Baby Nickel Blanket

I finished the baby blanket for the latest addition to the Stephens clan due in December. It's based on a simple washcloth pattern with a little extra loopiness on the edge to make it pretty. I'm not a fan of pastels for babies so I made it in bright colors. It's perfect for a stroller blanket, changing blanket, and blanket for teaching the new kid on the block his colors.

BABY NICKEL BLANKET

Finished size 36" x 36"

Gauge: 16 sts = 4"/10 cm in garter stitch

Suggested needle: Size US 9/5.50 mm 30" circular

Yarn: Plymouth Encore 100 G skeins, 200 yds acrylic/wool blend standard size 4

1 skein each of the following colors:

A: Yellow 1382

B: Green 054

C: Blue 0133

D: Purple 1384

E: Raspberry 1385

F: Red 1386

Abbreviations st -- stitch k - knit p - purl k2tog - knit 2 stitches together sssk - slip 3 stitches together YO - yarn over

Increase pattern Pick up first color (D) and cast on 3 sts. Row 1: YO, k2tog, YO, k Row 2: YO, k2tog, YO, k2 Row 3: YO, k2tog, YO, k3 Rows 4 - 20: YO, k2tog, YO, knit to end

Pick up next color (C) and knit as follows the increase stripe pattern. Row 1: K2, YO, knit to end. Row 2 - 18: YO, k2tog, YO, knit to end.

Following the chart, work the next color until 10 stripes are completed.

Decrease pattern With next color (A), knit row 1 as follows: K2, YO, sssk, knit to end. Row 2 - 18: YO, k2tog, YO, sssk, knit to end. Following the chart, work the next color until 9 stripes are completed.

Last stripe Row 1: K2, YO, sssk, knit to end. Rows 2 to 10: YO, k2tog, YO, sssk, knit to end Row 11: YO, k2tog, YO, sssk, k2 Row 12: YO, k2tog, k2tog, k2 Row 13: YO, k2tog, k2tog, k1 Row 14: YO, k2tog, k2tog Row 15: Slip 1st st, pass leftmost st over center st, then pass rightmost st over center st. Cut yarn, leaving enough to weave in end, pass through last loop.

Block lightly. Weave in ends.

A short post

I'm running off to choir practice in a bit so I wanted to update you on what's going on.

Yesterday was the first meeting of the Portland Spinnerati group at the Central branch of the Multnomah County Library. The meeting didn't start until 10, which was also the time the library started, so it was interesting watching people watch us gathering in the front with all of our wheels. There was only one duplicate, a Lendrum single treadle, of all the wheels that showed up at the meeting, which considering there was nearly twenty of us was pretty amazing. It was a great group with a lot of promise and a beautiful day out to boot.

Tomorrow is the Employee Craft Fair at the building I work in. I'll be selling catnip toys. How did I manage to make up 50 sock toys without being smothered by my children? Strategic placement of materials and firm discipline. They know that when I say "No," I mean NO. They look disappointed but they got their chance to test drive the prototypes. The toys are going for 5 bucks apiece.

The morning after

This week has been one for ups and downs. It had a sort of a first day of school feeling when you're a kid. You know what I mean. The anticipation of the new experiences culminating in a day of new clothes and a new teacher, then the following days of afterglow and the settling down with the knowledge that you're not a baby anymore you're seven and you're going to go to school with the big kids and carry a book bag and lunch because you're going to be there all day. Or you're in the sixth grade where they have mini classes now because you're older and can learn more stuff and you can pick what you want to learn and you can run in the big kids playground instead of the little kids playground where they have the little swings and the merry go round.

Dreaming. It does amazing things. There are these dreams you have of a world where people are kind to each other and there is no want. Then you are let loose in the world and find that such dreams are difficult to make true. There are people out there who want power and don't care who they leave behind for it. You grow sour as you find more and more injustices done. It doesn't matter to whom the injustice is done. You work and you dream and try your damndest to do right and at night when you're exhausted you feel like it's for nothing. And as you lay in your bed you wonder if it was all worth it. Why bother? No one gives a damn for the poor and disinfranchised. No one cares for the family working hard just to make ends meet and ensure a safe and healthy life for their children. No one cares for the small business that wants to do something different in the world instead of being another franchise slot in a strip mall.

