Before shoving off for my recent trip to Belgium and France, I made darn sure to arrange a little knitting get-together with a blogger I have long adored: Sophie of More Itchy Knits. If you haven't read her blog (it's in French and English), you really need to because a. she is devilishly funny and b. she throws down some cables that mere mortals like me will only ever dream of.
Of course my non-knitting friends (a group that will be soon dwindling unless they cool it with the negative comments. Phil, I am talking to you) had to deride me/give me shit about this. "Oh Gawd, I knew you had some secret knitting agenda with this trip!". Umm, secret? Moving on.
After our presentation at the conference in Liège, Kenric (yes, the guy that now kicks my knitting ass with his entrelac skills) and I had a café liégeois (i.e. you get the whipped cream on your coffee without the humiliation of actually having to ask for it) and hopped on a train for Brussels with the aim of horning in on the Friday night café-tricot at Arthur's, a lovely little café conveniently located right across from the Luxembourg train station. As Kenric cast-on for the Koolhaas hat on the train we had a gas with our usual mix of shop talk, knitting chit-chat and general tom foolery. We made excellent time and arrived at the event without a hitch, despite a fit of nervous lip balm application just before entering (does anyone else do this?).
The group of knitters were so friendly and gave us a warm, warm welcome. Sophie and I traded little gifts--I brought her a yarn that is obviously unavailable in Europe, Brooks Farm Solo, and she gave both Kenric and I the most lovely packages of baking chocolate ever as well as a recipe, written by her with her usual sense of humor, for Belgian Truffles. How did she know that this would be so up my alley? We stayed for several hours and had a great time knitting and chatting about the current Belgian constitutional crisis (Umm hello! They don't have a government now), the tension between the Flemish and Walloon population, the intricacies of language policy in Belgium as well as knitting techniques in both countries. All in all, a really nice event that Kenric and I felt lucky to be a part of. We topped off our jaunt with a visit to a chocolate shop (see first picture above) and Delerium, a world-renowned beer drinking joint that will bring out the inner frat guy like nobody's business...
Once back in Liège, Kenric and I parted ways, but not for long as much to my delight he's moving to Philly later this month. I spent my final day wandering around the city, checking out the beautiful gardens and parks and doing something that I could only ever do alone as the ridicule and scorn I would face from my family would be too great for me to endure. I am of course talking about visiting a museum dedicated to marionnettes, le musée Tchantchès. I enjoyed this place so much that now even I am weirded out by myself. In any case, Liège's most famous resident is a naughty medieval fellow named Tchantchès and if you go to Liège, well you can visit his museum, too.
This Summer of Socks thing is really kind of working out for me, I have to say. I sort of can't believe that a mere 2 months ago I was forlorn sock hater. Now sock knitting seems to be my only interest. Ashley called me a 'sock machine', which is much better than being a 'sock tool', so I will accept the moniker with pride. The Specs: Pattern: Spring Forward by Linda Welch Yarn: STR Mediumweight in 'Lovers Leap' Needles: HiyaHiya 1.5, Magic Loop Time: July 10-14 These are ever so slightly too loose, beware of potential bagginess with this pattern. But since I'm going to be getting on an airplane in several hours (translation: every single part of me will immediately start swelling), I don't think it will be too much of an issue. This pattern was fun, fun, fun to knit--very simple and easy to memorize. I seem to be on a bit of a Socks That Rock kick these days--I just love their solids so much.
Today is the day that I leave for Belgium and France for a two-week jaunt. My knitting pal Kenric and I will present a paper at a conference, attend a café-tricot Stitch N Bitch in Brussels, eat as much endive as possible, and then go our separate ways *sniff sniff*; he'll go to Switzerland with his partner, and I'll go meet a little someone in Paris whose curmudgeonly self has never left the grand ol' U S of A. That's right, the Darling Resident Marxist Curmudgeon is taking his hand-wringing show on the road and bringing his analysis to France! People, this is huge...but am I ready for the next 6 hour layover in the DTW airport, you ask?
2. Super-special, one-of-a-kind, kick ass camera strap? Check! Scored this one from Caro, isn't is fantastic?
3. Really complicated, overly ambitious Tour de France kal knitting project? Check! (But who am I kidding, any project with a chart is so not happening once I hit the friendly skies...)
4. A much more realistic, doable knitting project? Check! Better start getting the lead out on these, I'm seeing the recipient next week!
