A Sure Sign of Spring...

In Other News
I've been working on some Top Secret spinning (it's a gift for someone) which I'll show you in a week or so. It's coming out very nicely.

My Lair is such a disaster area that I go down there and I'm overwhelmed with possibilities. I read an article a while back on various working styles. Some of us (frequently the ones accused of being messy) need the visual reminders of what needs doing, what we're working on, what's possible. So we leave our stuff out because if it's all put away, we don't see it and we forget that we're supposed to be doing anything. But I've been dragging so much stuff out lately that I've overwhelmed my brain with possibilities. Too much yarn. Too much fiber. Too much fabric. Alas, I think I need to spend a few weeks making things worse before they can get better. That is, I need to open up all the various boxes, purge, resort, relabel, and then put away. But that's such a daunting task that I just sit at my desk and make little swatches. If I start to seriously start organizing, usually Owen appears and demands attention when I'm about 15 minutes in, so I have learned helplessness about the whole thing. But maybe this week I can at least put away about half the distractions so I can focus on getting a few things done.

Knitting
I've also been working on some socks that go in and out of dormancy, depending on what else gets bumped to Priority One. One of these is the Charade Socks I started a few months back. I finished the first, cast on for the second, got about 2 inches in and stopped. Last night I got a couple more inches done, so maybe that'll get done before barefeet season is really and truly here. Also, I'm hoping to finish some socks that I'll send to my dad for his birthday later this month. The first one is done and the second over half done, so just the home stretch there.

Rant
I have a little rant about the time change to get out of my system, too. I always thought the time change was a minor inconvenience until I had kids. But ever since I became a parent, I've come to despise the time change. When I'm in charge of the universe, we will just have one time all year round. We'll split the difference between so-called Standard Time and Daylight Savings Time. I know there are nice, easy, flexible children out there somewhere. Children who fall asleep when put to bed, and wake up cheerful when it's time to get up, but not before it's time to get up. Well, those are not my kids. I am not exaggerating when I say that it takes my kids at least a week to really make the time change. The Little Emperor has been awake until 11 p.m. several times in the past week and we wake him about 7:30 on weekday mornings. Yeah, this is not a good sleep pattern. Honest-to-Maude, we start him moving toward bed at 7:30. This is a kid who had night and day reversed his first 4 months of life, so no real surprise that he's still bent that way.

So until someone appoints me Time Czar, I have a plan that could be put into place quickly and effectively and would improve school behavior and learning in every community that adopts it. Schedule Spring Break for the week following the time change! Is that just too darn logical for any modern bureaucracy? The kids would have a week to adjust. They would not have this week of rampant tardiness and tired, fidgety kids. The teachers might even enjoy it, too.

So, there you go, a rant and a solution! How often does that happen?

Enjoy the approach of spring.

Fiber Reveiw and Weather Report

One of the perks of producing a magazine is that people send us stuff to review. At Knitcircus, we recently received a box from PhatFiber with samples of yarns and fibers from small-scale producers. One of the fiber samples was Merino Wool Top from Sweet Pea Fibers Etsy Shop. This sample (colorway Sea Otter Play) was about 1 ounce: enough to make a small skein and get a feel for the quality of the fiber and the dye job. I noticed lately that I have several long-term spinning projects stacked up and I wanted a short fun little project. This sample was perfect.


It was a joy to spin. The fiber maintained the nice crimp merino is known for. A gentle tug here and there was enough to make the fiber flow through my fingers.

I made this sample skein yesterday afternoon and evening. It's about a sport-DK weight, weighs in at 25 grams, Navajo-plied to keep the colors pure.


I'm sure I could think of a lot of creative ways to use an ongoing supply of sample-size skeins. But more importantly, by getting a sample I was exposed to a new source of hand-dyed spinning fibers and was able to experience first-hand the quality of the fiber. I'm definitely going to cruise the Sweet Pea shop for future offerings.

