AnotherPurl :: a knitter's life

I blame Brainy

Sorry about that.  Alison mentioned a few weeks ago the Butterscotch Cardigan in the latest Interweave Crochet.  It's hard to believe, but crochet was the first fibery craft I really got into (umm, unless of course you want to count cross-stitch, which I've been doing since I was maybe 6).  Over the weekend I finally picked up the magazine, and the Butterscotch Cardigan is one of my top three design favorites in the issue.  Most of the things I have the skill for just weren't my cup of tea, but the Cardigan is pretty feasible as is the spiral hat (which I'll probably do first once I am done Convertible), but Alison was right.  The Shepherd Sock makes this a fairly pricey top.  Not completely outside of the realms of affordability, but not as thrifty as I'd like to be. 

So, I've been searching out alternatives.  I figure I can buy the yarn once I am down under 10 WIPs listed on Ravelry, which probably won't be until June.  I had this crazy idea in my head of double stranding a laceweight yarn.  As long as it wasn't too fine, I could probably get away with it.  Even if I had to buy 3 skeins, it would possibly be cheaper than buying 8 of the LL.  I do this sort of math all of the time as part of my browsing pattern online.  You know, I could probably buy the Comfort Sock or the Knit Picks solid sockweight yarn and make the project under $30... but I would probably enjoy the project more if I sprung for this slightly more expensive yarn.  A silly thing to do.

So, I emailed the Loopy Ewe yesterday late afternoon and within 10 minutes had an answer I could probably live with:  Lane Borgosesia Cashwool is one of the laceweights Sheri carries, and two strands of it together is pretty close to the apparent weight of one strand of the Shepherd Sock.  Even buying a third skein would still be pretty affordable.  So, now I know what I'm doing with my fun money in June!

Learning something new

Over 2 years ago I bought my first spindle.  I signed up for a spinning swap and got some pretty fiber and a second spindle (one that lights up!).  At Circles, I bought a batt (is that the right term) and some sock yarn from the gentleman from Dorchester Farms.

Yesterday, I called Lucy at Mind's Eye Yarns and scheduled an actual spinning lesson.

I've had a hard time convincing myself to try spinning at home.  Saru-chan seems to love what is worst for her (oh my poor yarn has had some awfully rough times), so I am hesitant but I want to learn.  Even if I decide I don't like doing it and sell or give away my little spinning stash, the learning will not go to waste.  I don't want to be the person who says that they can't get this or do that without making a conscientious attempt to truly try something.  Right now, those big areas are sewing and spinning.  I have made some half-hearted efforts, but not enough to feel good about discarding these activities. 

So, Saturday afternoon I'll see what I can learn.  I'll bring my boring learning wool and one of my pretty swap wools and see what I've been missing all this time.

With great alacrity

Warning: long and picture heavy (for me)

Excuse the mess.  Mondays are for Heroes, one of the few television shows we watch.  This week's episode was the penultimate one for the season, and so even Saru-chan was glued to the set.  She, of course, thinks there should be more kitty heroes and has been bug killing to prove that she could do Sylar in.

She watched for me while I was making fudge in the kitchen.  Isn't that good of her?

(This is one of the pictures my honey took... maybe someday our kitty will be featured on I Can Has Cheezburger.)

Of course, I didn't really want to write about Heroes (even if I wished I wasn't making fudge during those first 15 minutes).  I just want to write squee! and run around in little circles around the condo.

When I got home last night, I had my package!  I just couldn't imagine it.  Even knowing that The Loopy Ewe's reputation for speedy delivery I just figured I had submitted my order too late in the day to have it shipped over the weekend. 

It was waiting for me on the counter.  And I was good.  I pulled out all of the fudge ingredients, started dinner (well, it was only a frozen pizza - but I otherwise would have needed the fudge pot), and... umm, unfortunately completely freaked out at my hubby for both a chance remark and the realization that I didn't have all of my fudge ingredients anyway.