Then you wake up in the morning and think if I give up now what will it mean for all the work I've done in the past? What meaning will it have? Did I make a difference? Maybe not in the large part of the world, but there was the smile in the young mother's face when she got the blanket for her baby. There was the relief in the eyes of the store owner when the loan came through. There was hope in the spirit of the child who wants to go to college.

This is the optimism that rose from the country on Tuesday.

I'm watching with a cautious eye the transition that will be happening over the coming weeks. Unlike some who cast their vote with Obama freely, I was not sure which I would choose. I loathed the Bush administration, but was not so much a Democrat supporter that I would not look at what the Republican party offered. In some ways I liked McCain. He was one of the dissenters during the Gingrich and New Republican revolution in the nineties. He was more a fiscal conservative than a social conservative. Granted there were some stands he had I didn't like, but he didn't ride on those as much as his being willing to compromise with Democrats on other issues. Sarah Palin's nomination as running mate cemented my decision.

Of the Democrats, I liked John Edwards and was saddened by his philandering behind his wife's back. I felt Obama needed another four years under his belt before taking the plunge into the presidency. Hillary had too much baggage to be electable. So when Obama was nominated, I was reluctant to cast my vote for him.

During the final weeks of the election, I listened briefly to both sides but kept myself from getting sucked into the fray. I don't want to sound like I was being noble. I just didn't want to listen to the arguments. I heard and saw enough from both sides though to make my decision. So I cast my vote and waited.

Tuesday night TV offered two non-election options for me: a special "Dirty Jobs" or a marathon of "House MD." At that point I was tired of the election rhetoric and brouhaha, so opted for House. Nothing like watching how to not treat a patient to make my evening. I would flip to CNN periodically to see what the standings were but didn't expect the results to come in until later that evening after they started counting the western states.

At 8:05 pm I heard bangs. Fireworks. On election day? I had never heard fireworks on election day. Have you? Sure enough I went outside and saw neighbors shooting off rockets into the night sky. My next door neighbor was letting out a whoop from his porch. Obama had been declared the winner and the place was celebrating. I turned on CNN and sure enough there it was in blue and red. Ohio, Florida, and Illinois had been counted and predicted to go Obama's way. With the Eastern states down to Virginia (who didn't have a final tally until late in the evening) it was enough to send Obama to the White House. All I thought was that we had witnessed history being made and with such a mandate that I couldn't but think of the work that so many had done in the past. He was voted as a man who happened to be black. Yes there are those who voted for him because of the color of his skin, but you can't tell me that that was the only reason. He said the right things at the right time and ran an excellent campaign. And the people answered, "Yes."

So now I'm waiting. I still have my druthers about how effective he will be. The people he chooses will make the most difference. He will need to assure the country that he will not tax us with programs. He will need to heal the country's standing with the rest of the world. Finally, he will need to heal this country itself from the strife caused by sixteen years of partisan politics. I hope he will fulfill some of our dreams.

The rainy season has begun

It took a while for it to get going, but the steady rain and gray days have finally arrived. It was nice to have the delay. Now the bright leaves have been knocked off the trees by the winds of the latest rain system and the colors are on the ground.

One of the projects I have going on is a baby blanket for the expected new addition to the family. I'm not one for pastels however and opted to make a blanket of bright colors that can be used for when Baby Nickel becomes a rambunctious toddler. It's been a fun and easy knit so far, taking a basic washcloth pattern and making it much bigger.

As I was getting the yarn for the blanket, the shop I got it from didn't have primary yellow. I got as far as the green stripe. I could have just continued with the red, but it needed yellow. The yarn is Plymouth Encore, a nice acrylic that should hold up to the heavy use it's expected to have. Most of the shops I go to don't have a lot of acrylic and the major craft stores don't carry it. I wasn't going to have a stripe of Red Heart in the middle of the blanket, so I went out in search of the yellow.

My first stop was Unraveled Yarns, a shop I had frequented in the past but moved away from. I knew she carried the yarn, so I was surprised when I arrived there that a huge line was formed in front of the shop. Turns out Unraveled is going out of business and I had arrived in time for the first day of major discounts. Unfortunately she didn't have Encore in yellow, so though I walked out with two sweaters' worth of yarn and yarn for my Secret Santa's socks, I didn't find what I was looking for.

