Blanket Notes and Synchronicity

I realized something when I was showing my students how to do the mitered squares last night. I realized that, in garter stitch, to get a nice edge by slipping the first stitch, you need to do the yarn like you would switching from purl to knit in seed stitch or ribbing--after you slip the first stitch, move the yarn between that stitch and the second one rather than behind the slipped stitch. You want it to look like what you see in the image at left.

When you are doing stockinette stitch (K one row and P the next), the yarn is already in the back when you slip the stitch, so this is not an issue. With garter stitch, you need to move the yarn.

There is another way to do it, which is to move the yarn to the front then slip the LAST stitch on each row. It's easier to remember to do it right this way, or so I am told.

Anyway, I have revised yesterday's post and the PDF to have information on how to hold the yarn when you slip the stitches. If you see anything else that needs to be added, just let me know.

Printing Patterns

Also, people have said they have trouble printing the blog post with the pattern in it. Here is how I print blog posts from others: I select all the text and images, then I open Microsoft Word and paste all the content into a new document. I can then tweak the font, margins, etc., to my liking, and print it. Hope this helps! Of course, I don't mind emailing the PDFof the mitered square blanket pattern to anyone who asks. And a lot of people have! How nice!

Something Else

I thought I'd show you part of a nice gift I received from my Canadian friend Ramona (who you will note has also not been blogging as much lately). It really helped to lift my spirits as I get used to life without my Dad. But, the story of the gift is what is so cool, and why I truly love the Internet.

It turns out that, unbeknown to me, Ramona had friended my spouse on Facebook and asked him what I liked. That had explained why the unexpected package in the mail smelled so wonderful--it was full of rose scented soap. What was not explained was the return address--it wasn't from my friend. The return address was only a couple of blocks away from the house where I had spent my really wonderful childhood, in Gainesville, Florida (very far from Toronto). I tried to figure out what old neighbor might still live there!

When I opened the package, I saw so many wonderful things, including the ceramic mug shaped like a ball of yarn and luscious hand-spun yarn that you see here. These were made by a very talented ceramicist, soap maker and fiber artist, who sells on Etsy and knew Ramona from another friend...insert Twilight Zone music. Yes, Haldechick lives where I lived over 40 years ago, and sees my old playhouse and the amazing camellias and azaleas my dad planted nearly every day when she walks her dog! When I told her what happened, she sent me a lovely email, and when I told my knitting friends in Gainesville (and I am there because my high school friend and fellow knitter Kelli invited me!) they invited her to join their Facebook group of local knitters. What a wonderful set of sychronicities! I get goosebumps thinking about what a small world I really live in.

When I start to feel alone or isolated, I realize what a wide net of friendship I have cast via my online activities. I have so many wonderful knitting friends from blogs and Ravelry. I have hundreds of friends around the world from my job at the nonprofit organization. And so many of my relatives, plus my old friends from high school, college, grad school and my early jobs are still in touch thanks to Facebook! And to be honest, I am pretty sure I stay in touch better with my local friends via Facebook than any other way--we have lots of fun.

So I am happy with the Internet, and truly thankful for ALL of the kind words and thoughts I have received over the past few weeks.

Silky Smooth

I thought I'd take a little break from moderating comments to show you a little project I started yesterday. I'd hoped to get it done quickly as a birthday gift for my husband, but it didn't work out that way. Still, I think he will like it!

I am making a little bag to store tarot cards in. The yarn is Tillie Thomas Voile de la Mer, which I had started a scarf with, but got bored with the pattern. Lee had asked for a silk bag, and this is as close as I could get with yarn I already had, silk and seaweed.

I started by knitting a stockinette rectangle the size of the bottom of the box his cards came in, then I picked up around the edges and started knitting in the round.I want the bag to be sturdy, so I am knitting on teeny 000 needles to get the stitches as small as Suna's loose knitting can get. I did a section in linen stitch, which looks very, very tight (reminds me of the time I knitted the instep of one of my tiger stripe socks under deep stress and I ended up making a tourniquet), then I did some stockinette and am back to linen stitch again, which is not quite so teeny. By making the number of stitches odd, I never have to switch the linen stitch around, so I just keep repeating K1, slip 1 with yarn in front, over and over.

My friend Tina came over yesterday afternoon before a tarot gathering at our house, and we sat on the porch and knitted and chatted. That probably loosened up the stitching. Thanks, Tina!

Lee likes the bag and the color. I think I will do a bit of ribbing with a section of yarn-overs to run an i-cord strand through at the top, followed by more ribbing. I'd put on a ruffle or beads, but am not sure if that would be manly enough. I'll ask him! He's such a calm, sweet and understanding spouse that he deserves maybe more than one storage bag!

It will be back to the mittens this weekend. I really appreciated all the feedback on them--lots of pros and cons to consider, but I'll finish them anyway.

PS: Please see the comments if you are interested in a discussion of tarot traditions.

Braved the Storm

Last night was another fun Monday with knitting friends. It's becoming a very nice almost-weekly event to head over to Dawn's and knit and snack for a while!

This week we had three birthdays to celebrate, and we had quite a party. Kim got tiaras and wands for me, Suzanne and Aggie (March 5, 6, and 8). And I brought ice cream and Suzanne and Aggie each brought cakes. Even though I am on a diet, I had to eat some Italian Creme Cake from the wonderful Upper Crust Bakery in Austin. I will not pass up that kind of opportunity!

Yes, we stuck our wands in our shirts. We thought it looked "classy." I'm just glad that one day a year when I am older than Suzanne is over! She can't call me an old lady any more!

We all had a great time knitting and chatting, which is good, because a big rainstorm blew in, complete with very loud thunder and bright lightning. So, we stayed until it had passed. Like it used to be in the LYS, we certainly touched on some "interesting" topics. Laughter is the best medicine, and I am pretty sure we all went home feeling a lot better, no matter how we felt when we arrived!