And Now The Weather Report

In spite of a trend toward spring-like conditions, and the premature switch to Daylight Savings Time, winter has not entirely surrendered its grip. This connect-the-dots scene was taken under the giant silver maple tree in my front yard. Drips of melting snow and ice are landing in the thin coating of snow we got last night. As a rule, I don't believe in complaining about the weather: it's not as if I can do anything about it. And, in general, I would rather be too cold than too hot any day of the year. But Chez SABLE we are all well and truly ready for spring.

An Orchid

Mr SABLE got this plant from his old work place back in September. Whatever he's doing, that plant really seems to approve.

A Picture!

This is the Jayne Hat I made for Owen a few weeks ago. I followed this pattern, mostly, though I was sorely tempted to give it a good editing. Not that there are any errors; it's just that it could be expressed quite completely in about one-fourth the space. Owen truly loves this hat.

Edited to add:
Those of you who were at Last Saturday Knitting and are dreading the photo that might appear: rest easy. None of them are flattering enough to most of us to print. I'll try again another day.

Updates

Blog posts are getting kind of thin around these parts lately, eh?

I'll see what I can do about that.

Last night I made this double point needle case for my friend Cindy.

Cindy's been cleaning house the past couple of months. At Last Saturday Knitting in January, she gave me some fabrics she was clearing out. I told her I'd give some of it back to her in a needle case. While I was taking pictures just now the camera battery told me it needed charging, so this is the only view I have to show.

In knitting news, I made Owen a Jayne hat, but haven't yet gotten him to pose for a photo. One of his school friends wants one, too, so I think I'll make another out of the left-over yarn. If you don't know what a Jayne hat is, a quick google search with the terms Jayne and Firefly will enlighten you.

I've also been making projects for the next Knitcircus, so those aren't available for public viewing yet. But speaking of Knitcircus... Jaala has set up a Cafe Press shop for Knitcircus stuff. I'm particularly interested in the messenger bag.

I've also been reconnecting with old friends on Facebook. I've found a few folks who were truly lost to me and I'm well pleased to chat with them again.

I also got roped into making a quilt for the 8th grade American history class at Owen's school. Did I already post a picture of that? Anyway, here's what it looked like, sideways, before it was fully complete:

There were four quilts assembled by volunteer parents, one for each of the sections. They raffled the quilts to the students and families at the presentation night on Thursday. Thankfully, we did not win, because I really don't need one more thing that just hangs around in storage forever.

I dusted off my wheel and started spinning again this past week. At first I was very frustrated, trying to spin a merino/silk blend I bought in NH last summer. I took a couple nights off and came back to it yesterday, and it was fine. When the battery is recharged, I'll get a picture of the singles. This will be a long-term spinning project: very fine singles, spun worsted. I think I have about 6 ounces of the top.

That's the news.

Alt Knitting Camp '09

Hey Listen Up! I have an announcement.

Kathy, Sue, and I have made the reservations for Alt Knitting Camp 2009. It will again be held at Devil's Lake State Park, near Baraboo WI. This year it will run Sun Aug 2 - Tues Aug 4. We have room for 18 campers, total. Twelve spots are spoken for. If necessary, we might be able to book additional sites to accommodate more campers.

Alt Knitting Camp features No Classes! No Workshops! No discernible schedule! Non-stop eating, drinking, hilarity, and knitting. Optional activities include swimming, hiking, canoeing, building large fires, roasting marshmallows, and the ongoing search for the perfect S'more.

Modest fee of about $25 a person includes food and share of camping fees. Admission stickers are required to enter Wisconsin state parks.

To reserve your spot, email me. Or p.m. me through Ravelry or Knittyboard. Or just put it in the comments here. You could even phone me if you know the number. Or track me down through Facebook, if you need more choices.

(Edited June 20, 2009 to keep info current.)

