Back on Land

I've been home for a few days two weeks , but I have been flying below the radar. It's hard to readjust when the twice-a-day housekeeping services come to a crashing halt. (Hmmm...methinks I hear the sound of tiny violins.)

The trip was great. The two days in Seattle at the beginning were particularly good. It was just me and the husband hitting many of the spots we enjoyed the summer we lived there together. (Could it really have been 1993? Yikes.) We stayed in a great place directly across the street from The Hammering Man. It was a quick trip down the hill to the waterfront and a short walk to Pike Place. I don't know what they put in the water out there, but I swear I was jonesin' for coffee ALL THE TIME. Seriously, I wanted a cappuccino every time I passed a coffee joint, and since they are 3 or 4 to a block (tiny exaggeration), it was a little crazy. We took a liking for Tully's, and I wouldn't mind it at all if they built a few out here.

We walked around Pike Place Market (where the flowers were so gorgeous and so inexpensive), visited the aquarium

(where we took 4000 pictures of otters, 3998 of them blurry),

had dinner at Cascadia (where I had, among other things, super-tasty mini-burgers slathered with truffle butter and an Alpine (Douglas Fir) Martini and the husband finished his meal with "The Catch of the Day"),

took a ferry to Bainbridge Island so that I could visit Churchmouse Yarns and Teas (which has the best English Breakfast Tea and some of the nicest staffers in the universe), and, most importantly to SOMEONE on this trip, had sausages at The Frankfurter. (The Italian Hots live up to the name, that's for sure.)

On boarding day, I went on the yarn crawl organized by the travel agent. It was a little crazy (okay, a lot crazy), because the bus had to make three trips to get all the luggage to the ship before the crawl. (I kept my Bossy Girl Badge in my purse and did not get involved in the mayhem, though there were a few things I was itching to suggest that might have made the morning a tad smoother, IMHO.) We managed to hit three of the four planned stops (Tricoter, Hilltop Yarn, and So Much Yarn; Acorn Street had to be dropped due to the late start.) Hilltop was my favorite shop of the day because of the atmosphere. It is in an old house with Arts and Crafts detailing. It is a cozy little place that is full of charm. Then it was on to the ship.

Celebrity really did a disservice to the passengers on this sailing because the ship did not arrive in port until 7:30pm. Instead of a relaxing day with staggered boarding, all passengers were corralled in a no-frills terminal, given cardboard boxes of packaged snacks, and crammed into too-small waiting areas with too few plastic lawn chairs for seating. Frankly, the experience did not live up to Celebrity's branding and marketing efforts. We did not feel as though we were "treated famously" unless they meant to treat us like D-list celebs just booked on a DUI. We were lucky and boarded by 8:30pm; some people didn't get on until 10:30pm. Not a relaxing first day of cruising by any stretch of the imagination.

The first day at sea was a little rough, and though I had never gotten seasick on a cruise before, I was down for the count. I made it through half of Amy Singer's "Plug and Play Shawl" class before I had to go back to the cabin. Not pretty. By day two I was fine, and even though we had some really rough seas (outdoor decks were closed, shows were cancelled, and warnings to wear flat shoes were issued--that kind of rough), I felt great the rest of the trip.

Our first port was Ketchikan. It's a small place with the requisite Junque Emporia, Tanzanite Forever Outlets, etc., but there are some locally owned and managed places in the downtown, among them, two yarn shops/art galleries run by the same woman who just happened to be vacationing on the same cruise. I went a little overboard (I'm buying yarn in Alaska! I'm buying yarn in Alaska!), but I only purchased things made or dyed in-state. I purchased several things from Raven Frog Fibers (Sitka, AK), some Pink Carrot (dyed in Ketchikan), Rabbit Ridge (Anchorage, AK), and, even though I said I wasn't going to get any, several (okay, five) balls of Quiviuk/Merino/Silk. While I was on a yarn binge, the husband took a float plane to Misty Fjords. (Misty Fjords, by the way, is a character in the book he claims he will someday write; she joins the madcap Bananas Foster and others I cannot currently recall in wacky antics sure to delight. Coming soon to a bookstore near you.)

Our other Alaskan port was Juneau. After asking for directions to the yarn shop, we were first sent to the Ben Franklin (not exactly what I had in mind), but a second person got us where we were going. At Skeins, I got another skein from Raven Frog (supersoft silk/merino in Cabin in the Woods), and a ball of 100% Quiviuk. (When she told us she still had 2006 prices on it, I couldn't resist.) The husband and I also got alpaca sweaters (totally imported from S. America, but gorgeous nonetheless--and they're not matching sweaters, just in case you were wondering) from a boutique down the street. After dumping the booty back on the ship, we took a whale watching excursion. We saw 5 or 6 humpbacks, a porpoise or two, sea lions, and bald eagles.

I would have loved to have spotted a bear on the shoreline of Admiralty Island, but it didn't happen. (I did see a bear at Mendenhall Glacier the last time we were in Juneau, so that will have to do.)

Our third Alaskan destination was a visit to Hubbard Glacier. As we did last time, the ship was able to get within a mile of the glacier (through a dense ice field this visit), but it was really cold and nasty on deck. Freezing rain and gusty winds made it a bit rough, but it is an amazing thing to see 6-7 mile-long, 300' tall wall of ice in front of you.

Our final port was Victoria, BC, a place we'd been several times before. The ship was a few hours late docking due to the bad weather and reduced speed, so the travel agent called ahead to Beehive Wool Shop to make sure they'd stay open. The husband said the scene at Beehive was like watching zombies looking for brains to feed on, and I have to say that he wasn't far off. (Someone actually grabbed a skein of yarn that was in my my hand. 'Nuff said.) Beehive has an astounding array of Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden, and that's what we zombies were out for. I tried to get out as quickly as I could. When the call went out that the bulk of the knitters were arriving--we didn't take the group bus so we got a bit of a jump on things--I got to the register and hightailed it out of Dodge. (It was crowded before the bus arrived; it must have been madness after.) We spent the rest of the evening strolling around the harbor, browsing in Munro's (a local bookstore with an amazing contemporary tapestry exhibit on display), eating fish and chips and hoisting a pint at Swan's, and reminiscing about our last visit there.