5. Totally awesome, très retro handbag that the Tween Thing said made me look "sorry"? Check! Thanks Babe, right back atcha! I can embarrass you even when you are thousands of miles away...
6. Super-sweet in-flight entertainment? Check! I feel that having gelatin-based candies with one at all times just makes good sense. What, You don't travel with a bag of candy?
So you can see that I am well equipped and completely prepared for my journey. And despite the cankles that I will no doubt be sporting by the time in touch down in Charles de Gaulle airport, I am really excited! See you folks on the other side...
Recently my approach to sock knitting has been similar to the way in which many sketchy guys must surely deal with their dirty mag collections: I've got socks stashed everywhere! They're on the breakfast table, the front porch and even in the bathroom. For example, when I leave my Yarrow Ribbed socks in the kitchen because I need to get an aspirin in the medicine cabinet, well I have a Jaywalker right there on top of the stack of unread New Yorkers and Nation magazines simply begging to be worked on, just one or two rows, quickly, before anyone sees me. Distraction then leads me to the porch for the umpteenth time to check if the mail has arrived, and Allez hop! It's my Canal du Midi sock, why not sneak in a few rows when no one is around? If these socks were, let's say copies of Nugget magazine, I'd be in a heap o' trouble! But luckily they're just socks, so there is no harm in my actions.
And happily I have one less sock to kick around this perverse sock menagerie, as the RPMs are way, way done. The pattern is a breeze; thoroughly memorizable and super-quick. It did what I needed it to do, which is to say that it didn't pool. Of all the different Socks That Rock yarns, my absolute favorite is the Mediumweight, as it knits up quickly and is springy-sproingy to work with. I have already extolled the virtues of this particular color way, 'Pride'. It's queer-ific in every smallest detail! It also has the added benefit of perfectly mimicking Play-Doh colors... The Specs Pattern: RPM from Knitty Summer 06 Yarn: STR Mediumweight in Pride Needles: HiyaHiya 1.5, Magic Loop As much as I loved the maniacal nature of these socks, I must admit that my eyes are relieved to be working on my next pair, Nancy Bush's Yarrow Ribbed socks in a soothing solid, STR Lightweight, 'In the Navy'. I love the simplicity of these socks, but what a difference there is between the lightweight and mediumweight... I am appreciating the color of the yarn, yet my hands are wishing for the weightier, beefed-up iteration that the mediumweight presents as I can tell already that these socks are of the 'I knit on these during an entire movie and only did and inch' variety. PSA Time: Take a moment to visit Earthchick's blog and read about a special anniversary she is celebrating. I remember reading about her little one's chilling near fatality last summer, and am glad to be reminded (for safety reasons) about it. She is having a raffle with amazing prizes!
On Monday the junior units left for Dublin. Once there they will do all sorts of amazing things like attend a party celebrating their parents' marriage and the birth of their tiny, adorable sister, go horseback riding in the West of Ireland, attend the Oxegen festival, and other quieter things like get used to daily life within a new step-family and feel what it's like to live in another country for an extended period of time. It goes without saying that I am over the moon for them: their dad and his wife are great people who will take good care of them and show them a special time. These are two lucky, lucky girls. . . And yet my excitement for their trip didn't prevent me from TOTALLY LOSING IT at the airport. The waterworks were touched off by an Aer Lingus employee gently asking if "this was the first time they had traveled without their mom". And even though it wasn't, an overwhelming feeling of bereftness came over me. The sobbing was uncontrollable and almost verged on the hysterical. My older daughter was, as expected, humiliated and pointed out to me that "everyone is staring at you", which wasn't really the case. The airport is perhaps the one place (besides a hospital) where crying is completely sanctioned and understood by all. There were many, many others in my situation. Luckily before my sock models departed I had one last opportunity for a photo shoot. These are the Hedgerow socks, a project I originally envisioned doing last spring but only got around to recently. The pattern lends itself to easy memorization, so after a few rows you can really go to town on these. I am particularly fond of the heel, and toe might be my new gold standard. The Specs: Pattern: Hedgerow Socks by Jane Cochran Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug, 'Vincent's Apron' Needles: Hiya Hiya 1.5 circ, magic loop Mods: None whatsoever. I'm not that smart. Many have complained about the skimpy yardage of the Colinette Jitterbug, and while I have never run out, this was the first project where it was absolutely touch and go for the final toe of the second sock. In the end I had enough with maybe 7 yards to spare, but I came close enough to running out that I now understand the griping about the Jitterbug yardage. I am especially relieved to not have run out as 'Vincent's Apron' seems to be one of the harder colorways to come by. Despite this potential yardage shortcoming, in my mind Jitterbug is more than rescued by the unbelievable panoply of exciting colors this yarn comes in.
