Nothing to See Here
I took advantage of getting in a day early to go exploring yesterday. I more or less managed to conduct myself like a grown up. I got where I was going without getting remarkably lost, I kept myself fed and hydrated, I did not come to the attention of the local constabulary, and I saw pretty things. Alas, there was one small problem. As I was wandering around the beach, I decided it would be an excellent spot to take some pretty pictures of the most recent finished socks. Water, rocks, sand, the occasional hunk of driftwood, what more could [...]
A Wee Excursion
I'm packing (the suitcase sort of packing, not the illicit weaponry sort). It's not just regular trip packing. I'm actually pretty darn good at that. It's knitting trip packing. Somehow this is ever so much more complicated. Especially in this case, as there is dyeing and spinning paraphanallia in addition to the standard knitting supplies. You see, I leave on Thursday for the Yarn Harlot's Silk Retreat. It is a bit indulgent, but I'm heading out a day early. I feel a tiny twinge of guilt, but not much. One of my few regrets from Sock Summit was not having [...]
Not Actually Embarrassing
I'm not saying it's perfect. I'm not even saying it's good. I am, however, saying I don't find it overwhelmingly embarrassing. It is demonstrably yarn. Even someone who didn't spend much time interacting with yarn would likely identify it as such. Funky, exuberantly-textured, oddly-colored yarn -- but yarn none the less. The suggested skill level for the retreat was "able to spin a continuous thread. (Note that we didn’t say that you should be able to knit well, or spin well. A basic beginner would be comfortable.)" I think this qualifies. If it doesn't I'm more or less out of [...]
Summer Knitting Sale
In an effort do debunk the notion that knitting is only for the cold weather months (pardon my northern hemisphere bias, I know it's not hot everywhere right now), and in a fairly shameless attempt to help have a bit more cash on hand when I get to the silk retreat at Port Ludlow, I'm having a sale. All my sock patterns that usually sell for $5.50 will be on sale for $4.00 for the next week. In addition, if you buy two of these $4.00 patterns you can choose a third pattern for free. Just send me a note [...]
Book Yarn, Part VI
Today I'm showing off Three Irish Girls' lovely Kells Sport in the color Brennan. I've not worked with this specific base before, but I have used (and very much enjoyed) their Adorn Sock in my Calcareous socks. I first found Three Irish Girls' yarns at Sock Summit. Their combination of beautiful colors and a wide choice of base yarns was irresistible. I knew I wanted to include a variety of yarn thicknesses in my book, and Three Irish Girls makes one of the most sock-suitable sport weight yarns I've ever found. It can be hard to find sport weight yarn [...]
Utterly Without Shame
So I've gone and done it. Once before I succumbed to the biggest knitting blog cliche out there and showed you my cat. Apparently doing it once broke some sort of internal restraint, because here I am doing it again. It seems all my kitten-based indiscretions are related to spinning. The last time I mentioned them, it was in a post where I declared that my affair with spinning was at an end. Two weeks later, I found out I was going to the silk retreat in Port Ludlow which features spinning. A deep and abiding fear of being the [...]
Funambulist
Funambulist \fyu-ˈnam-byə-list\ noun - One who performs on a tightrope (No really, it's a real word...not even some 1970s made up word...an actual, real live, been around for a long time word.) Just a tiny sneak peek today. These socks are for the From Robin's Nest Four Seasons Sock and Fingerless Mitt Club (quite a mouthful that is). They will be exclusive to club members until next summer. However, I'm more or less shameless and will use just about anything as an excuse reason for a post. What can I say? Most of my knitting at the moment is super [...]
Book Yarn, Part V
Today we've got an appearance by another old favorite, Hand Maiden. The light gray yarn on top is Bess, a merino / cashmere blend that I've not worked with before. The darker gray yarn on the bottom is Casbah, a merino / cashmere /nylon blend I've loved for a long time. One of my first patterns, Slant, was made from Casbah, as was Graupel, one of my more recent offerings. I have a soft spot for Hand Maiden and their sister company Fleece Artist. When I first started knitting, I used the standard yarns available at Joann or Walmart and [...]
Practice Makes…
Practice makes...well, it hasn't made perfect quite yet, but it is getting better. I can now consistently spin for at least half an hour without feeling the need to swear profusely. It's looking prettier too. Maybe there's hope yet.
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