Isn't it amazing...

...how you can take two weeks off and only two days after you return, be right back into the same old routine?!

Before I could say Happy New Year, I was right back to it, up early, on the road to a client meeting, writing another proposal, editing a spreadsheet, and ducking to avoid the office politics. That explains the need for this at the end of the day. Really, to be completely authentic, this blog should be titled Knitsox and Chocolate and Wine.

To try to bring my mind and heart back to that feeling of vacation joy, let's review some of the projects from the blissful two-week break.

First, there was Honeycomb.





The second photo shows more stitch detail.








I finished the back over the weekend. It is knit in Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed, purchased during the amazing Webs blowout sale the day after Christmas.









Second, there is a pair of socks that will be gifted to someone very special, very soon. The first sock was knit plain old vanilla stockinette.

Then I saw this pattern for Campfire Socks by Cider Moon in a broken rib pattern that looked so much more interesting. So, of course, I began the second sock in the new pattern, which means I have to reknit the first sock, which just means more knitting, which is really what its all about, right? More Knitting!! Yippee!!

Here is a closer look.

The yarn is Araucania Ranco Multi, color 314. Jeff says they look like Grateful Dead colors and I have to agree. The first pic shows the first 28 sts in the broken rib pattern. Mostly pink and green, right? But flip the needles over to opposite 28 sts and it is blue and purple.

Some people call that pooling. I just think its cool.

So to everyone else out there who is trying to ease back into the usual work-week routine, I raise my glass and my needles in salute. Hang in there. Tomorrow is Wednesday. We are almost half way through.

Decisions

On December 26, C and I headed off to Webs for the annual blow out sale. OMG. What a scene. I'd been to Webs for the first time just a few weeks ago. That first time, the store was quite and peaceful, yet still overwhelming in its abundance of yarn. This time, the store was packed to the rafters with crazy knitters. It was true insanity. 99.9% of the shoppers were kind and friendly, but there was that one crazy lady who made a very rude comment to me and C about our use of a shopping cart. A very loud and ridiculous comment. It is the first, and hopefully only time I will come this close to slugging someone in a yarn shop.

Anyway, the bargains were incredible. In the first room, there were piles of Noro Silk Garden. Bags upon bags of color 246 for a mere $50 a bag. My friends, this stuff normally sells for close to $12 a skein and I scored a whole bag for $50!! Jeff, the ever vigilant entrepeneur wondered why I didn't buy all of it to sell on Ebay for a profit. Honestly, that thought didn't even cross my mind, though I wonder if others were doing just that. There was also boxes and boxes of free yarn. Yes, that's right. I said free!!! It was all ribbon shiny yarn. Not anything I really wanted, but I'm sure some creative crafters will put it all to good use. There was one lady who was stuffing her shopping cart full of the free yarn. She must have had twenty or thirty bags. I was a little embarrassed for her. Maybe she is going to sell it on Ebay??

So now I'm wondering what to do with all this bargain Noro...it is color 246. Green/grey/purple/and a just a hint of very ugly mustard yellow. I wonder about those nutty dyers at Noro. Do you think they all sit around and say, "hmmmm this looks beautiful just as it is, but wait, let's really screw with all those addicted knitters and throw in a pinch of baby poop yellow! Ha Ha Ha, do you think they'll buy it?? Of course they'll buy it!! They are like crack addicts. They can't control themselves." And then they add an extra knot in the skein, just to make us all extra crazy.

So, yes, I bought ten skeins of the lovely 246 with the ugly yellow and now I need a pattern. Any ideas out there? I did a quick search of Ravelry and found mostly the lovely Noro striped scarf, designed by Jared and much loved by the Yarn Harlot. But honestly, I think I have plenty of scarfs. Maybe another Klaralund? Or a Clapotis? Maybe a Gesta?

Fellow addicts, I need your advice.

It's Not the Journey, It's the Destination

We pulled into the parking lot just as the dashboard clock blinked from 9:59 to 10:00 a.m. I was extremely grateful when I saw that ours was the second car in the lot, and that the lovely ladies at Webs would not have to actually unlock the front door for us. Something about never wanting to be the first to arrive at a party I guess.

All I can say is Wow. WOW. WOW. WOW.

For those that have been, you know what I mean. For those that haven't yet made the pilgrimage to yarn mecca, I hope you someday find your way.

It is difficult to describe how overwhelming it was to be surrounded by so many skeins of gorgeous yarn, all of which I wanted to KNIT RIGHT NOW. I'm serious. They have these lovely high tables and cushioned bar seats all around just beckoning you to wind up a skein, grab some needles off the wall display and get to work. It was hard to restrain myself.

