My Fuzzy Valentine, and Other Stories

Knowing of my yarn-fast, DH gave me a gift certificate to Creative Hands for Valentine's Day! It was in an amount that would render any knitter speechless as she contemplated all of the woolly fantasies that she might be able to realize.

What you see before you are:

RYC CashSoft Aran for a couple of Fetchings
Tahki Donegal Tweed Homespun for a Sunrise Circle Jacket (Pattern available at Knitting Daily website; need to sign in or register).
Cascade Sierra for the Wedgewood Blouse (scroll down)
JaggerSpun Zephyr for Scheherazade

These yarny delights are sitting atop my first quilting project (now basted together and awaiting marking and quilting), all fabrics from Anna Griffin's "Dorothy" collection. I am still debating whether to quilt by hand or machine. Probably machine, assuming I can wait until my special presser feet arrive. Impatient as I am, it seems unlikely that I will give up the vigil and quilt by hand.

Since I put in some time on Juno, and finished Whimsey (pic below) on Sunday, I allowed myself to go ahead and cast on a Fetching. It's a great pattern, though cables on DPNs are a bit fiddly. Perhaps because I am knitting on US2 needles in order to get gauge. Yes, US2. Even so -- quick knit and I hope to finish them this week.

Knitting in the Rainforest

We are back from Costa Rica! We had a great time, and yes, I did knit. I had sorta hoped for an action shot of one of our cute resident lizards hopping over my scarf-in-progress, but it was not to be.

Knitting was, understandably, reserved for airport-sitting, boat-awaiting, airplane riding (except for the little planes -- not enough room, and too nervous!).

And knitting does not mix well with hiking:

Or boat rides through mangrove swamps:

Or monkeys. Definitely not monkeys:

Probably not sloths:

And certainly not waterfalls:

But it appears to work well with plants:

And it is, of course, perfect for coming home.

Wanna win some yarn?

Thought you might. Go here .

For reals, this time.

With apologies to Leigh Hunt.

The Impatient Knitter (may her stash decrease!)
awoke one night from a deep dream of fleece,
And saw, next to the night light in her room,
Making it large, and like the Leaning Tower, loom,
a pile of yarn, tumbling to the floor of wood.
Contain the yarn though the Knitter should,
she lacked the space, not an inch under-bed.
"What thinkest thou?" she asked within her head,
And, with a sigh made of all things woolly,
Decided, "It is time to embrace it fully..."

.... and knit only from stash in 2008, and not buy any more freaking yarn in 2008. I have a fabulous stash, and no need to keep buying yarn when I could easily knit and crochet for years on what I have. I fell off the wagon spectacularly this year. Somehow, the resolution to not buy yarn except for the Knit and Crochet Show turned into not buying yarn until the Knit and Crochet Show, meaning that, after the show, I continued on blithely purchasing yarn.

And no more fiber. I don't spin enough to justify the mounds of fiber I have.

Resolved, I will:

1. thoroughly examine the stash and determine if anything is suitable for donating.

2. actually donate any yarn designated pursuant to item 1, rather than just take it to work so I can ship it during lunch, only to take it back home skein by skein when I decide I still want it.

3. review the status of all WIPs and UFOs and determine whether I will actually finish them or not, and frog those I don't plan to finish.

4. finish all other WIPs and UFOs, and only start new projects when an existing one is completed.

5. allow myself one final splurge in 2007 before the new regime kicks in (complete with pix for you, dear readers).

5. Air the stash and re-sort into bags by weight/project type.

Now THAT explains it.

Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.


"Born in England sometime in the second decade of the nineteenth century, you carved a notable business career, in South Africa and later San Francisco, until an entry into the rice market wiped out your fortune in 1854. After this, you became quite different. The first sign of this came on September 17, 1859, when you expressed your dissatisfaction with the political situation in America by declaring yourself Norton I, Emperor of the USA. You remained as such, unchallenged, for twenty-one years.

