Knits for an Italian Honeymoon

Well, a pregnant Italian honeymoon. If you've known me since the early days of blogging, you know that our honeymoon was supposed to happen four years ago in Italy. Time and money have gotten in the way, but as soon as I got knocked up I was determined to go to Italy this spring, even if it meant waddling through Rome! Happily, I am not nearly as large as I envisioned at this point, so if the kid can manage not to balloon me out for another month, it should be a pretty easy trip, pregnancy-wise. In preparation for the trip I've been going through my closet to find things that fit with room to spare, because I have a feeling that all that wonderful Italian food will aid in the expansion campaign. Happily, I have much more than I thought because, wonderful things that they are, knits stretch! I'm so glad I tried things on rather than assuming I didn't have anything. The shopping can be confined to Italian shopping - the best kind.

Knits In Action!
Top to Bottom, Left to Right: River, Birch, After Dark Nightie, Pia (top) & Daktari (skirt), Japanese Motif Skirt (Marnie), Nautical, Deciduous (Marnie), After Dark Nightie ('cause it shows off the bump)

Now I realize that it's no big shocker that the shawls fit, but it is nice to have them to accessorize the cute little empire waist dresses that have over-run my closet. (This one is from J-Crew, and may technically be a beach cover-up. Ask me if I care.) I have a little snippet of lingerie that I've been stuffing myself into, but it's short, so the belly makes it looks ever more ridiculous. The after dark nightie is much more forgiving. The skirts were a bit of a surprise. Marnie lent me the Japanese motif skirt when I visited her in March, and lamented the 40 inch waistline - how fortuitous was that? Fabulous and tons of room. The Daktari skirt still has a lot of play, too. The tops were probably the biggest surprise. Pia is still a little big on me without a blouse underneath it - a testament to how off the sizing was in the first place - and nautical fits perfectly with the aid of that fabulous invention, the yoga skirt. (Seriously back-ordered, but worth the wait if it appeals to you. I have two!) Deciduous is probably pushing it, but with a bella band I could probably manage that, too. Absolutely nothing I'm wearing is maternity. (And I'm showing more than in these pictures - my waist is 7" greater in circumference than it was when this all started.) Between yoga-wear and those adorable waistless dresses everyone is wearing, I've only gone to maternity for things like jeans and shorts. Normally I can't get anywhere near one of those empire waist dresses that pouf out below the bust because they make me look pregnant. Now that I am pregnant, they rock. Comfy, too.

The next time you see these knits of yesteryear they'll be in front of Italian architecture. Yay!

Everything's Coming Up Pansies

Well, not everything, but the crochet sure is. I spent a recent weekend in Portland with Marnie, and naturally was once again inspired to crochet. Ms. Marnie is one kick-ass crocheter. It was a fun, whorlwind of a time, as our weekend crafting visits always are, with plenty of things to be inspired by: the excellent Japanese bookstore, a new bright red motorcycle for Leo, and a great trek out to Abundant Yarn for Larissa's debut of Knitalong, her very first book.

To me they look like little pansy balloons, flying away..."

I'm really not sure where to start. Abundant Yarn is just that - abundant! It's an amazing store, and definitely tops my list of all-time favorite LYS's. The selection is fabulous with tons of yarn in each colorway, and the aisles go on forever. Abundant Yarn dyes its own line of yarns which are especially pretty, and they carry many of my favorite lines of yarn along with some lines that were previously unknown to me (or at least untouched!). They also have a lovely cafe and seating area, so it is a very easy place to gather and knit, or gather and watch a friend debut her book! The store catered the event (quite nicely and also abundantly) and there was a huge turnout. I haven't read Knitalong cover to cover yet, but what I have read I have really enjoyed. It's a book that has a great deal of written substance in addition to cute patterns (many by Larissa, like the fast and famous Meathead, and several by Adrian Bizilla - who wouldn't be drawn by that?). For me the writing is what is so great about it. It is definitely a book for our community and our knitting "generation" (and by that I mean the internet knitting generation of the 2000's, including knitters from all age groups). It memorializes our time in a wonderful way, and I am really looking forward to immersing myself in it. It's always great to see Larissa. We didn't try to monopolize her this time around, since she had so many other guests to attend to, but we did catch our first glimpses of Sebastian darting through the yarn in his handknit hat. What a cutie.

