The Misadventures of the Accidental Knitter

Changes.

2008-08-29T20:50:00.002-04:00

Hello, friends. I'm still here, just taking a looooong break. Not from knitting, mind you - just from blogging. But I'm slowly starting up again, but in another location. Please come visit my new site.

Few And Far Between.

2008-03-29T21:08:00.003-04:00

OK, there's just no getting around it anymore. I just can't keep up the blog on an every-other-day schedule right now. Work has gotten very busy very quickly and it's getting in the way of my knitting and blogging in a bigger way than I thought it would. Plus, Husband of A.K. is also incredibly busy this month, pulling long hours at the office and will be on the road quite a bit for the next 5 weeks or so. Which leaves me tending to Baby A.K. a lot, which makes me even more tired than usual. So, bear with me for a bit while I try to juggle my life and somehow get some knitting done, which, although I'm still burned out with my current projects*, I miss terribly.

*(I am, however, making progress with Wrapper's Delight. Finished the body, moved onto the first sleeve, which is going quickly.)

What You Can't Do At Chuck E. Cheese.

2008-03-15T20:54:00.002-04:00

As far as knitting goes (and as I've previously mentioned), this week was a wash. At the last minute, I was in a class for the entire week, which has only added to my workload since I missed quite a bit at the office. I tried to handle some important matters during class breaks and whatever time I had afterwards before running off to get Baby A.K. from daycare. But knitting? Too busy during the day, too tired at night.

But... I did think about knitting today. I thought I'd have the opportunity to break out Husband's socks and... gasp... talk to adults for a bit. Because, my friends, we were invited to a birthday party at...
Chuck E. Cheese.

I'm so old that I remember when this place came into being, but believe it or not, I've never actually been there. This was to be a new experience for all three A.K. family members. I knew, though, that it was a safe place for kids to run around and play while the adults... did something else. And for me, that something else was supposed to be knitting.

I know you know what's coming, so you can stop laughing at me now.

My fantasy of sitting in a corner somewhere and knitting died the minute we walked in. The place was loud, hot, and mind-numbing. The birthday party we were attending was one of, I swear, 15. One of our friends who was in attendance even commented that she'd never seen the place so crowded. Lucky, lucky us.

With both of her parents in tow, Baby A.K. picked her way through the masses of children carefully, taking it all in. Little by little, she became bolder and vaulted herself towards the games with great excitement. Although I tried to leave her in her Daddy's capable hands so I could ~~run away screaming~~ knit a bit, she wouldn't have it: "Noooooo, Mommy, you come, too!" At some point after cake and before the sun went down, Husband looked at his watch and said, "Did you know it's 5:30?" The birthday boy's family had already packed up their car, and no one was left from our party... except us. We gathered up our things, cashed in our tickets (for Baby A.K.'s favorite: a lollipop), and went home.

So, to sum up: when attending anything at Chuck E. Cheese, don't even kid yourself about grabbing any "me" time. Won't happen. Ever.

Not Much Time This Week...

2008-03-12T21:07:00.002-04:00

... to knit when you're running to classes that you were approved for at the last minute, and are also on your own with a very adorable but very wacky Baby A.K. because your husband is busy interviewing this woman. The best I can do right now is to direct you to this site, and also to this one, for some excellent primary/government coverage (if you can stand to put the needles down, and if you're not completely and utterly sick of the primary/government by now).

Soaking Wet, But Renewed.

2008-03-05T20:42:00.003-05:00

whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug. whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug.

It rained all day and all night yesterday, so much that today, much of Central PA is bailing out of flooded roads and streams. Whenever this happens, whenever the National Weather Service says that the Susquehanna River is going to crest, it also means that my basement is in danger of flooding, too, even though I live many miles away from any large bodies of water.

whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug. whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug.

How is this possible? My backyard is mostly made up of a giant hill, and when we get a ton of rain, all that runoff goes straight to my basement. It doesn't happen often, of course, but when it does, I'm treated to 36 hours of the sound of my sump pump doing its thing to rid us of excess groundwater. It should be a comforting sound, but it makes me nervous. A few years ago, the sump pump stopped working during the remnants of a hurricane, and we, like so many others, spent days bailing out and drying out and combing through the wreckage of water-damaged collectibles and music equipment. In all, the damage wasn't too bad (especially when you add in the nice check we got from FEMA), but I'll never forget that heart-dropping feeling when I went down to the basement that day and saw my cat's litter box floating towards the laundry room.

whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug. whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug.

So my trip to my LYS did what I wanted it to do: reinvigorated my spirit of creativity (read, spurred my butt into action) and renewed my interest in Wrapper's Delight and Husband of A.K.'s socks. And for good reason: I have a nice, easy Spring project in the queue that should help get my mojo going again. It'll be a cute dress for Baby A.K., in pink chenille with some funky stripes of a ribbon yarn going through it. Easy... maybe too easy... but so cute, I couldn't resist.

whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug. whirrrrrrrrr. glug glug glug glug.

I promised pictures, but I don't have any. Still. But I will soon. I'm very close to having something to show for my renewed energy - the body of Wrapper's Delight and one finished sock. So hang in there with me... maybe by the time my sump pump slows down, I'll have something to take pictures of.

Getting My Groove Back... Slowly.

2008-02-27T21:27:00.003-05:00

Wow. I'm having an epic bout of winter blahs that has manifested itself as utter aversion towards knitting. Can you believe that? Except for the monthly Stitch 'N Bitch, I haven't picked up my knitting, and haven't missed it. This is getting serious. I need inspiration... and fast.

Ask and ye shall receive. Inspiration seems to be manifesting itself as little signs scattered hither and yon:

I knit a little bit on Husband of A.K.'s socks during lunch these past few days, and lo and behold, I'm almost done with the first one. It was one of those moments when you feel like you'll never finish something, then you look down and realize you're done. Whew.

Baby A.K. actually asked for a knitted item. Not socks, mind you... a dress. This is a project that's impossible to resist, knowing how friggin' adorable she'll look in a little summer handknit frock.

I got a really nice compliment from a fellow knitter on Ravelry about a past project - a fitted Spring/Summer pullover from Filatura di Crosa. After the couple of weeks I've had at work ("mind-numbing", "confidence-draining"), I can't tell you how happy I was to read this.

My cubicle neighbor has taken up crochet again after many years of leaving it by the wayside, maybe partly due to my enthusiasm about knitting. She recently went to a craft store and raided their Lion Brand section, buying enough yarn to make an afghan for one of her daughters. Now that she's fully under way with her project, she said to me today, "I'd rather be home crocheting. I wish I could get away with working on the afghan here, under my desk!" Truer words were never spoken... I wished at that moment that I was knitting under my desk, too.

Mother of A.K. complained yesterday of missing Baby A.K. very much. Not having heard that conversation herself, Baby A.K. complained this morning of missing Mother of A.K. (aka Gramma) very much. So... we're going to visit Mother of A.K. this weekend in NJ. You know what that means, don't you? A visit to my fave LYS, of course.

Let's see what this weekend brings.

Spring Knitting.

2008-02-17T20:30:00.002-05:00

Even though I'm still working on Husband's socks and Wrapper's Delight, I'm definitely thinking ahead for Springtime projects. And a theme keeps rearing its head: cute, fitted short-sleeved tops are all over the place. Interweave Knits is showing them. Cascade Yarn is showing a cute one as an advertisement. And my LYS has one as their Project of the Month. I really want one. Certainly this kind of project won't take long - a front, a back, and short sleeves must make for fast knitting. And with my current projects proceeding so slooooowwwwwwly, all I want right now is a project I can finish quickly and start wearing - something that makes it feel like Spring.

Anyone else have a project for Spring in mind?

Knitting And...

2008-02-12T19:31:00.001-05:00

Saturday night was a near perfect knitting night for me. Baby A.K. was so tired from a great day with Grandma (Mother of A.K., who was visiting for the weekend) that she went straight to sleep without her usual tricks. Mother of A.K. was so tired from a great day with Baby A.K. that she went straight to sleep, too - no tricks there. And Husband of A.K. was out for the night playing a gig with the ska band. I curled up on the couch, Wrapper's Delight in hand, and began to make some headway.

About 3 minutes into it, I decided to watch a movie while I worked. Turner Classic Movies is having a month-long "31 Days Of Oscar" film festival, which we've taken full advantage of and have recorded many oldies on our DVR. My choice for this particular night: Lolita, which I've never seen. It turned out to be a truly excellent film. I mean, I listened to every word, but saw maybe 65% of it due to the fact that I can't look up from my knitting and watch TV. Just can't do it. And even if I could, I wouldn't be able to with this project because of those boucle loops of the Claudia Hand Painted yarn that I'm using. But I don't feel that I missed anything, because I find that I listen better when I'm knitting. So my sense of hearing overrode my sense of sight. This is probably why I mostly like listening to podcasts while I knit.

Knitting and watching TV. Knitting and listening to podcasts/music. Knitting and attending staff meetings (ok, I haven't done that one. Yet.). If you pair up your knitting/crocheting/spinning/crafting with some other activity, which one's your favorite? Do you find your attention to be more acute when you do, or is it all just background noise?

(I haven't posted any pictures in a while. I really ought to, but I've been lazy and I simply don't have any new ones. I will soon, though.)

I've Been Commissioned!

2008-02-09T20:48:00.000-05:00

Last week, Bob, my project manager, came to my cube and said, "I have a request for you." I figured he was going to ask me to code something/research something/perform some kind of miracle for the project we're currently working on together. I grabbed my notebook and a pencil and was ready to take notes when he said,

"Do you knit on commission?"

And with those words, my first order has been placed: two hand-knit winter scarves will be completed as Christmas '08 gifts for Bob's wife and daughter. The wife's scarf will be a navy and white design, possibly Penn State-inspired. The daughter's scarf will be something funky with a lot of color. I'm really looking forward to researching some nice designs and presenting them to my "client". And I can't tell you how impressed I am that, for a guy who doesn't know much about the craft, he knew to order way in advance of the due date. Maybe that's part of what makes him such a great project manager to work with!

I'm Back.

2008-02-06T21:56:00.000-05:00

Wow... sorry for the long break. I had a truly exhausting week since last Wednesday, which was complicated by a severe sinus infection and a staggering lack of sleep. I just got caught up with my email, and I'm also trying to clean my house a bit before tomorrow, when my good friends Joan and Doug come over for dinner.

So what's new with my knitting? Nothing. Still working on Wrapper's Delight, which I know will be great when it's finished, but, well... it's kinda boring. I highly recommend this pattern to any newbies who haven't gone beyond scarves or who have uttered, "I couldn't possibly make a sweater - it's too complicated" at some point (Cindy, I'm lookin' right at you!). But I guess I really need something more challenging. The socks I'm making for Husband of A.K.? Same problem. Socks rock, but again, not very challenging. I know what I need, too - the pattern for the lace shawl to use with my Filatura di Crosa Superior. Better call my LYS...

I'll Be Back.

2008-01-29T20:36:00.000-05:00

Very short post today - I'm still fighting the ick that Baby A.K. doled out last week - I think it's a sinus infection. But the real reason for the short post is that I'm packing for a trip to NJ - sadly, to attend a funeral. I'll be back Friday or Saturday, but in case you need a good blog-y fix, try this one. It's all in the family, after all.

Despite the occasion for said NJ trip, there's always time to knit. I'll be bringing along Husband of A.K.'s socks, knit once again with Austermann Step sock yarn. This colorway is #18 - vulkan. So manly. I'll also have Wrapper's Delight with me. Whatever I get to work on, I hope I make some headway. They both really ought to be done by the end of next month, or sooner.

See ya in a few days.

I Need A Hat.

2008-01-27T20:55:00.000-05:00

This happens every January: the entire Famiglia A.K. comes down with some horrendous strain of ick and ends up home together ~~going stir crazy~~ recovering. Now that I'm at the end of this thing, I can finally sit up and send out a call for help that's been on my mind since last Tuesday: I need a hat.

Obviously the first thing you're thinking is, "Just knit one, stupid." And yes, that's what I intend to do. But I don't want to knit just any hat. I want to knit a hat that actually looks great on me and that I'll wear happily all winter long. The thing is, I'm having a hard time finding a hat that looks great on me. I have a long face and pathetically fine hair, so most knitted hats make me look like... a boy. And they also make me look like I don't have any hair at all. And I really need a hat right now, because I went and cut all my hair off at the salon last week and my head's friggin' cold these days (ok, I'm being melodramatic. I didn't cut all my hair off. Just most of it.).

If anyone has any hat ideas for me to try out, please let me know. I'm cold just thinking about going outside tomorrow morning... or maybe I'm just still feverish...

Read Any Good (Children's) Books Lately?

2008-01-23T20:21:00.000-05:00

Long before I became a Java developer, I was an underling manager for a certain humongous book store chain. All of us underlings had the usual "managerial" type duties - training new hires, opening/closing the store, handling irate customers. We also had to take ownership of a certain section of the store, keeping it relatively straightened and orderly. I was assigned the Children's section, which was like a death sentence at first. When you're in your early 20s and don't have any children of your own, you tend to find it rather difficult fielding questions from parents: "Can you recommend a few books for an advanced 7-year old?" "I need a gift for a 4-year old classmate of my son's." "What's the reading level of 'The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe'?"

In time, I became pretty knowledgeable about children's books, and today, my daughter is the proud owner of many of the ones I absolutely loved, either as a child myself, or as a bookstore clerk. Here are a few gems:

Knitting Nell, by Julie Jersild Roth. A little girl who loves to knit teaches her friends and family about the joys of charity knitting. A good read for the 6- to 8-year old set (Baby A.K. likes it, too. She likes how Nell knits in the bathtub.).

Smitten, by David Gordon. A (left) mitten and a sock who have lost their respective mates find comfort and friendship in each other... even when they're smelly. Check out what happens after Mitten becomes unraveled in a bizarre subway accident. Great for ages 2 - 102.

Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown. You just can't find a better bedtime book than this. Beautiful in its simplicity, with adorable illustrations. Look carefully for the knitting reference in this one.

That's all I've got for now. Baby A.K. is, once again, rather unwell, and has escaped from her room 3 times already with a bad cough and chills. Come to think of it, I've got a bad cough and chills, too...

Looking For Inspiration.

2008-01-20T19:32:00.000-05:00

Well, the title of this post says it all. I haven't blogged lately because I'm feeling kind of uninspired as far as knitting goes. Yes, I'm working diligently on Wrapper's Delight, and very soon I'll be starting another pair of socks, this time for the very wonderful and very patient Husband of A.K. Chalk it up to a very palpable need for a Yarn Crawl (Cris, I'm looking right at YOU!), the Winter Blahs, or PMS - I just can't seem to get my knit on.

I was hoping that a much-needed shopping spree would help jog my creativity a bit. Yesterday afternoon, I whiled away the hours (and my money) at the mall updating my wardrobe for Spring. Remember my New Year's resolutions? The one about treating myself to nice things (yarn excluded) once in a while? Well, check that one off the list. But as good a haul as I snagged for myself, nothing really screamed, "You need to knit something to go with me". Traipsing through the mall, I noticed many nice knitted scarves, but c'mon, I'm not gonna knit a scarf at this point - time to Think Spring. And I noticed many half-clothed, shivering pre-teens who clearly can't read a thermometer (or don't listen to the weather report, or don't care. What is it about kids who think it's a good idea to wear micro-minis and flip-flops in JANUARY? I'm sorry, but as a mom, I've got to be completely lame here and wonder, "How did those girls leave the house that way???") who I wanted to wrap in wool sweaters and spoon feed chicken soup. But nothing terribly inspirational.

Anyone else having a low point in their creativity during these long, dark winter days? Anyone know a good remedy?

Getting Gauge.

2008-01-16T21:19:00.000-05:00

So it's finally started - the Wrapper's Delight cardi is underway. And I hope it goes well.

You see, I decided that I was going to be very, very careful with this project and do everything the way you're supposed to, starting with getting gauge in a careful and calculated way. But first I had to wind up the skeins of Claudia Hand Painted Boucle into center-pull balls. Which took 2 hours (maybe I need a ball winder).

I then carefully knit up a gauge swatch, 8 stitches wider and 8 rows taller than the pattern's gauge (15 stitches X 22 rows = 4"). I really concentrated on the stitches I was making, because hey, I'd better make friends with this crazy, fuzzy, loopy yarn since we're going to be together for... about a month, I'd say. And I took my time. I mean, this is supposed to be the ultimate indicator of your eventual success... or failure... so naturally it's worth spending some time on this important, yet tedious, step.

The swatch was completed around 10:30 pm Monday night. The dim light in my living room combined with the dark colors of this yarn rendered me quite blind by this time, but I could hold out a few more minutes just to measure my swatch and see if I got my gauge. I turned up the lights in my dining room full blast. I laid the swatch out on the table. I took out my tape measure and laid it on top...... and realized that I couldn't even see my stitches through all the crazy, fuzzy loops.

(The next morning, I took out the swatch and my tape measure and tried it again, this time under the bright fluorescent lights in my office. It took a few minutes, but yes, I did indeed get my gauge. 15 stitches across and 23 rows = 4"... close enough.)

Back To Normal... Whatever That Means.

2008-01-13T19:35:00.000-05:00

It took a few days, but now that my strength and endurance has returned (I won't go into the running around I did on Wednesday again, but I might add that I didn't have anyone to bring me milkshakes and fried veggies, so no wonder my energy was lagging.), things have gone back to normal here at Casa A.K. What's normal, you might ask? Well,

I finished Mom's socks. Here's what one of 'em looks like.They'll be in the mail to her tomorrow. And let us all say, Amen.

I'm this close to starting my next project - an awesome, artsy little cardigan called Wrapper's Delight (those of you of a certain generation will smile at that title). Way back on Sept. 15th - yes, I had to look up the date - some of my S&B friends went to Knitter's Day Out, a knitting convention right here in Harrisburg. I bought the yarn and the pattern for this project there, from the lovely and helpful women of Uncommon Threads. Actually, I'm using a different yarn than the one called for in the pattern - I'm using this Claudia Hand Painted boucle (forgive the blurriness, but the color's pretty close). It should be started in time for our monthly S&B get-together (this Tuesday).

Besides the awesome gift Husband of A.K. got for me as one of my holiday presents, I spent part of an Amazon gift certificate on another amazing book: The Knitter's Book of Yarn, by Clara Parkes. This is a great book - one of those perfect reference books that should be on every knitter's bookshelf. Oh, the patterns are pretty amazing, too. Just buy it.

As usual, Baby A.K. is escaping from her room. It's not bedtime unless I put her down at least 2 times. Sigh.

Postscript.

2008-01-10T19:26:00.000-05:00

Wow. That's all I've been saying all day: Wow. I'm completely amazed at the response I've gotten (and am still getting) from my live-blogging stint yesterday. I'm thrilled that so many people appreciated the coverage - even in the thick of it, I wished I could update even faster. Next year (oh yes, I'll be back next year!), I'll be making some adjustments so things will go smoother and faster, so I can bring more information and spend less time uploading pictures.

And now, here are some afterthoughts, explanations, and more pictures:

The Lamb And Wool Queen, pictured below, is modeling the shawl made by the kids who competed in the 1st Fleece To Wool contest, which took place before the Sheep To Shawl event. I'm not sure how much of a "competition" it was since they were the only team, but I truly hope that next year, there'll be a few teams competing. And yes, I'll be covering that event live as well.

The picture of Butler County Peddlers' shawl display doesn't even come close to showing how amazing it was. They had a lot of information packed into a small space, and I really really wish I could've captured it better. Note to self: buy better camera. NOW.

Turns out that PCN was streaming their coverage of the contest to the Internet, so for those who lost their feed on TV, apparently you were supposed to just "know" to turn on your computers. Also, check PCN's website to see if they're selling DVDs of the competition.

If you were there with me yesterday, you probably received a program that had all sorts of great information about the contest, the teams, the judges, etc. Since I had no time to transcribe the program in its entirety to the blog, I thought I'd include little bits of information/fun facts about the teams as I went. But I ran out of time. So, my apologies to the teams that didn't get a shout-out - I'll do better next year. Note to self: try to score program a few days before contest.

Know why my butt was freezing? I was sitting on a metal chair while I blogged, in front of an open garage door, where a cold breeze was constantly blowing.

I tried to get good pictures of the finished shawls as they were being modeled during the auction, but sadly, I only got a few that are worth posting. Carl and The Not so Lazy Kates:
The Lovely Lambs and Ornery Rams of Lebanon:
Yorktowne Spinners:
Red Rose Treadling Toes:

OK, that's all I've got. Only a matter of minutes until Baby A.K. tries to escape from her room... just a typical bedtime routine (BTW, thanks to everyone for the well-wishes. She's feeling much better, and went back to daycare today.).

The 25th Annual Sheep To Shawl Contest at the PA Farm Show.

2008-01-09T08:31:00.000-05:00

8:32 am
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the 25th Annual Sheep To Shawl Contest live blogging event, sponsored by me, The Accidental Knitter. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking: is she really at the Farm Show already??? The contest doesn't start until 3:00! No, I'm not at the Farm Show. I'm home this morning with a feverish Baby A.K., so I figured I'd take the time to do a test run.

8:39 am
Yep, everything's working well. Have a good morning, my friends, and I'll see you at the Farm Show a little later on. And while you're waiting (in case you haven't read Monday's post), read up on the rules of the contest here.

1:49 pm
Well, here I am, all set up and ready to go. Can I just say off the bat, that everyone I've spoken with so far has been wonderfully nice and eager to help me get ready for this. And now, some pictures for your pre-contest viewing pleasure:
The PA Farm Show: Our cows are big... and red,
Our alpacas are fuzzy,
Our Lamb And Wool Queen knows how to rock a shawl,
And our kids can card, spin, and weave with the best of 'em (there was a Fleece To Shawl Contest earlier today, and these kids are just amazing.)

2:02 pm
Just received some general info for today's contest. I don't think this is online anywhere to link to, so I'll try to summarize:
The teams are judged in parts:
Shearing (even shearing, uniformity, lack of second cuts);
Fleece (cleanliness, condition of fleece, luster, crimp);
Spinning (individual spinning as well as how their spinning relates to the design of the shawl);
Weaving (evenness in weaving, evenness of selvage edges and lack of pull-in. Finished shawl must measure at least 22" wide by 78" long);
Design (originality, difficulty, color coordination, softness, drape, execution of finished fringe);
Speed (self explanatory).

2:07 pm
Today's competing teams:

The Lovely Lambs and Ornery Rams of Lebanon

Carl and the Not so Lazy Kates

Yorktowne Spinners

Loyhannon Spinners

Butler County Peddlers

Two Rams, Two Lambs, Ewe & Me

Red Rose Treadling Toes

(Just a reminder... for anyone who's following the action right here and right now, just keep hitting your "Refresh" button every few minutes for updates.)

2:16 pm
Where would we be today if it weren't for... THE SHEEP!

(You get the idea.)

2:43 pm
A thousand curses on my camera. It was state-of-the-art 5 years ago, but sadly outdated now. But, we do what we can do. Here are the best pictures I could get of each team's shawl display:
The Lovely Lambs and Ornery Rams of Lebanon
Carl and the Not so Lazy Kates
Yorktowne Spinners
Loyhannon Spinners
Butler County Peddlers
Two Rams, Two Lambs, Ewe & Me
Red Rose Treadling Toes

2:47 pm
So far, I haven't been able to talk to any of the team members, since they're all getting ready to do their thing. But they all look so... calm. Serene, even. I guess that's not surprising - spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting... they all kind of put you in that Zen-like state after a while, don't they? In fact, when I look around, I'm the only one running around like a crazy person. Sigh.

2:56 pm
Ready the sheep!
Ready the teams!

3:07 pm
And they're off! Only one girl shearer in the bunch, but she's doing great!

3:15 pm
Wow... it took less than 10 minutes for all of the teams to shear their sheep. I guess that surprises no one here... but me.

The "After" shot.

3:16 pm
And they're off... again! At 3:12 pm, the teams were given the "Ready... Set... GO!" to start carding and spinning and weaving. And I'm off again, too... to get more pictures.

3:27 pm
Yorktowne Spinners
Loyhannon Spinners
Butler County Peddlers

3:39 pm
Sorry for the long delay... technical difficulties. OK, back to the teams...

3:49 pm
Carl and the Not so Lazy Kates
Two Rams, Two Lambs, Ewe & Me
The Lovely Lambs and Ornery Rams of Lebanon
Red Rose Treadling Toes

3:52 pm
I'm trying to find someone to ask about what happened to PCN... be back soon...

4:00 pm
Well, no one's really sure down here about PCN. Some suggested that maybe they lost the feed due to the high winds sweeping through Central PA today. Actually, they kind of laughed and said, "Well, I guess it's up to you, then!"

4:09 pm
Our esteemed judges, Kris Peters, Christine Starry, and Kathy Davidson (I think I got them in the right order...).

4:20 pm
Some random photos...

Did you all know that The Lovely Lambs and Ornery Rams of Lebanon is a group of 4-Hers ranging in age from 12 to 17? This is their weaving in progress.

I love this guy. He keeps staring at me, and occasionally gives me a "BLEAT!!!"

4:30 pm
These two girls are walking around modeling the "sample" shawls that the teams are now busily re-creating. The one on the left is from the team Carl and the Not so Lazy Kates, and the one on the right is from The Lovely Lambs... of Lebanon.
Did you know that Carl and the... Kates get together at least 4 or 5 times a year to demonstrate spinning and weaving at festivals and reenactments, as well as competing in Sheep To Shawl events around the state?

4:41 pm
Two Rams, Two Lambs, Ewe & Me are weaving this wild shawl with some nubby/slubby yarn in there - I just want to touch it... (sorry for the blurriness)

Ooooh... there's lots of cheering over at the Lovely Lambs... of Lebanon... wow, their shawl is off the loom!

4:45 pm
Note to self... next year, have a better camera. And bring a cushion. My butt's freezing.

4:49 pm
So here's how color comes into play... Red Rose Treadling Toes's warp for their shawl is a team hand-spun combination of commercial dyed wool/mohair mix and their own natural colored merino and mohair blend with highlights of purple, dyed by the team.

4:55 pm
Once the shawl is off the loom, as team Lovely Lambs... Of Lebanon are demonstrating here, they fringe it up,
then run it over to the judges.

5:06 pm
Ohhhhh... heaven. Tables piled high with pure heaven.

This lady has been knitting for pretty much the entire contest. And even though I'm having a blast doing this, I kind of wish I was her right now. She's making a skinny scarf for her daughter. I hear my mom's unfinished socks calling to me...

5:09 pm
Sigh. This is hard. It takes so long to run around and get pictures, upload them to my hard drive, fix them up, export them to the blog, write something, and hit "Publish" - sadly, I don't think I'll be getting many interviews, if any. Note to self: next year, bring a friend to help.

5:18 pm
All the news channels are here now... including a girl with a lavender cowgirl hat... I'm likin' that!
Yorktowne's finishing up...
Butler's off the loom and fringing. They're officially the 2nd team done, with an 84" shawl.

5:21 pm
More cheers... Yorktowne is 3rd finished.

5:27 pm
About 20 minutes to go... I think Two Rams might be getting close.

5:33 pm
Red Rose is finishing,
as is Loyhannon:

5:39 pm
Some of the finished shawls are on display. I'd really love to win one at auction tonight, but Baby A.K.'s scholarship fund just won't allow for that. Note to self: make more money so you can win shawl at auction next year.

