Allergies make me drowsy. What am I allergic to, you ask? Tree pollen. A SHITLOAD of tree pollen. So much pollen, that when it rained yesterday, I went out and took a picture because I knew no one would believe me, otherwise:

See the yellow-green scum on the water, and the bright white line of it along the edge? That's pine tree pollen. I'm not kidding. It rained and washed the stuff off every surface, turning the storm drains all over town yellow.

Allergies make me drowsy, and I've been sleeping off and on. I assume it affects The Baby the same way, because she's been doing the same thing. Last night she fell asleep in her high chair with a grilled cheese sandwich in her hand.


Sekhmet, whose nose is so stuffed up you can hear it whistling as she breathes, has decided to deal with things differently. She's gonna stay stoned.

That's a catnip toy in front of her. She's been sleeping with her chin on it. Stoner kitty.


I'm about twenty rounds away from finishing the blue dip-dye example sock. Then it's back to the Steeked Jacket. With the half-round shawl for interest. I'd show a picture, but it's just a half knit sock, same as last week but longer.

A nap sure sounds good.

I live for deadlines.

Not.

I got the Knitty article turned in with forty-five whole minutes to spare last night; I think I finished up the swatch-blocking and photography at eleven. Usually I have my stuff in early, so hopefully Amy won't decide I'm a total nutcase from this. (Just a partial nutcase... she's read my articles, after all.)



Having gotten all THAT straightened out, I crawled off to bed; the husbeast had already been asleep about an hour when I fell face-down beside him. I'd been there maybe five minutes when the cat hopped up on the bed. She waited for me to lift the covers like I always do, so that she could wriggle under them and snuggle in. Being exhausted, I didn't.

So the cat walked up over me, stood on my back, leaned down so her face was next to my ear, and said "purrpurrpurrMROWFpurrpurr."

I didn't respond, but I was laughing and it was bouncing her up and down, so I figure the damn cat knew I was awake. She tried again. "purrpurrpurrpurrpurrMROWFpurrrrrr".

The husbeast muttered "fucker" in his sleep and rolled over violently, taking the covers with him and nearly knocking the cat over.

She gave up and went to sleep on my feet. My ankles hurt today.

Sekhmet, you fucker.




Now I have to clear out my house, find something for dinner, and run to the store to get shampoo (I'm out) so I can shower, all before the in-laws get here in.... three hours. Shoot me. Shoot me now.



Here. Have a lace photo to drool over. It's the Half-Round shawl from "Victorian Lace Today" that I'm still working on.

Sekhmet, you fucker.

I wouldn't mind so much but she's been like this for THREE. DAYS. Since I got home from Florida. If I sit still for more than five minutes, bam. She's on me. Like lint.

I'm taking time off from swatch two to whine. Then I'm going to get everything put together for the Knitty article, take a bath, do one last proof-read, and fire it off. Then I'll worry about the next crisis. The husbeast asked tonight, do I realize tomorrow's Friday and his parents are stopping tomorrow night on their way through?

Yes. I do. Sigh.

Instead of knitting all evening, I allowed myself to be talked into going out to eat, and going shopping. I'm all geared up to dye all weekend! (So much for that 'take weekends off' vow. Screw it.)

That's enough dye for about two dozen socks' worth of yarn. And I got stuff to make... EASTER SOCKS!



I put The Baby to bed an hour and a half ago. She's still jumping up and down. It looks like this.

Goddamn, that's a cute kid. Off to knit some more. Sigh. I wish it were my shawl.

Best gadget EVER.

These. I spent a while today sorting out needles and putting them in neat little bundles.

Okay. So rubber bands work as well. But they aren't CUTE like these are. And they're expensive, but I didn't pay full price for the ones I got.

Don't ruin it for me.



The yarn just got here for the special orders so those might not get mailed out until Monday, SO sorry. And right now I've got to go knit two lace swatches, fast, for the Knitty article I suddenly remembered is due by midnight. Tonight.

Let's talk books, shall we?

