Knitterly update

It's true - I've actually been knitting lately, just not documenting it very well. Fellow Ravelers can check my Projects page over yonder - I tend to update there first. Does anyone else find it hard to serve the multiple masters of blogging/FB/Ravelry? Good grief.

This is one of two baby sweaters for an anticipated July delivery. Boy Sweater needs only to be seamed; Girl Sweater has yet to be cast on, preempted by...

Jorid Linvik's beautiful Wedding Mittens, of which the cuffs are shown here. I'm doing the lefts of each pair on Magic Loop, then the rights; hopefully this will save a bit of time that would have been spent flipping from chart to chart, let alone Second (and Third, and Fourth) Mitten Syndrome.

Ooh, and I found a yummy new yarn online last week. I'll type slowly so you may savor the thought:

m i n k
a n d
c a s h m e r e

It's as soft as you might think, and not nearly as expensive as it should be (70% mink, 30% cashmere). I purchased two 100-yard skeins of the DK weight yarn, one Jet Black and one natural, for the ridiculous price of US $9.95 each (they also sell 200-yard skeins for US $19.50). And now until Memorial Day/May 25, they are selling all yarn at 25% OFF LISTED PRICE! Check it out - and when you check out, use promotional code 525 for the discount.

The look... the feel... the smell?

What is more important to you when choosing a yarn - the look of the resulting fabric, or the feel of the yarn? [insert Jeopardy theme song here]

This was the weekly question on Knitter's Review, a weekly e-newsletter by Clara Parkes featuring a review (doh) of a yarn or product each issue, along with a readers' poll; the archive of yarn reviews is an invaluable resource, IMHO. If KR doesn't already appear in your inbox, go sign up. I'll wait.

Take the poll and make your senses heard, then feel free to share a comment here about a yarn experience you've had - good, bad, or downright ugly. Was the allure of a beautifully twisted skein deceptively harsh on your skin? Did an ugly duckling yarn transform into a swan-like fabric once knitted? (And I'm OK with using actual brand names if you are.) Inquiring minds want to know!

Knitters are clever people

From the Knitter's Review article:

We have an insatiable appetite for new and novel fibers. We've created yarns made from corn and bamboo. We've seen yarns dusted with jade, laced with copper, and even fortified with crushed crab shells and seaweed. So it should come as no surprise when I tell you about a new company that has just launched a line of yarns made with recycled kitty litter.

Based in Urbana, Illinois, the company is called PurrFect Yarns. It was founded by inveterate knitter and former R&D scientist Patricia Krapsch—who also happens to have a household full of cats.

"It really bothered me that I couldn't easily flush my used kitty litter down the toilet, nor could I spread it on my garden," she told me. "Every week I'd carry huge plastic garbage bags of used kitty litter out to the curb, and the waste really bothered me. So I thought, hey, I'm a scientist. I should do something about this."

You can read the full article here.

All Hallows' Eve Eve

You know an evening will be fun when Dorothy and Tinkerbell start with a tea party...

Each October the youth group at St. Paul's hosts a Fall Festival (read: Halloween party) for the younger set. Apparently we have a healthy population of girly-girl princess types. B came as a pretty princess in pink, and Kidlet chose her character based on sparkly red shoes. Much fun was had, including caramel apples, games, and the first go-round of candy.

Forgive me, knitters, for I have sinned: I made Kidlet's wig, but stooped to use Caron One Pound No Dye Lot ACK-crylic yarn.

On a slight tangent, several weeks ago I picked up a Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF collection box for Kidlet, and last weekend introduced the concept to her as we ate dinner. Her box has four simple graphics on the front, representing the organization's aid goals of clean water, medical care, nutrition, and education for the world's children.

I mentioned that, for how easy it is for us to turn on the tap and have a glass of clean water, there are millions of children who have to drink from dirty streams and the like; so this year she could carry the box, in addition to her candy bag, and collect money for children around the world. "You mean I can help them?!?" she asked. "Yes, of course you can, sweetie."

"I don't even need that much candy!"

Local shepherdess hits the mark

Love buying local?

Love knowing animal products come from happy animals?

Check out the new Icelandic wool being carried exclusively by The Yarnery. From North Mankato, this heavy worsted yarn comes in an array of jaw-dropping handpainted colors, as well as lush naturals. It received a glowing review in Knitter's Review this week (woo-hoo!), and Shelly said orders started coming in immediately.

Go read the review and get to the store.
Now.

Hurry before it's gone!

Love your yarn right

I've never been good at translating the fabric care symbols on yarn labels, so I was thrilled to find this chart from the Soap and Detergent Association (yes, it's a real organization). I may just print this bad boy off, laminate it, and slip it in my knitting notions bag.

Hope it helps you, too!

O Canada, and then some

Pictures later. Just use your imagination for now.

Second day of the trip is behind us. We criss-crossed Michigan, entered into Canada without so much of a cursory glance at a driver's license, and made it to our first tourist destination: Toronto, specifically Lettuce Knit. If you don't read Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's blog regularly, do. It's so worth it to read this one all. the. way. back - she's that funny. Anyway, this is her LYS of choice, and I can see why. After visiting the neighborhood and shop (and purchasing several skeins - souvenir yarn doesn't count as stash, right?), I am completely chartreuse with envy. I came away loving Toronto as a whole and that 'hood in particular.

Second tourist destination: Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. Didn't intend to make it a nightfall trip, but it was quite lovely. And damp. Screw the hair, eh? The only complaint I and the rest of my crew have is that Canadians need BIGGER SIGNAGE in heavily touristed areas. It took us almost a friggin' hour to find the durn bridge to get across whatever water that was to the New York side. BTW, apparently the US Border patrol is trying to thin the herd. Just let us in, already...

Heading to New York today for the Big Game. Pray for us.

Got milk?

I had opportunity to knit the shop swatch for one of The Yarnery's new yarns: Rowan Milk Cotton DK. Made of 70% cotton, 30% milk protein, it's dairy goodness you can knit. Yeah, I'm not sure how they do it, but there it is.

Here are shots of the swatch, pre- and post-blocking:

It responded well to getting wet; a little color in the sink, but rinse water ran clear. The stitches evened out nicely, and it shaped easily without pinning.

Like most cotton yarn, it splits (silent scream here - I likes me wools). But unlike most cotton, the milk protein keeps the fabric quite light and really soft.

In other news, Kidlet and I went to the MOA yesterday. I usually do a very strategic run-in-run-out surgical shopping attack, but we loitered and explored

Camp Snoopy
The Park at MOA
Nickelodeon Sugar Crazed Mania
"Camp Dora."

Oy. When did I get so centrifugally wimpy that a merry-go-round can make my head swim? Pathetique.