Goodbye to our sweet girl

Last night we had to let our Caia girl go. It's one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. For the last three weeks I've been working from home, coaxing her to eat, carrying her down the stairs to go out, hugging her, and crying a lot. Finally, at the end of this week, we knew that she was ready to go, and that she was just holding on for us.

Caia in DC at the Congressional Cemetery, which is maintained in part by the donations and care of dog owners. It's a wonderful place.

Me and Caia in Lake George on the boat. With tongue.

Caia with our little niece, Sophie, and both of their toys.

Caia watching the bass at the dock in Lake George. She would do this for hours.

Townes giving Caia some orange love in the backyard.

Caia and Townes holding paws.

M and Caia sleeping together on the porch on Friday afternoon.

For me, I don't think there will ever be another dog as special as Caia. She was M's as a pup, but she's been mine, too, for the last nine years, from the age of five until almost fourteen. We met through our dogs in the park, and since then Caia has been almost everywhere we have been, from Lake George to San Diego. I have so many memories of being with her - running the ski trail in Iowa, lying by the lake in Chicago, walking along the rim of the Grand Canyon, playing on the dock in Lake George - everything. She has crossed the country with us at least 7 times, raised two kittens into cats, and two silly kids into something approximating adults. She has been the calm in the face of M's surgery and my brother's death. Our furry rock of Gibralter. We will miss her more than any words can say. Caia, girl, we will always love you.

Knitting, Spinning, Family

The Knitting:

Swallowtail shawl in merino tencel handspun: far and near.

It's going well. I thought that I might be a bit short on yarn, so after I finished the tenth repeat, I weighed the yarn I had used (40 grams) and the yarn I had left (75 grams). Then I made a spreadsheet to determine how many total stitches a full swallowtail shawl would take (18,583), and how many stitches I could expect to get out of 115 grams of yarn (~15, 900). I determined that if I took out two budding lace repeats I would have enough yarn, and that if I simply added two rows with 4 yarnover increases before changing to the next lace pattern, I would have the correct multiple of stitches for the following lace patterns. This shawl was actually pretty ammenable to tweaking, so I really lucked out. I'm sure that what I wrote here sounds pretty complicated, but it's doable. If enough people are interested, I'll write up a tutorial on adjusting this type of shawl sometime. You never know when you'll need to double-check yardage and re-adjust. It sounds dull as dust, but I'm happy to forego the excitement of running out of yarn close to the end.

My adjustments may very well make the shawl too small to be practicable to wear, but I've decided I'm enjoying it so much that I don't really care. If I can't wear it, I'll frame it. It's a lovely pattern and a really nice use of the yarn. I'll let you know if it's wearable or not, though, just in case someone else has 290 yards of fingering that they're considering using this way.

The red sparkly Christmas beret is almost finished, right on schedule.

This is an easy knit. No thinking, no tweaking, nothing. Perfect for a gift, and completely season appropriate. Normally I shy away from sparkly, but this really appeals to me, and the person it's for does sparkly quite well.

The Spinning:

Heart's Content: 80% merino, 20% bombyx silk from Chameleon Colorworks.

I spun this at the spin-in at my house on Saturday. It's only 57 yards, but I should eventually be able to incorporate it into a project with some other handspun. I love the colorway, and especially after washing, it is really soft.

The Family:

The crew, hanging out in bed the morning after the spin out.

We never used to allow the dogs (we had two) in bed, but now that Caia is an elder, we just put an old quilt on top and let her sleep wherever she wants. The night of the spin-in she insisted on sleeping with me, and when I finally woke up, exhausted and dazed, I found that I was under a pile of furry love. I slept in that little corner at the top! It's amazing the way the kitties pile on when Caia is in the bed. They find the tiniest crevasse and wedge themselves in. Not much sleep, but a lot of love.

I Have Spun Koigu

I know. It probably sounds a bit boastful, and when I say it, I don't mean that you should all turn in your KPPPM and start begging me to spin for you. My yarn definitely has some "features" that you won't find in koigu, but that said it is shockingly similar. The funny thing is that it wasn't intentional, and that I didn't even notice until I started knitting with it. I just had a strange sensation of deja vu. And then it came to me. I had managed to spin something a lot like my absolute favorite yarn for socks. Happy, happy co-inckie-dink!

I cast on for the Swallowtail Shawl last night. Love it.

I think that the beginnings of the swallowtail shawl look remarkably similar to the beginnings of Charlotte's Web.* Oh happy, happy days. And can I just say that although I am only a wee bit into this Swallowtail pattern I am already hooked on it. It's totally fun, pretty and really easy to memorize. Now I just have to pray that I don't run out of yarn. It's going to be a very, very close call, but I'm optimistic. And I'm so into this shawl that I can't stop. May the knitting gods be with me. Tiffany, my spinning mentor from afar (Marnie was my spinning mentor from anear), is spinning and knitting this one with me. Tiffany, hon, you better spin fast. I'm so excited I may whip through this one despite all the other crap I should be doing.