The new mittens are going well. I am an inch or so into the patterning part, and am a little concerned that once again I picked yarns without enough contrast. I am going to keep going, though, and even if the yarns don't contrast enough, I'll wear them. I so have other yarn that definitely DOES contrast to try another pair with.

Oh, my sweet older son got me a knitting-related birthday gift, the Joy of Sox book. I did have a copy (at first I couldn't remember if I'd just looked at someone else's copy or had one), but I was impressed that he took the time to think of an appropriate gift, but also couldn't resist the pun.

So, hey, two posts in two days. Obviously I need to get back to that job hunting--still waiting for my other job to pick up again!

Making Mittens and Keeping Friends

I think I told you that I got a couple of books on mittens recently. I really wanted to try a pair of festive ethnic mittens. I do have some yarn that I want to make mittens with, but of course, more yarn keeps creeping in.

Like this stuff here! I got it last week on another pilgrimage to Yarnorama in scenic (small) Paige, Texas.

Ella Rae Lace Merino

I went with Suzanne and Susan, so we definitely were on "Sue" name overload. Much of the fun on these trips is the conversation and camaraderie. It makes me almost (but not quite) want to learn to spin so I could go to the spinning Saturdays. We had a fun trip, and especially enjoying the farm animals. Susan is an expert, so it's fun to have her around. We saw this fine fellow at a really cool Brahma breeding facility, where there are these beautiful bull apartments, each with one spectacular bovine specimin.

Brahma Bull in eastern Williamson County, Texas

So, anyway, we met some nice folks in the knitting group there, and I saw that orange yarn above, which is the color of butternut squash and is a semi-solid, and chose the other one as a good contrast. I also got their yarn of the month colorway, which is definitely bright and happy:

Yarnorama sock yarn in "The A-Ha Moment" colorway.

My birthday gift to myself on Friday was a knitting day. I started a pair of mittens from this book, using the two new yarns:

Mostly Mittens: Ethnic Knitting Designs from Russia

by Charlene Schurch

 

The ones I am making are second from right on the bottom row. I cast on the medium size and knit through the cuff and about 6 rows into the pattern, but decided that using this laceweight yarn and 0 needles made it a bit snug. So last night I frogged it while I had a helpful older son visiting to help unwind one of the balls of yarn. But, before I frogged it, I took a photo so you can see how the colors work out (done with the phone camera, so not the best and NOT accurate):

Corrugated ribbing in Ella Rae Laceweight. Colors in earlier photo are more accurate.

I was having trouble going back and forth from the mitten guidelines to the chart, so I missed an instruction to knit the first row rather than rib it, so the new version is already better. Also, the rows are not numbered on the charts, and that bugs me a bit. It would keep me on track with the thumb and hand rows if they were numbered. The new version still isn't too big, just less snug. I look forward to knitting this along with my shawl. And luckily we got a new printer (ooh, ahh, color laser), so I was able to photocopy the chart for easier reading. 

I was also going to talk about keeping friends. After the nice trip to Yarnorama, we went to a meeting of people from our old LYS, which closed shortly after I stopped dropping in there (no surprise, when a yarn shop stops ordering yarn and needles for over a year other than a couple of dribs and drabs, stops paying teachers, and no longer has any employees other than the owner, it's a hint). It was at a nice La Madeleine restaurant that let us use their meeting room. I guess when I said I was going I didn't realize all who would be there. But, I think I made it through the meet-up pretty well. Interestingly, the folks who de-friended me on Facebook and sent me the helpful email telling me how poorly my breakdown reflected on me were not there, so that helped. The other members of the LYS in crowd who hadn't asked how I was or checked in with me in over a month were quite friendly, so that helped my comfort level a lot. I was repeatedly told to "be a big girl," which somewhat got old, but, heck, it will be fine. It was nice to see how everyone was doing and catch up on news. I have nice knitting friends, including the ones who invited me to the meeting, which I really appreciated, and I'll just enjoy all of them! I will try to make another of those meetings at some point, though this week I am making my dear husband a nice meal before choir on Wednesday, so I won't be going out. Sometimes family comes first!

A little aside about being a big girl, for any of you who may have to deal with disliking how you or others are treated: it IS a sign of being a "big girl" or maturity, even, to take yourself out of situations that aren't good for you or where you feel uncomfortable. Yeah, in a job you have to be around whoever you are assigned to be around, but in optional activities, if people treat you or others unkindly or repeatedly show a lack of compassion, you can choose to be elsewhere! Life's too short to torture yourself! Surround yourself with love and friendship, because kind and generous people by far outnumber the sourpusses!

And on that note let me say that I look forward to our new Monday meetings at Dawn's house, and really enjoy the atmosphere of respect and support for all that is maintained there. I wish you all could join us! I am glad that Dawn, John Francis and others are stepping up to host meetings so the community that developed at the LYS is not lost.

Ah, Knitting Bringing Happiness Again!

After feeling pretty bad about knitting for most of this year (exceptions have been the nice meetings our friend Dawn has hosted in her home!), I have finally started having more good knitting experiences. I know a lot of my lack of knitting enjoyment is my fault for being so hard on myself and for letting unkind comments get to me more than they should, but hey, being a sensitive person has its good and bad points, as any person like me will tell you!

So, let me share some good things! First, this lovely new yarn came in the mail last week. I wish the good camera could have taken the picture, but we can't find the battery charger--it is not where it is supposed to live! This colorway is supposed to match the patina on a photo of a statue someone sent my friend Ray at Knitivity. He did a great job in making a very subtle colorway. I can't wait to work with this yarn.

Knitivity Down Home Sock Yarn in Patina

And now for my happy fiber-related events. Saturday was the second meeting of the Linus Project group at my UU church. I had such a nice time watching the ladies work on paper piecing, and felt good that even I could help out, because I had done it before, back in my quilting days. I was diligently working on the last row of my Linus Blankie (halfway through the last row--just some borders after that!). But I was watching how Alice, the organizer, gently led everyone along with another experienced quilter, and I got such a warm feeling. Someone said that now she understood why they had quilting bees in the past times--some of these things you need help with! It reminded me of the joy I used to have at the LYS when I could help someone make progress with a project. On the way home, I realized I was genuinely happy, and it made me all teary. I felt a real upwelling of gratitude to Alice for starting the group and making so many contributions to my life in the past. She did so well at the meeting, knowing that between the first meeting and this one, her mom had died (the lady I am making my blankie as a tribute to). Such a strong, kind person.