Other than that, the weekend was very quick and spent predominantly on the sofa in front of one of Leo's legendary fires, crafting away. I utilized every spare moment of my Marnie time to get versed in the language of crochet charts (I love charts - the universal language!), and produced a pansy and a cute little chain. I think that except for when I encounter the occasional exceptionally difficult manuever I should be alright crocheting solo for a bit. My plan is to make many of these little pansy motifs and string them together in a blanket-like fashion to make a binky for the baby. Nothing very big, as I would surely go mad from over-pansying, just something to hold on to, drag around and enjoy. I love the brightness of the cornflower and lavender colors, but to give the blanket a little sophistication I added in several duller shades as well. The dulls seem to help ground everything, but the brights sure are fun to play with.

Postcard for Marnie

Dear Marnie,

We just wanted to let you know that we miss you! We did much knitting and spinning in your honor, from 2 p.m. to 12 a.m. (!!!) yesterday. Much sugar, and some healthful foods, were also consumed on your behalf. Here are some of the highlights, top to bottom, left to right: Andrea shows off her recently completed Icarus shawl; MH chills with MJ's gnome; Nonnahs gracefully models one of my Christmas berets; Francesca shows everyone how it's really done on a spindle; Lori and MJ try to sort out Lori's handspun for Andean plying; Nonnahs and Andrea discuss the finer points of Icaurs' lace border; Lori enjoys one of Nonnahs' homemade cupcakes with buttercream frosting; MH checks under the gnome's beard to see what's on offer!

Not pictured are Kat (who I only photographed holding knitting for publication!) and myself. We also took a few group shots, but those are on my Contax, so we have to wait a few days to get the film developed. We can't wait to see you! Get here soon!

Love, Us

Crater Lake

It's hard to believe that Crater Lake is so far behind us now. It seems like a lifetime and yet only a day. I had a hard time deciding which pictures to post, since there are so many I like, so I opted for a lot. Eventually, I will put up a gallery, so that I don't have to choose. The last thing I'll say, is that we were in Crater Lake at the time that Episode 34 of Cast-on aired, which was significant to me. In that episode, Jennie Spotila spoke about her knitting, her disability, and her remembrance of Crater Lake with such eloquence and poignancy that I will never forget it. For me, it crystallized a beautiful day in my life and made it so much more. Thank you, Jennie. If it is possible to enjoy such things vicariously, I dedicate these pictures, and the spirit of our happy day to you. I am so glad that you saw Crater Lake when you could.

Jennie's essay is also posted here, but you should listen to it if you can as well.

No one's angels

Dignity? What's that? In our defense, these photos were staged after we realized that we had lost about 5 hours of driving time and would be arriving in the Redwoods at midnight. We had already thrown sanity and dignity to the wind.

This started as an homage to Franklin, since I enjoyed his little foray into the heavens so much:

Marnie may be sexing up Charlie, but I am clearly the killer here.

But it rapidly devolved into an homage to Dolores:

We tried to make the roving look like weapons. No, really.

I can't decide if we're missing three gay men or a sheep. Franklin, perhaps you could ask Dolores if we could pencil her in? Seriously! It would be the best road trip souvenir ever.

Mata Hari Socks: Pattern Notes

Well, I'm back from Portland. Sigh. I suppose it should be nice to be able to walk through the guest room without stepping over swatches and pattern books, but honestly it feels a little empty without my other knitting half. Marnie was safely delivered to Portland rather late on Sunday night, and then she, Leo and I spent a lovely day there before I had to catch my flight back to LA yesterday. Their new place is great, and I'm sure the only reason that Miss Marnie hasn't already posted a grand overview of our trip is because she is steadily unpacking dishes, putting up new shelves, and making runs to places like Trader Joe's. So as not to steal our collective roadtrip thunder, I'm just going to share some pictures from the Redwoods portion of our journey, where we did the Mata Hari Sock photoshoot. I'll leave it to Marnie to post a few more highlights soon, including a huge case of blue balls - more on that later...

