Cyber Fiber

2008-04-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

This blog has moved!

Check out all my new stuff here! www.yarnfu.com

It's Not That I Don't Want To...

2008-01-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

I suppose I could say that I haven't been doing much Blogging because I have been very busy teaching classes (which would be true)...Or that I have been spending a good bit of time working on writing up design projects (also true)...Or learning more knitting-type stuff, or getting my stash under control...All of which I have been plugging away at for the past month or so...

But honestly, it's mostly that I don't feel very computery right now...I don't know what it is...I sat down some time ago and planned out about 15 different posts for the Fiber Blog, but I haven't done anything past that...My Ravelry account and pics are in desperate need of some sort of update, and I've been putting that off as well...I finally did some work on my Etsy shop yesterday, and put a few of the stitch markers I've made in there, but I wasn't really feeling it...

It's not a lack of inspiration, just the opposite, in fact...I'm not in the middle of some sort of creative frenzy, but the ideas are coming along nice and steady, and I am kind of enjoying that, since usually I run around doing this and that and some of the other too...They're 98% fiber-related art too, so I'm hoping I can sort this out and organize myself enough to share some of it...

I just got a new camera this weekend, and though I have some lighting issues to work out, I can already tell that the pictures are going to be about 150% better...Maybe that will inspire me to get some things organized and photographed and up on the Blog/Ravelry/Etsy/etc.

Warm and Fuzzy???

2008-01-01T23:41:00.001-08:00

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

|Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

What Do You Do?

2007-12-19T19:12:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, I was reading some article in a regional newspaper where a group had started doing charity knitting for U. S. military personnel...One of the founders of the group was quoted as saying something along the lines of "Knitters don't really do very much charity work, so we thought this would be a good idea!"

It totally blew me away, since everyone I know who does any sort of fiber art is big into knitting/crocheting for charity...I would guesstimate that at least 40% of the yarn stuff I do is for charity...And anyone who took a peek at Ravelry would be mightily impressed at the number of groups steadily toiling away, producing literally hundreds of beautiful items for dozens of different charity projects all over the globe...

If you like animals, you can make cuddly soft blankets for dogs at animal shelters...Dulaan makes warm items for homeless children in Mongolia...Afghans for Angels helps grieving parents cope with the loss of their child...The Ships Project sends warm items to deployed servicepeople...

Comfort for children going through traumatic events? Binky Patrol!

Something soft and warm for a seriously ill child? Project Linus!

Hats 4 the Homeless! The Mother Bear Project! Warm Up America!

Hell, even Plimouth Plantation needs knitters to help out with period stockings for their historic reenactors!

Even if you just need to destash, places like Interim House will take your excess yardage off your hands for their (way cool!) knitting and crocheting rehabilitation groups! (Check out the beautiful projects made with donated yarn here.)

My friends and I have a couple of charities that we work for, the newest one being Mittens for Akkol...Children in orphanages in the former Soviet Union face a very bleak future--Russians rarely adopt children and the common view seems to be that orphans are "defective" in some way...There is no support system when the children leave the orphanage around age 16 or so...Mittens for Akkol makes warm items for all the children in the Akkol Orphanage in Kazakhstan, and puts together special 'graduation gifts' for the teens who are aging out of the system...There's some more info about the project here as well...

Personally, my very favorite charity project is one I've Blogged about several times before, Afghans for Afghans...You can find the latest news about the group's work on a recent NPR radio segment...Also, a Very Cool slideshow with pics of the volunteers out in San Francisco!

"We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."--Dr. Loretta Scott

Best! Comic! Ever!!!

2007-12-11T20:48:00.001-08:00

Check out Teacosies With Irony...A crafty comic!

Spidey 'Ghan!

2007-12-08T23:45:00.000-08:00

There's one particular Little Man, who stole my heart quite some time ago...Apparently, the Very Best Thing In The Whole Wide World, according to this young gentleman, is Spiderman...We have Spiderman jammies, and brand new Spiderman snow boots, we dance and sing to the Spiderman song, it is all about Spiderman...

So, when his momma found this pattern on Ravelry, I absolutely had to help out...*enormous grin*

It's going more quickly than I thought, actually, but I have now passed the easy part of the rounds and they are just going to get bigger and bigger...Luckily, it is not going to be a full-sized Spideyghan, so there might even be a chance that Santa could put it under the tree...

The downside to all this is that I have had the Spiderman song running through my head all afternoon and evening... What's worse is that I only really know the first line...The Momma tried to teach me the rest today (of course, she has the song down pat at this point, poor thing!) but that just got me to "Spider Man! Spider Man! Na na na something-something a spider can!" Which I suppose is some improvement...

Happy Merry Turkey Hat

2007-11-28T19:32:00.000-08:00

Holy.

Crap.

Get the pattern here.

Sock Yarn O-Face

2007-11-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

Ohhhh...Raven Clan...

Grawk...

Korppi...

Tlingit...

Valkyrie...

Ohhhh...

*waits for payday*

Dumbass Attack

2007-11-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

I must have taken a big, giant hit off a crack pipe before I went yarn shopping, because I've just figured out that the yarn I bought for the Cherie Amour is totally unsuitable...Looking at it now, I honestly don't know what I could have been thinking...I have been swatching and swatching and just couldn't figure out why I was nowhere near gauge...

Because you bought superbulky, not bulky, dummie!!!

*siiiiigh*

Well, I think I shall go find an easy superbulky pattern for the whole NaKniSweMo, since I am already behind, and then order me some yarn that will actually work for the Cherie Amour...

I'm Very Cranky now...*scowls*

Just Where The Hell Have You Been???

2007-10-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

Bad Blogger, no cookie...

But I've been busy, see?

Attending my cousin's Most Beautiful Wedding...

With the best party I've been to in a long time afterwards...Hey, free Grey Goose, what can I say? It's been a month, and I think the hangover is just about gone now...

While I was in Chicago, I had some time to check out Loopy Yarns...Very worth the walk from my hotel...I managed to restrain myself and only got a leetle bit of sock yarn...(Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Jungle Stripe)

Other recent activities were not nearly as fun...Eeeeeew!!!

I ended up splurging and bought myself a 3 part birthday present...

Ooooh, what is it?

Hmmmm...

What could it possibly be?!

YAY!!!

And Mr Swift's good friends came to live with me as well...*huge grin*

I brought some of my jools and things to the local PPD...

Ms Serenity Gulch was nice enough to come along and show off her Mad Spinning Skillz, yo...Which was so cool...Though I am still not going to learn to spin...No, I'm not!

