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.

Huh? What?

Um, yeah, it's the end of May.

Holy crap, where did the spring go?

Spent a good bit of the holiday weekend with J's family; her brother and sister-almost-in-law were visiting from Chicago. We were even able to squeeze in a birthday party for Uncle Weswey (a week early, but hey, he was here).

As for me, I'm feeling a bit like my knitting bag - chaotic. It went to school with me today with four projects inside. (Granted, one was only a test swatch for a colorwork sweater, but four chunks of fiber nonetheless.) I did work on each of them, if only to justify their travels. Aside from completing the swatch, it was mostly flitting.

If anyone has a cure for this, let me know. Soon.

Papa knows best

Some background information is needed here to understand the culture that is my parents' marriage. My mom has been a knitter/crocheter for over 40 years, in addition to forays into many other creatively expressive outlets: oil painting, sewing, latch hook, needlepoint, cross stitch, macrame - you get the idea.

Dad is creative in his own right, but is not one with "crafty" stuff. He gets the knitting thing, though, and surprises me regularly with the knowledge he has acquired:

1. He accompanied my mom to The Yarn Harlot event in April and had a genuine appreciation for what she had to say - and did not think an auditorium full of (mostly) women knitting was strange in the slightest.

2. He appreciates knit-geeky things, like how Mom can knit socks with more control (and in a better mood) by using sharper needles, how wood needles grip better for her, and the cool concept factor of Flat Feet sock yarn.

3. This one's the corker. Last night I was at their house; all three of us were seated on the couch, my mom working a pair of socks with Maizy, me knitting the sleeve of Kidlet's bolero. Dad leans over to see my knitting and says, "What are those you're using, about a size 6?" Wha? Um, yeah they were. Exactly.

Scott and Eric, I may have another member for Men's Knit Night by the end of the year...

Wanted:

One skein (or partial) to complete a knitting project in the manner planned...

yarn needed: RYC Cashsoft Aran
color: #008 - Tornado

I had every good intention to make this a stash-busting-only project. It would have worked out, too, had I not decided the sweater needed contrasting colored bands, cuffs, and collar; my orphan ball of Cashsoft was enough to do everything but the 2T sleeve cuffs. AARRRGGH!

Aside from the blue shortage, the sweater itself is coming along charmingly. The body is knit in a buttery Adrienne Vitadini Trina (has great sproing, but prone to splitting). I'll try to take some in-progress pictures later tonight.

So if you have a bit of this yarn wandering haplessly around your stash, let me know. It would be well purposed and most appreciated!

UPDATE: How much do I love Ravelry? Let me tell you. I searched the site for Cashsoft Aran, and found a handful of people with this color in their stashes (in varying degrees of project commitment). Claire, a knitter from Alberta, had one ball that seemed to be unpurposed, so I inquired if she could be financially swayed to part with said ball o' yarn. This was her reply:

"Y’know what, how about I just send you the ball. I bought it awhile ago and never did figure out what I’d do with this lone ball... I think it would be better off going to someone who would use it rather than sitting in my stash endlessly."

And the weirdest part of this cosmic knitterly windfall? Claire's ball is the same freakin' dye lot as mine. Woah.

Represent!

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, a.k.a. The Yarn Harlot, rocked Saint Paul tonight. Get ready for many a photo...

The Harlot photographs hundreds of knitters with her sock. My parents even came (mid-picture, in the black shirts).Future knitter... and current Men's Knit Night-er Bob.

The Rainey Sisters and The Heathen Housewife.

Beautiful new felted birds by Marie Mayhew (pattern available later this month).

Divas of The Yarnery.

Partners in crime Eric, Scott, and Jess.

The Harlot with my mom, then me and Kidlet's Log Cabin.

Talent abounds in Minnesota - look at the projects!

A sock yarn door prize finds a new home... and balcony knitters.

Knitters are the most patient people. Look at all the books!

Hopefully I'll have some music for you tomorrow. Good night!

Catch-up

A little bit of photographic catch-up tonight. Here's the current status of the Log Cabin Blanket:

And the ferocious kitty Lily (who came home with me from the Humane Society ten years ago, but knew that she was actually my dad's cat):

And my little girly-girl, sporting almost all of the barrettes purchased at Target the other day:

Have a good night, all.

Blogging 101

This is post #101 on The Meema Files. It seems odd to me that people out yonder actually read this. On the other side of the coin, I don't think it strange to read other bloggers' musings. Hmm. Well, there are no festivities slated for today; for that you'll have to wait until the blogiversary in April. ;-D

Kidlet and I had a wonderful weekend. She is such a pleasant little person, and I (and J as well, I'd wager) think we hit the jackpot with her. It's so endearing to see manners and social conscience developing, as well as her quick sense of humor. It's like watching a documentary on the evolution of personhood, but at the same time feeding and reading to the documentary. That made more sense in my head...

Still knitting away on the Log Cabin Blanket, but have developed a little callous on my right index finger pad from pushing the tip of my pretty pointy sticks through the cotton. I'll post a progress photo tomorrow (the blanket, not the callous).

Happy seasonal crossroads knitting!