Apparently I don't have a conference talk to be writing, childrens' suitcases to be packing (they're going to Ireland for a month. A MONTH.), or affairs to be gotten in order before my own journey abroad, because I seem to have a lot of free time...how else can one explain spending an entire day and a good part of yesterday evening figuring out the Socks That Rock Mediumweight 'Pride' Pooling Dilemma of June 2008™?
See, I ordered this little lovely several weeks ago and it has been burning a hole in my stash ever since. Everything about this skein was just screaming GET IT GIRL and CAST ME ON, GIRLFRIEND. The colors, the smell (you know the smell I'm talking about), the fact that I am probably a gay man trapped in a middle aged woman's body, the disproportionate relationship between numbers of socks already on the needles and the somewhat maniacal need to cast on for more sock projects. All these things meant that I was destined to wind 'er up and start the gears turning. Pattern-wise I went to a tried and true stand-by, the Garter Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. Alas my first attempt (size 2.5 needles, 56 sts) left me deflated and dejected by the hideous pooling and creepy blotching that we have all come to despise. Blech.
After a peanut-butter sandwich andwine-gumsbreak, my resolve had redoubled and I was ready to attempt the same pattern but on size 1.5 needles and with 64 sts. This iteration was indeed an improvement, but sadly the result was somewhat toward the piss poor side of things and certainly not worthy of my Gay Owned and Operated Skein. Back to the drawing board! This is where it suddenly dawned on me that I had a legion of experts with fingers poised at their keyboards, constantly refreshing their screens on the Ravelry boards, waiting for a question such as mine. These cognoscenti did not disappoint: they ultimately led me to the pattern I should have been trying all along, the RPM (cue sunbursts and the sound of angels singing). Thanks, Ladies. Yes, these are the socks that Pride was meant to be. No horrid pooling, no unsightly liver spots, just luscious, queer-friendly spirals. And the fact that the pattern on Knitty has a quote from Dead or Alive's 'You Spin me Round...', well Sylvester herself couldn't have scripted this any better now, could she?
For someone who has spent the better part of her life cultivating an outsider, 'Holden Caulfield' personality, boy do I seem to be a joiner. Right now I find myself signed up for no less than seven knitalongs, and I am sure that more will be coming down the pike. Obviously one of the things we all love about this Ravelry/knitblog daisy chain world of ours is the social interaction that it affords--so many tips and tricks to share and gather, what's not to love? What is pleasant about the kal is that it presents a microsphere for this interaction, its own little special project clusterf*ck. Break out the lube, that's what I say!
Summer of Socks 2008: Jessica does such an amazing job with this, the sheer number of participants is mind boggling. I like this kal because of its sock-centric-ness. I have already gotten many ideas and pattern suggestions from fellow sock knitters and am way into the contests and such. Note that because of the SOS Kal, the Jitterbug above will all be socks by the end of the summer...
Project Spectrum 3.0: Ok, technically not a kal, but still a common project with participants from far and wide that all contribute. I have just loved the way that the colors have been organized this year, and while my sorry ass hasn't managed to complete a single project in time, I enjoy seeing everyone else's work.
Tour de France KAL: Like I said before, this kal has the potential for kismet writ large. A French teacher knitting a special project during the month of July and then cheering on her team on the Champs-Elysées at the finish? Yes, please.
Cami Chic KAL: Have I cast on for this one yet? No. But what a great concept--knitters all using the same colorway (Cami Chic) of Hazel Knits artisan sock yarn and experimenting with different patterns, stitch counts and gauges. I am so theoretically on board with this one!
Fair Along KAL: Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know the bitter disappointment I suffered last year at the hands of the local farm show judges and their punk ass third place ribbons. I have joined Larissa Brown's kal for state fairs not so much as a motivator to enter but rather as a support group for when my world comes crashing down again next September. And make no mistake, it will.
Eye of Partridge KAL: Another Ravelry group. I started my shawl in some Malabrigo lace and now am thinking about restarting it in my new Malabrigo Silky Acorn (see above), mainly because I like saying 'silky acorn'.
