Stitch 'n' Pitch at the Nats, 20 June 2008

yes, yes it is.

text messaging (n): the slow, agonized death
of English grammar at the hands of the ignorant.

txt msg + ballpark proposal = FAIL, you cheap bastard.


Ben's Half Smokey = Delicious
(Ben's Chili Bowl, on U St in DC is the best thing that
ever happened to late-night noshing)

What do you call cheese that isn't yours?

Matsuri + cable = FAIL

Matsuri + lace = WIN

ballband dishcloth about to consume the outfield.

Jane's Sunday Market Shawl makes a bid for freedom.
It's made in Malabrigo Silky Merino (ravelry link).
I'd probably jump after it.

oh, we're still here.

finally.

fun with juxtaposition.

Oops, I Did It Again.

I was perusing Ravelry this morning and saw this lace shawl. Keep in mind that I am at a weak point right now for lace. I was, as Jane Austen (?) so wonderfully put it, "seized by a freak at breakfast" and was tempted to run down to the basement and rifle through my lace knitting patterns and cast on right then and there. Then I remembered that I didn't have any laceweight wound up into cakes or balls. Pfffft.

Firmaments Shawl by Bonnie Sennott.
Image swiped from Ravelry to show you
how freakin AWESOME this thing is.
Image property of aedes.

Ah, back to my story. So I was perusing Ravelry when I came across the Firmaments shawl. It's inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem. Ravelry link. Webs link.

So, I, uh... clicked on the link to Webs. I looked at all the lovely colors of Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca Silk (Webs link. Ravelry link). And then I must have blacked out -- because next thing I knew, my AmEx was out of my wallet and I confirmed an order for one cone of black, one cone of french blue and one emailed pattern (ok, technically, my AmEx didn't even make it out of my wallet, but it must have ventured forth, because I'm one of those people with a freakish memory for strings of numbers... and somebody typed that number and its expiration date in while I wasn't looking).

Did I mention the yarn comes on half-pound cones? Cones = No Winding. Cones = Instant Cast-On Gratification. Cones = FULL OF WIN.

*sigh* I need to get some sleep. If I get some sleep, I might actually do my work instead of browse Ravelry patterns and buy impulse yarn. Beautiful, soft, silky impulse yarn...

Stash-Diving Results

I am a-hankerin' after some lace.

I know, after I finished SotS (my first lace project ever), I felt I had my lace fix for the next... ever. That was until I went stash-diving this morning...

The ball is Handpaintedyarn.com Merino Bulky, for Cherie Amour. The big hank is Lisa Souza Lace (100% Superfine Merino), colorway "Sapphire." The two little navy skeins are Reynolds Wash Day Wool, for Sirdar 1521.

I pulled out the Wash Day Wool first, because I thought a baby sweater would be the ideal next project. Then I thought, "what's up next on my Ravelry queue?" And I remembered that Cherie Amour had been top of that list for a loooong time. And then I tried to remember why I hadn't cast on for either of those...

I don't have size 3 or size 9 needles. Seriously. I don't know how this happened. Well, my next step is obviously to hie me to the KnitPicks site and order up some Options tips. What am I going to do, though, until they arrive?

Those Jenkins #2 needles have been itching in the back of my mind for a while now. I pulled out the laceweight drawer of my stash... and what was waiting for me but beautiful Sapphire blue Lace? Off to peruse the Ravelry queue. No worries -- I don't think I'm about to cast on for the Princess Shawl...



No, seriously, I'm not.

Knitting Secrets REVEALED!

I may look like a knitter, but I'm actually a ninja* (er... kninja. Not to be confused with Knitting Kninja, though). While I'm sitting there peacefully knitting two socks on one circ, I also know that I'm holding 42" of plastic-wrapped steel wire with a pointy, nickle-plated brass needle secured to each end.

Knitters refer to them in public as "circular knitting needles." Manufacturers also print this on the packaging to meet international safety regulations. In the privacy of our Assassins Guild meetings (also known to the muggles as "Stitch 'n' Bitch," or "Ravelry meet-up" or simply, "my knitting group"), we eagerly discuss and display the latest models in double-awl garrotes. Addi is arguably the most popular kninja assassination tools manufacturer in the world; however, KnitPicks Options, with their interchangeable needles spikes and zero-memory cords garroting wires are gaining in popularity.