Still More Updates

In no particular order...
Mr. SABLE has found a job! It just fell down from the sky on Thursday. We don't have to move. He's starting tomorrow. I didn't realize how anxious I was until I felt the relief. The job is with a fairly new biotech company, across the street from his old employer. He'll be a Principle Investigator, i.e. head of a lab. This will be his first (people) management job and gets him back in the lab, which he's been wanting. Thursday morning, the call came. Thursday afternoon, he went for the interview. By the end of the afternoon, he had signed the offer, accepting it.

I'm busy on projects for the next Knitcircus, so not much to show you in photos. Yet. This issue will be heavy on kids stuff, but we could also use a few more items for adults. If any of you have any patterns you want to send our way, that would be great!

I've also been busy preparing an online pattern shop to be added to the Knitcircus site. We'll be making pdfs available for immediate download of some patterns from previous issues.

And I got roped into doing a sewing project for the 8th grade American history class at Owen's school. The teacher had each of the 8th graders embroider a quilt square with their names, birth dates, and some images that represented their interests. She needed parent volunteers to sew them together. I thought I was signing up to piece together a quilt top, but in fact, I was volunteering to assemble the whole quilt. Hmm. I'll get it done, but it might not be too elegant.

Additionally, Owen's 14th birthday was on Saturday. Yes, he's my Valentine kid. The great thing about teenagers' birthdays is that, as a parent, you don't need to do much at all. I dropped him and three friends at Ultra Zone, a laser tag place. I bought them each three games (and they all got great discounts for bringing their report cards and having lots of A's), left Owen with $20 for for the vending machines, and went back and got them 2 hours later. At home, they played video games, ate pizza, and played more video games. Parents came to fetch them around 5.

We've had wonderful sunny warm weather lately. Today is colder again and we may get snow later in the week. But, I tell you, it does wonders for our collective Midwestern souls to see sun in the sky after 5 p.m. and know that spring really will come again.

Book Review

Knitting the Threads of Time
Casting Back to the Heart of Our Craft
By Nora Murphy
© 2009 New World Library
Amazon Link

Knitting the Threads of Time is a memoir infused with history. Murphy tells the story of knitting a sweater for her son, which becomes a metaphor and life lesson for her as she becomes discouraged, learns new skills, and ultimately rises to the challenge. Along the way, she examines the history and mythology of textile production from ancient cultures to modern sweatshops, embracing simultaneously a pagan-feminist sensibility, a scholar’s interest in accuracy, and a deep respect for many differing spiritual traditions.

As long as there have been humans, there has been a need for clothing. Often the production of textiles has been women’s work and often, too, the resulting objects have risen above merely meeting utilitarian needs. Clothing has denoted power and status within a community since before recorded history. Textile production—once a rare skill infused with sacred power; later, an economic bedrock of empires; at times, a revolutionary act of rebellion, and, eventually relegated to the most oppressed workers as unskilled disposable labor—is a calling that modern fiber-lovers pursue out of love and reverence for that past.

For every knitter who was ever asked, “Why bother knitting when you can buy it at Walmart for $5,” Murphy gives an answer. There is a deep spiritual connection to our past, made physical through our ordinary activities. Yes, I could buy a sweater at Walmart. But I couldn’t buy this sweater. In our industrialized age, with its abundance of throw-away consumer goods, Murphy compels us to consider the importance of one garment: to the knitter, to the recipient, indeed, to our entire unsustainable global economy.

Updates

What have I been up to?

Last Saturday Knitting was a blast. We had quite a crew, including Molly B, Cindy G, Jen, Kathy, Linda, Brenda (no blog name), Dale-Harriet, and ... I am quite certain there was one more person, and I'm going to feel terrible for leaving someone out, but I cannot come up with one more name.

edited to add: It was Sheryl. Silly me.

I know that YarnThrower wasn't able to make it. Hmmm. Now, doing the count, it makes sense. 7 people plus me. There was much laughing and hilarity. Molly Bee's description of her first encounter with a naturalist named Tom had me in such a fit, I was crying from laughing so hard. Truly good for the spirit on a Saturday in mid- to late-winter.

