New Season, New Duds

It's a new season, which always means... new patterns! I've been thinking about what I'd like to make this spring, and I've got a few ideas:

1. Bolero Jacket
I bought the new Vogue Knitting, which I think is better than the last several issues. I really like the bolero sweater trend. I'm still trying to decide, however, whether it's one that works for me, a long-leg, short-torso, broad-shoulder kind of chick. But if I made one and it didn't work for me, I'm sure I could find a willing friend to take it off my hands! There’s also a cool shrug from Knitty that I think would work well – and I can make it out of stash, which is always a good thing.

2. Nothin’ but a T-shirt
I love this pattern from Alison, published in the new Magknits. This is a classy tee-shirt sweater, but it’s especially fun because of the ringer style. I am envisioning a very modern color choice, like the Blush (hot pink), trimmed with Coffee (dark brown). This would be great with jeans, which I am rarely without.

3. Hourglass Sweater
Since I am always cold, it’s not too late to think about an Hourglass Sweater, made in silk or even a wool/cotton or wool/silk blend. I love the Himalaya Wool Silk at Knit Pixie – but there are too many beautiful colors to choose from! I’m narrowing it down, though - never fear!

4. Rebecca Wrap Cardi
This item is languishing in my Upcoming Projects list – I feel a little guilty because I’ve had the yarn and pattern for a while, even before others who’ve now finished their cardis! I think this will be a great little item to kick around in – but the swatch made my wrists hurt. Hopefully I can overcome this and get on with my cute sweater!

By the way…have you seen those new RY Classic pattern books? They are billed as "a new collection of handknits for the style conscious knitter." So this leads me to wonder whether the Rowan magazine will get less “style conscious.” Sort of makes me think I should wait to re-subscribe.

Otherwise, the Lucky cardi is coming along nicely:



Although, I almost had a heart attack when I read that I have to make 62 inches of ribbing for the trim!! That means 62 inches of sewing, my friends, and if you have gleaned anything from reading my blog you know I am not a seamstress. But I am so excited about this cardi that I'll just have to make it work.

Off to Sleeve Island (cue palm trees, ukelele, mai tais)…

Happy Easter

Just a short post today to show you my favorite Easter bunny:



The pink sweater was knitted by moi! And this little bunny (my coworker's little one) has worn it quite a lot, as I understand. I am tickled pink.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Can we talk?

So I’ve been blogging for about seven months now, and I’m thinking about what I might do to spice things up a bit. Blogger is cool and all, and it’s great that it’s free – but it is clearly limited unless you know a lot of html. Then there’s Typepad, which you have to pay for – but you can set up some really cool looking blogs that way. Of course, for the truly adventuresome (or computer-savvy) there is the option of using MT and doing everything yourself. Photo storage is also an issue, since I am knocking at the limit of my free Photobucket account.

Clearly, I am at a blogging crossroads. So I’ve put together a little poll to get some input from you all. If you don’t think either of my choices are the best option, leave me a comment or send me an email with your suggestions. I would really appreciate it!

Which blogging software do you recommend?
	Blogger
	Typepad
	Other
Free polls from Pollhost.com

The Wearing O’ The Green

Paying homage to Bonne Marie, I stepped out in limey-green style for St. Patty’s Day:



I made the scarf first, and then decided that a lime green shirt would be just the thing to make the shades of blue in the scarf *pop*. So far so good!

Last weekend was full of debauchery – a grown up slumber party, bridal shower and bachelorette party in less than 48 hours! Needless to say, I didn’t do very much knitting, lol! I am, however, now finished with the right front of Lucky:



It looks okay so far, but that whole no-room-for-a repeat-at-the-neck-edge is a little weird looking in my book. Hopefully the finished product will look good. Onward to the left front!

Everyone is going nuts over this Martha Stewart poncho business. Someone referenced a design that looked very similar to the Marth-cho, and thought that the name “Freedom poncho” was a reference to the newly-freed style maven. In fact, the pattern is from Twilley’s, and the yarn is called Freedom. Just wanted to clear that one up.

Finally, I leave you with a photo of an item from the Ram Wools catalogue. Is this scary or cute? Let me know what you think!

