I Got to Spin!

I finally unpacked ALL OF THE BOXES and decided to let myself spin for a bit! 

I have a different work schedule now, which means more time for myself and family at night - but it also means re-working when I will work on knit designs and spinning. Before, I always did all of that stuff in the morning before I went to work. 

The good news: even after a month off, it went pretty well. My little ladybug still rocks! 

Negative and Positive

This is the floor of a little bar close to work, where some co-workers and I went to lunch recently. (I don't remember which one, sorry!)

I love the use of negative and positive space. I have a tendency to think about filling spaces, but this is a geometric shape that I really love. It may make it's way into my notebook, somehow...

A Big Part of Moving

A big part of moving, for me, is having to regain some of the things you can't take with you (like good friends and knitting groups) and replacing things you didn't bring for reasons of space and expense (like dish detergent and that couch we both hated, anyway). 

When I was packing some things for storage and some things to bring, I knew we would have less space in the apartment than in the house. We ended up with a little more than 1/4 of the square footage we had, so it's good that I was stingy about what I brought. I was a little crazy at the end of the move, so we ended up with fewer plates than we actually need (and tons of silverware, for some reason) in the apartment.

But, there are some things I simply can't do without. For a little while, when most of our stuff was still in boxes, I was worried that I had thrown out my precious bottles of Soak. Certainly, not irreplaceable. Not even all that expensive. I even found out with LYS here carries it, so I could go get it when I had a few minutes. 

This is a long-winded way of saying that I was entirely too excited when I finally found my little bottle, in the last box I unpacked. That's one less errand I have to do, because goodness knows I couldn't have lived without it!

Round-Yoke Sweater from 2004

I knit this sweater when I didn't really know what I was doing. The variegated cream yarn was my big vacation-yarn splurge when I was in Scotland in 2001. It sat in my stash until I complained about it to a knitter/spinner friend in my knitting group in Traverse City, Michigan. I knew there wasn't enough for an entire sweater. 

My new friend said, "Well, I have some handspun that came out too thick for me. It will go with this. You should have it."

Armed with her handspun, in various natural colors, I knit this sweater, based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's Seamless Yoke Sweater. The shape isn't perfect for my body type (my large shoulders make the yoke stand up in a strange way). But, I love it. I'm very proud of it. And, I'm happy to have truly cold winters to wear it in, again!

The Colors Are Way Better In Real Life

I'm trying to keep up with new designs for 2014. This one is for Dream in Color and should come out this fall. (I don't have anything to show you except my little ball of yarn ends! Such is the way. Secret knitting isn't just for Christmas!)

Winter Sunlight

It always takes my breath away. Clear, cold light and a brilliant blue sky. What more could you want?

Back

We made the move to the Twin Cities right at the change of the year. So far, despite the usual frustrations of moving, it's been a series of magical (if cold) experiences, including a snowy walk across Lake Harriet. 

There were a lot of wonderful opportunities in Fort Wayne. I made great friends, knit a lot, and grew a lot. But, I was always watching the horizon for the next sailing ship. Here, we're planning on putting down deep roots. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of 2014 brings us!

Boomer Says It's His Sock Now

I know it's hard to deal with moving sometimes. Your whole life is turned upside down and about 80% of your stuff will be in storage for a while. So, who can blame the kitty for wanting to cling to something, even if it is a lovely hand knit sock you want to keep your foot warm? (It's a secret pattern, for now...)

The Real Value of Knitting

 I don't own many pieces of clothing from over a dozen years ago, but this is one of them.

It's a dickey from an Elizabeth Zimmermann pattern, and I knit it long before The Big Bang Theory made dickeys a part of the public imagination, again.

I made it when I was a grad student and couldn't afford fancy yarn. I bought the skein for it at a farmers market in Athens, Ohio, from the same man who convinced me to try eggplant for the first time.

It isn't the softest yarn to ever grace my needles and may have been from a meat breed of sheep. But, by Jove, it is still as warm as the day I made it and nary a pill has appeared on it even though I wore it at least once a week for half of the year when I lived in Ohio, Michigan and South Dakota. It even bolstered my resolve against a wet Scottish spring. (Don't believe people who say that May is summer in Scotland. It is still the spring, in my book, if you wear wool socks and are happy about it.)