As if that spontaneous outburst of happiness was not enough, yesterday I had another one. The wife of one of my former coworkers is a teacher, and she recommended I become Facebook friends with one of her colleagues, a high school science teacher in Austin. She said we'd have a lot in common, including knitting. Well, Leyla asked me a knitting question or two, then last week said she was having a lot of trouble with socks. She wondered if we could get together and talk about her sock issues. You know how much I miss helping people with knitting, so I was happy to do this, even though I never met her and didn't know her other than her online persona. Well, once we managed to find each other, we had the most entertaining visit! I hope I gave her some help with sock information, because I learned a whole lot from talking to her on other topics, like teaching, relationships, and marriage. She's really an admirable person, and I look forward to many more conversations with Leyla! I drove home in a very cheerful way, thinking about all sorts of topics she had brought up. Once I am finished blogging, I am writing a thank-you note to the friend who introduced us!

One reason the visit with my new friend was difficult was that I'd suggested we meet at the Gauge shop, since someone had recommended I go to their Sunday knitting group a week or two ago, but it was closed. That was a bummer. The website does say they are open 1-5 on Sundays, so I hope it was just a temporary thing. Local knitters have already lost one LYS, I don't want to see the next closest one go, too! Anyone local have the scoop?

Looking forward to getting together with friends later today and hoping to get more of those last few squares on the Mitered Square Linus Blankie done!

New Dianna and Things My Friends Make

I told you I was going to start another Dianna, and indeed I did. I like this extra perky colorway a lot more, and I have three skeins of the Noro Kureyon sock yarn now, thanks to another visit to Hill Country Weavers this weekend. That means I can make another row of squares, and I hope even do a bit of a border on this shawl. I think it would look good with one. The designer of the shawl made a border of the leaf motif, which I saw on the Ravelry group for stuff (MaweLucky Love, if you are interested). I think I'd do something less complex.
I'm so happy with these colors and really thrilled with the cool beads (which show up fairly well in the photo below). They are amber/gold with sky blue lining, which ends up looking sort of electric green. They are quite quirky, just like the yarn colorway. This thing is so darned perky that whatever I work on next will probably bore me to death! I guess I'll worry about that when I get to it--really need to finish those works in progress, don't you think?



Below is yet another colorway in this yarn. I am amused at how I keep buying this stuff, even though it is scratchy and has knots in it. I just like the colors. The one below is one of the new ones, S255. I got two so that I could make some kind of shawl out of it. I think, hope, believe, that I will not make yet another Dianna! Thinking a modular vest might be good...

So, the reason I went to the far-away yarn shop on Saturday was that Cookie A was doing workshops there, and I had signed up for one. I will post about that event tomorrow, I hope--I am waiting for one of my classmates to send me the photo she took of me and Cookie.

It was hard to drag myself away from Bluebonnet on Saturday, though, because there were all sorts of fun people there and I was really enjoying myself. There's just no substitute for all the friends I have at Ye Olde Yarn Shoppe! And they did have new sock yarn (which made listening to the devotees of that yarn scrap and bargain with each other quite an amusing spectator sport--both of them are reading this now and thinking, "I wasn't that bad, was I?"). I, of course, did something embarrassing--I picked out my yarn and forgot to pay for it. So I won't photograph it or put it up on Ravelry until I do so next time I'm there!

I gave John-Francis, the Dude of Chicks with Sticks, some fabric and a pail of cat litter. Why? Because he is making really handy knitting totes out of them! It's as fascinating as his Yarn Caddy 300, I assure you. I like how sturdy they are--your pointy objects won't poke through like they do on fabric or plastic totes. Plus I get my wonderful pansy fabric, and he gets a lot of free cat litter (I think his garage is rapidly filling with litter removed from pails that he has turned into totes.) Yeah, I'll have to keep him around, even though I did meet another dude knitter at a dinner with Lee's coworkers Friday night. I doubt this other dude is also trained in tailoring. That would be just too much!

Oh, and speaking of knitting containers, do check out the international knitting bag project that Shells and Umme (my blog friends!) are doing together. I do want to get one of the zippered bags for sock projects. I am awaiting my next big ole paycheck (I am now working more consistently--yay). Also, wow, that homespun on the Etsy site is yummy. I have only knit one thing on handspun yarn, my wedding shawl. I want to try some of that colorful stuff.

Well, see, I had plenty to talk about without going on about that Cookie A class, so it can wait until I get the photo!

Wednesday Wonders Lucky #13: My Blogs

Don't be afraid of today's photo! I was looking for a picture that evoked how I feel today, and this one does. It's me in late 2003, wearing a felted hat (from Lamb's Pride bulky, knit doubled) that I made for a friend in Maryland. I made 5 or 6 of them for her, and she then mailed them all over the world as holiday gifts--little bits of Knitting Suna all over the world. And that brings me to the other way I send little bits of Knitting Suna all over the world...

Today’s Wednesday Wonders aren’t people, but they are the ways I communicate with people: My blogs! Today is the 4th anniversary of my blogging adventures. My personal blog goes back to April 1, 2005. It is always good, I think, to start a Fool’s Journey on April Fool’s Day! That blog mixed my everyday life with my knitting adventures until May 2007, when I had to separate into two blogs, one that shows up on search engines and that I give out links to strangers to, which is for my knitting thoughts, and one for life updated, chatting and opinionating for an audience of just friends.* So, you may think I’ve only been blogging for a couple of years, but that’s because two years are hiding.