The next morning we woke up docked in Seattle. Disembarking went much more smoothly than getting on, and we were off and had our luggage by 10am. Since our flight wasn't until 2:40pm, I suggested we drag our luggage (4 suitcases plus carryons!) a half-mile or so to The Frankfurter so that the husband could have another sausage or two before heading home.

All in all, it was a great trip. We made some new friends (shout out to VicKnitChick and KnittingonCall and G, in particular), nabbed some great fiber, and had a fantastic time together.

We're booked for Sea Socks '09, departing Baltimore with stops in Boston, St. John, Halifax, Bar Harbor and another port in Maine. Amy Singer and Jillian Moreno are scheduled to be on board. (If you ever get a chance to hang with Amy Singer, do. She is very, very cool.)

Last but not least, thanks for your comments. The winners are: Abbeykins and The A.D.D. Knitter. I will email you both to get snail mail addresses to send your winnings!

A Tourist at Home...and a Contest for Tourists.

I am exhausted! My oldest friend (well, she isn't my oldest friend, but the friend I've known the longest) was here with her youngest son this weekend. Here is a quick run-down of what we did:

• walked around my neighborhood.


• took him on his first El (and subway) ride.


• went to the Shedd aquarium where we saw the Komodo Dragon, the dolphin show, and a 4-d movie. (Think water spraying in your face, air jets on your neck and feet, and things poking you in your back. Fun, actually.)


• went to the Field Museum.


• posed for hysterical pictures (none of which are on my camera) with the globe exhibit at the Museum Campus. (Think young boy as Atlas, pretending to spin an 8-foot globe on his finger, etc.)


• came back to my house for a dinner of homemade crabcakes, salad, celery root puree (which the 9-year-old tried!), and strawberry shortcake.


• ate lunch the Signature Room on the 95th Floor of the Hancock Building.

• took him on his first cab ride.


• went to the Lincoln Park Zoo where he and I indulged our penchants for penny medallions (flattened pennies.)

• ate at a Chicago landmark, Geja's, an atmospheric fondue restaurant. Gruyere and Swiss fondue followed by lobster, beef tenderloin, and vegetables in an oil fondue, and ending with dark chocolate. Sorry to those near us hoping for a romantic evening--fondue with a 9-year-old does not lend itself to romance, though no one was injured during the consumption of this meal despite the presence of pointy objects, hot liquids, and flame.

• watched the Simpsons movie, which he narrated with every line prior to its actual delivery by the characters on-screen.


• ate at a Swedish restaurant in my neighborhood so he could try Swedish pancakes.


• went to Millennium Park to see Cloudgate, aka The Bean (which he kept calling The Lima Pea), the Crown Fountain, etc.


• walked to the river to see the Wrigley Building.


• saw the famous Chicago puppet bike.


• went back to the Lincoln Park Zoo again. (The Lion Building was closed the day before for a special event, and there was an untapped penny machine which caused great yearning.)


• walked through the Lincoln Park Conservatory.

• had Chicago-style hot dogs.


• ate paletas, Mexican popsicles sold from pushcarts and quite prevalent in my neighborhood.

I am beat. Now that I am done being a tourist in my own city, I need to quickly pack to be an actual tourist. I am off to Sea Socks.

While I am gone, I was hoping to entice some of you to de-lurk with a little contest. I am a prolific collector of souvenir yarns, skeins I have procured on trips. What is your favorite vacation yarn or, alternately, your favorite fiber-related field trip? Post your answers in the comments to win a fabulous hand-selected skein of sock yarn. I promise really good stuff. Pinky swear. (Ooops, that was the 9-year-old rubbing off on me.) One skein will be awarded for my favorite answer and one will be awarded at random, one prize per person. (The last time I had a contest, only one person entered, so she was the sole winner. I hope that a few more people will comment this time.) Winners will be notified the week of May 19.

Diversionary Tactics

I am absolutely not good at forcing myself to do things I don't want to do, like cleaning, for example. I HATE to clean. So, I am getting ready for some houseguests, and between tiny fits of cleaning, I reward myself with episodes of Law and Order or checking my email. Doing this post is my reward for the 8:00pm hour.

I finished my primary Sea Socks project, Amy Singer's Tuscany Shawl, last week and I am pretty happy with the end result. The Kraemer Silk and Sterling is a bit sparkly, but not too overwhelming and it blocked out beautifully. I hope to have a picture of it "in action" by the time we return from the cruise.

In only tangentially related news, I got Moo Cards. They are most adorable. I'm not entirely jazzed about the two with the miter squares and the hats, but I am enough in love with the monkey one and the sheep to make up for it. I adore the somewhat quaint idea of modern-day calling cards.

I am a little sad to be missing MDS&W this year. My niece and her family no longer live in the DC area so it's harder to justify, especially since I just returned from one fiber excursion and about to embark on another. I know my niece wishes we could go again. Maybe next year...

Bah, I must get back to the inevitable lest I be up half the night. Ick.

Stop talking about that cake camp!*

*Apologies to Lili Tomlin.

I learned some really cool things at camp, but one thing sticks out in my mind as an Oprahfied "ah ha!" moment. Say you are knitting along with a lovely striping yarn like, um, I dunno, Socks That Rock. Things are great because you've gotten gauge for the pattern AND the yarn isn't pooling. You knit and knit and knit and then you get to the heel. You start your heel flap, blissfully going along as before. You finish all of the heel stuff (turning the heel, picking up stitches, making the gusset) and get back to business knitting around the foot. THEN YOU SEE IT. There in front of you is a big, honking sideways V (> or <) right at the top of the foot. How did this happen? The yarn was striping before. IT MUST BE THE YARN!!! SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE #@&*^ YARN! GAH! IT'S TINA'S FAULT!!!** Take a deep breath and stop pointing fingers 'cause there is an explanation. If you do a traditional heel flap with striping yarn, you will inevitably get one of these : < >. It's true. I have found some great examples of lovely socks that demonstrate this phenomenon exquisitely. Here are the Flickr links:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/indychick_uk/452756125/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/indychick_uk/452755491/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlw_in_pa/1861004668/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/courtneyburch/514798570/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oboegoddess/2329505492/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sassenach/812423640/

See the >? So, if you don't want >, don't make a heel flap; do a short row heel instead. But maybe you already knew that. Sorry, just catching up here. I don't know why, but I thought that was fascinating. I guess that makes me a sock geek. (Yeah, like that writing wasn't already on the wall.)