The Mata Hari socks warming up my tootsies in the leaf litter beneath the Redwoods.

Mata Hari Socks
Designed by Craftaholic Steph,
Knit with less than two skeins (170 yards/skein) of Koigu KPPPM (100% washable Merino) in color P850 (bright blue monochromatic variegate) on size US2 Clover Bamboo DPNs.
Gauge: 14 sts per 2 inches.
Size: to fit 8" circumference at ball of foot, 9" foot length snugly.

The Setting:
Redwoods near Stout Grove in Northern California.

Stiking a pose.The Pattern
This is a free sock pattern, conveyed in an elegantly simple format by Craftaholic Steph. The pattern gives information on the stitch pattern, but does not tell you how to make a sock. If you have never made socks before, try a basic sock pattern or two and then add in the Mata Hari pattern when you understand how to create the structure. I used my standard sock formula, included in my BMG's footies pattern, and extended the sock to 7" at the cuff, which for me was 18 pattern repeats.

Techniques:
Nothing new here, but I thoroughly enjoyed the yos!

Modifications: I used my standard sock formula, since the pattern does not specify the type of sock to make. I usually do this, even if the pattern does specify the sock and not just the stitch pattern. I modified the swirls of yarnovers so that the socks mirror each other by employing a yo ssk, instead of a k2tog yo, on the second sock, and running the motif in the opposite direction. You can figure it out if you play around with it. I won't write it out here, as these are Steph's socks, and I don't want to step on her toes. Pun intended.

Eyelets!Personally, I don't need to have socks mirror one another, and would have been just fine with the originals, but after listening to Marnie and Mary Heather go on about their obsession with sock symmetry, I decided to make my Mata Haris mirrored, since those two are likely to spend a lot of time looking at them. You have to have a little compassion for the irretrievably obsessive compulsive knitters in your life. I should have probably highlighted this feature in a photo, but I think you can get the idea on the toe shot.

Finishing:
Wet-blocked in tepid water, using lavendar eucalan - my woolwash of choice. Spun briefly in the washer to remove excess water. The colors did not run even the littlest bit, despite their vibrancy. Nice job, koigu!

Heel detail.Impressions of Koigu KPPPM:
I have used Koigu KPPPM for socks many a time. Since you already know how I feel about it (or can go back to those links to find out), I'll just say a few words about how it holds up here. I have washed my KPPPM socks in the machine on a regular setting with all my other colored clothes for over a year now, and they have held up reasonably well. I think that machine washing (& drying!) is completely fine for a pair of BMG's Footies if you make them. They will tighten up in the process, which is not a bad thing after being stetched out by your foot, and they will accumulate a bit of a halo, as some minimal felting does occur. If you want to keep yours pristine, hand wash them. My Crusoes have not faired quite so well, mostly because the lovely stranding technique they employ leaves the yarn more exposed to the washing process. They are still great socks, and I continue to machine wash them, but they do appear worn. If you knit the Crusoe pattern, I'd suggest hand-washing. I intend to hand wash my Mata Haris and future fancy socks, though I will continue to launder my less fancy, more durable footies. As an aside, I think it's possible that the socks would appear less worn if turned inside out prior to washing, but I haven't tried this. If you have, let me know how it went in the comments!

Possible substitute yarns:
Cherry Tree Hill Supersock is an excellent substitute. It's basically the same thing, comes in huge hanks and has great colors. I used it when knitting the Old Rose Stockings for Katrina relief last fall and really enjoyed it. I don't prefer one of these yarns over the other, but instead knit whichever colorway entices me first.

Gratuitous Behind the Scenes Photo:
Ever concerned about my popularity ratings, Marnie determined to take a few shots detailing the sock photography process - lest I be outdone by some other January baby. Since she thought I looked vaguely like someone practicing yoga, Marnie charged me to come up with a name for my pose:

Witness "Downward facing Dork."