5:41 pm
Loyhannon is finished!

5:43 pm
Red Rose is finished!

5:48 pm
I don't want to forget, so I want to give a shout-out now to Elaine Harvey, Media Relations, and Sarah Knisely, Timer/Photographer, for being so nice. I really enjoyed chatting with both of them in between pictures and mad typing.

5:50 pm
Two Rams is finished!

5:52 pm
Carl is finished! And so am I... well, not quite. Judging and awards to commence soon...

6:01 pm
A table full of finished shawls... still being judged.

6:14 pm
Just finished running around the arena, meeting the teams and letting them know who I am and what the heck I was doing all this time. And once again, everyone was SO nice, and so appreciative of what I did. Believe me, the pleasure was mine. Oh... and a lot of teams told me that they'd actually heard of my little blog... I'm just grinning like a fool right now.

6:17 pm
The arena's filling up again for the announcement of the winners...

6:32 pm
The Winners:
(First some words from Attorney General Tom Corbett (thanks for the spell check, Husband of A.K.... )
Champion Shearer: Carl Geissinger of Carl and the Not so Lazy Kates
Fleece Award: Butler County
Team's Choice: Loyhannon Spinners
Weaver's Award: Susan Rex of Loyhannon Spinners
Premium Spinning Group: Red Rose Treadling Toes
7th Place: Two Rams, Two Rams, Ewe & Me
6th Place: Red Rose Treadling Toes
5th Place: Yorktowne Spinners
4th Place: Lovely Lambs and Ornery Rams of Lebanon
3rd Place: Carl and the Not So Lazy Kates
2nd Place: Loyhannon Spinners
1st Place: Butler County Peddlers

6:40 pm
Time for the Auction... where the heck's my checkbook... ?
Butler County Peddlers shawl: $850.00

6:43 pm
The Fleece To Shawl contest winners' shawl (this is the contest that occurred earlier today): $500.00
(I'll try to get pictures of all of these later... )

6:45 pm
Loyhannon Spinners shawl: $575.00

6:50 pm
Carl and the Not so Lazy Kates shawl: $1350.00 (holy cow!!!)
(this is so much fun! The auctioneer is awesome, and funny as heck!)

6:53 pm
The Lovely Lambs and Ornery Rams of Lebanon shawl: $525.00

6:55 pm
Yorktowne Spinners shawl: $850.00

6:58 pm
Red Rose Treadling Toes shawl: $1000.00

7:00 pm
Two Rams, Two Lambs, Ewe & Me's shawl: $325.00

7:04 pm
Now it's time for the Fleece Auction... but I'm callin' it quits. I've had a really, really great time today, but it's time I headed home, maybe see Baby A.K. before she goes to bed. Thank you, everyone, for supporting this little exercise in speed blogging... can't wait to do it again next year!

Gettin' Ready.

2008-01-07T19:09:00.000-05:00

Not a lot of time today to post... I'm preparing for my big stint as a real blogger. And sadly, that means I haven't had much chance to knit (Sacrilege! Horrors!). So while you're all waiting (im)patiently for Wednesday to come, read up on the rules of the Sheep To Shawl contest right here - page 3.

(BTW... thanks to everyone who's contacted me with their well-wishes and congrats. Your encouragement has a lot to do with my success at this little venture.)

As If The Sheep-To-Shawl Contest Couldn't Get Any Cooler...

2008-01-05T12:19:00.000-05:00

... it's reached critical mass now. It's official: I'M LIVE-BLOGGING THE SHEEP-TO-SHAWL CONTEST AT THE PA FARM SHOW!!!!!!

Just got the call this morning from PA Department of Agriculture press secretary Chris Ryder, who loved the idea when I first plugged it to him a month or so ago. However, when I spoke to him earlier this week, we weren't sure this would happen. There was a question of funding wireless Internet connections at the Farm Show facility, which can get very expensive. But as of this morning, the wireless question has been resolved, and I'M LIVE-BLOGGING THE SHEEP-TO-SHAWL CONTEST AT THE PA FARM SHOW!!!!!!

So what's "live-blogging"? Live-blogging is a way to bring an event to the Internet community in a fun, real-time way. If you pull up this blog around 3 pm on Wednesday, January 9th, and every few minutes hit your "Refresh" button, you'll catch minute-by-minute posts of all the goings-on on the competition floor, as well as interviews, fun facts, and pictures. So for my readers who can't get out that day to see the contest live, or just live too far away, the "play-by-play" style will make it feel like you were there.

So come one, come all! Whether you catch this year's Sheep-To-Shawl contest right here on my blog, watch it on PCN, or cheer on the teams in person, it's sure to be a great time. I hope to see some of you there - I'll need you to fetch me a milkshake and some fried veggies at some point.

And one more thing... I'M LIVE-BLOGGING THE SHEEP-TO-SHAWL CONTEST AT THE PA FARM SHOW!!!!!!

(I'm a little excited.)

Resolutions.

2008-01-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year, my friends. I'm having a lazy day here at Casa d'A.K. - Husband and Baby have gone to visit our favorite hangout while I get an hour or so of quiet. No better time to get my resolutions together (but in no particular order):

Raise my knitting to the next level. It's time to try out some lace and cable patterns already.

Get my finances in better shape. How the heck am I gonna pay for yarn if I'm mired in credit card payments?

Go on more dates with Husband. Since Baby A.K. came into the world (and I know all my Mom/Dad readers can attest to this), we just don't get enough "alone time" anymore. Even if it means sitting at our favorite hangout, reading and knitting, so be it.

Get back to the gym. I know, how boring - everyone has this one on their list. I fell off the wagon around November when I started my holiday knitting, and actually, I've missed it. My goal is to work up to running at least a couple of miles 3 or 4 days a week. And hey, it's a great way to catch up on my knitting podcasts.

Do more for me. Children create a huge money vacuum, and just as your parents probably did, you end up sacrificing for them. You forgo that cute dress hanging in your favorite store window and don't even bother looking for a new pair of flats so that your little one can have something new and sparkly. But after 2 years of this, it's really getting to me. I deserve nice things sometimes, and dammit, I'm gonna get 'em this year.

Well, that's all I've got. And what timing - Husband and Baby A.K. have returned with fantastic tales of their reading adventures. Ahhh, more reading... that's another resolution...

An Ode To The Sexiest Women Alive.

2007-12-29T19:10:00.000-05:00

Getting shanked by Scout,
Flashing the great Kaffe Fasset,
They're nuts, but GREAT fun!

When I first started downloading the Lime & Violet podcast, I wasn't too sure I'd stick with it. Granted, these two women have awesome taste in fiber and color and know more about what to do with each than I probably ever will. But they're... well... nuts. Some of their antics border on the insane or the illegal. And brother, can they ever talk. But after 2 or 3 listens, I can't help but look forward to giggling quietly (quietly, because I always listen to my knitting podcasts at work and if I laugh out loud too much people will think that I'm having a great time developing really complicated Java applications and we wouldn't want them thinking that, now would we?) at their stories, feeling as if I'm in on the joke and not stuck on the outskirts somewhere. Someday, when I'm a famous knitting blogger and I've got a hit count that rivals this one, I want to be interviewed by Lime & Violet. Give them a listen.

Quick Status Update.

2007-12-27T19:45:00.000-05:00

Ooooooohhhh. I've got a screaming headache that just won't go away. I should be used to these, since I get them at least once a month and they last from 3 - 5 days, but man, they really get in the way of my knitting. And my reading. And my blogging. And my life in general.

(No, prescription meds haven't worked. Yes, they're hormonal, although I'm not convinced that they're migraines. They're more like sinus headaches. Yes, I've tried loading up on caffeine/chocolate, but to no avail.)

My mom's sock is slowly getting there. As I've whined before, the K2P2 rib part takes so friggin' long, but once that's done, it'll go much faster. Good thing, too, because if I don't get going on at least one of my stash projects soon, it'll go by the wayside as a certain Cabled Tunic takes over my life. And to make matters worse, I got my copy of Vogue Knitting Winter 2007/08 in the mail today, and oh... my... gawd. The shawls. The cabled sweaters. The tweeds. So beautiful. So impossible to choose just one.

OK, gonna go rest my head a little before Baby A.K. escapes from her room and demands attention... doh! Too late! She's calling me from the stairs... !

Merry Christmas, Everyone.

2007-12-25T19:17:00.000-05:00

The Dora Blanket is finished. Actually, I finished it two days ago.

I was elated when Baby A.K. unwrapped it and exclaimed, "Oh Mommy, my new blankie! Thank you! Thank you!"

I'm working diligently on Mom's second sock. Luckily, she loves the first one - tried it on and everything. But I'm happy to say that now that the bulk of the holiday knitting is done, I can finally go back to knitting for #1 for awhile. I've got only two projects in the queue, but there's a good chance that at least one of them will take a back seat to... a certain cabled tunic of my acquaintance. More on that later. Now I'm going to kick back and look through one of my Christmas gifts, from the wonderful Husband of A.K.

Careening Towards The Finish Line.

2007-12-20T20:41:00.000-05:00

The sock is done!

The fake Mobius (as worn by Curious George) is done!

The Dora The Explorer Blanket is NOT done!

MUST... KEEP... KNITTING... !!!!

Crunch Time.

2007-12-19T20:24:00.000-05:00

Very short post today, my friends. I'm very tired from what's been a long week at work (although last night's S&B was a very welcomed break from the madness), but I can't rest until I've done some gift knitting. The second fake Mobius scarf is blocking, my mom's sock is 98% finished (yes, you read correctly: sock. Singular. She'll get the other one after the holiday rush.), and Baby A.K.'s Dora The Explorer blanket is half done. Must... keep... knitting. Must... not... sleep... yet.

Hope everyone else is done with their knitted gifts. Next year, I'm giving out gift cards.

My Perfect Day.

2007-12-14T21:38:00.000-05:00

I've waited a long time for this day to come, and it came and went perfectly. Let me tell you about My Perfect Day.

First off, My Perfect Day probably had a lot to do with the fact that I wasn't working. After carefully checking my work schedule, today turned out to be the best day to use up a spare vacation day so I could get stuff done.

What kind of stuff? The first thing on My Perfect Day's agenda was... shopping. It was time to go get some Christmas gifts for Baby A.K., and the only way to do that surreptitiously was to do it while she was in daycare. Keep in mind, Baby A.K. is half Jewish (from me), and half Catholic (from daddy, natch), so basically, the list of gifts we're giving her were divided in half for each of the holidays. Time to go get that other half. It took a good hour and a half to go through the entire toy store and find what I wanted, but... mission accomplished.

The next thing to do on My Perfect Day: have lunch with Husband. We used to have lunch during the week all the time, before Baby A.K. was born and we had time and money to do so. Not so much of either anymore, so these little pockets of time are highly anticipated and appreciated. We had a leisurely lunch at this pub, wandered around downtown a bit, then as he headed back to work, I headed off to...

Knit. You knew it was coming, didn't you? I went home, set up my laptop for optimal podcast-listening, grabbed my needles and dug in. The second Katia Nordic Print scarf is now finished, except for the blocking and sewing to become a fake Mobius (BTW, the other Katia scarf I made a few days ago really did want to be a fake Mobius. It came out exactly as I wanted - you'll see the results soon. I want to photograph it in daylight. But it'll be in the mail to its recipient early next week.). Then I worked on my mom's socks... and I'm happy to report that I must be getting somewhere, because as of this writing, I only have a half inch to go until I can start the heel flap. OK, that's still kind of lame, given the amount of time I've been working on it, but for me, it's all about milestones, and this is a big one when you're K2P2-ing around and around on size 1 DPNs until your fingers want to take their own vacation day somewhere far away from you.

Husband and Baby A.K. arrived home around 5:00 pm, at which time I was halfway done making dinner. This, believe it or not, was actually next on the Perfect Day list. I love to cook, but haven't done much of it in the past 2 years because up until recently, Baby A.K. would be underfoot too much to let me cook in relative peace (good thing Husband likes to cook, too, because he's been doing most of it). Now she can entertain herself for at least 15 minutes at a clip, so I can capitalize on that and make something a little more interesting than microwaveable chicken fingers.

So now, Baby A.K. is fast asleep. Husband is out playing a gig with the rockin' ska band he's in. As I finish this post, I'm looking forward to a quiet night of more podcasts and more sock knitting.

And that is what I call A Perfect Day.

Welcome, Interstate Ravelers.

2007-12-13T19:25:00.000-05:00

Let's go back in time to Thanksgiving. We all gathered at my mom's house for her annual feast that could've easily fed the Eastern seaboard. After said feast, my SIL and I found ourselves chatting, and I happened to mention Ravelry.

"What's Ravelry?" she asked.

Well, I couldn't believe it. She hadn't yet heard about Ravelry from her patrons, staff, or anything. Granted, she's a busy woman - running her own business and tending to the whims of my adorable niece - but I mean... it's R-A-V-E-L-R-Y. I worked fast so as to beat out the tryptophan comas we would all eventually succumb to: I whipped out my laptop and gave her a tour of Ravelry. As impressed as she was by the site itself and everything you could do on it, I think the thing that excited her the most was that a few of us out there linked our yarn purchases to her store. We immediately got her onto the waiting list.

As of 2 or 3 days ago, Florydori is now among the hip, cool, and terminally addicted knitters of Ravelry. Please, my friends, go out there and give her profile and projects a look-see. She hasn't had a lot of time to upload projects and photos, but keep watching - her FOs, many of which are her own creations, are just gorgeous.

(Super-wicked-mega bonus points to anyone who knows where the title of this post came from.)

Better Now.

2007-12-10T19:38:00.000-05:00

Sorry, sorry, sorry... I took a long weekend off to recuperate from this latest illness. Bad blogger. Bad!