Here is a link to my abridged Flickr set of photos from the week: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10744245@N00/sets/72157604656637762/

The alpacas were at Krystal Acres Farm in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We went there the day before travelling to Orcas Island for camp.

**It's not Tina's (Newton, owner of Blue Moon Fiber Arts) fault, by the way. Don't like the way your STR is pooling? Change your needle size. Do some experimentation with gauge. You will be able to get it to stripe--promise.

Reporting from Camp Crow's Feet

First off, let me start by thanking the travel gods--and their minions at American Airlines--for granting my wishes. Our flights and connections were perfect. Whew.


Having never gone to sleep-away camp as a kid, Sock Camp was a taste of what it must be like. There were contests and relays and crafts and skits (yup. skits.) and even a camp song. There were things that cannot be explained to the outside world. Much of what happens at Sock Camp should stay at Sock Camp.

Craft Day produced Sock Monkeys. Mine is the monkey on my back, My Stash. (Yes, that is a teeny, tiny American Express card.)

Cat Bordhi, The Yarn Harlot, Tina Newton (owner of Blue Moon) and Cockeyed (one of the Sockateers) proving that you can knit with turkey basters. I'm not sure why you'd want to, but they did.

It all started with the homework assignment: make a toilet paper roll cozy. I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would ever make/need/use one. Frankly, there isn't much in my life that needs a cozy of any sort. Nonetheless, I happily took on the task.

My Hanging Pot for the Potty, complete with fuzzy caterpillar.

While I was pleased with my end product (yes, I know there is a pun to be found there), I was certain that there would be works of sheer art, cleverness, and great brilliance.

The House of Flusher. Edgar Allen Poo has just released The Tell-Tale Fart.

Stephen of the Y Knit podcast made a Crapotis. Kate Gilbert would be so proud.

The sock-knitting octopus was the hit of the evening.

It would take several posts to fully describe the camp experience, but here are some highlights:

• Not surprisingly, Cat Bordhi is a genius. What I didn't know is that she is also funny, charming, approachable, warm, quirky, and silly. She joins Sally Melville on the list of women I have a knitting crush on.


• Tina Newton and her merry bunch of crack dealers Sockateers are the hardest working women in the yarn business. Planning a large event with lots of moving parts is hard, hard work. Not once did I see them gripe or grumble. They were unfailingly cheerful and helpful and incredibly nice. While we were there for a good time, they were there to work, yet it always seemed like they were having as much fun as we were. I liked Blue Moon's product before, but I now have a connection to the people who design, dye, skein, label and ship it. They are a fabulous bunch of women; buy their crack yarn.


• I have had the experience of overhearing a conversation of businesspeople passionately discussing issues in their field. Whether it be medical or engineering or manufacturing or architectural in nature, because I don't know the lingo, it feels like they are speaking in a foreign tongue. For five days, I was among knitters. I understood the language and spoke it fluently. There was great freedom in that.


• I got to spend quality time with Toni Neil of The Fold. She has always been very helpful when I have seen her at shows and, in particular, when I went out to her shop for a spinning lesson. That day, she spent three hours with me, helping me to take my wheel apart, and even calling Louet for advice. She went above and beyond. Spending time with her as a fellow camper was a delight. People, I saw Toni buy yarn. She owns an amazing shop that carries Blue Moon, yet she bought yarn. I have already used (and, I'm sure, will use again) that fact as a justification for my own yarn purchases.

Scary stash acquisition photo. Bad stash monkey.

• (A)If you needle felt a sock monkey in public, you may scare the non-knitters who think you are performing voodoo. (B)You can do voodoo on a sock monkey. Ask Chappy.

My friend, Liz, and I had a great time. We met many interesting women (and Stephen!) who have so much talent and enthusiasm for fiber. It was an inspirational experience that will stay with me.

There is so much more, but that's a start. I will be uploading pics to Flickr over the next few days and will post the link when I do.

The Friendly Skies

An Open Letter to American Airlines and the FAA

Dear People in Charge of My Flight:

Many weeks ago, I booked my flight from Chicago to Seattle on American. I had other options, but I chose American due to a decent fare, departure and arrival times that worked for my schedule, and the fact that the MD-80 gave us the option of a two-seat row. Well, as you know, American had been having some, um, challenges this week. Listen, I am a girl who has experienced just about every flight delay that one can. I have been stuck overnight twice, have been on a plane on the tarmac for over 3 hours (which later resulted in being stuck overnight), have been taken to an alternate airport and bused 2 hours in a driving thunderstorm to my actual destination holding a cat that belonged to a woman in a wheelchair who had to sit at the front of the bus but the driver was allergic and wasn't going to let the cat on so I intervened and took the cat to the back. (This happened after I not-so-politely informed the airline representative that one coach bus was not going to hold the entire planeload of passengers they were trying to transport. "Do the math!," I told him over and over. Yeah, I was pretty cranky.) I have been on a plane that pulled away from the gate only to return due to a mechanical issue and we were going to miss our connection. After checking, a flight attendant told us to get off the plane and go to a different gate where we could get on another flight, this one non-stop. As we exited the plane, we checked with the gate attendant who confirmed that we would be able to get on that plane, no problem. Upon arrival at said gate, we were told the flight was full and we could not get on. In the pre-911 days, you could stand up to the airlines without fear of arrest, so I asked for a supervisor who also told me that they could not accommodate us. I explained that not one but two AA employees had told us we would be able to get on the flight--in fact, had told us to get off the flight we were on--and that he needed to fix the situation. His response was "You have problem." I explained to him that if TWO AA employees instructed me to get off a plane and that I would be able to get on a different plane, that became his problem. He resisted. I did not back down. Eventually, they went on the plane, paid two volunteers to get off, and we got on. That would not happen in today's flying climate. Anyhoo, you can see that I have run the gauntlet. I have paid my travel dues. Soooooo...what I am asking is that you let one certain little MD-80 leave Chicago on Sunday bound for Seattle. Is that too much to ask? After all, I'm just a kid who wants to get to (sock) camp and you wouldn't want to disappoint a kid, would you?

Thanks,
A (hopefully) happy camper

PS. Could you guys also let the TSA know that the knitting needles in my bags are not an issue. Seriously, what could I do with a needle that the guy in 14B couldn't do with a Bic pen. Except turn a heel.

