maggistitches

2003-12-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

Moving Day!

After eight months with Blogger and Blogspot,

maggistitches has moved to Typepad:

Click HERE,

and please don't forget to change your links. See you there!

2003-12-04T14:48:00.000-05:00

December S&B

Did the weird group in the CD changer (Bjork, both Elvises, Erin McKeown, and Lizzi's Fall 2002 QuizMix) somehow keep attendance to a minimum Tuedsay night? I just wasn't ready to load the holiday tunes, but I'd hoped the jiffy log in the fireplace would conteract all possible bad juju. Nevertheless, we four (plus the wee one) had a grand time, welcoming newcomer Colleen ( a textile queen from way back).

That's she on the right, stitching some mother-made quilt panels onto pillow shams. Kim's on the left, showing off one of several new scarves she brought along. She also brought the news that the ART 180 scarf acution has raised over $5,000 -- and a couple of bottles of wine in thanks for my help. Thank YOU, Kim! Don't miss Caroline in the distance, going for more cheese and crackers.

In addition to neckwear, Kim had a felting project to show and tell: What began as a bag-to-be has morphed into a hat now that we convinced her it shouldn't be consigned to life as a flowerpot! And Michelle, in a hand-knit sweater, was working on a second crocheted teddy bear, while the first waited at her feet.

I finished the scarf with the rest of the Wool-Ease, to gift in tandem with one of the tasselled hats. It's all stockinette, and I thought the Bernat Boa I crocheted on the edges would help with its rolling. I based the striping pattern on the Fibonacci sequence, which I think dear Greta mentioned at some point, and was then quoted by Bonne Marie. I made it to 34 (my ever-favorite numeral between 1 and 100, for so long that I can't remember why; I love that it's one in this sequence; I was 34 for three years myself) before the purple ran out, and so kept going with the blue till it did the same. Since I still had plenty of Boa, I crocheted across the line where the stripes met, on both sides, hiding the telltale garter bit that makes that feel like the wrong side, and somewhat eliminating the tendency to roll.

Speaking of rolling, I'm about to roll on over to Typepad! With a beautiful banner designed by Mary, the new maggistitches will debut tomorrow -- exactly eight months after my first blog post ever. Look for that post late in the day, after the girl's asleep.

2003-12-01T13:17:00.000-05:00

Holiday Productivity

Things began auspiciously, as I completed a scarf in the car before we reached my parents' house. I toted two gift items in need of felting so that my mom could see the before and after first-hand, which was fun for the whole family (OK, fun loosely defined here, by the knitter). Hats-in-progress flew off the needles: my baby's Bucket O'Chic, and the two-tassel topper from Hip to Knit in sizes small and smaller. I finished a matching scarf to make one set on the way home.

Every time someone stopped by for a visit, Mom insisted I show off all of these works, plus my felted daypack and the Suki holding them all. The best thing about the weekend, though, was taking Mom to her LYS (which she'd never visited) and helping her select some fun scarf yarn to draw her back into our knitters ranks. Her desire for her own Bucket O'Chic prompted the visit, and then she couldn't resist -- I knew the yarns would speak to her! When we got home, she knew right where to find her old (and odd) stash of needles, and a tapestry bag I'd given her years ago became the perfect knitting tote. I predict she'll be on to more exciting projects in no time!

2003-11-26T15:31:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Bounty

My friend Rose dropped by on the weekend with the unfortunate news that she's grown entirely allergic to wool (and all yarns of animal origin). This, from a woman whose diverse career path from nurse to poet/teacher included a lengthy stint making knitted goods! After our visit, I sent her away with a few skeins of acrylic I've been storing for another pal who's donating them to a charitable-knitting group -- and she left me with this:

See anything you like? Molly took a bunch of the reds after our seaming adventure, and Kim's expressed interest in the tweedy blue & brown stacked together. A cone in a favorite color is shipping out to the left coast. I've got dibs on the purple laceweight and the fuzzy green at the left, but the rest is up for grabs. Maybe I should use some of that natural stuff to lose my dyeing virginity like Kerstin?

Off to the parents' tomorrow; safe travels and happy turkey time to all!

Speaking of silly animals, here are a couple having one of the big times of their thus-far short lives yesterday . . .

2003-11-24T22:05:00.000-05:00

Stitching for Salvation

How's that for a lofty title? But I did yesterday help friend Molly save her Biggy Print shell from being frogged and reknit or living out its days in closet recesses. We thought it might be of interest to document here on the blog the process that resulted in this little bag o'leftovers.

Molly loved knitting this sweater, and she was on gauge with the Rowan pattern and yarn, knitting under supervision, even. Her advice on this side of the experience is Beware Rowan's sizing, because her finished sweater was too big. What to do? She SO did not want to rip and reknit. Her teacher suggested finding a sewing machine, reseaming the sides, and trimming the excess. This is where I came in.

I advised Molly to baste the seam before she came over. Her advisor suggested couching the machine stitching in tissue paper to keep the feed dogs from eating it. Lucky for Molly, I spoke that lingo and had the paper handy. Here's the excess that's seamed off between the sheets, and here's the sweater inside-out, on its way to fitting better. I stood by and let her do the honors of actually cutting that luscious stuff, reminding her that she might have a length or two in the original seams, and suggesting she felt the leftovers, maybe into some sort of a toy. She clipped away, and we left the basement for daylight to take the victory shot:

2003-11-22T15:13:00.000-05:00

My first design

I've just finished a Christmas gift for one of my best babes. Sarah wanted a warm, blue hat with a pompom, and OK'd the yarn (Classic Elite Wings, an alpaca/silk/wool blend) two weeks ago. While I consulted Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, I didn't want this hat to be that simple [read: boring to knit], and I didn't love how her basic hat gathered at the top. So I crunched some numbers and took off, and here's what I have to show for it:

You'll see it's a bit large for Caroline, but she was my most handy model. I'll admit that once I got past the body rounds, my first go at decreasing produced too small a hat. But I'm pleased with how the final decreases look beneath the pompom. Knit & learn, right? Would anyone like to have the pattern?

This was the first pompom I've made in recent memory, and I'm grateful for the pictures in the big Vogue book, as Budd's had only a description I couldn't quite visualize. I took a few step-by-step shots myself, excepting the one key move where I'd have needed a third hand (at least) to shoot. If you read the pattern linked above, you'll find the words these images illustrate, such as cardboard circles and wrap the doughnut.

I have one more (purple) skein of this soft & light yarn, so there may be a striped variation of the pattern in the future. I don't think I got even a third of the way into the second skein of the blue, so I've got the yarn. But more gifts must first finish -- let's see how many I can complete this weekend!

2003-11-18T14:23:00.000-05:00

I'm seriously into gift knitting now, with Christmas but six weeks away. The tally Alison is keeping over at the blue blog helps to motivate me, although, upon second counting, I think 3 of 10 should be more like 4 of 13.

But this captivating blog world can always draw me into starting something else: so now on the needles is a Bucket O'Chic, another great Bonne Marie design, to go with Caroline's poncho. I corresponded with the great Ms. Burns when she expanded the patterns sizes, and she was glad to hear I'd be trying one of the smaller versions. Of course, it's also a quicker knit than one for myself -- and one I can complete within the timeframe of Becky's Bucket-Along!

I also started one more scarf over the weekend, this one of a yarn called Pom Pom which is rather a bitch to knit, especially since I decided to do a drop-stitch design. I'm intrigued that this is now the fourth gift scarf with a primary color of green; I've definitely been into green of late, but why am I giving it all away?

Progress pix next time -- the blue hat for Sarah is coming along nicely!

2003-11-16T14:15:00.000-05:00

The Event Itself

Astra Design Gallery was packed with people last night -- and with scarves. I'd call the ART 180 benefit scarf auction and sale a roaring success (despite my lack of data to back that up).

Scarves everywhere, of all shapes, sizes, materials and hues. I needed nearly an hour to examine them all (at a leisurely pace, to be sure, with the wee one at my side). Caroline tried on a number of the extra-fuzzy ones, but her attention was particularly drawn to a scarf with alphabet beads worked into the garter stiches. When we arrived, two of mine had sold already, and I got to talk to the gal who bought the pink ribbon one. Were I not a knitter, many more might have come home with me; instead, several ideas filled my head, and this scarf, made by a cool chick named Alex whom I know and admire, wrapped my neck. I loved its freeform nature, so chose it over my chenille buttonhole one.

The silent auction included some of the most intriguing of the scarves, along with some non-scarf items. I came away with a cute panda-head hat for Caroline, and a collage by artist Joni Ulman-Lewis. Perhaps the most bid-upon item was this bit o'knit, by artist Karen Kincaid, who also contributed work of more conventional materials. I loved this piece, but I have no open spaces for sculpture in my art-filled home. (I don't know where the collage will hang, either.) Isn't it marvelous?

2003-11-14T22:54:00.000-05:00

Touching Down in Texas

Earlier in the week I completed the fourth Koigu bootie and got the two pairs in the mail to their twin recipients. While the booties look to be sized slightly differently in this photo, I believe that's just a matter of angle (and Kleenex stuffing). As mentioned previously, the pattern comes from the Falick/Nicholas book, Knitting for Baby. I crocheted the ties rather than doing i-cord in hopes of being able to get a Caroline-sized pair from a skein's remainder. Another knit-blogger (now I don't remember who) mentioned amending the pattern slightly, and I think that I too would knit a couple fewer garter rounds in the shoe part of the bootie if I made these again. But the Texas twins are already four months old, so maybe the extra space will help these to fit, for a few weeks at least!

The KPPPM colors are 136 (brights) & 435 (blues), I've just relearned after check the Threadbears' website since I'd mixed up the ball bands in the box with the other KPPPM skeins I got from them. I started some Fuzzy Feet immediately after finishing the last bootie, and man, what a contrast between US3 and US10.5 DPNs!

2003-11-13T11:22:00.000-05:00

Two more days

The ART 180 scarf auction is Saturday. I love this photograph by Jay Paul, a version of which ran in Richmond Magazine to publicize the event -- and not just because I knit most of the scarves pictured! At the time it was shot, not many contribution scarves had come in, so I let Kim borrow a few from my closet and my Christmas-gift basket. Although the chenille one in the center left my house on loan, after the shoot I decided to donate it to the auction as well. Despite loving Bonne Marie's free Buttonhole Chic pattern, the color wasn't strong in my wardrobe. Now that I have new claret Mary Janes, however, I rather want it back!

I'll post pix after the event -- we're planning to get there early so we don't miss seeing any before they walk out with their new owners. Fellow knitblogger Maureen's will be among them -- thanks again -- as I retrieved it over the weekend (and was bummed she was off giving a spinning demo, so we didn't get to meet).

2003-11-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

A week late

Yes, I hosted the monthly S&B on November's first Tuesday, and I think our attendance totaled 10. Me, I was mostly occupied with attaching tassels to the bookmarks that we placed at each seat at Friday's awards gala. (Thanks for your help, Pam.) Let me offer a quick highlight recap of what others were working on (or showing off):

Heather brought these three scarves to hand off to Kim for the ART 180 scarf auction coming up on Saturday 11/15, and shared as well a glimpse of the yummy Rockstar she made for herself, along with another gift scarf in the works. She used my ball winder to ready some more Koigu for another Rocker, too.

Alice and Leslie were also knitting scarves:

while Michelle worked on a sweater knit in two strands and Molly made progress on a couple of bags to be felted.

We were glad to witness the return of Tamra, an innovator who'd turned Ann Norling's fruit cap pattern upside down. Add a sprinkle of French knots and, voila, watermelon!

2003-11-10T22:32:00.000-05:00

London Calling

Meet Tim, my personal courier from the Kingdom. United Kingdom, of course. Called me on the cell from the Rowan department within whatever stockist was closest, asking if there was anything else I wanted him to bring over to our weekend rendezvous. Balked when I told him I'd need seven skeins of that bulky yarn to make the poncho he was bringing the pattern for. Did not request reimbursement. I'll find a suitable substitute for the Plaid when I get around to knitting for myself again, on the other side of holiday madness.

Ah, but there's no substitute for my Timbuck, so I'll drive through exhaustion for time with this honey, appreciate his kindness in toting printed matter across the Atlantic, and call one of the best football victories I've ever witnessed the icing on the cake that was a perfect autumn Saturday.

Caroline kept calling it the "foot game" and telling me to eat the "pocorns" one at a time! She totally crashed as we were watching the students tear down the goal post. One in our party had the contact to call and resolve our curiosity over the replacement cost: $3,000, shipped in four pieces. And, for any enquiring minds, this Carolina cutie is happily partnered, sharing the London flat with his own Tennessee titan.

2003-11-09T23:06:00.000-05:00

Preaching to the choir

Hello! I have a backlog of posts, but I offer just this image tonight, this and its reverse. I don't mean to inundate the blog with pix of the wee one, but I've just come through the annual killer week for my entire workplace, and I need one more night of sleep before I'm back to some semblance of normalcy. I've barely read any other blogs for a week, not to mention my email at work or home, so I've some catching up to do, and I'm looking forward to reconnecting.

The hellish workweek was capped by a fabulous weekend, with a dozen waking hours in the company of my best friend, nine with a beloved who lives across the pond, and five with my newest -- who presented my family with another handknit creation (modeled not by its intended recipient).

Bootie count: (knitting, we're talking about knitting . . . ) Three Koigu creations for the Texas twins complete. Photo when I've got four.

2003-11-03T23:35:00.000-05:00

And another scarf

I bought one skein of Rowan Magpie aran from the LYS's sale basket in late summer, figuring it could become one of the ART 180 scarves. But after I'd contributed seven -- and recruited other participants, like Maureen (hooray for the longest one!) -- I decided this one needed to become a Christmas gift.

I used Bonne Marie's pattern, New Wave Scarf, but I decided to tweak it with some garter rows. Here's a fuzzy close-up of the fabric. I wet-blocked it and gave it a minimal hand-fulling in an attempt to soften it up; my version isn't as soft as Benne Marie's chenille one, but I think this will still be a warm accessory. You can guess why I'm considering an Irishman as its recipient . . .

2003-10-30T22:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!

No, I didn't make the costume, but I did stitch a plastic spider to the pumpkin's face, I swear. Her arm's hiding it. Meanwhile, we've purchased some pumpkin nail decals to add to the mix, if they're not too big for her tiny fingers. And I think I'll don the green wings I made a few years ago for a Midsummer Night's Dream wedding party -- stitched a few beads on those, too. My day job's a crunch scene till the end of next week, but I have finished the first pair of booties. Two feet down, two to go!

2003-10-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

My project of the weekend (and until there are four) was Koigu baby booties for the twin daughters of my friend Catherine. The pattern comes from Knitting for Baby by Melianie Falick & Kristin Nicholas, where they knit them up in solid merino. I barely knew Koigu came in solids, and chose instead a couple happy skeins of Painter's Palette (from the Threadbears, natch). I'll post the color numbers when I do the finished-object shot. The graphic excerpted at right is the baby announcement designed by our mutual friend John, who also has a happening new line of greeting cards and wrapping paper. Watch for the latter to be used soon a bathroom wall on Trading Spaces! I've knit about a bootie and a half so far -- my smallest garment ever. I hope Nathalie & Olivia have not outgrown them before they're even finished . . .