The next stop was Fabric Depot, who has a large selection of yarns from Coats and Clarks and Lion Brand. I hoped to find Encore there, but it wasn't there. I didn't even find a suitable substitute. I was glad however that I didn't find the yarn there. The line for the checkstand was huge and after having spent over an hour on my feet back at Unraveled I was in no mood to stand in another line.

I had to put on my thinking cap. Twisted didn't have Encore; I didn't expect it to be in other shops I frequent. Then I remembered Cindy from the knit group mentioning that the shop she works at tends to stock with grandmas in mind so has a large stock of acrylics. I hunted up the address and headed out to All About Yarn. It took me a while to find it as it was located in the backside of Tigard Plaza, but I was rewarded with finding the yellow I sought. Whew! I didn't want to resort to having to get the yarn on line, especially when I sit in the city with the most yarn shops per capita.

The bright colors of the blanket are a cheery defense against the gray days. But there is still beauty, as seen with the rain on my nandina bush. Life goes on.

La la land

This weekend was choir retreat weekend and the weather for once was very cooperative. Highs in the 60's, sunshine to make you loll about like a sybarite, and little wind, which for the coast is quite excellent. I rode down in another Bright Red vehicle, this time a Volvo, with a couple of my fellow singers, giving me some knitting time on another pair of DK socks. When the temp dropped, my yurtmates bundled in pj's and electric blankets while I had a flannel sheet for a cover. There are some good things about hot flashes. Apparently I also was very entertaining in the night, talking in my sleep about putting something over there and Margaret. Wish I knew who Margaret was.

The past week was spent mostly working on a pair of socks for one of the administrators where I work. He dropped a hint to me in a kidding way but I took him up on it. Size 12 socks, dude? Ya got 'em. Special gold toe ones just for you. When I finished them up I liked them so much I made another pair, this time intending them to be my size. However, they're just a tad small, so they'll be going to someone else.

Knit night was time for catching up with my buddies. Rachel brought out the shawl she finished and socks she made with StitchJones yarn. The shawl is just gorgeous. The socks striped up so beautifully. Nice job, Rachel. She was also wearing a pair she had knitted up. Cindy couldn't help being silly with them.

It was also a good opportunity to show my Clapotis. It's done! One skein Blue Heron rayon boucle and 2 skeins BH rickrack, all colorway Denim.

Christmas is coming and projects are coming along. One I'm doing required that I do a nice long stretch of grafting (45 stitches). I am happy to say that all my fears of the dread Kitchener have been erased. It's not entirely error free but it's grafted well enough to be invisible to the untrained eye. Sorry, no pics. The receiver may be reading this. Thumbs up!

Updated: I made a mistake in attributing the shawl. The maker was Rachel, not Tammy. My apologies.

I am loved

Someday, Franklin, someday. I'll hoard my shekels, hop the plane to Albany, wend my way to Rhinebeck and give you and Ted and Dr Mel and Queer Joe and all the Wolverinas hugs.

Thanks!

Making amends

Dear Yaz,

I suppose it's awfully late to be writing to you with my profound apologies. At the time of your World Series appearance I was young and smitten with Charlie Hustle, Johnny, Griffey, and the rest of the Big Red Machine. I didn't understand what it meant for the Red Sox Nation to have gone so long without a World Series and the whole history of Boston sorrow. It wasn't like some team who had spent years in the cellar suddenly appearing in the playoffs. This was the Red Sox. They knew what it meant to be champions.

I know. You're saying what would a thirteen year old kid rooting for the other team have to do with the outcome. Yaz, you know that the support of the fans are so important to a team. I didn't understand that my support of the Reds was one notch cutting into the support you needed. I understand now that even when all seems lost that one cannot lose hope. You have to go all the way. Later in my life, I saw the error of my ways. You and Fisk and the rest of the team were strong and plucky. You were the anchor. I admired you and the way you came through in a pinch. Just like the guys in this year's team.

So I'm making it up to you this year. Your guys are fighting a team that is young and brash. They fought a tough series with the Angels and they're really duking it out with the Rays. I'm there, Yaz. I'm with you guys. Even with the fact that the Sox have won a couple of World Series in the past 5 years I'm with you.

I've been hanging a little with the Red Sox Nation on Ravelry. They're a devoted group. Their dedication amazes and humbles me. And this is just a playoff game. Imagine what it will be in the Series. You know what they're like.