You Doubt My Self-Diagnosed OCD? Here's Proof...

Six, count 'em, six Lady Detective Hats since February 12. And I have yet to wear one out of the house. Hmmm...

All are made with Noro Iro (scored for about 40-50% off on Ebay and Little Knits) except the last one. That was the priciest, made with Zitron Unikat and Manos Silky Blend bought retail at a LYS in PA. All trims (buttons and vintage buckles) were from the stash.

Vested Interest

I've got several things on needles, some of which cannot be shown yet, but I do have and FO to display. I was attracted to the Back-to-School U-Neck Vest in Fitted Knits as soon as I saw it. I had some stash yarn that was originally intended to be another vest, one I wanted to translate from this Anthropologie item of a few winters ago. Well, that didn't happen, and the yarn (Harrisville Orchid Line, now discontinued), needed to be re purposed.

I did a fair amount of studying on Ravelry, noting mods and looking at fit. The key to this looking good, it seemed, was to make sure that the horizontal rows in the middle hit just below the bust and that the straps were narrowed.

I finished it and wore it on Friday. I noticed that when I sit, I get a crease in the ribbing that stays there. Weird. I contemplated taking a scissor to the bottom and shortening it to that point, but then I think it would be too short. Bah. Otherwise, it is okay.

I'm planning on doing this again with Cascade 220, the original pattern yarn. Next time I think I will only do one purl ridge around the armholes, making the straps a bit more narrow.

I leave for Sock Camp next Sunday. I am pretty excited, though I am a bit nervous. I'm not really sure why since I've never had a problem picking up a technique in a class before. Maybe it's because I have fallen off the sock wagon a bit lately. I've been more interested in larger projects, and I haven't done any work on a sock since I started a pair of Nutkins after the holidays. I hope to have lots of great pics from my week in WA.

Muffaletta with a Side of Guilt

After my trip to PA, I was home for about 10 days before I took off on a quick 3-day jaunt to New Orleans. I have been there many, many times, but not since Katrina.

My relationship with New Orleans has always been somewhat complicated. My first visit there was for work. At the time, I was stage managing a touring show about Jackie Robinson. We went into schools in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, and we saw and experienced things that we couldn't imagine. In one school, they had run out of money for paper towels and toilet paper and it was only March. The custodian told me that the kids had to bring their own from home for the rest of the year. In another school, the show was delayed for a memorial service for a student who had been killed. The principal said that it was the 11th student shot during his tenure. At that same school, the backstage curtains were smeared with human waste. Each venue presented a eye-opening experience. During those 10 days, the cast and I were deeply troubled by the things we saw and heard and we were intensely affected. Still, at the end of each workday, we went back to our hotel, took a swim, went out to hear music and eat, and though we were paid very modestly, the things we saw made us feel very fortunate to have what we did.

Each time I go back to New Orleans, those memories come back. I enjoy the walks, the shopping, and the incredible dining, but I am very aware of the city that lies just outside the area where most tourists venture. The coverage from Katrina brought some of the city's issues to light, but I doubt that the average Bourbon Street reveler gives them much thought.

On this trip, we didn't go into the most damaged areas, but there were still visible scars. It appeared that many places now operate with fewer staff, so things were a bit slower. (Not true everywhere, but I did have that sense.) On a walk through the Marigny, houses still bore the markings from the search and rescue teams. One resident described her area as "the slivah by the rivah" because they didn't have flooding, but four blocks over, she noted, there was water and a house where they had pulled out bodies.

A lot of properties--especially around the Garden District and down Magazine--are being rehabbed and flipped. I didn't look into it carefully, but things must have been going cheap, and developers are taking the opportunity to make a few bucks. Too bad our government hasn't invested in fixing the levees that created the problem in the first place. They are patched, but they aren't fixed. (None of us really believed what Bush said in Jackson Square, did we?) The city is at risk now just as it was before.

On the lighter side, we did enjoy some fabulous eats: beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde, oyster po' boys, dinners at NOLA and Upperline (the latter being my favorite restaurant in the city), and a new discovery, Cochon. I had what can only be described as a pulled pork crabcake. It was shredded pork formed into a patty, dipped in cornmeal and fried to form a crispy crust. Amazing. Highlights included the roast duck and sweet potato ice cream at NOLA, the oyster pan roast and ribs with pickled watermelon rind at Cochon, and the spicy oyster appetizer and fried green tomato with remoulade at Upperline. I have also discovered a new-found love of the Sazerac cocktail. Yum.

We squeezed in visits to The Quarter Stitch (more needlepoint than knitting, but definitely worth a trip), Bette Bornside in Marigny (an odd store arrangement, and somewhat off-putting given that there is only one ball of each type of yarn on display, but she was quite helpful in finding a pattern from an out-of-print magazine), and Garden District Needleworks. At QS, I did pick up some undyed Malabrigo as well as the last skein they had of their Mardi Gras colorway.

I think it is destined to be another bucket hat, but I have capped the Lady Detective Hat production at six and I will use a different pattern this time.

I am now in planning mode for Blue Moon's Sock Camp. I have begun working on my homework (like I EVER thought I would make a toilet paper roll cover) and fleshing out the details of our travel. (Once a tour manager, always a tour manager, I realized as I titled a document "Angela and Liz--Sock Camp Itinerary.") I cannot wait to take classes with Cat Bordhi, Cookie A and The Yarn Harlot.

I am reminded again of how very fortunate I am to have such amazing opportunities and options.

There's no place like home, there's no place...

Ahh, back "home" for 10 days. Alas, home isn't home anymore. I haven't lived in PA for 20+ years, so "going home" really isn't. It was good to see my family, but ten days without my boys (the tall, human one and the two four-footed ones) felt like a long time.

In addition to the fun-filled activities detailed in the last entry, there was a trip to the Kraemer Textile Mill in Nazareth, PA. Unfortunately, I wasn't there on tour day (Wednesdays, I am told), but I did learn some very interesting things about their products and some of the dyers they supply. I bought bunches and bunches of undyed yarn to experiment with and I also loaded up on some of the silk and sterling yarn that I have been using to make the Tuscany shawl.

The shop at Kraemer carries mostly their yarns, the products of a few of the dyers they supply to, and some random dribs and drabs. Aside from the sterling yarn, I wasn't familiar with their lines, but there are a few that are now on my radar. (There is a wool/acrylic blend that could be really good for babies and kids. Not being a huge acrylic fan, I wouldn't necessarily use it for myself, but it truly wasn't bad.)