2003-10-24T11:06:00.000-04:00

Glow

Just in time for Halloween, Daily Candy today turns us on to this fiber item, recommending that we "sew or embroider a little marker onto a sweater or scarf, or braid some into your hair, dangle some from your purse." At $6.95 for an 80-yard spool, we could also string this along when knitting some socks, gloves, or just about anything that a pink or green glow might enhance. From the vendor's website: "NiteLite ExtraGlow polyester glow-in-the-dark thread glows for up to 8 hours. Polyester threads have much higher heat tolerance than nylon threads, which means NiteLite is dryer- and iron-safe. Available in five pastel shades: Yellow, Green, Blue, Pink, and White. The pink color actually glows pink and the other colors glow a light fluorescent green." (How 'bout that hyphen usage, Avengers?)

Notice the celeb in my birthday box? Alas, I don't know Mr. Kline personally. But with nary a birthday in sight until Monday, I Googled and discovered today's his day -- and found that Farrah Fawcett shares mine, along with the writerly Jameses (Dickey and Joyce) I already knew about.

2003-10-23T12:59:00.000-04:00

Scarfarama

I'm just back from a taco run during which I handed over four more scarves for the ART 180 fundraiser. The one on the left is the mate to the patchwork one I already turned in, velvet and printed fleece, embellished with seed beads and fringe. (The beading reinforces like topstitching since this stuff's not too iron-friendly.) My special PhD'd English-teaching gal pals Elizabeth (Lizzi of the quilt, Caroline's godmother) and Debbie stitched the one on the right when they met up in Muncie of late. I'm itching to buy that one for myself.

And then we have these wacky ribbon ones, based on this free pattern from Crystal Palace Yarns. (I remembered the concept from when Rob had referred us to all their free scarf patterns, but I never referred back to the details; seeing the page now, mine are quite a bit more freeform . . .) The invisible key -- because it's been torn away -- is the water-soluble stabilizer to which the ribbons are initially sewn. I experienced a learning curve here, pinning all the ribbons on the blue/green one first and then trying to sew, while on the pink/white one (which I consider more successful) I placed and stitched as I went along. I don't think you can see it, but the scarf on the left includes bits of the boucle' yarn left over from the Tropical Rib scarf, the first one I donated -- the same yarn Greta is knitting up for Pancho.

2003-10-21T12:03:00.000-04:00

Very Berry, Baby!

Just like Mariko, I whipped up an Ann Norling fruit cap this weekend. I had purchased the pattern, plus red & green skeins of Knitaly washable wool ages ago from eknitting (before Patternworks bought them, which itself then moved under the Keepsake Quilting umbrella). I think it took me all this time of learning and gaining confidence to give the pattern a try -- and then it was super easy! There are more of these in my future, for sure -- but not one for Caroline, who confessed, when pressed, that, NO, if I made one for her she wouldn't wear it.

But I am going to take a chance that she'll sport a Bucket O'Chic, which the amazing and prolific Bonne Marie has just sized to fit every head. That's another pattern I bought before I was ready to knit it, having yet to experience circular knitting and picking up stitches. But I'm ready and rarin' to go, now -- thinking of a red topper to coordinate with her poncho -- which the wee one eagerly donned yesterday morning, and didn't want to remove when we reached the sitter's!

As I mentioned in the last post, my mom prompted me to add booties and make this gift a set, so I searched the free patterns section of the knitlist site for one that would match the yarn's gauge and the one set of needles I had along. I printed out three, then went with one called Santa Booties, meant to be knit in red and white. I changed the colors and some of the stitches, twisted the drawstring solid instead of candy-cane striped, and duplicate stitched a smattering of seed bumps with the green tails. The recipient is due this week. I hope he'll like strawberries.

Finally, since I'll do just about anything to be like Bonne Marie, here I am modeling the delicious not-so-secret hat created by Greta from a yummy, airy handspun. I'm keeping the thermostat dialed down and wishing for an extra-chilly winter ~

2003-10-19T22:46:00.000-04:00

How 'bout them labels? [note: I see now that a photo might have been better than trying an actual scan. oh well.] I ordered them back in the summer after I saw Becky's; put the first one in the Cutie Patootie sweater, which matched perfectly, being equally lavender. I'm not so sure how this one will look in the strawberry cap I completed yesterday, but what the heck. I had a moment's hesitation that I shouldn't use it on an item that was not of my own design, but, hey, them's still my stitches making it up. Photo tomorrow, of the cap and its matching booties, stitched after my mama suggested a set. I ran right to the computer and searched up a free pattern or three, trying to entice her with the wonders of the internet, since she's recently returned home from rehab with reduced mobility. (You should have heard Caroline this afternoon, when she saw Mom's stump: "You have to get a new leg," she remarked, quite matter-of-factly.)

Speaking of getting things new, I have a new hat. Look familiar? I cannot begin to tell you how soft and beautiful this "thinking cap" is, and how honored I am to have been named "someone special" when it premiered in the blog world this weekend. Details to come when I'm less road-weary and have imagery (and permission) to enhance the telling. Thank you, DG!

2003-10-17T12:43:00.000-04:00

Startitis

I was only going to write of a number of starts, but, what the H, I'll start with this.

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
That appliance has much more open space than it did before the hurricane cleared all; I've yet to return its surfeit of pickles and olives. Let's just consider some beverages: organic whole milk, plain soy milk, chocolate soy milk, Northern Neck ginger ale, & Tab.

2. Name five things in your freezer.
Again, plenty of real estate up there at present. SKYY vodka, ground decaf (Starbucks and Ukrop's) coffee, veggie corndogs, cinnamon bagels, & ice in trays.

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
Green rubber gloves, plastic grocery bags, silver polish, replacement PUR water filters, Easter egg dyeing kits (that I may use for wool!).

4. Name five things around your computer.
Alterna-battery for when the digital camera's rechargeable gives up, a purple/pink/black mother&child candle that I've never lit, a circular tin of cool spiral paper clips from my friend Paula, and two Rowan sweater (Mary & Tom ) patterns I received via email that I've printed but not put into my pattern notebook.

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.
I don't have a medicine cabinet. Really. So those kinds of items are in drawers.

And now. those starts:

Last night I started an Ann Norling strawberry cap for my friend Annette's son who's due next week.

I started reading The Secret Life of Bees the other night, and I'll continue because it seems a quick read, but it isn't grabbing me much, perhaps because I feel like I've been there so many times before, young Southern protagonist in crisis . . . Will hope to be pleasantly surprised; I'll wait to check the Knitbloggers' reading group comments.

The cold Caroline coughed into me has started to reside in my chest. Here's hoping a weekend of R&R at my parents' will clear it out.

I'm hoping to start my mother knitting again, as she's expressed an interest.

The painters started refreshing the trim on our house today.

And my friend Dana starts her fifth decade. Happy 40th, reverend!

2003-10-14T14:18:00.000-04:00

Kitch'ing Kitty

Ethan coached me in last night's second attempt to close the toes of the second Santa Fe sock. Must've been just what I needed, because I got it right and can now proudly sport my first completed pair of hand-knit socks -- when the weather cools a bit more, that is.

I also completed the third pattern repeat on my wave&shell scarf, lagging way behind my cohort that includes finishers Greta and Rachael. I switched back to the straights because the bamboo circular's tips were too blunt for me and this lacy stuff, plus I have some lefthander difficulty when I knit back and forth on circular needles. Unfortunately, the US5s I have are close in color to this pale blue yarn (that appears rather white in the camera's flash against the lavender pillow), making this squinty knitting that requires attention. Looks like it'll be worth it, although I still don't know if I'll make the Christmas due date with this one, since I also now want to start a Koigu shawl for my mom's gift.

2003-10-11T22:20:00.000-04:00

The Stitch is Mighty as the Word

Recently Pioneer Melissa, in one of her thoughtful posts about writing and creativity, reminded me that a decade ago, after seeing a poem I'd written about making a panel for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, a teacher in North Carolina wrote reqesting my participation in a unit in which her seventh-grade students were studying "the parallels in quilting and the writing process." I made a note to myself in Melissa's comments suggesting I share this story in the blog. I have a feeling this will be my longest post thus far; consider yourself warned.

In my 20s I belonged to the Fancy Club, an unorthodox social group of which anyone could be a member, where I found many of my dearest friends (including the poet who urged me to attend graduate school in creative writing). The Fancy Club sponsored three themed parties that recurred annually: Pajama Party, the Serendipity Ball and Continuous Cocktails. While this is not the place to detail their delights, ephemera from these events figure into the story.

One autumn evening we met for a planning dinner at Richard's house, and I discovered his artistic pursuits extended beyond the culinary. As soon as I saw the turquoise velvet he'd embellished with paint, I knew I wanted to create from it a dress for the next Serendipity Ball. A year later, I had my dress, and Richard had died from AIDS. I wore the dress in his honor among his friends, sharing its origin and raising a glass to his sprit we felt was with us.

That was November 1986. The NAMES Project began in 1987. An unaware precursor, I had honored a life with needle and thread before the accumulation of 3' x 6' panels had begun -- panels that now number more than 44,000, too many to be displayed simultaneously in one place. Not long after, I wrote a poem entitled "The Painted Dress," an elegy that acknowledged the catharsis that can come via creativity. And then I volunteered for a NAMES Project display that came to my grad school in 1991. I'd attended a local panel dedication ceremony the prior year, and even visited the Project's San Francisco headquarters, my attention grabbed by this unique use of the stitched medium -- not to mention my growing concern about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

As the week-long display continued and I spent hours getting to know those hundred or so individuals honored in words and pictures and fabric and thread, I realized that I wanted to join its contributors by turning the painted dress into a quilt panel. Securing the approval of my fellow Fancy Clubbers, I got to work. I attached the dress to another piece of taffeta, and used its buttons to "tie" the layers together. I included the ephemera mentioned above -- pins, invitations -- and incorporated the Fancy Club's martini emblem. Finally, I also attached a copy of my poem. I drove to Washington to dedicate the panel at another display so Damien, an FC friend and founder, could join me.

Here's Richard's panel sewn into a larger NAMES Project square. Here's Damien's; he died three years later. When I attended the last full display of the entire Quilt on the DC Mall in 1996, I took the second section of the revised poem and pinned it to the panel. I hope it made it into the Archives. At least it was published, twice, in a small literary journal and in a tiny AIDS-related anthology. I think the teacher read it in the former, when attending a creativity conference in the city where the journal was published. She must've used the contributor notes to contact me care of the university, where I was an adjunct instructor, teaching composition.

I received her letter of request just as I was leaving to attend the 1992 Virginia Festival of American Film. My brother, who lived in Charlottesville at the time, worked for a video production company there, so we prepared a videotaped response to the teacher, in which I affirmed that writing and quilting share many similarities, and provided some details about Richard and the poem. I wasn't actually much of a quilter myself at that point, but I've always sewn, and as a writer (and an adult) the metaphoric connections were obvious to me. And I had a battered quilt in my car for a swell visual prop to relieve me from being a talking head.

I cherish the thank-you notes I received from the seventh-graders. What writer doesn't want to hear, "I could really see what you were saying like a picture you painted in my head" and "You have a way of writing that makes it neat to read"? What poet isn't at least somewhat pleased by "Your poem is the only one in the world I like"? Ever the student, I love reading, (sic) "If I had to grade you on you poem, dress, and quilt as well a bravory you would get an A+." And to the extent that I felt like an AIDS educator, I was heartened by this: "I admire you from the way you still treated Richard as a person even though he had AIDS." She also sent me their essays, which contain more jewels than I can reprint here. I'm so curious as to where these kids are now. Eleven years after seventh grade, they are making their way in the world. Are there writers among them still?

I knit now more than I write, or at least more than I write poems. I write for my job, and I write this blog (and another about my daughter). Most of my energy is devoted to raising the wee one in this most formative time of her young life. The urge to create remains, and I pull out the needles. One of my fellow poets and dear friends calls each finished object a "knitty poem." I love her for that.

A final PS: The Quilt came to their city, and the students got to visit the display. My packet from the teacher included some of their reaction comments, transcribed. One student was prompted to pen a letter to the editor of the local paper, noting that the media's focus on grief neglected to acknowledge the educational value of the NAMES Project. As much as I wished to join them at the display, I was in the midst of semester-end grading frenzy. So I sent a substitute. And the teacher also wrote how much she enjoyed meeting my mother.

2003-10-10T11:22:00.000-04:00

Sock It to Me

Last night I attended my final sock-knitting class with Ute the Terrific, pictured at left above, guiding Patty the Laptop Librarian. I turned the heel on Santa Fe #2 (there's #1 on the table) and am now cruising down the foot. Don't tell Caroline, but I fear there won't be sufficient leftover yarn for her matching pair. I'm hoping for enough to make at least a sibling set for her tiny feet.

Of the eight women in the class, four have agreed to re-up for another round together, same time, same LYS place, with projects of their choosing. I decided I'll just pop in and visit them, since one of the Thursdays falls during a conference my work organization is hosting. Kathy, at the right in red, will be there -- she was into her second pair of socks last night, and selected a swell hooded sweater for her next project. One of these glas made it to S&B on Tuesday, so I'll hope to keep up with them that way, as well -- or we'll just make a plan to meet at the Market and knit in public!

2003-10-08T11:33:00.000-04:00

Fizzy

I didn't intend to knit such a similar pair of Christmas-gift scarves in sequence, but circumstances just directed me that way. For the one on the left, I'd picked up a ball of Crystal Palace cotton chenille in the way-on-sale basket at the LYS this summer. When Rob posted a link to their free scarf patterns, I realized I needed some Fizz to go with the chenille, and asked Matt for a suggestion. He came up with a few choices and I picked the variegated #9152, which they call wood grain.

I had purchased the Fizz in the scarf on the right longer ago, in spring I think, intending to trim a felted bag that included the leftover Galway from my little purse. (That yarn ended up as mousies for Wendy.) Then I helped Sheila with her stash reduction, and I believe she threw in a lovely ball of Garnstudio Highlander. When I went on a stash-diving expedition, lo & behold, I discovered these two made a perfect pair! I spaced out the wool's 88 yards with some basic lacework, and used the Fizz's extra ~30 yards for fringe. Yay.

Eleven for S&B last night, and dang it, I forgot to photograph the better of the two velvet/fleece scarves before handing it over to Kim for
ART 180. I'm still working on the second, topstitching the seam with beads on the velvet side, so I'll try to remember to shoot it when complete. A highlight was the presence of my friend Jo, who unwittingly spawned this monthly affair a few years ago when recalling having gathered similarly in decades past. So glad she finally made it to S&B!

2003-10-07T15:16:00.000-04:00

Belated

Yesterday was my best friend's birthday, but I didn't get to wish her well. Called her office, but she'd (rightly) taken the day off; called her house and the line was busy; neglected to try again. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SAH!

Caroline willingly wore her poncho out of the house this morning. By the time we reached the car (at a distance of perhaps 12 feet), she'd decided to remove it. Little steps . . .

S&B chez moi tonight. I'll be working on two sewn scarves for the ART 180 auction, so I'll take a photo. Orchidy velvet, printed black fleece, and fringe. I'll also shoot the pair of gift scarves that recently left my needles.

