Get Your Breed On

Maybe it's just because I'm a thirty-something woman who knows other thirty-something women, and what many thirty-something women tend to do is reproduce, or try really hard to, but it seems like baby fever is everywhere.

Granted, within my immediate circle of friends there are no babies, but a growing number of old friends and aquaintances are popping out grunters like mad, even ones who swore up and down that they would never have children.

When I get wind of these new humans on the horizon, I do my very best to be supportive, because what the hell else are you supposed to do? But man, it's freaking me out. At this point I should apologize to any of said friends who may be reading this. I respect your choices, but I just don't understand them. I should also warn you that, if you read further, you will probably get offended.

I mean, we're supposed to want a better life for our kids than we had, right? Call me crazy, but I just don't expect the world to be better off 50 or 100 years from now. Maybe I'm just being picky. Maybe those kids don't need clean drinking water. Maybe this whole global warming thing is just a myth. Maybe you live in a community without major polluters. And that only scratches the surface. I just don't have time to search for links to all the other reasons why we're going to hell in a handbasket.

I guess people expect that somehow we'll figure out solutions to these things, and that we can teach the next generation to make the world a better place. But how the hell are we going to do that if we haven't figured that shit out ourselves? And in the meantime, how do we deal with the fact that, as Americans, we use more of the world's resources per person than any other country? Do we just go on making more little consumers and hope for the best? Do we think that because we recycle and use cloth diapers that everything will just be okay? Or do we refuse to look at those things and, like most Americans, go on doing whatever the hell we want, whether it's what's right or not, because dammit, we're entitled. Ugh. It just makes me want to cry.

Weekend Update

So much crafty goodness going on around here. Alas, Max is off with the digital camera again, so I'll post pictures early next week.

The first news is that on Monday I went to a real live knitting and spinning group. There had been some snow, so I wasn't sure if anyone would be there, but when I arrived there were about 9 or 10 people there, including three people who found out about it from me! Everyone was really nice, and although I could sense some yarn snobbery (they're spinners, after all), most of them restrained themselves. One woman is definitely a dye snob. When one of the new members (who read my post on the knittyboard and came on down) mentioned wanting to try Kool-Aid dyeing, the dye snob basically told her that was a waste of good yarn and she should use the "good stuff," which for her, is natural dye from plants she's gathered herself. Not that I'm opposed to this. I think it's a brilliant idea, and when the dye snob teaches a class this summer on natural dyeing, I'd like very much to sign up, however, I recognize that it's not everyone's cup of tea (or indigo, as the case may be). But the bottom line is that I was thrilled to be knitting in public with other knitters and I'm very much looking forward to the next time!

In other news, Clapotis is chugging along quite nicely, although I keep finding myself distracted. For one thing, my new toy showed up this week, which has been keeping me rather busy. Then today, my Rogue yarn showed up. I did a preliminary swatch (the kind I usually do - the right number of stitches, but only a few rows, and never taken off the needle the way you're supposed to), but I think I need to do real swatch for this. I want to try out one of the cables and then wash it to see how it looks. If I'm not happy with it, I might still do Mariah instead. This yarn is thinner than the stuff on the sample card, so it would work for Mariah after all.

Lemonade, Anyone?

After the elation of the last couple of days, I've had my dreams squashed. I finlly sat down yesterday to begin unravelling the grey lambswool sweater that was to be combined with the grey cashmere and turned into Alice Starmore's St. Ciaran shawl. Fate had other plans.

I got the first sleeve off, trimmed the binder thread off the top, and began to frog. And then the heartbreak, or should I say, yarnbreak. I would pull out about a foot of yarn and then snap! Eighteen inches and snap! Another foot, snap! There's no way I'm going to get useable yarn from this sweater. And there's no reconstructing the sweater, either. I guess I can still felt it and make something out of it, but I was pretty crushed.

So my first thought was about a substitute yarn for this shawl. Nothing in my stash fits the bill, so I did a little Googling, and I found Beaverslide Dry Goods. I've heard them mentioned with positive reviews, and I like their attitudes about humane animal treatment and environmental responsibility. I think I could order from them comfortably, and their yarn looks like it could work for Ciaran. I went ahead and ordered their sample cards.

