It was a good party.

A spinning bud of mine had a micro booth at the Sock Summit, and I was a helper there and, for a shift, at SS registration. Both gave me an excuse to hang out at the biggest sock party in recent memory. It was a good party.


The biggest event for me was helping set the record for most knitters knitting simultaneously. I heard there were 935 or so of us knitting away; I worked on a dishcloth as circular and sock needles were banned. It was great fun, and I met some people from all over.

After all the shopping (see below), volunteering, and most of the booth responsibilities, the Luminary Panel was calming (a couple of hours knitting!) and enjoyable. Hearing peoples memories of Elizabeth Zimmermann (my knitting hero for many years), the backgrounds and anecdotes of nine Super Knitters, and Stephanie and Tina in their several roles (thanks givers, emcees, panel moderators) was worth the ticket.


While managing not to spend my whole August budget on yarn, I did buy some yarn and two knitting tools: a Susan Bates Handi Tool, (combines a crochet hook, US 3 knitting needle, cable needle in one) and a 9-inch US1/2.25mm HiyaHiya bamboo circular needle (you can shop around and find it for less; I paid $6).

The yarn I got, well let's just say that several vendors had bargain bins! I got three balls of Meilenweit for an average of $6.65: Mega Boot Stretch color 710, Fun & Stripes 633, and Multiringel 5050.

Then there was the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth. I found a Socks that Rock Heavyweight Mill End skein of Treehugger.

But my favorite skeins were two from Lollipop Cabin. They're a Merino-free blend of four sturdy wools spun as singles by a local mill and hand-dyed by the proprietress who is Ialiuxh on Ravelry. The first skein (already on the needles!) is shades of black and blue with a few flashes of almost-white), and the second is similar to the STR Treehugger; funny that I didn't notice it until now! This yarn reminds me of the Kumo'Socki I bought in Klamath Falls in 2006; both pair are going strong.

Later, gators!

One part is perfect, anyway

AskTheBellwether's Fiber Mine listed this site for testing one's visual acuity hue-wise. Sounds like a fun way to put off doing something really important, right? LOL

The test looks like this:


Click it to go take the test if you want to. My results surprised the heck out of me:


Perfect!

I've been trying to be perfect my whole life, and now I have achieved a small measure of perfection. Maybe I can stop trying so hard now.

Easy & Fast Beans & Rice

Wendy's having a drawing for a cookbook, and to enter one needs to post a recipe of the fast, tasty, healthy variety. Here's mine. Easy & Fast Beans & Rice This is more of an outline or template than a recipe. Each incarnation will be a little different! It's great for using up leftovers. Bare Minimum Ingredients: Rice Canned Beans (same weight can as the tomatoes), drained & rinsed if you like Canned Seasoned Stewed Tomatoes (same weight can as the beans), save the juice Chopped onion (fresh, frozen, or dried) Optional Ingredients: Olive oil Other fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables (corn is good as it combines with beans to make complete protein) in a quantity proportional to the beans and to your fondness for them Already cooked meat or poultry Broth, soup, or vegetable/tomato juice Garnishment such a shredded cheese, olives, chives, salsa, soy sauce, etc. 1. Start some (a cup or more) rice cooking using your preferred method and ingredients. 2. In a sauce pan big enough to hold everything, heat the tomato liquid and optional olive oil. 3. Add the onion and simmer & stir until transparent. Other fresh chopped vegetables can be added with with onion. 4. Add the tomatoes, beans, and any other vegetables, stirring everything together. Cover and simmer, adding water or other appropriate liquid if needed. Stir once in a while. Note: If your tomatoes were plain, you'll want to add seasonings to taste. 5. If you didn't get too crazy with chopping everything and you didn't use instant rice, the beans and the rice should be ready about the same time. Put some rice in a bowl, add some beans on top. Garnish if desired. Note of the DUH variety: If you want the rice and beans to come out "even," mix them together before serving. My favorite combination is red kidney beans, Mexican flavored tomatoes, fresh yellow onion, frozen corn, and long grain white rice (not instant) in my rice cooker. Yum!

My Ravelry Invite Came!

