Grab your knitting needles and come relax with me.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Yarn and Love
Last night we had our monthly potluck...way out in New Braunfels (about 30 min outside of San Antonio, but an hour and some change from my house). The host also sells yarn...Duuuuuuuuuuuuude, I was in heaven and hell. (Heaven because she had mounds of beautiful yarn; hell because I am on a yarn diet!!!)
I once again forgot my camera in my bag. Oops.
We had a yarn swap--sorta--most everyone forgot and those who remembered forgot to bring out their yarn. No one wanted mine, which was fine because I wasn't sure I wanted to swap. It's the green lace Malabrigo that while I love the yarn, I hate the colour. I need to over-dye it.
Well my friend Juanita let me have this:
I think it'll look great with a mossy lacey pattern I have been playing around with.
This one:
Of course that's not for now...later...someday.
I met the creator of this fantabulous Etsy shop: Bella Lili. Her jewelry? Is an embodiment of me, totally. I am in love. Gorgeousness.
I am still plugging away at the lacey scarves and shawls...they look the same. So I see no point in pictures. Yep, me boring. Lorelei broke my number 4 bamboo needle, the one I was using for the Lace Ribbon Scarf--so that one is being put aside until I can get a new one.
I somehow managed to re-work the alignment of planets and arrange everything just so; and was able to go up to Austin (The Knitting Nest) to meet and hang with Amy Singer (the editor of Knitty). It was a terrific afternoon.
My hubby confused the dates (I explicitly told him the date) and didn't have the day off. Aiiiieeee!! I was able to arrange not one, but TWO! babysitters. Woot! It was well worth it. I got to listen to Amy softly strum her uke, while my own tin whistle sat in my bag--too nervous to come out.
I completely forgot my camera (bad knit blogger no cookie) and even though I reminded myself, forgot to tell Wendy (my ride up) to bring HER camera. So no pics of Amy. Although we all did learn how to take awesome pictures (Wendy rocks)--because photographs are taking a 3D object and turning it 2D. Optical illusions are our friend and to be used! Double chin? Stick your neck out as far forward as you can and voila beautiful neck! and only one chin!!
I had great fun talking and knitting with Amy and other assorted Austin knitters. I even got to meet Sandra Singh! I also got sucked in by the malabrigo. Second only to Handmaiden Sea Silk--Malabrigo lures me in. I now have 7 different colours (8 hanks) of Malabrigo laceweight and not a bit of it knit up. This has GOT to change.
I was hemming over this minty Water Green hanging lovingly, temptingly on a rack.
Mint Green is one of my new IT colours. Although, red still is IT, always will be IT. But the other colours pass in and out of IT-ness. Plum and lavender have left to allow minty to come to the forefront of my senses. Lately, I have been wanting to pair minty green with this:
Then I saw this colour:
And something exploded in my brain when I did this to the two hanks of Malabrigo:
Wowazza!!! I am going to make something exquisite with these two hanks of deliciousness.
I totally forgot to write about my yarny adventure with good friend T. from Houston. She was in town vacationing right before school started...so two weeks ago. She had a free day and asked us SA girls if we could show her the sights (I kinda got thrown into planning it--a bit unexpected, but I rose to the challenge, hee hee). We (A., B.J, and K.) took her to both of the San Antonio yarn shops, Yarn Barn and Yarnivore, and dragged her up to Boerne to Rosewood Yarns (I had never been and I had been wanted to get some Denise Cords).
I of course brought my camera but took just one picture. Yeah, brilliant, I know! But it was just one of those, DUDE! Moments...
It was across from the Chinese place where we had lunch.
So, first stop was Yarn Barn. Lovely store! Nice sock yarns, nice handmaiden...I did sorta convinced T. to buy some Handmaiden Sea Silk. I didn't twist her arm or anything...but I can be slightly persuasive. Grin. She got a gorgeous rainbow coloured hank. And she let me pet it in the car too...I was told to get a private room next time I want to "pet" yarn. What can I say: I LOVE Handmaiden!!! She pretty much blew her budget...not just on Handmaiden...but dude vacation yarn DOESN'T count toward the budget or the diet!!! It's a law or something. Hee.