To my dear readers: If you are interested in more on my family, my work, my non-knitting activities and my rather nonstandard, but friendly, thoughts on life, just let me know where I can send you an email link to the other one! If you leave an email address in a comment, I will delete it before publishing it, so it won’t be broadcast all over the earth.

I am really grateful that someone thought blogs up, because I have always been one of those people who kept diaries, journals, logs and other kinds of personal records. I don’t have the best memory for details, so it’s helped me that I wrote a lot down in my past (and grrr to the ex husband who threw away my graduate school journal). It helps remind me of what I have learned from my mistakes, and what joys have popped up among the sorrows and drudgery. I love having these bloggy records of what I’ve been going through the last four years. I get a lot of laughs looking back!

And from a knitting perspective, I am really grateful that I can share with others whatever little ideas and insights come to me, so they can take what works for them and leave the rest. I get so many ideas from other people’s blogs, too (and oh, I wish I were as clever and creative as some of them, but I really don’t mind—we are who we are, and we each have our gifts!). I use my own blog to complement the records I am keeping on Ravelry, so I can check the process that went into making this project or that. I realize most of that is just of interest to me, but I think most diarists write primarily for themselves and count any audience who shows up as a bonus. Still, I hear that some people have learned things from my blog, too, and that makes me happy—as a teacher, I would like to teach at every opportunity.

And of course, there’s one more reason that my blogs are Wednesday Wonders: they have introduced me to people I’d never have gotten to know otherwise, and I treasure the chances I’ve had to get to know some of my readers, and to at least get glimpses of some of the others. Where else but in the “blogosphere” (which I think of as the place mean and somewhat ill-educated people who pick at news-makers live, but I realize also includes US) can you keep up with the daily lives of fascinating women and men from California to Wisconsin to New England, or from Denmark to Pakistan…to right down the road! I know I’ve said it before, but it’s time to do so again: thank you all for reading, and to those of you whose blogs I read: thank you for writing!
I really enjoy blogs. They are as dramatic as novels, but they feature real people. They are as educational as textbooks, but funnier and more “real.” Blogs are human, and they bring people together. There’s so much that separates us today—so much “us vs. them” thinking, so it is great to see how people with different views , of different backgrounds and from different places do share so much in common. We love our families, we love knitting, we respect others.

Hmm, on an email list (another thing I like!) today someone asked what makes us happy. I guess my answer is my blogs, who are four years old, and the blogs of all my friends, mentors and knitting companions!

As an anniversary gift, feel free to share what you like about blogs and blogging, or just wish the blog a happy birthday. It's also Wendy Johnson's blog-i-versary, so it must have been a good day to start blogs (hers started way before mine, though!)

*We had someone who was a bit messed up mentally following the blog and imagining all sorts of “reading between the lines” things from some of the entries, so Lee and I decided to take away the public availability while we were dating. At least all the other stalkers have either been kind or silent!

Wednesday Wonders #10: Yvonne P!

This week I have chosen to focus on another far-flung friend, whom I have really admired since I’ve known her, and whose writings I really enjoy. Yvonne P is a knitter in the Netherlands (yes, I have now actually featured TWO knitters in the same country outside my own…but I am now out of people who live there to feature). We “met” in 2007 either on Ravelry (online knitting community, for those of you who know me in some non-knitting capacity) or on a sock email list (Yvonne will probably tell me which it was!), when we were both knitting the same pair of socks, a pattern called Forget-Me-Not (and if you follow this Ravelry link, you will see both my pair and hers!). We chatted back and forth about the pattern, then started following each other’s blogs.

It turned out we were both similar in age and both getting married around the same time, so we had lots to talk about. I enjoyed looking at Yvonne’s Flickr pages and checking out her new house as it was being built, etc. After a year or so of reading about someone’s life, looking at their photos, and seeing all their projects, you get to feel like you actually know them! We both comment regularly on each other’s blogs, too, which is a great way to keep in contact.

What makes Yvonne a wonder is her generosity, in many respects. She generously shares her knowledge and ideas with so many people—she’s active on Dutch (and English) knitting lists and does all kinds of exchanges and swaps, too. I am impressed that she blogs in English rather than any of her other languages, so that we in the English-speaking world can also enjoy it. She persists in doing this even though most of her comments are in Dutch. It’s very educational for me, the former linguist, to figure out what some of the words are. I’m very good with the=het, sokkenwol=sock yarn and such. Yvonne has always encouraged me when my projects go wrong, and I appreciate that so much!

I had her on my list of potential Wednesday Wonders all along, but decided that this was her week, so I can share with you the contents of the fun package I received in the mail from her yesterday—a belated wedding gift! This beautiful sock yarn is special in more than one way (as she explained in her sweet note, on the back of the card in the picture). Not only is it hand-dyed in the Netherlands and from the Dutch yarn shop Wolhalla (a pun even I can understand), but it is an appropriately Dutch colorway—Delft Blue, as in the lovely pottery (click the link and you can see lots of examples from a cool shop in the US). The label even has a fabric sample in blue and white, to show you the inspiration for the yarn! Isn’t that neat? That is such a nice remembrance, and such a kind gesture! No wonder she’s a wonder!

The package also came with two tiny metal tags in a black bag (you can see them in the photo). They say “made for you” and you can put them in your knitted items that you give as gifts. Yvonne said to put one in the Rainbow Jacket (which I am wearing today even though I still haven’t blocked it, because we are having one last little cool snap here).

The moment I saw the yarn I thought of my sister, who collects blue-and-white china (as did my mother) and loves those colors. I know she does, because she sent me a blue-and-white bracelet for my birthday! I am sure my sister would love socks made out of this yarn…but, nah. She may have to live with one of my many other yarns in other blue/white combos. I may have to save this special yarn for myself, so I can think of my distant friend, whom I have never met, but is a friend nonetheless.