Within a month you had decreed the dissolution of Congress. When this was largely ignored, you summoned all interested parties to discuss the matter in a music hall, and then summoned the army to quell the rebellious leaders in Washington. This did not work. Magnanimously, you decreed (eventually) that Congress could remain for the time being. However, you disbanded both major political parties in 1869, as well as instituting a fine of $25 for using the abominable nickname "Frisco" for your home city.

Your days consisted of parading around your domain - the San Francisco streets - in a uniform of royal blue with gold epaulettes. This was set off by a beaver hat and umbrella. You dispensed philosophy and inspected the state of sidewalks and the police with equal aplomb. You were a great ally of the maligned Chinese of the city, and once dispersed a riot by standing between the Chinese and their would-be assailants and reciting the Lord's Prayer quietly, head bowed.

Once arrested, you were swiftly pardoned by the Police Chief with all apologies, after which all policemen were ordered to salute you on the street. Your renown grew. Proprietors of respectable establishments fixed brass plaques to their walls proclaiming your patronage; musical and theatrical performances invariably reserved seats for you and your two dogs. (As an aside, you were a good friend of Mark Twain, who wrote an epitaph for one of your faithful hounds, Bummer.) The Census of 1870 listed your occupation as "Emperor".

The Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, upon noticing the slightly delapidated state of your attire, replaced it at their own expense. You responded graciously by granting a patent of nobility to each member. Your death, collapsing on the street on January 8, 1880, made front page news under the headline "Le Roi est Mort".

Aside from what you had on your person, your possessions amounted to a single sovereign, a collection of walking sticks, an old sabre, your correspondence with Queen Victoria and 1,098,235 shares of stock in a worthless gold mine. Your funeral cortege was of 30,000 people and over two miles long.

The burial was marked by a total eclipse of the sun."

Only thing I would do differently is up the fine for utterers of the foul and blasphemous "Frisco."

The Winter of Our Mishegoss

Eh, I couldn't come up with anything appropriate that sounded like "discontent." So mishegoss, dear readers, is what you get.

Long story short, I am back. I took a break to devote some time to thinking about some career-related stuff and ultimately decided that, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I am happy with my life over all. No one is 100% happy with a particular aspect of their lives 100% of the time. What matters, in this case, is the big picture. And as I am very nearly perfectly happy with my life most of the time, nothing of consequence needs to change.

And then Thanksgiving happened, which was delightful, but also involved me dashing about making appetizers, and then I got an inexplicably hot nut to do Christmas shopping which, you won't believe it, is pretty much done.

And now, brains unscrambled, I shall get back to my knitting. As usual, I have waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many WIPs crammed into various baskets and hideyholes. In fact, my Ravelry notebook claims that I have 9 knitting projects and 1 crochet project in various states of undoneness. That is an unprecedented 10 WIPs and I am thinking of starting Clapotis, well, pretty much now, since I have taken to carrying my Plymouth Bamboo Sister Set everywhere for just this sort of eventuality. It might not be that great of an idea, given my obviously chronic startitis.

While you're here, I thought I'd let you know of some upcoming features on the blog:

- Product review of the Lamb's Tail Strandholder for you spinners out there. I am forever getting up to get more fiber (ok, and another glass of wine) while spinning and I thought to myself, "there has to be a way to keep the yarn from going all crazy while I am doing that." Turns out, there is. When next I take to my wheel, I will let you know how it works.

- A special and revealing 100th post!

- *gasp* Crocheting!

- A handbag lining tutorial!

Happy crafting to all, and to all a really awesome weekend!

Sushi, Johnnie Red and Sierra Nevada

Every once in a while, we have occasion to reflect on what sorts of behavior are truly unacceptable, and which are more like petty indignities that, while offensive or unpleasant, are unfortunately part of living and/or working in a big city. It sucks that we have to put up with them, but there's nothing you can reasonably or safely do about them without being a jerk (or worse) yourself. Pushy people on the train? MUNI late (again!)? The woman who won't stop discussing the ailments plaguing every single member of her large extended family? Fellow citizens who are as yet unaware of the wonders of deodorant? The scary dude two seats away? Let it roll off your back and stand at the other end of the car. It isn't the big deal it feels like, and besides. You haven't had your coffee yet.