We tried to check out a highly recommended Chinese Buffet across from Yarnivore, but found it shuttered up. Sigh. So we went to a sit down Chinese place instead. (Don't try their egg drop--shudder!!) Yarnivore was awesome! as always. I bought a little hank of yarn for a Super Secret Project for Next Summer. It's gorgeous! It matches my hair! (But was a ROYAL bitch to wind!!) I (and B.J. K. and A.) then knitted while T. shopped some more--like I said vacation yarn doesn't count!!
Next we drove up to Boerne. It's about 30 minutes or less outside of San Antonio. After a few minutes of confusion we found Rosewood Yarns. Wow. I have GOT to go back!! With MONEY! They had some BEAUTIFUL lace weight silk I was slobbering all over. The vibrance of the colours...nearly made me weep. Yes, I have a soft spot for silk...a big huge all encompassing soft spot. I quickly grabbed my Denise Cords (I needed long ones for Granny's Shawl) and set to knitting, as not to be distracted and lured by the pretty silks.
Then we went to get ice cream, while T. ducked in an Irish shop. And look what she bought us (on sale mind you!).
So cute!!! It's big enough to be a sock bag or just a notions kit. Awesomeness! It even came with a matching pen. And look at the ZIPPER pull!
The cuteness!!!
We had such a great time. I love hanging out with my knitterly friends. Thanks to LSSK-I have so many AWESOME, fantastic knitterly friends ALL OVER TEXAS. I am truly blessed. The Hill Country Yarn Crawl is coming up next month. I am dragging my mate Phisto to this. SHE has a yarn stash that fits into an ottoman. WHAT? Into an ottoman? I am totally going to rectify this on the Crawl. Hee.
Oops, totally forgot to show y'all the finished head wrap!
I love it and wear it all the time. It's great for second or third day hair when my curls stay excellent but the front, not so much. I found the pattern through my Naturally Curly group on Ravelry. They've helped me learn SO much about my hair and how to make it look its best. It amazes me that I actually thought I had straight hair!
(I took this piccie after I did a deep conditioning treatment with honey and olive oil.)
You can sorta see what my hair looked like before I discovered it was curly/wavy. I just thought I had unmanageable straight hair. Then I learned to stop brushing it and stop using silicones and sulfates.
Anyhoo--knitting! I just finished a pattern submission, so I am taking a mini knitting break to focus on the house. I neglected it trying to make my deadline. Unfortunately most of what I am and will be working on is Super Secret. BUT, I have a knitting field trip coming up: gonna stalk, oh ahem, meet Amy Singer, the editor of Knitty. Then the following month is the Hill Country Yarn Crawl AND then the next month is Kid N Ewe Fiber Fest. Yarny goodness! I also have that extreme lace surgery to show y'all.
I've been a very bad blogger and I hope to rectify this in the coming days and weeks. Thanks for readin' y'all!
I can just hear my husband pumping his fist in the air and yelling for joy. (Yarny friends, never fear, I am only using the word "should") But, I do have A LOT of yarn. While it's not a S.A.B.L.E (stash acquired beyond life expectancy), it is a stash that should last me SEVERAL SEVERAL years. And now I feel guilty when I buy new yarn, unless a knitting bunny decides at that moment to pop out of my head fully formed and practically grabs the yarn for me. I know, that's silly. Yarn at yarn stores are LONELY. But so is yarn left in a dresser not lovingly knit up on needles and MADE into something. I feel bad for my stash. It needs to be knitted. KNIT ME!
But then there's that siren...SILK. And the grand mistress siren of them all...Handmaiden Sea Silk. Her call is poignant and loud...not to mention persistent. But LOOK at the abundance of riches: My Stash (Stash on Flickr-for non rav folks).
After spending the weekend (and most of the week) wrestling and chasing various knitting bunnies: I finally had a break through! Relief! I can now attribute most (if not some) of my ferociously bad mood this week to the naughty, difficult Knitting Bunnies. I think what helped the break through was the spontaneous mitosis of a knitting bunny. One shawl design that's been percolating in my brain for upwards of 5 years became two shawls. Somehow this just let the dams burst forth and helped the other design that was giving me fits smooth out and play nice.