But to save the fudge, my husband did the unpleasant task of going to the grocery store and getting the evaporated milk, and the even more unpleasant task of going to Michaels for small round cookie cutters (I had this grand idea for cute pieces of fudge for today's last class, cut with cookie cutters to maximize the amount of people I could serve fudge to without actually bringing in more fudge... it worked, sort of, and I have the perfect cookie cutters for rolled sugar cookies).  Hubby is also a hero!

So, while the hubby was away, I opened the box.  Inside was a well wrapped package, which I stared at for a bit (I didn't actually take anything out for an hour or so... my self control can be amazing!).  Dinner was had, fudge was started, and I broke into the package.

I had ordered four skeins of yarn.  One in Regia Silk in black to use in Bakerloos and three skeins of Claudia Handpainted Yarns in a gorgeous Turquoise color.

Of course, all of this yarn plus more yarn from my stash may be intended for my Sockapaloooza pal!  I want to use the Turquoise for the Spiral Boot Socks in the latest Interweave Knits (Summer 2007).  I wasn't sure that they would fit my calves.  I feel like my calves are huge for someone of my height and weight... they are covered with muscles.

I actually went to Veronik Avery's blog to see if there was any more information, and emailed her.  I feel like it is the coolest thing that many of the knitwear designers have blogs and are so wonderfully open to answering questions about fit. 

So, if any of you have calves of about 14 inches (mine are about 15... I meant it when I said covered with muscles), the lace pattern stretches and will accommodate calf sizes up to 14 or so without looking overly stretched.  It will probably look stretched on me, but I am crossing my fingers that they will fit OK.  At least in this case, they are top down, so you know if they aren't going to fit pretty early on.  So, if you like blues and have legs (calves that is) smaller than 15 inches, then these might be for you!  Or it could be the Bakerloos.

Or maybe something made with one of these other yarns.

In the back are the Claudia Handpaint Yarns and the Regia Silk from The Loopy Ewe.  The burgundy (or maroon) is Lana Gatto's VIP - an 80% wool, 20% cashmere fingering weight yarn (it claims 22 stitches in 10 centimeters), which I was going to use for either socks or fingerless gloves.

Below that are two skeins each, in a green colorway and a green and purple colorway, of sock yarn from Dorchester Farms (75% washable wool, 25% nylon).  If you like jewel tones or brights (mostly for the Claudia Handpaint or the Regia silk used with the yarn dyed last week), then these might be for you!

I have more sock yarn in my stash, so maybe one of those is for you instead?  Or maybe I'm making socks for my mom with the Wildfoote (though given I didn't like working with it, maybe not?  I should probably give it a try again since it is in my stash), or some of the Regia 4 Ply, or maybe the Opal Handpaint that I bought before I knew how to knit socks just thinking it looked like laceweight...

Heck, if you like chocolate then maybe this yarn is for you!

I pressed the button!

Last night just after work, I pressed the button and submitted my order to The Loopy Ewe.  I ordered a skein of Regia Silk to test the Bakerloo socks with (I'm going to try it with one of my skeins of hand-dyed yarn), and a few skeins for other pattern testing.

I can't wait to see the yarns in person!  This shop has so many great reviews that I expect to see the package sometime soon (like Wednesday or Thursday)!  I turned in my homework already, so all I have to do this weekend is knit, run and cook!  Sounds like heaven.

Buying local...

I want to go to Circles and browse and buy sock yarn badly, very badly, right now.  Instead, I'm browsing online stores that I shouldn't purchase anything at and bemoaning the fact that I have plans this weekend that preclude going to Circles (again).

Instead I just registered (well, umm, yeah, not buying things...) at The Loopy Ewe.  I feel like I'm at the top of this slippery slope that leads to happily purchased yarn and less money in my bank account.  It's probably a good thing that I'm mostly tapped right now, or something would be coming home with me... I'm using FireFox, so Loopy Ewe is only the next tab over.  I keep looking at its sock icon and inching my mousing fingers over there...

Instead, I'm going to wash the yarn I dyed the other day, see if the colors came out well, and hope that it takes the edge off.  I'm not addicted.  I can stop at any time.

The Yarn and Affordability Rant

I was blog hopping (amazing what you find when you are looking for something else), and found this well worded rant about yarn prices from last year.  Well, more specifically from yarn prices for Lion Brand and the illusion of affordability.