Olympic Trials KAL: I haven't given this one too much thought, but when my craven little heart saw this group on Ravelry I just clicked 'add me to this group'. (See? A joiner). Apparently you knit an entire project during the Summer Games in August. I can do that, and so can you!
Please let me know which KALs you are participating in. Am I missing out on any?
We have been in Philadelphia for the past day or two on a little family wing ding (with our California peeps also in tow). The car ride there allowed me the opportunity to get a little low cognitive load knitting done. The long trek on the turnpike also unfortunately allowed me to experience what is called in my family an 'ebm' (emergency bowel movement--it comes out of nowhere with the urgency and brightness of a thousand suns and cannot be ignored), which resulted in us bringing the car to a screeching halt and me making a break for it in the tall grass. Reason #86 why I love the Curmudgeon: after several glorious moments of blessed release (for me. The kids were what can only be described as desperately ashamed and humiliated) he simply got out of the car and approached me with a large blanket, thereby giving me the opportunity to, you know, wipe. Love this guy. Several handiwipes later and more than a few honks from truckers who must have had quite a guffaw at my expense, we were back in business. Was that too much information for you, gentle reader? Back in the car I was able to finish my two easy projects. Both are cowls based on the Gloria cowl, but would be renamed later by their recipient. Here they are in their pre-gifted state:
I must say one of the joys of the cowl is that you really get to see what various fingering/dk yarns look like knitted up in something other than a sock. The result here was pure love, both on the part of the knitter and the recipient, who later redubbed these 'snoods' rather than cowls. This guy has a bit of a flare for the absurd and a gift for language, so I wasn't going to argue. 'Snood' is what happens when you make a scarf that looks like a hood with an extra 'n' thrown in for alitteration.
The Specs: Pattern: Based on the Gloria Cowl Yarn: Lucy Neatby Celestial Bluefaced DK in Bottle (the greenish one) and Hand Maiden Casbah Sock (no color given). Both are fabulous, for very different reasons. The former for the interesting, deep color variations within one skein and the latter for its unbelievable softness. Needles: Size 9 and 8, respectively Mods: Both have a garter stitch border rather than the seed stitch called for in the pattern. In retrospect I would have made this much longer as there is a bit of the dreaded curling, but it's not that big of a deal, right?
It's that time of the year to set some summer knitting goals. Thanks to Ali for reminding me to make my goals public, thereby insuring that none of them will ever come to fruition. Heh. Do we really need to revisit last summer's goals, which involved making cocktails a priority and didn't really seem to produce much in the way of impressive knitting objects? I'd be lying if I said that adult beverages weren't still a part of my summer plans this year, but hopefully they won't interfere with my knitting. Maybe we'll just try to use the k.i.s.s. principle (see title of post) and set the bar really, really low, so that I can feel triumphant at the end of the summer rather than diminished, dejected and bitter (emotions that I am very prone to feeling, but just hopefully not about my knitting this time around). So here goes:
1. Continue on with the cavalcade of Chevron scarves. The one pictured above is almost half way completed--and I know this is a shocker, but some imprudent late night clickety on the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Website means that I have three more color combos on deck, so I'll be chevroning well into 2010. You can see the color combos below, one is my own, the other two are shamelessly cribbed from others, more intrepidthan me:
2. Choose a good project for the Tour de France KAL--one that won't instantly leave me dead in the water, like the Canal du Midi fiasco of 2007. It needs to be a project that I can bring along with me to Paris, where I'll actually be for the finish of the race. This potentially has kismet written all over it, so I need to choose well. 3. Complete all of the various socks that I have on the go at the moment (that would be three singletons). Top of the list to finish are the Blueberry Waffle (above), a pattern which is beyond easy. STR Heavyweight on a size 4 needle? These should have done ages ago!
4. Knit a pair of socks for a new friend. Isn't making new friends such a thrill? I recently met a fantastic fellow with whom I instantly clicked, and since I'll be seeing him again soon, I figure I have plenty of time to whip up a pair of socks in some STR Heavyweight in Lagoon. Any pattern suggestions?