With the impetus of PPD behind me, I finally got my act (ass?) in gear and set up an Etsy shop for all the various bits of jewellery and fibery goodness that I make...Though unfortunately, it made me realize that I really need to get a decent camera, since I just can't get good pictures of my baubles and colors are never right...

I finished up teaching a crochet class at IUPUI Community Education, which was a blast...It was a kind of spur of the moment thing to help out the usual instructor who wasn't going to be able to make a couple of the dates scheduled...But one of my students recommended me to the owner of an LYS, so I am now officially the new crochet instructor at Mass Ave Knit Shop!

Check me out! How cool am I now! *poses for the paparazi* It's too bad the yarn I picked for the samples photographs so poorly...*blushes*

While hanging around Mass Ave, I discovered that I have a serious Cascade 220 addiction...I mean, really bad...A little voice inside my head insists that I absolutely need all the colors...

Luckily, I found an excuse...

Afghans for Afghans has the cutest little vest pattern ever, in both knit and crochet...The In-Vest for Peace by Susan Wills and Sue Clark...It is so wee and so cute, and works up very quickly...With the stripes you can use up little bits of leftover wool doing something good for a little child who needs it badly...

Here's my first one; the edging and buttons will probably be finished tomorrow night...I've already started a new one! *grin*

I have a lot of Yarny things coming up as well...Serenity, Sleepycat and I have commandeered the services of the Sheep Street dyeing teacher in November to start learning how to handpaint sock yarn (I cannot wait!)...And in a fit of insanity, I got talked into a mini Cherie Amour KAL as well, though the idea of knitting lace of any sort scares the bejeezus out of me! Stay tuned for shrieking, moaning, temper tantrums at all hours of the day and night, and the stamping of tiny little feet...

Finally, Middle America Embraces The Transgendered

2007-09-06T21:11:00.002-07:00

Mr Funky Bunny In A Dress

Lion Brand^® Jiffy^® - Wool-Ease^® - Babysoft

Pattern Number: FunkyBunny

Courtesy of the open-minded folks at Lion Brand...

Hee!

2007-08-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Why? Because I love lolcats...

From Jezebel

It Pours...

2007-08-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

So...

I have an opportunity to teach a crochet class in September...I haven't taught in some time, so I'll probably need to get my sh*t in order pretty damn quick, especially since it appears that September is going to be More Than Busy...I've got a wedding to go to in Chicago, I'm taking a Spanish class to try and brush up, since I haven't spoken Spanish in forever; I'm planning on being a vendor at the local PPD (mostly jewellery that I've made, though I did do good business last year with some funky scarves, and am currently working on some fun fur pillows to take along as well--stash clearing! Yay!) And I signed up to do a stupid LOMA exam for work, and the test is at the end of the month...Am I forgetting anything? I think I am forgetting something...Argh...

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I'm blocking all my Babette squares...I wonder if I have too many...Maybe someone else wants some Babette squares...Maybe I have enough Babette squares to make a bed-sized afghan for everyone in the Midwest...I might have enough to actually cover the Midwest in one giant Babette...

I really am loving it though...I love the colors I picked, and since I usually don't block stuff, or don't make stuff that needs blocking, I am enjoying the novelty...for the moment...*grin* It might get old real soon though, since I have been pinning and spraying a set in the morning before I go to work, then unpinning and doing a new set as soon as I get home, and then one last set before I go to bed at night...You'd think I'd eventually run out of squares to block, but apparently they are breeding, because I keep finding more...*sigh*

Sleepycat gave me a tip for the Best Blocking Tool ever...

Forget the expensive, ridiculous 'blocking boards' for sale at JoAnn's or online, and head on down to Lowe's...In the flooring section, they have four packs of these giant foam squares...I believe they are intended for use in the workshop, to make concrete floors easier on your feet when you're standing for long periods...But they make really great boards for blocking yarn projects! They seem to be self-healing for the most part as well, so I think that my fourpack will last me a good long time...At least through the never-ending Babette...Pretty good deal for 16 bucks, huh?

I Will Be Doing This For The Rest Of My Life

2007-08-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

Project Update

2007-08-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

OK...I've been a Very Bad Blogger, but I have been doing all kinds of work on projects, fibery and otherwise...

I have done a ton of stuff in my studio room...Pictures will be posted when I'm completely finished and everything is prettied up...I might even dust!

Last weekend I did some more Kool Aid dyeing...I really like dyeing...A lot...*huge grin* And the pots bubbling on the stove fill the whole house with the 'delicious' scent of boiled fruit punch (???) so what more could a girl ask for? HA!

I redid some of the original experimental dyeing...Overdyed the !ORANGE! skein and now it is a lovely orange-red color, which I quite like...

If you squint, it almost looks tonal, like I did it on purpose or something...

I also did the purple one over again, to darken it and take out some of the errors I made when I tied the skein too tight and the dye didn't take under the string...

And I did another skein with some Black Cherry flavor, which made a nice red as well...

I'll probably end up using the yarn for hats for Afghans for Afghans, since the amounts of each color are quite small...Now I'm going to have to hide my credit card in the freezer until after I get some bills paid, lest I lose it and buy that way cool sampler dye pack from Dharma Trading Co. and a metric ton of blanks...

I've just finished a new iPod cozy for my BFF Fred...

His old coat was starting to look pretty nasty...(That's Sticks & String by the way, in case you're wondering...)

And I had a pleasant surprise as well...I had been working away on the whole Babette deal, assuming it would take me the rest of my natural life to complete all 4 billion squares (especially those stupid little 2 round ones!) but when I decided to lay out what I had so far, I realized that I must be just about done by now...Since I'm doing it without a pattern, I fully expect that when joining time comes I will have a few more to do to fill in some gaps, but it seems like I have very close to enough...I was a Good Girl this time, and did my best to work over as many ends as I could, and also took a couple of evenings to just weave in ends, but since I spent a good part of the weekend in a 2 Round Square Frenzy, I have a ton (a ton!) of weaving in to do...*scowls*

The Supersekrit Project is just about complete...There will be pictures, there will be coolness, hopefully there will be no arrests...I'll let you know when it's Mission Accomplished...

Braggart

2007-08-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

One of these days, I'll get back to Blogging, and show off some of the projects I've been working on recently, but for now I am still playing on Ravelry...Chatting with Brenda Dayne and David Reidy, and oh so busy answering emails from Guido Two Skeins Stein...

*flips silk scarf around neck and speeds off in her Masarati*

I guess I just don't have time for you plebes anymore...

HA!

*grins and winks*

One Stick Good, Two Sticks Bad!

