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April 24, 2007
New Hankies!
Posted by Holly at 10:40 PM | Comments (3)
April 22, 2007
Kidnapped!
It all started out simple enough. I would drive to Lexington for the Bluegrass Festival of Books. I wanted to see Stephanie Japel (aka Glampyre) and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka The Yarn Harlot) speak. I planned to drive down there, see Glampyre's panel, knit and grab a bite to eat, then see the Yarn Harlot and drive home. Simple right?
Things did not go as planned. I arrived in Lexington in time and with no problems. I immediately headed to the book signing area to see the Yarn Harlot and get her autograph on my book and Heidi's. Stephanie was very nice, and I took her picture holding my just completed Wader sock and her own sock-in-progress. She commented on the funny shape center pull balls get once you've used a lot of the center yarn and held our yarn up to her chest as an example.
Then I started talking to one of the owners of Magpie Yarns, the yarn store that had sponsored Stephanie. We were talking about the upcoming Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and she told me that their shop was nearby and they were having a sale. I was already starting to waver on going to the Glampyre panel anyway. After all, I didn't have any of the books the authors' wrote. I'm not a 'fitted knits' kind of girl and I don't read knitting novels. Yarn shopping quickly won out in the debate.
I hopped in my car and off I went to Magpie. It was to be here where I was kidnapped. (dum-dum-DUM)
Magpie was a really nice yarn store. I wish they had a website to link to, but they don't. Sorry. Great selection, but one maddening thing: Their yarn is organized by color and not yarn type. It's aesthetically pleasing, but if you walk into the shop looking for Noro Kureyon, you'll be walking back and forth grabbing colors to compare. Little bit weird.
This is where I met Dana and Christine, my soon-to-be kidnappers. After going through two containers of sock yarn (which were the only yarns actually grouped together), I discovered yarn I'd never heard of. I ended up with two skeins of Rio de la Plata sock yarn. Dana and Christine were buying some too. This led to a discussion of sock yarns and selling on Etsy (as Dana also sells there). Then I was invited to join them for their Stitch 'n' Bitch that night.
I didn't know at that point if I would stay or not. Remember, I had a plan. Here's where I get kidnapped. Dana said they were going over ReBelle which was another really awesome yarn shop where the Stich 'n' Bitch would be tonight. When you're a knitter, if someone tells you to follow them to a yarn shop, you're probably going to do it. I mean, really, it's a shop you've never been to before, how can you say no?
(brief interruption to show off my Rio de la Plata sock yarn)
I have to say, ReBelle was pretty kick ass. They dye some of their own yarns, but also have recycled goods and natural health products. I bought an awesome sticker and a great spinning batt.
After knitting for a bit there, we had to hurry off to meet another knitter, Jesse, at a restaurant called Natasha's. The food was good and the service sucked ass. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Stephanie Japel, and the other knitting authors were having lunch there too. We ate quickly and ran back to the Lexington Center to hear Stephanie speak.
She was o funny. Even though we'd all heard these stories before, it's so much better to hear her actually tell the stories. We all knit socks throughout the talk and stuck around to knit afterwards. This is when we saw Stephanie's crazy "Irish Production Knitting."
Never heard of it? Don't bother googling it, because no one else has either. It's suppose to be the fastest knitting tecnique in the world and involves holding the right needle in you armpit. I took a picture, but she moved her arm so you really can't see anything.
We finally were run off by the employees of the Lexington Center. Here's a little tip, if you are trying to piss off a bunch of knitters, then turning off the lights will do it. Beware of hoards of angry people with pointy sticks though.
The next phase of my captivity involved pizza and beer at Mellow Mushroom. Yeah, it was rough. Then back to ReBelle for the Stitch 'n' Bitch.
My captors, Dana and Christine.
Zabet and her husband (that's the Zabet of The AntiCraft fame, along with Robyn, one of the owners of ReBelle.
Ann, Kells, and Jane.
Dana, Christine, and I pose with our socks.
Finally though, I was tired and had to leave since I had an hour drive back home. Twelve hours after my abduction, I was home and fast asleep.
Posted by Holly at 09:23 AM | Comments (9)
April 12, 2007
So it goes.
I'm taking a break from my regular knit blogging to comment on the sad events of last night. One of my heroes, Kurt Vonnegut, passed away at age 84 from brain injuries. It was only a few years ago, that I started to read his works, and from the first chapter of "Slaughter-House Five."
He had a style of writing like no one else. His books were always darkly comedic, and I was quite taken with the way he stuck himself into these fictional situations. Vonnegut was one of the few famous figures who was quite frank about being an agnostic and a humanist. He summed up humanism ( and my own philosophy) best when he said "I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without any expectation of rewards or punishments after I’m dead."
A few favorite quotes:
Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies -- 'God damn it, you've got to be kind.'
Let us devote to unselfishness the frenzy we once gave gold and underpants.
We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.
I still believe that peace and plenty and happiness can be worked out some way. I am a fool.
All persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental.
We are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is.
Listen: we are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
Goodnight, Mr. Vonnegut. Sleep well.
So it goes.
Posted by Holly at 09:55 PM | Comments (1)
April 09, 2007
Busy, busy, busy...
I think I've been pretty productive this week. I've knit, I've dyed, I've spun. I finally found a sock pattern that I wanted to make. I'm working on Waders from MagKnits.com. MagKnits is by no means a favorite of mine, in fact I tend to forget it even exists most of the time, but it comes through now and then. The Waders socks are being knit up in Cherry Tree Hill Super Sock Potluck. And I must say, I love toe up socks!
I've also finished the yarn from my merino silk roving. I ended up with about 200 yards. I'm not sure quite what I'll make of it, but I'm sure inspiration will strike me.
I've also spun the first three batts that I blended for socks. Yes, they still have to be plied, but hopefully that will be done tomorrow.
I've also dyed up a few batches of silk hankies and two skeins of sock yarn. I though about posting them now, but I think I'll just wait until they are up on etsy and show them off then. I know the suspense is just killing you all!
Posted by Holly at 10:15 PM | Comments (3)
April 03, 2007
Fuzzy, Soft, Ewok Heads!
Sunday was spent at the alpaca show with Sonya. It was my fourth show, but her first, so it was fun to get to explain all about the alpacas. Especially when she didn't get that glazed over look that your non-knitting friends get when you mention yarn and fiber. The amount of cuteness that can be packed into one wing never fails to amaze me. Two alpaca owners even let us into the pens to pet some of their less-skittish animals.
I just had to kiss this pretty guy (or girl, I'm not really sure).
Sonya marveling at just how soft the alpacas really are.
I loved the way these two were posing.
In other news, I finished my socks! Yay!
And I bought a little project bag from Lora!
In not such great news, I have no inspiration for my next project. I tried to start pair of socks, but I'm just not feeling them. I'm taking my Latvian mittens to knitting tonight and hopefully get at least one thumb finished. I have the perfect pair of socks picked out once I spin up my batts, but thats about two weeks away most likely. I guess I'm going to focus on spinning for a few weeks, and work on the mitten thumbs as I feel the urge.
Posted by Holly at 08:23 AM | Comments (4)