Occasionally, knitters kninjas contract with specialty makers for custom pieces. I am especially proud of my 32" Jenkins #2 rosewoods. Hand-carved, hand-joined, hand-numbered, with an especially smooth join and exceptionally sharp points for the best lace work ever your most devious projects.

The pretty pretty wool and intricate stitch patterns are only there to distract you. The occasional cries of, "@#$(&$#%^!" followed by intense tinking are for the same purpose. Every once in a great while, usually while working under deep cover, the kninja may actually frog a project just to throw you off the scent.

I most recently had to frog the Baby Surprise Jacket. I didn't want to; I was backed in a corner, with the completed and mistake-laden BSJ staring me down. It had been languishing there for some time, misshapen and ignored, its skipped rows and misread instructions screaming for revenge; I knew I had no choice. I ripped it all the way back to the cast-on, wound the wool (technically wool/mohair) into a ball, and re-cast on.

Things went swimmingly from that point on. Of course, the first time I knit it, I thought things were going swimmingly -- up until the point I had to fold it together and sew the shoulder seams, when I realized that it just wouldn't fit. This time, however, I knew things would be different. Good different.


And now, finally, it is finished. Sort of. I still have to sew up the shoulder seams and find some good horn or bone buttons for it. But the knitting part is over, and the BSJ can be worn in peace. Until the little bugger decides to make mud pies while wearing it... or it becomes a concomitant victim in the age-old saga of Little Boys Destroying Things... in which case Auntie will knit him another.




*this post spawned by one of my friends, who asked me why I almost always wore all black to the gym. I figured the truth would be the easiest reply, so I said, "Because I'm a ninja."

Something Old, Something New, Something in Kentucky

I took a whirlwind trip to Louisville, KY the other weekend. I flew in Friday afternoon, joined friends for a wedding rehearsal dinner Friday evening, attended the wedding on Saturday, stopped by the reception and flew out Saturday afternoon.

Between my arrival on Friday and the rehearsal dinner, I went downtown to do some sightseeing. I discovered that Louisville revolves around three things:

1. Horse Racing


2. Baseball Bats

3. Penguins


Knitting:

Decided to edge the short-row ring wrap with loopy mohair in the same colorway:





And something new: My grandmother pulled me aside a couple weeks ago and asked me if I knew how to knit dishcloths. Apparently a friend of hers has some hand-knitted dishcloths and loves them, and now my grandmother wants some. Yeah, grandmom... I think I can handle that.

Mohair Madness

Just a little Tuesday fiber pr0n.

Mohair from Diane Kelly of Firesong Fibers. I washed a small batch of raw mohair fleece in near-boiling water. Hmm, I think I'll update this post later with some good verbiage. But for now, enjoy.




There. That kinda takes the sting out of having to go back to work, doesn't it?

Blue, Pink, Blue, Green

Spinning:

Moody Blues, 50/50 wool/silk, singles

Moody Blues, 50/50 wool/silk, 2-ply

Knitting:

Short Row Ring Wrap, in Tango (70/30 wool/mohair)
by Dancing Leaf Farm, colorway, "Briar Patch"

ibid.

Outside:

South Hill and Pond, afternoon, before the storm.
this and all following photographs are completely unaltered.

barn under cloud cover

Plying

Ever since I learned to ply, I've been obsessive about plying my singles.


Srsly, why would I leave a single? Plying makes EVERYTHING better.

a little blurry, but color-correct

But after plying up my Northern Lights singles, I wasn't so sure. This could be because my first bobbin was pretty uneven -- not exactly thick-and-thin, more like thin-and-cobweb-and-sometimes-it-breaks, while the second bobbin is a fairly consistent 1-1.5mm thickness.

2nd bobbin (L) and 1st bobbin (R)

By the second bobbin, I had hit my stride and my fingers knew exactly how to draw out what I wanted. I started getting aggravated when I tried plying the two together. It seems a bit of a waste, plying my "OMG I'm so proud of it!!!" 2nd bobbin with the "I only pretend to know what I'm doing" 1st bobbin, because the end result is an uneven yarn. I'm giving it a bit of overtwist because I'm thinking about using it for socks (and for socks you want a tight twist so it's hard-wearing).