I resisted the urge to go hunting for Martin Guitars and the Andrettis (also located in Nazareth), and headed off to the Allentown Farmers' Market. Ever since they built 78, which goes from Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton right up to NYC, there has been an influx of new people to the area. The market is now an interesting melting pot of locals and transplants, with the parking lot filled with old pick-up trucks and ancient Ford wagons, shiny, new Mercedes and SUVs. Quite an interesting conglomeration.

After loading up the car with the ingredients for my grandmother's birthday dinner, I headed back to the highway via a street full of beautiful houses that were built during Allentown's heyday, back when the execs from Bethlehem Steel and Mack Trucks made their homes there. They are gorgeous properties, almost quaint by today's McMansion standards. Many of the transplants live in new construction developments of huge houses that sit on land that used to be farms and open land. When I was a kid, Allentown was a bustling little city, with a fancy department store and restaurants that are long gone. From what I can tell, downtown hasn't seemed to benefit a great deal from the influx of money and people, although there is a new minor league baseball team in town, the Iron Pigs. (Just 'cause I know you're wondering, the Billy Joel song is not really about Allentown. He just used the name.)

The rest of the trip included a quick trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show, visits with friends and family, Grandma's birthday dinner, and a spa day with Grandma, my mom, my aunt, and me. She kept saying it was a "once in a lifetime" experience. Very sweet.

PA LYS

I am in PA spreading the Chicagobama love. While I am here, I am hitting as many LYS as I can. Yesterday I started in Doylestown. I took a yoga class at Sun Dog (highly recommended!) and went hunting for A Fine Yarn. Doylestown is one of those places with businesses tucked in behind other shops, down walkways, and in alleys, so I missed it on the first pass. It was a fine shop with a very decent selection, though I didn't get particularly warm vibes despite making a purchase.


Within walking distance is Lisbeth's, a shop in the process of closing. The good news: everything is 50% off. The not so good news: there is more novelty yarn than you can shake a (pointy) stick at. Lots and lots of novelty yarn. So much novelty yarn that it camouflaged any non-novelty yarn that might have been there. I did get three sets of lovely leather bag handles but that was it.


From there I drove to Skippack. Yarnings is a lovely shop on two floors of an old house. If you haven't been there before, Skippack is one of those towns that has become a bit of a shopping mecca. It is chock full of little shops and restaurants heavy on the upscale country chic, if ya know what I mean. Real antiques are liberally interspersed with repros, etc. Yarnings is brightly lit, has some of the most elegant yarn shelving I have seen, and they have a great area to sit with big, attractive, comfortable chairs and a sofa. (That feature can make or break a LYS experience for me.)


Last stop was Lillie's which is a three minute drive from my mom's house. They have a slightly better selection than they did before (mostly in the way of alpaca yarns), but it seems like there are big gaps, at least from my knitting perspective. In general, there is a fair amount of acrylic and the wools are not my favorites though there are some serviceable choices. It is, however, convenient to have nearby when I am in a pinch. (Last time I was here, I was in desperate need for yarn to make a pair of Fetching mitts, and I was able to get there and back in less than 15 minutes!)


My schedule is pretty full, but I have at least one (and possibly three) more yarn stops this week. There is a farm with BFLs somewhere in the township where my mom lives, and I am hoping to make it there, too.

Today I am off to Downingtown for an acupuncture appointment (my first) with someone I found through the beauty of Ravelry. Very exciting! I'm so curious about acupuncture, and who better than a knitter to stick you with needles?!

Needle of a Different Sort

Can't get an official Obama shirt because BarackObama.com is backordered? No worries, make your own. (Okay, it took longer to get the materials for this little project than it would have taken to get a backordered shirt, but I now have the satisfaction of going the super-crafty route.)

Inspired by Alabama Chanin, whose work takes ordinary materials and transforms them through the magic of upcycling, I set out to make a reverse appliqué image of Barack.

First, I combed the web for an appropriate image. It took about six generations of copies (print, define negative and positive areas, copy, repeat, getting the image to be as simple as it could be.) From there, I traced it on to stencil plastic and cut it out. (This part was pretty tedious, I'll admit. A scissor worked much better than the blade cutter on this thick plastic.) After the stencil was finished, I taped it on to an old t-shirt and covered the exposed areas with newsprint. I used Tulip spray-on fabric paint to stencil the image. (It has an air-brushed quality, but since I wasn't ultimately looking for a solid image, it worked just fine.) After drying overnight, I pinned contrasting fabric from another old t-shirt on the reverse side, being careful to make sure that it wasn't pulling or stretching. Using Coats and Clarks Button and Carpet extra-strength thread in a contrasting color, I did a running stitch just outside the image. Part of the charm is the rustic quality, so knots are done on the right side of the shirt, and you start a new thread each time you begin stitching around a distinct part of the image.

When finished, the harrowing part begins. You pinch the top layer of the fabric to separate it from the bottom layer and--shiver--cut. You cut out all of the painted area, leaving just a tiny border next to the stitches. It is really important not to cut into the bottom layer. (If you are doing a design with a lot of small cut-outs, if you snip one, you could always go back and replace the backing fabric, but since this particular design was mostly one big area, I was nervous about snipping too far and risking disaster.) As you can see, the result is not a detailed portrait, but I think you can tell who it is.

Since the stencil is plastic, I can "Barack" things to my heart's content! I may do another reverse appliqué and I will definitely do at least one plain stencil. (I also have a piece that would add more eye and nose detail to the dark side of his face, which I think could work on a stencil-only shirt, but it wasn't going to translate as well into the appliqué. Actually, you can see in the original in top picture that it kinda looks like a deformed rooster, so maybe I will skip it.)

Since taking the final picture, I cut out the neckline and lopped off the bottom and sleeve hems to add to the rustic quality of the finished item. I now need to step away from the scissors and the rotary cutter before I get myself into trouble.

All in all, I think this was a successful project and it will be a featured piece in my all-Obama wardrobe when I am in PA next week!

Am I Blue

As predicted in the last post, I did rip Fantine back all the way to the armpits and I repositioned the short rows for bust shaping.