We all know, the only thing I like as much as knitting and reading, is talking about knitting and books. Talking about knitting books is double the fun. (Okay, I might like chocolate as much as books. Maybe.)

Rae came up with this little meme thingie, and it got me thinking, and I'm rather horrified by some of these answers, but I figure my answers are good for some laughs.

1. What is your favorite pattern book?
As always, narrowing it down to one is hard, but probably "Norsk Strikke Design", since I want to knit almost all the sweaters in the book.

2. What is your favorite technique book?
"The Principles of Knitting" by June Hemmons-Hyatt. Unfortunately it's out of print and selling for outragous amounts on line ($200-$500 USD).

3. What classic technique book should every knitter own?
I'd love to suggest "Principles" but that's insane. Vogue Knitting's technique book isn't bad. I'm still looking at technique books, trying to find one I like enough to suggest to other knitters. I need to find the XRX book in a book store so I can leaf through it.

4. How many knitting books do you typically buy in a year?
This was the part that horrified me. I thought, "Well, two a month would be... twenty-four. Shit." and honestly, it's probably more like fifty. Though I've only been buying knitting books like this for the last year or two, when I noticed all these new, GOOD books coming out.

Tag, you're all it. I'm curious to see what everyone else thinks. (And I'm sure Rae is too or she wouldn't have started this.)



I've had a few business ideas I thought I'd run past my Beloved Readers:

First, would anyone be interested in dyed roving? I THINK I've got a way I can do dip-dyed roving or sliver. Would anyone be interested? (This is something that wouldn't happen for a while, but any thoughts are welcome.)

Second, would there be a market for custom knitting patterns? Mail me a swatch you knit in the yarn you want, with the needles you want, with measurements and a drawing of the sweater you want to knit, and for $20 (or something) I'd write up a pattern and mail it back? Would that be cool, or is it a useless service?


Oh, and for those of you leaving comments through the month, and not just on the contest post, you might get entered more than once. I don't plan to do that, but your odds go up, the more comments you leave. Hahaha. Just sayin'.

The vacation in photos.

Not that I was around for much of it... I was asleep. The in-laws are stopping here Friday on their way from All Points South to All Points North and I will attempt to skim the photos off my father-in-law's camera while they're here. They always get the best shots of The Baby (probably because they're willing to snap ten thousand photos and I lose patience after a couple funny ones).

Where we stay is an apartment that's been in the husbeast's family for a while now. In fact, we stopped there on our way to and from Key West, on our honeymoon, so the place has good memories for us. It's right on the Atlantic,

with the Intercoastal Waterway running behind it.

The area has been a resort for about a hundred years, give or take, but has avoided becoming overdeveloped. About twenty years ago, two high rises were built (the one in the photo, and the one I was standing in to take the photo). Soon after people realized that wasn't a good idea and passed building codes to keep any more from being built. So it's a lovely area of little cottages and small motels and the occasional mansion.

Every spring, the town to the south, Daytona, holds something called Bike Week, during which bikers from all over the country, Canada, and even overseas, come to party and ride around and see and be seen. Estimates this year said there were about half a million bikers there. (Yes. Half a million.) It's quite a destination event. We wound up there kind of by accident. The in-laws were there for the month of March and this was just the time that worked out for us to go down to visit.

The husbeast went to work Monday, and had a conversation something like this:
"What did you do this weekend?"
"Went to Daytona for Bike Week."
"Bastard. How'd you find a room?"
"The family owns an apartment there."
"BASTARD!"

...so, anyway, we bought tee shirts and all that stuff. Here's a photo of a motorcycle the husbeast took, so you can feel a part of things.


The plants were starting to bloom,

pretty sure that's oleander.

And The Baby spent most of her time in the pool:




When I was awake, I worked on the shawl.


Still no sign of the new yarn OR the swift. I'm starting to get irritated.

Possible Dolores sighting.

I downloaded the camera and this is certainly the most interesting of the lot. I'm almost POSITIVE that was Dolores I saw ducking into that strip bar. You have to zoom in to really see it. I added the red arrow to help you out.