I splurged and bought two Addi Turbo circs for sock knitting. And yes, there was just a teensy bit of stash enhancement - really I tried to control myself. Some Noro Silk Garden for a multidirectional scarf, some for me and some for my co-worker and fellow knitter who was back at the office. It is always fun to shop with other people's money, isn't it?? Some Araucania Multy for socks. Some Trekking XXL for socks. And some Valley Yarns hand dyed laceweight for a stole.

Despite the title of this post, the journey was also very enjoyable. (And it's less than 2 hours from home, who knew??) Thank you Cheryl for doing the driving and thank you Carol (the awesome crocheter) for giving up the front seat. It was a fun fun day and I am looking forward to making the trip again!

What is that Camel Driver Looking At?

You know times are stressful when you are reading the latest entries to Found Cameras and Orphan Pictures, and you think, Hey, these photos are calling out for some silly captions. It was the photo of the lady on the camel that got me thinking this.

So readers (all two of you), I invite you to leave me a comment with your best funny photo captions. I may just send the funniest a skein of yarn, hand dyed by me.

Please entertain me. I need a laugh. Thanks.

Toronto Briefly

Last week I went on a last-minute business trip. I was filling in for a colleague who wasn't able to attend a quick two-day conference in that most glamorous of cities, Toronto. Some people refer to it as home of Leaf Nation, but we 51 million knitters know that Toronto is home to the the one and only "Yarn Harlot", Ms. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Or as Greg Kinnear says, the "Michael Jordan of Knitting".

I flew from Boston and arrived in Toronto. While waiting in the taxi line at the airport in Toronto, I spied a thin woman with sort of "wild" hair rummaging through her bags. She was kneeling right beside me. My eyes keyed on the wavy hair, then the glasses. Oh my God! It was her!! The Yarn Harlot, right beside me! What were the odds??!! I carefully maneuvered my cellphone camera and Kinneared her.

Well, okay. I Kinneared her bag.

But turns out it wasn't HER bag. I know this because after I "surreptitiously positioned my camera low and out of her line of sight", I pressed the photo button and the flash went off. Ooopsy! Turns out, it was getting dark in the taxi line, and I'd forgotten about the automatic flash.

The woman turned and looked at me kind of funny. One look at her face and I realized she was not the Yarn Harlot. I did what any good Kinnearing photographer would do. I acted all shocked and surprised. Whoa! Isn't that weird that my camera phone just flashed!! Darn technology, must have hit a button wrong! Silly me!

Thankfully a taxi pulled up to the curb and I made my escape.

The next evening, after a day of meetings, I headed back to the hotel, and Googled my way to the Harlot's favorite yarn shop, Lettuce Knit. It was only a few miles from my hotel. Jackpot! And it was Wednesday. The shop usually closes by 5pm, but on Wednesday it stays open late. Luck was again on my side. Maybe another chance to see her! (And another opportunity to use exclamation points in my blog. Yippee!!!)

With directions from the concierge, including input from the two bellman in the hotel lobby, off I went. Soon, I was standing in Lettuce Knit, probably standing in the same spot the Harlot had stood.

Isn't the internet wonderful? Leading me to this sweet little yarn shop that I never would have found on my own? It was tiny, but filled to the brim with delicious yarns. Bins and bins of Socks that Rock. Hanks of Koigu overflowing from the shelves. In an instant the yarn fast that I'd been on for the past few months ended. I had a credit card in my purse, the U.S. / Canadian exchange rate be damned, I bought yarn. I couldn't help myself. It is Socks that Rock, in the Lettuce Knit colorway.

This little shopping spree was most certainly the highlight of my brief trip to lovely Toronto. And although I kept my eyes open for a Yarn Harlot sighting throughout my visit, it was only while waiting on my flight back to Boston that I learned of Stephanie's whereabouts. As luck would have it, while I was in Toronto, she was in Boston. Oh the irony.

Guilty Pleasures

Because last week was so very busy, when this weekend arrived and I had nothing on my schedule, I was a bit out of sorts, feeling like there was probably something very important that I needed to do, and feeling like a little kid on the first day of school vacation when I realized the day was all my own and I could do anything I wanted.

So first thing Saturday morning I went to the gym. Best to get this done and over so I could get on with the really fun things.

On the drive to the gym, my odometer clicked over to 100,000 miles! Woo hoo!! This is the second car that I've purchased new and the second car I've driven to this milestone. I truly hate buying cars, so fingers crossed that my little car will last many, many, more miles. To celebrate, when I got home I dragged out the vacuum and the Windex, and got her all spiffed up. A cleaning once every 100,000 miles is about all I can manage!

So that's two chores crossed off my list. On to the fun part.

