The Ravenous Raven: Dinnertime

Chicken from South Mountain Creamery

Potatoes from our CSA mashed with swiss chard from our garden and buttermilk from South Mountain Creamery

Green beans from our CSA

Tomatoes with basil, both from our garden

Red wine from Boordy Vineyards

Irish Hiking Scarf

Or is it the Irish Spinning Scarf?

Thanks, Moms!

When the mail arrived, this box came with it:



This box of goodies was the prize from Stuntmother's blogiversary drawing. And what a prize!

In addition to beautiful correspondence cards, there was:

Baby alpaca yarn (looking quite mammary in this pic), destined to be fingerless mitts? a delicate scarf? a little tam? Yummy!


Sock yarn in a perfect colorway--subtle but full of life.


And even this for Son! I snapped the picture just before it sailed away.


Thanks so much, Stuntmother!

*

In another box delivered the same day, I received my order for this beautiful hand-dyed fiber (colorway Ocean Mist) from local dyer extraordinaire Mama-E:



I can't wait to spin it up!

Vote Early and Often

Over on The Knitting Fiend, Lucia is running “The Addicts Choice Knitting Blog Awards” contest. I was nominated in the category "Best Stories of Physical or Personal Maladies & Dramas."

Go vote for me!

And--well--YIKES! My competition? Both Rabbitch and January One! If by some chance you don't already know their blogs, check them out! (But hey, for my sake, vote for me before you even look at theirs.)

The Ravenous Raven: Going Local

Gazpacho with lots of CSA veggies
Roasted corn in the husk
Homemade challah
Maryland wine (Elk Run Chardonnay)

Must Have Cardigan

Finished!





Still a little growing room...





Love these buttons.



Can't get it off the model!

Contest Results

Thank you all so much for all the excellent suggestions for names for my spinning wheel. Ideas poured into the comments and into my inbox. I'll share a few especially interesting ones and then the winning suggestions:

Sarah, knowing that my wheel is a Kromski, felt it deserved a name linked to his country of birth. She wrote, "I really like the traditional Polish names for this one." Angeluna suggested the names of Polish saints.

Many of you shared Angeluna's sense of the mystical and metaphoric but suggested non-Polish examples. Katherine suggested Zihna, "which is Native American and means 'spins'." Carole offered Samsara, the Tibetan Buddhist concept of the endless wheel of rebirth. Bluerose suggested Saule, saying that "In Baltic religion Saule is the sun goddess who determines the well-being of all life on earth. As the full light of the sun, she is also represented by a daisy, a wheel, or a rosette." Uncomformed gives Moirae, the name of the greek goddesses who spun the threads of fate.

Others of you played on the model name Symphony and suggested names based on musical terms or composers. My favorite of these was the suggestion first offered in an email from Donna: Chopin. Chopin was one of Poland's most famous composers. Ironically, as she pointed out, Chopin never composed a symphony. (He composed pretty much exclusively for the piano, my instrument of choice.)

FemiKnitMafia suggested Seamus, a name I love partly because it is the first name of one of my favorite poets and teachers. But Kate said, "I don't know why I'm convinced she's a girl, but I am.” On that front, Lolly's Beatrix and Patricia's Gertie sounded really good.

But then there were a couple of names that resonated very deeply, although the writers had no idea this would be true. Elena offered Alma, the name of one of Son's four grandmothers. And Spinmama suggested Anka or Anechka, Polish for "grace". Although she was thinking of my graceful Polish wheel, I have another connection: my name is from the same roots.

Despite all these terrific suggestions full of humor and meaning and thought, two people came up with what was clearly meant to be. One posted it in the comments just as the other sent me an email. And the winning name is:

ANNABEL LEE from Rebecca and Diana!

"Annabel Lee" is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, author of "The Purloined Letter." Written to his late wife, it contains some of my favorite love lyrics:

We loved with a love that was more than love
...
And so, all the nighttide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling! my darling, my life, my bride.

(In the name of disclosure, I should tell you that, in good Poe fashion, he is talking about a dead woman.)

Go here for a truly creepy musical setting of the poem. And there is this. And then there has to be the Esperanto translation....

Thanks to all of you for playing. Congratulations to Rebecca and Diana! A wee little gift will be coming your way.

Dreaming Dreams

Having trouble with the lace edging of Pi, I consult my oracle, author of "The Purloined Letter," Edgar Allen Poe. I show him my problem and ask his advice.