2003-10-04T22:15:00.000-04:00

Numero Uno

Yup, there's my first real sock ever. I put it that way having made three Fuzzy Feet, because those were socks, too -- just more forgiving ones requiring less finesse. I cast on for the mate at class Thursday, hoping to avoid "second-sock syndrome," but many gift items await in the queue ahead of Number Two.

When Nicolee saw Caroline's poncho this afternoon, she commented that she's really been wanting one -- forever. As she was asking to pay me to knit one, I was volunteering to do so, for her Christmas present. I'd been planning to make her a felted purse, but I can save that for her birthday right on the holiday's heels. She's a most special friend, not to mention Caroline's godmother and the mother of my goddaughter Amelia (who got the Haiku). I'm going to try and steer her toward some bulky yarn and the same Jen's Poncho pattern. But -- do I buy the yarn, or does she?

2003-10-03T09:53:00.000-04:00

Screen Time

We enjoyed the postponed Attack of the 50-Foot Reels that took place Wednesday night -- at least the first third. (We left at the first break because it was past my star's bedtime.) The same cartoonist who designed the poster made the program, all in comic-book format:

Individual panels introduced each film (starting with mine) while keeping with the spaceman theme. But of course no one had yet seen the films, so the artist had to best-guess by their titles. Grammar Avengers, I wish you could've seen the one called S.C. While the program illustration suggests it might feature South Carolina, it actually depicted the romance between a period and a comma -- and the travails of their offspring, the semi-colon!

I was a bit disappointed that the historic photographs I'd interspersed between my live shots were underlit. OK, we're pretty much talking seconds of black screen. But the entertainment value of the jumping action, and the Pointer Sisters soundtrack, elicited a warm audience response. I fared better than the guy who made Protean: his screened black the whole way through, and I found his "music" rather painful. Shoot and learn . . .

Knit News: I finished my first real sock ever! Thanks to teacher Ute, I may have finally mastered the Kitchener stitch. Photo tomorrow, OK?

2003-10-01T13:11:00.000-04:00

Piccolo Plaid

I'm so glad Alison's Ponch-o-long grabbed my attention a couple weeks ago. This little garment was a great distraction during our post-Isabel "blackout." I couldn't believe I finished it inside of two weeks, until I realized that it hardly took any more knitting than the average scarf.

Throughout the course of its creation, Caroline would ask, That my poncho? or exuberantly state, That's my poncho! But when I tried for a fitting, her enthusiasm faded. Fortunately, her sitter helped rev her up again for this photo. I forgot to take a close-up of the fabric, but I made a sort of plaid by weaving strands of a red yarn vertically through every third garter ridge; I also used it to crochet some loops around the bottom of the whole shebang. Then I mixed the red yarn with the "vanilla" of the body for the fringe (also picking up the dangling ends of the weave-in), because I felt that its light weight (I knitted with four strands) would produce wimpy fringe. The bright accent is appropriate, too, for my lively little girl.

2003-09-30T12:40:00.000-04:00

Let there be light

Eleven days later, power was restored. Amen. Never thought I'd be so happy to do laundry. But let's have a look back at Day One, shall we?

This tree fell at 3 p.m. on Sept. 18, five hours before Isabel's full force would reach us. As that's when our power outtage began, I think this oak had something to do with it. The house was immediately condemned, pending inspection; later that Friday we watched a crane lift it out (but I'd left my camera at home, just around the corner). The force of the storm downed two adjacent trees as well.

So that was one side of my block. (All photos were taken within a block of our house, where only a downspout blew off and one crape myrtle branch broke.) We walked around to the other and saw this, and this, and this little guy who appears to be wondering what the H' happened to his house:

The avenue's oaks were ready to tumble -- a look at their exposed roots and trunks revealed many were diseased. The remarkable thing is that of the dozen down, none hit a building there, and we only saw three crushed cars.

Over on the other side of the river, my coworker had one fall on her century-old Victorian, to the tune of ~$80,000 damage. By the time I got there the tree was so dried as to make for uninteresting photography, but I did shoot what Bev considered her little unscathed miracle.

[Can you believe that crushed malt liquor bottle? OK, it was about three blocks away. When we returned from our walk and I was reviewing the pix in my camera, turned out I'd moved before the digital had done its thing, and I didn't have the shot. So I jogged back to find it, dodging trunks and gawkers, and was despondent from a distance when its colors were no longer apparent. I thought someone must've taken it for a souvenir. Luckily, it had only blown over, so I did reposition it, but barely.]

2003-09-29T13:24:00.000-04:00

Enough already

OK, I'm not complaining, but could we have electricity again, please? I have so many pictures to post, but I need my home computer to download them. They're saying I'll have it by tomorrow night at 11. By the time I show my 9/19 shots of downed oaks, not only will they be dried to a brown crisp, they'll be chipped and hauled away. The fallen corpses that remain do dismay -- I had no idea that huge trees would dry up so quickly.

Turned the heel in sock class and I'm ready to begin toe decreases, I discovered last night after trying it on. It's just like when I knit Fuzzy Feet to Theresa's guidelines: you follow the instructions even if they go against your back&forth instincts. I'll be glad to get some hands-on help with Kitchener this week, though, because I've never quite got it right.

I anticipate second-sock syndrome already, because this pair is for me, and I have much gift knitting to attend to before Christmas. I now have two scarves-in-progress in addition to the wave/shell, and have done about 3.5 inches of the man sock -- of which there will need to be two, if that pair's a present.

Sending my mice off to Wendy today. Another photo I'm not even taking since I've got a backlog to publish already. The lack of power did prompt me to knit one more while Caroline napped on Saturday (after all, I couldn't read blogs). And what an amazing Mouseathon! I'm sure she'll cross the thousand-mouse mark with today's mail.

2003-09-25T10:55:00.000-04:00

Lost in Transit

This e-mail arrived shortly after yesterday's post -- I didn't actually see it, but was informed of its news by my fellow 50-Foot-Reeler (and brother). He told me as well of a second email that followed two minutes later, saying the films couldn't be found. So the premiere of JUMP! has been postponed. I sure hope tonight's sock class isn't.

-----Forwarded Message-----
From: James
Sent: Sep 24, 2003 5:43 PM
To: 50-Ft. Reels V@unspecified-domain
Subject: tonight's show

I hate to tell you this, but I can't wait any longer.

Pac Lab shipped your films last Friday and they should've arrived yesterday, but they haven't. I've been on the phone non-stop with Airborne Express since yesterday and they've not located the package yet.

It arrived in Roanoke on Monday and was scanned as leaving there, but it hasn't turned up since. Of course, it doesn't help that Airborne's Richmond facility was without power until yesterday.

So what does this mean? I've got them looking for it and they've agreed to courier the package to me by 8pm if they locate it.

I'm going ahead with a show tonight with or without the films. If your films don't show up in time, I'll do a free Flicker Best of/grab bag show.

So how 'bout this...show up tonight and be surprised. If your films aren't here you can have a beer and enjoy the substitute show and we'll decide when to reschedule.

Sorry for the short notice but I was confident it was just sitting over there waiting to be scanned.

See you there?

James
--
The Richmond Moving Image Co-op, home of Flicker and the James River Film Festival, is a nonprofit organization that supports independent media arts in Virginia. For more info contact: RMIC, P.O. Box 7469, Richmond, VA 23221, (804) 355-1383, http://www.rmicweb.org.

2003-09-24T17:04:00.000-04:00

Still No Juice

After six days, I'm ready for the return of electricity. Driving past the well-lit houses on one side of the block and finding mine still dark caused major disappointment last night when I went to feed the cat. At least he was happy to see me. All we can do is wait; the power company isn't offering any estimate, and I figure they, and their contractors from across the region, are working as fast as they can.

Meanwhile, I sure hope I haven't jinxed my friend Pioneer Melissa, who's fridge gave up the ghost today. Mine sits relatively empty after I carried three bags to the trash cans Sunday. A few containers remain -- salsa, peanut butter, salad dressings -- that I was unsure about, and hard cheeses that I read could weather a break from the chill. We'll see. Today's local newspaper kindly offered an article about ridding the refrigerator of odors, and I concede that the thing is due a good cleaning. But I need some light to see what I'm doing!

In knitting news, I completed a scarf the first night, during the hurricane. Just need to block it. And I've almost finished the piccolo poncho -- just need to add the fringe. I did find I had to leave a bigger neck opening by not seaming it all the way, since my 2/3-gauge variation on Melville's Jen's Poncho seriously reduced the proportions. Caroline reluctantly tried it on, pinned, and the way I seamed was a best guess; still need to have one more fitting. I think it will be pretty darn cute, but you can judge for yourself when I have the power to post a photo again.

When the sock class was postponed last week, I was at the heel-turning point, so that one's languishing. Meanwhile I started one more, in the finer wool/cotton/nylon yarn, casting on 76 stitches on US2s for one of the big men's feet in my family. I started another scarf, too. What else can you do when the wee one is napping and there's no ring-surfing to be had?

Tonight we have something to do: Attack of the 50-Ft. Reels! (See this entry for details.) James has put my little film first in the line-up of 20, and I am now starting to feel nervous with the screening just three hours away. I did ask to be in the first half, since Caroline is going, too, but not the opener!

2003-09-20T16:14:00.000-04:00

We're OK

Just a quick note to say we've come through the hurricane unscathed, but are still without power at our house. I'll have a fully illustrated report when I can download pix there from my camera. Meanwhile, I'm getting a completely unfamiliar Blogger template here to work with, so I'll sign out and head off to the Que Pasa? Latin festival!

2003-09-17T07:13:00.000-04:00

Endurance

When Isabel started heading this way, I thought of this poem by American poet Dave Smith. When it comes right down to it, he's the reason I moved to Virginia. These days he teaches at Johns Hopkins. I'm honored that we've remained friends these 15 years since we met, held onto that in the 12 since he left Virginia for a decade in Baton Rouge co-editing The Southern Review. If you want to hear him read his poems (but, alas, not this one) go here.

This poem appears in his latest, which you may have seen on my reading list: The Wick of Memory: New and Selected Poems, 1970-2000. It originally was published in The Roundhouse Voices, his 1985 selected & new volume.

A number of bloggers, no doubt, lie in the storm's potential path. Many folks I love do. Here's hoping they weather it without incident.

An Antipastoral Memory of One Summer

by Dave Smith

It is written that a single hurricane holds the power
to run our whole country for one year. Imagine
lights in Minnesota chicken coops, firebells
ringing every borough of New York, dock pumps
spewing the bilge from Louisiana shrimpers,
the pulse that sends a voice from San Francisco
to Nagasaki where a woman wakes, folds, and refolds
the American edition of news already forgotten.

Yet even in the dark silos of our countrymen who
practice graceful moves at the missile's panel
(that is like a piano with the amazing, unplayed
notes not even Beethoven could hear into fusion),
no one dreams how to harness the storm for good.
That is why I think of two people at a bulkhead,
an old woman desperately holding down the hem
of her flowered dress, holding a boy's small hand
where the waves they have come to see blossom

one after another, sluicing over their driven hair,
the salt sting so strong their eyes begin to swell,
until they fall back across the elegant Boulevard,
and even there the unexpected crescendos boom in
laces and strings of water radiant as new light.
The noise is unforgettable and deafening, the sea
keeps orchestrating, as if it means to address
all our preparations, the boarded windows, the dead

cars with their rain-blistered glass, the sidewalk
clotted now with seaweed like abandoned bodies.
That suddenly, then, the calm eye stalls on them,
a stillness like a lock with no key, a hand
hovering at a switch, waiting for music unheard,
and see -- the woman turns, drags the boy hard
past oaks older than them both, its leaves this fall
blinking like lights, trembling, limbs like spears,
two entering a powerless house to huddle, to pray
to the still God, though they call it hurricane.

2003-09-15T14:04:00.000-04:00

Ponch-Along

As if I don't have enough projects on the needles, yesterday I started a little poncho for the wee one. Pulled in again by a knit-along -- y'all are such enablers! I'm using the extremely basic pattern called "Jen's Poncho" from Sally Melville's The Knit Stitch, which includes child sizing. The small size it offers is a 4-6, so when, with my four strands of Nevada Misty, my gauge was only about two-thirds of what the pattern called for, I decided that will probably be just dandy for my size-2 two-year-old. This is the same yarn I used, in two strands, for Amelia's Haiku sweater. Since I bought this yarn by the bag from Elann.com, I may embellish the sweater with another yarn when it comes to the fringe; also I'm considering some stitching purpendicular to the garter rows. I'll have to experiment, but I've got Noro Silk Garden in mind, for some reason.

In knitting news, I finished my sock homework, and am ready for guidance in turning the heel -- or I may be so bold as to try it on my own.

In knitty news, Amy says the new issue's due tomorrow!

2003-09-13T22:48:00.000-04:00

Blue

[ a somewhat belated entry in honor of Alison and her blue blog, celebrating their first anniversary ]

Today we enjoyed a lot of fine bluegrass music outdoors despite spotty weather; throwing the raingear on and off was no big deal, and we felt as much sun as shower. Caroline, whose default color to remark is blue, noted that all of our jackets and the chairs we sat in were, in fact, blue. So it came as no surprise what flavor sno-cone she chose, and what color, correspondingly, it turned her tongue.

I was happy that the afternoon also allowed some time to work on my first sock (not counting Fuzzy Feet), begun Thursday night at the class at my LYS. I found an excellent group of women when I arrived there, and a fine teacher named Ute who put us right to work. Our pattern allows for different weights of yarn, so we started with 64, 48 or 40 stitches. I went with the latter, based on my gauge, knitted five inches, then last night determined the sock would be too skinny, so I started over with smaller needles (US4s) and the 48. I'm back where I was, and forging on. We have to be ready to turn the heel when we return this week.

The yarn is handpainted washable merino from WillowWood Pond, in a color called Santa Fe. I bought it via eBay, but it's available from her site, and was reviewed earlier in the summer by Knitter's Review. I am having big fun, using Pony Pearls now that I switched down from the Brittanys, and had no idea that the needles would be color-coordinated with the yarn!

2003-09-11T11:41:00.000-04:00

Two Years Ago

As I walked from my parking lot to my office this morning, the tower bells of Second Presbyterian Church chimed in commemoration of the 2001 tragedy. I thought of how I'd flown home from Atlanta on September 10 (I hadn't yet returned to knitting, so needles weren't the controversial issue they became a week later when planes flew again), without a concern, following a fun wedding weekend and visits with friends and family. Two days later I sat in the sanctuary of that 1845 church, gathered with others who worked in the neighborhood and reeled from the shock of the terrorist attacks.

Half a world away, my daughter, then four months old, waited; I was six months into my official wait to be matched with her, and in Atlanta had dined with six other families who shared my timetable. For us, the attacks created the additional concern that we'd be kept from our daughters (and, as it turned out, one son). Thankfully, our unions weren't even delayed, and by summer 2002, Ashley, Jayme, Joshua, Kyra, Lily, Zoe and my Caroline had each come home -- giving new (or changed) families another reason to fear the world's evils. And giving us such joys to celebrate that the evils seem surmountable, or distant, or impossible.

Of course, that's not reality, and certainly today, and all days, those families whose lives were forever changed on September 11, 2001, know firsthand that evil is possible.