The new Knitcircuses have nearly all been mailed. Jaala still needs to take a few that need international postage to her P.O. If your local yarn shop doesn't carry it, we'll happily send them a sample issue and try to persuade them to do so. We really hope that this will be the issue that breaks even on printing and postage costs. The last one came darn close.

We'll be hosting a Kate Cardigan Knit-along on the Knitcircus group on Ravelry, starting March 1. There are a few technically challenging aspects to the pattern, so I figure if I'm around to walk folks through it, we'll have more success stories.

I've got a couple of boy things in the works for the next Knitcircus. We're hoping to have a cluster of kids items as a focus, so the issue will be useful beyond the season in which it gets released. We're definitely still looking for patterns for the next issue. We will be paying a very modest fee this time, so if you have a pattern you've been sitting on that you would love to see in print, send it along!

I've been chatting with the Sow's Ear about teaching a class this spring. The class will be on working with color: not the techniques, but the design end of it. This should be interesting. I've never taught a class before, except for a bunch of grade school girls learning to knit 9 years ago. I have ideas, but I'm a nervous quasi-public speaker. (You don't believe that, but it's true.)

Finally, I've decided to start offering graphic design services for knitting designers. I can make charts and schematics in Illustrator, create a pattern template, work on logo options, do ad layouts. I don't know how great the demand is, but I figure it might get me a job or two here and there.

Mr. SABLE is still searching for his next job. He had one encouraging call from a person he knew through his old employer. At the very least, it should lead to some freelance consultant kind of work, if not permanent salaried employment.

That's the new.

Itty Bitty Handwarmers and other news

Ah, let's see.

We are in the throes of Too Much Winter already, and it's only late January. I don't mind winter for myself, but I sure hate the effect it has on my family life. We just wrapped up two ridiculously short school weeks in a row, most of it for no real good reason. Everyone hangs around indoors picking fights and sniping. My coping strategy is just to tune it all out, which seems to really annoy my Better Half. I think because he doesn't tune it out, and he feels like he has to make everyone happy. I already know that that is an impossible task and a thankless project, so I don't bother. They won't be happy because that's the human condition.

Well, I did briefly make my kids happy. They were coveting my handwarmers.

Here's one of a pair for the little guy. He loves them.


See how pilly and ratty they are getting already?

I also made Owen a pair of plain black ones from the same black yarn. He's being very teenly today and doesn't want to model.

While I was on a roll with sewing week before last, I also made myself some new pajama pants. I don't have any pictures of them, but they were a great success. The fabric was a piece I found at a thrift shop a while ago, kind of brushed, flannelized knit, with a subtle paisley design. And it only cost $1.

The next issue of Knitcircus ships from the printer Monday. It usually takes 3-4 business days to get here, then we'll get them posted to the subscribers A.S.A.P.

That's the news as we wait until spring and the mental and emotional space that warmer weather will bring.

Evidence of Activity

After all the flurry of work, getting the next issue of Knitcircus ready for the printer, it's hard to believe I have other stuff to show you.


My friend Jim asked me to make him a hat based on my Iron Mountain hat quite a while ago. He picked out the colors from yarns I had in stash, and I started late last winter. Then I parked it. Finally, I dug it out and finished it up. (Shown here on The Little Emperor.) Yarn: unknown stash yarns, around sport or DK weight.


While I was getting all the formatting done on Knitcircus #5, I noticed that my hands often got bone-cold while sitting at my computer for hours at a time. And I thought, maybe after all this time being the last hold-out, I could get in on this trend. So, the world's quickest project: a pair of wristwarmers.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Naturespun worsted wt. superwash. Color: Sable (naturally!) that I picked up in a swap at alt knitting camp last summer. (Thanks Kathy!) On my next pair, I'll make the wrist cuff ribbing longer. For most other women, I'd make these a bunch narrower.