So I hope you forgive me for my past infractions and put them to impetuous youth. I am older and wiser and will not stray from the fold again.

Humbly yours,

Duffy

Picture source: http://www.nowbatting19.com/YAZpage.html

Sniffle

My latest allergy shot response was good and bad. The good part was I wasn't exhausted after the shot. The bad part was a cold that was waiting for my immune system to be valuable took hold. So I went home early yesterday and am home nursing the bugger. Is it a good sign that you have a dream where Dr House calls you to see how you're doing?

A couple of weeks ago I washed a sample of one of the fleeces I brought home from OFFF. This one was the Lincoln/Blue Faced Leicester/Montadale cross. I didn't use my washing machine as the fleece is very dirty. The couple of washings it took to clean it took out a lot of dirt and ca-ca. I'll have to go through and pick it before processing it more. But the locks are very pretty and white. I have the butt end going the wrong direction, but if you're not American, the ruler's going the right way. ;)

Slacker!

In blog posting anyway. The weekend was busy and the evenings have been taken up with rooting for the Red Sox, so I've neglected my poor blog. Oh yeah. Saturday afternoon I had an appointment with my allergist to have an accellerated shot series. If you've never had allergy shots, what they do in the program is give you a series of gradually increasing injections of formulas of your allergens to raise your ability to handle things that give you allergy symptoms. The series runs for 3 to 5 years starting with bottles of increasingly stronger formulas then ending with a long series of maintenance shots taken once every 2 to 4 weeks. I was at the level just below maintenance but suffering fatigue the next day after the shots (I get three shots once a week). So my allergist had me do a visit to accellerate the pace. I got the equivalent of a month's worth of shots to bump me up to the maintenance level, which wiped me out for the rest of the day. Sunday I laid low, reserving my energy for choir practice, and wore a nice red blotch where I got the 3-in-1 shot on my right arm. But Monday I felt better and yesterday when I went in for my next shot my allergies were very much under control with no fatigue. Happy, happy, happy! If this continues, my allergist hopes that I can come off of some of the medication, especially the corticosteroid inhaler I have to take daily, so that I can function like a relatively normal human bean.

FO!

I took one project for my allergist visit but I wanted to do something else on Sunday, so I dug up the Clapotis I was doing in Blue Heron rayon yarns (boucle and rickrack in colorway Denim). I was on the decrease portion when I put it down. You're probably thinking, why did I put it down at that point? Well this was a wide Clapotis and I was plenny sick of it. But I was able to finish it and wear it to chorus Sunday. It's lovely for wearing at the office when the a/c kicks on.

Picture forthcoming when I get a good one taken.

And now for sports!

So what is it with the Red Sox this playoff with the Rays? Is it the mojo the Rays got when they took the "Devil" off their name? Or is the ancient curse of the Bambino raising its ugly head to humble Red Sox Nation? I'll be watching Game 5 tonight and decked out in red and working on the red Voyager Lace stole. YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Seen elsewhere

If on your blognation perambulations you see this entry, scroll down to the Portland OR stop and see a familiar face in a familiar vehicle. Thanks, Franklin, and have fun at Rhinebeck!

Sunday meditation

Sunday mornings are usually spent listening to NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, This American Life, Car Talk, and A Prairie Home Companion. While I listen I'm usually doing a few things around the house, enjoying a cup of tea, or doing the NY Times Sunday crossword from their archives. By the time PHC is done, I have a little time to get things ready for the carpool to choir practice in Salem.

This morning during This American Life, there was a discussion of the current financial crisis and an explanation of what's happening to cause the meltdown of the credit markets. I highly recommend listening to it, no matter your political affiliation. It was something I needed something calm to do during the broadcast, so I picked up the baby alpaca I got last weekend and started spinning up some laceweight.

I'm now more informed and have a pretty single. I'll need more calming spinning as the powers that be try to get the markets straightened out.

A Saturday of projects

The autumn sky has turned to gray again as the beginning of the rainy season makes its presence known to the city. Now that the summer events have come to a close for me, I'm now focusing on the holiday season ahead. The company has an employee craft fair in November so to raise some spending money I've dug into the stash and started knitting up tubes for making cat toys. Now you're probably thinking I'm out of my mind to try to knit up all these tubes. Trust me; I wouldn't do this if I didn't have an easy way of doing it.