Blogger Problems

I have heard that some of you have been unable to leave comments; turns out Blogger is having some sort of problem. So, I thought I would add an email link in the sidebar. I look forward to hearing from you, whatever the method!

I Guess I Could Take Up Knitting

Says an ad for Asics running shoes:


"I guess I could take up knitting.
People who knit seem happy.
But then, I’m too competitive.
It seems like highly competitive knitters are frowned upon.

What would you do, if you couldn’t run?"


You know, I don’t pick on runners; why should this running ad pick on knitters? And there’s nothing about knitting that says you have to be anti-competitive to enjoy it. In fact, I think knitting would be a good activity for a competitive person, because you can make it as challenging as you want it to be. You don’t compete with other knitters, but with yourself; I think many runners are this way as well. The average person buying Asics running shoes doesn’t plan on winning the Boston marathon; he/she hopes to finish it or have a personal best time.

As for the broader issue, not just about knitting: this ad is a sad commentary on how women in our society are pigeonholed. You can’t be an athlete and practice “domestic arts,” be a successful CEO and not be a b**ch, excel as a mother and as a worker, etc. When will corporate America acknowledge that we aren’t easily categorized, that we are multi-faceted, multi-talented, and deserve praise and credit for what we attempt and succeed to do every day? It’s really amazing that we get shat upon like this in the media, especially when you consider that women buy or influence the purchase of 85% of all products and services sold in this country. A sobering thought: we fund the companies that publicly denigrate us.

March is Women's History Month. So go do something womanly: go knit, go running, get a subscription to Ms. or Bust or Essence or Bitch. Better yet, write a letter to a particularly egregious company of your choosing and announce that you will boycott their products because of their shameful portrayal of women.

No knitty photos today. Or maybe later this afternoon if I get around to it.

A Small FO

No, not the wee Poppy (I'm still fighting with that one)...just a scarf for moi:



This was made with Noro Lotus in Shade 152. I used a pattern from Stitch n Bitch Nation - thank goodness there are designers out there who appreciate people like me - i.e. who want patterns for even simple drop-stitch scarves. So anyway. This yarn is difficult to photograph due to the shimmery rayon thread running through its center. Obviously the yarn changes colors, but what is not so obvious is that this shimmery thread changes colors too. If I were a better photographer I would show you this! But alas, nighttime knitting does not make for good photographs. Anyhoo, I'll be back again soon. Hope everyone is having a good day!

Little. Purple. Frustrating.

I have been steadily working on Poppy, which I am making out of the Blue Sky Cotton. I am pulling my hair out over this one! Although the BS Cotton is very soft and has great stitch definition, it also (as a commenter on Wendy’s blog pointed out) sheds tufts of cotton as you go. This turns out to be a big problem when you need to rip out. Which I had to do about 6 times as I was picking up the stitches for the collar.

If you are not familiar with this pattern, you can view a photo here. As you can see, there are many stitches to be picked up in order to knit the ribbed border. (Actually there are 162 stitches to be picked up, but who’s counting?) For some reason, at the increase edge on the left front, the fabric’s curvature is slightly different than the curvature of the right front. This is noticeable in the photo below:




I think my main problem was in the row gauge; I had a devil of a time finding enough stitches to pick up. Maybe the left side was more stretched than the right side because of this? I don’t know. I am feeling very Type A about this. However, there isn’t time to rip it out and do it again, if I care about an on-time delivery to its recipient. And frankly, the picking up stitches experience is NOT one I would like to repeat any time soon. But I am frustrated that my rendition of Poppy is not *perfect*. Not only that, but I still have yet to pick up the stitches for the rest of the border! Grrr. More work...

Sigh. So I went back to Lucky last night. She’s the only one who loves me right now! (sniff) Pix again soon when I finish the right front.

Happy knitting, everyone!

Hello out there

Greetings, knit-lings! (not sure why that seemed funny to me, it just did.) All is well in the nation’s capital, except that it seems winter will Just Not End. Winter is still kinda pretty, though:



We were supposed to get 7 inches of snow or something – but it wasn’t nearly as bad as they predicted. Now it’s just cold and windy.