So two shawls were born this weekend: one will remain secret and will be featured in a special event I am planning with a yarny friend of mine. The other: not sure if it'll be totally secret (this is the Thistle/Scottish themed shawl)... We shall see.
I took better pictures of the Helen's Lace this morning.
I am all hot and ready to swatch, but I have some detangling ahead of me.
See that bit of yarn barf behind the cake? A while back the kids got into my stash and played with my lace...Mic used THIS yarn my favourite yarn to make a spider web. So before I swatch I need to untangle. Which, really isn't a horrible thing...I enjoy this sort of thing. It's sort of zen for me; calming and centering.
While I was re-taking pictures of the Helen's Lace, I figured it would be a good idea to take a picture of some green malabrigo lace I kept forgetting to record for my stash on Ravelry. So I bring out this bag from my stash dresser:
Jamey just about had a mini-stroke. "What is all THAT?! Where did THAT come from." LOL. Slowly slowly, piece my piece, through out the months and years. Hee hee. But I do have a lot of yarn...which is why I have been trying to slow up my yarn purchases. But it's so hard when I see pretty pretty softy yarn!
He also didn't think my idea of keeping a duffle bag near my yarn dresser was particularly brilliant. (My thought was in an emergency and we need to leave the house and maybe not come back...I would need something to carry my yarn in) He thinks my priorities are messed up.
Yeah, I am totally going to have to make one for myself now. It's fun to wear (I took 50 pictures hee hee). My full photoset is here. BUT, I can't make it right now. First, the knitting bunnies must be appeased.
I am not sure if I am going to send these current bunnies off to get published or if I'll self publish. If I send it off--well mum's the word and NO pictures. Prolly just me bitching about the process. ;-)
Before I took all those lovely pictures, I nailed down some design ideas. And one shawl became two shawls. These will be full sized (not the teeny, shoulder shawl I just finished), but I do intend to make some smaller ones--prolly a lot more. They are better suited to the Texas climate. Anyhoo, two big shawls. One will be Scotland themed using this yarn:
Helen's Lace by Lorna's Laces in Gray's Corner.
The other shawl will be rose themed using this:
Cashwool by Baruffa in Pale Pink.
(I really ought to retake the yarns picture...a bit blah don't ya think?)
I'll most likely start the Scottish one first since the yarn is all set to go, wound up and excited. This is also the first proper yarn I bought...also the most expensive and special to me. And the Scottish design as been in my head for YEARS.
My mom thought I should add some celtic cables as well...that's an idea...
Well this has been a busy week or so...sorry for the lack of blogging. Between practically losing the mojo and getting ready for my brother's visit (read frantically cleaning the house), life has been both busy and poor blog fodder.
This week or so, I am the proud host to a teeny crocheted version of The Doctor (yes THAT Doctor).
A group I belong to on Ravelry called Who Knits is doing a Traveling Doctor Passalong. So I have been showing the tiny Doctor (heretofore referred to as TinyTen) San Antonio's sights and sounds. You can see all our doings at the Alamo, in my backyard (otherwise known as the Land of the Lost), and at the Ood Bank from last week. This weekend, TinyTen met my brother and his wife AND attended a Texas style Luau BBQ. This week he will meet the Yarn Harlot and help me fold laundry. Here's the Traveling Doctor Photoset.
As for my knitting mojo: eh...I am feeling better about the Super Secret Project. Last week I was about to tear IT and my hair out because of feelings of inferiority and simpleness. So it goes. But I am feeling better about the knitting and I am looking forward to playing with my handmaiden sea silk.
I am knitting with Debbie Bliss's Pure Silk. Ah, it is so nice. Hang around me long enough and you learn that I have a raging selfish need/craving for silk. I will push you out of the way in order to get to the silk bin in a yarn shop (most LYS I have been to keep their yarn organised by fiber, so yes there is a bin or a cubby or a table just for siiiiilllllk). Yum!
Anyhoo I have been saving this silk and this pattern for a year and I finally started it this weekend at WHIBSIB. It's goin' fast, however I have Super Secret deadlines so she'll prolly be ignored till June. Insert sad face here.