Thank you Mattel. So far I've done up enough yarn to do 36 cat socks and have two more skeins to do up. A friend has offered a quilt batt to me and I'm on the hunt for good fresh catnip that doesn't cost a fortune (I'm thinking bulk catnip from a source). The final construction will occur away from home so that I don't have crazed felines tearing at the products.

Christmas is coming so gifts are being knit up. I've been perusing patterns and coming up with ideas. I'm looking over my stash and picking out potential colors. What colors should I avoid? Will this fit the item? Would that pattern be too busy? Shall I put the techniques I learned to use in this? Am I insane to do this? If I wasn't, I wouldn't be part of the multitude of knitters who are doing the same thing.

Taming A Pattern

To prepare for the drafty days of winter, I'm knitting up Franklin's 1840's Gentleman's Night Cap. I must say this pattern gave me fits in the beginning. I don't usually knit with straight cotton because it can be hard on my hands, but I wasn't going to do it in wool. I was going to follow the pattern as it was written, something I don't normally do. I had balls of Dale Stork in the stash and size 1 and 0 needles. So I set out to knit it.

In the beginning, I found that the double point needles were somewhere in the ether, not in the double point needle case I usually carry them in. It wasn't just that one set was missing. I was missing 3 sets somewhere in the chaos of my house, stuffed with a bag of sock yarn or holding a toe in progress. The circulars I had on hand were Crystal Palace and Addi Turbos. The CP joins kept snagging the stitches as they went around and the Addi Turbos were too slick, making my hands hurt from keeping the stitches from flying off the needles. Then I cast on and wound up twisting it when I completed the round. Frustrating to say the least, but I was bound and determined to conquer this pattern. It had to be the tools, but what would work?

Last Friday, I went out and about with Melissa and Barbara on a lovely yarn crawl, and it was at Twisted that I found my needles. HiyaHiya needles come with a nice short tip in bamboo and a smooth join. Later I picked up a set of long #1's for the finishing, but I've found that the HiyaHiyas saved me from ripping out the whole thing and cursing Franklin for devising such a horrid piece of torture. It's coming out beautifully.

Oh Eff Eff Eff (eff eff eff eff ff ff ff ff f f f f f ....)

Warning: This one is picture heavy, so if you have a slow connection, go out and get yourself something good to drink. Maybe a snack. Take out the trash. Walk the dog. Kiss your hunnybunny. Then come back.

The Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival roared to life on Friday and Saturday it was full of people, much more than I've seen in previous years. The PDX Knitbloggers set up camp under a lovely tree for folks to sit and do fibery stuff and also helping folks in answering questions. The day was nice and sunny without being overly hot. The sun beating on the shoulders while I sat spinning was particularly delicious.

This year I had a limited budget set aside for a few things. I went with a list of things and found what I wanted.

A diz out of maple.

An orifice hook with maple burl for my Louet wheel.

Two fleeces: three pounds of a Lincoln/Blue Face/Montadale cross and twelve ounces of a first cut from a honey colored cria. Mmmmmm!

There were lots of animals to look at. I saw a number of sheep and goats, but was too smitten by the cria fleece to take pictures of the alpacas. My bad.

I watched sheep dogs doing their stuff with ducks. The brown one was a young border dog, 2 years old, who was still learning the trade. The black and white one is an older border collie who was quite good considering he was working with 4 recalcitrant ducks who were more interested in just being left alone than herded around a course with gates, a tunnel, and a coop.

This lovely bunny was purchased by one of the Knitbloggers, Deb . She's probably going to be named Liesl as she's a German Angora. When she wasn't being held (and for a bunny she was very calm being held by all these strangers) she sat calmly in her cage in the shade.

TKGA

Turns out there was a reason why I was so tired to the point where I couldn't even sit and knit. I picked up a virus that ended up giving me a bit of a chest cold. So the promise of posting on Thursday didn't pan out -- I was being a good kid and resting. Not even knitting. Thank goodness I had my set of Ken Burns' "Baseball" from when it was originally broadcast. I didn't have to deal with awful daytime TV.

So, TKGA's Knit and Crochet show. I was very happy with the classes and the vendors were very tempting. But I was a little disappointed in what we got in our goody bags. Granted there were a lot of people, but giving out what looks like leftovers from cheap yarn overproduction doesn't win over the knitters who like to work with good yarn. I think I'll be overdyeing the neon yellow kitchen cotton yarn and the sock yarn will probably go towards making distaffs for OFFF. I guess the 14 inch Light Up needles are also a slow seller because they were giving away boatloads of them.