Driving on Interstate 95.

"Ever notice that anyone who drives faster than you is a maniac, and anyone who drives slower than you is an idiot?"
-George Carlin (I'm sure I don't have it word perfect, but it's his sentiment, for sure)


So I drove home today. Most of the trip (four hours of a five hour trip) is on I-95 from Flagler Beach in Florida to Walterboro in South Carolina. For those living outside the US, on the West Coast, or under a rock, allow me to explain a bit about I-95.

I-95 runs from the Canadian/US border in Maine to Miami, Florida. It runs through, or near, most of the large cities on the East Coast (Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington DC, Richmond, Jacksonville, Miami) and is three or more lanes wide for most of the trip, with speed limits set from 55 to 70 miles per hour (70 in the south; they don't fool around). Notice the gap between Richmond VA and Jacksonville FLA. There's two and a half states of nothing in there, nothing but empty space full of people trying to get from Somewhere North to The Beaches In Florida. So, needless to say, the speed limits aren't terribly well respected, or enforced, or paid attention to. (When the husbeast drove down last weekend I asked him how fast he drove. He said "I couldn't tell. The speedometer only goes to 85." but he was going the speed of traffic. To go slower means getting rear-ended.)

Ah, but that's not the interesting part. I-95 dead-ends in Miami, dumping out the few travelers left onto State Route One down into the Florida Keys. Miami and the Keys are the #1 drug importation route of the East Coast; small boats run in all sorts of things from the Caribbean (in Key West, you are in fact closer to Cuba than you are to the mainland USA). From there the illegal drugs are transferred to cars and, you guessed it, driven up I-95 to all points north, including all those drug-hungry cities. So to say this interstate is heavily patrolled is a great understatement.

I have heard tell, FROM ONE OF THE COPS INVOLVED, that an alert once went out to pick up a drug-runner of a certain description driving a certain car. So they saw a car driven by a person meeting all the criteria, pulled it over, jerked him out and flung him face down on the ground and handcuffed him. (The poor driver was going "What? WHAT??" the entire time.) After drug dogs went over the car, they realized THEY HAD THE WRONG GUY. So the cops pulled him up, brushed him off and uncuffed him and said basically "Dude, we're soooo sorry." The cop who told me this was still marveling that the guy hadn't sued.

So it's strange, to me, to go winging past cops at 85 mph - the same speed everyone else is going - and not have them bat an eye, while all the time I know if an alert goes out for a white Jeep driven by a dark-haired chick, I'm doomed no matter what speed I'm going. (The odds are slim, but still.)

At any rate, I made it home in one piece. So did The Baby. I'll be posting photos as soon as I find the camera.

The cat's been laying on me for three hours now; when I move she just follows me and jumps back up.

Oh, and whoever came up with the idea of cops using unmarked mini-vans in Florida? That was REALLY mean.

Overheard, on the phone.

I'm talking to the husbeast tonight (he's at home and I'm still in Florida until tomorrow). At one point he yells, I kid you not:

"Sekhmet, you fucker!"
Meow of outrage in return.
"I don't CARE what you want, she's not home until tomorrow."
Another outraged meow.


The world domination plan is moving ahead without a hitch.

Oh, and some fiber content.

Being on vacation has inspired me. I've got the knitting mojo back - I'm enjoying it again after a couple weeks' worth of simply slogging away at projects. And the colors here have inspired me with ideas for new yarns when I get home. I'm looking forward to home, in fact, so that I can fire up the dye pot and get back to work.

Among other ideas, here are some planned color scheme names for you to wonder about:
Citrus Grove
Lightning
Beach
Easter
Bike Week


And for those of you patiently waiting for special orders (bless you every one, and thank you for your patience), I should have them done and in the mail by Friday, unless something goes horribly wrong with my yarn order.

Oh. And I think I spotted Dolores at a strip bar down in Daytona, with a bunch of bikers.

Don't ask what I was doing in a strip bar.