I LOVE the Internet. Thanks to it, you can find people you have things in common with, no matter where they are. I am so glad to have the chance to meet and get to know people like Yvonne, Dragonfly, etc.! I probably enjoy reading the blogs of everyday folks who just happen to be knitters more than the “famous knitter” blogs. I love getting a little slice of someone else’s life. You see how much we all have in common, and learn some fascinating differences, as well.

Hey, readers! Have you met any fellow knitter on the Internet and formed a friendship? If you have a moment, tell us about it in the comments!

More on Yvonne:

Her blog, Loisirs et Plaisirs
Yvonne on Ravelry (you need to be a member to see this)
Yvonne’s public Flickr pages

A Birthday Treat

Thanks for all the comments on the Kauni Jacket. I spent last night doing the black crochet edging on it. I used some Cashsoft Cotton left over from a hat, and it looks wonderful. I also did a stripe of decorative crochet a couple of inches above the sleeve edge. It looks pretty good. Crocheting around the collar was a challenge, because I wanted the “front” of the crocheting facing outward all the time, which meant I had to switch directions on it. At least I found the little line I had skipped in the instructions, which said to sew the collar down. It’s a little bitty one, but I got it down! Tonight I plan to wash the jacket, with some fabric softener to soften the wool a bit, then just shape it up a bit. I think that’s the best way to deal with garter stitch—no hard blocking. I do need buttons.

I did want to share what a nice time I had on Saturday at the yarn shop. My big plan was to buy a cake and feed whoever showed up. It turned out that Sue Ellyn, a lady I help with knitting, had her birthday on March 3, so she chipped in for the cake, too. I went out to get an Italian cream cake for the few people who were there, and when I got back, more folks had shown up, with presents! I got some very nice cards, including another of Jen’s beautiful handmade ones that she stamps, colors and embellishes. She also made me a cute knitting bag in a neat spiral pattern, and inside it were two balls of KnitPicks Felici yarn in lovely subdued greens and blues. A really nice color combination unlike anything else I have. The yarn is nice and soft—their stuff has improved. Plus I got me a fine gift certificate to the new JoAnn’s Fabrics where Suzanne TCL works (hey, I need buttons!), AND some earrings. I felt like I actually HAD a birthday after all that. I also got Sue Ellyn some roses and a card, because she’s been really sweet and is always so kind to the people at the shop. I guess I need to open gifts for it to be a “real” holiday.

Now, I say that, but what did poor Lee get for HIS birthday (it’s tomorrow)? I didn’t even get to wrap it, because he met the FedEx guy, who gave it to him. It plainly said “I am a food dehydrator,” on it, so there went the surprise. I did get some strawberries today, so we can try it out for birthday treats!

I digress…what I wanted to say is that kindnesses like these birthday treats, the baby showers, and all that…they all remind me what fine and generous people tend to make up the knitting community. We are all so different, yet we share so much! I am so glad to have made some good friends over the past few years, and also enjoyed so many strangers and people passing through. If you don’t have a knitting circle, group or club, try to find one. Even if everyone’s a different age or socio-economic group from yours, you will find knitting truly brings people together, which then facilitates learning about each other in all areas. A good thing. And THANK YOU to Jen, Deana, Nancy, Pat (and the yarn shop staff) for making it such a nice birthday.

Here’s another good thing, a link to a lovely story about knitting in Peru that a friend sent me. It will cheer you up to read about another culture’s use of your favorite hobby! It really seems to empower women there.

From Very Young to Quite Old at the LYS

It's a bit late, but what the heck, I'll talk about what happened last Saturday at the LYS. It was another fun Saturday, because lots of people showed up, both regulars and new customers. It is nice to see people buying stuff (though it would be nice to have needles to sell them--still, I love my LYS to bits).

I spent a lot of time helping folks out, which is my favorite thing to do. We didn't start the sock class really, though Nancy got a little bit going. That will continue next week. Instead, I just randomly helped out with whatever people wanted help on--the seat next to me had quite a variety of occupants with questions on techniques, pattern selection, yarns and such. I felt really good that I could help a relatively new knitter who'd been told she was knitting "wrong" to get her twisted stitch issue fixed. She was purling just fine, but wrapping in the direction that causes twists on her knit stitches. Once she saw what she was doing, her face lit up. She will be a "real" knitter now!And as always, I reassured her she isn't the only one to have that problem--I had it for a long, long time until someone pointed out my problem!

The Quite Old (but Treasured) Section

Another person I helped is probably our oldest knitter, Miss V., whose daughter comes in when she has time. Miss V. has a tremor issue so she can't do anything fancy, and she has some trouble remembering things like how to cast on. But knitting has meant so much to her in the last few years, as it has allowed her to make some simple blankets and scarves for her kids' kids. They will treasure those. Lots of the LYS staff have helped her out, and I have lately taken over Saturday duty. The blue hat you see on the coffee cup is her first hat. She did is almost entirely herself, too. I cast on and fixed one dropped stitch, but she did the rest. She even did a swell job on seaming it (she knit it flat). She was so happy with herself that she set right off making a larger one.

I just can't tell you how fulfilling it isto bring joy to her life and help her feel good (plus she is always sharing nuggets of wisdom and observations from a most unique point of view). She told me, "I need you to help me make my knitting good, Suzanne. I need a lot of help." (She is also not great with names any more.) While it takes a lot of patience to help people with physical and mental challenges, the rewards are great, too. I'm glad I've had a chance to work with dear Miss V.

The Very Young (and Anxiously Anticipated) Section

We had some other fun, too. This is the "very young" part of the post! So young it's pre-birth!

Both the future mothers that I knitted the Baby Surprise Jackets for were at the shop. Both loyal readers of this blog, Katie is on the left and Jen is on the right. The babies met belly-to-belly and discussed their love of knitted products, which they will both be getting a lot of soon. In this photo, the mommies are being bookends. As someone who used to work with pregnant women and new mothers, I am enjoying having these two around. I look forward to watching the little girls grow, once they show up in a few months. It's Katie's first and Jen's third, but as we all know every baby is different. There are so many people with experience at the LYS, though, they'll have lots of support from our little "knitting village." And I know they will primarily listen to their hearts and make decisions that will work best for their own family, not what someone else did in a different situation. Both of these women are smart enough to "take what they need and leave the rest," as we used to say in the old mother-to-mother support days!