I don't know if it was my last post or sheer boredom from sitting around waiting to get better, but I got a good jump on my holiday knitting in the last 72 hours. Baby A.K.'s Dora The Explorer blanket is underway, and I gotta say... it looks SO beautiful! And yes, this is kind of surprising to me - hot pink, electric purple, and bright orange are most definitely NOT the colors I'd normally choose for a blanket. You see, whenever I've knit this blanket pattern, I've always chosen light, airy pastels. It always seemed to me that a knitted baby blanket was sure to become somebody's heirloom someday, and all good heirlooms are in soft, dreamy colors that are timeless and classic and go with everything. Baby A.K.'s blanket was going to be different, but oy vey, those colors... ! I had my doubts. But I'm here to say, it looks gorgeous. Blended together, the colors don't look as garish as they sound - they just make for a bold, happy blanket well suited for my bold, happy toddler. It'll be one of her Christmas gifts.

As I type this, one of the Katia Nordic Print scarves is drying on my beautiful new blocking board. My goal is for it to become a fake Mobius scarf, but I'm not sure it wants to be a fake Mobius scarf. It knit up beautifully - the stitch definition is wonderful, and the colorway (blues, purples, greens) is so... me. Since this is a gift, and I really couldn't spend a fortune on it, the goal was to make this scarf using just one skein. I might have needed two. And I might have considered using a size smaller needle. And I probably should've made it a bit thinner. Well... not much to do about it now. I'll take it off the blocking board after I post this and see what it wants to become.

I'm still plugging away at my mom's Koigu socks. For the adult socks I've done so far, I've used size 2 DPNs, which work out fine, although I've found that they turn out just a tad big. So for my mom's, I thought I'd use size 1 DPNs. I think they'll fit much better, but man, I feel every single stitch. These are taking forever... can one needle size down make this big a difference? And another thing: any DPN smaller than a 2 should be metal. For me, at least.

One good thing about all this holiday knitting: at the end of it, I get to go back to knitting for me again.

Blah.

2007-12-05T20:47:00.000-05:00

Blah. Blah. Blah. I don't feel well. I'm exhausted from whatever it is I've caught from Baby A.K. this time, from chasing Baby A.K. around the house with all her Hanukkah excitement, from a long day of work and a very short day of knitting. I've felt so blah these past few days that I really haven't gotten much knitting done at all. I don't even have that much holiday knitting to do in the first place, but I sure as heck am not getting it done now. As soon as I'm done complaining here I'm going to bed.

Actually, I'm going to read for a bit first. I'm re-reading this book that seems to be making quite a splash these days. I first read it just before it was released (that was one of the perks of working for Barnes & Noble), and it was utterly engrossing. It still is, no matter how much controversy may be surrounding it. What's everyone else reading these days?

One Down, Too Many To Go.

2007-12-02T21:21:00.001-05:00

Baby blanket for daycare teacher is finished.

And let us all say, AMEN.

It slowly dawned on me while I was finishing this thing up (and, by the way, I had plenty of yarn to get the job done. Whew.) that it's December, and I've got to get busy on my gift knitting. I've got those Koigu socks for my mom (which may not actually count as a gift, since she paid for the yarn. What am I saying... ? Of course it's a gift.), 2 Mobius scarves, and another blanket like the one above for Baby A.K. This should be do-able, even with all sorts of craziness in my schedule this month, but you know how it is. Something always goes awry. Here's hoping that all our holiday knitting gets done, with our sanity intact and our wrists free of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Why Does This ALWAYS Happen To Me?

2007-11-30T20:38:00.000-05:00

In the past couple of days, I've made excellent progress on the baby blanket for Baby A.K.'s pregnant daycare teacher. I now only have one more Super Ball of yarn to get through, and it's finished (a Super Ball is what I get when I roll up 2 or more yarns together to create one large ball to knit from). But as usual, I'm getting scared that I'll run out of yarn before getting the length I want out of this project. You see, the blanket is made up of large rows of alternating squares of Stockinette and garter
stitches. Right now, I've got 2 more rows to go to complete a single large row of squares. I've measured and re-measured how many inches I get with one Super Ball, and I've concluded that I should have enough yarn for those last 2 rows, then one more large row of squares, then 10 rows of garter stitch border. Perfect.

But this scenario isn't new to me, and it's likely that one of two things will occur. Either a) I'll worry the entire time I finish up the blanket, bind off, and sigh with relief when I see that all that's left is an arm's length of yarn; or b) I'll worry the entire time I finish up the blanket, bind off, and cry with despair when I realize that all I need to finish is an arm's length of yarn. Experience tells me that this'll end on a high note, but no matter what, I have to worry through that last Super Ball.

On a positive note, congrats to New Sock Knitter (remember her? Go back a couple of posts.), who has successfully completed her first sock and is off and knitting on the second. The first one came out great - the only things she needed to learn how to do was PU&K, and the SSK decrease. Everything else she either knew off the bat, or she knew but didn't trust the pattern (short-row shaping, anybody? Definitely sounds weird to the uninitiated.). But lo and behold, a new sock is born. Yay!

Process vs. Product

2007-11-26T20:18:00.000-05:00

Before I begin, congratulations to Lori Lynn, who correctly guessed the theme to Baby A.K.'s soon-to-be blankie: Dora The Explorer. Dora continues to be a household favorite here, and anyone who's seen the show even once will recognize the familiar hot pink, bright orange, and electric purple that are Dora's signature colors. Somehow they're fitting for my rambunctious, bubbly, silly baby, too.

Last week, Knitting Daily had an interesting post about process knitting versus end-product knitting. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about: enjoying the entire creation process, from choosing pattern and yarn, swatching, knitting, finishing, and wearing/giving away/whatever, or just doing what you gotta do to get the project done and over with. I'm a total process knitter - I love the whole experience. Even swatching. Even finishing, which is truly my least favorite part, but still lends itself to the whole experience, and to my knowledge base. My mother, on the other hand (and in my opinion), is a product knitter. She enjoys knitting, but really does it only to get to the part where people exclaim, "Oh, that's BEAUTIFUL!" as she, or, in most cases these days, Baby A.K., struts around in the FO. I think whether you're one or the other is a personal choice - there's no right-or-wrong here, really. But there just seems to be something very robotic about being a product knitter. I can't help but think that you're missing out on a great deal if you can only see the finish line.

What do you think? Are you a process or product knitter? Is one better than the other?

Black Friday At The LYS.

2007-11-24T20:18:00.001-05:00

We're back from the wilds of NJ, full of tryptophan and apple pie and mucho knitty goodness. Like what, you ask? Well...

I made Baby A.K another pair of socks.
I started a pair of socks for Mother of A.K. No picture yet, but they look just like my Koigu beauties, except in another color.

I went nuts at my LYS. How nuts?
Two skeins of Katia Nordic Print yarn for holiday gifts. Shoulda got another skein for a gift to myself. Oh wait, I kinda did that, but with......three balls of Filatura di Crosa Superior, for my first foray into lace knitting. Can I just say right now, that this yarn is absolutely the softest, most luxurious yarn I've had the pleasure of just touching? I can't wait to knit with this stuff.

And yarn for a baby blanket for Baby A.K. Remember that fit she threw a week or so ago when she realized the blanket I was making was for her teacher and not for her? Well, she's been "reminding" me every so often about that: "Knit blankie for me?" "Cozy blankie... knit now?" I've got to get this done quick, so I'm going to stick to the pattern I'm using for Baby A.K.'s teacher, since it's easy. I know I haven't posted a picture of this blanket yet, but you hold 3 strands of yarn at once for the whole thing to create a really colorful and interestingly-textured piece. What colors to use for my girl? After careful consideration, and a consult with Dori and Leslie, I decided on these colors:
Bonus points to whoever can guess what the "theme" for this blanket is just by looking at the colors. Hint: watch a few hours of Nick Jr.

Time to settle down with a piece of pie and my sock knitting, although I really ought to start one of those Katia scarves...

Another Convert Joins The Ranks.

2007-11-19T21:08:00.000-05:00

A while ago I wrote about a friend of mine who thought that sock knitting was too hard for her ("I could never do that," I believe she said). Knowing that this was complete bollocks, I suggested that if she wanted to try, she should start with kid-sized socks, and once she got the hang of them, she could move on to adult socks. I gave her a shopping list of things she'd need to get started, and I'm happy to say that today, she became a sock knitter.

I spent a very agreeable lunch hour with New Sock Knitter, where I helped get her started on the road to hand-knit cozy goodness. There was really very little I had to demonstrate - heck, she had to show me how to do the cable cast-on. The hardest part was, of course, joining the round, but once that was done, she was off to the races. I think she'll be ready to start the heel flap by Friday, but the question is, will she be brave and give it a try without a mentor, or will she wait until we see/talk to each other next week? She has the knowledge to take the plunge on her own - I just don't think she realizes it yet.

I'll probably be off-line the rest of the week. Tomorrow night is the monthly Central PA S&B at Borders on Jonestown Rd. in Harrisburg - come join us if you're in the area. Obviously, the rest of the week is dedicated to the insanity that is Thanksgiving with La Famiglia A.K. If I have any strength left in me, I'll blog all about my adventures in NJ on Saturday. By then I should have acquired more yarn for my stash to blather on about.

'Til then, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, everyone.

Anything New?

2007-11-17T20:18:00.000-05:00

Sadly, no, there's really nothing new. More like an "Everything old is new again" kind of weekend.

I started working on a second pair of Cascade Fixation socks for Baby A.K. I'm still feeling guilty about the baby blanket fiasco (see update, below), so maybe I can placate her with some more socks. They're just like these:
... but in orange. Orange is pretty much my least favorite color since it looks so bad on me, but I wouldn't condemn Baby A.K. to an orange-less life unless/until she deems it so. And I kind of like this variegated orange yarn - reminds me of an Orange Julius.

Update on my attempt at live-blogging the Sheep-To-Shawl contest at the PA Farm Show: made a few phone calls, spoke to some press secretaries. Approval pending. I'll be calling them again next week.

The baby blanket for Baby A.K's teacher is coming along nicely. It knits up pretty fast, what with my using size 17 needles for it and all. I think it'll be done in another couple of weeks, at which point I'll proudly post a picture of it.

La Famiglia A.K. will be back in NJ for Thanksgiving next week, and I'm sure my willpower will be such that a purchase from my LYS will be inevitable. I have no idea what I'll get - maybe some yarn for Christmas gift knitting. Good thing payday falls on Black Friday.

Time to get on with my Saturday night. But what I wouldn't give for an Orange Julius right now...

Preaching To The Choir.

2007-11-14T20:20:00.000-05:00

For those of you who were curious, Husband of A.K. did very well knitting his first garter-stitch swatch. I decided not to teach him the long tail cast-on so as not to scare him away too quickly. I set him up on some Size 11s and Husband-like yarn from my stash and got him going with the knit stitch, back and forth, back and forth. He made all the same mistakes we all made when we first learned: the accidental YOs, accidentally knitting the stitch beneath the one on the needle, accidentally slipping a stitch or two or four... but once he got back on track, he created a very nice, very even, and very tight little swatch. I don't know if he'll stick with it, but I love him like crazy for trying it out.

At the encouragement of the very talented Kathleen of Kathleen Taylor's Dakota Dreams, I've started pursuing media credentials to get onto the floor of the PA Farm Show's Sheep-To-Shawl contest to make it a live-blogging event. I'm at the very beginning stages of this venture, but I'll keep you posted on my progress. BTW, for those of you who are planning to attend, the contest will be held on Wednesday, January 9th, at 3:00 pm. Whether I get to live-blog this thing or not, I'll definitely be there, so grab a milkshake and an order of fried veggies and come find me!

I'm starting to really dig the concept of concurrent UFOs - I guess you could say that I'm a convert. With Baby A.K.'s teacher's baby blanket tucked away in my office desk drawer, I'm filled with a strange sense of inner peace just knowing it's there waiting for me whenever I have a spare moment or lunch break. I love the fact that at some point during my work day, I'll knit a few more rows, then go home and work on something completely different (at the moment, it's another pair of socks for Baby A.K.). As if I didn't look forward to my daily knitting fix as it is, I get a little more excited about it when I've got a few projects to knit on, round-robin style. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "DUH!!!!!" But what can I say - I may be late to the party, but at least I'm there now. Pass me a Corona... don't forget the lime.

I'm Back...

2007-11-12T18:57:00.000-05:00

...from a long weekend in NJ. I successfully scored a ton of Zara for a baby blanket project, but even better: I bought a blocking board. It's so big and clean and... big - I actually can't wait to finish something just so I can use it.

Baby A.K. pulled her first guilt trip on me. The Zara baby blanket is for one of her daycare teachers, who is expecting her first child in a couple of months. And Baby A.K. knew this - she kept saying "Yarn for Miss Miranda!" when I bought it, when I re-rolled it into balls of 3-colored strands, and when I was about to start knitting it up. Baby A.K. asked me to play with her, though, so I set the huge ball aside. Ten minutes later, Baby A.K. toddles over to the yarn and says,

"Oh, pretty yarn! Thank you, Mommy, thank you!"
"But honey," I said, "That yarn isn't for you... "
"IT'S FOR MISS MIRANDA!" she wailed as she threw herself onto the floor and bawled.

Ohhhhhhh, man. This is a new behavior. Was I supposed to read into this 2-year old brain and know that she wanted a blanket, too (BTW, she already has 3 knitted blankets, one made by me. But it's so scary that I won't show it in public. But I'll blog about it someday.)? Should I have anticipated this and bought a truckload of Zara so I could've avoided this sad display? I laid on the floor with Baby A.K. and asked, "Do you want this blanket, honey?", to which she replied a definitive "YES!" So I've got 2 baby blankets to knit up in my immediate future. But I won't be back to NJ until next week for Thanksgiving, so I've cleverly hid Miss Miranda's blanket in my office desk for the time being. It won't make another appearance at Casa d'A.K. until Baby A.K.'s blanket is done. How do I allow these things to happen?