I'm under no illusions that my hobby is cheap.  Heck, I came to knitting from cross-stitch and beading, two hobbies that generate stash, and boy, stash I have. 

Cost per yard is one of the great tools that Circles provides on their pricing sheets.  What I find is that when I'm picking yarn for a project, this becomes the deciding factor between knitting with a nice 'cheaper' yarn and the luxury yarns: Yardage.  Many times I have looked at the more "affordable" yarns from a cost per skein standpoint.

One of my favorite yarns has been Rowan RYC Cashsoft 4Ply.  It's called for in Odessa, a hat I've made enough times that I was being called the Odessa lady at Windsor Button.  The yarn is about $8/skein with 197 yards, or just over 4 cents a yard.  For this hat - a great gift project - it costs about $10 including beads to make.  There are other quality yarns, like Dale of Norways Baby Ull (I like the DK and fingering weight yarns, yes I do) which is just over 3 cents a yard. 

There are always yarns that are natural or luxury fibers that are quality and affordable.  Yarns that you can dye with koolaid, add beads to, rip back and reknit, and abuse in the search for the perfect project.  And that's something you can't always get with a Lion Brand.

The New York Adventure - Part 2

Yarn.
I'm a knitter.  I love yarn.  I'm also on a budget and the stashalong (though the program with free days is a lot more flexible and happy making), and I needed 4-5 skeins of yarn for the Fiery Bolero.

I didn't go as wild as a lot of the knitters I saw (I'd have needed to save up yarn dollars for quite a number of months to equal that haul), but I did get to Habu Textiles and School Products.

Habu was a novel experience.  Sale yarns were in baskets on the floor and involved some vibrant reds, a few vivid purples and then mostly naturals for the rest of the color sets.  A lot of the yarn was on cones or small packages.  It was nifty, but nothing I was going to go completely gaga over.  Then someone noticed the room with the non-sale stuff behind a curtain and people started to file in there.  I've bought from Habu before (online) and it is not really the place to go with a project in mind.  You need to see what is there (especially the smaller bundles of yarn) and decide what you can make.  It's like building a functional art object.  I bought a single bundle of bamboo lace weight (because I need more lace weight like I need a hole in the head... umm, exactly) in a silvery grey color.  I'll probably make one of the smaller Interweave Knits lace shawls or I'll get a copy of Lace Style and see what I can make in there.  I already have a lace project on the needles (too nascent to show off) and enough lace weight for four or five shawls, but anyway more lace weight!

I went to School Products on the suggestion of a friend, and for making a published pattern it is definitely a better place to go.  There was a lot of variety (and if I hadn't been shopping for a single product there was some Koigu in a s et of wonderful berry reds that I would have snatched up), though it is black hole of Karabella products.  The owner suggested Karabella Margrite for the Fiery Bolero, and once again I succumbed to the softness of the yarn.  It is hard to buy a yarn quite that expensive.  I was hoping to make the bolero out of something a bit more affordable, but the yardage on the more affordable yarn I was looking at was small enough that the price difference for the project was 3 dollars.  I skimped by only buying 4 skeins.  They were alarmed at my not buying the standard extra ball.  The project calls for 6 skeins for my size (but so does the next larger size) or approximately 605 yards.  I have more yarn than that and knit loose, so I will make do.  This will, of course, be the time it doesn't work out.  I need to finish one of my older projects on the needles to reclaim a size 5 for the project.  Maybe I'll do that this afternoon.

When I go back, I think I'll take another yarn shop address or two and see what other areas I can explore (and go to the Cupcake Cafe or some other sweet shop).  Heck, I might just go back with a few coffee shop addresses of the non-$bucks variety and drink the happy brew.

The New York Adventure - Part 1

I'll probably end up writing about this off and on over the next week, because for all that I wasn't there for long I feel like I covered a lot of ground.  Probably literally.  This isn't a timeline, because no one really needs that, including me.

The short notes:
I took the Amtrak Regional, which leaves on the late side and gets in butt early.  I think in the future I should just take the 6 a.m. bus and both leave and arrive on a shorter term basis (the things I wanted to do most were all 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. kind of things).