Then I thought I could seek solace in Rogue. I got the pattern and, after much agonizing, I finally decided to go with the grey yarn from Full Belly Farm (which is actually a little brownish). I called them up to order and found out I had to mail them a check plus my gift certificate, instead of doing it with a credit card on the phone. They'll send my order after they get my payment, so it'll take longer than I thought.

I tried to work on Coronet, and I'm enjoying it. I've posted a photo of my progress below, but it wasn't enough.

The cashmere was calling to me. It's been sitting in the stash for so long, and it wants so badly to be a wrap of some sort (although I thought briefly that it wanted to be a Pinup Girl from Stitch-n-Bitch). I knew it didn't want to be lacey. Charcoal grey doesn't say "lace" to me. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. That pesky Clapotis that everyone else seems to be making would be perfect! I can make it as big as I want, and wear it as a scarf or a shawl. I know it's not variegated yarn, which the pattern calls for, so it won't have the neat stripes going opposite to the dropped stitches, but it's going to be the softest friggin' thing ever. Ever, I tell you. Softer than the backside of the most pampered baby. Softer than an infant chinchilla. Softer than the downy underbelly of an ugly gosling. It's soft.

So at least the story has a happy ending. It's a good thing I like lemonade.

Embryonic Clapotis

I know, she doesn't look like much yet, but once I start dropping stitches I think she'll look cool. Some folks have mentioned that they hated this pattern, or at least got really bored with it. So far, I'm enjoying it. I just wish I could remember to slip every goddamn first stitch! And have I mentioned how soft she is?

Cables Are So Cool

I'm still in awe of cables. Just a few stitches moved out of order and voila, a textural detail that makes me feel like a knitting genius.

I Have Found Salvation

So, this is another big part of what has me excited. I stopped by the Salvation Army after work the other day and it seemed as though all of New Paltz cleaned out their closets, because the place was loaded.
I found a few sweaters and took them up to the counter. The clerk asked me what was up with all of them. When I told him my nefarious plans to reduce them to a pile of kinky yarn and remake them into fabulous, custom-fitted garments, he said "What, you couldn't find any more?"
Then he asked if I thought I could find more if they were only a dollar a piece.
"How many more?" I asked, my eyes widening.
"How about three?"
"Done."
So moments later I walked out with what you see above.

Here's the lowdown, from back to front:

Off-white fisherman's sweater, 100% wool. A little stained, but certainly dyeable. Plucked it apart last night. This one's gonna be a breeze.

Black lambswool. I'm giving this to Max to wear so I don't feel so bad about taking away the grey one I plan to frog.

Sage green turtleneck. Cotton/acrylic with a little gold carry-along thread. I usually avoid cotton because it loses its twist, but this is spun pretty tightly. I love the color, too, and it was easy to pick apart. A bit of a PITA to frog, though, because of the silly gold thread (which is not worth saving).

Taupe turtleneck. I almost passed this one by because it's a bit pilly, but it's lambswool and angora, and for a buck, I'll give it a shot.

White turtleneck. This one's brand-spankin'-new and crazy soft. It's angora, nylon, acrylic and wool. Sheds like mad, but it's bringing back so many cringetastic 80's memories, I had to have it.

Grey and maroon rag sweater. This was a last-minute grab. Not sure what it'll be, but at least it's feltable.

Celery cabled sweater. I almost like this one enough to keep intact, but it doesn't look that great on me. It's silk, nylon and angora. A little pilly, but fabulous. I'm thinking shawl.

Multicolored sweater. 100% wool, and looks like easy unravelling, but will give me smaller amounts of many colors. I was thinking it could make a great scarf. It could also be felted as-is and turned into a bag. I just loved the colors.

Soooo, that's enough to keep me busy for a while.

Oh yeah, I went to the Poughkeepsie Knitting Meetup last night. Only two other people showed up, but they were really nice. It was kind of a short meeting because they both have kids they had to tuck in. One of them said she'd try to come to Rosendale on Monday. I got started on Coronet and it's looking good!

Big Excitement

At lease, big excitement in the context of my knitting/blogging dorkitude. First of all, I got comments from Melanie. It felt like someone famous had come to visit. She asked for an FO pic of the Fuzzy Feet, so here it is.

But there's more. I was also excited that all the little packages of goodies I sent out last week arrived at their destinations. The Knittyboard is doing a Random Acts of Kindness swap, where we post a few little desires, and if we're lucky, people send us stuff. I sent out a couple and it felt great. In fact, I might have to do some more.