BUT... proving that the universe strives for balance, Husband of A.K. completely knocked me for a loop when he uttered these words:

"So I was thinking, I kind of need a scarf to go with my one of my coats. And I thought to myself, 'When I'm hungry, I cook for myself. If I need a scarf, why don't I knit one for myself?'"

He's upstairs now putting Baby A.K. down to bed. When he's done, I'll be teaching him how to cast on and knit his own scarf using a skein of yarn from my stash that I'd never use for myself - 4 oz. of Christopher Sheep Farm's 100% pure virgin wool in Terra Cotta (orange. I look terrible in orange. But Husband looks great in it.).

I've said it before, and it's still true. I'm the luckiest woman in the world.

"It's So Crazy, It Just Might Work."

2007-11-07T17:46:00.000-05:00

It's tough having a a toddler, for all the usual reasons, plus you get their illnesses. A lot. I'm still mildly under the weather, this time with a hacking cough, scratchy throat, and general tiredness. But it might be that I'm tired because I was up unusually late last night.

Was I the only one interested in the election returns? Being married to a political journalist kind of makes you a political junkie by default. I wasn't actually watching the election on TV, though - I was getting a play-by-play from this very insightful, intelligent, and devastatingly witty blog. This particular one does "live-blogging" better than anyone in the state... even on an off-year election.

It got me thinking... why can't I, the Accidental Knitter, live-blog something? I tried in NJ a few weeks ago, but alas, no wireless Internet connection existed at my destination. What else could I do? I could live-blog our monthly S&B. That could be really funny, knowing our group of intrepid yarn mavens. But I'd get no knitting or spinning done - I'd be on the computer the whole time, or taking pictures. Not exactly the way I'd want to spend the evening, since it's become the one night a month that I can get the most knitting accomplished in one sitting.

Then it hit me. A live-blogging idea that's so unique, so bizarre, and so downright crazy, that it just... might... work.

Pretending for a moment that the right conditions exist (wireless Internet available, the right contacts secured, the right permissions secured, the right security secured), what if I, The Accidental Knitter, live-blogged the Sheep-To-Shawl contest during the 2008 PA Farm Show? I know, it's kinda nutty, but think about it: if I were allowed access to the floor and a small table off to the side where my laptop was set up, I could talk to the contestants as they card, spin, and weave their hearts out (not while they're shearing, though. That'd be scary.) and post it immediately. I could take pictures and post those immediately, too. I could talk to bystanders and get their take on the event. I could talk to event coordinators and transcribe the history of the contest in PA and other such historical anecdotes. The whole thing could be captured for the world to read and enjoy just as much as those of us who are actually sitting there watching it happen. HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE?????

Or am I just a complete weirdo?

Weigh in, but be kind. Remember, I'm unwell.

Uh-Oh... Here It Comes...

2007-11-05T19:42:00.000-05:00

NEED... PROJECT!!! NEED... PROJECT... NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only have I been under the weather this past week, but I've also been rather uninspired with my Koigu socks. Not that they're not fun, not that they're not turning out lovely... it's just that I've been so... very... blah. I was ready to chalk it up to PMS when it hit me: I'm not working on anything other than the socks. Nothing. No large projects. No presents for anyone (shame on me, with the holidays only weeks away). Nothing to challenge me. Nothing to learn from (Kelley Petkun, maybe you're onto something with your 7 UFOs). I need... project... now.

Alas, I'll have to make do with just my socks for a few more days. I'll be visiting my fave LYS this weekend, and I know exactly what I'm gonna get: tons and tons of Zara. I love this yarn. It's so soft and cozy, and if you hold 3 strands at once in different colors, you can make the most luxurious baby blankets. And that's what I'll be making. Two of Baby A.K.'s daycare teachers are expecting their first babies, and they've been so good to my Little Monkey that they deserve handknit blankies. I love the pattern that I use for my baby blankets, too - it's one of those things that's really easy to make, but always elicits "ooohs" and "ahhhhs" from the non-knitters. I'll definitely have pictures in the near future. For now... I'll content myself with my socks. Sigh.

Read Any Good Books Lately?

2007-11-03T19:43:00.000-04:00

This week has kind of been a wash for me. I don't know what I've got, but the combination of a head cold, unexplained exhaustion (I slept a blissful 12 hours last night, and still took a little nap this afternoon. I know. I'm lame.), and a slight case of the blahs has put me in the mood to do... nothing. Some knitting on the Koigu socks was done during the week at lunchtime. A tiny bit of spinning was done in the evenings, mainly at the behest of Baby A.K., who just loves to watch, and try to help, me spin. But my head hasn't been in it. I think when I feel like this, I mostly enjoy...

Reading. So what's everyone reading these days (it doesn't have to be craft-related)? I've started reading that book I promised myself I'd order last week: Spinning in the Old Way, by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts. So far, I really really like it - it's well-written, has great illustrations, and best of all, concentrates on just spinning with a high-whorl spindle, and doesn't go off talking about wheels, making me feel like OH MY GOD I HAVE TO GET A WHEEL RIGHT NOW.

I think I'll go make myself and Husband a cuppa tea, and sit back with my book until either I fall asleep on the couch, or this headache I'm fighting forces my eyeballs to shut down for the evening...

Can You Have Too Many UFOs?

2007-10-30T20:27:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite podcasts these days has been Knit Picks, with Kelley Petkun. Kelley has a wonderfully soothing voice, so this is a good one to listen to when you're a bit on the stressed side. I also appreciate how much detail she can manage when talking about knitting techniques, new books, and her own fiber-y goings-on... in about a half hour.

In the last week or so, I somehow found the time to catch up on pretty much all of my podcasts (I was waaaaaaaaaaaaay behind), so I downloaded some older episodes of Knit Picks to while away more time. I think it was Episode 12 where Kelley talks about having multiple projects going at the same time. OK, I'm with her on that one - I usually have 2 or 3 projects on the needles at once (except now. I only have my Koigu socks to work on. I really need to get to my LYS. More on that another day.). But Kelley recommends having at least 7 projects going at once, and each falls into a different category: a project for carting with you every day to pull out at the doctor's office or during long meetings (oh, how I wish I could get away with that), a slightly more challenging project for traveling on planes and such, a project that will be a gift for someone else, a project that is quite challenging and teaches you a new technique... you see where this is going.

The thing I keep coming back to is the number 7. 7???? Her methodology may work very well for her, but 7?????? I'd go insane if I knew I had 7 projects vying for my attention at all times. Maybe if I had more time to knit... you know, give up that programming gig that helps sustain La Famiglia A.K.... then I'd probably be able to handle 7 projects. But that's just too many UFOs in my book.

What do you think? Yes, most of us have UFOs laying around the house somewhere, but how many is too many?

Day 3: Learning To Spin.

2007-10-27T20:37:00.000-04:00

Today was the big day. My friend Cris and I headed north to Halifax, PA for our drop spindle lesson at Gurdy Run Woolen Mill with Lydia Piper, spinner and fleece specialist extraordinaire.

The first thing Lydia had us do was "pre-draft" the roving. This actually took me a while to get the hang of, and it was something that I didn't even know to do during my pitiful attempts to spin on my own. With that done, the spindles started flying. And again, this took me many attempts to figure out - how long should my drafting zone be, how quickly do I need to work, how much is too much twist and how do you fix it, how thick to spin the yarn (I was everywhere between dental floss and novelty art yarn). But after 2 hours of practicing and lovely fiber-y conversation, I can now say with certainty and great pride: I Am A Beginner Spinner!

So, armed with a spindle full of single ply and a great deal more confidence, I'm off to practice some more. My goal now is to be able to spin relatively evenly as I work through the roving that I have. If I can accomplish that, I will reward myself with a well-deserved trip to The Mannings... Cris, get ready!

Day 2: Learning To Spin

2007-10-24T18:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Day 2 of my attempt to spin on my spindle (BTW, it's a high-whorl spindle, in case you're as geeky as me and were wondering.). I came to it around 9 pm, after multiple attempts to get Baby A.K. to go to sleep, and after sitting with Husband as we went through his benefits package for next year. So yeah, you could say that I wasn't really in the right frame of mind from the get-go. I read the instructions (again), I tied on a bit of rolled-up roving onto the spindle (again), and with my new knowledge of which direction is clockwise (thanks, Cris!), I spun with my right hand, and gently, gently pulled roving with my left. Then I noticed the "yarn" winding on itself towards the bottom. Too much twist? Maybe I better undo it a little... plop! Spindle was now lying on the ground, fuzzy ends of roving staring at me:
OK, I'll just join 'em back up and try again... nope. Roving won't join. I'm telling you, it's not cooperating. No amount of cajoling, twisting, re-"spinning" (since what I'm doing is clearly not spinning), bargaining, pleading, or idle threats work on this roving. So back in its box it went.

Muttering under my breath, I decided to check out a book title on Amazon that I'd heard about on the Knit Picks podcast (looks fantastic). And as if Arachne herself answered my cry for help, I came across another book that may just solve all my problems: Spinning In The Old Way. I'm going to order this one on Friday. I will not let this roving beat me. It will turn into yarn. Eventually.

For now, I'll just stick to socks...

...and wait for the weather to turn cold so I can wear this:

Which Way Is Clockwise?

2007-10-22T20:00:00.000-04:00

The Weekend Getaway is officially over - it's Monday, and we went back to work (or daycare, depending on your age). I wasn't feeling well today - sore throat, headache, general ickiness. But when you make your living coding Java, and you have a laptop, illness doesn't stop you from doing what you do: I worked from home.

(Before I continue, I want to reiterate that I will have pictures from The Getaway and The Mystery Sweater, but my camera is seriously on the fritz. Will have a backup plan soon... I hope.)

I was busy all morning solving code problems, so by lunchtime I needed a mental break. But knitting was not in the cards, no sir. It was time to try something new. Something I've been putting off for fear of failure. Yes, my friends, it was time to
spin.
I broke out my drop spindle and the roving that came with it. I read through the instructions. And then I gave it a try. And... it's not going so well. I could bore you with all my complaints, but I won't, I'll just mention the biggest one. I can't figure out which way to spin the spindle. The directions say to turn it clockwise, but which end of the spindle do I gauge that off of? I've tried spinning it both ways, and neither creates yarn that keeps its twist. I've broken the yarn a few times already, and no matter what I try, I can't get the ends to mesh back together (whoops, I said I'd only complain about one spinning issue. Sue me.). By the time my lunch hour was over, I was seriously thinking of using my spindle as kindling.

And that concludes Day 1: Learning To Spin. Day 2 should be much more... frustrating? Productive? Photographic (if I fix my camera woes)? None of the above? Tune in and find out.

"Yarns??? YARNS?????"

2007-10-20T19:29:00.000-04:00

Dear A.K. readers,
Second postcard always more interesting:

So today, Husband and I headed way up north to Williams College for a museum exhibit about the lives and times of Gerald and Sara Murphy. As we wended our way on Rt. 7 through the town of Great Barrington, we passed a store called Wonderful Things. In smaller type on their sign, it read "Yarns ... ... Crafts". Naturally I kept my head, and with great maturity I screamed out

"YARNS??? YARNS????? A YARN SHOP!!! WE FOUND AN LYS!!! WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

Once I had finished stating the obvious to my incredibly patient (and now, quite deaf) husband, we were already 10 minutes up the road. So after taking in the exhibition and enjoying a hastily-prepared lunch al fresco, we stopped in to see what kinds of wonderful things Wonderful Things had.

Ohhhhhhhhh... they have very wonderful things. The shop is quite large, so they had plenty of room to stock acres of yarn, needles, books, patterns... you name it, they had it. As I wandered about, I couldn't help but notice their huge selection of buttons. The light bulb was a little slow coming on in my head, so it was Husband who helped out here:

"Don't you need buttons to finish The Mystery Sweater?"

I'll cut to the chase here to spare you from feeling embarassed for me. I ended up purchasing two buttons which I think will look beautiful on The Mystery Sweater, and also a ball of Cascade Fixation, in #9080 (orange), for a second pair of socks for Baby A.K., whom I miss.

Be home tomorrow night, when I'll finish, photograph, and update on ravelry, The Mystery Sweater. Then I'll wait for an actual autumn day to wear it and not melt away in.

Wish You Were Here.

2007-10-19T20:06:00.000-04:00

Dear A.K. readers,
Long-awaited weekend has finally arrived: Husband and I are in beautiful Norfolk, CT at our favorite B&B. Checked in around 2 pm, then on to explore the town and its environs. Had lovely Italian dinner, and now settled in common area to read, blog, and knit. Whole of Litchfield conducive to massive knitting jags... may attempt to find LYS tomorrow.

Wish you were here... leaves much more colorful here than in Central PA. Pictures to come.

- Marni, the Accidental Knitting Traveler

P.S. If in need of something to listen to while knitting: Cast-On podcast #55. All Cast-On podcasts are good - this one is genius.

Dilemma.

2007-10-16T21:52:00.000-04:00

Has this happened to anyone else?

Last week, I went to pick up Baby A.K. from daycare. She and her classmates were on the playground, and because it was chilly, she was wearing her sweater and hat set that Grandma (Mother Of A.K.) had made her last year (and it still fits!):

Another mom was also collecting her children and noticed Baby A.K.'s finery. She asked me all about the set, who made it, was it difficult, how long did it take, knit or crochet... and then she hit me with, "Can your mom make a set for me? I'll pay for it!"

I was caught completely off-guard, and fumbled for something to say. On the one hand, it's an incredibly nice offer, and my mom would be thrilled to hear that someone was willing to pay her to knit for them. But on the other hand, and the reality of the situation: the sweater and hat set was knit from a published pattern, so the finished product can't be profited from according to copyright laws. So the dilemma is, how do you explain something like this to a nice, non-knitting acquaintance whose son is in the same class as your child and you don't want to come off haughty and all law-abiding but unless she wants to learn how to knit it herself, you just can't knit it for her?