Here's one last close-up for the knitters out there who are sick of all this spinning content:

See guys? I do still knit! Just with my own brew.

I have several other things on the needles as well, including another handspun project (check the sidebar if you're interested). I've just been so stoked about my handspun that it's been hard to make myself blog the knitting. In this case, it's two for one.

The State of the Koosher
I know that several of you have sent well-wishes to Caia, and I just wanted to let you know that she has improved a lot since last week. Caia is old enough (almost 14) that improvement means we may be able to give her a good quality of life for weeks, or if we're really lucky, months, and that is what we're going for right now. She's not in any pain, and she is still able to enjoy belly and ear rubs, chomping on a bone, and her favorite pastime, naps with Townes. I snapped this picture of them early this morning, before we headed in for her check-up with the vet:

Townes is obviously having blissful dreams of his true doggy love.

I love the way that these two often sleep in similar positions, or even mirroring each other. If there is anyone Townes is more devoted to than he is to me, it's Caia. It's a little bit like watching Pepe Le Pew and that poor black cat. Undying, almost suffocating, interspecies devotion. When we took Caia to the vet last week, we were very afraid that we were at the end, so we brought Townes along. He curled around her head on the exam table and stayed with her throughout everything - shots, having blood drawn - everything. Even the vet was surprised. He said he'd never seen anything quite like it.

*Okay, so that was a crappy Charlotte's Web picture, and never let us mind that I didn't ever get further than that on Charlotte's Web. That was what it looked like before I ripped it out!

Raspberry Merino Tencel

Last week was rough. I pulled some pretty long hours preparing for a presentation in SF that I gave yesterday, and taking care of our sweet Caia girl, who is succumbing to age, despite our valiant efforts and her own. During the week there were only stolen moments of knitting and spinning here and there to maintain my sanity. So on Saturday, I allowed myself to have a complete and total Julia day. I spun the rest of my second bobbin of raspberry-colored merino tencel, plied the singles, spun another skeinlette on my maggie spindle, plied that on my pilchuck spindle, returned to the wheel to spin a wonderful thick and thin chocolate covered cherries singles, knit on one of my gift berets, and then knit some of my handspun for the first time ever. We take our Julia time seriously over here at chez MOW. It was blissful.

Two bobbins of merino tencel, side by side.

Although I know I'm famous for my long-ass windbag posts (and this will no doubt be one, too!), I'm not enough of a windbag to cover everything I did and saw this weekend (Sunday was another Julia day, spent in SF with Emily at the DeYoung Museum, but that, too, is another post), so I'll start with telling you about the raspberry merino tencel here.

The plied singles on the bobbin. This made me soooo happy.

As I've said before, the raspberry merino tencel project was my first somewhat longer-term spinning project on the wheel. Before this, everything that I've done could have been accomplished in a single day, albeit a long one. For this project however, I was going for a finer plied yarn than I've created in the past. The singles were so fine that it took me about 6 sittings to spin each bobbin, and I'd estimate that each represents about 8 hours of work at a minimum. The plying took me about 2 hours, and I was afraid that it was going to take a heck of a lot longer.

Moxie played the role of Margene (of whom he is completely and totally unaware) while I was plying. I was so excited to see the finished yarn I was almost jumpy - chomping at the bit. He kept reminding me that I was supposed to be enjoying the entire *process* and that I shouldn't be concerned about getting to the end product as much as enjoying the spinning that I was doing. I knew he was right, but I thought I was going to kill him. I wanted to see the yarn!

When I was finally done plying, I was left with less than two feet of unplied singles. This made me insanely happy, as I have an obsession with using every little bit of yarn - to the point where it is not unusual at all for me to come very dangerously close to running out of yarn on a knitting project. It's stupid, I know, and I always counsel people to buy more yarn than they need when asked, but I can't help it. I save everything, and I can't stand to have half-skeins of unused yarn hanging around.

Plied singles on my brand spanking new niddy-nosty from Amy at Spunky Eclectic. A truly wonderful tool.

I wound the skein onto my niddy-nosty (love this!) and ended up having about 290 yards of yarn. To be honest, I was hoping for closer to 400 yards, but still, this was almost three times as much as I've ever spun in a single skein, so it was still really impressive to me.

Here's the skein right off the niddy-nosty.
For a zoomed-out shot click here.

Because I had spun the singles over the space of two weeks, there was no way to tell whether the skein was balanced right off the niddy-nosty. (I warned Moxie of this, and his disappointment was palpable. He revels in the fact that I make him guess whether each and every skein is balanced, just prior to niddy-noddy removal. It is prime entertainment for the entire family.) Here it is all curly, but after wetting it hung straight, and is still straight after drying (I thwacked the hell out of it, but did not weight the skein). It looks balanced to me, though I'm sure that there are more experienced spinners who could chime in and let me know how to be sure. (Hint, hint - chime in!)