I'll never complain about my kid again.

...I'm sure that resolution won't last until Friday, but great googly-moogly, there are some rotten kids in the world.

Saturday night we went to Billy's for dinner. Even though it calls itself a tap room, and does have a bar, it is in fact a restaurant with a chef and excellent service and filet mignon on the menu. (Filet mignogn au poivre. Mmmmm.) It is located next to John D Rockefeller's old summer house, to give you an idea of neighborhood. (And has been around long enough for ol' Johnny to have stopped in for dinner now and then.) When we arrived, we were put in The Kid Room (you know, the room in back where they chuck potential problem customers), which seemed unfair because OUR kid is pretty good in public. But then, they can't know that.

The other kids that were there. Oh. My. Goodness. There were six kids to four adults at a large table in the corner. The kids threw food - AND DISHES - on the floor. Then they threw themselves on the floor and rolled in it. There was one kid in a high chair (the rest were from ages two to eight) who SCREAMED non stop, while it's mother sat and drank two bottles of wine and ignored it. And while I'm no Emily Post, I was completely floored when one of the parents took the cloth napkins and TIED THEM ON THE KID'S HEADS SO THEY COULD BE PIRATES. What in the FUCK??!!??

Meanwhile, my little one was calmly working her way through the shrimp salad and squealing (with a pointy finger extended) when she wanted a drink of milk. She also liked the cheesecake. If I didn't feed her fast enough she'd open her mouth and go 'aaaaah'. Very funny.

After nearly an hour of this... this... rampage of bad manners, they all got up and left. The one father said to the room at large "We'll get out of your hair now." while LAUGHING.

To which the husbeast replied, loudly, "ASSHOLE."

Everyone else in the room kind of went "Yeah. What the husbeast said." (There is a reason he is known as the husbeast.)

There was a group of little old ladies in the corner who applauded as the kids walked out.

Why do people like that have children in the first place, when they do nothing but ignore them? I don't get it.

The duct tape thing.

I'm afraid the story isn't nearly as good as the ones your imaginations have cooked up, but here you go.

Thursday night/Friday morning, the baby woke up at 1:30 am and whined hourly thereafter. I didn't sleep much and eventually got her up at seven and fed her, etc. I was dreaming of sending her off with her grandparents while I got a nap in. They were going to go to the pool, so I got The Baby all dressed in her swimsuit and was about ready to load her up when she peed all over the bed. So even though I got her out of the apartment, I had to nap on the couch that's too short for me and it didn't go very well.

I don't know what I planned on taping up, even. Just that I wanted her immobilized and quiet.


Needless to say she's fine now. Spent most of yesterday sleeping off her whining fit, and just got back from a restaurant where she charmed everybody and was a good little kid. She even ate green beans. (Though she preferred the Bailey's Irish Creme cheesecake, just like her ol' mum.)


This trip to Florida seems to have recovered my knitting mojo; I'm really enjoying the shawl and not loathing the sock. When I get home I plan to finish the steeked jacket once and for all.

Hope everyone else is having a lovely weekend.

Duct tape.

Duct tape is the answer to all parenting questions.

If it isn't, it damn well should be.

Friday in Florida.

And I'm sick, probably from these stupid drugs. (Beats pneumonia. Keep telling me.) On my way out of town Wednesday, the doctor I'd seen at the doc in the box on MONDAY actually called to see how I was feeling! I must have been sicker than I thought. Haha.

There was a question in the comments about the dye article. To paraphrase, am I using the Wilton's icing colors that have sugar in them? Yes, I am. That's one of the reasons I'm dissolving them in hot water first. There isn't enough sugar to be noticeable, that I've found. No stickiness, etc. I'm half-heartedly looking for a restaurant supply place in my town that sells regular old food coloring dyes by the pint, but so far, no luck. (In an ideal world, I'd be able to buy blue 3, red 5, or whatever, in an un-messed-with state, but for some reason it doesn't seem to work that way.) I'm also going to try the airbrush food colorants soon, the ones used by cake decorators. I'll keep y'all posted as the experiments unfold.