My answer: stall. I told her I'd have to ask my mom (cringe). But in order to get out from under this gracefully, I'll have to say something like, "Thank you so much for the offer, but my mom has too many gifts to knit for the holidays." Of course the worst part is, it isn't really true. Yes, my mom has a lot of knitting projects in the queue, but none of them are for the holidays. They're all for Baby A.K.

I don't like bending the truth, but, well... can anyone else think of another way out of this?

"I Want To Thank The Academy... ".

2007-10-14T22:47:00.000-04:00

The... Mystery... Sweater... is... FINISHED.

(Actually, it's 99.8% finished.)

I want to thank Husband of A.K. for the opportunity to work on The Mystery Sweater in a giant, 4-hour, baby-free block of time. Taking Baby A.K. out on errands with you for the afternoon gave me the peace and quiet I needed to concentrate on my finishing. I wouldn't be where I am right now without that.

I also want to thank bradamant, a fellow ravel-er who, through the genius of that site, was able to help me with the turtleneck. Why her? Because the databases there flagged her as someone who had a project in common with me, and it happened to be Magnolia. Hers came out beautiful, so I sent her a message with all my finishing questions. She very kindly responded, and really cleared up my confusion. I am very grateful for her insight, and I now have another reason to dig ravelry.

Finally, I want to thank those of you who left comments or sent me email with your suggestions on how to get past my finishing lethargy. It's nice to be reminded that a lot of people have the same issues about finishing as I do, and that we all seem to conquer it the same way: a positive attitude, focusing on the "thrill of victory"...
and beer. All three worked for me.

The Mystery Sweater is being blocked now, and I have to find some nice buttons to adorn the turtleneck. Once these couple of things are done, I'll post pictures.

Gonna finish my beer and go to bed, with the immortal words of Baby A.K. in my head:
Yayyyyyyyyy! All right!!!! I Did It!!!!

Mark Your Calendars.

2007-10-13T20:20:00.000-04:00

What a gorgeous day we had here in Central PA today. Sunny, about 65 degrees... and a Saturday. La Famiglia A.K. spent the better part of the day outdoors - first at our local playground, then at the Fall Harvest Festival at Ashcombe. What a great place - a nursery, a market, a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, hayrides... Baby A.K. particularly liked sliding into bales of hay...

... and I particularly liked talking to the nice folks at Big Rock Alpaca Farm. They had a small stand set up, with two beautiful alpacas and a bunch of alpaca products on display. I could have stood there all day, but Baby A.K. wasn't about to let that happen. But, good news - they're having an open house the first two weekends in November. Can't make it? Give them a call and schedule a private viewing of the alpacas and the store. I think I'll be looking at any alpaca roving they have, because...

I'm going to learn to spin!!!

My friend Cris and I have a lesson with Lydia at Gurdy Run Woolen Mill to begin our spinning odyssey. As if I wasn't obsessed with yarn enough, I'm about to start making my own. And yes, Husband of A.K. is on board with all this.

I'm the luckiest woman in the world.

Still finishing.

2007-10-11T18:38:00.000-04:00

What is it about sewing up and blocking a UFO that instills such lethargy in me?

Yep, I'm still finishing The Mystery Sweater. I've got one sleeve sewn on, and it looks fantastic, thanks to this book... so why haven't I done more? I think part of it is because the only time I have to work on it is at night, when I'm too tired to sew. What I really need is to block out a couple of hours where there are no interruptions. Maybe Husband can take Baby A.K. out for a little while this weekend so I can finish finishing.

But I admit, time isn't my only issue. I love the process of creating things. I'm not a fast knitter, but that's ok, because I actually like to watch each and every stitch form on my needles. I love watching a sock or a sweater grow from cast-on to bind-off. I love to knit a few rows (rounds), then stop... just to look at what I've done. So when I get to the part where I have to put something together, it's like admitting that the project is ending, which is a little sad (maybe I'm a little sad for admitting that). Finishing is also the most crucial part of a project: no matter how even your stitches are, or how complex the Fair Isle is, it means nothing if your finishing sucks. So having that pressure hanging over my head isn't the most fun part about knitting for me. I'm trying to make friends with finishing - instead of loathing, resisting, or hiding from it, I'm trying to change my thought process and just... do... it.

My friend Cris weighed in on finishing a few days ago... what about the rest of you? Can anyone suggest ways to get past a finishing phobia?

Heeding The Siren Song.

2007-10-09T20:34:00.000-04:00

I first started hearing whispers about it at the beginning of the summer. I believe it was The Yarn Harlot's excellent blog where I first read of it. Then I started hearing of it on other random knitting blogs, and then the podcasts. This went on and on until as late as last week, when I decided that if I heard one more person mention it, I would have a breakdown.

And then, yesterday, it came for me. And in my weakened state, I heeded the siren song that is...

ravelry

I don't even know how to begin to describe this incredible site. You can catalog all of your knit/crochet projects down to the smallest detail. You can catalog the yarn in your stash. And every knitting/crochet book you've ever read. And every idea for a project you've ever had. And every set of needles/hooks you own. Meet other members, and add them to your list of "Friends". Join a group or two... or ten. And that's just the beginning...

Since ravelry is still in beta, you'll need to get on the waiting list before creating your account, but trust me, it's worth the wait. When you get your invitation to join, come find me. Screen name "Marni".

Knitting Blogs Rocks!

2007-10-07T20:30:00.000-04:00

Ring around the blogs.
So much to say and to knit.
Love my hit count now!

I'm sure you've all noticed the new little Knitting Blogs button on the right side of the page. Powered by RingSurf, Knitting Blogs is just one of a gazillion net rings they manage, and do so wonderfully. By all means, click on it and check out the other yarny blogs that are clogging the Internet - you'll be amazed at how many of us addicts there are in the world.

The other button is equally cool. Knitting Daily is just what it sounds like: a daily newsletter all about knitting. Written by the creative minds at Interweave Press, they'll send you the newsletter and a lot more... for free! So click on the button and sign up. I don't know how I went this long without knowing about it.

Thinking Pink For Kathy.

2007-10-05T20:50:00.000-04:00

Back on 9/13, I mentioned a life-altering event that prompted me toward great feats of charity knitting. Here's that story.

Kathy and I met on move-in day at the University of Delaware. We lived on the same floor in the Honor's dormitory, but weren't roommates. She was an actual Honor's student: extremely bright, pretty, classically trained soprano, intensely focused on her studies and her desire to be, if memory serves, a physical therapist. I was an Honor's student wannabe: very good grades due to an excellent short-term memory, poodle-perm on a stick-like body (cut me some slack here, it was still the '80s), decent singer after years of pretending to be Broadway material, absolutely no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. Despite my shortcomings, we hit it off that very first night during an impromptu ice-cream social on Main St. So much can be achieved over a bowl of homemade Rocky Road.

Four years of undergrad flew by. We were roommates now. Kathy's talents in all things science-related, as well as her compassion and empathy, led her down the road to a nursing degree, while I dove into ancient Greek and Roman history and art. We studied (a lot), we partied (a lot), we cried on each other's shoulder during boyfriend crises, family crises, and school crises. I was done with my curriculum after the fourth year; Kathy had a fifth year planned. So we went our separate ways, but stayed in touch through the years as we got our first "real" jobs, got engaged, got married, and had children.

A little more than a month ago, I received an email from Kathy. A lump in her breast. Wasn't there the month before. Was having a lumpectomy.

A couple of weeks later, all the tests were conclusive. Chemo was an option, with all the pain and weakness and sickness that goes with it. So was a mastectomy. One surgery, a long recovery period, and very possibly, no more cancer.

Today, as I see it, was the day that Kathy got rid of her cancer for good. I'm sure the mastectomy went very smoothly, and she's resting comfortably (with the help of some powerful drugs) with her family nearby. Once she's on the mend and is feeling up to it, I'm hoping she'll be amenable to a Roommate Reunion - I'll take a day off from work to drive the couple of hours to her home for a long-overdue visit.

Today, The Family A.K. was thinking pink for Kathy (Husband of A.K. is wearing a light pink-and-white striped shirt. Hard to tell with my camera-that-needs-to-be-replaced-badly).
I actually started thinking pink last night. It was a Caring Place night, and since the building is always chilly, I layered up.
Baby A.K. was thinking pink last night, too, when she demanded that Daddy let her wear pajamas with "polka dots".
And the piece de resistance: Breast Cancer Awareness Week in Harrisburg was commemorated with a ceremony led by Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll. With a flick of a switch, the massive fountain in back of the Capitol was awash in pink water.I've always wondered how they get the water so... pink.

Here's to a speedy recovery, and an end to breast cancer for Kathy and for all women everywhere.

Starting To Finish.

2007-10-03T20:21:00.000-04:00

I started putting The Mystery Sweater together last night. It began with me deciding that I was too tired to start putting The Mystery Sweater together last night. But my conscious started to peck away at the corners of my brain. So I thought, I'll just clean the dining room table off, but I'll start sewing tomorrow. Two minutes later, after the dining room table was empty... a blank canvas, so to speak... I thought, I'll just lay the pieces out, but I'll start sewing tomorrow. I took a look at the front and back of the sweater, which a day or two ago totally confounded me as to which side was which. I don't know what my hangup was then - front and back were as clear as... knit and purl (you thought I was going to say "night and day", didn't you?). So I thought, I'll just pin the shoulders together, but I'll start sewing tomorrow. One minute later, shoulders pinned, I thought, oh ALRIGHT already. I'll sew the friggin' shoulders together. And twenty minutes later...

I was well on my way to finishing the sweater.

In case you're wondering, it's knit with Rowan Kid Classic and Kid Silk Haze held together. Very soft, kind of floaty and airy. But also warm. I really hope I can figure out the turtleneck...

The Mystery Sweater Revealed.

2007-10-01T20:23:00.000-04:00

So what's the big mystery about The Mystery Sweater?

The mystery is this: it's been so long since I started the thing, I barely remember what it's supposed to look like when it's finished.

I think this project began in the late summer of 2005. The sweater is actually called Magnolia, a Kim Hargreaves pattern from a Rowan book. When I started the sweater, I made a photocopy of the pattern to stick in my bag... and then promptly lost the original pattern book. There were a lot of starts and stops, a lot of do-overs, and a long-ish wait when I, in perfect Accidental Knitter form, ran out of yarn and had to pray that Dori found me some more. She did find me more yarn, but by that time it was Spring, and this is a Winter project. So I put it aside, and now it's time to finish it already.

So as of Sunday night, the pieces were all knit, and I just have to sew it together. Sounds promising, right? Well, this is where things get... not so simple. When I pulled out the front and back of the sweater, I realized that I no longer remember which side is which - they look identical. It took me a few minutes to remember which size I chose to knit it in - was it the Small? Maybe the Medium, since this project was post-pregnancy... ? The turtleneck collar, which is knit seperately with size 8 needles and sewn on, was found in my knitting bag with size 10 needles attached to it. I don't remember having gauge issues with this pattern... or did I... ? And speaking of that turtleneck collar, I knit and unknit that thing a dozen times, and it just looks... wrong. If only I had a picture of the sweater to see what this is supposed to look like... but oh yeah, I lost the pattern book. Where the heck is it, anyway... ?

Now what? I really want to finish it - it has the potential to be very beautiful and very well chosen for my particular body type (think 13 year-old boy). It's so close to being completed that I can't not finish it. And I can't possibly move on to the other projects waiting in the queue until this one is deemed a FO. So I've decided to soldier on without finishing instructions: I'll figure out front from back and sew everything up except the turtleneck - that will most definitely be my final test of patience and intuitive knitting.

I'll post pictures of The Mystery Sweater soon. Writing about it psyched me out too much to actually start sewing it up right now... I'm gonna watch Knitty Gritty instead.

Exploring Carlisle.

2007-09-30T12:46:00.000-04:00

Besides being a famous journalist and blogger, my husband plays bass for local ska legends Fink's Constant. Last week, the band played a wonderful little outdoor concert on Pomfret St. in Carlisle, PA. After telling me about the local scene, we decided to pack up Baby A.K. and explore the city a bit.

Carlisle is quite a gem - a well-kept college town with quaint shops and a nice historic district made it easy to while away a gorgeous Fall afternoon. Naturally, there was a high point: The Yarn Garden, on 10 W. Pomfret St. A wonderful little shop that manages to carry everything you need to get your knit on. They carry a wide selection of yarn from different companies, but I was most intrigued by some of the handspun, hand-dyed items from local artisans. I saw they had a class list, but sadly I can't remember what they were offering (I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you if you're interested: (717) 249-YARN). And everyone who was in the store, whether working or shopping, was friendly and courteous and didn't mind when Baby A.K. knocked some sock yarn all over the floor. I will happily visit this store again... and again...

So what did I buy (oh come on. You know I wasn't going to leave empty-handed.)? I had to keep myself in check - I have plenty of projects in the queue already. But that sock yarn that Baby A.K. "found" was calling to me. So one ball of SWTC's TOFUtsies in #730 "Light Foot" for Baby A.K., and one ball of Austermann Step in, I think, #08 "brombeer", for Husband of A.K. So come what may, I'll always have socks to knit. But I'll finish my pair of Koigu KPPPM first.

Got back to work on The Mystery Sweater last night as promised, and happily, all that's left is sewing the thing together. This might prove more challenging than usual, though... more on that in the next post.

A Memorable Anniversary... ?

2007-09-29T12:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the 5-year wedding anniversary of yours truly and Husband. We had it all planned out: secured the babysitter 3 weeks in advance, chose the perfect restaurant (we have history here), and then... a stroll down Riverfront Park? Revisit the garden where we were married? Go to our favorite hangout to read and drink coffee? The possibilities seemed endless.

