Doing vs. Discussing
A big part of why I don't blog as much as I used to is that I spend a lot of my internet time doing research for other big things going on right now. No, I am not going to have a baby, just to clarify things. Let's just say it will be great in the end.
Awhile ago I had the pleasure of meeting Jodie for coffee downtown. What a sweetheart she is!
As a side note to our meeting, the Pumpkin cookies at Palace Bakery are delicious, and should not be missed if you get the chance.
The main purpose of our meeting was to deliver fiber that I had bought from Jodie's new Etsy Shop. Four ounces of merino in her "Hebrides Overture" colorway:
Note the cute little stitchmarker near the tag. It even coordinates with the fiber!
I love the portrait of the composer on the back of the tag! Cute detail, I'm not sure I would have known what he looked like otherwise. Classical music is certainly not something I know a lot about.
The fiber was dyed so that all of the blue is at one end, all of the brown at the other and the green in the middle. I'm spinning it starting with all of the brown, then I'll spin the green, then the blue so that when it is knit it will be a really interesting progression of color. Originally it was going to be a hat for TheBoy but we'll see when it's all done.
Aside from meeting with Jodie I'm not sure that I've done anything of any great interest lately, that I can talk about anyway. We're waiting on the cd of the professional photos from the wedding and then I'll post and link to some of my favorites. Overall we're very happy with them.
TheBoy and I have been spending a lot of time together, and there has been knitting. Gift knitting and charity knitting. I am in dire need to finish up my package for the charity blanket swap and send it off, my downstream pal should have gotten part of my gift to her ages ago, and the blanket is still here. Newlywed life is no less busy than wedding planning life was, I'm not sure why I expected it to be.
Bay Area Part the First: The Fiber
This is a picture heavy one.
A big part of the reason for the timing of my trip south was to be able to attend Stitches West. I have been purchasing much less than normal in terms of fiber for the past few months to prepare for this. Armed with some saved monies, and a vague plan, I set out. I didn't really plan to hit any shops, instead saving my funds for Stitches, but on Thursday my doppleganger suggested that we hit Article Pract in Oakland. On our way there we had a run-in with a loud-mouthed idiot, because it takes time to remove one's crutches from the back seat in order to get out of the car. Apparently, this woman felt that TheAmpuT should be magical and just hop out instantaneously. Luckily, her nine year old son didn't really catch the string of expletives that was exchanged and we were able to go on our merry way without too much pause.
Article Pract was nice enough although the customer service was not the greatest. Mostly the folks working seemed to have a bored disinterest in the folks in the store, which doesn't bother me while browsing, but it did mean that I spent a lot of time standing at the counter waiting to be checked out. At any rate, I walked out of there with this:
Two ounces of 50/50 tussah/cashmere blend hand-dyed by Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks in Peacock Plume.
Later that day, at Paper Source, I picked up these:
Clips in the shape of sheeps! I'm going to make photo holders with them, I believe.
I know, I know.
I need to write all about my trip, at least the condensed version, but for now I need to post this:
I am seriously remiss in posting about receiving the second package from my spin to knit buddy http://naturespirit.livejournal.com/
140 yards handspun Cormo dyed with koolaid. The pale blue puff is some carded, dyed cormo and the crimpy white is unprocessed cormo. The green is ingeo. She also sent a new bobbin for Gert.
I didn't take a photo of the bobbin because by the time I got around to taking a photo of the rest of the package, it was already on my wheel and partly full of something else.
This was an interesting swap. I'm really sad that those folks running the swap never posted a list of those folks participating because I really ended up feeling like I was in a very private thing instead of something that should have been shared with a greater community. Never fear, I did suggest this to them for the next time a book comes out and they decide to run a swap in conjunction. Apart from that, it was fun. And my last swap for quite awhile unless something really really good comes along. Right now I'm far too swamped [and broke] from wedding hoopla to spend much time doing anything other than wedding. And here, I'll leave you with a teaser image from my trip:
Click to biggerize! The SF Skyline taken from the Golden Gate Bridge
Sometimes I Wonder if I Made the Right Choice.
I began knitting Madli's Shawl early last summer. I picked out the pattern, bought the back issue of Interweave Knits and scoured the internet for a suitable yarn. My mom bought me that yarn for my 25th birthday and I was all set to start. I knit the first edging and 5.5 repeats of the center pattern and set the shawl down. In August. And I did not pick it up again until shortly after Christmas. At which point I made a goof. And my closest lifeline was 3.5 repeats down. So, I ripped and reknit two of those repeats. Only to discover that I had somehow swapped out my size 5 needle for a size 7 when I picked the shawl up again. My yarn-overs, they were gaping. So, I resolved to reknit and tucked it back into my purse. I decided that I needed to buckle down and work on it so Friday night I pulled it from the bag. And discovered this:
The black spots are ink. A pen exploded in my bag. The horror.
I gasped, and then I assessed. All of the ink was in the two repeats that I needed to rip out anyway. I have three times as much yarn as I need [due to a total mistake on my part--a happy mistake it turns out] so TheBoy held the clean end while I ripped the knitting, getting ink smears all over my hands. I cut the yarn, attached a new piece and away I went. I've knit back those two offending repeats plus one more. This brings me to 5 of 31. It's a good thing that I have a lot of time yet.
Spin to Knit
I am participating in a swap sponsored by Interweave Press to promote Shannon Okey's book Spin to Knit. I received my first package on Friday and I would like to thank my partner for sending me this Cormo yarn. It's about 84 yards, and is navajo plied then overdyed with Kool-aid. Thanks pal!
She also sent some handmade lotion.