2007-07-30T18:51:00.001-07:00

Unraveled

2007-07-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

So I got bitten by a chupacabra the other night, which must be why I haven't posted to the Blog in a while...

Either that or I'm spending all my free time playing on Ravelry...One of the two...

Help!

2007-07-17T20:56:00.001-07:00

Noooooo!! Nooooooooo!! This is really bad!!!

There's $63.86 in my shopping cart...I have to edit some books out...I really shouldn't even be doing this at all, but they have two Noob Dyeing books that I need!

Need? Need?!?!

Oh dear...

Technoknitting

2007-07-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

Waaay less expensive than the real thing! Clicky.

It even has different games to play...*grin*

Just cool...

I'm In

2007-07-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

I'm just incensed that my precious, precious Ravelry time is being wasted eating dinner...

*gobbles food quickly so as to get back to the computer in as little time as possible*

Ravelry

2007-07-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

Casey said:

cyberfiber1011@hotmail.com is at #5047
on the list  - there are about 1435 
people ahead of you so it could take as long
as 10 days to get your 
invite.
 
see you soon!
Casey

That was 12 days ago...I have tried everything I can think
of to make my invitation come faster...I have refreshed
my email inbox eleventy-two times...I have gone to
the Ravelry homepage and stared at it for extended
periods, willing the server to send me my
invite...I have looked at the screenshots on
the website, and been given a Grand Tour by the
wondrous Sleepycat...I have whined on the Lime & Violet
message boards about how my invitation hasn't arrived
yet and drooled on the posts from those lucky
enough to have one...I have photographed and
organized(most of) my stash on Flickr even...

*siiiiigh*

I'm off now, to do a Google search on patience...

Auf Bitten von die Strickerinbesucher

2007-07-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

Online dictionaries are great, aren't they? *grin*

Oh wait...Or should it be Strickerbesucherin? Ack! There's a reason I stopped studying German...It's freaking hard!!! *enormous grin*

Anyway, here's the Noob Dyeing...

You can really see a gap in the color where I tied the skeins so they wouldn't tangle...It's not pretty, but it made me think of a possible future dyeing project--I could kind of 'tie dye' skeins...For example, starting with a white skein, and a couple of ties, and dye it light blue, then tie it a couple more times, and dye it medium blue, and then some more ties and a dark blue...???

The orange turned out...um, really orange...I was figuring that since it was wool, I could use these experiments for Dulaan hats or something...But I don't think I will inflict that orange on a poor defenceless Mongolian baby! All his little friends would make fun of him, and keep making deerhunting jokes behind his back...

The handpainted stuff I did ended up a disaster...*scowl* The primary colors one basically rinsed out (I don't think I microwaved it long enough), and the other one faded quite a bit, except for the red, which went to a hot pink...Ergh...I may try and overdye them, and play with the Kool Aid a bit more...

Still gonna buy a handpainting dye kit though...Anyone need some Noobish sock yarn?

I Think I Dyed And Went To Heaven

2007-07-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

This is what I did today...OMGs, so effing cool!!! Hee!

I don't have a swift...Yet...

Ready...

I read online that Kool-Aid was usually acidic enough that vinegar was not necessary, but I put a sploosh in anyway...Belt and braces...

My camera just does not like purple...*scowl*

I decided that since the Kool-Aid dyeing was relatively labor-free, I'd experiment with handpainting some yarn while I waited for the purple to cook...

Ergh...I hope this one looks better when it's done...The gray part was supposed to be purple!

I watched 'Shaolin Soccer' while I waited for the yarn to dry...It's definitely Noob yarn, but it was Such Much Fun to make...I'm definitely going to invest in some blanks and some proper dyes very soon...

Done!

2007-07-06T03:09:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you...The Brownnoser Blankie...

I will be posting a free pattern for this very soon, but right now, well, it's 3 am, and I'm off to bed!

The Yarn, It Hates Me

2007-07-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

So...

I was working away on the border for a baby afghan that I was designing for a gift...Looked great, very pretty and delicate (which was what I wanted)...Made a little place to thread some matching ribbon through...Nice...Thought that since I was making it to match the baby's room, and it was rather fluffy and eyelet-y, I would put a big ol' ruffle around the edge...Not that I'd ever crocheted a ruffle before or anything, but I know how it should look in my head, and I have the technical skill to do it, so...

No, it didn't really work out, after One Billion Stitches around the edge of the blasted baby 'ghan...

OK, so sometimes if I am trying to work something out, I find that if I put it aside for a day or two, and let the idea percolate through my subconscious, when I go back to it, I can figure out a solution fairly easily...So on to another project and give the Evil Babyghan a rest...

Got the yummy Magic Stripes from Sleepycat...Copy her footies? Easy-peasy! Did the toe, did the instep, did the heel, sewed it all up, edged the top...Too big? It would have been too big for a Sasquatch! 'Unsewed' it, frogged the back part of the foot, redid it...

Too. Big.

Redid it.

Too! Big!!!

Either Magic Stripes is mega stretchy, or I have freakishly small feet...(BTW, I was trying on every 5 minutes at this point...) Finally, Sleepycat posted her instructions for the way she did the heel part, but since I have thrown the gigantic footie down the side of the sofa in a fit of pique, it may be a little while before I am calm enough to attempt them again...

I had bought all that Debbie Bliss DK Merino on mega closeout, and thought I would hone my (non-existent) Mad Knittin' Skillz and do a sampler scarf with stitch patterns from one of my new books...Started off great...Some weird laddered ribbing...Neat! Then moss stitch, just because I love how it looks...Then this basket weave stitch I started on Saturday, while I was sitting with a friend at a yard sale...(I wonder if the reason we didn't have many customers would have something to do with the fact that his compatriot was sitting muttering and counting under her breath, coming up for air occasionally, only to shout, "You know I hate knitting, right?!?" over and over again...) I just can't get the freaking little squares to match up!!! I've frogged at least twice now, and am following the pattern exactly...It is totally driving me nuts!!!

The Sampler Scarf is now also down the side of the sofa, doing time with the Gigantic Footies O' Doom...

So today, I started the Babette...

Wish me luck...

Real Men Knit

2007-06-27T22:55:00.000-07:00

Now I've Seen Everything...No, Seriously...

2007-06-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

It's like the guys and the women from our circle of friends morphed into a LiveJournal community...

http://community.livejournal.com/gamers_knit/

Here's a sample post...I love it...

notes from the World of Worsted campaign

Of course, every farmer can roll a critical hit. Considering that fucking up an aran afghan in undyed 100% wool is quite a trick, I can definitely see this one being played out.