Shirley Spins (and so does Julia)

I had an absolutely fiber-filled weekend, which included Friday night dinner and maniacal Griffith-finishing with Mary Heather, a full day of "work" at the Knit Cafe, and then a Sunday of spinning with Marnie. Marnie is an excellent instructor. Here she is teaching Shirley, my foster kitty, how to make magic with a drop spindle:

Shirley is a fast learner. Notice how she perfectly mimics Marnie's technique.

I have to warn you up front that there are no pictures of me spinning, because I was so taken with Shirley that I had to drop everything and take an entire series of her first spinning attempts. Here's another cute one:

Notice the funny position of the back paw. She's so intent that comfort goes to the wayside. This is what spinning does to you.

And, at Marnie's request, here's a close-up of Shirley from the same shot:

When she saw this one, Marnie's first response was "Oh look, I think her eyes were even a little crossed!" Spinning is dangerously mesmerizing.

In between doting on Shirley and clicking away with the camera, I did manage to learn to spin, and I actually found it to be really fun. I wasn't frustrated at all, which I attribute to the fact that I was using a kick ass spindle. This is not to say that I didn't experience the usual beginner pitfalls. I put too much spin in the yarn, let the twist hit the drafting zone, and ended up with my very own "handspun":

See Amy even new wool spinners can create "cat barf"!

I just had a heck of a time doing it. One more round with the brown batt and I'm moving on to the chocolate covered cherries bfl. Look out world!

And a good time was had by all

When I was contemplating the photoshoot for Clementine, I had the wacky idea that I should try something a little Rebecca-esque and fun. So I recruited Marnie and we set out for the beach:

Wir sind deutsche M�dchen! Wir sind so gl�cklich!* We are German girls! We are so happy!

Passen Sie auf! Ich werde Sie erhalten! Watch out! I'm going to get you!

Nein wirklich! Ich bin!! No really! I am!!!

Das Monstermash!!!

M�dchen mit gro�en Kolben machen die schaukelnde Weltdrehung! Fat bottomed girls they make the rocking world go round!

The wonderful thing about LA is that not only are there a gazillion wonderful places to do such a photoshoot, and superb weather to do it in, but in addition, no one pays any attention when you don a wool sweater in 80 degree weather, roll your hair up in donuts and dance maniacally in front of a camera on self-timer. Everyone assumes that you are just another indie film-maker. Fabulous!

We took full advantage of this bizarre anonymity.

We swapped clothes. And boogied down. (Auf Deutsch: Boogied hinunter)

Took action shots. Das hair toss!

Some of us even managed to look pretty.

I got the shot I wanted for my Clementine release.

And then we skipped off into the sunset.

*Translations by FreeTranslation.com. Brilliant idea to mock Rebecca by using kitschy German subtitles by Mary Heather.

I think I'll let Marnie Explain....

Give her some time - it's a long story.

How to have a wonderful Sunday

Awaken early, and make yourself a nice cup of tea.

Trader Joe's Lady Grey doctored with milk and honey

Lounge in bed while weaving in

a hundred ends.

Maniacally pin together all the pieces of your sweater and then set up the tripod so that you can photograph yourself in your jammies before it gets so stinking hot that putting merino next to your skin for even a second would be too much:

I am, I am Superman. And I can do anything!

Spend the heat of the afternoon time in the shade of the back patio, haphazardly seaming away with friends and margaritas:

The haphazard seaming has something to do with the margaritas, I'm sure.

Do the *real* seaming after MH and Marnie leave, aspirin has kicked in and the buzz has subsided!

Quick, get me a neckline!

A little friendly beach knitting....

I'm still not connected at home, but luckily I've been meeting up with plenty of other great folks, who aren't shy about taking pictures and are willing to send them to me!

If you want to read more about our beachy fun, go visit Marnie later this week. For all the sweet people who have commented and stopped by to say hello - thank you - it's very nice to feel missed. Hopefully, I'll see you soon!