I even received one myself. It was so exciting! I got a bluegrass CD from Qeltic. It really does make your day, just getting a little something special in the mail. Sort of makes me feel like a college student again. Man, those packages were like gold. So thank you, Qeltic, and all the others who are cheering folks up with random weirdness in the mail.

And the excitment continues: My friend Aliqae told me the other night that there's going to be a knitting group meeting next week! I've been meaning to get off my duff and organize this, but I've just failed. Aliqae is part of a spinning group that recently lost their meeting place, so they've moved to a local cafe and are expanding to invite knitters and other fiber artist. I can't wait!

And then, I was lurking around the site for the Revolutionary Knitting Circle, and found a link to the Poughkeepsie Knitting Meetup site. I signed up, and, lo and behold, they're meeting tonight!
I'm not in love with the idea of hanging out at Starbucks for a couple of hours, especially since I'll feel compelled to support the place that's hosting us, and I really hate to give them my money. Maybe it'll be enough if I just buy the new Interweave Knits while I'm there, since it's in Barnes and Noble.

The excitement doesn't end there, but I have to eat and find a project to take tonight, so stay tuned....

Fuzzy Is as Fuzzy Does

No, it's not my best photographic work, but the knitting ain't bad. Here, Max is modeling his new, very Fuzzy Feet. They came out so dense and warm and, well, fuzzy. He's barely taken them off since he got home. I'm so pleased.

I think I'm mostly pleased that my guilt is assuaged. See, I don't really knit for Max. I tried making him a couple of hats, but I can't seem to make them the right size. I only get hats right when I follow a pattern, and I haven't found a pattern yet for a hat the suits his needs, or, I should say, the needs of his very, very long dreads.

His feet, though, I've got those covered.

The details: the pattern is Fuzzyfeet from Knitty, and the yarn is Lopi (Reynolds, I think). I knit these on larger needles than the pattern calls for - size 11US.

Knitting For Giants 101

Ack! Look at the size of these things! I thought, since I was using bulkier yarn than the pattern called for, that I would also go up a size in needles. My rationale was that I didn't want the pre-felted fabric to be too dense. I've read that the looser the fabric, the better the felting. Plus I wanted to have plenty of room to felt nicely without them getting too small. And I think I wanted an excuse to buy new needles. I loooove the Crystal Palace dpns. I don't say this often because, well, I feel foolish, but they really are like buttah.

I can't figure out why one has a really pointy toe and the other one doesn't. I suspect I might have done an extra round of decreases, since on the second one, I was thinking I should stop at eight stitches. Just for fun, I checked the pattern and was surprised to see that it said to stop at twelve.

I felted these the other night and I was thrilled with the results! They definitely made a mess of the washer, and they're verrrrry fuzzy (think Cookie Monster feet), but you can't see any stitches at all, and they feel very sturdy. No more of this silly Morehouse Merino for me, I'm a Lopi convert.

More Gigantiknitting

I had to put the FMB on waste yarn while I super-glued my circular needle back together (broke twice last weekend in D.C. Grrr.) I couldn't believe how friggin huge the thing is. No wonder it's taking me so long. It makes me very tempted to buy a set of Addi Turbos to finish up on. Don't get me wrong, I love my Bamboo Sister Set, but after the breakage, and the fact that they aren't that speedy, I think the honeymoon is over. Plus, as much as I want to be Nature Girl, sometimes I'm just a sucker for something shiny, and boy, are those Addis shiny.

Inactivism

I'm back from NCOR, and I can't say that I had that great of a time at the conference. I'd say, of actual conference time, I spent about 24% feeling intimidated by other activists and the work they're doing. I spent about 21% of the time feeling like the other conference-goers were just a bunch of poseurs there to show off the new patches on their crusty punk gear. I spent about 49% of the time thinking that neither of these mattered, as we are all doomed anyway. The remaining 6%, I actually felt inspired. Mostly by a documentary I watched called Coconut Revolution about the Pacific island of Bougainville. These amazing and incredibly resourceful people give me the slightest bit of hope that change can come. Of course, it's a little different when we're talking about 160,000 people versus nearly 300 million, but I'm entitled to a teensy bit of optimism.