Being yelled at by someone, especially at work, is an obvious example of something that is truly outrageous and unacceptable. Beyond the pale. Fortunately, it only happened to me once, and it was one of those things in which the yeller had clearly lost his shit and made himself so ridiculous, that even as a fleck of spittle flew in slo-mo out of his mouth and toward my forehead, I was very tempted to laugh. I had no qualms about rearing up to my full 5'2" inches to get nose to chin with the guy and tell him he was wrong, I was quitting, and P.S., telling a colleague that you and I are running away together is sexual harassment. Done.

Here's the thing I think is worse than that: being spoken to as if I am the dumbest person in the world. In the tone you would probably reserve for the one you think the most dull-witted among your household staff. The one whose mopping skills you would viciously criticize even though you've never mopped yourself. You on your cellphone, walking next to one of our colleagues, and me at my desk in total stupefaction. There's really no defense to that kind of tirade. I went for a sincere-sounding but not obsequious apology with a dash of genuine astonishment. After hanging up, I cried. I dried up. I went to the train station, whereupon I asked the guy at the shop which of the Johnnie Walker minis was better, and by the way, I'll have a Sierra Nevada as well.

I was still too rattled to read (I'd also left my ipod at home), but I happened to have knitting in my bag -- another sushi wallet for a gift. I brought it to find a matching zipper at Britex, and now it was here to keep me occupied until I got home.

I don't talk much about work on the blog, so you'll have to trust me when I say that the phone episode is one facet of a larger issue. I feel better now, but I think I'll take the cue from Rabbitch's sandwich.

Good weekend ahead, though. Tomorrow is the baby shower for the recipient of the BSJ and Embellished Hat, and I can't wait to watch her open them.

FO: Sushi Wallet

Yarn and Pattern: Sushi Wallet kit by Pick Up Sticks
Purchased at: The Knit and Crochet Show, Oakland CA 9/30/07
Needles: Clover Size 10 Straights
Lining: Britex Fabrics, San Francisco, CA (from stash)
Beads and findings: General Bead, San Francisco, CA (from stash)

Notes:

Unable to decide between the "mini sushi" and "maxi sushi" versions, I did a little bit of both, embellishing the sushis with orange and yellow beads (like the roe that sometimes tops sushi). I actually decided to make lots of sushis in one go for future wallets and in case of felting weirdness. There is plenty of yarn included in the kit, so go nuts with the sushi.

I always line bags, however small, so I chose a kinda-coordinating fabric from stash and went to town. The final addition was the bead-charm zipper pull. When I found the "sorta looks like sushi" one in my stash, I swooned.

It was a fast, fun project. The kit would make a great gift for a knitter, and the FOs nice gifts for your friends. Roomy enough for a little evening clutch, methinks.

Cape-d'oh!

Did you know that I got an A in 11th grade geometry? This is the only math class in which I got anything higher than a C. In fact, I am sure I earned (yes, earned) a D at some point in some horrific math class. I had to drop out of Pre-Calculus senior year to avoid an F.

Despite that solitary A, there is apparently one fact of geometry which eludes me: pentagons have five sides. This is how I know Norah Gaughan is a scientist. She knows pentagons have five sides and designed her capecho accordingly.

This is why, when I cavalierly took out one pentagon in the top row of my capecho to make it smaller (thus more fitted), I failed to realize just how drastically I was throwing off the configuration of the lower row and, thence the sleeves.

I still think I can save it. It might look weird and be a bed jacket forevermore, but as soon as I take it out of the naughty basket, (a) I will take pix, as damning and laughable as they may be; and (b) try to fix it.

In the meantime, I will finish up my Sushi Wallet (felted and awaiting zipper and sushi sewing-on), continue on the Cap Shawl (pic below) and promise never ever again to bend the laws of geometry.

The Weekend in Pictures

I went to the Knit and Crochet Show in Oakland this weekend. It was momentous not only because I took Friday off for the occassion, but also because it was the one exception I made to my yarn fast. I fully expected to gorge myself on all the yummy yarn I could stuff into the ginormous goodie bags we were given -- there were plenty of opportunities to do so -- but I did pretty well. I bought only things I really wanted, after thinking about them carefully. All but the laceweight are for projects I had been kicking around for a while. [ETA: Oooh, I just figured out what to knit with the laceweight! Muir. Totally.]