10:30 am, I get a call at work from the babysitter. She went home early from her day job with a massive migraine. She was sweet - very apologetic, and even called me later that day after she slept a little in the hopes that she'd be feeling better. But it was not to be. Anniversary cancelled?

Luckily, all is not lost. Husband and I will be running away together to our favorite B&B in a few weeks for some R&R and awesome leaf-peeping. So... anniversary postponed.

In the meantime... I am so rockin' the sock knitting!

Baby A.K.'s first knitted socks came out... a little small, actually, but very cute. And she loves them... I'm a happy mommy!

And yes, I swear, I'm going to finish up The Mystery Sweater very soon, like tonight. But I couldn't help myself...

I had to start some more socks.
These are for me. Not much to see yet, but the finished product should be really beautiful. You can't tell from the picture, but I'm using the coolest DPNs for this - Lantern Moon's Sox Stix are only 5" long and super smooth to hold and knit with. I LOVE THEM! Seeing as that I can't seem to stop kntting socks, I'll probably own these in every size soon.

Alright... gonna grab a quick nap (trying to get rid of my own migraine), then we're gonna go explorin'. I'll talk about that tomorrow...

Trust Yourself, Trust The Pattern.

2007-09-26T20:43:00.001-04:00

Last week I was at The Caring Place for the start of a new session, and I was talking to one of the administrators who happens to be a knitter.
"What are you working on?" she asked me.
"Socks for my daughter," I said. "My second pair!"
"Wow," she said, "I could never do that. I can only knit in rows!"

Sound familiar? We've all said something like this before, I'm sure. There's always some project out there that we really want to try, but then we read the pattern and begin to get nervous. It's "Advanced"! The pattern's "Advanced" and I'm just an (Advanced) Beginner! What the heck is this stitch they're talking about? Wait, what do they mean "crochet a picot edge"??? And then we throw the pattern across the room and go back to what we know.

I felt this way when I first decided I wanted to try to knit socks. When I told Dori, proprietress of my LYS, that it was time to try out some sock knitting, she set me up with yarn, DPNs, and what turned out to be an excellent basic pattern. Since I live pretty far away from her store (so yeah, I guess it's not really a LYS. It's more like a Not-So-LYS.), she kind of sighed and said, "If you have any questions or problems, give me a call, and I'll try to walk you through it on the phone."

When I got my sock stuff home, I read through the pattern and thought, what have I gotten myself into? The heel flap I kind of got, but the instructions for turning the heel were totally foreign. And I didn't really understand what a gusset was - had to look that one up in the dictionary. I was starting to get flustered, until I decided that I was just going to take the whole pattern one small step at a time. I understood the first part: cast on 64 stitches, join in the round, K1P1 for 2", K for another 8". And so I did that. Never mind the fact that I ripped it all out and started over about a dozen times - it was time well spent as I learned some valuable lessons about knitting in the round, knitting to gauge, knitting too tightly, and knitting on teeny tiny needles. But eventually I got it, and it was time to move on to that heel flap. Before it got too scary, I shifted my mindset. Let go. Trust the pattern. Do as it says, even if it doesn't make sense. It will soon.

So I followed the pattern, and suddenly the heel flap was done. Wow, that S1, K1 really makes a strong fabric. I followed the pattern some more, and to my amazement, a heel was turning. So that's how short rows are worked. I read on: PU&K around the side of the heel. Watching Knitty Gritty really helped me here - I saw numerous demonstrations on how to PU&K and managed to remember how to do it. Then I started the decreases... then knit knit knit... then decrease for the toes... then Kitchener stitch 'em up... then...

Sock! I MADE A SOCK! A huge acheivement to add to my arsenal of knitting know-how. Corny? Yeah, maybe a little, but who cares when you've made a wonderfully warm, useful, and downright handsome FO? And no pun intended.

So what's the point of all this?

Challenge yourself with new, interesting patterns. Chances are they're not as difficult as they seem. No, seriously, they're not.

Trust yourself, and trust the pattern, but don't be afraid to wing it a little. You're a better knitter than you think.

It's only knitting. You can always start over. But you'll always learn something.

No Live Blogging...

2007-09-24T13:37:00.000-04:00

... but still a successful LYS excursion. Especially if you consider spending only $37 successful!

Saturday was Yom Kippur, and although I didn't spend the day in synogogue, I did spend a great deal of time reflecting on the year past. I was able to focus more than usual; Baby A.K. let me... heck, she wanted me to concentrate, and played with Grandma a good part of the day. And why was I afforded this meditative luxury?

Because I was knitting Baby A.K. some socks.

Every time she came over to crawl around on me, I showed her the progress I had made on her sock. She'd get so excited about having her own pair that she'd run back to Grandma and exclaim, "Mommy make sock!" And so I was able to finish the first one real quick. The Mystery Sweater has to wait.

Live From N.J.

2007-09-21T08:56:00.000-04:00

It's been one of those weeks... meetings, dinners, kickoff session at The Caring Place... but fear not, my loyal readers, I'm still with you. I'm heading East later today to end the High Holy Days with my family, and, if the Internet server gods are with me, I'll be blogging to you live from my favorite LYS. Sadly, due to the extravagance I heaped upon myself at KDO, I won't be spending much money there, except on DPNs for more sock knitting.
...
...
OK, place your bets - how long will I last before whipping out that credit card?

See you in New Jersey.

One (Pair) Down, Two To Go.

2007-09-17T21:13:00.001-04:00

The socks are finished!

And they came out great, if I do say so myself. The pattern said to cast on 64 stitches, but after doing so and ripping back so many times, I knew that 64 stitches would never fit my hubby's muscular calves. 80 stitches worked out perfectly - I guess my calculations for decreases and PU&Ks were right-on. The next pair of socks I make will be for Baby A.K. - the purple Cascade Fixation is in the queue - and then I'll make a pair for myself. Luxury awaits... I've got Koigu KPPPM for that project. Nothin' but comfy, warm feet for Family A.K.!

But first, I'm going to finish... The Mystery Sweater. More on that later.

KDO '07.

2007-09-15T20:19:00.000-04:00

Today, finally, was the annual Knitter's Day Out event at Central Penn College, the knitting extravaganza I'd been anticipating for a month now. I met up with my S&B pals at a local diner for breakfast, then we headed over to do some damage.

Newbie that I am to these yarn convention things, I have to say that I was completely bowled over by the whole event. As we walked in the door, the first thing we saw was where to leave our hats for Caps For Kids. It was hard to miss - a table and Pack 'N Play were literally overflowing with wonderful warm hats for a LOT of deserving kids. Woo hoo... go Central Penn knitters! Then we walked into the Market area... and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh man. Gorgeous hand spun, hand dyed yarn from local artisans - I had a particularly hard time passing up Cherie Anne's offerings. Many fantastic shops selling yarns, notions, patterns, needles... everything. This will be a nice shop to visit next time I'm in Happy Valley. I had a really nice conversation with Lydia who runs Gurdy Run Woolen Mill, a working farm where yarns, rovings, fleeces and felt are all processed on-site. And finally, I think I found the one thing that I was really looking for: someone to teach me to spin. I'm going to start with a drop spindle, which I already own but can't figure out, and if I nail that, I'll move on to a wheel. And I won't be alone in my spinning frenzy: my friend Cris from our S&B is taking the plunge with me. I can't wait to schedule our lesson.

When we came up for air, this is what we owned:

Cris went nuts with sock yarn.
Joan bought a pattern for a really cute pumpkin bag. The book has some really nice knitted present ideas. And the lamb is a tape measure... hmmmm, where'd she learn about that little guy... ? ;)
And Lori bought a couple of patterns - her first lace pattern there on the right - and some speedy Addi Turbos.
As for me, I blew my budget.

Those skens of awesome, hand dyed boucle (trust me, they're awesome. I really need a better camera.) are going to become a jacket someday. Many thanks to Uncommon Threads for making it easy for me to hand over my credit card. The small ball of purple yarn will become socks for Baby A.K. someday sooner. And the pattern for fingerless gloves may very well be the holiday present I give to my cubicle neighbors (and myself, natch), who all suffer in the winter from sitting next to drafty windows.

As we were leaving, we got word that another yarn festival would be coming soon... to Pittsburgh. ROAD TRIP!

Look, I Made A Hat... Where There Never Was A Hat.

2007-09-13T21:43:00.000-04:00

Now to answer the burning question: what did I decide to knit while I waited for my sock yarn to arrive?

OK, it's not a big stretch. I had plenty of that wonderfully soft lavender yarn left over after the first hat, so... I call them Hat and Little Sister Of Hat. Made to fit a toddler and a preemie. When I started knitting the second one, I thought I'd just give the larger hat to Baby A.K., since she loves it so much. But something rather life-altering happened to me yesterday and I decided that both hats will go to charity. I hope they find a good home/s. And I'll talk about the life-altering thing another day.

Meanwhile, guess what arrived in the mail today? No hostage situation at the post office after all - my sock yarn is here!

Need... Project! Need... PROJECT!!!

2007-09-11T19:02:00.000-04:00

I haven't been myself these past couple days. Jittery, unsettled, can't concentrate, bored... it must be YARN WITHDRAWAL. I haven't knit a thing this week. The hat's done, I'm still waiting for my yarn to finish Husband of A.K.'s socks (BTW, this is what he does all day), I have a sweater that's been waiting to be finished for 2 years but there's no sense in getting into that since the sock yarn will be here any day and anyway I promised H of A.K. that I wouldn't touch it until his socks were done and where the heck is that sock yarn anyway you'd think it was being shipped from Siberia or somewhere that doesn't have a post office could someone at the post office be holding my yarn hostage... ?

pant, pant, pant I'm OK... really. Just... catching... my... breath... pant, pant, pant

One good thing, though - I got a copy of Lion Brand Yarn's Fall/Winter catalog today. Lots of cute patterns in there - Baby A.K. will probably be sporting a pair of the nifty Wool-Ease socks sometime soon (after my 2-year-old sweater, of course), and the Cable Luxe Tunic is so me. You know, I used to shun Lion Brand, and for the dumbest reason: it wasn't carried in LYSs that I'd visited, so I figured it must not be very good quality yarn. It didn't take long for me to get over this yarn prejudice - since my LYS isn't so L, sometimes I just needed to get a fix when I was in-between projects. Or a friend's birthday would suddenly show up on my calendar a week away, and I needed a quick gift of knitted goodness to give. I can always find it at the nearby craft stores, the quality is very good, and... well, I just like it. And I'm not ashamed of that.

Hmmmm... I think I have an idea for a knitted something while I wait for my sock yarn... tune in next time to see what I've gotten myself into...

How You Have To Finish The Hat.

2007-09-09T20:07:00.000-04:00

The Caps For Kids hat is finished.

It's a nice hat, definitely warm and hat-like. And for my first hat, not bad. I think in the future, though, I'll try a more interesting pattern, maybe some cables or intarsia.

Baby A.K. certainly liked it - she ran around the house screaming, "MY HAT! MY HAT!" and wouldn't give it back. Better find that interesting, cables-or-intarsia pattern quick...

For Glenn.

2007-09-08T10:59:00.000-04:00

I met Glenn during training and orientation for The Caring Place. There were a lot of us, but he stood out somehow - tall, quiet, but you definitely felt a sense of strength emanating from him somehow. We went on to become full-fledged volunteers, but we've only been grouped in the same session once (a session = 10 weeks). But we've seen each other around, during Caring Place seminars and activities, and also around the workplace (we work for the same company, but not in the same division. Not even in the same building.).

Time passed, and I noticed an article on our company's Intranet spotlighting Glenn and all of the volunteer activities he's involved with. There were, and I'm not kidding, between 15 and 20 organizations that he regularly gives his free time to. I was stunned - how does one person have that kind of free time? Or, more appropriately, how does one person have such a big heart?

More time passed, and through announcements at The Caring Place and through email, I learned that Glenn had cancer - many, many tumors throughout his body. He went through the ringer - surgery, chemo, medication - and at one point, his cancer seemed beaten. I saw him at a Caring Place quilt dedication (he, of course, had volunteered to help run the event that day), looking a little pale and tired, but he was SO happy to be there. His eyes really gave that away. He remembered me, and we chatted and I wished him continued good luck and good health.

Last week I received another email that Glenn won the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service, and was up for the national award in Washington, DC. His sister, who also works at my company, sent pictures of Glenn receiving the award from Senator Bob Casey. Sadly, this had to take place in the hospital - Glenn had been admitted for surgery to relieve some complications of his illness, which had returned. Yesterday, I got word that the surgery was not successful - he has a large tumor in his abdomen that can't be removed or operated around. He'll be moving in with his sister next week to rest and recover and... I don't even want to go there.

I could easily go on about how unfair it is that such a remarkable, generous person has to endure such suffering, but instead, I'll get to the point of why I wanted to talk about this. One of the email updates I received was from the volunteer coordinator at The Caring Place, who mentioned that while Glenn's been sick, he learned how to crochet, and has been making blankets that he's sold to raise money for organizations that support the less fortunate. Doesn't that just say it all? Even while battling cancer, enduring great pain and uncertainty, he's still giving his time to others. How many of us could, or would, do the same under those circumstances? I'm going to see if I can get some pictures of those blankets.

I may not know Glenn very well personally, but I'd like him to know he's changed my life. The hat is only the beginning.

Sock Status.

2007-09-06T21:10:00.000-04:00

Still working on the hat for Caps For Kids, but hooray! Got word from my LYS that a nice new skein of Austermann Step sock yarn is on its way to my eager little hands. As you'll remember, this is the extra yarn I need to finish the Promised Socks for my husband, who's been patiently waiting for them for... many months. I don't remember how many exactly. And neither does he. Which means these are overdue. But c'mon... who wears wool socks in the summer (A.K fans in Iceland, Siberia, and the Arctic Circle excluded)?

Here's the answer to the question I posed on the last post. My absolute favorite musical ever.

Finishing The Hat.

