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!

From UFOs to FOs

A brilliant new knit-along starts tomorrow at UFO August. The plan is to dig out all those still-in-the-works projects and get them finished!



Here are some of mine:

1. Icarus
Although this is not actually a UnFinished Object but rather a WIP (Work in Progress), I am listing it here because it is my first priority and really finishing it is a prophylactic if it is not to become a UFO. I need to knit the final row of the edging, do the bind-off, and block. I hope to finish it by Tuesday’s knitting group so I can hold it up at show-and-tell.

2. Linen Feather-and-Fan Shawl
I love the way this project looks, but it does not always feel so wonderful to knit. The linen yarn (coupled with my grandmother’s old and very slippery needles) is unforgiving and frustrating. I put it aside a couple of months ago with just another foot or so to knit. As soon as Icarus is finished, the next skein of Euroflax gets put into the ballwinder. The shawl will be my mother’s holiday present.

3. Irish Hiking Scarf.
I recently started this as a car-and-meeting project but keep frowning at it and wondering if I shouldn’t just cast on something else. I love the looks of the scarf and know it will be perfect for my father for his holiday present, but I cannot imagine knitting it right now. Perhaps because it is 100 degrees here....

4. Must Have Cardigan
I began this in March and quickly finished all the pieces and bought the buttons. Then I stuck it in my knitting basket because I chickened out of picking up all those stitches for the button band.

5. Blue Sock
I’ve finished one down to the grafting at the toes and the second down to the point to pick up stitches around the foot. They are knit with relatively large sock yarn on size 4 needles and I’m not crazy about the way they fit. The real reason I put them down, though, is that I dropped a DPN while car knitting. I’ve now replaced it, but I still haven’t picked up the sock.

6. Pi Shawl
I’ve finished all the around-and-around and just have the lace edging to do—which I have tried several times and keep making mistakes and frogging the border. I started the Pi while my father was in surgery and it means a lot to me. He’s currently going through radiation and chemo and ideally I could finish this project right as he’s finishing his treatments early this fall.

7. Laura Ingalls shawl
A holiday present for a young friend. All it needs is a decision about bordering (fringe? plain?), having its ends sewn in, and a good block.

8. Birthday Bunnies in Ballarina Suits (both due in the early fall)
Both have sweaters almost finished, shoes knit, wool stuffing bought, and tulle bought. Neither actually has a bunny knit yet.

9. Birthday Fairytale Mice (both due in the late fall)
Both sets of two (for a total of four mice) have some of their clothes knit but not their shirts. And there are no mice....

And when at least some of these are done, I am allowed to cast on a new lace project, a new cable project, and my first colorwork project! Plus maybe a really quick bulky sweater, and of course more socks, and maybe some more fingerless mitts for holiday presents for friends. And of course, some hats and scarves made from my homespun. And, and....

The Ravenous Raven: Local Meals

Zucchini stuffed with ground beef from South Mountain Creamery and fresh tomatoes from our garden, covered in tomato sauce from Toigo Orchards
Corn on the Cob, roasted in its husk from our CSA Licking Creek Bend
Roasted Okra, just a teaser for what we hope will be a bumper crop, from our other CSA Red Wiggler
Steamed Cabbage from the first CSA


For dessert we had fresh peaches from the first CSA with Feta de Provence made by Keswick Creamery, one of my favorite vendors at the local farmer's market.

This morning we had more of the CSA peaches with Seven Stars yogurt and Takoma Kitchens granola, both bought at our local co-op. The flowers are from our one of our CSAs, too.


And for dinner tonight? Siamese squash!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jog

We've said goodbye to the beach and to my parents and driven the long way back to Takoma Park MD. In the car I started knitting the Irish Hiking Scarf, a holiday present for my father. What a great pattern it is. If anyone is looking for a first cable project, this one would be terrific.

I knit some on it last night at the Takoma Park knitting group. I always love seeing everyone and their projects! There was quite a crowd, including 4 youngsters--at least 3 of whom knit. One is a bit older and knitted the whole time with the grown-ups while the others knit some and played together the rest of the time.

Being home means that in addition to sleeping in my own bed and eating what I normally eat (lots of fruits and veggies and whole grains), I'm back to my spinning wheel.

When she said she loved wine-colored yarns, Kate reminded me of the fiber sent to me by Julia. It is a deep, deep red zinfandel-colored ever-so-slightly variegated fiber from Ashland Bay Trading. It is lovely to spin up! Thanks, Julia!

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

One of this year's themes for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival was Native Basketry. There were basket makers from all over the country--from Alaska to Hawaii, from Washington State to Nevada to Louisiana to North Carolina to Maine.

One of the things I enjoyed most was seeing how absolutely different the traditions were. The other thing I loved was seeing how absolutely similar they were!

I love the two-tone basket this woman is crafting.

These two were made by a 12yo.

Seems that duct tape is ubiquitous. Here is is used to cover the hat mold.

These artisans from North Carolina even make basket people!

And here, just for Beadlizard, is a woman making very finely woven baskets and then embellishing them with miniscule beads. Incredible!

Sock at the Pavilion

Sock goes to the Pavilion, an amusement park that Grandfather and Grandmother visited frequently when they were children.After this season, the Pavilion will be torn down to make way for new developments.

After he buys a few tickets and walks through the gate, he meets Clown! After contemplating the size of his own feet, Clown thinks Sock is ridiculously puny.


Sock walks around the park, admiring all the flying feet he sees--those big...


...and small.


He enjoys watching his family on some of the kiddie rides.


When he tires of amusement park rides, he poses for pictures:


He plays some skeeball. Knitter David tells him that he and Knitter Purloined played skeeball on their honeymoon.

Sock decides to head home after one last ride:


Also see Sock's Day at the Beach

Champs-Elysees!

For the yellow jersey in Le Tour de Fleece:


(Note that the yarn is drying next to the grill untensils.)

The Ravenous Raven: Local Drink

Given the fact that we were out of town and having a relatively difficult week, we did not prepare a local meal this week. We did, however, buy a bottle of local wine at a gas station in North Carolina. Very sweet--with a delicious scent. Nice dessert wine!