Monthly Archives: May 2006

Randonymity

Bountiful randomnymity

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I keep forgetting to mention the yarn I picked up at Shepherd’s Harvest… I bought a ball of Trekking 144 (further complicating my decision for Trek Along with Me) and 992 yards of black laceweight alpaca (further complicating my decision for The Amazing Lace). I also picked up some Country Classics one-shot acid dyes for Jeanne and I and some Cotton Fleece that I had ordered from Earthsong Fibers – the Cotton Fleece is going to be a log cabin baby blanket (from Mason-Dixon Knitting), but I’m still waiting for two of my colors.

Last night my friend Lisa and I went to a play. We saw a great production of Little Shop of Horrors, put on by the homeschool theater company Theatrix. You can still go see it tonight or Saturday night! Neither Lisa nor I had seen the movies, so we were surprised at the twists and turns of the storyline. The tickets were a gift from the wonderful Eileen (thanks, Eileen!!) and after the show, we got to meet her very talented son, the Vampire, who was the Voice of Audrey II. The Vampire surprised me with a bag of goodies from his mom (who I will hopefully meet someday), which leads me to this:

Sorry about the crap photo – it was late… On the far left is a great book called Cameo Cats, which was a surprise gift from Mama Tulip! (More on that book in a minute.) In the center are the treats from Eileen – some kitty treats for Chaos (which he actually liked, shockingly – he’s a chowkitty who doesn’t usually like cat treats – go figure),

*sniff sniff* “Hmm, could this be… tuna? Sort of?”

gluten-free cookies, mix cds, and organic dark chocolate espresso beans for me. Thanks, Eileen! On the right, Project Spectrumy goodness from Kelly and Sockies of Celtic Cast On.(Detail picture below.) Kelly made me the cutest bracelet with a clasp that’s a cat playing with a ball of yarn (hmm, wonder where she got the idea for that?!) and matching earrings. For Chaos, a crinkly fluffy ball and a very fancy featherbutt mouse – exotic Canadian cat toys! All of this arrived in a green envelope with a cute green and pink card – Kelly is great with the Project Spectrum fun touches. Thanks, Kelly and Sockies!

A bit more about Cameo Cats from Mama Tulip – it’s a gorgeously illustrated book with poems and quotations about cats. Chaos found it interesting:

“Hmm… Smells like… Canada!”
“Definitely Canada.”

I wonder why this book reminded Mama Tulip of us?! Thanks, Mama Tulip!

Randonymity, Those Cats

Bounty (not the paper towels)

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Actually, this is Bounty – the UK Edition. Tomorrow we’ll have Bounty – the Canadian Edition. But first – head on over to 144 Inches of I-Cord, where Jen is having a contest to help out Kirsten of Gluten-Free Knitting. Kirsten’s heading to Croatia in a few weeks to help outfit a ship for the ministry she’s part of. If you know me, you know that I’m not a religious person. But I do respect people like Kirsten who live their beliefs in a passionate and peaceful fashion. To help Kirsten out, I’m donating one of the prizes you can win – another skein of Sunburst Treadsoft sock yarn and a Chaotic Cat mix cd.

Which reminds me – there’s still time to participate in my 6-month blogiversary contest – follow the link before Monday, May 22, 6 pm CDT and leave a caption comment to play. I’ve been enjoying the very creative and funny captions that have already been left!

Monday I was very crabby and crampy… and then I received a fun package from MrsPao in the UK. Look at all that chocolate – that is so what I needed to perk me up! Thank you, MrsPao! She also included some tasty coffee, the mind-bogglingly named Uncle Joe’s Mint Balls (“Keep you all aglow”), furry mice and a ball for Chaos, a great mix cd, and a very cute Project Spectrum green cat.

Check out the cover of The Meow Mix – pictures of Mrs Pao’s many cats!

The Furry Orange Mouse (FOM) and Furry Red Mouse (FRM) are already a hit around here.