I'm still working on the shawl and the blue dip-dyed sock. I've begun reading while working on the shawl and have only screwed up once (I either dropped a yarnover or never made it in the first place). I had this conversation with my mother-in-law yesterday while we were both knitting:
Me: "Darn it, I can't find the mistake!"
Her: "Maybe it's perfect. You do that."
Me: "It can't be perfect, there's a stitch missing."
Her: "Heeheehee."

I've done nothing but sleep, eat, and knit since I got here. The in-laws are watching the baby during naps and otherwise keeping her entertained; at the moment she's out for a walk with grandpa. It's awesome. Whoever thinks the dad/mom/2.5 kids family plan is ideal, is full of shit. Extended family is where it's at.

Today I order yarn, so it's waiting for me to dye when I get home. Is there anything better than buying yarn while on vacation? I don't think so.

Welcome, Knitty readers!

Hope you enjoyed my article. A quick review of what's going on: We're in the middle of a steek-along (details in the sidebar, click on the button at the bottom) and I'm knitting the half-round shawl from "Victorian Lace Today" and a sock. And a sweater. And, let's not get into any more unfinished stuff I've got sitting around. Oh. And I'm in Florida, due back at the homestead next week. (Isn't the internet COOL?)

Did someone say contest?

Leave a comment saying hello, and at the end of the month I will pull a name out of a hat (or maybe let The Baby pull a name) and the winner gets the three skeins of yarn featured in my Knitty article!

EDITED TO ADD: Of course long-time readers will be entered. As if I would neglect you! And I'll take names from now to the end of the month, so you don't HAVE to post a comment right here on this particular entry. (Though at the moment it's the only place to leave a comment...)

And yes, I'll get The Baby to pick the name. Heehee.

Leaving.

In a Jeep, not a jet plane.

Everything's packed and we're heading out. I'll be doing some remote blogging, but not a lot, so don't think I'm dead or anything. Brace for an innundation of new readers when Knitty goes live, probably this afternoon or tomorrow.

I'm glad everyone who has gotten yarn is liking it. When I get home, I'm making more. Heehee. Mostly dip dyes like Purple Trainwreck and Round Rainbow. I've got some other ideas up my sleeve, too. (Striping yarn, one fairly solid colored stripe and one of random colors.)


There was mention of allergies in the comments. Oh yes, I have them. It's been an ongoing thing since childhood. The problem is, I hate most of the modern drugs for one reson or other. Steroids are bad news for me. The three years of pneumonia in Hawaii were caused in part by a steroid inhaler for my asthma. The year I finally avoided pneumonia was the year I'd quit using it. Ditto for steroids and my sinus infections. Last year I tried a new time-release oral steroid for allergies the doctor suggested and wound up with a two month sinus infection. I'm refusing to try any more. I stick with regular antihistimines now and in the normal scheme of things I do pretty good. It was The Baby coughing snot into my eyes, literally, that did me in this time. Little shit.


Oh, and a Great Aragorn Moment. You're free to come up with your own.

Aragorn on Weathertop, kicking ringwraith butt and looking smokin' hot. Mmmm. Leather pants.

It's pnot pneumonia.

There is a family (me and the husbeast) legend from our time in Hawaii. We had this tree in our front yard, and every summer it would flower, and my lungs would fill up with goo, and I'd get pneumonia. Three summers in a row. And every summer I would insist it was simply bronchitis until the husbeast would get fed up and force me to go to the doctor. That last summer, I'd really dug in my heels and was sure that it was the year I'd avoid pneumonia, to the point that the husbeast finally made the doctor's appointment and physically hauled me into the office and shoved me in the exam room (my doctor loved him, and used him as a scale for how sick I was). Long story short, I had pneumonia. I come out of the exam room, the husbeast stands up and says "Well?" and I say "I have pneumonia."

And he says "YOU DUMBASS."