"Lion Brand, your move."
"OK, I pull out my Fisherman's Wool as a free action and cast aran afghan. And I think I get some bonuses for that."
"Give us a minute." *furious ruffling through large hardback book entitled World of Worsted Campaign Setting* "Right, so you're at +8 because it's not a fitted garment, then you've got a +2 bonus for natural fibre and another +2 bonus for neutral colour and another +2 bonus for neutral texture, but then there's a -3 scratchy penalty..."
"No there isn't! It's not a wearable!"
"OK, -2 scratchy penalty because afghans do go next to the skin sometimes. Did I add the cable bonus on? Oh yes, that's another +1. Right, you're at +13. Off you go."
*dice are rolled*

If Oz ever writes a World of Worsted Campaign, I am so in...*huge grin*

Yarn Gluttony

2007-06-25T13:15:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't resist...

Somebody pawned off some sock yarn on me last night, in spite of my best intentions...And I started a pair of Sleepycat's footies before I knew what was happening...(It's Lion Brand Magic Stripes, by the way...) I think the toe looks a little weird because the heel isn't on yet, so my fat little toes are making it poke out in all directions...*grin*

We went to the enormous, huge, giant LYS sale in Broadripple last weekend...It was a complete disgrace...I got some Debbie Bliss DK Merino to play with...

I figured that since I am such a knitting noob, I'd make a sampler scarf with some stitch patterns from the knitting dictionary I got at the Greencastle Fiber Fair, and learn me some new stuff with the two sticks...It needs blocking like crazy already, and though I'm only on the second section, I'm quite pleased with the result...I have four sections planned so far; more will be coming once I figure out how to do them!

Linkmania

2007-06-24T10:24:00.001-07:00

I've seen this amigurumi stuff around quite a bit recently, but I'm really not sure about it...The big heads kind of creep me out...I kinda like the Stitch-looking one though...

Warm Up Chicago Art Globe Project...A sweater for the planet! (Check out the video for an amazing pic of a handknit globe...)

OMGs, beautiful handspun boucle...

And of all things, a crocheted wedding cake!

Book Review

2007-06-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

I recently got my grubby paws on a copy of Dominitrix...

First off, great book...No, seriously, great book...

Just about every knitting book there is starts off with a techniques section, which I usually just skip, unless I run into a specific problem with a pattern I'm working from that book...But I read through the whole section this time, and I quite liked the way it was put together...For a noob knitter without the patience to go through some of the boring how-to's I've seen in other books, this rocked...That said, I was very confused at one of the omissions from this section...I keep telling myself maybe I just missed it, and have gone back 2 or 3 times (it is entirely possible I am having a huge Brain Fart) but I can't find any info on weaving in ends??? This is a huge knitting bete noir for me, and as I read "Let's Skip The Pleasantries", I kept thinking how great the how-to's were, clear and concise, and that finally, Jennifer Stafford was going to be able to make me understand how to complete a perfectly woven in garment...Oh, well...

The patterns are fabu...

Valentine Candy pillows...

A Devil Hat...

The Winged Heart Bralet (too bad my boobs are too huge for this one--I love it!)...

The Diva Halter...

(All pics shown here are from the Domiknitrix book by Jennifer Stafford, copyrighted, etc. etc. I take no credit for these, they are for illustrative purposes only, to show how freakin' cool her work is...)

Also worth checking out is the Domiknitrix website...She's got a couple of patterns there she refers to in the book (don't know why they weren't included) that are free to those who purchased the book, and several charts that are way cool..

Bruce Lee!

(Aside...I was checking out Flickr to see if I could find some pics of the patterns I particularly liked, and found this cool afghan made by oh no trendy...)

The black vinyl cover will probably scare your granny, but it gets four out of five, I reckon...

2007-06-18T21:29:00.001-07:00

Better Late Than Never...

2007-06-15T17:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Sherri and I took a field trip down to Sheep Street Fibers down in Morgantown...

I think this is one of my favorite yarn shops, full stop...They describe themselves as a 'sheep to shawl' operation, and they pretty much cover all the bases...Yarn, knitting and crochet, roving, spinning wheels, looms...Sheep Street's got what ya need, babe...*grin*

I don't even want to show all the stuff I bought that day, because I went a little crazy...After peeking at books for a few minutes, I started in on the pattern section, with a modicum of self-control...After that, things just got completely out of hand...

Bottom yarns: Le Fibre Nobile in a nice olive green...Noro Kureyon 148...

In the middle, a black laceweight with no label...

And the Fiber Trends felted clog pattern (that's what the Noro's for) and a Lily Chin Collection shawl pattern (no yarn yet)...

The black laceweight's for a simple tunic pattern I picked up at Knit Stop...Some of the best things about Sheep Street are how friendly and customer-oriented they are, and their location, on a fiber farm just outside of Morgantown...While we were doing this...

...the nice man inside was balling up all my laceweight, ringing up my stuff and packing it up nicely for me...

Hooray for Sheep Street!

Horrors!

2007-06-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

I was sorting all my links the other day, and adding a bunch of cool new Blogs I found recently...And I just noticed that in the revamp I deleted the link to Monster Crochet! I loves me some Lady Linoleum, and she was the first non-friendy person to comment on this Blog too....And she liked my shrug and everything...

*hangs head in shame*

*whimpers a little bit*

It's fixed now...

Linkmania

2007-06-14T18:43:00.001-07:00

Saving Traditional Fair Isle

Here are some new pics from the Afghans for Afghans project...They've asked that these photos not be reproduced elsewhere...My favorite is the lady with the baby in the brand new sweater (it's the 8th one)

Not too sure about this whole Jelly Yarn thing, though they seem to be promoting the hell out of it...I'd like to see some up close and personal, though I just keep thinking of that plastic lanyard-type stuff in the kid's crafts section at Michaels...*grin*

Spinning Ezine
I am not learning to spin...I will not learn to spin...I know, this looks really, really cool, but I have enough WIPs lurking around and cluttering up the place...I am not learning to spin...I do not want to learn to spin...(If I keep saying it, that makes it true...)

It's Almost Here!

2007-06-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

Squee!! I'm excited!!

Check out the screenshots for Ravelry!

Twenty Bucks

2007-06-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, the Golden Thimble in Broadripple is having a Going Out Of Business sale...The owner is retiring...But everything in the entire store is now 50% off!!!

Lookit my loot!

Apparently, my camera just does not like the color purple...But I assure you that it is a lovely, rich purple color...And apparently, it is also a Mystery Yarn...I looked it up in the Yarndex, and the name 'Topas' comes up, but it is patently not this yarn...