Just in time for the Mystery Stole 3 KAL, since there's a discussion group (one of several around) on Ravelry. Here's the beginning of my library:



If you haven't registered to be a beta tester, go do it! It looks like a great knitting resource.

Mystery Stole 3

Melanie over at Pink Lemon Twist is hosting her third Mystery Stole knit along. Each year she's created a new stole pattern and offered it in mysterious little clues over several weeks to knitters who join her group by July 5. As of a few minutes ago, 1133 people across the world had joined. The email volume is pretty high, so I've created a special folder in my mail reader and filters to highlight Melanie's and her helpers' messages.

I have minimal lace knitting experience, but I have some appropriate yarn and needles, so I'll give it a try. Who knows? Maybe I'll get a holiday gift done really, really early!

Regarding my other knitting efforts, I've knit a few more squares for Greensburg and got to the foot on my first Horcrux sock. I didn't like the transition to ribbing from the lightning bolts, so I ripped back to the end of the bolts and I'll knit it all in bolts. Pictures forthcoming...here they are:

A Harlot Booster Shot

Last year I heard the Yarn Harlot a.k.a. Stephanie Pearl McPhee, speak for the first time. She was entertaining, funny, and kept me in stitches (both knit and purl) for a solid hour. My face hurt from smiling so hard for so long!

Last night's talk, sort of a booster shot of Stephanie, was just as entertaining. We had more chairs, though still not enough for the 300-ish knitters there. Almost everyone was knitting! Even while Stephanie was talking!


People like me who arrived early were visiting, knitting, and fondling each others' yarn. I started a Horcrux sock with my koolaid yarn. I saw this Argosy shawl and decided that while lace isn't really "me," I could wear this, though maybe not in sparkly mohair. LOL Unfortunately, I didn't get this woman's name or blog URL, but she was really nice and told me the name of the yarn and let me play with the shawl. Thank you! ADDED LATER: And thank you commenters for sharing her link and identifying her as Bobbie. Go girls with "boys'" names!


People kept arriving and chairs started getting hard to find. People started propping up bookcases, pillars, and walls and then started sitting in the aisles. It was pretty noisy and getting warm. Even so, we knit.

The Harlot came in and we cheered so loud the whole 3-story complex of buildings that fills the block and is known as Powell's rocked. The staff were being conservative calling us "a bit rowdy."


I forgot I had a zoom, I was so excited.

Afterward, we lined up to get our books signed and have very brief "conversations" with Stephanie. Here she is, waiting breathlessly to meet me. See the travelling sock?


And here I am, grinning like an idiot and holding an Oregon dishcloth I designed and knit just for The Yarn Harlot's States and Provinces Hand Knit Dishcloth Collection. Upside down and backwards. I forgot to ask to hold the sock. The most brilliant thing I said was to point out that the catnip mouse I made for Millie was crocheted, not knit. Stephanie replied, "That's OK, Millie won't be able to tell the difference." Here's the dishcloth right-side up and front-side forward.


Did you notice my t-shirt? I scanned a circa 1945 ball band from Red Heart WOOL yarn. I learned to knit with Red Heart and have fond memories of it. It does bother me that its current acrylic incarnation has a bad reputation in some quarters; among the acrylics, it has IMNSHO its place as a durable, washable, colorful, well made, inexpensive yarn impervious to moths. Now really, is that so bad? End rant! LOL

It took me a few hours for the excitement of the event to dissipate enough to sleep. Poor Louise got a call from me as I was driving home. Could I stop by and show her my shirt and signed book? I rattled on for a very little bit and got Mattie a treat. Thanks for listening, Louise! BTW, Mattie is a Peke & Lhasa mix and one of my biggest fans. I usually get to give her a treat, and I make her roll over or talk to me before she gets it. She's fascinated by my cats, who often follow me across the street, lurking just outside of or on the fence and under the car until I come back out.

OK. Enough globbing. Er, blogging. Ta Ta for now!

Knitting Meme

I got this from Catalogrrr Knits.

Mark with bold the things you have knit, with italics the ones you plan to knit sometime, and leave the rest. Of course, I can't follow the instructions exactly, so I added comments, comments, and comments! And I added four items at the bottom of the list!