MoMA!  It was wonderful and having a friend with (who actually knows things about photography - duh!) makes the entire experience better.  I'm mostly a casual appreciater of art.  I like looking at things and making my own connections, but most of the time it is on a purely visceral level.  Having someone there with more background helped me take at least some pieces out of my gut and more into my head.  I'll probably ramble about the exhibits later when I have caught up on sleep (about the same time you get my two lousy pictures).

I didn't do the Today Show or the Sock thing.  Despite being out there with a blog that theoretically anyone can find (hi Mom!  hi Boss!), I am really shy around most people in public.  The city was full of knitters and I would keep on running into them, but I'd rarely say anything even when I recognized them (maybe especially if I recognized them).  I did some yarn shopping with my Stashalong Free Day and got a little bit of laceweight bamboo from Habu and 4 skeins of Margritte (not exactly within my budget *sigh*) for the Fiery Bolero.

The Harlot.  The presentation area was huge.  While we were waiting for it to start, there were slides of socks on rocks (and other interesting places and with interesting people).  It was insanely funny and just a tiny bit more dogmatic feeling than normal.  It was a very different experience from when I saw her at Circles.  Almost larger than life (and she only said arse once during her talk (and a few more times during the Q & A)!).  I was trying to explain to my friend earlier in the day about knitting and what was going on and I ended up using the word cult.  I'm not completely convinced that I am that far off base.  It's like one of those huge strange religions that no one talks about with odd customs and weird symbology.

The Craft Yarn Council of America worked with Storey Books to have a bag for each knitter with yarn, needles, and a small write up on Warm Up America.  Most of the knitters at the start of the talk cast on for a 7x9" afghan block.  I'm getting two out of my ball (and it is yarn I know I have in the stash, so I'll be making more).  It's always good to know what you're doing with your yarn (other than just petting and drooling on it).

I need to go to bed.  The 3:15 a.m. train is not the most restful place to get your night's shut eye.

First time in New York

I'm going to New York for the Represent (and I'm too lazy to link even), but mostly to explore.  I am not sure how many of the knitting-centric events I'm going to make it to, but I am desperate to make it to Habu Textiles and the MOMA.  Gosh, I've wanted to go to the MOMA ever since I realized that I could enjoy modern art even if part of me will never understand it.  It's a truly zen thing.  I've been looking at their current exhibits and trying to figure out exactly where everything is and what I'm going to want to do. 

This is a truly dangerous trip.  Not for the pocket book (I'll be traveling light after all), but the mind.  If I like it as much as I am afraid I will, then it will become a regular occurrence.  Until I have seen everything that the museums have to offer and my feet are sore, so sore.

Tonight I'll be taking my list and my addresses and using gmap-pedometer to draw out the actual routes I'm likely to take and the mileage involved (rather than random driving directions which take me out of the way).  I'm incredibly excited, which is making me a trifle flakey at work (and I gave a presentation today, which didn't help).  Two more days!

Great yarn!

I have been rocking through the Ravenclaw scarf. I sort of started last Sunday during a trip to the movies, but I had to pull it all out. I made some progress that night and then on Monday went into overdrive. That was a little over a week ago and I am on the last repeat. I should be finished tonight.

I did a lot of my knitting on Saturday at Circles. I showed up on the wrong side of noon, and was graciously allowed in early. They have a lot of gorgeous new yarn and have done some reorganization. Now all of the hand-X yarns (dyed/spun/etc.) are in the first set of bins.

I was planning on buying some generic black yarn (tm), but my eyes were caught by the Carlisle Brook Farm. It's a sport weight gorgeous heathered wool with a pretty nice color selection. Umm, and beautiful yardage too - 372 yds for 10 bucks! I bought two skeins of this geranium color. A light peach-ish pink, but there were a few others (like 8 or 9) that caught my attention.

Circles has a pretty nice selection of Sheldridge Farms stuff right now. I was going to make a pair of fingerless gloves with it, but I didn't want to orphan a color. Instead I opted for the Brown Sheep Handpaint. I spent too much money on yarn (right now any money is really too much money), but it was worth it for such tasty items. Yum!