"Topas" by Gedifra is a thin, shiny yarn that consists of thin fibers wrapped tightly with a shiny thread. It can be used for sweaters, scarves, shawls, vests, and lightweight tops. Made of 45% cotton, 44% acrylic, and 11% nylon.

Nope...According to the label, this is from Muench Yarns in Mill Valley, CA, and is Superwash, 75% New Wool, 25% Nylon...Searched for Muench online as well, but from the business description it seems like it's an industrial textile mill in Novato, CA...

Oh well, I don't care...I'm going to have some purple socks out of it, wherever it's from...

I've never been a frequent visitor to the Golden Thimble, not even when I lived quite nearby...But I am always sad to see an LYS go...I had expected the store to be well picked-over, but was very surprised to find they still have a lot...a lot...of stock still available...I'm thinking of putting together an expedition next weekend (payday!) to go check out some more fiber...

Because I am Slightly Stubborn TM, and apparently was in the throes of a brief psychotic break, I decided to pop in to the Knit Stop on my way home...I can't learn!

They've just completed their expansion, and it has to be said that the store is a lot more easy to navigate with the extra space...There were several people in to help the owner restock and 'reorganize'...If it were any other LYS than the Knit Stop, I would cut them some slack due to the expansion, moving things around, etc. I asked for sock yarn again, and they did actually have a little bit more (pastel Lorna's Laces, and a few Art Yarns too)...Of course, it was in 4 different places...And the Tribble Dogs seem to be rather discombobulated by all the fuss, since they were barking frantically everytime the door opened...The one good thing I saw was a display piece, a felted bag, made by a new knitter...A simple black purse/bag, with large felted flowers and leaves around the top...There was no pattern available, but I will be making one very soon--it was too cute!

I won't discuss the brown baby bikini I was forced to admire immediately following my request for the bag pattern...

Now that I've seen for myself the new and improved Knit Stop, I hereby solemnly swear that I will never darken their door again...

I also succumbed to my book fetish, and picked up a copy a book I have been coveting for quite some time...I'll hold off on discussing that for now, since I think I'll save this title for my Very First Cyber Fiber Book Review...Woo hoo!

News Alert!

2007-06-08T19:52:00.001-07:00

This just in from Mass Ave Knits!

"Road Trip!

A bus will be leaving for Stitches Midwest in August. It will leave Keystone at the Crossing and arrive at the Rosemont in Chicago at 11:00 a.m. It will leave at 6:00 p.m. Shop till you drop or attend an afternoon class. More details soon."

Who's with me?

Involuntary Blog Vacation

2007-06-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

So, a couple of weeks ago, I subscribed to some Google Alerts about Yarny Things...That quickly got out of hand, since there are so many interesting Yarny Things online: people's blogs, news stories, helpful websites, yarn pr0n, etc. I finally managed to get all these links I'd received under control and organized for posting/commenting when I realized that Bloogle, in all its infinite wisdom (read: morons!) had suspended my Blog because The Powers That Be had decided it was a Spam Blog...

Tonight I'll try to update some of these new links I've got, and hopefully will be able to get back to posting as usual very soon...

Memes Are For Lazy Bloggers

2007-05-21T23:17:00.000-07:00

Bold is for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you're not planning on doing...

Afghan/Blanket (baby)

I-cord

Garter stitch

Knitting with metal wire
I did a crochet with wire experiment once, does that count?

Shawl

Stockinette stitch

Socks: top-down
I will say yes, though I am still working on my first pair...

Socks: toe-up
Scary!

Knitting with camel yarn
I once smoked a Camel, does that count?

Mittens: Cuff-up

Mittens: Tip-down

Hat

Knitting with silk

Moebius band knitting

Participating in a KAL

Sweater

Drop stitch patterns

Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn

Slip stitch patterns

Knitting with banana fiber yarn

Domino knitting (modular knitting)

Twisted stitch patterns

Knitting with bamboo yarn

Two end knitting
Do I even know what this is?

Charity knitting
Most of my recent charity has been crochet, just because it is faster

Knitting with soy yarn

Cardigan

Toy/doll clothing
OMGs, never! I have a horror of those teddy bears in sweaters!

Knitting with circular needles

Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Someday...

Slippers

Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
I am totally into this one...

Continental knitting

Designing knitted garments

Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Scarier!

Lace patterns
Scariest!

Publishing a knitting book
*ahem* Sherri?

Scarf

Teaching a child to knit

American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
It just doesn't make sense to purl like that!

Knitting to make money

Button holes

Knitting with alpaca

Fair Isle knitting

Norwegian knitting

Dyeing with plant colors
Just found out there's a class on this at a local history center...*grin*

Knitting items for a wedding

Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)

Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars

Olympic knitting
Missed it last time, definitely doing it next time...

Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn

Knitting with DPNs

Holiday related knitting

Teaching a male how to knit

Bobbles
Ew.

Knitting for a living
Among other things...

Knitting with cotton

Knitting smocking

Dyeing yarn
Already bought the Kool Aid!

Steeks
Just reading about the Yarn Harlot's steeking experience made me break out in a cold sweat...

Knitting art

Fulling/felting

Knitting with wool

Textured knitting

Kitchener BO
Well, unless I want my toes to hang out of the ends of my new socks, I'll just have to learn, won't I?

Purses/bags

Knitting with beads

Swatching
Though Grumperina says swatching is for losers...

Long Tail CO
It's the only cast on I know how to do!

Entrelac

Knitting and purling backward

Machine knitting
I used to have a machine many moons ago (it died), and I got new one for felting projects, but I haven't broken it in yet...

Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn

Stuffed toys

Baby items

Knitting with cashmere

Darning

Knitting with synthetic yarn

Writing a pattern

Gloves

Intarsia

Knitting with linen

Knitting for preemies

Tubular CO

Freeform knitting
I've done some freeform crochet--I wonder how that would work with knitting?

Short rows

Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers

Pillows

Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine

Rug

Knitting on a loom

Thrummed knitting

Knitting a gift

Knitting for pets
OK, yes, I've knitted a dog sweater...*hangs head in shame*

Shrug/bolero/poncho

Knitting with dog/cat hair
What?

Hair accessories

Knitting in public
Every lunchtime!

