Heroes

For those knitters who collect/read/enjoy comic books graphic novels, meet your new best friends:

Handknit Heroes! Each issue comes with a pattern in the back. Subscriptions are $20/year for quarterly issues mailed right to your door. No e-publications here - you can almost smell the ink...

The Mason-Dixon extravaganza

Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner have come and gone, entertaining hundreds of knitters in Saint Paul in the process. Dang, but they're funny.Meema confession: I left my camera's SD card at home. Wha? I know - dumbdumbdumb. My mom and dad were in attendance (in their South Park shirts, no less!), so these pics are courtesy of Dad's camera.

A willing audience member models the Mystery Sweater. It's a bit hard to see, but the torso has a sizable MLK quote chain stitched all around. Can also be knit without text. Wonderful design.

After about an hour of their "blog post" presentation, they began the process of - what else? - signing.

And signing.

And signing some more (see the pile on the table corner?). That's Ann at left, Kay on the right, and a bevy of Yarnery ladies.

Jess, Eric, Scott and I reprised our roles as the Yarnery Family Singers to honor (in order) knitting commerce, knitting communities, and knitting authors. Hope you likey.

Song #1 - Welcome to Our LYS

Songs #2 (On Ravelry) and #3 (Mason-Dixon!)

UPDATE: The lyrics are now posted on The Yarnery Blog. Feel free to check them out, but please ask first if you want to repost them. Thanks!

Let's hear it for the boys

Everyone's favorite male knitter, Franklin Habit, has done it again. Check his blog to see photos from his upcoming release, Guys with Yarn: The 2009 Calendar. (I'd post photos, but I don't want to © infringe.)

I can think of at least three knitting dudes (and a big basket of she-knitters) who will be clearing a space on their walls for these bad boys of the fiber arts. Let the yarnplay begin...

Boys on the side

Looky what I stumbled across on the internets this evening! If this didn't butch up the visibility of knitting men in the 1970s, I don't know what else could. Who knew the Marlboro man could knit?

This would be a great addition to a knitter's library; the three listings on Amazon right now, however, are asking between $140-$170.

From the website Men Who Knit:

"The best part is the projects chapter: a dog blanket, a beanie, a wall hanging (for your horse’s best-in-show award), a saddle blanket for your horse (knitted circularly with sharpened garden hose and “jumbo” yarn), a slipover (jumper) and a rope hammock (knitted with either shovel handles or pool cues with manila rope)."

And now, a video offering of needle-wielding men. About halfway through there's a gent knitting a hammock out of rope on sharpened billiard cues (a pattern from the book above, I believe).

P.S. Congrats to all the ribbon- and award-winning knitters (women and men) at the Great Minnesota Get-Together!

Wool on the hoof

As a knitter, I love the feel of different fibers while I'm knitting. The way different yarns respond and perform is a constant source of intrigue for me; a person can knit the same pattern over and over and, depending on the fiber chosen, the entire character of the piece shifts and evolves. Seriously, how cool is that?

Wool is the foudation, walls and roof of my own stash. In my knitting fantasies, I develop a relationship with the sheep that is about to be shorn, whose fleece will be spun into the ultimate skein of goodness for my waiting needles.

Author Catherine Friend, a fellow Minnesotan, currently lives the life I don't think I could: she and her partner run a working sheep farm. Her memoir, Hit By a Farm, is a wonderfully entertaining read about daily farm life (which was not her first choice, BTW). Her accounts remind me of my dad's stories of growing up on a dairy farm. I laughed out loud often, sometimes uncontrollably. Even though Catherine isn't a knitter, and their flock isn't purposed for wool production, I loved reading about the lives of these women and their sheep. If you're looking for a humorous nonfiction read, stop and pick this up.

Things that make me go hmmm

I saw this sign on a Minneapolis home's fence today. I don't understand it, outside the literal translation "house of cheese". Any thoughts?

On my travels I also stopped at a shop on East Lake Street and West River Parkway called CorAzoN. Great gift items and papers and a very nice staff. As I was looking around, I was surprised to see a few knitting books on the shelves, including this one on the right (half off even!). I like the juxtaposition of two books. And you know what? I think EZ would, too.

My other fun find was a simple, unassuming little gizmo that, when worn on your thumb, takes you from awkward-and-floppy bookworm to poised-and-polished bibliophile. 2 kool 4 skool.

Book Stash 101

Day 34 (26) of Blog365.

Greetings, all! Not a big news day here in the northland. Mild weather, almost to the point of boring. Kidlet and I spent the weekend at Nana and Papa's house again (closer proximity to all of the birthday goings-on, plus I don't want her staying in my apartment until mold issues are resolved - blech).

I worked at The Yarnery this afternoon, which was pleasantly busy until about an hour before the Super Bowl started, then [cricket, cricket, cricket]. I picked up a nice little pattern for knitted/felted coffee cup sleeves; pictures will come soon. Another item that, if I remember to bring it with me to a coffee shop, will save a tree or two. May have to make these for people I know...

If you are looking for some inspiration for the end of winter, I found a great website for sale priced books. Bargain Yarns has a great page of "damaged" knitting books for half price. The imperfections are cosmetic, generally cover or spine related, and the contents are uncompromised. The majority that I've seen have barely discernable flaws, and if they are for me anyway, no big dealio! Inventory varies from time to time, so check back often.

A ho-hum post for a ho-hum day, but hopefully savory details of projects and yarn tomorrow. Happy knitting!