I love this skein. There are still thick and thin points, but overall, it represents the most professional-looking yarn I've made to date. I'm hoping to knit a shawl from it. I'm not sure that I'll have enough to make Evelyn Clark's Swallowtail Shawl (I've been drooling over Jared's since he finished it), but I'd like to give it a go. If anyone has a good approximation of how much fingering-weight yarn it would take to make the swallowtail, or even exactly how much lace-weight it took, I'd love to know. In the meantime, here are the stats for the yarn:

Fiber: Raspberry Merino Tencel (70/30)
Weight: 4 ounces
Source: Carolina Homespun
Wheel: Majacraft Rose, fastest ratio on the slow whorl
Yards: 290
WPI: 16-17 (fingering weight)

Thelma: Pattern Notes

It feels like I am long overdue on writing up some pattern notes for poor Thelma. Happily, what she's lacking in notes, I've made up for in wear. Although we have had the occasional nippy or overcast day, for the most part, it's been a typical Southern California early fall, which means that although it's chilly at night, temps still soar into the 90's in the middle of the day, so Thelma has gotten lots of play.

Andrea complained that our view never makes it into the photos.
Ask and ye shall receive!

Thelma
Designed by Erika Knight, Rowan Denim People
Knit with four skeins (110 yards/skein) of Rowan Denim (100% Cotton) in Memphis (229) and less than 50 yards of BluJeans Indigo (Medium) on Marnie's little knitter (tension 5, carriage 5). Finishing and hems done by hand using size US 4 Addi Turbo circulars.
Gauge: 18 sts and 25 rows per 4" square.
Size: xs, to fit 32" bust.

Close up of the keyhole, top hems and ribbon straps.
The Pattern
This is a really quick and easy knit. The machine knitting on the body took me about 3 hours total, including time for swatching and adjusting the pattern. Following in the footsteps of Miss Marnie, I never use the machine's cast on or cast off edges, but instead treat them as provisional and add two rows at each end for easy transfer to the needles for handknitting. I knit the lighter-colored hem at the bottom by hand and all the hems at the neckline by hand as well. This took a bit longer - about 7 hours! You never realize how long finishing takes until you machine knit a piece. In this case, it was 70% of the work.

If you use a machine, don't be afraid to try some hand-knitting in stockinette on a continuous piece. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to match machine gauge, but it really hasn't been an issue. The machine generally knits at the tension of the "average" knitter from what I've found, so since I knit loosely, I go down a needle size for hand stitching. If you knit tightly, simply go up a needle size instead.

Techniques:
Nothing new here for me. It was very fun to knit the picot hems, though. I love me some picots! The hardest part of this little tank is the finishing. I had to sew down all my hems afterward, rather than using the snazzy k2tog method of hem fastening, because I machine knit and then handknit down from each edge afterwards. I could have done the bottom edge on the machine, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it until after the main knitting was done. If you plan ahead, some of the sewing can be avoided.

Modifications: Just a few. The original piece uses a curved hem at the bottom which rolls up slightly. I didn't want this tank to be belly-baring, so I lengthened the body a smidge and then added the lighter picot edge at the bottom. I omitted the pocket, and changed the denim straps to ribbon. I used some leftover grossgrain ribbon from Asana to do this. The color is a really rich green, a little lighter than hunter green, and it happens to perfectly match one of the skirts that I wear with Thelma a lot (not this one). Eventually I want to outfit several different ribbons with snaps, so that I can change colors when I like. I think a deep chocolate ribbon would be nice. All of these mods dress this pattern up a little, which I like, and make it more wearable for me. I still think the original is really cute, though, and I would love to downsize it for my little niece, Sophie. It would be adorable on a toddler.

Finishing:
Much of this is covered in techniques, but if you skimmed there, be forewarned that the finishing is where the work comes in on this piece. It's a beginner knit with intermediate finishing.

When you work with denim, it always comes out substantially longer (about 15-20%) and a little bit wider off the needles than it will after washing. So part of the finishing process is tossing your knit in the washer (solo, please, in case it bleeds!) and then into the dryer. I didn't check the washer during the soak cycle to see how much bleeding went on, but the color did lighten up (as it should) and the fabric softened and bloomed substantially - in a good way. It shrunk exactly as much as it was supposed to - good job, Rowan!

Rowan suggests that you wash the piece before any seaming occurs, but I went ahead and seamed and stitched down the hems, which turned out fine. I seamed the sides after drying, and added the ribbon then as well. I also steam-ironed the pieces so that they looked crisp. I threaded the ribbon through by clipping a safety pin to the end of it, and snagging that with the tip of a straight needle which I then pushed through the hem. Voila!

Impressions of Rowan Denim:
This is the first time that I used this yarn and I really enjoyed it. Rowan Denim didn't bleed onto my hands while I knit the way that other denim yarns have. [edited to add: Note that Christine mentions it did bleed for her in the comments below - which makes sense since I only hand knit the hems, whereas she knit an entire piece.] I works up very crisply, but it softens and fades nicely once you wash and dry it, and the gaps created by the stiffness of the yarn are filled in when it blooms.