Obviously I am a complete noob when it comes to knitting...I haven't been able to find a crochet meme, so someone should tag me, because I think I could kick some crochet meme butt, given the chance! *HA!*

Progress

2007-05-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

So Tuesday last, I worked frantically on the baby blanket, lunchtime, and late night as well...I made enough progress to think that I might just make it in time for N's baby shower...Then I got an email Wednesday morning at work that the chick who was organizing the do had decided (on a whim?) that the baby shower was now going to be on Thursday morning...No way I could finish by then, so I brought what I had in to show N that I did actually have something for her, and since I had confirmed the week before that her last day isn't until the beginning of June, I have plenty of time to make it all purty for her...Of course when I got home I had a fit of pique at the Organizer Chick for changing the party at the last minute and didn't touch the thing again until tonight...*grin* But N seems to like the Blankie, so I'm happy about that...

Sweater Mania!

2007-05-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

So I have x number of projects in the works now, but I am still looking at what I want to do in the future...*sigh*

I have wanted to make both Tubey and Tempting since I first saw them on Knitty.com...I quite like the style of Bad Penny, though I think I would have to change the colors (orange?)...I am not familiar with the yarn used for Belle Epoque, but from the picture it looks a little heavy for the design to me...I see it in a softer and more flowing lighter weight yarn, and a little less fuzzy...But that would probably require math or something to refigure the gauge, wouldn't it? *cringes*

Of course I had to go through all the archives, and managed to whittle down my choices to these 5, which would probably keep me knitting for the next couple of years! Hopefully I'll get at least one done by next winter so that I can flaunt my Mad Knitting Skillz...

It's The So-ound! Of Sci-ence!

2007-05-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

A Crocheted Coral Reef!

Crocheting the Lorenz Manifold

(I have absolutely no idea what this is, for real, but here's the introduction to the paper--maybe it will explain it to someone who has a more mathematical/scientific brain than I...)

"The Lorenz attractor is the best known image of a chaotic or strange attractor. We
are concerned here with its close cousin, the two-dimensional stable manifold of
the origin of the Lorenz system, which we call the Lorenz manifold for short. This
surface organizes the dynamics in the three-dimensional phase space of the Lorenz
system. It is invariant under the flow (meaning that trajectories cannot cross it) and
essentially determines how trajectories visit the two wings of the Lorenz attractor."

That's what I'm talking about! A knitted GI tract!! My absolute favorite! I am totally going to make this one...

Don't Panic!

2007-05-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, four women in my immediate department announced they were pregnant simultaneously...(I don't mean it happened simultaneously, though that could possibly have been the case, but honestly, I don't think that's any of my business...) It was at the same staff meeting, OK?

So in a fit of babylust and optimism, I decided that I would make blankets for everybody...Now, one of the women has been fired since, so that's one down, but I am still seriously lagging behind...Today it was announced that the office shower for one of the preggers is on Friday...I only just cast on her baby blanket on Sunday...

Can I do it? Ergh...

I am also having a serious love-hate relationship with this yarn...Baby Bee Lambie Pie from Hobby Lobby...

I am a firm believer in acrylic for everyone under the age of 20, so that's fine...And I adore the fabric it makes...Looky all the swizzles coming out all over the place! I love it!

But you cannot frog it...Also, I have never, ever had a tension problem with knitting (or crocheting, for that matter) but this keeps getting tighter and tighter as I work the row; I really don't know what the problem could be, since it's just individual stitches, and sections of stitches (the fabric created is fine, not too tight at all)...My fix at this point is to knit grotesquely loose, and just throw the yarn around the needle and when I pull through it comes up as a normal-type of tension...

I did finish my blanket for the Afghans for Afghans Mother's Day campaign...Now, before I go any further, I have to explain...The stipulations were for an animal fiber for warmth, and no white or light colors that would show dirt easily...

It's bright and it's cheerful, and I think it is disgusting-looking...*huge grin* I hope it will keep a little girl nice and warm all winter long, but this will be the last time I do a project for anyone, anytime, with colors I can't stand...

I made some hats too, with the same pink and teal variegated, and some in a blue variegated colorway as well, which turned out looking a hell of a lot cuter than this blanket...

Dulaan's deadline is coming up, so maybe I can figure something better out for them...But for now I think it will be a race to get that baby blanket done for Friday...

Last Night A Podcaster Saved My Life

2007-05-07T23:25:00.000-07:00

With a 40 hour work week as a Cube Drone to contend with, and some pressure from my supervisor to actually concentrate, and perform the duties associated with the Dronage, instead of slipping into an 8 hour Boredom Coma each day, I finally stumbled upon the Wonderful World of Podcasts a few weeks ago...

It sounds completely melodramatic, but I don't know how I got on before now...*grin*

The first one I downloaded, on the recommendation of the lovely Sleepycat, was Lime & Violet, though I think the first one I actually listened to was Mr. David's Sticks and String...I fell in love...He has a voice like melted chocolate (and I'm a sucker for accents anyway) and his podcast is organized and professional-sounding, while still being friendly and personal...The only problem with his podcast for me personally is that I enjoyed it so much I listened right through all the archives in a couple of weeks, and now I have to wait and wait for the new episodes...*scowl*

My secret crush on David Reidy led me to search iTunes for more knitting/fiber podcasts...Which led me to Brenda Dayne...OMGs, Brenda Dayne! She is a goddess...A Goddess!!! I was very interested in her podcast right from the start, since she seems so knowledgeable, and my knitting needs serious help, but I became a Giggling Fan Girl the second I heard her essay/rant on the Sew Fast Sew Easy trademark issue...

Recently, I've discovered Kelli's podcast, Unwound...I have only listened to a few, but I'm liking it already, since she covers a lot of crochet as well...(Don't get me started on the 'Knitting vs Crochet Debate', OK, because I could go on for hours...)

I am also a big Guido fan...I admit, I have a soft spot for the Boys Who Knit, since I think in the hyper-masculine culture we have in this country today, doing something normally considered a 'female pastime' as a man is creative and fearless, and I love that...Guido has a certain sweet charm to him that comes through his podcast, and honestly, his taste in music is much closer to my own than some of the tunes on other podcasts I listen to...(With the possible exception of Lime & Violet; those songs freakin' ROCK! They should get all the artists together to make a L&V Rawk Chick Goofy Knitting CD!)

I'm still keeping a look out for new podcasts, since as I work through the archives of each of my fiber 'casts, I'm afraid I'll run out of listening material, and a day without yarn is like a day without...*mutters*...something important...

Distractions

2007-05-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Three words...

Handmade.
Crochet.
Hooks.

How awesome are these? Check out Mr. Jimbo here...This is why I love applied design--not art for art's sake (Not that there's anything wrong with that! *grin*) But a useful, beautiful object...

Speaking of things to lust after, not exactly beautiful objects, but honestly they're as cool as hell...Punk Knits!!