Okay, enough snark. I did come away from the convention with good information and learned two techniques from two very good teachers. My Saturday class was in Austrian twisted stitches (aka Bavarian twisted stitches). Candace Eisner Strick was the instructor and guided us with a gentle but firm hand. She was pleased with the students catching on to the method so quickly and had a great time. It helped that one student who had taken a class from her the day before brought Candace Moonstruck chocolate. Candace was terribly jetlagged and in need of support, especially after telling us that Cat Bordhi in a fey mood took the banana out of her suitcase while Candace was waiting for the hotel elevator. Those darn sock knitters! I was a bad blogger that day though, forgetting my camera, so you can't see the incredible socks that an Austrian woman Candace met in her travels in Europe knit for her out of crochet cotton. At lunch, I and Sarah (a fellow classmate who recognized me from Yarn Harlot this spring) met up with Bobbie and we hit House of Louie for dim sum. I was definitely in need of nourishment so we didn't waste time. The carts kept coming and coming. You don't walk away hungry from House of Louie.

Sunday's class was Faroese Shawls with Joan Schrouder. I had taken her Orenburg Shawl class and loved her teaching, so I was looking forward to hearing her lessons on doing Faroese shawls. That type of shawl has shoulder shaping and a center panel in the back so that it doesn't slide off so readily as basic triangle shawls tend to do.

Judy, Cindy, Michelle and I were there from the Knitbloggers, Michelle sitting next to me with lovely balls of alpaca laceweight to play with. I had Cascade 220 so that I could see the shaping stitches in my sample. It was a full class of folks with different levels of skills, so those of us who were catching on easily were busy helping out those who were struggling. Joan took it all in stride and by the end of the class we had sample shawls to show.

Mine fit one of my sheep at the office perfectly.

I'm here

You probably came by earlier to see if I had posted something from TKGA. I have something, including the few pictures I took (I was a real slacker in that department), but by the time I got home on Sunday from two full days of convention I was beat. Monday was allergy shot day and Tuesday was recovery day. Tonight is knit night. Tomorrow . . . . I'll try to get something up tomorrow. Friday I'll be stationed in front of a copier printing up music. Saturday morning I plan on doing some recovery slumber to get recharged for chorus.

In the meantime, go to Ray's Knitivity website and buy some yarn. He can use the business after Hurricane Ike.

Ray, I'm thinking of you

Ray is a friend from the GLBT Knit list who rode out Hurricane Katrina in a rented house in New Orleans. After Katrina, he decided to pursue a desire to be a fiber businessman and started dyeing up yarns. Knitivity has been doing well enough that he was able to move to Houston to be closer to his children.

Now Hurricane Ike is barreling down for Galveston and Houston, Texas. Ray, who lives in a mobile home, has left his house to stay with his daughter to ride out Ike. He has his dyeing recipes and important papers, but his stock and tools of the trade are left behind. Hopefully when he returns his house will be okay and he'll be able to return to business.

So after Ike goes through, please go to his website and check on it. He'll be in remote contact to update it with how he is through a friend. Take a look at his wares and make a purchase. You'll be helping out a good man.

I'm easily influenced by things other people do. If I see someone doing something that is fascinating to me, I want to know how to do it. I'm drawn like a moth to a porch light. If I see it's something I know I can do, I'll start doing it.

It was that way with knitting. Mom needed something that was creative while she sat in front of the TV with Dad. He wanted her company, but didn't like her reading though she could keep track of what was on. Her primary hobby, rosemaling and tole painting, was done in the basement. So she took up knitting, cranking out scarves for grandkids and cabled afghans for us kids. The plain knitting didn't attract me, but the cables that she created fascinated me. I wanted to learn how to do that. I had done macrame, so a handcraft like knitting didn't seem hard. Mom tried to teach me how to knit Continental, but I couldn't get the hang of it. I still wanted to learn, so we went to Super Yarn Mart and I got my first knitting book, a Leisure Arts pamphlet called "Learn To Knit". I picked up throwing the yarn more readily and soon I was cranking out scarves. A friend in college knitted so I did some knitting then, but once out of college, I lost interest and turned to quilting when I joined my friend in her quilting group.