I am so very happy that I didn't listen to the schusslig little knitter in my head that told me to leave it as it was. (My Pennsylvania Dutch is showing again. Schusslig means clumsy or muddleheaded, but my grandma used it when she felt that I was rushing through something and not giving it the attention it needed.) It fits and looks much better without the extraneous under-the-boob-pooches. I am quite pleased with the little crocheted ring that I devised for a button loop.

(As usual, the pictures are craptastic so it's hard to tell how it looks but, trust me, it's quite adorable considering I cannot crochet worth a damn. The color of the Rowan Big Wool I used falls somewhere between that in the pictures, not too pink and not really maroon.) Sadly, I had to abandon plans to use a really fabulous Moving Mud button in my stash because it was just too heavy. I gave it a noble effort, but it was a no-go. The abalone button works pretty well, I think.

In addition to re-knitting half of Fantine, I also made a couple of Lady Detective Hats.


This picture makes them look like they are for wee, jaunty leprechauns, but they are really quite flattering on an actual head. I fussed with doing a full band, but it didn't really add much to the hat. As you can see, I did a short, decorative band for one and I made just enough of a band to attach the buckle on the other. I did both in seed stitch because I loved the added texture--as if this pattern doesn't have enough of that! I loved knitting with the Noro Iro and have ordered it in four more colorways. I want this hat in every color-scheme there is. I am also going to do some stash diving to see if there are any other appropriate yarns for this pattern already in-house. (I'm thinking that I have some Manos or Malabrigo that could look good.) I love the irregularity of the Iro and I get cheap thrills from the trademark Noro striping. I had the vintage celluloid (or maybe they are Bakelite) buckles in the stash. I have a few left, but I am now going to be on the lookout for more because I loves 'em.

Since last I posted, I have started a pair of Nutkin socks in Wollmeise (oh. my. I am in love with the subtle shadings of Wollmeise) and I also have a Tuscany shawl on the needles. I'm using yarn from an indie dyer in a carbon gray, and the base is the Kraemer yarn that has sterling silver spun into it. It is going to be a little glitzy without being too flashy--very important. I am going to Pennsylvania next week, and a trip to Kraemer in Nazareth, PA is on the itinerary.

While in PA, I intend to be a walking billboard for Barack. The primary in the state isn't until April, so I figure I might do some good. It is my personal mission to convince my mom's manfriend (he's too mature to call a boyfriend) to vote for Obama. I have loaded up the iPod with all of the official Obama podcast segments and I am taking copies of his books. I know I have my work cut out for me. It is SOOOOOOOOOO conservative where I came from and I can prove it: Santorum. 'Nuff said? When I lived at home, I was always a little blue dot in a sea of red.

Surprise

The Baby Surprise is seamed, buttoned, and ready to go. I realized last night that if it was going to make it to PA for the shower on Sunday, I would have to finish it, pack it up, and overnight it to my mom today for arrival on Friday so she could then take it to the surprise shower for my cousin on Sunday. Ooops. At some point today, I looked outside and realized that the snow that had been falling since morning and was going to continue to fall through the night was likely to make overnight delivery very unlikely. Ooops again. (Insert the sound of a hand smacking a forehead.)

I started Fantine on Tuesday. It is nearly done, with just the second sleeve to go. I may end up frogging and re-knitting a good portion of the body because I'm not sure the placement of the short-rows for bust shaping are in the optimal location. Because it is top-down construction and there aren't shoulder seams, I think it might slide forward a bit which would put the short-rows lower than they need to be, and one certainly doesn't need things pooching out under one's bust, that's for sure. I'm going to finish the second sleeve before making that decision, though. Since it is knit with 17s (and do they ever feel weird after using 0s-4s for most of my projects during the past year), it won't take too long to fix if necessary.

Yesterday, while walking back from my dentist's office in the very, very cold Lake Michigan wind, I passed a little coffee shop halfway between there and my house. I'd been in once before, but since I hardly ever take the El and I don't normally walk that direction, I'd forgotten all about it. In need of something warm and feeling fairly confident that the Novocain had worn off to the point that I wouldn't drool, I stopped for a cappuccino. When I travel, I find that I am often charmed by quirky local cafes, boutiques, etc., yet places here at home don't seem to resonate in the same way, mostly due to familiarity, I suppose. When I walked in, despite the fact that CTA trains rumbled directly overhead, I felt like I was somewhere else, maybe Seattle or Vancouver. Adding to the charm, there was someone knitting at a table in the back. Finding this great little escape just a short walk from my backyard was a pretty fantastic surprise.

If Knitting is the New Yoga...

...then why is my butt so big?!

I have been going to either a yoga or Pilates class 3-4 times a week for the last few weeks, and I got up and got dressed this morning with the intention of going to a yoga class. My garage door had other plans. The electronic eye has always been super-sensitive, and the cold seems to make it more so. It can take several tries until the door goes all the way down and stays there. Today, the remote would open the door but not close it. The only way to close it was to use the wall switch, but because the eye is so sensitive, I couldn't push the switch and run for it because the door would go back up if I did. After 10 minutes of this nonsense, I packed it in and went back inside. In the city, I won't risk leaving the door up even for a few minutes. Someone once dug a hydrangea bush out of my backyard, so I'm pretty sure the contents of the garage would walk if opportunity presented itself.

No yoga meant more knitting. As a result, the Baby Surprise is now blocking. Once it dries, I can seam up the top of the sleeves and finish the neckline and off it goes! (The colors look funky on my monitor; in actuality, the yellow is more of a spring green, and the turquoise and bright green aren't so prominent.)

I have started, frogged and re-started the Hi-Top Booties. On first pass, I decided that I could make a few mods that might benefit the design. I'll let you know how they turn out. Once I finish them, I will be out of the seemingly endless baby wear phase.

Negativity

It is -4 degrees according to the Weather Pixie on the screen and I believe her. Most of my house stays fairly warm in winter--and in summer due to a lack of a/c--but, in typical Chicago fashion, it has porches on the back that were converted to enclosed rooms at some point over the decades. Our computer is in the back room/former porch upstairs and it is nippy up here. My toes and fingers get quite chilly as does the tip of my nose, so computer time is limited these days.