Anyway, I am knitting away on my Lucky cardi. I feel I have made enough progress to show you now. As I said, I’ve finished the back; this is the right front (apologies for the distracting background):



I think I have become something of a convert to 4-ply. I’ve been looking at the new Rowan designs and thinking there may be another dainty sweater in my future. But since I’m not even halfway through Lucky, maybe I’d better wait and see how that goes.

Thanks for the votes of confidence on my GGH Soft Kid color choice. Hopefully I will cast on for this cute cardi this weekend!

Happy knitting, everyone!

Fun Weekend!

I had a fun weekend full of knitting and stashing. First, I got home Friday and had this in the mail:



That’s Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted, in the Mixed Berries colorway. Then on Saturday, I got the new Rebecca magazine. I’ve signed up for the Rebecca29 knitalong, to make this:




Also on Saturday, I hung out at Knit Happens, where I saw Holly and hung out with Wendy. They are a riot! I will have to go sit and knit there more often.

While I was there I bought the yarn for the Rebecca sweater. I wanted it to match this dress I have, but since I didn’t have the dress with me, I agonized over the color choice. Let me know what you think: looking at the pattern above and the yarn and dress combo below, do you think it’s a good match? The GGH Soft Kid also comes in a soft blue or peach, which could also be good...




Meanwhile still knitting on Lucky. No photos, nothing to see here…I've finished the back and am working on the right front. I’m excited that the designer has started a blog! Go visit Melissa over here.

Happy knitting, everyone!

Cotton is from a plant?

Is it just me, or is this a bit snarky?

Here’s what I wrote:

"I have recently learned about the cruel practice of "mulesing" used in the Australian merino wool industry. I am very concerned about this and am looking for sources of knitting supplies that I can be certain are not the result of cruelty toward animals.

What is your policy about the treatment of the animals which are the source of your yarn? I would be very grateful for a response and would be glad to share it with the knitting listservs of which I am a member."


This is the response I got from a yarn company which shall remain nameless:

"We do not buy any Australian wool at all. If you know our products and you say you do, you would realize that over half of our line is fancy Italian ribbon, eyelash and ladder yarn. This is nylon which does not come from wool. The remainder is cotton which comes from a plant, rayon which is also plant fiber and alpaca from a friend's farm in Pennsylvania. Plain wool is very cheap and we prefer to use exotic luxury fibers such as silk, alpaca, suri and mohair. Our superwash merino comes from a friend in New Zealand who actually owns the purebred Merino at her farm."

Need I be told that cotton is from a plant? Someone must have had a ‘knot in her yarn’ when she wrote this…

In general, the responses have been very positive. When I first wrote yarn companies about the mulesing issue, I didn’t realize that I was writing while most of them were away at TNNA. I’ve re-written a number of the companies and gotten good response. I have heard from 11 companies so far. I will post a summary soon, I promise!

New Project

Hello there. Long time no see! I have been away – I was in Orlando on a business trip. Yes, a business trip to Orlando in the middle of February. It was definitely all work and no play, to the point that I didn’t get more than a few rows done on Lucky. But this weekend, I started cheating on Lucky anyway, with this:



This is Poppy from Debbie Bliss, in the Cotton Angora book. In the foreground you’ll notice my current drug – I mean YARN of choice: Blue Sky Alpacas’ Blue Sky Cotton in the Orchid color. This project is the perfect marriage of yarn and color. This sweater is for a 1 year old, and this yarn is soooo soft. I believe this cotton is organic. Also, the pattern is a dream – it’s really well-written and quick. I started knitting on Sunday morning, and as of almost noon on Monday, I have only a sleeve to go. Here is my progress so far:



A couple of others in blog-land have done this pattern and had good success. I will be sure to post a picture when it is completed. It always makes me so happy to make baby items – I think about the child it’s for, and how they will grow – it’s so positive and life-affirming.

Well, that’s it for now. Happy knitting, everyone!

Luckier by the Minute

I am plugging away on Lucky. Surprisingly, even though I am working on US 3s, it seems to go pretty quickly. I am enjoying the clover lace pattern, and the increasing and decreasing isn't too bad. Now I'm closing in on the raglan shaping:



Dare I hope that Lucky can be a spring sweater, rather than a fall sweater?