In 2002, I was feeling lost. Friends who crafted with me had parted ways and I didn't know what to do with my free time. Then one day at lunch a lunch buddy brought in her crochet and was working on a hat. The hat pattern looked really easy to do, so I got a copy and tried it out in kitchen cotton. I struggled with the crochet (I'd done straight rows but not regular increases), so I switched to knitting, digging out my knitting needles I had put away years ago. I found patterns on the Internet and joined an email list. Their knitting inspired me to try different things: hats, socks, mittens, a sweater. I discovered the joy of working with wool instead of acrylic.

Next month it will be six years since I've picked up the needles again. When I think that I have reached saturation point, I run across someone who simply amazes me with what they've done. Today it was Jared of BrooklynTweed. I clocked in late today because I was sucked into his blog this morning. I was thinking of doing the Adult Surprise sweater with the FFMR, but now I'm thinking of the Adult Tomten jacket. Or a mitered square jacket. I even considered the Einstein coat men's style. So many options, so much inspiration.

So keep showing the pretty things. They feed my creative soul.

Kauni Sweater progress

I bound off the first sleeve yesterday, hurray! I thought I would do the second sleeve, but then I thought, "If I do the second sleeve, then I have all that body to do and that will be daunting." So I picked up the stitches for the body and have started knitting on that. Doing that then the second sleeve will make the sleeve knitting a piece of cake. I figure it will take me at the least all of the rest of September to do the body, considering that this coming weekend I'll be knitting on other things at TKGA and the next weekend is chorus. I'll get in some knitting time at OFFF if nothing else to keep me from trying to spend the money I don't have.

A productive week

Month end week is usually stressful, so anything that can help relieve it is always welcome. The Kauni sweater fulfilled that role very nicely and I made good progress on the right sleeve. I'm one repeat of the pattern and a cuff away from finishing that, which at the rate I'm going will be at the end of the week.

Saturday I paid a visit to my old LYS Unraveled Yarns. Polly was there covering for Lisa, who was on vacation. Some Ravellers from Vancouver came in to sit and chat and Ilsa with her beautiful beadwork stopped by as well. I managed to leave with only one skein of yarn and a lace shawl pattern. There were many things that were tempting. Trust me.

One thing that came up in the conversations was Sarah Palin. Apparently there is a forum on Ravelry called "Sarah Palin Must Be Stopped". Now I know there is a lot of venom out there, but this to me is so over the top. I personally don't like what she stands for, but I'm not going to jump into the pile in Ravelry. The same thing was done to Hillary Clinton in the conservative forums. No thanks.

The day wound down to some spinning time. I was far behind on my listening to episodes of Cast On so I turned that on while I was working on Louie. Before I knew it it was nearly midnight and I had a skein of plied yarn and another hundred yards or so of singles on another bobbin. Happy camper!

Fiber Events this September

The TKGA/CGOA convention will be coming to Portland next weekend. I'll be taking a couple of day long classes then: Austrian twisted stitch knitting and Faroese shawl construction. Candace Eisner Strick of Merging Colors and Strickwear is teaching the Austrian stitch class and Joan Schrouder's teaching the Faroese. It will be interesting to see what I come out with at the end of the weekend. I won't be able to indulge in the market that will be at the convention, but hopefully I'll find something I can take home as a souvenir.

At the end of September is the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (OFFF) in Canby. I'll be there with my buds from the PDX Knitbloggers and the GLBT Knit List. On hand will be my Baynes wheel and a bunch of wrist distaffs from leftover sock yarn for sale. If you're looking for a spinning wheel and are in the Portland area, contact me at fiberqat at gmail dot com. She's a good wheel but finances require she find a new home.

Mistaken identity

I think the McCain team is trying to win over the Monty Python fan base to their side. Why else would they pick someone named Palin who is from the mighty forests of Alaska with her best girls by her side.... Yeah, I know. Cheap joke. But I can't help it. Every time I hear "Palin" on the radio I immediately think of Michael Palin, veteran Pythoner and travelogue purveyor. So they picked someone from way up in Alaska to take the seat of second banana. I'd be curious to know how they managed to narrow down the running mate race to a governor who has yet to finish her first term. I just hope the Republican women get together and do a major makeover.