Mark Your Calendars.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.