And I am in love with the needlecases from Scout's Swag...

See, they all go together, it's a Theme...Needles, hooks, needlecase? Geddit?

Dork.

2007-05-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

Being a narcissistic Blogger type, I have been posting, and checking the Blog, and posting and checking the Blog, ad nauseum, to see who's looking at it...

Put up a Frappr map, started obsessively clicking my Bravenet stats to see who might be reading my Fiber crap...

And I started to get a little depressed..."Noone's commenting, noone's commenting, oh well, I'm not really all that interesting anyway, blah blah..."

Of course, remembering to TURN BLOGGER COMMENTS ON would also help...

*sigh*

Giant Glove

2007-05-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Here's the story...

Not That Spooky

2007-04-30T01:44:00.000-07:00

Been watching real-life ghost story shows on Biography all night, and now I'm too creeped out to sleep...*grin*

So here's the finished shrug, inspired by the Knitty.com design...

I Want One.

2007-04-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

Check out this link for a really cool look at how they make this beautiful machine...

Cheater

2007-04-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

So the Wondrous Chenille That Does Not Photograph Well is fast becoming a shrug...

I was inspired by this idea...Which I will probably make later on anyway, though on my knitting machine, since my tenuous hold on sanity will not withstand 1 billion rows of stockinette, Thick & Quick or no Thick & Quick...I've converted it to crochet (obviously) and ix-nayed the bobbles...I'll probably do something fancy on the sleeves at the wrists and do some edging on the body part as well...

Sockies!

2007-04-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Never let it be said that I don't have Yarn Acquisition Issues...

I finally managed to pare down my Hysterical Tax Refund Sock Yarn Shopping Spree and make some real choices (rather than buying the entire inventory of Fleece Artist from Yarn4Socks)...

So, I got the Fleece Artist in Ebony, and the Art Yarns 140 that I have been drooling over for some time...(This is very strange...I went back to the page to link the Fleece Artist here, but the picture and description are gone...Did I get the last one??)

Anyway, I also hit Socks That Rock and got Rolling Stone and Puck's Mischief, since too much is never enough, and the state of Indiana was good to me this year...*grin*

Now I will have tons of incentive to finish up the blue practice sock that's still on the needles and really get going on this whole making socks mess...Thanks for the addiction, Sherri...*grumbles*

The Cashmere Cow

2007-04-24T02:04:00.000-07:00

Hurry, Quick!

2007-04-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

It's rather short notice, but if anyone's looking for a worthy project, Afghans for Afghans is supporting a brand new health clinic in Wardek Province, Afghanistan...They need baby blankets and warm clothes for care packages to give new mothers coming to the clinic...

Here's all the info you need to help out...

Mother's Day Campaign

Everything's due in San Francisco by May 13th, so I guess I'd better hop to it...They're asking especially for crocheted baby blankets (40x40 minimum) since crochet is thick and snuggly and warm...And that, I can do!

The Fiber Event At Greencastle

2007-04-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

It started off with...shall we say, 'less than ideal' conditions...Ack!

But the omens were good...

I was a little overwhelmed and overexcited at first...

This was the first booth we checked out...Roving Mania!

Yarns Unlimited was another of the lucky ones in the only heated building at the fair...I am a total sucker for chenille, and at $20 a pound, well, you know...Check out the amazing chenille weaving hanging on the wall...

I am in love with LoneSome Stone as well...Two lovely ladies came all the way from Colorado for their very first show...Their sock yarn, their colorways...*sigh*...I didn't get the gorgeous purple and green that I was drooling over, but they still got a large chunk of my yarn budget for this show!

Sherri and I hit the Schacht Fleece Farm booth hard too...Mandy was extremely knowledgeable re Icelandic sheep...Sherri states that Icelandics are her third choice when she starts up with sheep...

But just look at Mandy's gorgeous roving and hand-spun...

Here she's bribing Sherri with roving from her Icelandic Babies...I think between us we can convince her...*grin*

We want Bun-Bun!

The youth Spinning group from Conner Prairie was right next door to Sherri's massage therapy booth...How cool is that?? We love Fiber Guys!

I finally managed to get some sock yarn!! From left to right: LoneSome Stone Yarn Mountain Feat Superwash Merino in Shades of Plum...LoneSome Stone Yarn Mountain Feat Superwash Merino in Charcoal Grey (just a bit for the toes and heels of the plum socks)...LoneSome Stone Yarn Mountain Feat Superwash Merino in Perfect Storm...And Fiesta Boomerang, an Extrafine Superwash Merino in Poppies...Can you tell I loves the LoneSome Stone? *grin*

I only bought ONE pound of chenille...This picture doesn't really do the color justice--it's a lovely, rich dark purple...Notice that someone...*ahem*...couldn't resist playing with it last night, though I think the shawl pattern I started here may be smarter than I am...

Did pretty well with my Sock Stash Enhancement Plan...I also picked up a copy of 'The Knitting Directory', which, though I've just skimmed it, seems really great...Full of How-To info and a mini stitch encyclopedia (helpfully divided up into basic and advanced)...I also got my hands on a great pattern at the Briar Rose booth...The Easy Bulky Sweater from Yankee Knitter Designs...I'm excited about it because it has several variations within the pattern, so you can make a fairly easy sweater customized exactly how you'd like it...Roll neck, turtle neck, cable down the front, cuffs or no cuffs, etc. Since I am just getting back into knitting after quite a few years, this looks like a great First Sweater Since Forever...*grin*

Essential Knitting Tools

2007-04-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

I Think I'm In Love!

2007-04-09T20:49:00.000-07:00

Finally, knitting bags that look good...No tapestry roses, no cat pictures, no yarn company advertisements on the side of a giant ugly canvas tote!

Brrrrr!

2007-04-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

Since we are having a last blast from Winter this week, I was quite glad that I spent some time during the Real Winter making scarves...

This was the first knitting project I had done in about 10+ years, so I just did a garter stitch scarf in Noro Kureyon (one of my favorite yarns ever, even if it is a little scratchy for a scarf)...

Then I got a bit more adventurous with a pattern from Vogue Knitting...The pattern was shawl-sized, but I used different-sized needles than what the pattern called for...It is a very stretchy, almost lacy kind of stitch, which isn't really apparent from this picture...But I like the diagonal ends...

I used up some of the leftover yarn from a strip scarf which is still a WIP, and made this up as I went along, with red, black, and 2 shades of grey...

Being Crochety

2007-04-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to an awesome video Sleepycat made for her Crochet 101 class...

Clicky.