Back: 4 skeins of Rio de la Plata, hand-dyed, handspun wool from Uruguay (for Adult Surprise Jacket)

Right: Two skeins of Argosy Zen 4 Ply, hand-dyed cashmere (for feather and fan scarf of my own devising - kinda like the chevron scarf concept, but lacier). The lone greenie behind them is a ball of Moda Dea washable wool, the one gem from the goodie bag. I am going to use it in the Knitted Ruana from Folk Shawls.

Left: Weavette hand-held loom

Center-ish: Sushi Wallet Kit, Yarn Place "Graceful" Laceweight in a subtly variegated green.

Front: Unfortunately you can't see these too well. These are Abalone shell buttons, one of which is destined for my Capecho. I couldn't decide between them, so got both.



The three tweedy hanks are Peruvian Tweed, 100% alpaca, light worsted, for a Pi Are Square Shawl. I got tons, actually, so there is at least one other project in there too. On top of them are a hank of Tilli Tomas "Rock Star" with glass beads, and a hank of Tilli Tomas "Pure and Simple," both going into my Knitted Ruana. The needles are Asciano rosewood, handmade and absolutely gorgeous. I am saving them for the cashmere f&f scarf. On the plate are antique pewter buttons for my Juno sweater, a Gita Maria sheep shawl pin, and an Abalone/ebony shawl pin.

I also had classes on Friday (Fine Finishing with Nancie Wiseman) and Sunday (Disaster Recovery with JC Briar). Both were excellent. I had never taken a knitting class before, and being a self-taught knitter, I had a lingering belief that there was no knitting skill I couldn't teach myself if I wanted or needed to do so. However, there is something about being in a classroom setting that forced me to do things step by step, and not try to devise shortcuts for doing things by the book. I found I got better results than I might have done on my own. I also found that I have a little more confidence and less resentment about finishing things properly, now that I have seen for myself that it can be done, and isn't as painful as I imagined. The excellent results are worth the additional effort.

Among other things, the Disaster Recovery class inspired me to finally recondition some yarn I'd frogged a few months back. It is the Andean Silk I am using for my Capecho. I doubt I will need it for the Capecho, but it would be a nice addition to the Knitted Ruana when I get to that.

Debut and FOs

Introducing, our first (yes, first. Yes, we're Luddites.) digital camera! Today, it will be bringing you three FOs and my latest WIPs.

In Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (color Layette), we have:

BSJ (two skeins).

Be-ribboned hat (less than 1 skein).

In Blue Sky Cotton (pale pink), we have an embellished hat (less than 1 skein).

The hats are all basic roll-brim hats, no pattern required. Calculate your gauge and you're off to the races. The embellishments were unearthed from my ribbons & lace stuff stash.

I don't know about you, but Startitis hits me in the fall. Something about the weather change and the knowledge that, very soon, I will want to be warm and snuggly in wool. And so I give you three recently started objects. Top to bottom: the Icarus Shawl by Miriam Felton in Schaefer Yarns Andrea (Renata Tebaldi); Cabled Bolero (aka Capecho) from VK Winter 06/07, by Norah Gaughan in KnitPicks Andean Silk (Cornflower); shortie socks in Sophie's Toes (June Wedding).

Georgia on my Mind

Just back from my Virtual Vacation to Georgia, courtesy of Anne, who sent me a marvelous box of yarny goodness, treats and souvenirs.

The highlights of my vacation:

- A beautiful hank of Alpaca with a Twist's "Fino," in the very color I would have chosen for myself from the famous Knitch in Atlanta;

- Also from Knitch, their signature coffee from a local roastery, which is wonderfully smooth tasting. It was perfect for our Labor Day Blunch (this is the meal that takes place when we wake up at noon on weekends).