Everyone gasped and waited for me to burst into tears. I just rolled my eyes at him and trailed off to the pharmacy to get my medication.



With this past experience, the husbeast thinks he's an expert on my lungs. So I've had him looming over me, bitching, for the last two weeks, telling me I have pneumonia and to get my ass to the doctor before he does it for me. (To date he hasn't hauled me into my new doctor's office, but that day is coming, and when it does, my new doctor will love him too.) The thing is, after all those rounds of pneumonia, I know what it feels like. So I've been trying to ignore this lung thing.

Then I woke up Sunday morning, and my lungs felt just like my face does when I have a sinus infection. So off I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon. (See? I'm not stupid. When I think there's a problem, I go. I just have a different definition of 'problem'.) Since I'd had the bug for six weeks, they took an X-ray to be sure, but it's not pneumonia. They gave me antibiotics anyway, and a boatload of decongestants/bronchiodilators, and this morning I feel more human than I have since maybe Christmas.

I'm sure the husbeast will gloat over that, so I'm not going to tell him. Bastard.



Anyway. While I was in the waiting room at the doctor's, I knit on the sock (the heel gusset is all fucked up because of distractions):

Usually when knitting in public, some idiot makes some stupid comment, but yesterday I just got one, and it wasn't stupid. A woman sat down next to me and said "AH! I should have done that!" and pointed at my sock. "You knit?" I asked politely. "Well, no," she said, "but I could have brought SOMETHING." Someone else asked me if what I was doing was knit or crochet. It never fails to amaze me how ignorant some people are about where their underwear comes from.

Sekhmet (that fucker) has figured out that my laptop is warm. And she likes laying on my lap anyway. It leads to things like this:

Excellent treatment for bronchitis; get your cat to lay on your chest.


Just a reminder; I'm leaving for Florida tomorrow morning. Any orders made between now and then will get mailed, but after that, I won't be home to ship anything until next week. Of course any orders I get while I'm gone will be shipped as soon as I get home, but there WILL be a delay. I'll put up an announcement at the shop, too.


Oh, and The Baby is still cute.

See the cat ignoring her? While 'watching' with her ears? Idiot cat.

Tagged.

Amy over at "A Yarning to Write" has done a post-Oscar movie rundown of our favorites. Since I talk about books way more than movies around here, I thought it'd be fun to share mine. So here we go.

1. What are your top 3 Good Movies:
Lord of the Rings, director's cuts. (Hey. They won a shitload of Oscars. They're based on a Great Book. They're good movies, even if they are popular.)
Out of Africa
All the Abbot and Costello movies. Maybe not 'good' but certainly classic. Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy is probably the best of that lot.

2. What are your top 3 'Bad Movies': Really hard to narrow it to three...
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Triple X (ah, the soundtrack)
The Italian Job (remake version with Marky Mark)

3. #1 Quoted Movie: Bull Durham. Or Triple X. Or possibly Holy Grail. Or maybe the Pirates movies. We quote a lot of movies around here. And cartoons.

4. Favorite Action Movie: Bad Boys 2. Which also gets quoted a lot. ("Woosah." "Damn the woosah!")

5. Favorite Romance: Bull Durham ("He fucks like he pitches. Real fast and all over the place.")

6. Favorite Weeper: I'm not big on weepers. Out of Africa is about it.

7. Favorite director: Pete Jackson

8. Top "Good Movie" moment: The cavalry charge, when Rohan comes to save Gondor, "Return of the King."

9. Top 3 "Bad Movie" moments:
The Holy Hand Grenade, Holy Grail
"It goes to eleven" scene, Spinal Tap
"Why are you burning the rum??" scene, Pirates of the Caribbean 1

10. Top 3 Movie Quotes:
"Women don't wanna be cute. We wanna be exotic and mysterious." Bull Durham (also contains a shitload of baseball quotes good for when watching games - it's fun to yell them in a crowd and see who gets the joke "LOLLYGAGGERS!")
"It was only a Corvette." Triple X (Also, "Don't be a dick, Dick." and others.)
"Are you lookin at ME?" (I think) Raging Bull
Most of Grosse Pointe Blank can be quoted, too. "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork." "Psychopaths kill people for fun. I kill people for money. Wait. that didn't come out right."