2007-09-04T20:59:00.000-04:00

So next weekend is Knitter's Day Out here in Central PA. I learned about it at my knitting Meetup, and I'm sorry I didn't know about this sooner. It's like a 2-day YA meeting (Yarnaholics Anonymous, natch). They're holding classes on tons of great knitting subjects, and they're setting up a Market for those of us who are easily separated from their hard-earned wages. I'm meeting some of my knitting pals for breakfast on the Saturday, then, since none of us registered for classes before the deadline, we're going to shop the Market and I CAN'T WAIT.

The KDO website mentions that they're accepting contributions for Caps For Kids with the admission fee (I'm pretty sure this is the right website. I Googled a few different Caps For Kids organizations, and the KDO website isn't specific and doesn't give a link (trying hard here not to be nit-picky, but c'mon, I'm a Web developer, I notice these things. Should really have a link.), so this is my best guess.). Having quite a lot of yarn in my yarn stash, and awaiting the arrival of another skein of yarn to finish my husband's long-awaited socks, I figured, how hard can this be? I'll knit a hat for a child who really needs it.

Which yarn to use? I had some leftover Zara from a baseball cardigan I made for my friend's son, but I'm not convinced I have enough. I had a lot of crazy odds and ends, but nothing really stood up and screamed "ME! ME! ME! USE MEEEEEE!!!". Then I found it - I have so much yarn left over from the Disastrous Baby Blanket (again, I'll blog about this another day. Oh, the shame...), the only way I can make amends with myself is to use this leftover yarn for a needy child. It's quite nice, too - lavender, super-soft acrylic... perfect.

What pattern to use? I need this to go quickly, so lucky for me, Caps For Kids had their own patterns for both knitted and crocheted hats. So I casted on, joined my stitches in the round, and I'm off and running. Interestingly, the pattern doesn't mention knitting this hat circularly. And uses the word "row", not "round". Please, please, PLEASE let these strange oversights be the fault of some overworked proofreader and not my inability to read a pattern... please!

What do you think? Looks good so far on Baby A.K., so how wrong can I be?

Bonus points to anyone who knows where the title of this post came from.

Craftsters Of A Not-So-Different Stripe.

2007-09-02T20:29:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone. My husband, Baby A.K. and I spent an agreeable afternoon at the home of our good friends Erich and Deb, who supplied us with BBQ and a final dip in their pool before closing it up for the season. Whenever we're at their house, I try to take a few minutes to walk around and admire Deb's beautiful quilts - all handmade, the majority by her. Sadly, my camera phone doesn't do these justice, but here's a few examples:

This one is called Diamond Shimmer.

And this one is called The Block Less Travelled.

This is a work in progress - the blues and greens are incredibly striking in person. I really need to get a good digital camera.

Before Baby A.K. became too restless, Deb told me how a few of the women in her guild offered to teach her how to crochet and/or knit, to give her something to do while she waits for her son to finish his various extracurricular activities. It kind of got me thinking about how creative types have a natural affinity towards different crafty endeavors, like these quilter-knitters in Deb's guild. Quilters have amazing sewing skills and an eye for color - I wonder how many are also painters, or sew together their own wardrobes? Or maybe some other wonderful and completely different hobby. And how many knitters have other crafty habits? Well, that's easy: a lot. Crochet, anyone (gasp!)? Or felting? Or how about scrapbooking? There's thousands more, of course, and anything we do or see or experience can only make us better artisans. But even if you have only one crafty skill, it's pretty much impossible to not at least have an appreciation for other people's artistic ventures. I see other people's creations and can't help but draw parallels to my knitting; seeing Deb's pieces expands my horizons artistically and inspires me. How can it not be the same for all of us?

So... Craftsters, Unite! We're not so different, after all.

A Shout-Out To David Reidy.

2007-08-31T21:30:00.000-04:00

"G'day, Everyone."
Smart and eloquent, a voice
Like smooth stockinette.

If you haven't already, give a listen to David Reidy's fantastic podcast Sticks & String. It's a favorite here at Casa d' A.K - my husband even thinks the Australian Bloke Who Knits is cool. We're planning on spending our 10th wedding anniversary in Australia, and I hope I can somehow manage to meet Mr. Reidy in person then.

Of course, that's not for another 5 years. Sigh.

Why I Love Vogue Knitting.

2007-08-30T19:40:00.000-04:00

Oh Vogue Knitting, how I love thee. Let me count the top 5 ways...

VK never fails to inspire me beyond my current knitting capabilities. And that's a good thing. Otherwise, I'd still be knitting scarves. Or not knitting at all, due to boredom from making too many scarves. Not that scarves are a bad thing - I'd just get bored making the same thing over and over again.

Fantastic articles. In this most recent issue, I particularly liked "Fits That Flatter" - very helpful.

Focus on the LYS. I love the articles on different shops, what they stock, what makes them different from other shops, etc.

The patterns, of course. Knitter or no, I dare anyone to look through VK and not find something they'd love to wear. Too many gorgeous patterns to name from the current issue, but two that I'd love to attempt are #s 26 and 31.

The advertisements. Seriously. Again, a great source of inspiration. These companies are doing some amazing things, and when I'm not bogged down with work, cleaning house, errands, husband, Baby A.K, etc., I like looking at these companies' websites. Stop laughing.

Time to check on Baby A.K. - daddy's putting her down to bed tonight. In case you're curious, she really liked pattern #30.

Knitters Sometimes Run In Packs.

2007-08-28T21:50:00.000-04:00

In which case, if you happen to be at, say, your local Borders and you think you're going to kick back in the cafe for some quiet time, think again. When knitters meet, they laugh a lot. A LOT.

Today was the monthly get-together of the Central PA Knitters, and, like last month, it was a blast. Knitting can easily be a very solitary ~~obsession~~ hobby, but when you get a bunch of us together, you get more out of the experience. It's not just that you can learn a lot from other yarnaholics, but the craft itself becomes multifaceted (as if it weren't already): you pick up a new technique here, a cool pattern idea there, tips on new yarns to try or what the TSA will allow on planes these days.

Jen was making a dishcloth, but it turned into a heart. Or a dreidel. Or a heart-shaped dreidel. Whatever it is or may become, I really like it.

And Michelle is working on mittens. After just one lesson, too. And in August!

And I'm working on a boa-style scarf for my stepmom. She lives in Florida. Scarf. Florida. Well, even Floridians get chilly in the winter... I think. Picture to come.

Gotta run... Baby A.K. has a fever, and has planned to keep me running to her bedside all night. If only I could knit in the dark.

Sundays Are For Laundry.

2007-08-26T21:38:00.000-04:00

If it's Sunday, it must be Laundry Day. I don't know why I wait to do all of our laundry on just one day, or why I chose that day to be during the weekend, but there it is.

There was more today than usual - the regular amount that accumulates during a normal week, then some leftovers from our Florida vacation. Type A personality that I am, I meticulously went through every article of clothing, separating each into its proper pile according to color and water temperature. There was one pile, however, that's been staring me down for... yikes, about a month. The handknits. They needed their infusion of water and Eucalan, and needed them now.

As I type this, everything is clean and fresh-smelling and laying all over the house drying. Among the lucky items that are ready to be dirtied up again:

- A crocheted baby afghan from a college friend of my husband's. Fluffy, white, and luxurious.

- A knitted disaster of a baby blanket I made while pregnant with Baby A.K. This thing is worthy of its own post, and will get it soon. Stay tuned.

- A beautiful knitted sweater and hat set made by my mom for... who else? Baby A.K. They're too heavy for her to wear now, but they're ready to go as soon as the weather gets cool and autumn-y.

- A sweater I made for myself at the beginning of the summer. Straight out of Filatura di Crosa's Spring/Summer '07 collection, it's the Drop Stitch Pullover featured on the cover. I even used the same color yarn (Venezia, in purple). What can I say... it looked good on my LYS's mannequin. And it looks pretty good on me.

So, now that the laundry's done, Baby A.K. sleeps peacefully, and I've had too many of my husband's awesome homemade brownies, it's time for Entourage. And a pleasant night was had by all.

The DPN And The Damage Done.

2007-08-24T21:23:00.000-04:00

After escaping from my office today after a long week, I went to our local Barnes & Noble to waste some time before meeting my wonderful friend Stacy for dinner. I sauntered into the cafe, plopped down at a table, and with great flair began working on my husband's sock. I was KIPping (Knitting In Public), and KIPping as obviously as I could muster, as if to announce to all 5 of the other cafe patrons, "Yeah, that's right. I'm a Knitter, and I'm proud!"

As I worked on picking up stitches, I happened to look up to find a little girl, about 8 years old or so, watching me intently. She didn't shy away when our eyes met - she looked directly at me and gave me a smile. I smiled right back, then continued my work. How cool, I thought. She was watching me! She was interested in what I was doing! Did she know that I was knitting as opposed to crochet? Was she thinking of coming over to ask me what I was doing? Did she herself know how to knit and was giving me silent validation? Was she thinking about pointing out how cool I was to her mom when she returned with their beverages?

By the time I came back into my head, all of the sock's live stitches were divided between not 3, but 2 DPNs. And it wasn't immediately obvious what had happened to the other 2 needles (floor? No. Knitting bag? No. Behind each ear? Ummmm... yep. Sigh.). Making matters stranger, there were double the number of stitches than there should've been on those 2 DPNs. Which totaled a very scary 160 stitches. If you've ever knit socks before, you know how very, very wrong that is. If you've never knit socks before, it'll take you approximately 10 seconds to visualize what 160 stitches on 2 DPNs looks like, and realize how very, very wrong that is.

Lesson learned:

ego + showing off + daydreaming about one's own cool factor + lack of caffeine-laden beverage = sock insanity.

I don't know what I was thinking. Should've ordered a latte first.

This Is Mine.

2007-08-23T19:52:00.000-04:00

About a week ago, I was working on my husband's socks while Baby A.K. wound down her day playing quietly with her Legos. After working diligently on her "castle", she came over to me. "Mommy knit?" she asked.
"Yes, Mommy is knitting Daddy's socks."
"Me knit?"
"No honey, not just yet. When you're older."
"ME KNIT! ME KNIT!" she repeated at full volume as she stomped her feet, making contact more than once with my own feet. I don't know if it was the foot-stomping or the screaming, or maybe something else, that prompted me to blurt:
"NO. This is MINE. The knitting is MINE."

Ever since I learned how to knit a few years ago, it's pretty much consumed me. It opened up an entirely new world for me that I barely knew existed (oh, I'd heard rumors. My mom, aunt, grandmother, and sister-in-law have been slaves to the siren song of yarn for decades. I'd just chosen to ignore it for a while.). Knitting gave me some really great scarves (natch), a belt, a poncho, and two sweaters that I'm very proud of, not to mention the enormous amount of gifts I've given of it. It makes me feel great when I can work out a pattern without calling in my relatives for help. It calms my nerves daily - the repetitve stitch pattern combined with my focused concentration lets me escape the TV, the pile of neglected laundry, my own head. And let's face it - it's great fun. Something I ~~crave~~ look forward to every day. Something I sneak into my office for a quick fix. So knitting is more than just a hobby now. It's innately and passionately part of me. It's mine.

My daughter is only 2 years old, and doesn't have the dexterity to knit yet. I can't wait until she does, though. I'll be there when she makes her first uneven stitches, and I'll be there to help her fix her mistakes. I hope she feels as passionately about handcrafted sweaters and socks and fingerless gloves as I do. But right now, there's Lego castles to build, blocks to stack, toy kitchens to destroy, and tricycles to ride.

And the knitting is mine.

Travelling With Linda

2007-08-21T17:15:00.000-04:00

I never met Linda before - we were merely sitting in the same aisle row seats on the flight from Atlanta to Harrisburg, PA. My daughter was sitting in the window seat next to me, and my husband was sitting behind me. Linda watched us as we twisted and turned to talk to each other, and offered to switch seats so we could talk a little easier. I made a joke - something like, "What, talk to him? No way!", and she gave me the strangest frown. I was a little put-off by that - come on, it was a joke - but I shrugged it off and pulled out my travel project - Lion Brand Yarn's Mobius tube scarf. A nice, easy piece for travelling with a 2-year old.

I knit about 3 rows when Linda softened. "I didn't know you could get needles past the TSA," she said, then told me about the crochet project she reluctantly left behind. She told me how she spent the night in a crowded airport in Panama City without her luggage due to a flight cancellation. She told me how she was going to see her grandchildren after a long absence. She told me about the cancer that 2 close members of her family were enduring. And all the while I knit, consoled, empathized, and listened, as best as possible in the noisy puddle jumper we were riding.

I realized that Linda's initial frown at my attempt at a joke had nothing to do with me at all. It had everything to do with the conditions she found herself in during the last 24 hours. And I realized first-hand how knitting can truly bring people together, and if just for a little while, make our journey a bit more pleasant.

All my best to you and your family, Linda.

It'll Be Just Like Starting Over

2007-08-20T22:59:00.000-04:00

Alright, for real this time.

This is The Accidental Knitter, blogging to you live from deepest, darkest Central Pennsylvania. I think I finally have my act together enough to actually keep this blog going for longer than 2 months, so here I go again.

For those of you who don't know what an Accidental Knitter is, I'll explain. It's a person who never intended to pick up needles and yarn out of lack of interest/hand coordination/gray matter, but did one day and found it to be... addicting. It's a person who figured it wasn't a craft worth learning - I mean, acrylic yarn is just so... old-fashioned. And boring (sorry, Grandma - the blue K2P2 sweater you made me is all I knew at the time). It's a person who once uttered the question, "Why would you knit socks when you can just buy them for five bucks a pack?"

My, how I've grown.

Anyway, this is just a quick re-introduction. I'll soon be rambling about all sorts of knitting experiences, WIPs, and hopefully my attempts to learn how to spin. Right now, I want to finish the heel flap on my sock project.