Possible substitute yarns:
I also used some really old stash yarn, BluJeans Indigo, for this project, and it works well, too. It starts out a lot softer, but it also tends to bleed onto your hands while knitting, which is kind of annoying. If it isn't discontinued, the price points are good, though. I have a ton of this stuff and will use it for some other denim projects. The gauge is interchangeable. I think that Elann sometimes carries a denim that would also work, though I haven't seen it in the blue colors on their site lately.

Shots with the Caia Koosher:
I wanted my photoshoot to include Caia girl, but trying to get her in there and get a good view of Thelma was nearly impossible, so I had to do some photos without her. Here are a few where Caia is the star.

What am I saying? Caia is always the star.

[Read all entries on Thelma.]

A Dog and her Boy

Because we can never have enough pictures of the ones we love.

And because my handspun is still drying.

*smile*

Pattern Notes: My So Called Scarf

This was yet another stealth knit. It snuck in among my unfinished gifts, charity knitting, and lingering projects and made itself a necessary (& fun!) part of my knitting days. Last year around this time I set several new aspirations for my knitting in 2005, the most important being to cut down the number of projects that I have on the needles at any given time to between five and seven, to design more, and to give more of what I make to friends and others.

One of the reasons to limit the number of WIPs was to allow myself to focus more on the projects at hand and enjoy them, rather than becoming scattered and racing from one thing to the next. I'll write aspirations for 2006 in the New Year, but I wanted to say now that the stealth knits have validated my feeling that less (at one time) is more. I feel much more connected and interested in what I'm doing when I can focus in on one thing. One of the reasons that I liked these knits so much was the feeling of spontaniety I had while knitting them. I was free! Creative! I could do whatever I wanted! I think this was primarily because the queue of knits that I was obligated to was not particularly long, and whenever I wanted to I allowed myself to knit the thing that called to me, rather than whatever I was supposed to knit next.

There's nuthin' 'so called' about it. This is a rocking scarf!

My So Called Scarf
Free Pattern, from Sheep in the City
Knit with three skeins (98 yards/skein) of Di.ve Teseo (Di.ve is a division of Cascade) (55% Wool/45% Microfiber) in color 39361, on size US9 Addi Turbo Circulars. I didn't take a gauge because this is a scarf, but 30 sts gave me a width of about 5 inches.

Size: 5 inches by about 7 feet!

The Pattern
This is a really beautiful stitch pattern that shows off both variegated and barberpole yarns beautifully. I first caught sight of it over at Mellow Trouble and it's been love ever since. (Go over and say hi to Andrea - she has a great site!) I may make a second one with my Tahiti Handspun below. The pattern is all of two rows, so it's really easy to memorize, but it looks complicated and sophisticated. There's enough variation that you can enjoy it for a stretch.

I don't often make scarves (I say this knowing that the only other projects I have going are a scarf and a stole - still, it's unusual), because the monotony of knitting a really long rectangle that ends in the excitement of fringe (at best), doesn't really do it for me. This scarf was different. Although there was a point somewhere in skein two where I suffered a bout of malaise, for the most part it was steady sailing. Near the end I was obsessed with using every last bit of the yarn. I cut the fringe from the outside end of the last skein while knitting with the other end so that I would know exactly how much yarn I had to work with.

[As an aside, my standard fringe is three 12-inch strands of yarn per tassel, which means each tassel takes one yard of fiber. This makes a lush fringe and is an easy way to calculate the yardage needed for the fringe as well. In this case, I had 12 tassels at each end of the scarf, so I used a total of 24 yards of yarn, or a fourth of a skein. Neat trick, eh?]

I'm glad that I made the scarf so dang long, because it really adds to feeling of lushness. Nothing like a bit of excess fabric to connote luxury. It goes for three full wraps easily.

What else? The stitch pattern lies very flat. This is an excellent attribute in a scarf. It is also thick and a little stiff which is fine for a scarf, but wouldn't work as well in a sweater. If I were to adapt this pattern to a garment I'd knit it very loosely to encourage drape.

Modifications:
I substituted the yarn and added fringe. I think that the gauges are close if not dead on, but really, it doesn't matter. If you want to use a smaller yarn, just remember that the pattern requires a multiple of 4+2 sts, and then cast on the number you need to get the width you desire.

This is one of Moxie's faves. I like the reeds in the background.

Impressions of Di.ve Teseo:
I have to confess that despite some serious geeky tendancies when it comes to yarn, I didn't even know that Di.ve existed until I bought this yarn, and then it took me a while to put together that Vergnasco was the location in Italy where this is made, rather than the name of the yarn company.

Di.ve is a division of Cascade, which makes sense. It's a wonderful yarn at a great price. Cascade excels at offering well-made yarns at good prices. In my perfect yarn store, if I could carry only three lines, they would be Rowan, Karabella, and Cascade. There are other lines that would fill in nicely and great niche companies, but for big and necessary, those three do it, and Cascade offers the "value" aspect of the trio.

Teseo is a beautiful yarn. I've seen several colorways and they are all fabulous. Usually, when we get in a new yarn at the store, I can pick out "the color" that everyone is going to buy. Teseo doesn't have a single "it" color. It has about five "it" colors. I must have more.