- The coolest souvenir keychain ever;

- Box of Toblerones, which was opened pretty much immediately for medicinal purposes when the packaged arrived on Friday morning;

- Peach salsa, which beat my previous favorite (Mollie Stone's Chipotle Salsa) in a comparative tasting this weekend;

- An array of postcards, the one of the Georgia Aquarium was a big hit. DH and I will have to make a point of going in real life -- he said it is the best aquarium in the country;

- A cookbook chock-full of southern deliciousness. Just the inspiration I needed to finally make fried chicken. I keep saying I am going to do it. And hushpuppies. I adore hushpuppies;

- A fabulous large (as all mugs should be) mug of Atlanta;

- Sweet Pea-scented body lotion. Sweet Peas are among my favorite flowers (I had them in my bridal bouquet), and this lotion smells absolutely lovely;

- A gorgeous-smelling sachet, which shall grace my office.

Thank you, Anne! I loved my package!

Into the woods

In which I no longer have to reach for upsides and get in a plug for my favorite basketball team.

I have been experiencing the onset of acute Germanophilia for a long time now. It all started with the innocent charms of German Rieslings, which led us to joining the San Francisco Chapter of the German Wine Society, and then to planning a trip to Germany (probably looking at 2009 for that one).

Closer to home, we have been seeking out German restaurants. Ideally, authentic German restaurants. With good atmo and a traditional feel. It was starting to look like a tall order. Not, like, Tim Duncan tall. But taller than the average dude.

So, when DH happened upon the Tyrolean Inn on the internets, our ears pricked up and we decided to head down there in the very near future. It is far enough away that we booked a room in a B&B for the weekend as well. The restaurant and the B&B are walking distance (okay, staggering. I like to end the meal with a nip of Goldwasser) from one another, and tucked among the redwoods. I cannot wait.

Hump Day

Thanks for the contributions to the list of bay area yarn shops. I have gotten a bunch from several quarters and just need a good stretch of time to plug it all in. I will try to roll out an updated one early next week.


Speaking of updates, isn't it weird that life updates tend to fall into the same three categories, i.e.:




The good;


1. My mom is doing much better, and could be back home this weekend. There were some issues with her blood chemistry/compatibility with the anti-coagulant medication that have kept her in where they can observe her progress more closely.


2. Haven't been knitting nearly as much as I would like, in an effort to not stress my wrists. I am focusing nearly all of my energy on the BSJ, which is much much fun:






The cows are loving it. Look how cute they are. You can get a herd of your own here. This is from a couple weeks back; I'm actually just about to the bit where you knit on the center stitches for a while, and then do the picking up bit.


3. My poisonous mood of early morn has given way to a slightly sunnier disposition. This is probably to do with going to the gym (finally!) which I hate to admit because I rather dislike going to the gym and eagerly await the day when doctors come out of the woodwork telling us exercise is bad and we should all stop doing it.


4. I scored lunch (nice made to order turkey sandwich, banana, diet coke) for five bucks and change! Am I overreaching for good stuff? Probably.


The Bad (in which I nevertheless look for upsides);


1. Laundry night. Well, actually, laundry night has a shiny new allure since we started bringing a bottle of wine and glasses to the laundromat. We usually bring some K&L find that wasn't very expensive and we have never had before... and often turns out to be very good. And it is togetherness time which has been thin on the ground lately. So it's mostly goodish.


I am leaving it here anyway, because if there is anything as tedious as going to the gym and hamstering away on a cardio machine, it is doing laundry.



2. Our disposal de garbage decided to stop working for the second time this year. So, I get to sit around on Saturday waiting for someone to swing by and fix it. Nice that, as renters, we don't have to fix it ourselves though. Also, knitting and/or spinning time!


and the Ugly.


Ah, MUNI (San Francisco's craptacular public transpo, now styling itself as SFMTA). To me, it will always be MUNI, which is onomatopoetic for that foul stench that sometimes hangs out at the Pine/Davis/Market street intersection.