Curtailed computer time means more knitting time, and I have (finally) finished the socks for my niece. For any number of reasons, these were so tedious. It was really the first time that I truly feared the onset of SSS, but they were promised as a gift, so apathy was not an option. I don't love the pooling, and the crossover rib pattern isn't great with this yarn, but I'm hoping she will like them anyway. I also wasn't crazy about the yarn itself. It looked and felt better in the skein than it did while I was working with it. This kid grows like a weed, so she'll be out of them in no time.

As soon as the socks were bound off, I immediately cast on an EZ February Baby Sweater. It only took a few days from start to finish. It would have taken less time but EZ's directions can be, um, skeletal though the pattern is lovely. I also had to tink a few times because I can't count to 7. Thanks to the magic of Ravelry, I scoped out other knitters' projects and made a few mods, including making it totally seamless and not putting in buttonholes all the way down. I am quite happy with it. More details are on Ravelry.

I found out last night that the gender of my cousin's baby will not be known before her shower, so the February sweater is going to my friend Kelli's new daughter Emelia. I know a boy could wear this sweater, but I had visions of it languishing in a drawer because the lace pattern might be considered too feminine should my cousin have a boy. On the other hand, I spoke to my aunt last night, and she wants a granddaughter so badly that she has bought stacks of dresses; this kid may have nothing else to wear but girls' clothing. In an effort to be gender-neutral, I have resurrected the once-frogged Baby Surprise and that will be my gift. It's going quickly, so I may have this finished by the end of the week and it will get there in time for the shower.

I have one more immediate baby project, a pair of Baby Chuck Hi-Top Booties in Illini colors for my former co-worker. I hope to whip through those by the end of the weekend so I can get to some things for me. I have a growing list of projects, as evidenced by my queue in Ravelry, and some upcoming self-imposed deadlines.

My nose is starting to get numb, so it's time to log off. To paraphrase Brenda Dayne, if it is as cold where you are as it is here, put on a sweater--that's what they're for!

If I Start Knitting Now and I Live to 100...

...I will never complete the projects in my Ravelry queue, never mind the ones that Ravelry couldn't find. There are 168 of them in there and about 40 that I need to add to the database. YEEE-IKES!

So, how did the list get so long? This weekend I went through ALL of my knitting books, magazines, and binders (except the last few months' worth of magazines) and cataloged every project that I might consider making. (Well, I didn't count baby patterns; I generally choose a pattern based on the parents and their style, so I peruse those as the babies appear or threaten to appear.) I purged any magazine devoid of useful patterns. Let me tell you, the early 90s were not always kind to the knitter as my intense review revealed.

A few things did come to light:

• I am so glad I never got around to making some of those ugly-ass projects that I put post-its on.
• Back in the 90s, Nora Gaughan and Teva Durham were doing work that could be published today and no one would know they were old patterns. Each designer has a distinctive style that has the ability to weather trends.
• I have kept all of my Interweave Knits. Even if the issue does not have a pattern that speaks to me, the layouts and the photography are elegant.
• Other magazines have not withstood the test of time nearly so well. Some editors and designers slept around with too many novelty yarns. (Very judicious use of novelty yarns is allowed in my world, but it's like Brylcreme (or is it Dippity Do?): a little dab'll do ya.)
• I am a book, magazine and pattern ho. I am going to be listing books on Amazon and leaflets on eBay in the near future.
• I need to be equally critical of my stash; I should lighten the load there, too. There are some yarns that I will never, ever use, so why am I holding on? (Note to self: sale does not mean it's a bargain if you have no idea what to do with it!)
• I want a queue for everything, especially for cookbooks and recipes. (Maybe there is one that I don't know about.) I probably have about 200 cookbooks and countless clipped recipes. Unless I have used the recipe before or have made a mental note to try a specific dish, most of my cookbooks don't get any action. If I had a recipe queue, I could do what I did this weekend on Ravelry. Hmmm, I feel like chicken. What's in my queue and where can I find it? These days, I end up Googling a dish or checking various food websites if I have a hankering for something. I know I could make my own database with the name of the dish, featured ingredients, and the source, but that could take forever. So, why do I even have cookbooks if I'm not going to utilize them? After all, when I use recipes, I tend to go to the same ones. My copy of New York Cookbook is about to fall apart, as is The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that is nearly as old as I am. But I digress...

Frankly, it's a little disconcerting to think that my project list may outlive me. On the other hand, I suppose it's good to have goals. Oh, and please don't judge me by the contents of my queue. I mean, it's not like I'm ever going to get around to making those 40 felted bags, and really, would I want to?

6 D 7

Today I was out tooling around with SA, popping into some yarn shops in Evanston, indulging our inner gourmands at The Spice House (White Truffle Salt--my new love!), picking up coffee and tea at Peet's (their Decaf Sumatra beats the pants off any other decaf), having a Macrobiotic Plate at Blind Faith (thank you for bringing back the original vinaigrette for the steamed kale that you claimed you hadn't changed but you did even though you denied it on multiple previous visits), and stopping by Hancock's where holiday cottons were 75% off (hello, adorable holiday hostess apron for next year's Christmas Eve Party with the Feinsteins and the Cohens), when I looked down at the dash on the Jetta to discover--both to my delight and horror--that it was 67 degrees in Chicago on January 8! On one hand, how great was it to be out and about with no coat on?! On the other hand, yikes! This warm front did produce some pretty spectacular lightning this evening, but unseasonably warm weather is unsettling. I don't crave negative numbers, but a little nip in the air is appropriate. Sixty-seven?! Now that sends a chill down my spine. (So does that run-on sentence up there. Eh, go ahead, call the blog grammar police.)

Speaking of grammar police, does anyone else watch as much Law and Order on TNT as I do? (Tivo makes me watch, I swear!) Didya notice the ads for the Golden Globes? Our Friend the Apostrophe was making an unscheduled appearance in the spots they were running. The ad has since been corrected, but Hollywood was holding "it's" breath for a while. It reminded me of the Christmas when all of the windows at Marshall Field's boasted that the department store had "what your wishing for." They later managed to fit in an apostrophe and an e, but it looked all squishy. Oh, Apostrophe, you devilish little trickster!

Finally...