It's Just Not Fair...

2007-03-25T09:23:00.001-07:00

It's a fairly typical story, I think...I learnt to knit a long time ago...A loooooong time ago...I think my Scottish granny taught me when I was about 8 or so, though she had taught me crochet first...I would love to be able to talk to her about these things now, but unfortunately she died while I was still in my selfish young adult stage, and while I was in college, I took an extended hiatus from all things yarny (it wasn't cool, you see)...Later on, I got back into yarn and fiber...With a vengeance...

Recently, my buddy suckered me into the whole idea of knitting socks...I am still working on my first pair, in some blue on blue wool from Michael's (why spend serious bucks when you're going to screw it up? *grin*) She recently admitted that she knew sock yarn was addictive, and that part of the disease is that you transmit it to others...*sigh*

I heard about Yarn4Socks on Lime & Violet's podcast, I believe...Artyarns! Lorna's Laces! Regia! Fleece Artist! J. Knits!!! OMGs!!! My favorites at the moment are the Artyarns Supermerino 140, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Motherlode, and Seacoast Handpainted in Night Sky, though as I flip through the site pages, new 'favorites' keep appearing...

As of right this minute, my shopping cart has $265.85 in it...Don't go to that site with your tax refund...Don't do it...Like Nancy used to say: 'Just say no!'

You have been warned...

Disappointment

2007-03-19T20:35:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago, with giant wads of money from my recent raise burning a hole in my pocket, and a lust for sock yarn coursing through my veins, I hit The Knit Stop in Castleton (Indiana) on my way home from work...I had been there a couple of times before, but not in a while, and after I got there, I remembered why I hadn't been there in a long time...

This particular LYS was the cause of a near-accident at one point...Miss Sherri and I were returning from a merry yarn shopping expedition up north, and noticed this new place, and did a quick U turn (screaming "Yarn Shop! Yarn Shop! New Yarn Shop!!") to check it out...Unfortunately it was closed...Should have been some sort of foreshadowing or dramatic irony or something...

The next time I went, 4 PM on a Saturday afternoon, it was also closed...

A few weeks later I was finally able to gain entrance to the Inner Sanctum, and got a chance to check it out...The first thing that struck me was that, at that time, all the yarns were organized by color, rather than material or brand...It was visually very pleasing, but a bit annoying to have to walk from one side of the shop to the other to look at the different colorways of the same yarn...

Since Sherri is Evil, and has gotten me hooked on the whole idea of making socks now, on this trip I figured I would get a bit of sock yarn as an incentive to complete my Sock Virgin socks...I could check out some of the sock yarn I'd seen online and get an idea of what it was like (being a touchy-feely kind of gal)...I noticed that they had moved a lot of the inventory around in the store, so some of it was still organized (and I use that term in the loosest possible sense) by color, but a good portion was by company, and, apparently, fuzziness or lack thereof...

The books were also in different places...The baby patterns books are now on a shelf by the baby yarn, though there were some shawl and sweater books in the stack also...The pattern binders live on a small TV stand in the very back of the store, by the bathroom...As for the rest of the books, the ones I could find were on a couple of different shelves on the side of the store--I couldn't really see any rhyme nor reason in their placement, but books are books, right?

Well, I looked and looked for the sock yarn...Then I looked some more...I finally found about 5 skeins of Lorna's Laces, 2 in the Camouflage colorway, and 3 in the Pioneer...When I asked the Nice Lady about sock yarn, she pointed out what I had already found jumbled in a standing rack by the sink area in the back of the store...Then we went on a fruitless search for more, Nice Lady stating that she knew she'd seen some around here somewhere...There was a big basket of black yarn that you could use for socks, if you wanted...It was here just the other day...Etc. etc. She tried to sell me on some South African merino (?) that she said I could use for socks, even if it was hand wash only, and $25 a ball...Riiiiight...

Since I'd spent some time looking through the pattern books, which were mostly in order by garment, I ended up walking out of The Knit Stop with a pattern for a boyfriend sweater, and a pattern for a lace weight tunic...But I really had to hunt for something I actually wanted to buy...In a yarn shop, I had to seriously search for something to purchase...

Long story short, Sherri and I are planning a coup, since this store has a really great location, and a good LYS within short driving distance would be The Best Thing Ever...If you like fuzzy, frou frou yarns, aren't into socks or a great selection of patterns, and don't mind the owner's rather cool demeanor, then I would definitely recommend a visit to The Knit Stop...And some Haldol...

Misrepresentation

2007-03-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

This is why people think Fiber Folks are fucked up...

This is what we really do...

(Another beautiful design from Fair Lady Linoleum)

Experimentation...

2007-03-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

So...I've been on a quest to reduce the stash for some time now...Several scarves and 2 and a half (crocheted) scrap blankets later, I am starting to lose patience...*grin* Then I happened upon this...Since I have the attention span of a goldfish, anything new is wondrous to me...Oh, Magic Ball, how I love thee!!

We'll see how it goes...I plan on doing it as an afghan in 3 or 4 strips, a little 4k 2p rib to keep it from curling...The finished product could very well rival The Ugliest Scrapghan Ever from my February 16th post, but the mission will still be accomplished, since the stash will be reduced, and the Humane Society will be in possession of a brand new handmade doggie blanket...Dogs are color-blind, you see...*grin*

The rest will be going to SCRAP Because I can't take it anymore!!! *bleargh!*

Tragedy!

2007-03-03T19:39:00.000-08:00

As is my wont, I like to make things for other people...I decided to do a quick scarf for my mum, since it was really, really cold in Vegas...Like 45 degrees or something...*sigh*

I wasn't going to spend a lot of money on something that I knew she would only wear 1 or 2 days a year, but I thought white would be pretty with her coloring...The design of this was perfect for her, since it's a short scarf with a very long fringe, meant to be fastened at the front with a brooch...

Since I smoke, I gave it a good wash...Do you see where this is going yet?

Evil Bloogle

2007-02-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

Moved the Fiber Blog so it can live happily with the other Blogs and they can all laugh and play together...

Or maybe just because it's easier for me...*snort*

2007-02-16T08:52:00.001-08:00

This is a throw I just completed for a co-worker who gets very cold at her desk by the windows...

WIPs

2007-02-16T08:51:00.001-08:00

Behold! A Sock! I am a Sock Virgin no longer...At least Sherri was gentle...

Very possibly the ugliest scrapghan in the history of Being Crotchety...

So we needed a closeup of the Ug...

I Have Two Needles, You Have Two Eyes...Coincidence? I Think Not!

2007-02-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

Look what I did!