My life was changed forever on June 2, 2002, when 15 pounds of Hunan honey was placed into my waiting arms. To steal a line from Rose Lewis, author of I Love You Like Crazy Cakes, I had been waiting for her my whole life. So even as this anniversary brings pain to my heart, the knowledge that the littlest member of the Pamcare gang will welcome me with open arms this evening, perhaps with a creation such as this to share, lightens the somber day.

And speaking of the wonder of children in our lives, here you can see the twin daughters of my local knitting mentor Frances, who've just started college. (They're in the second photo from the top, Keenan and Scottie.) Caroline and her mama miss these sitters!

2003-09-10T11:57:00.000-04:00

Click the thumbnail for a closer look at the garter-stitch fabric of the recently completed Maori scarf. This was a quick 15 stitches on US 15s, but I find the results appealing, and hope someone else will, too (at the ART 180 auction in November). These "novelty" yarns often have so much going on in their composition that it's nearly redundant to knit them with a special stitch pattern to boot.

Last night I finished this gift-in-progress, but I'll wait to felt it with some other items. Unless you're Lizzi (who should stop reading now), click it, too. I used the Galway purse pattern with the same Cascade 220 used in my daypack (see both in my gallery). I have a different plan for the handles on this one, however. Because the i-cord straps on the daypack finished way too long for my liking, I finally bit the bullet and cut nine inches from each.* So I will use those for the handles, whick I'm thinking of attaching by threading them through grommets and knotting -- inspired by Pioneer Melissa's jump-rope Suki. I had actually purchased some green plastic handles I intended to try on this bag, but I'll save them for another, partly because I think they'd make for too much green. While the knitted closure will be green, I'm going to make a felted ball out of the same heather as the handles for its button. Stay tuned for FO pix, but probably not till post-holiday gifting.

*Following the painful cutting, I whip-stitched (with sewing thread) the two ends together, then wrapped some matching yarn over the "scar," knotting its ends and weaving them under the wrap. Then I hand-felted just that part of each strap, and the results are sufficiently unnoticeable. I was careful to choose a point on the strap that is pretty much hidden by my arms when it's worn. I couldn't bear to cut at either of the ends where the i-cord was knitted on. I may throw it in the washer for one round when the little bag gets fulled, in hopes of increasing the strength of the new join.

2003-09-07T22:37:00.000-04:00

In the Can

Well, technically, it's still in the cartridge, but it's film, and it's all shot, and so I've made myself another little Super 8 movie for Flicker's annual Attack of the 50-Foot Reels. In 2000 (as you may know from reading my fewer than 100 things about me), my friend Elizabeth and I made Fishin' Blues (and Pinks), a three-minute, 20-second film that considers the significance of Melville's Moby-Dick to women of the 21st century. My latest effort, entitled JUMP!, features people and animals embodying that verb; while less ambitious, I hope it will be equally entertaining. But I won't see it until everyone else does, on the 24th, when I push the button on the CD player for the accompanying soundtrack, the Pointer Sisters' Jump (for my love).

Here (from Flicker's website) is how it works: Each year the first 25 people/filmmakers to accept the challenge (and pay a $25 fee) receive one 50-ft. roll of Super 8 film. That's 3 minutes and 20 seconds of screen time.
After shooting their movies, edited entirely in the camera, filmmakers return their exposed film to Flicker for processing. The filmmakers get to see their films for the first time on the night of the show along with the audience. This annual show always delivers surprises and lots of fun.

So, I shot the two credit panels last night, returned the camera to my brother (the professional filmmaker who's entering this for his third time) today, and will drop off the cartridge of exposed film tomorrow. How's that for a finished object?

I do knit on, but am only in the second repeat of the wave&shell. Tiny fiber=slow going, and you have to pay attention! I finished one more scarf for ART 180 -- garter stitched Gedifra Maori, a twinelike cotton with bits of nylon wrapped into it. And today I started the knitting for a felted bag that will be a Christmas gift.

On the horizon: sock class at the LYS!

2003-09-02T22:47:00.000-04:00

Scarfarama

We're back, well rested, and ready for the busy autumn ahead, thanks. I worked on four projects while relaxing in the beautiful hills of WV, most notably the beginning of the wave & shell scarf pictured here. (This is 14 rows of the 16-row pattern, just resting on the cable. Later I'll pin it out like Mme. Glitchbane does.)

I am not going to let it bother me that I am likely to be the last to complete this project among those who are knitting along, unless someone else chooses such a fine yarn. Nor will I be pressured by the holiday deadline, even though this item is intended as a gift -- I can always give it to my friend for Christmas 2004!

I mentioned in the pre-travel post my failure to retrieve images from the camera. Now it's behaved, so I have these before and after shots that suggest my progress on the three scarves I toted on vacation. It may not look like much, but I think my hosts would tell you that if I was awake, and wasn't eating, I was knitting. (There were, of course, a few adventures away from the house, where the knitting waited. And some serious naps.) I also finished the hat that matches the Cutie Patootie sweater. I'll try to photograph it on the head of its recipient; otherwise, the little cardigan has joined the finished-object gallery.

Nine were here for S&B tonight, but I forgot to take any pictures. I turned my first scarf over to Kim for the ART 180 fundraiser, while Beth, Leslie and Heather worked on scarves they'll also donate. As did I -- one more with two skeins of Gedifra Maori in garter stitch on 13s -- the green/turquoise/brown/white one in the pix. I was glad that Hettie was working on some curtains, since this is not an exclusively knitting gathering. I myself should have been hemming some pants, but I'd rather knit!

2003-08-29T22:49:00.000-04:00

Mountain Mama

We're off to the mountains of West Virginia tomorrow, to visit Caroline's godmother Elizabeth and her husband Matt, and see their new house, and just enjoy some end o'summer R&R. In the event there's knitting time, I have three scarves-in-progress in a bag: one more quickie for the ART 180 fundraiser, one that's a Christmas gift, and the just begun "wave and shell" wrap -- all of which I photographed tonight to post, but it's my camera software and not Blogger that's making the "blue screen of death" happen, so I've given up.

I spent more than half an hour just winding the Filatura di Crosa Cashmere 100 2/28 for the latter, with about 700 yards in its 50g hank. Thanks to advice from Rob, I cast on using US 5s rather than a smaller needle size I nearly started with. He reminded me that one should go up a couple sizes from what's normal for the yarn when knitting lace -- and this is some fine, fingering stuff, scored from Elann.com last fall (before I'd started blogging, or even much blog-reading, and certainly had yet to find those ThreadBear friends). I stuck with the number of repeats the pattern uses, since it's my first go at real lace, but I did change the number of edge stitches, just to assert my individuality. I've now knit the first four rows, and it's hard, nay, impossible, to discern whether beauty lies ahead. Fun, though, to feel a different weight yarn through my fingers, especially one that's 30 percent cashmere.

Expect my next post Wednesday, as we won't be back until Tuesday -- just in time to tidy up for September's S&B!

2003-08-26T14:59:00.000-04:00

Avengers, Unite!

I've enjoyed sharing, via the posts and comments of other knitbloggers, the love of language presented well -- and the annoyance with all-too-common errors. Now, thanks to Em, we're linking our blogs in a ring. See this way-cool comma button in the sidebar to check out other sites, not all of whom are knitters. I'm honored to join (again, this being my fifth ring) with like-minded bloggers. (Well, I'm thinking there are many Virginia bloggers whose minds differ greatly [but not Wendy!] from mine, but you get my drift.) Plus, I'm excited to be getting in on a webring where my number is nine instead of 300-something.

My favorite bit from the "guidelines" for the GA ring:
If, from time to time, you feel compelled to write about the misuse of apostrophes, or to bemoan the decline of spelling skills in your nation, or to blush at the incident the night before in which you either corrected or were corrected on a point of grammar and everyone just stared at you . . . well, that's just dandy.
And isn't it swell that its author blogs as "emdash"?

In knitting-related news, I finished the little lavender Cutie Patootie sweater on the same day its intended recipient came into the world. Maria (pronounced ma-rye-ah, not ma-ree-ah -- it's a Virginia thing) Coe Jones was born early Sunday morning, and I stopped crocheting the trim Sunday night. I gotta say, I'm glad Melanie and Greg got a girlchild, because this sweater feels a bit female to me (yes, I know, I'm the one who ranted about gender-specific kidswear). Since I'm still working on the matching hat, I think I'll hold off on the photo for now.

UPDATE: They're calling herCoco, so she won't have to worry about the Maria/Mariah thing after all. I couldn't get the movie to work, but the pix are nice.

I'll leave you with this, which "Little Bunny" sent me to discover. I'll try to be modest about it, but this was a needed pick-me-up today!

Ichi - "That one with wisdom"

What would your Japanese name be? (female)
brought to you by Quizilla

2003-08-23T17:25:00.000-04:00

Come Along

Yup, it's a scarf-along, or a shawl-along, depending on how you choose to knit up this free pattern.

Rachael is making it a black shawl in some yarn that I think is about a worsted weight; I'm going to try for more of a scarf in some baby-blue laceweight wool. I haven't taken up the needles yet -- not even sure what size I'll use -- and I'm not sure if she has, but we're going to do it together, and so are some others. Yes, Kathy, scarf season is upon us. I think I'll see just how many I can have on the needles at once. Rachael has a knit-along list on her blog -- won't you join us?

Cutie Patootie is almost done: One sleeve's in and both have their crochet trim. I'll get back to it now in hopes of having a photo to post tomorrow. Photo of the sweater, that is -- the tiny hat's still on the dpns.

2003-08-21T09:53:00.000-04:00

Tropical Rib

How's that for a title? I'm going to be asked to name my ART 180 scarf, so that's what I've come up with. (Click on the thumbnail for a closer look.) The Lion Boucle' in this colorway makes me think tropical -- as does the dred-like fringe. I'm quite close to the end -- except for the dreaded (pun!) final end's fringe. I hope to make more than one scarf for the fundraiser, perhaps some that are sewn as well, but I'm going to hold myself to a one-for-auction:one-for-gifting ratio. (NOTE: See sidebar if this scarf thing's news to you.)

Here's the Cutie Patootie all ready to be seamed up and crochet-trimmed (Click it, too.). The baby's due any day now, but a phone check's just revealed that the mom-to-be's barely dilated. On to the matching cap. Oh, and two mice completed for Wendy so far.

2003-08-18T10:56:00.000-04:00

Poetry Matters

Since I noted Friday that my browser's home offers a poem a day, I came across a good article about the current state of American poetry, in the free Twin Cities monthly called The Rake. I read it online, thanks to a link from the Arts Journal newsletter (which I discovered via The New York Times).
Here's the link to the article itself, by William Waltz.

In knitting news, I've finished knitting the three pieces (one body, two sleeves) of the Cutie Patootie sweater, and am leaving the scrolling progress bar at 80 percent to take into account the matching hat's completion as well. After assembly, crochet! The first scarf I'm knitting for the ART 180 auction (see sidebar) is nearly done, with one end bearing its bead-trimmed fringe as well. That assembly is the time-consuming bit (I mean bit*h) of this project -- try threading boucle' through a needle and a bead -- I'm glad I've done the two ends at different times. The real reason for doing so was to be sure I liked the look, and had reserved ample yard for said fringe. Pix soon.

2003-08-15T13:16:00.000-04:00

Time once again for my (approximately) monthly go at these questions -- and then some cat content.

1. How much time do you spend online each day?
With a network that's always connected at my office, I could say that I get at least 8 hours a day, but of course all that time is not spent looking at the internet -- but my boss would think too much is, if he knew! At home I can sit for a couple of hours a couple of nights a week, reading email and blogs (and knitting, of course, since my modem is 56K). Often I'll surf the ring while my child naps on Saturday or Sunday. So I'll say 5-10 for this one.

2. What is your browser homepage set to?
Poetry Daily, a non-profit site that posts a new poem each day, and links to poetry news and features. I have a link in the sidebar, too. I just like to read at least one a day; it's nothing like medicine for me, more like a treat for my soul.

3. Do you use any instant messaging programs? If so, which one(s)?
At work I downloaded AOL IM, even though I am not a customer. Many friends are, and I enjoy the oportunity for the occasional quick hello. I've done the same with Yahoo at home, where I do have an account. But I have fewer folks on that "buddy" list, so I actually use it rarely.

4. Where was your first webpage located?
A year ago I created a webpage on Earthlink because it was free with my long-standing Mindspring account. Now I don't know how to delete it, and really, I only can access it from my work computer where I've bookmarked it. You've come a long way, baby, I have to say to myself, looking at the blogging I do now!

5. How long have you had your current website?
Four and a half months, by golly!
(Anyone know The Searchers? I watched the 1956 John Ford/John Wayne classic earlier this summer, and lately find myself saying by golly like Lars Jorgensen [who was played by an actor born in Canada to Norwegian parents, so at least the accent wasn't a stretch]. This was Natalie [nee Natalia Zakharenko] Wood's 24th film; at 18, she'd already been nominated for an Oscar for Rebel Without a Cause the year before.)

Knitting Kitty Kontent
Time's passed since I joined the webring, and I haven't posted any new cat pix. We took Ethan to the vet this week (he's doing great, thanks -- she said, "He's doing great for a 16- year-old . . . heck, he's doing great for a 10-year-old!"), which reminded me of the last time I was there, when we put Rosacoke down last October. So I thought you might enjoy the baby pictures I display in a little double-heart frame (even though I have no Photoshop skills nor software to recreate the heart cut-outs).

That's Rosa (1988-2002) on the left, and Mr. Cattitude (c.1987, with his long-gone baby blues) on the right. You can see the adult Ethan by clicking on "the obligatory feline" in the sidebar -- and in Wendy's Mouse-Along Gallery. One more thing, & I can't believe this synchronicity has just come to me: Ethan was named for the character John Wayne plays in The Searchers!

2003-08-12T09:46:00.000-04:00

Smooch this!

And here's the proof, Smooch all sewed up and modeled. I like it (if not the way my bra shines through in this self-timer shot)! I'm not yet adept at adjusting patterns to fit my unique body perfectly, but this isn't too bad. It flares a bit at the bottom where my hips don't, and could probably use some short-row shaping at the bust, but otherwise I agonized over my size selection for naught. I've decided to leave the armholes alone, having tried the crab crochet finishing and liked it less than the slight rolling under that's happening. I'm going to hear Caitlin Cary play in a bar tonight, and I'd love to wear my latest creation, but I'm not sure I'm willing to let it get that smoky stink the first time out. Does cotton air out like wool?

2003-08-09T23:20:00.000-04:00

Kiss That Knitting Goodbye

Smooch is off the needles! I finished the knitting tonight and it looks pretty good. Too late to wander down to the basement for the pre-seaming steaming; I'll hope to assemble tomorrow. Maybe I'll even get to the bit o'finishing my imperfect armholes need. Alison, don't change my color yet, but I'm this close. And if you need any more All Seasons Cotton for the pipsqueaks, I've got nearly a skein of that blue left.