11. Top favorite movie in the last 2 years:
Aeon Flux and Ultra Violet both amused me.

Musings on difficulty.

I'd probably save this for the lace article, but someone mentioned in the comments they were thinking of knitting the half-round shawl I'm working on from "Victorian Lace Today" (page 72 for those who have the book), and so I'll make a few quick comments here. Well, I'll brood and ramble here and neaten it up into something coherent for the article. (Aren't you thrilled to be beta-readers?)


This is what I've got after about an hour of late-night knitting. (I'm still struggling with that Civ IV addiction or I'd have a lot more done.) It's two pattern repeats.

It's what I call one-row, or every-row lace - as opposed to two-row or every-other-row lace, where you do one action row full of increases and yarnovers and decreases, and then knit or purl one row plain. This one has action every row. (In formal terms, one row lace is 'knitted lace' and two row lace is 'lace knitting'. Personally I think anything with an eyelet is lace and the whole controversy between those terms is juvenile and annoying.) One row lace is more difficult to work because there's no plain row to 'reset' the stitches and have them all nice and neat on your needle. With this method, you're trying to work k3tog and other craziness into the yarnovers and twisted stitches and who-knows-what of the previous row.

I think all one-row lace should be considered 'Experienced' knitting. It's just trickier to work, and there's no relaxing plain row to give you time to zone out - you have to pay attention at all times.

That said, the pattern repeat on this is very small and easy to remember, and there aren't a host of strange stitches - it's just knit, yarnover, k2tog, and k3tog. The wrong side rows are worked in knit, too, so it's like lace garter stitch with no curl. So this is like an easy project in the experienced level. Does that make sense? If you want to really challenge yourself and try one-row lace, this is a good pattern to try it on. (I suppose that's why it was marked 'intermediate' in the book, but damn it, that term is misleading.)

And did I mention, I really love the pattern. It's clever and doesn't hardly look like knitting at all (after umpty-million doilies, I'm all for something different-looking). If you want a project that makes your knitting friends go "What IS that?" and ask if it's crochet or even bobbin lace, this is the one.
I suppose saying I freaking love the yarn would be gilding my own lily, but damn, I love this yarn.



And have I mentioned, The Baby is cute? We gave her a bath last night and now her hair makes her look like a dandelion gone to seed. And check it out! That lower left tooth that has been missing for a year has finally decided to come in.

Lace it is.

I spent last night cruising Knitty to make sure no one else has ever written a lace basics article. No sense writing something that already exists (not to mention it severely reduces the odds of this article being used). There is a very nice article on reading charts (in the winter '04 issue) but nothing in particular about how to choose a first lace project, what yarn to use, how to block, or anything. So that's what I'll write. I'm also going to add a little bit on charts, but won't get into it much since that other article is already there.

So. What do you guys want to know about lace?



In other news, I got some kickass photos e-mailed to me the other night. Theresa (the blogless one - we've got two Theresas in the comments) decided to knit a pair of socks, using THE STEEKED JACKET PATTERN.


Aren't they great? Excellent job, Theresa! You've made me think I should try this, myself.


Otherwise, I'm trying to gear up for this trip to Florida on the 7th. The husbeast keeps trying to turn it into a safari - "You should take the baby gates/high chair/pack and play/kitchen sink." and I want it to be a simple, quick, throw-in-a-suitcase-and-go visit. We'll see who wins.

The Knitty Project, for those who asked, wasn't almost finished. It was barely half done, and the other half included charting and intarsia and felting and lots of finishing. I still plan to finish it - it was a felted bag, designed to use up bits of leftover wool - and sell the pattern in my shop. But it's not happening this week. Instead I'm gonna work on the shawl. Heeheehee.

Sigh.

So I'm still working on this stupid Knitty Project.