After I had filled a bobbin with the 2-ply, I sat back and evaluated it. I like it... at the same time, I'm not sure that plying brings out the best in the fiber and colorway. I think I prefer it in singles... and since I have about 3-3.5 oz top left, am tempted to spin the remainder as such. Then I'd just wind it all up (along with the already-spun, unplied singles) on my niddy-noddy, set the twist and call it a day.


RECOMMENDED READING: this article (pdf link, the article is free) from Spin Off Magazine on the effect of twist in plying.

Maryland Sheep and Wool 2008 Wrap-Up

In my hurry to get to MD Sheep & Wool, I forgot my camera. I kicked myself a few times and then got on with the day.

Well, I went on Saturday with the intention of just buying some sheep's milk cheese from the folks at Menhennett Farm. Damnit, I forgot the name of the man who makes it. But he said that this was probably their last year at MD S&W, which made me sad. We had a lovely chat about cheesemaking (did I mention I love Tiffany Aching?), and he walked me through the process, which I thoroughly appreciated. For those interested, Menhennett Farm cheeses are also for sale from Bill Houder at the Town Clock Cheese Shoppe in Gap, PA (717.442.9090).

Cheese transaction completed, I decided that while I was there, it wouldn't hurt to maybe take a stroll through one of the barns. Just to look. I wouldn't seriously be tempted; just observing.

Walky, walky, walky... no temptations... ok, we're good. Hey, I can see the other end of the barn and I still haven't bought anything! Woohoo! GO ME!

Hey... what's that? I made it about 3/4 of the way through when I noticed a familiar stack of Corridale roving crates. I saw the back wall displaying a series of Ashford wheels. The barn I walked into was the one where Stony Mountain Fibers had their booth. I love Stony Mountain Fibers.

So I thought, well, a couple braids of roving wouldn't be bad. After all, roving isn't yarn, and I told myself I wasn't going to buy yarn. And ooh, that's a pretty color... Oh, and I like that one, too. Hey, here's one that's undyed; I could maybe try my hand at that! And then I saw something fluffy and chocolately brown in the corner... BUFFALO DOWN! I had been pondering this ever since I saw their ads on Ravelry. I felt the sample skein. I had to have it. So I bought an ounce of that.

100% dehaired American bison down from Buffalo Gold

Last year, I went on a blue-buying spree. This year was brown (okay, and a little blue).

50/50 wool/silk roving from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks

Colonial Wool top, "Northern Lights" colorway, from Stony Mountain Fibers

70/30 Alpaca/Tussah from Stony Mountain Fibers

100% bamboo top, "Expresso" (sic) colorway

100% superfine Merino wool

Alpaca/Merino/Tussah, undyed

silk hankies, "Mendocino Hedges" colorway

All told, I had a couple braids of 50/50 wool/silk, a couple braids of Colonial wool, some undyed Tussah/merino/alpaca, some superfine merino, about a pound of 70/30 alpaca/Tussah, 4.35 oz of espresso-brown bamboo top and a 1-oz stack of hand-dyed silk hankies.

And cheese.

And a lamb sandwich in mah bellay.

On my way out, I yelled at lickmysticks (Ravelry link). I did not demand earrings, though. I felt that startling a pregnant woman well into her third trimester -- who likely has the knowing of some obscure fighting skills with knitting needles that she learned during a stint in Needleworth Jail -- was probably enough.

Afterwards, I sat for a little bit with the Western Maryland Ravelers (Ravelry link) tailgate party and waved maniacally at passing buses. Casey, Jess, Mary-Heather and the rest of Team Rav stopped by our tailgate! They had enough grace to not look visibly disturbed at our bubbly over-enthusiasm and cheers of "WOOOO! RAVELRY!!! YEAH!!!"

And just when I thought it was over...






I went back in.


I made a beeline for Tess' yarns. I really wanted to buy seven skeins of silky wool to make the sweater from Pattern #74 that they had displayed as a model.... but I had enough cash left in my wallet for two skeins of sock yarn (you know, now that I'm a sock knitter and everything).



Then I gathered up my purchases, slung 'em into the car, had a wild and bumpy ride going a leeetle too fast over the rutted field of the HoCo Fairgrounds parking, drove to Eleganza and rented a wheel. It was a good day.

Yep, I rented a wheel. You know what that means...

New Post Soon

With pictures of MD Sheep and Wool acquisitions!