Although normally I knit more than one project at a time, I find that this project is more than enough to keep me occupied. Maybe this project will spark a new direction in my knitting: more challenging projects, but fewer projects. We'll see.

Everyone is talking about the new Rowan - some websites have previews of the magazine. I don't want to look at the previews because it will spoil the surprise when it finally arrives in my mailbox!

I am still in search of the perfect yarn for Clapotis. I was at the DC Stitch 'n' Bitch meeting yesterday, and someone had yarn from Serendipity. It was sooooo soft. It was like touching a cloud, I kid you not! So, I may just pick a colorway that seems good and go for it. I'd better hurry - it was 55 degrees in Washington today! Some people are saying winter's over already. Having lived north of the Mason-Dixon line most of my life, I'm not so sure.

That's pretty much it on the knitting front. Work is pretty busy right now, so my posting has been (and will continue to be) somewhat sporadic. I have a big meeting coming up, and after that - a little R & R. I'm thinking about either getting out of town for a few days, or having a little day spa experience. Should be fun either way!

By the way - check out the birthday gift Amelia got! Totally beautiful. We should all have such friends!

**UPDATE** Okay, I am really inspired by Amelia's Simply Marilyn sweater. The DB Cashmerino Superchunky is super-expensive. I found some Cascade Ecological Wool at One Fine Yarn for $15 for a whopping 478 yards. So, I would only need 2 skeins to make this lovely sweater! I am wondering if it is reasonably soft and lightweight. Does anyone have experience with this yarn? Gimme a holler if you do!

New Project

I've been away for a while! I was out of town briefly at the end of last week, but mostly I've been trying to recapture my knitting mojo.

I've started a new project, and - get this - I'm using my stash! Woo hoo! I'm making Lucky, the Clover Leaf Wrap from Stitch n Bitch Nation. It's kind of hard to photograph right now, because it is curling so much.

My progress so far:



And a close up of the clover stitch:



The pattern calls for Rowan 4-ply cotton, and I am using 4-ply Botany in a light camel color. It's going to take me f-o-r-e-v-e-r...but I think it will be a nice marriage of fiber and pattern. Also, there are decreases and increases that need to be incorporated into the stitch pattern, which is a new challenge for me. I'm trying to choose more "thinking" patterns in 2005, and this one will definitely kick the year off right.

I am still compiling info from my cruelty-free yarn company inquiries. Most of the biggies have not responded yet, but it's only been about a week and a half since I wrote and I am hopeful. If I don't hear back, I will follow up. I'm still trying to think about how to summarize/standardize all the yarn company responses and how to make this info available.

I leave you with a humorous note from a great LYS. I never thought I'd see a combination knitting blog and dating service! Funny.


Happy knitting, everyone!

My first hat

Here is a photo of my first-ever hat. It turned out pretty well, I think:




But as I said, seaming hats is not something I plan to ever waste my time on. So, since I’ve got some nice yarn earmarked for some hats, I’ll be looking for some easy in the round hat patterns.

In other news, I have gotten two responses to my wool inquiry! I am very excited that these companies are taking my request seriously.

Jo Sharp Classic Wool is cruelty-free; it is made from Border Leicester fleece, and this breed is not mulesed. They plan to issue a statement soon about the situation with their Silkroad line, which they are currently researching.

Green Mountain Spinnery is a certified organic farm. This means they follow the national organic regulations regarding treatment of livestock and livestock handling. Their first priority in purchasing is to buy locally from farms in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Quebec, and neighboring states. They do not buy wool from Australia or New Zealand. From what I understand, mulesing is really only an Australian practice; so, I think Green Mountain Spinnery is a good choice.

So far so good. But I already see that, in asking companies to guarantee that their wool products are cruelty-free, it would be good to have some sort of standard by which to judge them. This is getting very complicated! I will have to think some more about how to do this in a way that will mean something to consumers.

Thanks to Lolly’s great preview, I snagged a copy of the newest Vogue Knitting. So I’m off to do a little bedtime reading!

Happy knitting, everyone!