Unfortunately, I'm really sick of it. Really. Sick. I'm thinking perhaps an article instead (I do this so often), maybe about lace basics? What's hard, what's not, how to identify a good project, etc?

Anyone have thoughts on that?

Sigh.

Back to knitting.

Working on the Knitty Project last night, I had this very subversive thought. "What's the point of it being the Year of Me if I don't knit what I #(@#ing want to??" The whole concept went to my head, and before I knew it,

I'd cast on 51 stitches and knit an entire pattern repeat. That's the "Curved Shawl with Diamond Edging" from "Victorian Lace Today", page 72. And the Neon Flamingo yarn. On a size two/3mm needle.

I'm telling myself it's needed practice, so I don't ruin the handspun laceweight that Bells sent me. In truth, I think I knit lace so many years that I feel weird if I don't do some regularly. The last lace I knit was the mohair scarf fiasco, before Christmas. And that wasn't really lace, it was hell.

What's one more unfinished project around here?


Yesterday, I was so thrilled with the yarn purchases (thank you all) that I went on over to Paradise Fibers and bought a Becka Swift. It should make winding off these extra long skeins for the dip-dyes go much faster and more easily, and result in more dip dyed yarns for you guys. Yay!


And now, I have to go chart this Knitty project. Sigh. I hate that.

Knitty project teaser.

Almost done with phase one.

What is it, you ask?

Wait and see.

This photo is mostly posted to prove I am knitting something.

Goals and lamentations.

March. In like a lion and out like a lamb. Or as I'm thinking right now, "Where in hell did January and February go??!!?"

I've got nothing to show for February but a pair of socks. That's all I did. Well. And dyed some yarn. Dyed a good bit of yarn, lots experimentally. Though I'll have trouble charging what I should to get back the time and money invested in it. I used a whole bottle of red dye on what I'm calling 'Round Rainbow'. You remember. This one.

Incidentally, it looks like this now:

I'm going to include the just-out-of-the-dyepot photo when I sell it so people have some idea what it will look like.

Anyway. I blame the lack of accomplishment for February on one thing: The new computer and Civilization 4. I haven't gotten a lot of knitting done, but by golly, I destroyed the Zulus the other night. Unfortunately that doesn't count for a whole hell of a lot in the real world.


March 7, I am due in Florida to visit with the in-laws and let the Baby have time with them. I plan to go if she's well, even if I'm still sick unless I think I'm contaigous. (There will be remote blogging from Florida, though probably not a lot.) Before I leave I need to finish the Knitty Project that's due March 15 (I can't finish it there. Can't tell why). While I'm there I can write the pattern and do a photo shoot on the beach, then come home and do graphics and shoot it off.

This means, of course, sitting down on my ass and actually knitting on the damn thing.

After that, I need to finish the second sleeve of the Steeked Jacket. Then knit up some of the rest of the yarn piled in The Closet from Hell. I'm thinking lacey tunic type thing out of the twelve balls of lavender cotton. Then I can sell the pattern. Oh, and dye some yarn.

Now that I've got some spending money, I'm starting to like it.

Oh, and play with this:



And I've already blown it on 'Year of Me' (sort of) and 'knit from your stash'. I shopped. Kind of. I pulled "Neon Flamingo" out of inventory on the shop yesterday, and wound it up.

I'm thinking the Half Round shawl from "Victorian Lace Today" would be good. I could wear it in 'between weather' and even wrap it over my head if I needed to. I've never worn a shawl before, but I've got a cape I like and I've vowed to start dressing more like a grownup. Or at least, not like a slob. (I really miss the days of grunge being 'in'. It's the only time in my life I looked stylish.)

Never mind that there are two weddings in the family coming up, and if I'm gonna knit lace it should be doilies for gifts, out of The Box of crochet cotton.

Nope, not gonna think about it.


Lace weight yarn is up over in the shop. I'll be adding the sock yarn today. Depending on how sick I am today and tomorrow, it may not get shipped until Saturday morning. Sorry about that.