In other news, I received a call from someone named Ute last night, informing me there will be a sock-knitting class at my LYS next month. I'd given them my name for the potential future offering ages ago. As I've not tackled that on my own yet, I stopped in at the LYS today to register, and walked out with a bag of yarn, despite the moratorium I'm supposed to be observing. So many yarns were half priced! I got another set of Cotton Twist hanks to do a future Cutie Patootie, and three skeins of a yummy Classic Elite called Wings, which is 55% Alpaca/23% Silk/22% Wool, with a hollow core -- that'll become a scarf, as will the green skein of Rowan Magpie--with a name like that, how could I refuse, especially since it was 60% off. (My own cutie patootie snuck into the shot.)

I've actually got one more scarf already on the needles in addition to the boucle' one I added to the WIP scrollbar. I don't know how many of these will end up at part of the ART 180 180, but we'll see. A big thanks to Maureen for joining the ranks donating a scarf to this good cause. (See 8/6 entry for details, and I'll try to put the flyer in the sidebar.)

2003-08-07T17:56:00.000-04:00

Gender Rant

OK, I enjoy this fun little email I get called DailyCandy -- it's a frivolous distraction that cues me in to what's allegedly hip in the big city. When they introduced the weekly DailyCandy Kids, I signed up for that one, too; I live with a kid, after all. But this week's item annoys the heck out of me, as it's one more entry in the genderfication of childhood.

To wit: You know what they say. Nothing beats a great pair of Legos. Except for Clikits, a cool new building toy, designed just for girls by the folks at Lego.

My daughter has Legos. The original kind, in primary colors, just like my brother and I played with (only now they make the bigger pieces for the smaller hands). The box didn't say it was only for boys, or for girls; it pictured tots of all types.

Their well-stated philosophy makes no distinction for gender, and the site references "lifelong play" --
Our name comes from the combination of the Danish "leg godt", which means to "play well." It is both our name and our nature. We believe that play is the essential ingredient in a child's growth and development. It grows the human spirit. It encourages imagination, conceptual thinking and creation.

I know that I'll have to face the reality of such girl-directed products appealing to my child when she's a bit older. But I hate that these Clikits (does anyone else see an abbreviated reference to female genitalia when they look at that word?) only give girls the option of making bracelets and hairclips, objects of adornment (attraction?) rather than imaginary characters like the boy-directed Bionicals, for example.

Kids' clothing is the same way now, at the retailers' -- it's even sized differently for boys and girls, I discovered, when Caroline's boy-shorts had to be pinned at the waist. Pastels for girls, primaries for boys. But I like all colors, and I want my daughter to wear navy blue if she feels like it. I'm wearing brown right now, myself.

I can't change any of this, even if I try to subvert it through some boycott, or my own alternative stitching, or cancelling my DailyCandy Kids subscription (but that's a start). She's only two, my Caroline, and I'm well aware there are multiple annoyances ahead in consumerist America. At least I can have a little rant, here on my little blog, and feel better. Thanks.

Oh, and this is my new blogchalk:
United States, Virginia, & Carolina, English, Italian, stitching, poetry. :)
Maybe that should be stitching and bitching.

2003-08-06T13:19:00.000-04:00

Record-Breaking Attendance

Even without the three dogs and two kids (and two cops, one bearing gifts!), the S&Bers numbered 20 last night, the most ever (previous high having been 18). And that included four who'd never come, two of them neighbors (Lisa and Randy with baby Ella) and one found via this blogworld. I knit on CP instead of Smooch, given my concern that hosting duties would interfere with my concentration. So the body of CP is done, and I've cast on to knit both little sleeves at once. I also took many pictures; click on the thumbnails or links to view a larger image.

Having finished and felted the Suki bag she was knitting last month, Heather brought her latest WIP, the beautiful eyelash-enhanced shrug she models here.
Coincidentally working in the same colorway, Teri-Kay completed this fabulous fabric bag, stitched from a c.1945 sewing pattern that retailed for 15 cents.

Regulars Michelle (left, in the shot at right) and Lisa worked on a beaded bracelet and a dishcloth respectively, while newcomer Beth (left, whom I found via wendyknits.net comments) started a sweater, and the returning Molly, sporting a swell tank of her own recent creation, finished the stitches of a to-be-felted bag. Speaking of Wendy, I encouraged the gang to knit up a mouse or two for The Great Charity Mouse-a-thon.

Lisa, Sarah, Pam, Alice and I all took advantage of the fruits of stash reduction Frances (pictured with one of her twin daughters, Scottie) brought to share. I suggested that Alice use her "found" wool to knit a scarf for a local fundraising effort that Kim (with canines Zoe and Frasier) stopped by to promote.

Kim hatched the notion a couple months ago that we should create, and auction, a number of scarves to benefit ART 180, a five-year-old non-profit organization that "gives young people the chance to express themselves through art, and to share their stories with others." With a cohort of other planners, the project evolved into the ART 180 Scarf Auction, scheduled for November 15, at which 180 neck-adorning items will be sold to high bidders on behalf of ART 180. Last night we distributed this flyer in hopes of adding to the auction's fiber-art bounty. Already some folks in other states have committed to participate, so the organizers are confident that the total will be reached (if not exceeded). If any friends of maggistitches feel like joining in, I'll gladly complete the form on your behalf and save you the stamp (and the task). I'll even pay your shipping costs to get it here. Check out the ART 180 site, and see what great things they've done, then let me know you want to help.

2003-08-05T12:41:00.000-04:00

Smoochin' on the Porch

Nah, I've got no make-out session scheduled: the monthly S&B tonight is also going to be an event of the 20th National Night Out, a crime- and
drug-prevention event designed to heighten crime- and drug-prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime efforts; and strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships.

So, assuming the weather cooperates (storms have thundered regularly in these parts of late), this evening the stitchers will be on the porch or in my tiny front yard with their needles and my neighbors, as residents in neighborhoods across the nation spend the evening outside.

I'd noticed these events falling on the same Tuesday in the previous two Augusts, but not until this time around did it occur to me that they could merge. I've lined up citronella torches and serious lighting (to be loaned by a filmmaker), and I have a new bottle of bug repellant. We'll still put any eats inside, and can retreat there if it rains. My neighborhood association dropped off membership information and give-aways, so I hope this month's attendees include some of the regulars who actually live in my 'hood!

Speaking of , last night I forged ahead, and even though I ripped back one more time (because the first two eyelets were too far apart), I achieved a satisfactory left front and made headway on the right. I continue to do things differently from what Rowan advises, but one must in order to make the two sides match. There will still be much post-stitching finishing to face, but I could finish the knitting tonight!

2003-08-04T14:18:00.000-04:00

That dang Smooch ain't nothing like a kiss. Saturday night I (thought I) followed the instructions closely, juggling eyelets and decreases on both arm and neck sides, my brain astrain with numbers and sequences. When I took a closer look after the fourth eyelet, I faced facts, and frogged, relieved that I'd woven in a (fuchsia Cascade 220) lifeline to rip back to. Last night I made another stab, with a plan to "rewrite" the instructions to something I could more easily follow. After two eyelets, it looked pretty good. Fingers are still crossed, but if this doesn't work, I may end up with a plain V-neck.

I don't think Smooch is a terribly difficult design. I wouldn't have taken it on if I expected it to be terrifically challenging; it's only a summer tank, after all. A great-looking tank. But, hey, I do like for each new knitting project to teach me something new -- and I've gotten that here with the eyelet pattern at the hem, and its ruffled edge. And I love the All Seasons Cotton. Even though Cotton-Ease has a similar fiber content and gauge, the hand of the ASC is smoother, and it's easier to knit. I like the look of other designs in the All Seasons Cotton Collection, too, which justified my springing for a somewhat pricy pattern book. I've even already bought the yarn (albeit Cotton-Ease) for two other sweaters in the book. But if their instructions are as confusing or unclear as those for Smooch, this knitter will, regretfully, be having some other cotton sweaters. One thing's for sure: I won't be grabbing the yarn and trying another pattern from this set as soon as I complete Smooch.

2003-08-01T11:46:00.000-04:00

Tangents

Are they tangents if they aren't really related? I'm going to start with the knitting content, but then I'm going to take the risk of veering off, after four months blogging on topic.

The Cutie Patootie baby sweater's fronts are on holders while I complete the 50-stitch rectangle that is the back. I just realized that in the percentage bar at right I have based the number on the sweater alone, when there's also a hat to come. Oh well. Smooch, meanwhile, is ready to eyelet. I think if I start the neckline now it will be ever so slightly less plunging than the pattern suggests, but I've gotta do it because I can't juggle starting the neckline and the armholes simultaneously. Each time I read through the instructions, I feel confused by the lack of clarity. I'm going to run a lifeline through the current row, because I see some frogging in the future. Nevertheless, I'm determined to complete and wear this tank before Labor Day!

This is a picture of Bill Love, a guy I knew in college, a close friend to this day of one of my best buds. When I got a call from said friend, Tim, this week, he connected some dots that my mind had missed: Bill and his wife Beth and one of their four daughters were killed two weeks ago in the tragic plane crash in Kenya that took almost an entire three generations of a family. Although I came late to this news, it has weighed on me all week -- as I believe the story would have (if I'd fully heard it when it first aired/was published) regardless of whether I knew any of the victims personally. That they were last happily together as the extended Brumley family on holiday offers some solace. And some comfort comes from the thought that they surely died painlessly, upon sudden impact. But I just can't stop thinking about the five children who were left orphaned by this accident, the youngest of whom will hardly be able, at less than two, to retain scant memories of the fellow smiling above, her father.

And yet. Aunts and uncles can keep Beth and Bill alive for their girls, who'll come live in my very city with Bill's sister. Although I don't know her, I've sent a note, and hope to meet them all some day. Beth's pair of twin sisters missed the Africa trip; I can't help but think the universe/God/fate intervened in this way to give all five children a living connection to their lost parents and grandparents. A sliver of silver in a most cloudy sky.

2003-07-29T10:29:00.000-04:00

Did I mention that I got a scanner? (This is not a photograph of it, nor one it scanned.) It gave me the capacity to post the Caleb photo in the last entry. I also added an image to the quilt section, of a pillow I made for my goddaughter. I actually made several similar pillows over two Christmases with fabrics from my mom's log cabin quilt; guess I should scan those as well.

I'd planned to try scanning the knitted fabric of Cutie Patootie for this blog entry, but we ran out of time this morning. I need a snooze button, but my alarm clock (above) is analog, and battery-powered -- the clock radio is in the bathroom so I can listen to NPR while prepping for the day -- I like this Michael Graves-designed timepiece better in the bedroom anyway. So I'll see about scanning the knitting tonight. Can anyone with a scanner tell me if that works? I feel like I've seen more than 2-D stuff depicted via scan (i.e., Bonne Marie's header earring); guess I'll just have to try it to find out.

Later: Look! I did it:

On the knitting front, I'm continuing on CP and Smooch simultaneously. I sure hope the curled bottom of the stst of Cutie will block out, although I also figure the crochet edge finishing will stop the rolling. I'm almost to the point of taking it off the long circ and dividing for back and fronts. I'm planning to do three-needle bind-off on the shoulders, another variation in addition to my having worked the back and fronts together to eliminate side seaming. The pattern calls for the sleeves to be attached and then the sides and sleeves seamed together, so I'll cross my fingers that the seamed sleeves set in with ease.

As to Smooch, I've worked past the increases that put it to matching the back, but I am considering adding a few more stitches and following the instructions for the large front. I"m hardly busty, but I might not mind a tiny bit more coverage and ease. Then I'll adjust before the shoulder bind-off so they'll match for the seaming I have to do there. The scary part -- that eyelet neckline -- approaches. Wish me luck!

2003-07-25T10:22:00.000-04:00

Crochet Confessions

Jillian has let it slip that she and Squib Amy will be attending a crochet class. I, for one, think that's a perfectly good idea. Why not learn all the needle arts? Knitting will still reign supreme in all of our opinions, I'm confident.

I learned crochet first -- probably in the 1970s. I taught myself from a book (or booklet), and used a mirror to view the photographs for left-handed crocheting. I've a vague recollection that granny squares were involved, but no documentary evidence survives. When I started the Stitch & Bitch two years ago, I was working on a quilt, but the next "genre" I took up was crochet: I made a baby afghan for a gift (and still need to collect its photo for the gallery).

As that Sugar 'n' Cream cotton worked up pretty comfortably on the hook, I moved on to a baby garment in the same yarn, a cardigan with matching hat. Lucky for me, the pattern booklet included both knit and crochet versions of each -- because by the time I finished that sweater, I didn't want to crochet ever again. You'll see that I knit the hat, and thereby completed it much more quickly, using a more reasonable amount of yarn. Another lesson learned: crochet is for edging, only -- and the occasional nostalgic granny square. (Caroline's favorite blanket is in fact a giant granny square that my friend Bunny worked on at S&B, right under my nose!)

Indeed, I've not crochet since, but I'm talking about it now, for the finishing of Smooch, and I know I'll face it for the finishing of Cutie Patootie.
And I'm OK with that.

2003-07-23T10:48:00.000-04:00

Needles, no damage

When I first learned to knit, the only needles I knew were aluminum. I still have a hank of those brightly colored Boyes in my needle vase, but in the past year's obsession I've gained a number of Clover bamboo straights and circs, and I've liked using them -- with wool. This summer's cotton blends are another story, retold to me last night as I switched sets between Smooch and Cutie Patootie -- both knit on #US8 -- trying to get comfortable for the long haul(s) of Stst. I did the front eyelet section of Smooch using the bamboo circ, and appreciated its slowing me down while I concentrated on the pattern, but then I switched back to the shiny green straights I'd used for the back piece, so I can cruise. Maybe if I had the lauded Addi Turbo circ I'd stick with the back & forth on circs that I see so many bloggers using to great effect, although I have not the easiest time, being a left-handed knitter knitting right-handed (throwing with my right, Anglo-American-style). I've bought a 16" Addi circ in an 8 (for Sitcom Chic's sleeves), but that's too short for Smooch.

Meanwhile, before the switcheroo, I swatched the Cotton Twist on the aluminum straights, then, post-switch, cast the whole baby sweater onto the bamboo circs. The Berroco pattern wants me to knit three separate pieces, but I'll go for the combo till it's time to divide for armholes. Because of the rayon blend in this yarn, it goes a little faster than the All Seasons Cotton on the bamboo; I need the length for 130 stitches, so it'll have to do!

I've added some Pony Pearl DPNs and a couple sets of Swallow casein straights to my collection this year, for the socks and lace I have yet to attempt. (That recent Portrait scarf, while lacy, took US10s.) The Brittany DPNs I've used for sleeves and wrist warmers have been smooth and comfortable (not that I've tried them with cotton). I look forward to experiencing their different properties as well, once I turn toward an autumn of gift-knitting.

2003-07-20T22:43:00.000-04:00

All of one, half of another
On Friday night I completed the one-skein, instructions-from-the-label, Portrait lace scarf. It's blocked and wrapped to send to my friend Debbie, for her new winters in Muncie. I bought one more skein along with this one, in case I wanted to do the longer scarf, but I've decided the 43" length is adequate and attractive. I shall make one more as another gift, but will work on a different small project in between for a change of pace. [I photographed it against the window to show off the lace; click on the image above for a larger view.]