Teseo is a wool/microfiber blend, but it feels like a real wool, only softer. It's not quite to the level of merino in softness, but for a non-merino it's cushy. It also strikes me as a yarn that will wear well. I do not anticipate pillage, but I'll let you know if I find otherwise.

Oh yeah - almost forgot - very economical. It retails for $6.50 a skein. Gotta love that.

Possible substitute yarns:
Since bright wool variegateds are the thing this fall and winter, there are likely zillions of substitutes for Teseo, though for subtle variation in hue I haven't seen an exact counterpart. My favorite substitute for this would be a yarn by a new Westminster line called Nashua. I beleive the exact name is wooly stripes worsted. (Their equinox stripes and creative focus solids are also quite nice.) I haven't knit with any of their yarns yet, but they look extremely promising, and they have really nice supporting leaflets (I purchased a great one, but I can't find a link for the thing anywhere!). The Nashua yarn retails for a bit more, but I beleive it is also 100% wool, and the "real thing" is nice to knit with.

Gratuitous Scarf Photos:
The photos for this shoot were taken by Moxie. We went for a walk yesterday in a field in Wayland, Massachsetts, where we often go with the dogs when visiting family in Boston. I know there are a lot of photos, but you'll have to humor me. The light was perfect, and the colors were great, so we went a little crazy.

Oh, and Panda, eat your heart out!

Panda, I'm pretty sure if we work together we can overpower them -
we've definitely got more sense.

Thanksgiving on the Hill

Although I am a HUGE proponent of Southern California and all its weather has to offer, I have to admit that I prefer to be in DC for Thanksgiving. The air is crisp, the leaves are still colorful, and the bounty that is Thanksgiving can be found only a few blocks away from our house in Capitol Hill.

Although this is only our second Thanksgiving here, I feel that I have a ritual in place, which includes waking early and walking down a few beautiful blocks lined with historic homes to Eastern Market to pick up my fresh turkey and a few other essentials, so that I may begin cooking. A morning outing is essential, because by noon the market is swamped and by afternoon it's downright crazy. The market closes for Turkey day and the day after, so it's important to stock up on all the fixins while you can. The two-day wait for groceries can be a long one if you've planned poorly. What is Thanksgiving if it's not all about the food?

This Thanksgiving I thought that I would photo-document my trip, so that you guys could come along with me. I'm thankful for many things, including the things that you'll see in the pictures here. I'm also thankful for all of you. It's great to have such an extended family of cyber-friends to share with, and to hear from on a daily basis. You make my knitting and life much richer. For those of you who are fellow Hillers - shout out! For those of you who don't know these places - take note! If you ever have a chance to do Thanksgiving here, this is a great way to do it.

My first stop at Eastern Market is the Sweet Shoppe. They sell $2 bags of cut up bread for stuffing - it's an economical and quick way to put together a side. This place is also famous for its excellent bearclaws and pesto. My own pesto recipe was inspired by the Sweet Shoppe's use of spinach and parsely as dominant ingredients. It's good stuff.

Stop number two is Paik Produce. I was a good girl and did most of my market produce shopping last weekend, but I did need to pick up fresh greens. The brothers Paik (as I think of them, who knows if they are) always have good produce at a decent price, and if you buy in quantity or bring along a small child, you get a banana for free as a bonus.

Next is the biggie. I hit Market Poultry (scroll down for info!) to pick up my fresh turkey, which I ordered ahead of time. By this afternoon the pick-up line will be around the block. That's because Market Poultry carries the best, the freshest, the most amazing turkeys anywhere. You haven't had turkey until you've had theirs. Their poultry is just that good. Plus its a family-run operation. Everyone there is a son or a cousin or a close family friend. They're good folk, and they'll take care of you. You can get all kinds of goodies there - from game birds to alligator (can you say gumbo?), and great turkey bacon. And can you beat the mascot? Pretty season-appropriate.

Finally, on my way out I pass another Capitol Hill institution - The Sweet Nuthouse. It's run by a husband and wife - she makes sugar-coated nuts and he sells them (and hands out free samples!) and they are good. Everytime you pass, you're treated to a little sweet goodness.

When I arrive home, I can see that the animals are observing their own Hill rituals. Although the world outside may change - leaves fall, the weather gets colder - there are certain things you can count on to stay the same.

Happy Thanksgiving Knitters! May you shop like Hoolias (that's me - phoenetically speaking) and nap like Tunas!

Poem in the Style of Bukowski: Everyone's Sleeping But Me

They're lucky they're so darned cute

I'm harboring the kind of jealousy

That could make even the best mommy

Go a little crazy with the spray bottle.

Knitting Meme

What is your all-time favorite yarn to knit with? My favorite fibers are merino and alpaca, probably in that order, because alpaca is simply not as useful in southern California. I've rarely met a merino I didn't like, but Jaeger's Extra-Fine Merino DK is a favorite, as well as the Aurora line by Karabella. I've also been known to enjoy un-mercerized cotton, tussah silk, and tencel. I love the effects of a fine mohair blend, but I often have to fight with the stuff when I'm working with it. If you haven't seen it before, here's my list of Desert Island Yarns from last year.