Speaking of Super Secret. I lost a whole days worth of work when I realised I had accidently attached a size 4 needle and a size 6 needle to my KP interchangeable cable. (I thought the fabric was looking looser than it ought to). Sigh, so I had to frog and curse and fix the problem. Bleh. (You may have heard me curse on Twitter)
I have about 2 or 3 things (maybe 4) in the Super Secret queue (okay FIVE! The bunnies are jumping!!). So lot's of hinting and tip-toeing and holding of the breath. I can give a hint--they will be scarfish and or stoleish (so shoot me, I LOVE scarves! I love things I can wrap around my self and twirl around myself)
Lot's to post about today! It's funny how things work out...I have days where I have no knitting to blog about and then I have days that are so full of knitty bloggy goodness, that conceivably I could stretch it out into three blog posts. Much like the weather here in S. Texas: it either rains A LOT or not at ALL. (We just had a long, long period of Not At All and we've had a few days of beautiful GLORIOUS rain).
FIRST: I finished the Twirly Skirt yesterday!!! Woot!!!
It took me five days to hem the skirt...and I finished the skirt itself in under a month. NOT five months like my husband suggested; not even the month or two I estimated! Lorelei is a great motivator--she would not let me knit other projects. "Why aren't you knitting my skirt Mommy?!"
As you can see it twirls brilliantly. Lorelei had lot's of fun modeling her new skirt. And within an hour I had to take it off of her and wash the strawberry stains off of it--thank dia it's cotton! I am just glad I removed it before she got into the chocolate ice cream!!!
Notes: The pattern is sadly only available on Ravelry. Because I used a thicker, heavier yarn I knitted the size 2 with size 6 length (Lori wanted a longer skirt). Yarn: 5 balls of I Love This Cotton. Needles: I magic looped this with 60 inch circs in size 6
Friday, Jamey told me he had a surprise for me. Woot-I like surprises, but I hate guessing out loud (weird? me? Never!), so I sat silently in the car quiet pondering. We were headed east--centrally toward YARNIVORE!! Woot! My surprise was a trip the yarn shop (sometimes it's like pulling teeth to persuade Jamey to take my yarn shopping). So I get to the shop (run in more like it) and survey the shop--let the hunt BEGIN. Tammy changed the layout since I was in the shop last--so I hunt for my favourite yarns, the laceweight, the sock yarn and the silk...OH and I spy a giant HEAP of Dream in Colour Smooshy!! Freshly arrived! I was very good and did not roll around in it like I wanted to.
BUT.
THAT.WAS.NOT.THE.SURPRISE.
The surprise was this:
He stood in front of Tammy and her counter--gave her a wink and she pulled out the books!!!! Those two sneakers!!!
I had asked Tammy a week or two ago if she could order the first 2 Barbara Walker Treasuries for me--it was my reward to myself for being published in Knitty. Unbeknown to me: Jamey had emailed her TWO HOURS prior to ask her the very same thing with a caveat, Do Not Tell Birdy. So Tammy, dying, has to tell me that she already did her book order and can't order them for another few weeks. (I was totally cool with that...I am patient). So of course I was completely and utterly surprised and of course thrilled beyond words. I have the coolest LYS owner/friend and hubby!!
Now, none of that Smooshy came home with me because none of the colours really spoke to me and screamed to go home with me. But I did rescue two skeins of the softest, silkiest yarn.
It's Sugar Rush by Queensland Collection: 100% sugar cane! It is amazingly soft, with great stitch definition. This yarn has a scarf in it's future (using ma brand new books, I have three motifs picked out).
So that was Friday and Saturday! I did have a pot luck Saturday night, but I will save that for tomorrow. (Read: I still need to free the pics from my camera and edit and...don't wanna do that right now)
So I have been wondering what to do with the 6 grams of the Sea Silk I had left over from the Aegis.
Jamey suggested I make a bracelet. Eh. That idea didn't pop, although gauntlets did sound interesting. But today, a wee, tiny knitting bunny was born. What about a choker? That was be fun. (Okay yeah I have serious issues with things on my hands, esp nice things that I could lose or ruin. I had an incident as a child with a dumpster). I gotta go run and look at my stitch dictionaries now.
And ya know: speaking of the Aegis...ya know despite it being lace. It is quite manly lace. Just so ya know...