I received my last installment of the Rockin' Sock Club this month and in it was a grading scale based on how many pairs had been completed. I am ashamed to say that I had made NO pairs from either RSC or the Woolgirl club during the year--sad, sad, sad. Nonetheless, I was determined to rectify the situation before 2007 had bid its goodbye, so I cast on Thursday and finished a pair on New Year's Eve. I present the Inside Out! Socks in the Monsoon colorway:

These socks had caused a bit of consternation out there. Quite a few people had trouble with the fit because the cabling made it tough to get over one's heel. There are advantages to being a slacker, though. I was able to benefit by the trials and errors of others and picked up on a key mod which was handily available in a thread on Ravelry. The pattern is written for the toe to be worked on a size 1 and the balance knit on 0. A few clever folks suggested switching to a 2 on the leg for a looser fit which is what I did to a great result. I was really happy with the striping on the foot. Because of the change in needle size, the striping didn't continue on the leg, but I'm still quite thrilled. The change in needle size did necessitate an emergency call to my husband who walks by a LYS on his way home from the train. Just as I was about to start the leg, I discovered that I either did not have or could not locate size 2 circs. Fortunately, I called his cell just as he was at the corner where the LYS is located and he was able to pick up some Addi Turbos for me--whew.

I hope to finish all of the 2007 RSC socks by the end of the month, though given some other projects on the horizon, that may be too ambitious. I also have three pairs from Woolgirl to tackle--and RSC is shipping the first package of 2008 this month, so I had better get on the (pointy) stick!

This weekend, we had charge of our friends' 10-year-old son. Due to some behavioral and attention issues, this kid can be a handful. I was determined to keep him happy and occupied, so I taught him finger knitting. In the past, he has mentioned that he would like to learn to knit, so I thought this would be a good starting place and would get him used to controlling the yarn. Manual dexterity is not a strong suit for him, and I wanted him to feel like he could master a process without having too many things to keep track of. When we were in the house, if he wasn't sleeping or eating, he was making his chains. The finger knitting kept his attention focused and we had a great weekend with no problems or meltdowns which kept everyone happy. Apparently, he has been proudly gifting people with his creations and he now needs to make more to keep up with demand!

In other matters, this is what we woke up to this morning:

I love it when the snow collects on the trees. (The first pic is the view across the street from my front porch and the last one is a bottle tree in my backyard.) It was a beautiful way to start the new year.

We Wish Ewe a Merry Christmas

It was a fabulous holiday here at Purls Before Wine. As mentioned in the previous post, I have been awash in the Christmas spirit.

On Christmas Eve, we hosted our (nearly) annual dinner party for our friends, the Feinsteins and the Cohens. A good time was had by all, although I did select a menu that kept me in the kitchen for the two days prior and much of the evening. I served:

• Hot Spiced Cider (my recipe)
• Shrimp Cocktail
• Gougeres (delectable cheese puffs from the Barefoot Contessa Paris Cookbook)
• Hot Spiced Cashews (also from a Barefoot Contessa book)
• Roasted Baby Potatoes and Baby Carrots with Thyme and Rosemary
• Spinach Gratin (the Contessa again)
• Parkerhouse Rolls (the Sister Schubert cookbook--yum!)
• Beef au Poivre (Contessa Paris again)
• Walnut Cake (The Fearless Chef Cookbook--I've made this cake three times this month!)
• Pumpkin Pie with Cointreau-spiked Whipped Cream (the one on the Libby canned pumpkin label with my own crust recipe)

I have about 3' of usable counter space in my kitchen, so it was pretty harrowing in there. I worked ahead as much as possible, but the schedule for taking things out of the fridge, putting them in the oven, searing the filets, making sauce, taking things out of the oven, etc. was a little crazy. I really should simplify things so that I can relax with our guests before dinner, but where would the challenge be in that?! (When we redo the kitchen, I want to annex the room next door so that I have a place where people can mingle while I cook. That would help tremendously.)

The next day, the husband and I got up a bit on the late side. (Well, I got up earlier and put in another load of dishes and watched A Christmas Story. Again. I had stayed up late the night before and watched it. Twice.) After his requisite trip to our neighborhood Starbucks, we settled in to exchange gifts. His holiday is always like a trip to the Men's Furnishings floor of a department store: socks, underwear, t-shirts, etc. Occasionally he gets something that shakes things up, and I did score on the Pixar Short Films DVD, an impulse buy that seemed to thrill him.

He gave me several very thoughtful gifts, but the highlight came courtesy of a suggestion made by the Yarn Harlot. It seems that he wrote an email to her a while back asking for unique knitting-related gift suggestions. She graciously took the time to respond with the recommendation that he get me a signed copy of an Elizabeth Zimmerman book. He took her advice and found a remarkably well-kept copy of The Knitting Workshop signed and dated in 1985. I could not have been more thrilled!

We relaxed about for a few hours, and I made Potato Filling (I have my own recipe, but this one is similar) and Dried Sweet Corn , two Pennsylvania Dutch favorites that are holiday must-haves around here, to take to our friends' home for Christmas dinner. (I'd also made extra Parkerhouse Rolls and another Pumpkin Pie to take along.) My friend, Sandra, made a Pork Crown Roast, Apple Stuffing, Green Beans with Honey and Cashews, and a delicious salad. (Whenever we are in town, we celebrate the big holidays together and we share the cooking. It lightens the load for both of us, and it does result in a pretty fantastic feast!)

While things were finishing up in the kitchen, we exchanged gifts. My dear, sweet friends, Sandra and SA, adopted a Coopworth sheep for me! She is "mine" from April, 2008, to April, 2009. They will send me her picture and letters from the farm, I will get a call when she lambs, and they will ship me her fleece when they shear her! I can visit her on the farm if I want to, though she is in New Hampshire. Isn't that amazing? I practically squealed!

I am beyond thrilled, but I had better sharpen up my spinning skills before shearing time!

Everyone seemed to be happy with the gifts we gave this year. Because we have to ship everything, our holiday shopping tends to be finished quite early. (I get panicky if we get down to the wire. Fortunately, everything arrived in time and intact.) Apparently, our niece had to be prevented from calling us at 7:30am Christmas morning to thank us for her gift. (Cooler heads prevailed at her house and we spoke later in the morning, after coffee was had.) The one knitted gift I gave this Christmas, aside from the ornaments pictured in the last entry, was a pair of Monkey Socks made with Tofutsies. I made them for my cousin because (a) she has demonstrated a true appreciation for the things I have knit for her before and (b) because I thought she would find the yarn content interesting. I'm told she put them on as soon as she opened them and wore them all day--hurrah!

I hope you all had a wonderful day, too, and have a safe, happy New Year!