“What mouse? I don’t see any mouse.”
“See? No mouse.”
Alongs

Please ignore this unless you are my Dye-O-Rama buddy or are morbidly curious about esoteric aspects of my personality and life

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By special request…
Specific to this swap:
Your favorite colors? black, purple, emerald green, royal blue
Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)? Fingering
Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? I like both. Heck, I even like semi-solids.
If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn?
Stripes rock, but I know they are a beast to do!
Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)?
Please no cotton or acrylic… I love silk and/or wool. And I’m perfectly ok with handwashing socks.
Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it? Funny, Scout already asked me this. Chaos, of course.
What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along? Goad me into expanding my creative endeavors – I haven’t dyed any yarn for ages! Plus the name is terribly clever.
General yarn/fiber questions:
Have you dyed yarn/fiber before? Yes
If so, what’s your favorite dye and method? One-shot acid dyes (with citric acid in them) seem to be the easiest to use. I’m still playing with methods, trying different things out. I hated Kool-Aid – way too stinky and the smell just won’t go away…
Do you spin? Nope, not even tempted.
Have you knit socks before? Oh, yes…
Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too? I’ve knit a few baby sweaters from sock yarn, but am not pleased with any of the patterns I’ve tried so far.
What are some of your favorite yarns? Brooks Farm Four Play, Sundara superwash sock yarn, Schaefer Anne, Trekking
What yarn do you totally covet? Regia Silk and Brooks Farm Four Play
Favorite patterns? I just knit the One Skein Baby Bolero (with modifications) and would definitely do that again. The toe-up sock pattern I use (and just plug stitch patterns into) is a huge favorite. I fantasize about knitting Eris someday.
Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? Some of the stunning, simple, and elegant lace shawls I see, out of silk and cashmere and whisper-soft wool.
Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? Addi Turbos – I’m all about the speed, baby.
If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? I’d have some silk, because my name has some silk, so it’s perfect.

Nothing to do with knitting/yarn/fiber in any way but seemed kinda fun:
Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Food’s a bit tricky, since I’m gluten and lactose intolerant. I’m fond of Endangered Species dark chocolate bars, like the cocoa nibs and the blueberry.
What’s your favorite animal? My cat Chaos…
Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? Heh… Chaos, domestic feline, black shorthair, 2.5 years old
If you were a color what color would you be? It depends. I like black for its elegance and simplicity (really, if you have only black shoes and purses – life is simple). I like jewel tones of purple, green, and blue for their breath-taking intensity. That said, I could see being a funky black and hot pink or fuschia colorway.
Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s). Mine’s a black Eddie Bauer 3/4 sleeve pullover that has the perfect amount of waist shaping to be flattering but isn’t clingy.
What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? I’m a waterfall junkie. Love ’em. Also, I adore snowy egrets.
Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read. “The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Rarely do members of the same family grow up under the same roof.” – Richard Bach, Illusions
“Look inside yourself for the answers – you’re the only one who knows what’s best for you. Everybody else is only guessing.” – Charles de Lint, Trader
Do you have a wishlist? A formal one, like Amazon.com? Nope.
Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? I don’t watch TV. I love to read and listen to music. I’m addicted to soy mochas, no whipped. I am very sensitive to perfumes and scents and don’t do well with scented products.

If you survived through all of that, here’s a gratuitous, somewhat dyeing related cat picture.


“I’m trying to get set up to wind yarn here. Why are you bothering me with such trivialities?”
Dyeing, Those Cats

Belated Mother’s Day wishes

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Belated Mother’s Day wishes to Chaos’ mom, Riley (black, below), from Chaos (not pictured) and his brother Diablo (white, below).

Some semi-solid yarn I dyed over at Jeanne’s a week ago. These were two skeins of white Lamb’s Pride Superwash (a truly unpleasant yarn), soaked in vinegar water in loosely twisted hanks (as pictured below, but not so tight), then liquid purple Jacquard acid dye was dumped into the vinegar water. As the dye kept exhausting, I would add more dye and swish things around a little bit. I like the effect enough that I’ll try doing this again sometime.

I have my dye buddy’s yarn all set, but I’m not going to post pictures of it until it’s sent and safely received. Moving right along – remember the blindingly bright yarn from my dyeing class at Shepherd’s Harvest? Here’s how it looks after a few turns on the old niddy noddy – socks? Or a crazy bright baby sweater? Hmm… Anyway, I think we might have been using Cushing’s dye in the class – it was in those little cellophane envelopes and we used vinegar to set it.

“Here, Furry Orange Mouse… come to Papa.”

Tomorrow, more on the two new mice that arrived from the UK yesterday! Furry Orange Mouse (FOM), above, and Furry Red Mouse (FRM), below. FRM might indeed be hiding from someone…

Dyeing, Festing

Warped yetis and other images from Shepherd’s Harvest

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Hee hee – no, I did not bring home a llama from Shepherd’s Harvest on Saturday! I’m pretty sure that neither Chaos nor the downstairs neighbor would’ve approved. Plus, that llama looked like a spitter to me, too.