If you find yourself shorter of funds than you like, remember: the right yarn used in a good project lasts, and lasts and lasts - much longer than the shirt or whatever I could have bought with the same amount of money.

Salem, Mass. - Super Awesome

I'm in Salem for a non-knitting work thing. It's a time of year when a lot of things are closed. (No Pirate Museum for me, darn!)

But, I found a way to waste a little time. There's a rather nutty little bookstore on Essex St. Watch for avalanches, though!

...and I think this is the Friendship, which is pretty darn cool!

Weather for Knitters

But, seriously, stay inside if you can!

Design Inspiration: Almost Spring Hat

A friend of mine contacted me some time ago. She wanted a hat that would be easy to knit and look good on both adults and kids. I came up with the Almost Spring hat, complete with a "tendril growing up and looking for the sun."

I made mine in Encore Worsted, but I also love the version a test knitter made in Plymouth Yarn's Worsted Merino Superwash Kettle Dyed. I guess we both like Plymouth yarns!

Safety First

Always buckle in your wheel on the road! :)

What's In A Name?

Briefly, when I was a kid, I wrote poetry. I loved writing. I hated choosing titles for poems, though. When I became a photographer, I simply called everything by the numeric system I had developed for filing my negatives.

I worry about naming things. A lot. I know names matter, so I worry about picking a good one.

Fortunately, I have clever friends. I described the above hat, which is made in 12 sets of 12 rows, to one and she said, "Well, that's a gross."

There you have it.

The So Easy It's Gross Hat.

No one else has used it on Ravelry, either.

(Yes, I always check.)

Design Inspiration: Sherwood Slippers

Sherwood Slippers started out as a design feature I wanted to try.

I had an idea for easy slippers knit from the toe up with a beyond-easy heel that closed in the back. I shopped it around to two or three publications and was rejected.

For 2013, I promised myself that I was going to get at least one other person to "sign on" to a design idea before wool hit the needles. I still really liked the design, so what else could I do?

I read on Ravelry that Cascade, a company I already love, is great about offering yarn support for indy designers like me. So, I wrote them an email outlining my idea for slippers. They wrote back the next day!

I knit up the slippers and I knew they would be a hit when my lovely model refused to part with them. I had to buy more yarn to knit a pair for myself. :)

Sadly, the yarn I used to knit the originals has been discontinued. But, they work in any yarn that will produce a gauge of 15 stitches in 4 inches (10 cm) after felting.

Almost Ready for the Road

Empty closet: the least embarrassing-looking area of our house at the moment.

Preparing to leave is always exciting, but strange. I love the life we have built here, but I'm looking forward to the next step, too. 

(BTW, that photo is square because I'm on Instagram, now. It's fun!)

Peace Fleece is Awesome

Hat knit in Peace Fleece, lined with another hat knit from random thrift-store boucle. Keeping me ridiculously warm and happy since the year 2000. Shown here repelling water (snow) through the power of 25% mohair.

Five, er, Seven Books

This is a photo of most of my knitting books. I'm trying to make myself pack only 5 or 7 for the apartment. The rest will come on a moving van after the house sells. 

Which five (or seven, I think five might not be realistic) of your books would you keep out? I'm definitely taking The Principles of Knitting and one or two Elizabeth Zimmermann books. Oh, and a few sock books. 

OK, Just For a Minute

Boomer is really not as lonely as he looks.

This is a basket full of hand-knit socks that need washing and a self-washing cat.

Sometimes they just look SO SAD. All they want in life is for me to put down the packing tape and pet them. (I do, sometimes, for a minute or two.)

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it!

Soundtrack

We're getting ready to move. Soon. I haven't reached the point where I want to just take the cats, knitting, weaving, and spinning supplies and abandon everything else, but it's out there. It's coming.

I play Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols on loop on my iPod. My copy was dubbed onto a tape from vinyl by my sister when we were in high school. About 5 years ago, I made a digital copy of the tape. It sounds smeary and strange compared to all of the crystal-clear downloaded versions of songs I have, but I don't want to replace it.

How do you keep going? Punk rock music from before I was born is my motivating vehicle of choice. Oh, and this version of Don Giovanni. Sometimes The Ting Tings or The Gossip make it in there. I know. I'm a bit strange.