Onward

All is well here, although my blog has been quiet. Truth is, I’m in a bit of a knitting slump. It seems hard to get started on something new, since I’m trying really hard not to buy new yarn. That means I have to go back to the old projects which were put aside when they got difficult, or my gauge was off and re-knitting is in order, etc. One good thing has come of this so far though – I’ve decided that I didn’t really want the round front cardigan I was making out of Karabella Aurora 8. I bought Stitch ‘n’ Bitch Nation, and found a great pattern called Flower Power that I would be more likely to wear.

Other than that, I made a hat for my co-worker’s little boy. I will definitely make it in the round next time – seaming ribbing on a hat is for the birds. Hopefully I can post a picture shortly.

Continuing on my quest for cruelty-free yarn, I’ve written to the following yarn companies to inquire whether they know the source of their wool products, and whether they have a policy on cruelty toward animals. These are the inquiries I’ve sent so far:

Alchemy Yarns
Berroco
Blue Sky Alpacas
Brown Sheep
Cascade Yarns
Cherry Tree Hill Yarns
Classic Elite
Crystal Palace
Green Mountain Spinnery
Jo Sharp
Knitting Fever
Koigu
Mission Falls
Rowan International
Tahki Stacy Charles

I sent these towards the end of the week, and so far I’ve gotten one response: “The owner of __________has been a vegetarian for 46 years. Need we say more?” Now, there are some companies on this list for whom this response might be credible. But for this particular company, considering the products I know they sell, this seems a great sidestepping of the issue. As I said when I first posted about this issue, it is very difficult to tell where the merino wool from Australia ends up. However, it seems a safe bet that if 70% of the merino wool products sold in the U.S. are made with Australian wool (a factoid from a friend who works at the Australian embassy), lots and lots of yarn is coming from Australian wool products too. Being a vegetarian is, in my opinion, an honorable personal choice. There is no certain connection between not eating meat and making business decisions to sell only cruelty-free wool products. Companies that stay in business sell what people will buy.

And so I will engage the yarn company staff person who wrote the above comment, and any others who do not seem to appreciate the complexity of the issue. This may be a harder project than I thought it would be.

A Question of Conscience

At Thursday’s knitting get-together at Caribou, there was some serious discussion about the wool in dustry in Australia and the process they use to shear the sheep. You can read those details here. (Go read it - it's important. I'll wait.)



I was really upset by this. Call me naïve, but I was so caught up in the joy of creating and the pleasure of other knitters’ company that it never even occurred to me that there might be cruelty in the knitting world. Due to the Byzantine nature of the textile industry, it’s difficult to trace the path of merino wool from Australia to a factory making what may be your favorite yarn.

Someone on the stitch-bitch dc listserve responded to this information by saying that she wouldn’t knit with wool now that she knows what’s going on. That's one solution, but personally I don’t know if I’d knit if I couldn’t knit with wool. Cotton hurts my wrists. Most synthetics are gross, IMO. (And they use a lot of petrochemicals in their production, but I digress.) Knitting with wool makes me feel connected to the planet and to generations before me who have done the same.

So here is what I’m going to do: 1) write to the major yarn companies and ask if they know where their wool comes from (i.e. whether it’s from Australia) and 2) can they guarantee that it is cruelty-free. I will post these responses to one or more places: Knitters Review, this blog, and the stitch-n-bitch dc listserve. The next step would be to find ways to exert some leverage on these companies and get them to demand cruelty-free practices from their suppliers. I also want to compile a list of cruelty free producers/sellers. In my view, it is as important to engage the worst offenders as it is to highlight and support those who are setting a good example.

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do."
-Helen Keller

Still no Cheesesteak

But I had a great time in Philadelphia anyway! While my dear b.f was at his conference, I explored the city. I was only there for about 24 hours, but I did a lot in that time. I walked to Rittenhouse Square, which was beautiful – sort of like New York City in miniature. I also walked around the Old City, and saw the oldest continuously occupied street in Philadelphia, Elfreth’s Alley. I even saw the Liberty Bell! I have only been to Philadelphia once before, and I didn’t get to do any sightseeing, so it was fun to be a tourist. And finally, I walked around Antique Row, full of quaint shops and also fun, modern ones.

On to the knitting. I did indeed go to Rosie’s Yarn Cellar… but I’d rather tell you about Sophie’s Yarns in Antique Row. It was a huge, lovely store. Hardwood floors, nice displays with tons of shop samples (not many swatches, though), and a big table in the back for sitting and knitting. They even had fresh flowers!