I’m bummed that I didn’t run into anyone I was hoping to run into! I got back to Building B a bit late (around 1:30 pm) and didn’t pull my knitting out because it was too flippin’ cold to knit. Or for the spinners to spin, apparently, so the Spin In area where we had all planned to meet never got set up.

I enjoyed the class I took on dyeing self-striping sock yarn Saturday morning. Here’s the warping board we used to create the long skeins – yarn was atached at the upper right corner, wrapped back and forth to the lower left corner, then back up. I think this setup makes skeins with a 20-yard loop size, but you could obviously make much longer skeins, too.

Here’s one of my dyed skeins, drying on a rack in my bathtub, Saturday evening:

“So bright! My eyes, my eyes!”

Part of the Blackberry Ridge booth – I managed to resist, because I haven’t knit up the yarn I got from this booth last year!

An angora bunny, sitting patiently on a chair waiting to be plucked – at least, I’m pretty sure this was a bunny and not an overgrown tribble:

Another angora bunny, looking more like a baby yeti than a rabbit, getting plucked:

And a very cute book I found, on sale for $3.22!

“Knitted cats?! Why do you need a knitted cat when you have me??”
Contests

Contest!

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I can’t believe I missed the obvious caption yesterday about Chaos having his foot in his mouth (which he did)… Obviously, it’s been a long week and my captioning brain is not up to snuff. And, since I won another contest yesterday (a drawing for a $15 gift card to a LYS from everyone who sent cage liners or squares to Chris of Chris Knits for her local Humane Society) (ok, ok, technically Chaos won, but he doesn’t get out much), I’m feeling the urge to spread a little contest fun myself.

The prize will be a 480-yard ball of Brooklyn Handspun superwash sock yarn, color Carnival. This colorway will cover all of your Project Spectrum knitting needs up until August (neutrals). (Tail not not included.) If a non-knitter wins, I’ll send that person something other than yarn and select a second winner.

The contest is to leave a comment with a caption for the picture below. Caption comments made before 6 pm Central Daylight Time on Monday, May 22 (my six-month blogiversary!), will be numbered and I’ll use a random number generator to pick a caption. Please note that the mouse in the picture isn’t SRM, but is the wonderful catnip mouse that Elizagrrl knit for Chaos.Have fun! Be creative!

Festing

Shepherd’s Harvest anyone?

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Thanks for all the kind words about the baby bolero!

Although it’s nowhere near the scale of MDS&W or any of the big fiber festivals, this weekend we’re having our own area fiber festival, Shepherd’s Harvest (and Llama Magic). I’m going Saturday with Charlene and possibly Jeanne. I know Kerry’s going to be out there Saturday, Renee on Sunday, and Kate’s not sure when yet. Anyone else?!

I’m taking one class on Saturday morning, Dyeing Patterned Sock Yarn (there are still openings as of 7:30 am, May 11). I was mightily tempted by Beginning Needle Felting (you make a little felted copy of your pet – how cute would a tiny felted Chaos be?!), but it’s Sunday afternoon and I have family obligations. Other fun things include a rabbit agility demonstration, herding demonstrations, sheep to shawl competition (5 hours to go from fiber on the hoof to finished product), and a bunny to bonnet demonstration.

If anyone’s interested in getting together to chat and knit or spin, there’s a Spin In in Building B. I’ll be lurking around the Spin In area by 1:15 pm, knitting on either my Black Lagoon lace socks or my funkadelic Meilenweit Cotton socks (not yet featured here). I’ll have my sturdy grey Mountainsmith zip-top tote with me.

Hope to see you there!

“Mwmph.”
Knitting, Those Cats

Bolero and SNLGM

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So Monday night at 11 pm, I admitted I wasn’t going to finish the baby bolero that night.

“You just would not believe how exhausted I am from helping with that bolero!”

The baby was born yesterday, so I raced home after work and finished my last two rounds of edging, wove in ends, did the fastest steam block ever, and took the bolero over to the hospital (where it was well received). Whew!

Baby Bolero from One Skein, using less than a single skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton, color Sand. I made the following modifications: three-needle bind off for the shoulders, picking up and knitting the sleeves instead of knitting them flat, and only picking up 34 stitches on each of the front edges. I would definitely knit this again – it’s pretty speedy, economical, and damned cute. Plus the Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton is nice stuff and didn’t make my wrists ache at all.

A little Project Spectrum sparkly mouse action – Sparkly Neon Lime Green Mouse (SNLGM) has been hanging about recently, trying to cover for SRM.

“Smells like… neon lime green.”

“Must destroy evil SNLGM!!”

“Mmmmmm…”