Your favorite needles? My philosophy is that there is a different needle for every project, and in keeping with that theory, I have a LOT of needles. So many, in fact, that I have an excel spreadsheet set up to organize them all. If I had to choose any over the others, either my addi circulars or my swallow casein DPNs would win out. The only needles I affirmatively dislike are Brittany Birch circulars - their joins are shit. I like Brittanys well enough for DPNs, but overall, if it's wooden I like Clovers or Plymouth bamboos - they come in convenient cases and are well-priced. I'm a huge fan of Bryspuns for beginners and I have an entire set of their straights for my classes. I also like them for anything mohair and have found Bryspun circulars delightful as well.

The worst thing you've ever knit? The worst thing I ever knit was actually one of my own designs, but it was all a part of the learning process, so depite the fact that I wouldn't wear it now, I'm not overly ashamed of it. (I would show a picture here, but it has since made it's way to a better place!) I'm pretty attached to everything I've done, ugly or otherwise. (But never so attached that I can't frog the whole damn thing without a second thought.)

Your most favorite knit pattern? My favorite piece that I've knit so far was one of my first sweaters, Alice Starmore's Kilronnan (at right and above, I'm Caia's modeling sidekick). It was a huge milestone for me. The cabling was complex, I substituted the yarn (Cascade's Lana D'Oro, for anyone who is interested), and at the time it took me five months to complete. (At my current maniacal pace, it would probably still take me three months.) After finishing that sweater, I felt there was nothing that I was incapable of knitting. It was so beautiful I couldn't believe it. Over a decade later, I still wear it, and it looks like I made it yesterday. The yarn has held up beautifully, and the design is classic and timeless.

Most valuable knitting technique(s)? The most valuable things I've learned about knitting are 1) to pay attention to what the stitches are doing in any given situation - if you can "see" your knitting and "see" your pattern, you won't be tied to a sheet of paper or row counters; and 2) to not be too attached to any one direction - scissors are your friends - you can stop or start working at any place you like, and with a few snips you can insert knitting just about anywhere.

Best knit book(s) or magazine(s)? My favorite periodicals are Interweave Knits and Rowan's bi-annual magazine. The best tome is The Principles of Knitting, though Vouge's Ultimate Guide is a decent second that works for most situations, and I just picked up the Knitting Handbook, which is both cheap and fabulous. The book that I read recently that most inspired me was the Twisted Sister's Sock Workbook. I also love anything by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts. The woman is a genius.

Your favorite knit-along? For straight-up KAL, I really enjoyed the Audrey-Along (pictured left and below, alas, without Caia). For charity, nothing beats the MDK Afghan-Along, and for swaps Sockapalooza was great.

Your favorite knitblogs? My favorite knit blog is Mason Dixon Knitting, and it has been for a really long time. Ann and Kay are each very interesting in their own right, and together, their letters always make for engrossing reading. They're always on a wavelength that I feel tuned into. I like several of the other "old guard" bloggers, as well, but truth be told, I'm a pretty fickle reader. I read no more than 20 blogs, and I rotate them every few months. Most get jettisoned for something different, be it old or new. I have very few longstanding members in my bloglines. Among my long-standing favorites are Marnie Talks, Making (formerly Stitch Marker), and Princess Knits. New favorites include January One, Yummy Yarn, Sweet Georgia, Something from Nothing, and Mellow Trouble. (Links are in my sidebar.)

Your favorite knitwear designer(s)? Norah Gaughan is my favorite designer, hands down, which is ironic since I have never actually knit anything by her. Still, I read designs the way I read novels, and I love her style. Norah creates knitwear that is beautiful, wearable, and usually novel in it's construction. I have some Elsbeth Lavold Angora socked away for her Syncopated Ribs sweater, so perhaps one of my New Year's Aspirations this year should be to explore the knit designers I admire most by knitting their designs.

I really love Veronik Avery as well, and find her designs to be fresh and well-executed. She's a very very close second. Teva Durham intrigues me, and I love her free thinking, though sometimes her pieces are a little chunky for my taste - still it's a very haute couture styling. I think the Rowan team does a great job, too, and I'm excited to see some of their newer designers like Leah Sutton step out into the limelight now that there's more space.

The knit item you wear the most? Lately, I've worn my own designs a lot, which is a really great feeling. However, my current favorite is a design that won't be published until May 2006, so I can't share it here. Of the commercial patterns that I've made, Audrey is still a favorite, and gets a lot of play as soon as it's cool enough to justify putting it on. The thing I like best about Audrey is that liking it so much was a bit of a surprise - I got swept up in the knit-along and wasn't really sure I'd get much wear out of such a feminine sweater. As it turns out, I do. And I love it!

Who's next? Since they're my favorites, how about Mason Dixon Ann and Kay? Normally I wouldn't pass on a meme, but a knitting meme? Well, that's different!