I do hope Katie gets her maternity sweater done before baby A. shows up. If not, I am betting it will make a very nice "new mother" sweater as well. She is making something very beautiful, nonetheless.

I guess that's enough stuff about my local pals, other than to say that wow, the LYS looks very neat and streamlined after inventory. Tomorrow there'll be another blast from my knitting past to read about. Obviously I have more writing time this week than usual!

Knitting Networking--a close-knit group

Back of D's shawl
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I haven't gotten much interesting work done this week, since in my personal life I was busy--three days of long training sessions followed by evening activities means little time to knit or blog. The good news is that I had three days of work this week, and next week I will start another 9-month contract, so the job worries are over for a while.

In the meantime, I have really been enjoying my knitting friends. One of the evening activities was Wednesday's Chicks with Sticks meeting. I got so caught up in admiring other people's work (like the shawl in the photo, my friend's first successful big lace project, which took her just a week), helping people with problems, and supporting a new knitter taking a class, so the yarn shop owner could eat lunch (at 7 pm), that I didn't knit much. But, the community of sweet and kind ladies really filled my heart with gladness. Watching people make friends, support each other, and learn from each other (no matter what their politics, religion or other beliefs may be) really reminds me how much all of us have in common. A lot more than how we differ.

One of our good knitting friends has been going through some hard personal times, and we have all tried to be there for her. She decided to move back to her home town up north and get away from the negativity here, and we all understand. Wednesday was her last time to be with us. There was a really cute cake for her, with a cheerful message to encourage her to enjoy the new chapter in her life, and the book called Chicks with Sticks, signed by lots and lots of the "regulars." It's just another example of the kind of community that has developed around our yarn shop.

I love it that all are welcome--it's a sanctuary for the socially inept, the lonely, and the gregarious and popular as well. I wish we all had such an accepting community!

I am going to be gone most of the weekend, but I'll take the computer and maybe share pictures of the last bunch of dishcloths and some yummy sock yarn I got--bought by a yarn shop friend on a trip to Seattle!

I Lack Resolve!

Sideways Cardigan
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Yay, I finished the Sideways Cardigan. I decided not to do the button band, because it looks so cute buttoned at the top. This meant i didn't have to go buy buttons or use any of Pat's. I got one of the agate buttons from the LYS (see photo) that I really liked, and it looks marvelous. in the photo the cardigan has been pressed and is drying. I'll try to get a photo of me in it tomorrow. The cardigan looked pretty good on me before I pressed it, so I am happy. Those big ole sleeves actually are pretty flattering. I feel SO lucky to have two new summer knits to wear!

You may recall that I vowed, just a day or two ago, to finish old projects before starting something new. Well, that resolve failed, thanks to a trip to the Gauge shop in Austin with my friend Tina (yay, Tina and I actually SAW each other). I'd tried to visit there last time I was unemployed, but I picked the day they were closed. Well, good news is that they are now open 7 days a week, so even when I get work I can visit on a Sunday every so often. I really liked the shop. The owner was very nice, and everyone else there was good, too. I even ran into some old knitting guild acquaintances and did some networking. Gauge doesn't have tons of yarn, but what is there was carefully chosen and great quality. I love getting to see different yarns, so I had a great time checking out what was there. Then I saw it...yarn that was 100% perfect for the only pattern I really loved out of the latest Interweave Knits, the Drawstring Raglan. It's Classic Elite Cotton Bam Boo. So light and with a great sheen, plus the colors they had were perfect for the project, a cream, a medium blue, a plum and a mauve. See my lovely photo of the yarn and the project, which I so conveniently made for your pleasure.

After Tina and I had a grown-up lunch at Chez Zee (with dessert, even), I headed back to "my" yarn shop, where I had a great time chatting with folks and meeting new people. There was a visitor knitting with some very, very interesting Habu yarn, though it looked hard to work with. Katie brought birthday cake, which reminds me to say happy birthday this weekend to her!! I am really enjoying Chicks with Sticks lately. Everyone has been so friendly to each other and so supportive. It's so nice to see people helping each other, supporting different projects, and mingling.

Oops. I forgot one thing. I also got a sock yarn. In my defense, it is Mondial Ciao, a yarn I didn't have any of before. Speaking of socks, Diane at the yarn shop pointed out to me that the colors I got for the next project are the same as the ones in my Cherry Blossom socks. Well, great, they'll be an "outfit." Hee hee. And yes, I did work on the socks a bit yesterday. I messed up the gusset somehow, but it is not the end of the world. I'm human.

Knitting and Friends

Suna and Diana
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I have not been getting anything finished this week, so no FO photos. I am still plugging away at the grandmotherly afghan. I frogged the Vogue Knitting cover sweater and embarked on #29 in that same issue with that yarn, instead (I did this because I really think I need worsted weight yarn for the cover sweater, and I do have a gift certificate, so I can get some and do the sweater justice). I did finish a sock, but have no photo yet, so that will be fodder for later in the week!

But, I do have some nice knitting stories! The picture shows my friend Diana, with whom I worked online doing web design for many years and whom I hadn't seen since I stopped doing that couple of years ago (she now lives in New Jersey, though when we met she lived in Maryland). She is more engaged in writing books and doing speaking engagements now, too, so doesn't do web stuff as much either (she taught me a lot, so I was always grateful to have her on my team). It was just a strange coincidence that a mutual friend's husband passed away and the funeral was when Diana happened to be visiting her brother and SIL after the birth of their first child up in Dallas. So, Diana was able to drive down and join me in supporting the friend at the funeral, then she stayed on Saturday so she could hang out with me during my knitting teaching time!