Knitterly knews

The latest projects on needles:

pattern: The "Pidge"
yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky Handpainted - 1 hank
needles: Knit Picks Options Harmony US#11
still needed: two vintage buttons

This is a short neckwarmer – only 4.5” wide, 25” long – but great for a little splurge on this gorgeous yarn. The pattern is double knitted throughout, and made to be a shop model at The Yarnery. Double knitting + chunky alpaca = very toasty neck.

pattern: Log Cabin Blanket, inspired by Mason Dixon Knitting
yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton (waaay too many skeins!)
needles: Knit Picks Options Harmony US#6

Kidlet and I found a new duvet cover and sham set for her bed at IKEA, and I decided to make a coordinating big-girl blanket to complete the transformation. I love the yarn (great colors and texture), but I'm still partial to knitting with animal fibers; j'aime le sproingy memory of wool.

Several years ago I was given a pattern-a-day knitting calendar. If you've never seen one, there are usually a handful of noteworthy ideas, with the rest being recycling fodder. Anyway, this weekend we also went to the LYS to drop off a Secret Project (to be revealed after the gifting). Remembering a pattern from the aforementioned calendar, Kidlet selected a very rainbow-y hank of Koigu PPPM for me to make little knitted fishies. I cast on this weekend, and will post pictures once they start looking like something.

Knit like you've never dropped a stitch!

The eleventh day of Christmas

I love celebrating a holiday for almost two weeks!

Newsy news: Caytie and Mark with a K have a new son! He was delivered last night at 5:38 (I missed the pool on the gender card). Everyone is well and happy.

Happy Birthday today to Going40! He wears the quatrogenarian mantle well, don't you think?

In all things knitting, I have two more Woolly Nest Ornaments to make for family members. J's Wavy scarf seems not to grow, despite continual knitting - have you ever had a project like that? Frustrating and slightly unmotivating, but I refuse to let a half-knitted item become the boss of me.

Happy knitting!

Road trip

My little family unit and I have just returned from our extended weekend trip to Chicago. Squee! The fall colors along I-90 through Wisconsin were breathtaking around every turn - I'm sure J grew tired of hearing me say, "Ooh, look at those!" Kidlet was surprisingly amiable during the long hours in the car. What a trooper.

Being the responsible blogger I am, I scoped out yarn shops along our route. We stopped on Thursday afternoon at Off the Beaten Path Yarnhouse in Monona (a suburb of Madison, where my family lived for 3+ years). Their focus is natural fiber yarns, and lots of them. The ground floor of this large house serves as the shop, and is filled with lush displays of woolly-silky-planty goodness. J picked out Austermann Bamboo Soft Color for an everyday scarf. This was new to me: Bamboo Soft Color is a 65/35 blend of superwash merino and bamboo that is so soft and sproingy, I hope I can hand over the finished project when I'm done...

On to Chicago, where the yarn crawl came to a screeching halt, but family vacationing ensued. We stayed with J's brother and sister-(in)-law in the western suburbs, arriving for a late dinner on Thursday evening.

Kidlet was thrilled with the train ride into the city on Friday morning. We scaled the Sears Tower, walked around an appropriately windy downtown to explore statuary, then took the bus to the Chicago Children's Museum on Navy Pier. We apparently chased the Curious George exhibit from MN to IL. A quick rush-hour taxi ride back to Union Station, and dinner with family out in the 'burbs again. End of Busy Day.

Start of Next Busy Day. Brunch, some time to veg while watching School House Rock (one of Kidlet's many fixations), and off to the Cosley Zoo in Wheaton. It was a beautiful fall day to be outside, and the zoo was a great fit - familiar animals, smaller facility, and a pumpkin patch over which to obsess. Kidlet was very particular, but we all agreed she did a fine job selecting which was to come home with us. Another family dinner (great food!), and End of Next Busy Day.

Which brings us to yesterday, the day of travel. Brunch with Kidlet's cousin and his 10-week-old son, whom Kidlet absolutely adored, then into the car and homeward bound. It was a lot of travel time, and I have a lot to do in preparing for this week, but it was a great trip. I'm glad we took the time and made it happen.

Oh, and knitting? I took many things with me - a pattern for the yarn I planned on buying at a shop in Chicago that I didn't visit, a pattern for the yarn I had with me but left the needles I needed at home, blah blah blah. Instead, I made a preliminary swatch for J's scarf and have knitted several more kernels of candy corn (felted three before leaving town - very cute). I would have started the trick-or-treat felted bag for Kidlet as well, but didn't have the needles... Who packed my bags, anyway?

Location, location, location

I have THREE - count 'em, three - amazing, blue-ribbon LYS's within five miles of my home, not to mention several chain stores. I blame where I live for the stash event of last week. If I wasn't in an excessively creative metropolitan area, this wouldn't be a problem. OK, not entirely true - I'd still have online shopping, but seeing and feeling the yarn in person is the hook for me. Mmm, squishywoollygoodness...

At one of said shops of personal doom, I stumbled upon an awesome in-house pattern for felted candy corn. So cute! I showed Kidlet the pre-felted nugget I churned out last night, and her response was, "Ooh, is this going to be for me?" It is now, sweetie. If you're interested, the Woolly Candy Corn pattern is by Marie Mayhew, and results in 4" felted candies with worsted yarn (3" with sport weight).

Once you have been drawn to the Dark Side (read: Ravelry), come see me - I'm Meema over there, too. Happy fall knitting!