Where I've been

Things have been hectic here in MindofWinter world, so as a little treat and retreat, Moxie and I decided to head back to the Lake House for the week and enjoy some quality R&R and much-needed together time. Much knitting was accomplished. I was able to polish off the second of Bob Marley's Grandma's Footies in the car on the way up, and came close to polishing off my book submissions during the week. When those are done I should be able to return to my former blogging schedule. If you check out the sidebar you'll see that much knitting has been done, though little could be shared.

Once the book stuff is off my plate I'll write up the footie pattern. It's easy and fun. I can't get enough of the koigu footwear. It's cute, and perfect for lounging:

Depending on who you are at heart, either the background or foreground of this picture will peak your interest.

As much as I love knitting, I have to admit that the background has my heart, so here's another view of the dock, taken last fall when we were at the lake.

Here's another shot from the fall, to give you an idea of the bigger picture.

In my mind, Lake George is rivalled only by the most splendid of landscapes, such as our lovely Margene can claim. As soon as my world stops spinning, I'll have to gather my LG pics into an album for everyone. There's nothing I love more than seeing the wonderful places you knitters live and go, so one of my future goals is to share more of the beautiful places I've been with all of you.

Also, for those who might be wondering (::cough:: Marnie::cough::) we are also the crazy kind of people who are afflicted with the need to take our animals everywhere with us, so Moxie and I weren't the only ones who enjoyed the beauty and wonders of the lake. Here's a shot of Townie and Caia on the dock:

We brought Tuna as well, but she is more suited to the pleasures of the couch...

Believe it or not, Caia is "fishing". One of the many unique things that our sweet Caia does is spend hours on end staring into the still water at the striped bass that live beneath the dock. When one comes close, she growls menacingly, though I doubt that the bass notice this. Since the lake is still in the early morning, it is a ritual of ours to spend at least the first hour of every day on the dock watching Caia as she watches the fish. Townie does it as well, though I don't think he actually recognizes the bass for what it is. His philosophy on such things is that if Caia is involved, he'll be there participating, whether he really gets what he's participating in or not. He's an odd little cat, but nothing if not loyal. Since we're speaking of the Townie, here's another picture of the little boy:

Be vawy vawy qwiet... I'm hunting dwagonflies...."

I'll post more soon - I just wanted to let you all know that I was thinking of you and to share a bit of the joy that is a lake vacation. xox

One and Three-Quarters Sock Wisdom

Now that I'm three-fourths of the way through my second sock, I'm ready to share the wisdom that I've gained during this process. I must warn you in advance, that since I am a big fat geek in all things in life, and knitting in particular, I did a little bit of homework prior to starting my sockapalooza sock.

[If you're curious, the books are: Folk Socks and Knitting On The Road by Nancy Bush and Simple Socks, Plain and Fancy and Ethnic Socks and Stockings by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts. Armed with these four volumes of sockish knowledge, I doubt I'll ever need another book on knitted footwear again.]

Just to prove that I am three-quarters through my second sock, I offer you this evidence:

Here's the "Three Quarters Wisdom":

1. Your clenched fist has the same circumference as the ball of your foot. [I learned this from either Nancy or Priscilla - Priscilla, I think.] The natural outcome of gaining this knowledge was the urge to test it. I used the punch test to evalute the fit on both Crusoe (for me) and the Little Shell Socks (for my sock pal). If the sock is snug, but you can get your fist into it without issues, it fits. If you're making a sock for a slightly bigger person, you simply put your fist in and open it a crack. Brilliant.

2. If you use a different guage than the one called for in the pattern, you can determine how many heel rows to do by folding over the heel flap to determine whether it is square or not, like this. (The one in the picture is square - you can tell because it folds to meet the edges of the other half of the flap exactly.) Remember that you will have to adjust the number of picked-up sts along the gusset and that you will need to reduce those sts back down to the original number as well.

3. The skp decrease on the heel in the Little Shell Socks looks like poo. I used k2tog instead. The lesson for people not knitting this sock? Just remember there are many decrease methods out there. You don't have to allow yourself to get stuck with an icky one.

4. Picking up sts a whole st in rather than half a st in on the gusset really does make a difference. Going in only half a st leaves an ugly hole.

5. Yellow is a color that many people have a strong reaction to!

For Those Wacky Animal Lovers:

Nounie believes he is a dog and therefore sleeps where Caia sleeps...

Scarves, Scarves, Scarves...

This is a title you will rarely see on my blog, because, as I've said before, how many scarves does a girl need?

Apparently, three. This one was a recent birthday gift from my friend Jen, who just started her own, very cute blog, Postcards from Cleveland:

How did that librarian find her way into my bathroom?*

You may remember Jen's work from earlier posts of mine, notably, Postcard from Cleveland. It's a cute name, isn't it? I taught Jen to knit many years ago, and she has been churning out beautiful knitted objects from the start. This is the first that I've seen of her lace, however, and it's lovely. It's the perfect little scarflette for around my office, where the temperature seems to be set to "deep freeze". I wear it daily. Think it's strange that the knitted object in my wardrobe that gets the most play is not made by me? Not really. Knitting is like cooking - I love doing it and think my own is superb, but there's really nothing like a taste of someone else's. The second most worn FO in my wardrobe are my friend Mary's "freshly baked" socks.**

BTW, Jen's scarf is knit with less than a skein of Rowan kidsilk haze, pattern from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts - since I know someone will ask!