Last night, I finally finished the back of Smooch, and tonight I cast on the stitches for the front. Other knitters-along have me a mite worried about my sizing choice, especially now that I can stretch the size M back across my front. I'm wondering if I should try making a L for the front, as I saw Bonne Marie was doing (she may have even mixed a L back with an XL front -- and I'm pretty sure she's smaller than I am!), but I am not confident in my ability to merge the parts once complete. Plus, the border eyelets are even Vs in the Medium, and I'm afraid I won't like the off-kilter Vs if I mix. I have to look at the pattern some more, and the archives of the rest of my fellow Smoochers. It's not like I'll be short-rowing shoulders and doing a three-needle bind-off -- again, I'm just not there -- yet.

2003-07-18T09:56:00.000-04:00

Ancient History

Since I doubt anyone noticed that I snuck a photo into the top of the FO list, as well as the bottom, let me present you with one of the sweaters completed during my first incarnation as a knitter:

At my request, my friend Lanier's mother Suejette taught me to knit in the mid-1980s. The first thing I made was a fuchsia cotton shell, pretty much plain stockinette, as I recall. Sometime there was a sweater or vest with actual cables, but it has gone on to the great beyond (i.e., Goodwill, thrift store, etc.) Then I made a cardigan out of a delicious, tweedy, silk-wool blend -- but since I was knitting on my own (my "teacher" in another town), with no bloggers to guide me, I had not learned the importance of swatching for gauge. The thing was gorgeous, but the thing was HUGE. [Now, it's being reincarnated as a cardigan that will fit, thanks to Bonne Marie's guidance through the frog pond and out the other side; I've knit the back and most of one front already.]

The last thing I knit in that decade (and century) was this sweater, my first go at changing colors. I'm proud to say that it's remained in my wardrobe ever since, despite its loose-styled fit. I was even more proud to find that the aforementioned Ms. Burns has knit it, too, putting her own spin on things, I believe, by reversing the front and back. My photo above shows the back of mine, while she's presenting the same pattern on the front; here is the front of mine. Thanks to Bonne Marie, I can now date the sweater, since her site notes the source as Vogue Knitting, Fall 1988.

Grad school followed soon after, and, for me, afforded little knitting time, although I did a fair bit of sewing then. I think I simply forgot about knitting therafter -- until I initiated my monthly Stitch & Bitch two years ago, and knitters showed up in my living room. Hooray, for now I am hooked again (or should that be needled?)!

2003-07-16T23:28:00.000-04:00

Birthday Girl

Although Amelia's first birthday is not until Friday, her parents hosted a soiree in her honor tonight and I presented the Haiku sweater. Amelia tried it on (over her monogrammed toile sundress) before heading up to bed.

Caroline also attended the party, and wore her new striped jumpsuit, without the blouse beneath and with the addition of a crochet-chain tie to hold the shoulders up. Between the two projects on display, this knitter basked in compliments from many other guests. It is fun to knit for children, who are attractive no matter what they wear -- but I'm also glad that I knit for myself. I came home and made more progress on Smooch, after having completed the armhole shaping Monday night. I suspect I will choose to finish the sleeve openings a bit, perhaps like Becky did, with crocheted crab stitch. After all this st st, I'm looking forward to the ruffle & eyelet beginning of the front!

2003-07-14T14:27:00.000-04:00

Happy Bastille Day!

I know it's really Becky's place to celebrate a French holiday, but I have always noticed when this one rolls around. See her blog for parade details I cannot, alas, offer.

Caroline wore the completed jumpsuit yesterday, mostly so my mother could admire it. The straps seemed to stretch minute by minute, and she soon wanted to change into something else. I didn't have the camera with us, so will capture her modeling on the next go. Meanwhile, I moved the buttons and crocheted a chain to tie (one of my parents recommended a shoelace, but at least this matches) the straps and prevent them falling down. I hope she'll be willing to wear it Wednesday when we go to baby Amelia's birthday party, and I can capture both of my latest projects modeled in one shot.

In other knitting news, my slow Smooch continues, (oh my, a flashback of Kevin Costner in Bull Durham) and I will start the armhole shaping on the back piece tonight.

2003-07-11T13:10:00.000-04:00

This is the first time I've answered the Friday Five, but I came across the link while surfing and thought, what the H, since I haven't knit but a few rows on the Portrait scarf since my last post. Here goes.

1. Do you remember your first best friend? Who was it?
David Morrisette, who is five months older than I am and lived across Hill Street from me. Interesting that he is the only male I mention here. As children age, their playmates tend to be of the same sex, which is probably a societal directive, if an unfortunate one. But in high school (and since) I had many male friends (David among them), several of whom also continue as my good friends to this day.

2. Are you still in touch with this person?
Yes! I have seen him within the past year, and I receive the newsletter from his winery. Tomorrow, when I join another best babe, Sarah, and attend yet one more friend's 50th birthday party for her husband, I'll get an update on David, as Sarah lunched with him this week.

3. Do you have a current close friend?
I am blessed to have several, from the three that go back almost as far as David to one I have only known for about three years.

4. How did you become friends with this person?
Let's make "this person" the latter friend mentioned above, Elizabeth, whom I call Lizzi. Rose, a fellow poet, brought Lizzi to our poetry group and we simply connected. Even though she moved to another (contiguous) state two years ago, we remain way close, she's my daughter's "gnosmother," and I just saw her three weeks ago when we vacationed together (She created, and hosts, Chickva).

5. Is there a friend from your past that you wish you were still in contact with? Why?
I wish I was still in touch with Lucy Blackford, who moved away a decade ago to attend medical school. Now she is a doctor, and married, and I would like to reconnect because she is a woman I admired and shared a great deal with, when we were in our early 30s and pursuing similar goals.

2003-07-09T09:52:00.000-04:00

Jump, Mama, jump!

That's one of Caroline's oft-repeated phrases these days, whether she's on the last stairstep, exiting the car or just feeling like some lively movement. And now she's got a stripey outfit in which to do so (or will, once I block and attach the pocket and buttons). I found a nicely coordinating shirt last night at Old Navy, in case she's feeling modest -- or mom wants to ensure folks know she's a girl.

I seem to have a bit of finish-itis instead of the more common start-itis. Now I can devote myself to completing Smooch before I begin Sitcom Chic (for myself) or Cutie Patootie (for a baby due next month, but I'll make the six-month size). I'm going to a shower for the parents-to-be tomorrow, and plan to wrap a picture of the hat & sweater set, with some yarn attached. (While I had intended this project for awhile, and bought the Cotton Twist early in June at my LYS's anniversary sale, I didn't learn of the shower until last week, so chose not to push myself to complete CP in time.)

2003-07-07T09:30:00.000-04:00

Haiku

finally complete
goddaughter's first birthday gift
Amelia's sweater

2003-07-05T14:14:00.000-04:00

Independence Day was duly relaxing, as we attended the annual block party around the corner in its 31st year (It was covered by Southern Living sometime in its 20s). Caroline got balloons painted on her arm, and we decorated her car with flags and tissue bunting for the block-long parade. I think the day was mostly about eating for her, though -- that and swimming in the pool in the street (where I didn't risk my camera).
On Thursday night I completed my swatch for Becky, yesterday I blocked it, and today we put it in the airmail. The pattern is honeycomb cable (from The Knitting Stitch Bible, knit in Banana Cream Cotton-Ease (with a few extra rows knitted on the sides to make the square).

2003-07-03T10:50:00.000-04:00

Eight of us stitched last night, but I only got shots of three. Hetty was back with her freeform fair isle scarf, which she's knitting in the round, for her brother. Alice was experimenting with a combination of beads and crochet, but she and Leslie left for a literary performance/reading before I could get a closer look, or see what Leslie's new project is. Lisa whipped up a catnip mouse a la Wendy, while Pam started a Portrait scarf just like the one I'm making (progress picture of mine in an earlier post).

Frances was knitting something that's to be a gift, so we'll keep it a secret, and Sarah returned with her patriotic-toned quilt. I worked on my swatch for Becky, which took numerous tries to reach the six-inch requirement -- and reminded me that gauge in a pattern is not the same as gauge in stockinette! I also consulted with Frances about weaving in the many ends on Caroline's jumper; she suggested I may want to crochet or i-cord around its rolling edges as well. Smooch was neglected last night, but I got some fitting advice and am hoping to finish the back and move on to the front during the course of the long weekend.

2003-07-02T11:40:00.000-04:00

Stitch & Bitch tonight!
I'm pleased and rather amazed that I've hosted a monthly gathering of stitchers in many media for more than two years now. I myself have sewn curtains and quilts, crocheted and knitted, but now it's mostly the latter, and indeed knitting dominates the crowd. With runoff (rainoff?) from the storm named Bill, this being the holiday week, and a switch from our usual first Tuesday, I'm still hoping for a good turnout. Photos tomorrow!

The local stop by this fine band precipitated the move of S&B from yesterday to today. Such talented young people, Nickel Creek! This photo's from Cleveland, but it was shot this month, so that's pretty much what Chris Thile (22, on mandolin), Sara Watkins (22, fiddle) and (her brother) Sean Watkins (26, guitar) looked like last night -- not that they ever stood still. Here's touring bassist Mark Schatz's take on their tunes: "The band goes from driving instrumentals with odd twists and turns and pop/rock grooves with contemporary vocal leads and flawless harmonies to placid lovely ballads, played with ultimate good taste, sweetness, and elegance. " Indeed.

2003-06-30T14:05:00.000-04:00

Making up is not hard to do! For starters, I'm more confident a ripper -- used to be I would always tink stitch-by-stitch, for fear of not getting the knitting back on the needles correctly. Maybe the body of the Rowan ASC yarn holds to itself better than some I've knitted with, but Smooch was easy to take back to the six-inch mark and reknit from there. Now, three days later I've knit well past the point I'd reached incorrectly before -- and that's after knitting but two hours on the weekend (because I didn't take the pattern on the road with me, and feared doing too many or too few increases before forging on). In fact, I think I'm ready to start the armhole shaping tonight. I'd intended to knit Becky's swatch, too, having narrowed my choices and packed the Banana Cream Cotton-Ease skein -- but I forgot to take an extra set of needles, and chose not to take Smooch off its pair for that. Since we have neighborhood Independence Day festivities later in the week, the Becky-square may be the perfect thing to tote around the corner.

2003-06-26T14:52:00.000-04:00

Today's quiz: Are you a knitter?
Well, duh, but it was fun to see how the quiz defined me, its choices ranging from young to cutesie to granny to hip to masterful. I'm content to hang in the middle (although disappointed with the fuzzy graphic):

You may not be a granny, but you've got the
mentality. Hard work and artistic vision lead
to your beautiful knitted results.

Are you a knitter? brought to you by Quizilla

BUT, Smooops, I feel I may not deserve the granny-knitter tag. Last night I realized I'd knit way too far on Smooch without making the increases that correspond to the shaping decreases. I got so excited about plowing ahead that I paid insufficient attention to the directions, which Kim Hargreaves or her Rowan editors have published using the metric system (while I thought the UK used inches). I saw a measurement of 15 and started thinking inches, even though that would be WAY too far up, rather than centimeters, at the 6-inch mark. So I bet I'm gonna be ripping back all I've done with the second skein. Bummer. At least there are a couple of good flix on cable tonight to accompany my frogging.

2003-06-25T21:37:00.000-04:00

THESE caught my eye as I was photographing the Portrait mohair lace scarf, so it seemed as good a time as any to offer a few garden shots as others have done. As I noted previously, I've only got about 400 square feet, with the brick garage bordering the far end, a tall wooden fence on the alley side, and a low wooden fence between us and dear neighbor Emily (who grows -- and shares -- lovely roses). The excessive rain has been good for all things green, including the dastardly violets I can't control. They bloom pretty, in my favorite color, and are associated with my birth month, but they grow too abundant and large in this small space, alas. I didn't shoot a full panorama, but here are my lacewing hydrangea and hosta, sedum Autumn Joy, and the purple trio of coneflower, butterfly bush and lavender. A small Koosa (sp?) dogwood grows over the hosta, while across the way a white crape myrtle has thrived so much that it's stolen light (& life) from its purple neighbors.

What you're not seeing: spirea, coral bells, moonbeam coreopsis, bee balm, daylililes, one camellia, azaleas, Carolina jessamine and a red honeysuckle climbing the garage (their unfortunate mustard & catsup colors joined, for better or worse, by a pale lavender clematis, planted from an unlabeled container), a lovely pink-blooming shrub called wigeala, a nandina, and something beneath it whose name I've forgotten. Curved lines on one side are defined by monkey grass, and by stones on the other. Last summer we had the deck rebuilt, with a bit of a pergola, but I've not had a chance to use it to advantage this soggy season. Maybe next year . . .

And, let me not forget the knitted colors that sent me in search of good light! Here's a progress shot of the scarf I've been knitting at lunchtime (and in a staff meeting this afternoon), made with Artful Yarns' Portrait in the Weeping Woman colorway. It's my first real go at knitting lace, and I'm really enjoying it now that I've got the simple pattern (noted in an earlier post) down. The ball band suggests one skein will make a decent accessory, but I have two, so I can decide once the end of this one approaches.

2003-06-21T15:31:00.000-04:00

I must say, I'm having a lot of fun flipping through The Knitting Stitch Bible, trying to decide what will comprise my square for Becky's patchwork afghan. I figure I'll use the yellow Cotton-Ease that I have for Caroline's jumper, but the stitch options are pretty much countless.

In other news, the camera finally behaved last night, conveniently after I had photographed the Portofino scarf on its new owner (who insisted I crop out her head for the gallery, silly woman). If I'd just sew those little sleeves and buttons onto the Haiku sweater, I could have another Finished Object on view. At least the birthday due date looms within the month, so I'll get to it pretty soon.

Finally, after the fact, this is the essential view from our Chickva location earlier this week:

We ate, drank, gabbed, laughed, read, stitched and watched from this dear mid-20th-century cottage that has been in my friend's family all the decades. Glorious hydrangeas cheered us, too, especially when the sun hid.

2003-06-20T09:48:00.000-04:00

Fatal Exceptions

Dagnabbit, the pesky camera's having another spell of causing a crash rather than downloading its contents -- that's why I haven't posted since I returned home Wednesday night; I've tried for illustrations, and given up without them. I don't want to keep staring at that blue screen that states, "A FATAL EXCEPTION HAS OCCURRED." I thought I'd better put in an appearance at least, pix or not.

Chickva provided just the R&R I needed, and much knitting time, as Day Two was totally soggy. But I spread my efforts across three projects, including a new scarf begun with some Artful Yarns Portrait mohair from KnitPicks in a rainbow colorway I predicted might be obnoxious. But the lace pattern offered on the ball band (CO 30 on US10; Row 1: k2, yo, k1, k3tog, k1, yo; Row 2: K) makes a sweet lace that appealed to the co-vacationing Deb, so she became its designated recipient immediately. Remarkably, she and Elizabeth were stitch-free, having deemed their (quilt) works in progress too cumbersome to tote to the river.