With nothing else on the agenda, I knit. I pulled the patio furniture into a patch of sun in the backyard, popped in my Ipod, and knit happily in the October sunshine for hours.

And this was the result, two knitted hats for my local knitting group's holiday charity project. The pattern is very simple.

One size fits all.

Needles: US 7 circular 16” and set of US 7 double pointed needles; Tapestry needle.
Gauge: 20 stitches = 4” in pattern.

Getting Started:
Cast on 96 stitches. Join into round being careful not to twist stitches. Work K2, P2 rib until piece measure 6.5” or desired length. (I made mine 7" and would probably do a bit longer next time.)

Decreasing for the Top:
Decrease round 1: *k2tog, p2tog; repeat from*. Now have 48 stitches.
Work K1, P1 rib for 3 rounds.

Next Decrease round: *K2tog; repeat around. You now have 24 stitches.
Next Decrease round: *K2tog; repeat around You now have 12 stitches.

Finishing: Break yarn, leaving 12” tail. Thread tail into tapestry needle and draw through remaining stitches. Pull up snug and fasten off on the inside. Weave in end.

Random Goodness

It seems that months always pass between posts here, and I really have no explanation for that. Instead of boring you and me with the "why I haven't posted in so long" post, I will just jump right in and act as though I've been posting all along. Here is some random goodness to get things started.

Jeff and I and some good friends attempted to wait out a rain delay last night at Fenway Park. We first stood in puddles beneath the bleachers, sipping beer and eating a ballpark dinner of sausage, hot dogs and pretzels. When our feet got too wet we found refuge in a stairwell near the KidNation headquarters. For an hour and a half we stood in the dampness, talking, laughing and periodically checking the doppler radar on my blackberry. The game was finally postponed, but during the wait I had a sip or two of Smithwick's Ale, (properly pronounced "Smiddicks"). It tasted surprisingly chocolatey. Yum!

On the knitting front, I've been making rapid progress on the Gossamer Stars Scarf from the IK Summer 2008 issue. Lace knitting makes me very happy. The picture here is taken pre-blocking and about 110 rows from completion. The yarn is a lovely silk hand-dyed of unknown brand. If I don't take a nap this afternoon, I might just finish it.

But, since last night's rain out is now scheduled for 8:35 tonight and I am such an old poop who has a hard time staying awake past ten o'clock, a nap seems a neccesity. Especially if I plan to have another Smiddicks!

I Am So Doing This Again

My hand dyed yarn was hanging in the kitchen drying today. I kept walking by it, squeezing it and wishing it would just DRY FASTER! Finally, the temptation was too great, and I wound it up into a beautiful yarn cake with my new ball winder and swift. (Most fun toy ever!)

When I picked up the finished cake I had to admit it was still a little damp. Then I started to worry that all my beautiful hand dyed yarn would get all moldy and smelly, so I unwound it, from the outside of the ball, back onto the swift, and now have this very pretty skein.















I can't believe I actually created something so pretty. And I can't wait to do this again.

Hand Dyed Yarn!

Suffice it to say I feel a bit foolish after yesterday's somewhat sappy and romantic post. Yes, Fenway is a beauty, but that game was butt-ugly after Mr. Gagne made his appearance.

Moving on to actual beautiful things, I will share with you pictures of my first yarn-dying adventure. Thanks go to my knitting addicted but blogless friend Cheryl who did all the preparation and organizing. She magically transformed her massive garage into a lovely yarn dying studio.

First we mixed up the dyes and soaked our yarn. After the yarn bloomed, we jumped right into the painting. I was having so much with the whole thing, that I didn't stop to take photos until is was all wrapped and ready for steaming.

Here is Cheryl warping her yarn in preparation of dying it in a self-striping pattern. Cheryl made the warping board herself, using directions provided by Scout. The yarn is Trekking Natural from Carodan Farms. The dyes are Jacquard Acid Dyes from Knit Picks.

You can see her hand-painted variegated wrapped and ready for the steaming too.

Here our creations are put into the steamer. And steam they did. About 20 minutes into the process, Cheryl's husband noticed the smell of steamy wool (very stinky!) and came to alert us of the mess we were making in the kitchen. Nothing major really, just a lot of water. We turned down the heat and let the yarn cook for another 20 minutes or so.

We rinsed it well with cold water.

And admired the very vivid colors.

And hung our masterpieces up to dry.

I didn't get a picture of the completed self-striping yarn, but hopefully can show you the finished product in a later post.

This was a fun, fun afternoon! And before I forget, special thanks to Sarge, who supervised all of our activities. He is such a good boy!

Insomnia Induced Blog Post

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Mohair. You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes. Take this quiz!