Scarf number two, also from Last Minute Knitted Gifts is my own recently completed Chevron Scarf. [click here for pattern notes]. The pictures Moxie took of me modeling in LA didn't really do it justice - the sun was just too bright and beautiful that day. Here's a better shot of the scarf, in the style that I'd actually wear it:

And here it is in its natural habitat, in the park with Caia:

Alright, so you can't actually see the scarf in the Caia shot, but Caia sure is cute, right?

And, of course, I'm still wearing my old standby, the original cabled scarf, made so many years ago.

*And does anyone have any idea how to stack two small pictures next to one larger on in Movable Type? This was the closest I could get!

**Second only because I don't take them to work. I have "home" and "away" socks - the special ones are used for sessions in my knitting chair at home.

Maniacal Harlot Poncho

Modeled on "Long Island" in Lake George with my beloved girl Caia

Maniacal Harlot Poncho, Yarn Harlot Free Pattern,
designed by Stephanie Pearl McPhee
Knit with 7 skeins (120 yards/skein) of Berroco Suede (100% Nylon) in Zorro! (Black - 3729) on Clover bamboo circulars in size US 10 (6.0 mm), 24" and 32" and Addi Turbo brass-plated circulars in size US8 (5.0 mm), 16", at a guage of 4 sts per inch.

Pattern Notes:
This fun little knit is available for free on the Yarn Harlot's site. If you haven't come across it yet, you must live under a rock! Nonetheless, here's the link.

My poncho is a little different from the original - different yarn, different guage, and slightly different neckline. If you want to do the poncho in Suede, or another yarn that gets the same guage, cast on 100 stitches and follow the Harlot's pattern for 92 rows. For the neckline, I simply picked up and knit 100 stitches on needles two sizes smaller than those used for the body and used paired decreases with a knit stitch in between them at the front and back V's. Voila! This would have been a very simple and quick project if I hadn't taken a little detour. I had fun anyway. I was on vacation and had plenty of time to experiment. But for this detour, I was going to dub it the traveling harlot poncho - it was knit in 8 states - California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, New York and Vermont. I'm pretty sure that's a record for me. I've crossed the country five times, but I've always driven, so it takes effort to wrack up the knitting states. On this trip, I made use of lunch breaks. In the end, the poncho became maniacal, despite the traveling, for obvious reasons.

The Harlot Poncho is a great pattern. Easy, fun, flowing. Maniacal is optional. I wear the poncho a lot. In Suede, it's more of a fall/spring piece than a winter one, but the slinkiness of the suede transcends the season. On hot days in Lake George (hard to believe those were 6 weeks ago), I wore it as a cover-up on the boat, and I'm guessing if I put a hardy enough sweater on under it, I can take it into most of the winter. It models particuarly well in an enchanted forest on a magical lake island. It's also an excellent housecoat. Not, perhaps, the most attractive thing in the world - sweats, bunny slippers, hair in a bun, glasses, and poncho - but ooooh! comfy! My own traveling fort. Who says I can't camp in my living room?

Impressions of Berroco Suede:
Love it! (I feel like I'm saying this a lot lately. Do I choose well or do I just frog it if the yarn isn't smokin'?) If my desert island needs a nylon yarn, this is it. Springy, squooshy, fun to use. If you are looking for a soft yarn with loft and stretchiness, look no further. Light and luscious describes Suede perfectly. To get a very suedey effect, one of the other heathery colors is a better bet, but I liked the black just fine. That's the other great thing about this yarn. The colors have wonderful names. Black is Zorro! Blue is Wrangler! Green is Maverick! Get me my boots!

Possible substitute yarns:
GGH makes a suede called "Velour". 100% nylon, also. The yardage is substantially less (around 60 yards, I think) and the yarn isn't as squooshy. It should work just fine as a substitute, but for most things I'd prefer the Berroco. (I say this despite never having worked with the Velour, it's merely a gut reaction.) Try the Velour if you want a finer knit.

Tips for Others Making the Harlot Poncho:
There's not too much to say in the way of tips as this should be a pretty fool-proof pattern. (It is not maniac proof!) Check out Stephanie's extra help post if you're confused by the yarnovers. Avoid seams, steeks and inserts at all costs! Have fun.

More cool photos...

On the boat...

In the forest with the Pup and the Kiddo...(the sister-in-law's kiddo)

Test Drive!

Now to add some content and personalize....
This is going to be FUN!
P.S. Mom didn't pose us. Townie has been raised by Caia since he was a little pup (er, kittten, but don't tell him) and is completely in love. They sleep in the same bed every night...