Ironically, I take MUNI to and from California's greatest public transportation thingy: Caltrain. Caltrain, where civility mostly reigns, you can have a drink (spirituous or not), and generally remain un-annoyed/appalled from San Francisco all the way to Gilroy if you so desire. MUNI, on the other hand, is the transpo equivalent of experiencing a deep, burning rectal itch during a refined social event. There's nothing you can do, so try not to think about it and hopefully it will go away.



I am considering getting a bike and riding from home to Caltrain, and then from Caltrain in SF to work. I have never been a fan of the two-wheeled torture device present-day humans call the "bicycle," but I think I could get used to it, considering the alternative (which is MUNI. I already ruled out hiring a car and driver).

A Knitterly Tour of the Greater Bay Area

As part of a whole other project, I wound up compiling a selected list of yarn/fiber shops in the San Francisco Bay Area (to include San Francisco, the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Monterey).

I do not have any entries for the north bay counties (e.g., Marin, Solano, Sonoma, Napa, etc.). If you have any recommendations, I'd be delighted to include them.

In the meantime, HERE is the first draft of something I hope to continue updating. Enjoy, and happy shopping!

Whoo.

Thank you for your kind thoughts!

My mom had a stroke a couple of weeks ago. At first, we weren't sure what was going on, so there was a lot of panic and worrying about what It was. Fortunately, as these things go, it was pretty mild and the prognosis is excellent.

With all the long BART and car rides, ER sitting, ICU sitting and waiting room sitting, I finished that herringbone lace scarf I have been "working on" for months. In progress pix are on ravelry (jendickinson is the name), and FO pix coming soon to the blog and ravelry. It looks great. I even put beads on the fringe.

My mom is still in the hospital, and my jenny-do list is long. More later!

Offline for a while

Just letting everyone know I will be offline for a while -- taking a break from blogging, Ravelry & the KR forums while we deal with a family emergency. I will still be checking email once a day, but that's about it.

I am hopeful that all will ultimately be well, but if you would keep us in your thoughts and prayers....

--J.

Believe it or not....

The yarn fast is intact. With encouragement from Jessi and some friends on the Knitter's Review Forums, I rescued some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (in square basket on right) from my box of yarns to destash, and it is slowly but surely becoming a Baby Surprise Jacket. I had worried that the colors were too girly, so I didn't even consider using it until the KR folks urged me to rethink my stash and see if I could come up with alternatives to falling off the wagon.

Why slowly on the BSJ? Because I am consumed by reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It didn't arrive until FRIDAY due to some shipping slo-mo. I thought I was being smart, the whole pre-ordering thing, getting it cheaper than I thought I could locally, avoiding lines and stuff. Turns out, all of my local bookstores had it at the same price as online, and as long as I waited a day or two, I easily could have avoided the crowds. Oh well.

I actually didn't start reading in earnest until Sunday, though. I went to a party on Friday and spent most of Saturday recovering from the party (and going to the SF Zoo with DH). Sunday after our errands, however, I dug in and read nearly 400 pages from the afternoon to bedtime.

Anyway, the yarn is working up so nicely in the BSJ (pix to follow soon, promise), I can't imagine why I wanted to destash it. I am actually rethinking a couple of other things in the destash box. I am embarrassed to say, all Colinette yarns I bought on an expensive whim (a ribbon I loathed working with, and a chenille that I semi-disliked working with, and a mohair I liked well enough, but didn't see using on its own). I am now thinking they would be nice ones to include in the Ruana from Folk Shawls - just a little bit of sparkle amid some more traditional wools/wool blends.

Not only am I fasting, I am on the verge of actually using things that were firmly in the layer of stash I might not ever use. I can't believe it.

Dude!

I totally rock! Thanks, Jessi! And I nominate:

Kate

Fleegle

Cari

RobA

Carol

Is it kosher?

We just found out that some friends of ours are pregnant! YAY! Naturally, the happy parents divulged all of the pertinent details with little prodding (boy, due in January). Now, I have a question for you all.

Can I make an ex post facto exception to my yarn fast and buy something boyish for a baby surprise jacket? I am not exaggerating when I say I don't have anything remotely appropriate in the stash. I swear on a stack of addi turbos that I won't buy anything else. Just something lovely for the new boy in our lives? What do we think?