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk a fine strand with wool for socks
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting maybe
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting fun concept, but not *me*
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener stitch
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere (mmm, cashmere!)
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves mittens are warmer!
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting fun concept, but not *me*
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets does a crochet dog coat count?
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair accidentally or on purpose?
Hair accessories
Knitting in public
Knitting with buffalo yarn
Knitting with pygora
Dyeing with food dye/drink mixes
Dyeing with chemical dyes (acid, etc)

Extreme Knitting

I was just reading this and followed the link to knitter/shepherd Christien Meindertsma's site where she shows something of the process of knitting very large things with very bulky hand-felted yarn knit on very large needles. Kind of like this:


The feet on the rug and the artist look disproportionate, don't they? Clicking the car icon opens this series about felting the mega bulky yarn. Other icons link to knitted items for sale, archives, and vintage knitting instructions.

I wonder if Ann and Kay at Mason-Dixon Knitting and Christien are aware of each other's giant yarn rugs?

I had lunch with my sister because I'm sexy and I do what I want

Actually did have lunch with my sister last week, but for a different reason! Catalogrrr posted this fun game:

Pick the month you were born:

January------I kicked
February-----I loved
March---------I smoked
April-----------I dry humped
May-----------I choked on
June----------I murdered
July-----------I did the Macarena with
August-------I had lunch with
September---I danced with
October------I sang to
November----I yelled at
December----I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a Mexican
6-------a gangster
7-------my cell phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbor
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19-------myself
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an ipod
29-------a permanent marker
30-------a llama
31-------A homeless guy

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:
White--------because I'm cool like that
Black---------because that's how I roll.
Pink----------because I'm NOT a homosexual.
Red----------because the voices told me to.
Blue----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
green---------because I hate myself.
Purple--------because I'm cool.
Gray----------because I was drunk
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange-------because I hate my family.
Brown--------because I was high.
Other---------because I'm a ninja.
None----------because I cant control myself

Consider yourself tagged! And, please, leave *your* results in my comments.

EZ is My First Knitting Hero...

...and I'm not alone in my appreciation of her wit, knitting know-how, and common sense. Here's the online version of a recent exhibition that featured her work: New School Knitting: The Online Catalog and Virtual Exhibition

Go and browse. Especially check the pics of the opening day to see some inspirational hand-knits worn by the attendees, including Meg Swanson.

Did you notice the small qualification in the title? First? I've had her books for years and read them several times each. My adult surprise jacket got 98% done before I frogged it (after shrinking out of it--sounds better than messing up the gauge, right? LOL), and all but one or two of my Wool Gatherings newsletters are actually in the same place!

With my reborn interest in knitting and access to knitting blogs, I have some new knitting heros. Only about a hundred million of them. So EZ represents! Am I using that word right?

Jumpstart from Dez

Nope, not a car post. Though I am thinking about biodiesel....

While guest blogging for Joan, Dez asked folks to answer four questions in the comments so Joan would have knitting content to read while she's waiting to get her knitting mojo back. Since I couldn't figure out how to leave a comment (probably a script permission thing), here goes.

What's on your needles right now?

Wendy's toe-up socks in Knit Picks Flint Essential Tweed on size zero toothpicks. The first sock is done as well as about 2 inches of the second. The ribbing is an experiment: Repeat (K3, P1, K1, P1) a kazillion times. After an inch of K3, P3, I dropped the center stitch of the P3s and K it back up instead of frogging. We'll see how it wears. I did EZ's Sewn Cast Off for a stretchy edge; it flares a bit now, but it'll be fine on.


And here's a wet paw print (cropped out above) to show that I had feline involvement in the photo shoot this morning. It's been overcast and somewhat showery the last few days.


What did you most recently finish?

The simple and quick pair of sagey-green mini wrist warmers pictured with the socks. Stulpen are long enough that my knitting needles get caught, so I made these cuffs from some Patons Norspun (discontinued, 1-ply 25% wool, 75% acrylic, machine washable)h. I can't recall which blogger made some recently, commenting that she was reluctant to take them off before bed. I left mine on and had to fish one out from under my pillow in the morning. LOL

What new project are you looking forward to?