Poe takes Pi, pulls out his knitting bag, puts knitting needles in his hand, and quickly fixes my mistake.



Note his cool "Man at Work" tote bag:



After he puts the stitches to rights, I ask him if he would be so kind as to drape the shawl around his shoulders and allow me to take his picture for the Amazing Lace contest. He does--



--but then pulls out his pattern bookto show me the proper pose for the Pi Shawl, as shown by Norman Kennedy's mother:





P.S. For those of you who have followed the interconnected stories of Pi and my father's health (see 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), I am pleased to report that after an extremely bad response to chemo and other drugs, his medications were adjusted and he is significantly stronger. Just as I approach the end of Pi, he approaches the end of his course of radiation. Thanks to all of you who have offered him your best wishes and me so much support and kindness.

The Ravenous Raven: Local Dinner

Lamb Curry with Cauliflower, Cabbage, Apples, and Yogurt
Served with Roasted Okra and Chapati

Lamb from Smith Meadows
Cauliflower, Cabbage, Apples and Okra from our CSA, Licking Creek Bend
Yogurt from Seven Stars
Amma's Chapati

Our favorite way to cook okra is to roast it whole. Arrange the spears on a cookie sheet with plenty of room to breathe, toss them in a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast in a preheated 400-degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. This turns okra haters into okra lovers. Try it with quartered brussel sprouts, too!

Check out Son making Liz's homemade tortilla recipe!

Scatterbrained

I've been making good progress on the attempt to finish my UFOs--although I have no new FOs to show off. Over the last few days my brain has been skipping from project to project, and my hands have followed. (Hey--at least I'm not starting new knits.)

First, I blocked the front panels and the back of the Must Have Cardigan. These are their wrong sides:

I love using blocking wires, especially the flexible ones that mold cap sleeves, underarms, and the like. Everything goes into exactly the shape you want it.

But these blocking wires are not the only things designed to shape objects into reasonable positions. As I bent over the sweater, one of my underwires popped out and jabbed me in the underarm.

After I steamed the sweater pieces (with the steamer I bought this weekend at the thrift store for $3) and let them dry, I seamed the shoulders and picked up 250 stitches to knit the button band. Ah. THIS is why the sweater became a UFO. After some time and only a little cursing, SUCCESS!



But then, Pi called. Finally braving the side-to-side knit-on edging, I began its lace:


When we went out for dinner, I knew I could not take either of these now-lap-filling projects. So I grabbed the Irish Hiking Scarf and knit a few rows while I waited for my masala dosa. Only a little cultural conflict.

(The scarf is draped over the chair at what I want to be its center point. You can see what I have left. I'm trying to save it for time in the car this weekend.)


Ah--but in addition to knitting, there was a bit of spinning. I turned some of the singles from Julia's fiber into a 2-ply skein.


Son did some spinning, too--finishing the mottled roving he made on R's drum carder.

K1, R1 (Knit One, Read One): This is How I Go

I recently read This Is How I Go When I Go Like This: Weaving and Spinning as Metaphor by Linda Collier Ligon.

This short book is made up of essays originally written for Handwoven Magazine. The chapters do not create a cohesive argument. Rather, each gem points to interesting ideas to be savored one by one.

In my favorite essay, Ligon talks about making many presents from one sweater: first a fleece, washed and carded and dyed, then the spun yarn, then the knitted sweater. She says that wool is “the gift that keeps giving.”

In another essay, she explores all the funnies she has gotten when spell-checking texts about weaving (“sley” turns to “sleepy”—just one of the many appropriate suggestions her computer offers her). Another chapter suggests that, instead of using “wove,” weavers substitute “weaved” as the past tense of the verb.

Some of the essays are full of delicious images. In one she talks about woven fabric made by school children with a warp of everything from chains of paperclips to the paper itself. Other essays are thoughtful meditations on the fiber arts. One especially moving chapter points out how diverse the membership of most guilds is. Rather than socializing exclusively with people like herself at church groups or neighborhood gatherings, Ligon was able to meet and become friends with all kinds of people via her spinning and weaving guild.

Ligon’s writing style is charming and inviting. The book would be an excellent vacation read.

Feather and Fan Stole

I finished the feather and fan stole, knit from Euroflax Linen on a pair of Granny's old aluminum pair of needles. What a slippery combination! Since the shawl will be a gift for my mother, I wanted to use them just to connect the generations.