You can see the owner and two staff members in this photo. They look like they’re having fun!



The shop had lots of handpaints (Interlacements, Schaefer, Cherry Tree Hill), as well as Rowan, Manos, Dale, Colinette, and tons of novelties. I bought some Schaefer Little Lola in a happy color for baby gifts. But the best items were in the back – there was a section of luxury natural fiber yarn: Joseph Gellar Camelhair/wool and Prime Alpaca, Grignasco (I think it was a cashmere blend), and some wonderfully soft Frog Tree Alpaca. Everything was in beautiful natural colors…yum. Anyway, I highly recommend this spacious, lovely, well-stocked store if you’re in Philly.

Other than that, I have a partially finished poncho pic for you:



Apologies for the pajama pants and odd facial expression. I still need to block it and add the 5" fringe my friend really wants. Once I finish, it will be time to dive back into my two UFO's.

Happy knitting, everyone!

Blythe is Born

You may remember that I made a small pink sweater for my co-worker's baby. Well, baby Blythe was born on Wednesday! She is adorable!



Baby Blythe is 10 lbs 11 oz, raising the issue of whether the 3-6 mo size sweater will fit her. Sigh. Well, they say babies lose a little weight when they come home, so we'll see. Otherwise, that sweater may be warming a teddy bear instead of a baby. But hey, it's the knitty thought that counts, right?

Still working on my friend's poncho. I'm using DB Cashmerino Aran, in the Chocolate color. (BTW- why did they decide to discontinue this yarn? In my yarn wanderings I hardly ever see yarns this color.) At first, the yarn didn't seem exceptionally soft, but now that I have been knitting with it for a while, it really feels very nice. Hopefully there will be an FO photo soon!

Next up, a weekend trip to the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia PA. I hope to hit Rosie's Yarn Cellar, and maybe another shop if I'm really good. I also plan to eat cheesesteaks! More on all of this later.

Happy Friday, everyone!

First Post of the New Year

In December, San Francisco looks nothing like the postcards. Winter in Northern California consists of icy rain and bone-chilling wind. Unfortunately, most of the time I couldn’t even see the Golden Gate bridge. But that didn’t stop me from having a great time with my brother and my best friend. Even though my friend was raised and now lives in Palo Alto, there were many things in San Francisco that she had never done. For example, she had never ridden a cablecar! So we did, all the way from Powell and Market to Fisherman’s Wharf. Here’s a view from the back of the car:




We also went to the Exploratorium, which is a hands-on science museum for kids and their families. They have a neat thing there called the Tactile Dome, which is billed as “an interactive excursion through total darkness, where your sense of touch becomes your only guide!” The darkness is indeed total, but I found that my eyes were still open the entire time. Without spoiling it, the Dome experience is one that requires an open mind and not a little physical flexibility, which I found I was lacking. Still, it was a unique experience and one that I recommend to kids – big and small.

And of course, I went to a knitting shop! San Francisco has a wealth of great knitting shops, and we chose to visit Imagiknit, located in the Mission Dolores district. This store was huge! Just huge. There were floor-to-ceiling bins filled with yarn, and lots of tables and sitting space too. The staff were young hipsters and very helpful. So…what did I buy, you ask? Just this:




Yes, that’s right. Just one lonely skein of Koigu Kersti. I would have bought more, but there was only one skein left. I fell in love with this colorway, and I plan to get enough to make a Clapotis. If the dye lots don’t match (which is a good possibility), this little skein will become some nice baby booties.

Anyway, San Francisco was great. It was so good to see my brother and to meet his fiancée! It will be cool to have a sister-in-law, as I do not have any sisters. I foresee much bonding ahead.

So, now it’s 2005. It seems like everyone has got some sort of resolution, so I’ll join in:

1. I will use up most (if not all) of my stash. Partial balls don’t count.


2. I will try some sort of two-color knitting, hopefully fair isle or intarsia but at the very least, stripes.


3. I will exercise 2-3 times per week.


4. I will visit my family more.

That’s all I can come up with for now. This post is long enough already! Happy Thursday, everyone!