Diana ended up taking the class, too, though she already could knit (and I had given her some tips that I hope will make it go even better as we chatted Friday night). The photo shows her feeling triumphant because she had learned to purl! She'd thought she wasn't a good enough knitter to do that, but she turned out to be! By the time she left to go back to Dallas, she had completed a lovely dishcloth, full of stockinette! I was happy to have been able to teach her something, since she had taught me so much a long time ago.

I have to say that yesterday was one of the most rewarding and fun knitting classes I ever taught. It was a nice mix, with one young mom brand-new knitter who learned to knit for her birthday, and with two much older neighbor women who thought they had forgotten how to knit, but of course, hadn't. One of the ladies had some issues with an arm, due to brain surgery, so was really afraid she'd not be able to knit. She was using a cane, and was a little hard of hearing. Certainly there was nothing wrong with her sense of humor, though, and she had me laughing so hard that my cheeks hurt, and I really, really needed that laughter. I am probably as grateful to her for making me feel better as she was to me for helping her see that she could, indeed, re-learn how to knit, even with her challenges. She said she was going to frame her dishcloth when it was done. She kept exclaiming, "Look B! I am doing it!" The other woman had brought an entire basket of dishcloth cotton and said, "I have no idea what I thought I was going to do with this!" And she had the coolest pattern for an Aran sweater, all typed out by hand. She had made it 30 years ago. Yeah, she'll be FINE. I was so happy to re-introduce her to something she can have a lot of fun with now. I told her where to get books of dishcloth patterns, and in return she gave me a hilarious book of crocheted items like toilet roll covers. It will be a great addition to my collection of vintage patterns.

I just had so much fun with Diana and the other ladies. It felt so good to help one learn the basics, another master purling, and two others remember past skills. That is why I love teaching knitting! I was especially happy to have a friend join me and to help her.

Speaking of friends, my local knitting friend Jody has apparently left the country to start her new life. So, send her vibes for a smooth transition and safe arrival of all her knitting, spinning and dyeing stuff! I will sure miss her, so I will remember to treasure my other knitting friends and enjoy them when they are around.

Pansy Posey Sock First Try

Pansy Posey Sock #1
Originally uploaded by sunasak

OK, folks, here is my first try at the Posey pattern from Knitty. The reasons it didn't turn out 100% perfect are myriad, but I must say it looks better than I thought it would now that it's done. And believe it or not, it's comfy!

I do like the picot edge on the top. It actually came out great and is a nice finish. Yes, the toe is dorky. I think the combination of me knitting more tightly on mitered squares than plain knitting, plus the yarn being light fingering weight made the square part a lot smaller than the squares on the originals. I think I may put another row down the instep of the second sock, even if it does mean they will be fraternal. I am also considering knitting the second sock on size 1 needles to see if that makes much difference. Since the width is actually fine, I don't want them much bigger around.

When I was finished, I neatened up my poor attempts at joins down the side. By the end of the sock I was doing it right, so I think the second one will look better in that respect. I was making errors of execution in multiple ways, but now I gots it. So, this was a learning sock. And there is nothing wrong with learning! The Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Light is very pretty, though, and knits up very sturdily. And I do love the colorway.

But wait, there's more! Once again I have two completed socks to show you. I finished the first Green Bus Sock yesterday. I'd just started it Tuesday, so I am quite the over-achiever there, even with much curtailed sock knitting time on Wednesday. It's one fine sock, and I know it will get a lot of day-to-day utility sock wear. Pretty soon I'll have to fire up the ole random number generator to pick another yarn. Life is so exciting here, but like Dragonfly, I am sorta excited about picking those random numbers!

I had another good knitting day at the yarn shop. I was reminded once more that I spelled Katie G's name wrong. I must have a huge mental block, since I insist on spelling her name as if she were a suburb of Houston. I am mainly typing this up to cement the correct spelling in my head! With Jody's sister Katy or Katie at the yarn shop today, plus the blog reader...lots of Kat...s around! And that does remind me that at one point at the shop today we had one Katie, two Susans, an Sue Ann and a Sue Ellen. Good thing neither of the Suzannes showed up! What's best is that once again, I was surrounded by nice friends, and we all had fun learning (today was the Knitting II class with cables).

The other fun thing that's been going on is all us knitters are gifting each other with various things. Jody loaned Lynn her borrowed spinning wheel. Jody gave me her huge and beautiful ceramic pots (and I will try to revive her shrimp plant). I gave Lynn (Titianknitter) my old racing bike (a great bike but it hurts my back too much to ride it any more). Lynn bakes us some delicious banana bread! I loaned one of the Susans my Harmony DPNs. The other Susan gave me a nice gift certificate in appreciation for Lee helping her on her resume. Now THAT kind of reciprocity is what makes a community work.

And speaking of community, Ana of Entrelac showed up at the shop today, which led to a small frenzy of stitch marker buying. I actually got quite a few, since I foresee more than one complex lace project in my summer plans (thanks to that Vogue Knitting wedding feature). They are so sparkly that they are hard to resist, and it helps that they also WORK!! I love how they decorate the work in progress and never snag or slow me down.

Well, that's Suna's Saturday Knitting Report, written from the comfort of my back patio. I must now go get something to barbecue.

Pansy Posey Progress. Etc.

Pansy Posey Progress
Originally uploaded by sunasak

See, it does too look like a sock. Actually, I am now to the end of the squares and going in the round for a bit before starting the toe. People have many comments on this sock, mostly that it is weird, overly sturdy or teeny. All these may well be true. I also have not executed the joins to the squares as beautifully as I might have liked to, but will persevere. This may be one of those cases where the second sock is a lot nicer than the first. But, I honestly predict that these will be wearable.

In the background is a great set of DVDs my son got me for my birthday. If you like the Who, try to find a copy.


I've stuck a picture of the finished Pink Ribbiness sock in here, too. They are soft and comfy. I wore the socks yesterday after work, and got lots of compliments. They are extremely bright, but very endearing. Sheri from the Loopy Ewe even said she liked it after I posted it to their site. It's always nice to see how one of the weird colorways you sell knits up!