I remain one of the Smooch stitchers at the back of the pack, but I'm just not going to let it bother me. Now that I have done the fab bottom edge and all the shaping decreases, the rows upon rows of stockinette stitch hardly call out to me. At least on Caroline's jumper there's the prospect of changing colors within a few rounds. I know I'll love the tank when it's completed, so it won't languish all summer, certainly. The finished work of Kerstin, Nora and the gang inspires me to keep plugging away -- but Alison's post today makes me a little wary. Here's hoping she figures out the pattern details and can then guide me, and others. (One of whom is Wendy -- who'll surely leave me in the dust with her green Smooch!)

Tonight I'm gifting my goddaughter (six on 6/14) and her mother (43 on 6/25) knit-related birthday presents, so (if the camera eventually cooperates) I'll finally have a photo of the completed Portofino scarf. Sallie's kit has a knitting spool and some other gear, including basic straight needles; I'm eager to teach her even though she's perhaps on the young side.

2003-06-15T23:14:00.000-04:00

Special Guest Stitcher

I'm off for Chick Vacation tomorrow, and one of my compadres, Debbie (moving soon from K'zoo to Muncie to get on the tenure track), has gifted our host and her new husband with a beautiful quilt. I actually like it more than the one I gave the same couple for Christmas. The file is large, so it's just a link here, but believe me, it's worth it.

I'm taking Smooch along for the knitting (one of three projects I'll have in the bag). Here's how much I've knit so far:

That's some clover I don't mind in my front yard. These daylilies are an even more pleasing feature there. The real garden, small though it is, is in back (about 400sf) -- but those pictures will have to wait for another day.

Chickva '03 awaits! I missed this annual gathering last year, so I'm especially excited about my three days/two nights on the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. When Caroline & I delivered provisions this afternoon, the weather was damp & gray; I'm hopeful for some clearing, but, if not, the company of good friends in an idyllic setting will do me right regardless. And we'll all be stitching some, so pix upon my return!

2003-06-13T15:11:00.000-04:00

This is not my beautiful house

I noticed Sandy's post about this wacky site called Googlism, and gave it a go. It plugs your word(s) into Google and gives back a list of the references without the URLS, etc. Many of mine were related to the actual Maggi company that makes condiments, or about some house in Italy! Of about a hundred listings that were generated, here are some highlights of the Googlism for: maggi (with my editorial notes)

ON THE MONEY:
*maggi is a writer
*maggi is hard to catalogue
*maggi is capable and diverse enough to handle the rustic sound with competence
*maggi is for everyone of you who want to experiment with your outlook and achieve the best effect
*maggi is equally at home at a small country crossroads or in a large academic setting
*maggi is prize
*maggi is

SLIGHTLY INACCURATE:
*maggi is always comfortable with new people and has never been skittish about loud noises
*maggi is a younger 42 yrs old
*maggi is a gourmet cook and exercise fanatic

CAREERS IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE:
PROBABLE:
*maggi is a reporter in the capital bureau of the times
*maggi is a writing fellow at the american prospect
*maggi is a research associate with the centre
FANTASY:
*maggi is associate professor in the department of romance languages
*maggi is a geophysicist who works for jpl
*maggi is a registered professional civil engineer
FAR-FETCHED:
*maggi is running for congress in pennsylvania's open 18th district seat
*maggi is professor of microeconomics and industrial organisation at the university of lugano
*maggi is also an examiner for the coast guard small vessel checks and is an active director of the port alberni marine rescue society

QUITE POSSIBLE [BUT MORE DETAILS ARE NEEDED--OR MORE TIME]:
*maggi is holding lectures and seminars in the following fields
*maggi is all but assured a second term in january
*maggi is a name you see a lot on the continent
*maggi is an american living near frankfurt
*maggi is an american who has lived in many countries in europe

I HAVE NO IDEA:
*maggi is op en andere verhalen
*maggi is een merk dat reeds generaties lang een belangrijke rol speelt in iedere nederlandse keuken
*maggi is een merk dat al generaties lang een belangrijke rol speelt in iedere nederlandse keuken

TO SUM IT UP:
maggi is not exactly a promise of stardom is it now?

2003-06-12T10:56:00.000-04:00

I finally started Smooch, the sweet Rowan tank I'm making in a knit-along -- the same day that our motivator/coordinator Alison designed this groovy button for the Smooch-along:

I must say, I was really grateful that others had started this sweater ahead of me, because I had some helpful hints in hand that got me started where I might have otherwise tripped early on. Blogworld rocks.

And yesterday I discovered that another non-tank knit-along group has formed (using Yahoo Groups), and they are knitting Sitcom Chic, so I may get that going, too. I'll take the materials for both projects (and the striped jump) on my mini-vacation next week. Big Suki bag full o'cotton-blend yarns! I'm only going away for three days and two nights, but at a river cottage there's plenty of knitting time in conjunction with talking, drinking and video-viewing. I'll keep the food away from the yarn, and the yarn away from the sand & water.

2003-06-10T10:33:00.000-04:00

Why, look! The same day I received my Cascade 220 color card from Threadbear, I felted the daypack made from the latest Cascade Matt & Rob had sent me!

I think the straps may be a little long for my tastes, but I can work some adjustment if need be. It's still drying so I haven't loaded and tried it on, but I'm sure pleased with how it turned out. (See pre-felting photo in a recent entry below, June 1.) Felting knowledge gleaned: Single-strand felts more quickly than double strand, and the final fabric is not significantly thinner. I now believe the double strand was definitely my downfall with the red Fuzzy Foot that took so much hot and cold water to felt. This bag was ready in 20 minutes, while the double-strand Suki, also made in Cascade, took 30 or 40.

The new Knitty arrived yesterday and it's a great read, full of insightful lessons and reviews and delightful patterns. Yea, Amy, Kristi, Bonne and all!

Can't say if Caroline will appear in every shot of her summer-stripes-in-progress, but she wanted to hold it this morning. I've joined the legs and am now working in the round on a 16" needle, which is good because I'd thought I'd have to put it on hold to work on Smooch, which I want to knit on the longer circ, but not in the round. These cottons slow a bit too much on bamboo, but that's what I've got, so that's what I'll use!

2003-06-07T15:43:00.000-04:00

Ooooo, I don't feel well right now, at all, so this will be short & sweet. I hope it's just something I ate. Or maybe it's got something to do with the excesses of yarn consumption this week. Between the sales at my LYS, KnitPicks, and Ben Franklin Crafts, I've saved so much money on yarn -- but of course I realize I'd have more money in my figurative pocket had I never ventured into shops, local or virtual (I hit Elann again this week, too).
Once I had my All Seasons Cotton for Smooch in hand, and compared it to the Cotton-Ease already in waiting for Sitcom Chic, I looked through the Rowan booklet and decided that I needed more Cotton-Ease for two other ASC patterns -- especially since Ben Franklin was having a Customer Appreciation Sale. And the night before I went to buy, a friend returned a copy of Family Circle Easy Knitting from 2002, wherein a found this cute pattern for a toddler jumpsuit, also well suited for Cotton-Ease. So now, instead of starting either summer sweater for myself, I've cast on the beginning of a leg of this outfit, displayed along with its designated recipient. If only I wasn't feeling so queasy, I might be knitting it now. Instead, better go join the wee one in napping.

2003-06-04T11:15:00.000-04:00

Ten women came for Stitch & Bitch last night, including a couple of out-of-towners returned for the summer, Sarah (currently quilting) and Nadja. And three bears, above, the white ones crocheted by Michelle, now working on another baby sweater, and the rainbow one knit by Heather, who's now making a Suki bag. Also present for photographing were Hettie, working a fabulous fair isle scarf in the round; Alice, knitting a little headband; and newcomer Leslie, with her big brown scarf. And, for a while, we had our happy little observer (and ladybug rider).
My achievement was the seaming of the shoulders and sleeves on the Haiku sweater -- all that's left now is to attach the sleeves, which will be a completely new experience for me.

Earlier in the day yesterday, I made a lunch-hour dash to my LYS, which is celebrating its 23 years in business with a 23%-off sale. I bought some Cotton Twist to make the Cutie Patootie baby set for an August due date (free pattern here), some #2 dpns in anticipation of finally trying to knit socks (perhaps for brother and father birthdays, also in August -- but maybe for Christmas), and my splurge gift to self, Knitter's Stash, the lovely pattern book.

(Which, I discovered when snagging this image, I could've purchased for less on amazon, but that's not how impulse buys happen.) If I get/make some pattern perusal time, I may hit the Knitting Basket once more before week's end, or I may try to resist, since I've stash aplenty and so many projects in the queue already.

2003-06-01T23:35:00.000-04:00

I'm just not going to fret about a record number of days for me between posts. I've only had this blog for two months; I don't think there are masses out there waiting with bated breath for the latest. Suffice it to say, last week was quite a busy one all around, and I had company over the weekend. But I did manage to complete the bag portion of the daypack, shown here before I reached the cast-off row.

And I'll mention that I worked on it for a couple hours Thursday while hosting a meeting at work -- I was just listening in, but as I wasn't an active participant, and I had gotten the speaker's permission, I knit away and no one freaked out. I finished the Portofino scarf Friday, but am thinking it may become a gift instead of my own, so I'll hold off on the photo, in case the intended recipient has been reading my blog.
Lastly ( and this is my second attempt at this post; the first was surely better as I'm getting tired and annoyed with Blogger!), I'll gladly note that I have ordered some All Seasons Cotton for the Rowan Smooch knit-along, thanks to a tip from Amy about a sale at Personal Threads. I am eager for it to arrive, since others have already begun knitting!

2003-05-27T17:29:00.000-04:00

Template's back, hooray. The sampler quilt shot is added.
And, more importantly, I have a button! Look, it's over there in the sidebar, where it says, "stitch this"! It comes courtesy of my web Xpert friend Suzanne, and I'm tickled pink. I guess I better alert the blog-button collectors. Check your mailbox.

2003-05-26T14:27:00.000-04:00

Well, blasted Blogger's being buggy -- I'm trying to make some template edits, on the b'days and WIPs, and it's giving me blankness. And then there's my other problem with my camera software for some unknown reason causing bigtime errors to the whole computer (Windows) when I try to download pix from it to the hard drive. [Fixed the camera glitch, or got to a try that worked, so here's a progress photo on Daypack]

I also have a new quilt to add, but Blogger says it doesn't have my template! What gives? Otherwise, a fine holiday weekend despite intermittent deluge. My latest Elann order arrived and I excitedly cast on a swatch of the less-costly yarn I'd ordered for the Smooch knit-along. Despite my guesswork based on the online info and the picture there, it's too fine a strand for that tank, although I think I can do something with Bonne Marie's boatneck shell pattern that calls for 5 st/in. I think I'm going to break down and buy some Rowan All Seasons Cotton, as the pattern is written for that -- it hasn't been the price that's stopped me thus far so much as none of the colors grabbing me. Alison, if you're reading this, I swear I'm not nearly so indecisive in real life, although I am a Myers-Briggs P!

2003-05-23T10:01:00.000-04:00

You gotta love a 24-hour knitting project (actual knitting time considerably less, of course)! Here's the catnip mouse, posed against the paw of its stoned recipient. As I wrote to Wendy when I send her a pic for the mouse-along gallery, Bring on the full-size arans! (But not until the fall; I've a stack of summer projects to knit before wallowing in wool again.)

2003-05-22T10:46:00.000-04:00

Uh-oh. I fear I'm suffering from that finish-phobia: Since I've knitted all of the pieces of Amelia's Haiku sweater, I've started three new projects, two of them last night. Thankfully, I have her birthday as a completion deadline, but that's not until July; still, I should complete it completely!

Meanwhile, here's a look at one of the newer two. First, a summer scarf knit from a cotton-blend yarn called Portofino that I picked up in NC over Mother's Day weekend. I cast 15 stitches onto US15 needles, and am working six K rows (three ridges) alternating with nine (K2tog, YO) rows.

The other is to be a catnip-stuffed mouse for Ethan, at the prompting of Wendy who posted a simple aran pattern on her blog and created a gallery to display the mice and their delighted recipients.

Either of these new WIPs is sized for knitting on the go, and I needed a new one of those (she rationalizes.) And knitting also continues on the daypack, having received Rob's reassurance that one strand will felt into a sturdy accessory. I'm into the rounds now, but not to the first stripe.

2003-05-20T10:05:00.000-04:00

I finally cast on the daypack last night, experiencing for the first time the use of provisional stitches in a waste yarn. I'm eager to have this for my summer bag, even if it is wool. But I must check with Rob & Matt at Threadbear to be sure I should only be knitting with one strand of Cascade 220, because my other felted projects thus far have used double.

Caroline's birthday party was big fun, despite the rain that kept us from spreading to the deck and garden. She's been enjoying the many books she received, and takes frequent turns on the rocking ladybug, but I think her favorite gift was the rain or shine set from my knitting mentor friend, Frances.

2003-05-18T11:29:00.000-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAROLINE! My daughter is two years old, and we're having a pizza party this evening. Yea!
Meanwhile, the venerable (although not so much so, given the recent Jayson Blair revelations) New York Times features an article today on blogging -- in the Styles section. Check it out; I, for one, am glad we're concentrating our blogging, for the most part, on knitting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/18/fashion/18BLOG.html

2003-05-17T09:48:00.000-04:00

I just realized I have another WIP. Once upon a time I tried some crocheting, and made a baby afghan that I thought would be for Caroline, but that I ended up giving to my friend Cary, the mom whose birthday it happens to be today, as she left for Russia to adopt her daughter Jaqueline. Then I bought some more Sugar & Cream cotton to make a second afghan, but meanwhile started knitting again and realized I liked to knit more than to crochet. So, I frogged (can we use that term for ripping crochet?) the rather wonky afghan-in-progress and decided to knit it in squares like a quilt -- so that I could do just a bit at a time, between other knitting projects. Nowadays, I work on projects between projects and have left the nine-patch blanket be. I hope that placing it on this public WIP list will lead me to finish it -- eventually!

2003-05-15T13:32:00.000-04:00

My friends Elizabeth and Matt (recipients of quilt and Fuzzy Feet) wed this hour on the bank of the Piankitank River. Congratulations!

This is the life (or at least one that's fun to sample). Caroline's caregiver's gone to Boston, so I've taken two days of vacation this week to hang with the wee one. Yesterday: Power walk with a pal (& strollers), iced coffee al fresco, a visit to the LYS, swatching and other naptime tasks, and goddaughter's soccer game coupled with the discovery of a great new playground.
Today: Yet another playground with a mom-tot pair o'friends, the Farmers' Market and it's naptime again, so who knows what the afternoon holds!

One more blog note: I've added the pseudo-Suki to the gallery, having finished the handles to Mom's specs -- she opted for short and doubled, which I find dandy. On to the next . . .

2003-05-14T08:27:00.000-04:00

I've felt a bit odd working on only three projects for a few weeks now, so I'm ready to get a start on the popular felted day pack designed by the team called Two Old Bags. And, no surprise, I purchased the pattern and the Cascade 220 from the fellas at Threadbear, and was mightily pleased to have color guru Matt's approval of my choices. But it was Joe's remark I read yesterday that prompted me to set up the winder, so I could try placing the skein label into the wound yarn, comme ca:

Thanks, Joe, for a great suggestion. I look forward to casting on later today.

Another aspect of my winding set-up was suggested in the forums at Knitters Review when I was researching swifts and winders to determine whether I wanted to own one or both or neither. Here, as a result, is my lampshade swift, which works just fine, thanks!