These dishtowels are just a silly little filler project. I found a dress in the bins at Diggers Outlet last summer (all textiles, $1 a pound!) that was really ugly in the sum of its parts, but I liked the fabric. A nice seersucker in a grey-green kind of cotton. As it turned out, I also had a baggie full of cards of vintage rick-rack from a different thrift shop jaunt. This black and white rickrack just seemed to go so perfectly with this fabric.


Another quick sewing project...
Yesterday, I was pawing through all my knitting needles, trying to get sets together and organize them in some retrievable way. It occurred to me that I need another double point case. After digging out the rest of the striped fabric (seen in some shopping totes a few months back), and some remnant heap quilting cotton, I made this one.


The concept is very simple. Two rectangles, one of lining and one of main fabric. Sew together, right sides together, leaving an opening for turning. Don't forget to get your button loop inserted in the seam! Turn, press, fold over ends. Topstitch flap in place. On the other side, sew parallel lines to hold needles. Sew on a button.


Voila!

Knit Circus Issue 5 Preview!

Here are my three contributions to the upcoming Issue 5!

The Rosepole Cardigan


The Kate Cardigan


The Angularity Vest

See the entire Issue 5 Preview Page!

Pre-order Issue 5! Expected ship date Feb 1.

Socks!

Yesterday I started the Charade Socks, by Sandra Park. This pattern is a free Ravelry download. I was playing around with the LittleFreak sock yarn, trying to make the best use of the long sections of color. Each length of color in this skein would make about 1 round of a 72 st sock. I was hoping to make a cool effect with pooling, and played around with a few ideas before I hit on this plan.

This sock is worked on 68 sts, on size 0 needles, which creates a bit of overlap on the brown color. This is resulting in a very subtle spiral winding down the sock, which otherwise alternates a round of green, a round of brown. The herringbone columns in the pattern are subtle (and would be great in a solid yarn) but I think they add a nice touch to this and make a play of texture in the color that works pretty well. It's also a fun pattern to knit: quick to memorize and, so far, not boring.

Knitting Content!

Ok, it's not the most awe-inspiring knitting ever, but, hey, it's knitting. This is a hat for my brother. Just a basic watchcap, 2 x 2 ribbing, over 120 stitches. This is Blue Sky Alpacas 100% alpaca. It took most of two skeins because I wanted a nice generous fold-up brim. This yarn is so soft and warm, I might need to make one for myself!

Here it is on Owen:


And then, I cast on for another hat for Owen. We've had some hat attrition lately, plus his head has grown to what I think will be his final adult size.

This is Gjestal Superwash Sport, worked on #3 needles. Just a basic 1 x 1 ribbing, worked on 108 stitches. I'm getting a little worried that it might be too small, but I think it'll stretch nicely without being tight.

Stash Enhancement

Not like I needed more stash, but a gal's gotta do these things sometimes.

One of the folks I see often on Ravelry has just set up shop as an indie dyer. I hope she'll be able to make a go of it with her hand-dyed yarns, so click on over to her shop: LittleFreak Yarns. Look, she even included a couple of nice stitch markers with my skein!


This colorway is called Inference. You'll notice a lot of her color names are a bit unorthodox. Many of them have been named after running jokes on the Ravelry Rubberneckers forum. She put up a good selection of yarns, from vivid to subdued, pastel to saturated, for the opening. Hurry on over before the good stuff is gone. (Don't worry: there'll be more!)

What a difference

24 hours can make...

Owen's been getting a little fed up with his long hair lately. Tonight I gave him a cut. Not too bad. He didn't scream at me and try to glue the old hairs back on one by one. So this is progress.

In spite of the angry teen look he's making in that photo, he was really just goofing. He was laughing about 2 seconds before that picture was taken.

lulz

O hai, all your blogz are belong to me, Owen! Mua ha ha!
Kthxbai

It's all because of the tree...