Of course, for the 49% of the time I'm feeling less optimistic, I've found the perfect way to express myself. Check out Despair, Inc for some great wall art and other gear. Here's one of my favorites. This one's not bad, either.

The good news is that, when we weren't at the conference, we got to hang out with my family. I had a great time visiting with my brothers and my sister-in-law. It was good to see Pete, since he's a grumpy bastard who shuns most large family activities these days.

And of course, it was great to see my nieces. Chloe is just so entertaining, and she comes out with the sweetest things sometimes, it just makes me want to cry. At one point, out of the blue, she said "Aunt Elena, you're the best." It pretty much made my weekend. The gifts went over very well, especially the pig, and Lia seemed to like her knitting gear, particularly the purple yarn. I would love another knitting convert! But if she uses it to crochet, I'll be just as happy.

I also did a lot of knitting, so I'll post some progress soon.

Fuzzy Friends

Yay! Only four months late for Chloe's birthday! And with a little switcheroo, since the pig was originally for her. But I like the idea of random gifts, especially since we don't do Christmas gifts for all the kids. I also like the idea of making this a tradition, since we go to see them every year at this time, and I brought Chloe a hat I made last year (that didn't fit!)

By the way, the pig looks even better in person, especially since I gave it a shave with the clippers. It made short work of the pills, but I felt a little silly shaving my pig.

The details: Both patterns are from Toy Knits by Debbie Bliss. The pig was knit as written but on size 7US needles to allow for felting. Pig yarn is Morehouse Merino in persimmon. The rabbit body is recycled shetland and the sweater is Lion Jiffy.

Nekkid!

Here's the bunny sans sweater. It's too floppy to sit up alone, so I called in the pepper grinder for an assist. I just hope those limbs can stand up to a three year old!

The wheels are a-turnin'

I am nearly paralyzed by the knitting options before me right now. I have no shortage of immediate projects to work on. I've got the FMB, and I'm looking forward to making Max's slippers (especially because I get to use my new Crystal Palace bamboo dpns - the only other set I had got promptly munched to bits by Willow.)

However, I have recently had a couple of lightbulb moments. First of all, I had been fretting over the yarn for Mariah. Then I happened to be looking at Ashiko's blog and admiring her cable work. She mentioned that she's planning to tackle Rogue next. And then it hit me. I loved Rogue long before I ever saw Mariah, and Rogue uses aran weight yarn, which I can get with my gift certificate! So now I'm waiting til payday to order the pattern (yes, I'm that strapped and can't buy a $6 pattern). I'll probably wait til next week to order the yarn, though, since I'll have to buy a little more than the cert. is worth. Now I'm just trying to decide what color to get. I like the brown, but I also like the grey. And I like the twills, but I don't know if the cables will show up well in the twill. Aaaaah! What to do?!

Then my next big lightbulb moment. This one actually made my heart rate shoot up and my palms get a little sweaty. It was either the coolest moment of inspiration I've had in a long time, or the dorkiest moment in my life.

Anyway, I picked up the interlibrary loan copy of Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting today (I actually did a literal happy dance when they called to tell me it was in - probably because I'm never going to spend *gulp* $300 to buy a copy). I was totally bowled over by the St. Ciaran shawl. And I suddenly realize that this is the pattern I've been waiting for to use the recycled cashmere I've been fondling for months. So I sat here counting up my yardage. I'm a little short, but I also would prefer the shawl to be a little narrower and a little longer, so with some adjustments, I think I can make it work. The other thing I need to do is reclaim the lambswool sweater Max has been wearing. I bought it to frog, but he liked it, so I said he could wear it until such time as it was needed. Well, it's time has come! I need to unravel it and see how much of that I have, because I'll need to hold the two yarns together to make it thick enough.

So my mind has been racing over this project. I don't even know if it'll work. Once the sweater is unravelled I'll swatch and see how it looks. The softer yarns may not be right for the cables, but it sure would be soft and fabulous. Plus, it'll be a long-term project. Not exactly portable, if you know what I mean. So it'll be a while before I get to enjoy the finished product. Maybe by next winter, though.

I think the truly dorky part about all this is that I won't be able to fall asleep tonight because I'll be thinking about all this knitting. And of course, I could be knitting right now instead of writing about it, but I just had to record my joy, and my dorkiness.