Although I love the way the linen feels, it is hard on the hands since it is not a forgiving fiber as is wool. I knit a few rows, worked on other projects, knit a few more, put it away for a little while, thought about making it much shorter.... Finally I decided to go the distance and just keep knitting until I finished. Yippee!

To Market, To Market

In honor of National Farmers Market Week, here are some pictures of our local market:

Contest!

In honor of my 100th post, I thought I would hold a little contest:
NAME THAT SPINNING WHEEL!



My spinning wheel is a Kromski Symphony.

Send suggestions to ThePurloinedLetter1 AT yahoo DOT com, or leave them in the comments.

There will be a little prize for the winner suitable for spinners, knitters, or weavers. The deadline is midnight on Sunday, August 13th.

After the contest, I'll post a few of my favorite suggestions!

The Ravenous Raven: Starting the Day Right

For Liz's One Local Summer:



Served on a plate I made in a pottery class 15 years ago:
Jehovah-Jireh Farm eggs with Broom's Bloom Dairy cheese and Licking Creek Bend Farm CSA squash and garlic
Spring Mill Bakery toast with Audia's Farm gooseberry jelly

Served in a mug we bought on our honeymoon 11 years ago:
Mayorga coffee with Trickling Springs Creamery milk

Tea with Pooh and Penguin

"Penguin, I'm so glad you could join me for tea," said Pooh. "Wouldn't this be a lovely afternoon for some knitting? But where did I put my knitting?"

For more knitting-in-plain-sight poses, see this post.

Knitting Questionaire

KNITTING QUESTIONAIRRE


1. What's your worst habit relating to your knitting?

Sometimes I knit instead of washing dishes, doing laundry, making dinner, writing my book, and sleeping.

2. In what specific ways does your knitting make you a better person?

Knitting helps me listen to other people rather than jump to conclusions. When I am knitting, I seem to have the patience to hear people out and think about their perspectives.

3. How might you or your life be different if you were suddenly unable to knit?

I would probably develop some nervous tic like cracking my knuckles—or take up smoking—or, horrors, take a class from Amy and learn crochet!

4. If money were no object, what one yarn, and what one tool or gadget would you run out and buy first?

A drum carder and a loom would be my first two purchases. Then, I would buy silk lace-weight yarn. Then a really nice knitting bag.

5. What knitting technique or project type are you most afraid of (if any)? What, specifically, do you fear will happen when you try it?

I’ve not yet tried any form of colorwork other than horizontal stripes. My grandmother, a wonderful knitter, did not do colorwork because she was such a tight knitter and her fair isle puckered. I knit very much like she does and have always assumed it would be hard. But I am ready to learn this fall!

6. Who is/are your knitting hero(es), and why?

Granny, who taught me to knit and showed me how sustaining a knitting life can be. She also showed me how knitting unites communities of women (and every once in a while men) that might be separated by bonds of class, race, religious identity, age, and employment status.

Another hero is Melanie Falick, whose book Kids Knitting helped me down the road of trying techniques beyond what I learned from Granny. (If you’ve never made anything but scarves and drop-shouldered sweaters and simple hats, try her teddy bear pattern!) She made everything seem like, well, child’s play.

7. Do you consider knitting, for you personally, a mostly social activity, or a mostly solitary activity?

Although I do very much enjoy my local knitting groups and the knitting blogiverse, for me knitting is fundamentally a solitary activity—even when I am in the company of others. Sometimes knitting provides enough protection for my extremely introverted self that I can get through social gatherings. Knitting in my hands makes me bolder socially.

8. Is there a particular regional tradition in knitting that you feel strongly drawn toward (e.g., Fair Isle, Scandinavian, Celtic, Orenburg lace)? Any theories as to why it calls to you?

When I am knitting Aran, I feel like I am home. Spending time in Ireland and Scotland as a child, I wore Aran and Fair Isle sweaters as a preschooler. Honestly, however, it is not the LOOK of Aran that draws me but the feel. Perhaps is it the feel of the cable needle in my teeth, on hold until I need to use it again?

9. If you were a yarn, which yarn would you be?

I suppose I would be undyed sport-weight homespun—rough and plain, not calling attention to itself, but also homemade, honest, and truly loved.

10. Some statistics:

(a) How many years have passed since you FIRST learned to knit?

More than 30. I learned at age 7 or 8.

(b) How many total years have you been actively, regularly knitting (i.e., they don't have to have been in a row)?

About 20 for scarves, hats, and the occasional drop-shouldered sweater. About 3 for more advanced knitting.