I wound the hank of seasilk today. I don't have a ball winder or a swift. I kinda like doing it by hand anyway...it can take a long time and things can go very badly (i.e knots so bad that you consider harikari with some scissors). But if you were safe and impatient and used the machines: then you wouldn't get this.
The Yarn Thrall.
This beauteous 400 meters of bronzey goodness is 70% silk and 30% seacell. It is unbelievable soft; the color is superb. It's not just about the feel or the appearance. It's the SOUND--that enthralls me It whispers through your fingers, it rustles when you shake the hank and it crinkles ever so slightly. I stop winding every so often, just to rattle the hank and listen as the silk and seacell rub together, producing the soft sound of the sea.
Bliss.
I think it took me three hours to wind, just because I kept loosing myself to the sound of silk.
Jamey helped me solve my knitting bunny conundrum...in logical fashion. His goal is: DESIGN SOMETHING--KNIT SOMETHING already with all that expensive yarn you insist on buying!!! I am inclined to agree with him because I love the thrill of the New. And I am still researching pictures and stitch patterns for the wild flower motifs I want to use for the bison wool. So: the shield scarf (temp name) come up to BAT!
I found the exact stitch patterns I want to use and I finished writing up the charts with the motifs I'll be using. They are working BEAUTIFULLY together (so far) on my speadsheet. Now, I gotta knit it up and see for sure.
First I need to wind this pretty soft thing up into a ball, tomorrow.
It's a great feeling of accomplishment. Knitting Bunny is happy: current WIPS well I hear some grumbling coming from the basket. Lalalala I don't hear you!!
Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to plummet, so I am furiously trying to finish mitts I started early this afternoon. I am hoping to finish at least one by tomorrow. I figure ONE will keep my hand warm while I work on the other one. Grin.
Our "cold" snap will stick around for two days warming up on Wednesday till we are supposed to have a high of 80 on Thursday. Yes, this is early winter in San Antonio: we are teased with cold and then warmth. So I can easily be wearing shorts in the afternoon and a bulky sweater and sweats in the night. Fun fun FUN.
I am a bit worried I won't have enough yarn: I am using yarn I got from October's Bobbin' for Yarn Potluck...I have one ball. It's really pretty. Splooshes of purple, grey, blue and red.
I have a vague idea of what I am doing: I started out with a rolled wrist edge and then I started a 2x2 which I think will grow into cables. Hopefully I can take pictures tomorrow. (I am having issues with uploading pictures from my camera.)
I did succumb to the Knitting Bunny and am a good 5 inches into my Twilight Scarf: it's very mossy and purty. I would show pictures but...see above. Yeah, stupid technology.
Apparently my uploader basey thing just needed a time out, now (2 days later) it works just fine.
This past Saturday Anne and I got to do one of our favourite things: show out of town knitters the yarny sights. Since most of the gals visiting San Antonio, stay downtown, we always take them to the Blue Star Brewery. They have homemade root beer. And terrific chicken fried steak.
Then we went to the new Yarn Barn location. (The shop lost its lease and was sold to the lovely Lisa about 6 months ago). I love the new shop. It's a lovely, cozy house.
I really love their new signage; it's so cute.
It's a cozy, multiple room shop. They kept their needlework room--it's got a table for work as well. A knitting table is in a far back room...surrounded by windows. I am looking forward to spending time there.
And yes, some yarn walked home with me.
front
back
I am envisioning a shield themed scarf. It's Handmaiden Sea Silk, and it is luxuriously soft. It should be; it's 70% silk, 30% seacell.
Next stop: Yarnivore. The kids played while I was seduced by this:
And this:
Although, I nearly hyperventilated when I saw Nancy Bush's Knitting Lace of Estonia. True knitting pr0n. Absolutely beautiful. Anne bought it--I am holding out for Christmas and or my birthday, hint hint!! Grin. It's gorgeous and FULL of nupps! Woot!
It was a fun way to spend a Saturday, full of knitterly goodness.
For those outside of Texas, Kid N Ewe is a fiber festival in Boerne, Texas, about 30 minutes north of the outskirts of SA. (San Antonio is so large it can take you 45 minutes to an hour to travel from one side of town to the other). This year, was my first opportunity to go. Last year was the first time I had hard of it and I already had a craft fair I was participating in.