Tuesday I had a bad day at work, so combined with lots of bus time, my upset lunchtime knitting, my first randomly generated sock grew very rapidly. Even though I had very little sock time yesterday (didn't ride the bus), I still got well into the gusset of the first sock--which I made longer than usual, too. These are not going to be exciting, since they are 3x1 rib (no, not Thuja--just the same rib pattern, but done at an entirely different gauge and using my own techniques for starting, heel, and toe).

I hope to work on something other than socks this weekend. I still DO need to finish the orange alpaca sweater so I can start on something more summery!

I do want to tell all my friends at Chicks with Sticks thank you for being there yesterday. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have a diverse group of women around who are kind to each other, supportive, and friendly, regardless of politics, religion or other factors. It's a refreshing change from other parts of my life. It's nice to feel like a valued member of a group. So, thank you, thank you to each and every one of you who was there!

A Resourceful Friend

Email List Friends
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I have been so busy filling out really complicated job applications and such that not much knitting has occurred! I didn't knit ONE stitch yesterday, something that has not happened in ages (we went to watch Across the Universe at Jeff's last night, and since you must watch movies in the dark chez Jeffrye, I didn't even bring the stuff). The movie was really fun, though, on a big screen with surround sound!

What I wanted to post about today was a nice time I had at Chicks with Sticks on Wednesday. It's almost always a nice time there, but it was extra special because more members of the Texas knitting ladies email list I am on were there than usual. the photo shows all of us (I will preserve privacy by not mentioning most names). It was great to meet Pat, who reads this blog (HI PAT) and is seated in front of me and whose camera took the picture. I do love putting faces to names, so I am glad the roving knitter roved over our way.

Most impressive though is Allison, in center front. Take a close look at her arm, if you are not squeamish. Tonight was the first time we saw her since a pretty bad auto accident she had, made worse by being out of the US. She is a festive collection of pins and braces--we hope a bone graft will fix her up soon. Now, if I had all sorts of pins in my arm, I'd be going nuts because I couldn't knit. I remember how frustrated my friend Cheri was when she broke her wrist and was trying to do craft--working in a yarn shop and not being able to knit! Ugh!

But, Allison was cool. She put her mind to it and figured out a way to anchor one needle so she could knit with the other needle and her good arm. She is not making tenuous garter stitches, either. She was making beautiful stranded colorwork. I kid you not. I was already incredibly happy to see her and verify in person that she was OK, but it was a real upper to see her knitting. I sure am glad she showed up before I had to leave for choir practice! She's a real example of how important knitting can be to members of our community--it keeps us on an even keel and gives so much pleasure that we'll go through a lot to keep doing it.

Future Plans

I am going to start a new pair of socks today, for my friends' college-age daughter, who is stuck in a place where her feet are really cold. I've been wanting to do something nice for them, so when I got that request I jumped at it. I have chosen one of my precious Trekking XXLs, in shades of purple, since she requested purple. I'll just do a 2x2 rib, so it will go quickly for her.

Of course I plan to finish the sweater, too. I want to wear it at least once this year!

Brush with Fame!

Hey, go visit the Mason-Dixon knitting blog and read the December 19 post. I was sleepily reading along, relishing not having to go to work and no interview until the afternoon. Then, I spotted something odd. I said to myself, "Wow, that woman in that picture sure looks a lot like a friend of mine." Then WHOA, I realized that Katie is in New York City and that IS her in the picture! She helped sew up their big blanket! That is a fun vacation activity!!! Of course, they said she was from "Houston" but I know she is from AUSTIN. What a nice surprise.

Preview of Fun to Come

Dyeing Sample Lace
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I have a friend (OK, it's Jody, who commented below, who is like one of my bestest friends, otherwise I'd not be plugging her madly) who is starting a business dyeing yarn. This is someone with an amazing sense of color and the scientific knowledge to do some really amazing things with the yarns. She's starting out with some semi-solids and made dozens and dozens of samples in colors that are so pretty it takes my breath away. I have NO idea how I could choose a favorite, or if I were a LYS owner, how I'd pick the ones to sell! Right now there is something for everyone in the selection and THEN some. I keep imagining the mitered square bedspread to end all bedspreads made out of all these little samples. OK, so that won't actually happen; she needs them!

We all had a blast at the LYS on Saturday looking at the samples, touching them, rearranging them, oohing and aahing. My friend obviously put a lot of work into making recipes and documenting them, and making all those samples! Whoa! Some of the colors were shades I had never seen in yarn for sale. Oh, drooooooool. Look at all those blues and purples.

Lucky for me, she made two samples of one color (this is, believe it or not, yellow base dye with black), so I could knit up a sample for our LYS, which is in the photograph. It came out a lovely olive green. I am enthralled with how the slight color variations make it shimmer without detracting from the lace pattern. The base yarn is a wonderful wool-silk blend that will be familiar to any lace knitter. It sure takes to dye well!! Do click the image of the sample to see it enlarged. It's so pretty, even in perhaps not the most exciting color on earth. (Hmm, it is the color of the earth, in my mind.)

I am enjoying using my new Addi lace needles on this sample, too. This is a size 4; a "normal" knitter would get this effect with about a size 6 US needle. The pattern is one repeat of a motif used in an item in a book I had laying around, but I am sure it is in one of the Walker books or a Harmony Guide--called "arrowhead lace." I think this would actually make a nice narrow scarf to wear as an accent with a button down shirt or turtleneck. Maybe when my friend makes more, I'll do that.

If you are interested in being notified when this yarn goes up for sale (I think she will have an Etsy store or something like that at first), you can send an email message to ColorMyYarnKrazy-subscribe AT yahoogroups DOT com (replacing the AT and DOT appropriately). It will be an announcement kind of list, not a mailbox-filling spammy kind. I think there will be laceweight and sock yarn at first. And eventually there will be hand painted sock yarn. However, these semi-solids are so lovely they'd keep me occupied for a while. I can't wait to see what she comes up with in the future!