(c) how many people have you taught to knit?

I have no idea. My partner David, my 7yo son, a small class of adults, several children who just got a taster, a woman on a bus, several college and grad. school friends….

(d) Roughly what percentage of your FOs do you give away (to anyone besides yourself, i.e., including your immediate family)

Although all the knitting I do is for myself, the knitted products I wind up with are not usually for me. I have two sweaters I knit for myself almost 20 years ago, a couple of scarves, some socks, and a brand-new Icarus shawl! Most things I knit are gifts.

11. How often do you KIP (knit in public)? i.e., once a week, once a month, etc. Where do you do it?

I pretty much knit whenever I am in public. I knit while waiting for the bus, on the bus, at the restaurant, at the party, at the board meeting, at the movies…. (Today is is 100 degrees and I will probably not knit while waiting for the bus.)

12. If a genie granted you one hour to stitch-n-bitch with any one knitter, living or dead, who would you choose and why?

I would love to spy on one of the earliest knitters and just watch that person or those people come up with the idea. Was it a creative introvert who first imagined the hooked-together loops? Was it the original stitch-n-bitch?

I would also love to chat with my Granny again and ask her how she learned to knit. I would love to laugh with the Yarn Harlot and Elizabeth Elizabeth Zimmermann over tea. Or perhaps Alice Starmore could coach me on Fair Isle?

13. What aspect or task in knitting makes you most impatient?

The finishing!

14. What is it about knitting that never lets you get bored with it?

There are always new challenges in knitting. Sometimes I DO get bored with a particular project. But even when I’m knitting a boring stretch, it is addictive. The peaceful rhythm allows my thoughts to wander to things that aren’t boring—like the lace coming up after just one more repeat, or a new project to cast on in my mind, or the academic paper I need to finish this afternoon.

15. Describe how and where you most often do your knitting - where do you sit, what is going on around you, what tools do you use and how are they (dis)organized?
I
I knit wherever I am---right now, whevever there is air-conditioning. ANYTHING might be going on around me. My son is often reading or knitting or doing school or climbing on furniture around me. I keep my tools in a little notions bag stuck in the same tote bag that holds my project.

16. Which one person is the recipient of more of your knitting than any other?

My son. He enjoys the toys I knit. Best of all, he wears a small size which allows me to experiment with new techniques without making horrifying commitments. His small size also allows me to use up random amounts of yarn for small scarves and hats and mittens.

17. What's the oddest thing about your knitting, or yourself as a knitter?

To be considered for a little while....

18. What do you see yourself knitting - if anything - twenty years from now?

A lace shawl from my own homespun to wear for some special event like a son’s wedding or something.

19. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could have only ONE SKEIN of yarn, which yarn would it be and what would you do with it?

I’m taking suggestions for this one. I’m also trying to figure out which novel to pack in the same bag….

20. If you were allowed to own only one knitting-related book, which would it be? (you'd be free to browse others, but you couldn't keep them)

June Hiatt's The Principles of Knitting: Methods and Techniques of Hand Knitting. (The irony here is that I do not own one and can never seem to keep the library’s copy for more than three weeks at a time.)

21. Is knitting the new yoga? Why or why not?

For me ten years ago, yoga was the new knitting.



This great questionaire is from Kate at A Strikke. At her site you can download a blank questionaire to fill out yourself. Let me know if you do it!

Kate also wrote a great piece for Knitty about the Knitter's Geek Code:

The Knitter's Geek Code consists of several categories, divided under the general headings of "identity" [what kind of knitter you are], "materials" [your preferred tools], "techniques" [what you can do and what you can't, or won't], and "habits" [that which makes you you]. Each category is labeled with an abbreviated name and some qualifiers. Go through each category and determine which set of qualifiers best describes you in that category. When you string together all of these 'codes' in a block, the result is your "knitter's geek code," informing other KnitGeeks the world over exactly what kind of KnitGeek you really are.

My Knitter's Geek Code:

-----BEGIN KNITTER'S GEEK CODE BLOCK-----

Version: 1.1

KER+++ Exp+(+) SPM+ Bam++@ Addi+@ Wool++ Lux+ Lin+ Cot+ !Nov--- Stash FI0 Tex++ Lace++ Fin Flat+ Circ+ DPN5 KIP Blog++ SNB WIP+++++ Guage@ ALTSp

------END KNITTER'S GEEK CODE BLOCK------

Icarus flies free!