2003-05-12T22:02:00.000-04:00

Virtual House Tour for Pioneer Melissa
But first let's talk about some stitches. I had a chance over the weekend to photograph the log cabin quilt I made for my mom for Christmas 1999, so that image has been added to the gallery. And progress on Haiku continues, so here's a shot of it spread out, rather than in pre-assembly pose:

So, Melissa's thinking about paint, and put out a call for ideas and glimpses of the choices others have made. I've got the house, I've got the digital camera -- so here, Pioneer, is one more knit blogger's homestead. When I arrived at this home nine years ago (!), all walls were an off-white; I've left them that way in the living room, the study and the upstairs hall. But, as you'll see in the photo, we enhanced the stairway itself with some bright yellow paint, as suggested by my friend and consultant, Chris, a design professional. This paint had a number rather than a name, Melissa, but the dining room walls are Crabapple by Martin Seynour. (Look, it's the pile o'knit chair, adorned with the Sitcom Chic yarn in a bag.)

The kitchen was the first room I attacked; if I had a scanner I'd show you the before picture -- but the changes have occurred over time. I painted the cabinets (and the refrigerator) right away, gloss black and a blue with a number that I subsequently couldn't get more of when I wanted to paint the wall to match. The mixing men did their best. A few years later we replaced nondescript vinyl flooring with black and white tiles, then about a year ago opted for new laminate countertops, stainless steel backsplash and open shelving. (The hanging ladybug flag thingy awaits the passage of pollen to be hung on the back deck.) I forgot to photograph the powder room that's off the kitchen, not that there's room to shoot, but its walls are covered in apple-green gathered muslin because I found them unworthy of paint.

Shall we go upstairs? Here's the bathroom, and let's show off the mirrors I made from the spare tiles that remained after its complete makeover. This was the project where I met the aforementioned Chris, when he worked for the contractor. All credit for its delightfulness are due him, but he made me feel like a participant as he guided the design decisions.

It's a small space, but made reasonably roomy by the choice of a corner tub and the diagonal placement of the sink. I couldn't photograph the paint feature here, Melissa, but know that the ceiling is the same aqua as the laminate facing on the side of the counter.

The walls in Caroline's room are painted another Martin Seynour color called Arizona Sky. I've never seen skies this shade out there, but it's a nice dusty peach that worked in the room for years before it became hers and I found fabric for curtains. There's the ladybug pillow, my second knitted object of this century! The other bedroom is in its second incarnation, having been painted about three years ago this lovely Sherwin Williams shade called Fawn. To view the carpet, scroll up to today's sweater shot!

That's most of the inside, Melissa -- I only skipped the study from which I often write, and the basement which has green porch paint on its floor and basic white sprayed onto all remaining surfaces. I find it interesting that you see the primary colors on the ground floor (and if you stand in the kitchen can view all of them at once) and the secondary variants upstairs. I didn't plan it that way, but there you go.

2003-05-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday, Mom! While I knew all along I was making the one red Fuzzy Foot for my mother's birthday, I just decided last night also to gift her with the pseudo-Suki. As she's still working up to her prosthesis and therefore not staying back here at home yet, I have no reaction to these presents to report. But we'll take a picture, and I'll add it to this post later.

Much car-knitting progress on the little sweater yesterday, especially as a tornado blocked our progress and gave us an extra hour sitting still on the highway. It occurred well ahead of us, but downed trees had to be cut and cleared. We were amazed at the twisted trunks and branches when we finally passed the storm's path -- but we were moving, and the camera was in the trunk!

2003-05-09T10:33:00.000-04:00

Amelia's sweater is progressing nicely. I'm glad I started with the sleeves. Here's a shot of the half that's complete (but that sleeve isn't really attached yet.)

The knitting goes a bit faster on the body, because one is either working in garter stitch or in box stitch, rather than switching between the two as I did on the sleeves. We're going to visit my parents this weekend, and I'll only have to drive one way, so I've got some good knitting-in-the-car time ahead. I also plan to stitch up the parts of the pseudo-Suki, so I took it off the WIP list -- leaving me with only two projects! Guess I'll get to start the daypack soon -- something to work on with the Suki knit-alongers, since I've already made one plus.

Of course, it's occurred to me that all three of my goddaughters have summer birthdays, and Amelia's is actually the last of them, so why am I not also knitting gifts for Kathryn and Sallie? Maybe because they are bigger and I can't generate theirs as quickly . . . or because they are growing too fast (turning eight and six, respectively)? Kathryn's in Carolina, and I don't have her measurements, not that I couldn't enlist her parents' help. I think the better plan here is to knit their Christmas gifts!

2003-05-07T10:30:00.000-04:00

REPORT FROM S&B: Six of us showed for Stitch & Bitch last night, everyone knitting except Lisa (uncharacteristically, as she even made Ethan a knitted wonton between the last S&B and last night). Since I was the one wielding the camera, there's no shot of my completed sleeves of the Haiku sweater, but they're bound off and the body's begun.

Heather continued work on a multicolored bear (I can't recall if she named its designated recipient), while Pam sewed together the two sides of a bag she's knitted, and thought about how she'll decorate it with buttons. Frances demonstrated how to twist up cording, which she then attached to a trio of fuzzy felted bags she's made for her nieces for Christmas. The prolific Michelle worked on a little baby jacket, and needed me to call up the pattern because her printer had cut part of it off -- I'm amazed that I remember the URL 14 hours later and can link it here! Finally, here's Lisa repairing the hem of her darling vintage skirt that's printed with square dancers and musicians (and she wears with her red cowboy boots).

We were sorry that Alice wasn't there to tell us about her recent workshop with Nicky Epstein, but happy that she won tickets to a concert that kept her away. And I'd hoped to see Molly's first baby sweater, but there's always next month!

2003-05-06T10:01:00.000-04:00

You gotta love it when you don your latest creation and your kid takes a look and enthusiastically says, "Knit!" Tonight I host S&B, so, yes, I want to show this off. I've heard a lot of show & tell is coming our way, so I'll share photos tomorrow. I think this meeting marks the two-year anniversary of my Stitch & Bitch, where attendance has ranged from three to 18, and needlework run the gamut from mere mending to beading, with crochet, cross, embroidery, knit, needlepoint and quilt stitches between. Age range from teens to 50s, but no gender diversity -- I guess I don't know any men (in town) who stitch, alas. They're not barred, by any means, and in fact a couple o'Daves stopped by once, briefly, to observe.

This blog's about the knit and not the cat, but I can't help noting that our Ethan turns 17 today, the same age Wendy's Izzy would have, this summer. He's gotten a good bit of extra attention in this week since Wendy lost dear Isolde -- not that his personality ever permits him to be ignored. Despite the fact that my mother calls him "Ethanthatsonofabitch," I'm hoping we'll have a good handful of feline birthdays yet.

2003-05-04T20:59:00.000-04:00

This smiling nine-month-old is goddaughter Amelia, recipient-to-be of my current sweater-in-progress:

Really, she's 9-1/2 months, which gives me 2-1/2 months to finish. At this point I'm hopeful, even though Caroline's sweater took me longer, and that was back in the fall when I only knit one thing at a time!

This weekend's knitting frustration has been gauge. I bought some lovely handpainted yarn from an eBay vendor who recommended 10 to 10-1/2 as the needle size, but didn't specify a gauge. I thought the yarn could go as well on a smaller needle, and so I started swatching, first on 7s and then on 9s. To my eye the fabrics did not differ vastly, and the stitch count was also terribly close. Tried 10s today, and I'm not going any higher. I'm currently toying with the idea of using a shell pattern that calls for 14 st on 10.5 -- I'm getting 15 st on 10s -- and making a smaller size. Anyone care to advise whether that will work? Guess I should crunch some numbers.

2003-05-02T09:35:00.000-04:00

A big thank-you to Rob, who tipped me off to the ice-water plunge as a felting aid. After three or four more cycles (I lost count) last night, I got the red Foot down to slipper size -- and boy, is it fuzzy!

I used my jean jacket for co-agitator, so a denim sheen graces the fuzz. Shall I call it a design element? In hindsight, perhaps I should not have used the yarn double-stranded, and I think I should've swatched. When I made the first pair of Fuzzy Feet, the swatch sent me back to the LYS for another skein of that hand-dyed Peruvian wool that was on the thin side. I don't think I needed two strands this time. Live and learn! I may give this yarn one more try in the felting bowl, on something small like The Keyboard Biologist's tiny partitioned bag. First, though, in felting, it's on to the delicious daypack -- or at least I hope mine turns out so.

Here's a glimpse of my progress on the sleeves of Amelia's Haiku sweater.

The other night I broke one of the needles I was using when I tried to straighten it -- rather a stupid move, Maggi. One of an eBay hank o'needles, this pair was doing me right with the yarn because they were extra pointy, which helped me avoid splitting the plies. So I grabbed these bamboo circs that by contrast strike me as particularly unpointy, but I think I'll explore the needle vase again when I finish these little sleeves . . .

2003-05-01T10:05:00.000-04:00

You win some, you lose some, right? Or maybe all is not (yet) lost . . .

Here, drying, is the Pseudo-Suki, my smaller variant on my fab knitting bag designed by Kathy for Knitty. It's quite the bucket, but I've made a tab closure to sew to the inside below the eyelash bit so it can be snapped. I attached one end of the I-cord strap before felting -- the thing really stretched out in the washer -- and I'll determine how long I want it once all's dry. You'll get one more photo here, I think, after the finishing and drying -- looks like I may want to pull more of the pink fluff to the outside, too.

Ah, but the Fuzzy Foot, which also endured three cycles of agitation, hardly shrunk down at all.

My positive experience here is that I threw it into a load of laundry before felting, and found that, indeed, the yarn became much softer after whatever was in it for coning and machine knitting washed out. It did felt some, though, so maybe I should give it another go. It was too late to keep at it last night. I'll check with Rob, who used ice-cold plunges to aid the felting of his gorgeous Kureyon daypack.

2003-04-29T11:32:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (well, I read it yesterday) there were some posts to the Knitlist about coned yarn, which my red wool that I'm knitting Mom's Fuzzy Foot happens to be. These remarks shed some light on my query about its properties:

"There are a couple tips: 1) knit your swatch and let it lie for 24 hours--the process of coning the yarn makes it stretch a bit and it will need to relax to get a true gauge.
2) When knitting from the cone, I wind off a couple rows' worth of yarn ahead of time so that the 'relaxing' begins before it hits my needles. Check your yardage before you begin--and remember, this may be the 'stretched yardage'--so make sure you have some extra yards (not miles, yards!)"

I used my groovy ball winder to pull two big hunks from the cone before I started, since I wanted to knit with a double strand, so the relaxing probably happened. And, since I've already knit one FF pair, and this is to be felted, I confess I didn't knit a gauge swatch (gasp!).

"Cone yarn usually has a different hand then skein yarn. It is designed for commercial machines and often has a finish on it (sometimes oily) that makes it easier to work in machines. Be sure to swatch it (with washing) so that you can see how it will end up. Coned yarn almost always blooms quite a bit in the swatch. I use lots of coned yarn, as do my friends, but experience has taught that it needs more foresight than a lot of skeined yarn (which has usually had either no finish - or the finish washed off in the skeining process).

This is the comment that seems to relate to my sense that this yarn is a bit rough to the hand. And I got one more email reply to my post about that, suggesting shampoo and conditioner, much like Bonne Marie did when I wrote La Bonne Tricoteuse at Knitty about recycling yarn. I'm into the toe decreases now, so I may even get to the felting tonight. Perhaps I'll give it a handwash with the shampoo and conditioner first, pre-agitation.

2003-04-27T22:17:00.000-04:00

And the winner is :

A gorgeous day, a few hundred people, one yarn vendor: it seemed like the best place to start. I'll save Maryland for another spring, when my stash has had a chance to dwindle. Purchase-wise, I came away with DK yarn for a sweater each for me and Caroline, who started the day in her sheep jacket, and finished in a wool fair T. Along the way we fed the llamas, goats and camels; took a tractor-pulled hayride; ate our picnic lunch; watched the shearing, the goat-catching and the clogging; and had our shopping moment in the barn, where we saw a knitting machine demo to boot. On the way out, we said good-bye to one of Chester Farms' newest additions, a lamb just a day or two old.

P.S. Chester started their fair in 1971, and then some folks from Maryland came down to check it out and ask if they could borrow the concept. Proprietor Francis Chester said sure, but requested that they not call it a "wool fair." Hence, the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, in which Chester Farms remains a supportive participant, now in its 30th year. The guide to the fair shared this history and noted the date, next weekend, of the other, now larger, event.

2003-04-25T10:58:00.000-04:00

Decisions, decisions. I know I want to go to a wool fest and see some critters and some fresh yarn, but I can't decide whether we'll choose Chester Farms Wool Fair this weekend, when we could go on Sunday, or Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival next weekend. The latter sounds a bit overwhelming, with so many offerings, but the timing may be better. Chester usually has theirs two weekends, but dropped last week's because of Easter. Too bad, as I was off on Friday -- but, then again, it rained. Well, I'll have pictures here from one or the other, and welcome your recommendations.

As it's Friday again, the last in National Poetry Month, I'll offer this one from 1996 Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szymborska, who was born in Poland in 1923. I'm assuming she wrote this in response to WWII, but it certainly feels timely. (Translated by Joanna Trzeciak)

The End and the Beginning

After every war
someone has to clean up.
Things won't
straighten themselves up, after all.

Someone has to push the rubble
to the side of the road,
so the corpse-filled wagons
can pass.

Someone has to get mired
in scum and ashes,
sofa springs,
splintered glass,
and bloody rags.

Someone has to drag in a girder
to prop up a wall,
Someone has to glaze a window,
rehang a door.

Photogenic it's not,
and takes years.
All the cameras have left
for another war.

We'll need the bridges back,
and new railway stations.
Sleeves will go ragged
from rolling them up.

Someone, broom in hand,
still recalls the way it was.
Someone else listens
and nods with unsevered head.
But already there are those nearby
starting to mill about
who will find it dull.

From out of the bushes
sometimes someone still unearths
rusted-out arguments
and carries them to the garbage pile.

Those who knew
what was going on here
must make way for
those who know little.
And less than little.
And finally as little as nothing.

In the grass that has overgrown
causes and effects,
someone must be stretched out
blade of grass in his mouth
gazing at the clouds.

2003-04-24T10:08:00.000-04:00

I started Mom's Fuzzy Foot Tuesday night with some yarn that a friend gave me. She used to have a knitting business; we have some Christmas stockings from that venture. Now that she is focusing on writing and teaching, she's gifted me with pounds of red yarn. When I started felting, I asked her if this yarn would felt, and she assured me it's all wool and quite feltable. The thing is, it's far from soft to the hand. Does anyone with great fiber knowledge want to say what factors make for softness? Does it depend on the breed of sheep? Does dying affect it? I posted these questions to the Knitlist yesterday, but have only received one response so far: "Softness of wool fiber is largely a function of the fineness of same. Various chemical treatments can make the fiber softer or harsher." Sounds like I was on the right track with my guesses. When I finish this slipper I will discover how the felted fabric feels, but I thought I'd make inquiries in the mean time.