I'm considering some patterned socks from Six Socks or Knitty (BTW, the SPRING issue is out!). Not lacy, but maybe something fishy or scaly. Maybe in a wool/cotton blend or cotton/acrylic. Or one of my coveted yarns...

What yarn do you covet the most, right this very minute?


This Opal Batik sock yarn that's in the mail to me from here. The shop owner got socks for her and hubby from one hank; my feet are small, so I'm hoping for three pair. A close runner up would be a several pound cone of wool/nylon fingering weight sock yarn for dyeing. Do you have a favorite vendor for this? Or this Un-spun Icelandic from Schoolhouse Press.

Represent What?

Recently both Stephanie and Laurie used the word "represent" in a way that confused me. I'm not widely read (being primarily a reader of several genre), but I'm a frequent reader and have been forever (or at least since 3rd grade when I discovered novels, specifically Beverly Clearly and Carolyn Haywood), so when two excellent writers used "represent" without objects, I had to start researching. Not being a rap sort of person, I wasn't surprised that the usage was new to me. While I'm not certain this is the same one as understood by my fellow (hah! as if I rank anywhere near them in the field) bloggers, it seems to fit their contexts well enough. Language is in constant flux, which makes it possible for dictionary writers, editors, and publishers to keep making their livings! Not to mention making it easier for insiders (such as teenagers) to confound outsiders (adults) with their jargon (slang). Though it should be argued (try to stop me!) that the insider/outsider result is not usually deliberate but an outcome of people with a shared interest needing to come up with words specific to that interest. Frog, tink, and LYS come to mind.

Chatterbox, Sox, Sox, and Stix

If I'm counting right (and I might not be), this is my 4th post today after ten days of silence. I'm like that sometimes. Anyone know of a way to schedule posts in Blogger?

Using Wendy's toe-up sock pattern, I started a pair of socks and overshot the heel shaping, causing me to have to frog over an inch of tiny tiny stitches last night. The hard part was healing the splits. Here's the most recent photo:


That's Knit Picks Essential Tweed in Flint, 60 stitches on size ZERO needles. I like the red, blue, and yellow flecks. This is my first toe-up sock. I like the concept of using all of your yarn up without having to trust the gods to dole the yarn out properly as I've done so far with my top-down socks. Like these:


My third pair of socks are done and shown to advantage on the sock blockers I made following these directions. The only suggestion I'd make is to bend both hangers together so they come out the same.

And Now for the Stix Portion of Our Program: I found some thrifty bamboo DPNs on eBay. 10cm long (that's 4 inches), 6 sets of 5 needles cost only $8.07 with shipping. I was expecting them to be less than perfect, so the need for light sanding and some beeswax was not a problem. The size zeros are shown in my toe-up socks above. I am liking them a lot, even if they do resemble toothpicks! You can see the tips of the other five pair in my DPN needle roll. The same vendor has longer DPNs, straights, and circulars, too. Just search for "10cm bamboo double" to find them. I'm skeptical of the circular joins, but sandpaper and beeswax can do wonders with wood-like items.

The Yarn Harlot Writes Sock Haiku, Inspiring More

I'm a fairly recent member of the Yarn Harlot Fan Club, and her entry yesterday inspired me (and many others!) to write a haiku of my own in her comments:

We read Harlot's blog
for comic relief and in-
spiration galore.

Cheat! Should that read "for
comic relief galore and
inspiration, eh?"

Hard to tell. Her fans'
priorities vary. Most
knit. More laugh. All love.

Love what? The Harlot
of course. Else why spend time here
with all the wool pigs?

Stephanie, thank you
for sharing socks, adventures,
and love of knitting.

Not to mention a
chance to publish our iffy
haiku in your blog.

Her sock marathon inspired me to finally share that I'm knitting my third pair of socks. For myself. In my life. I've been knitting intermittently since childhood and don't count a couple of xmas socks with heels as "socks" because they didn't have to either match or fit.

My first pair are from handspun yarn I bought this summer at Circle of Yarns in Klamath Falls, Oregon.



They continue to be my favorite socks and are worn often (as I type, in fact) and they're still holding up well. The third pair is from a darker, woody colorway of the same yarn; I'm almost past the heel on #1. Progress has slowed because of gift knitting: many hats, a few slippers, and a pair of booties.