Jamey had to work, so the kids tagged along, with three of my knitterly mates. Next year, I am leaving the ankle biters at home, somehow. We didn't get a chance to go to the animal barn where they were showing, sheep, alpaca, and other fiber producing animals. But we did find some random Alpaca's penned near some yarn.
Mic begged me to let him feed the alpaca, but I didn't think this was a petting zoo. But the handler did come by for a bit to talk to the kids. It gave me a few moments where I could look at yarn without the kids pestering me to move on and when are we going to see more animals?!?!
I was also on edge most of the time because it was a far bit crowded and crowds always make me cranky...so between that and the kids...I am surprised no one got hurt. Grin.
I saw loads of friends...gals from my local group that i hadn't seen in a while, gals from my Texas group that I haven't seen in a while because of distance--it was awesome! The booths were amazing--so much yarn and fiber!
My favourite booth was the Buffalo Gold booth...it was my entire reason for going to the festival. I wanted needed to get my hands on some of that glorious fiber. I really enjoyed talking to the owner. It was a brilliant meeting. And already my knitting bunnies are gnawing at my brain for what I bought:
It's their newest offering, a mix of bison, cashmere, silk, and tencel--lace weight. It's going to be a joy absolute thrill to work with. I think I'll start working something in the new year.
I also picked up yarn from a booth representing a new yarn shop in Comfort, called The Tinsmith's Wife. I couldn't decide which yarn to take home--so yeah I took home both.
I kinda regretted the two sock yarns because at the next booth I saw some beautiful lace weight, but no more mulla. But, oh both of those socks yarns are just so gorgeous. But, one ball is for socks, the other for arm warmers...I think the top one with the orangyness is going for the arms.
A few days prior I also picked up some more yarn from Yarnivore.
I really like this kid mohair--it's the only mohair that doesn't itch me....and give me hives.
I think its destiny is a stole. It's been whispering...
Seriously, folks, even now looking at the picture I am about to add to this blog post, I am thinking, "I swear I already blogged this!" Yes, there is a good reason I am knitting my self a crayzee scarf.
I finally got my shite together and properly organised and stored my yarn. Before it was all crammed into a big grey tote, with the yarn itself put in shopping bags. And some of it was in a among a big pile of stuff at the end of my bed. Not good at all.
This big dresser:
WAS filled with my prior obsession, cross stitching. I had all my fabrics, floss, needles and patterns tucked out away in those drawers. Then I met yarn and needles and, oh boy, I never looked back...I have barely picked up embroidery since then. Now, it took me a while to actually get a decent stash. For along while I subsisted on my mom's gift of acrylic (I store it in totes in the garage) she no longer had use for (she had already discovered Yarn Barn, and slowly I got a respectable stash. I decided last month that geez, why am I storing my beloved yarn in a tote haphazardly in bags when I have a dresser like this one?
So in my needles went:
The other top two drawers hold my crafty accessories, scissors, papers, glue guns, ribbon, ya know, craft. The other drawer has a few other larger accessories and some patterns.
The next two drawers hold yarn!!
I put all the yarn according to color and weight into gallon sized ziplocked bags and squeezed all the air out. These are store side ways--the drawer is deep with yarn.
I also have my cones I got from my friend whose husband is all too happy to destash for her, with her permission of course. This is most of my yarn, all vacuum packed and safe. I might have to get those true vacuum bags but for now this works.
On the bottom drawer has a motley assortment of UFOs that are on the back burner, pattern books, and yarn stash. That top item? Yep the Mystery Stole number Three...I still need to fix that ripped yarn.
The other drawer--more non yarn stuff--fabric and what not.
The cross stitch stuff, got put into totes, some stored under the bed and some out in the garage.
I have a sneaky thought...what if I make y'all wait for the yarn pr0n from Kid n Ewe?? I already have a long post here...and Kid N Ewe does deserve it's own post. However, three posts in one day, well that just seems extreme. Yeah, I think I'll make ya wait...
sneak peek
Mwhahahaha
Oh, one more thing: Super Secret Project--it's fantastic! And I have high hopes.