We usually get our tree on the first weekend in December. This is a bit of a compromise between me and Mr. SABLE, and now, the kids. I grew up in a family that typically waited until the last minute to get a tree. Truth be told, we often scrounged our tree from behind the dorms in the town where I grew up. A lot of the college students would put up trees in their lounges, then toss them out when they left town for break. My dad would load us kids into the Rambler station wagon (3 on the column, I kid you not) and we would cruise around near the Dumpsters® to pick one out. When Mr. SABLE and I first moved in together, in 1984, he was incredulous when I suggested this approach to Christmas tree procurement. In fact, a few times, I did persuade him to wait until the Cornell students had left Ithaca, and we did, in fact, score some pretty nice trees near student apartments. But it always made him nervous and struck him as wrong at some level. Of course, the kids are on his side with the early tree longings. No sooner is the mess cleaned up from Thanksgiving dinner than the three of them are wondering when we can get a tree. So, the compromise. Not until December. The first weekend in December.

For a number of years we went to a You Cut tree farm west of the city. The prices were kind of steep, the crowds were fierce, and the trees didn't seem all that special to me. The You Cut places are particularly not a good deal if you want a smaller tree. They charge a flat rate, based on the species you choose, not the size. After all, they can still sell it next year to someone else. A few years ago, when we went (maybe we were one weekend late that year) they were sold out. So, we drove off on a state highway toward the northwest a bit. We saw many cars coming back toward Madison with trees tied to the roof, so we knew we were on a hot trail. Lo and behold, there was a sign by the side of the road with TREES written on it. We turned. We went over hill and dale, around bends, up a long driveway, and found another family-run tree farm. Their prices were kind of steep, too. But the pre-cut trees were far more reasonable, especially, if like me, you want a smaller tree.

This farm has a little Christmas Shop where you pay for the trees. Mostly it's very kitschy country stuff that I can live without. But I always buy the kids a little candy treat. On our way home this year, Owen asked how they make hard candy.

(Ah, that's where this story was leading...)

And I told him it involved mostly boiling sugar water until it was mostly sugar, adding some flavor and color, and VOILA. He said he wanted to try it.


This may look more like broken brown beer bottles, but it's root beer flavored shards of hard candy, coated in powdered sugar. That was the first attempt, made last night.

Today, while the kids were at school, while I was out on errands in advance of our major winter storm, I stopped in at The Vanilla Bean, a store that sells cake and candy making stuff. I bought some molds and some official flavors, and a nifty little gadget that makes accurate dispensing of the hot candy solution reasonably efficient. It's like a funnel with a stopper you can open or shut with an easy thumb movement.









Owen made these tonight. They are cherry flavored. He overfilled the mold a bit, but I think he'll get the hang of it. I need to go back to the store and get a few more molds and also the special little baggies to wrap the candies in. And a lot more kinds of flavors. They have about 50 different flavors, in one-use little bottles, for $1.40 each.


Sampling his wares.

The tree is still a bit bare, but we'll do a bit more tomorrow while we're snowed in. Unless the storm somehow wimps out, but I don't think it will.

Enjoy!

This seems like a nice way to spend 5 minutes on a cold snowy December day.

Thankful for improved needles

click to biggify pic

The guys at my house are waiting for more felted clogs, and I have to say, I wasn't eager to get started on them. Being a tightwad, I bought some super cheap Susan Bates circular needles when I made the pair for Mr. SABLE. It took real muscle to get the stitches back onto the needle part from the cable. One day I happened to notice some higher-priced big-ass needles that had something like aquarium tubing connecting the business ends, rather than plastic cable. So, I asked Mr. SABLE if he could duplicate this with my cheap-o needles.

Yesterday, he cut the original cables off, took the plastic needle parts to his workshop, and used his lathe to trim down a bit on the connector end. Then he slid on the tubing. I need to have him take off just a titch from the needle parts of the join: it's not quite smooth yet, but it's darn close. If the tubing works loose while I use them, we'll superglue it on, but I'm pretty impressed with this needle mod.