5. Watch as many Busby Berkeley musicals as I can get my hands on. Not a knitting goal, but those crazy dance routines are truly some of the nuttiest, most impressive moments of cinema ever created. And somehow watching depression-era escapist extravaganzas seems appropriate for these financially precarious times. See for yourself:
You know it's time to think about packing it in when the crazy guy in the public park (where you are doing your FO photo shoot, because it's right across from your hotel) stops his ham-fisted rant about the One World Bank and the Endtimes to sheepishly ask you "Hey, what are you doing?" in a very well-mannered, even reasonable tone. Why, I'm taking picture of socks that I made, why do you ask? NOW who's the crazy one? The Socks That Need No Introduction are finished and I am predictably quite pleased with them. The Socks that Rock Sunstone color has been quite the conversation piece for me as the color seems to attract onlookers droves. "What a gorgeous color!" has been frequently heard as I have been working on these solidly during the past week. It kind of reminds me of my twenties when I used to read the comic book Eight Ball in public and get propositioned by nerdy guys on a regular basis. Such a great pick-up strategy, don't you think? Sadly none of them were old enough to drive, and barely-legal wasn't really my thing anyway...but I had a good thing going there for awhile. The Specs: Pattern: Monkey Socks by Cookie A. Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight in 'Sunstone' Needles: HiyaHiya 1.5 circs Time: Feb.-June 2008 I worked on these during breaks and work stoppages from the correcting I have been doing. One of the people who stopped to admire my knitting was a very gracious French woman who noted that she wished she's learned to tricoter (knit) so she too could have something to tripoter (fiddle with/fondle). The word can also have a slightly dirty connotation, like to feel someone up. Besides the obvious phonic and graphic similarity of these two words, there does appear to be a semantic link as well. It seems to me that it is this notion of fiddling/fondling that does contribute to the appeal of our little hobby. The tactile sensation of knitting is in my mind one of its greatest appeals. It just feels right to have a little something soft between the fingers, doesn't it?
I am thinking that it's only fair to return the favor and start calling this fair state 'Kennsylvania'--why should Kentucky always be the butt of the joke? I am pleased to report that once again I am back in the border town of Louisville for an entire week as the AP Exam reading has rolled into town once again, bringing with it legions of academics and high school teacher who all have one thing on their minds: the buffet line the academic achievement of our nation's youth.
On my mind as well is one of my favorite LYSs ever: The Knit Nook. Now I would love this store even without the name, as my love of the word 'nook' is well-documented. But The Knit Nook has so much to recommend it: cool owners (Kristin and Cindy, a mother/daughter team), an ultra-friendly clientele, which includes a group of women who welcome you and make you feel like one of the gang (thanks for humoring me, ladies!), and of course, the yarn. I can't tell you how nice it felt after a series of early morning planes, trains and automobiles to sit down and knit a spell with these ladies at the big table. Now I am usually not a fan of the big table. In some less welcoming stores it spells pure treachery: you walk in, everyone at the big table in the center of the room gives you the stink eye while the owner issues a lukewarm "...can I help you with anything?", and you feel so uncomfortable that you leave after a few moments, convinced that they are all talking about you, of which you can in fact be certain, because you yourself have been at the big table before and know The Drill.
None of that at the Knit Nook, it's not that kind of place. And I love that.
Are there LYSs on your circuit that have the same hospitable vibe going for it? Let's compare notes...
Thank you for revealing your knitting weaknesses to me in the last post. I will now be using them against you and serving them back up when you least expect it. Remember: my name is Heather and we are all evil...pure evil...*cuing Vincent Prince music*
Many of you wondered which cast-on I actually use since the long-tail method is beyond my capabilities. I vacillate between the cable and the knitted methods, and used to happily use the thumb cast-on until a local knitting acquaintance/wench called it the "kindergarten" cast-on, thereby ruining it for me forever but also giving me the opportunity to cut her out of my life. Many of you also noted your difficulties with the provisional cast-on, which I can inexplicably do, especially after watching the Lucy Neatby video on Youtube. Check it out, it might be helpful.
Regarding that Velvet Grapes that I no longer need, someone noted that perhaps I should be holding on to it since the Malabrigo mill experienced a fire last week. One glance at my stash on Ravelry will reveal that I won't likely experience a Malabrigo shortage any time soon, but thanks for your concern. The random number generator worked its magic and now the skein will be winding its way across hill and dale to Alice! This weekend marked a very special moment in this knitter's life: I finished a Chevron scarf. I mean, how many times in your knitting life can you make that claim? I have to say that despite my passive-aggressive moments and anger management issues related to this scarf, I totally get why people love this project. Finally. Yes, it takes forever. Yes, you feel like a knittingbot that knits and knits and still doesn't get anywhere.
However maybe the Chevron's role is not that of main knitting project (i.e. you need it to satisfy your needs for a finished object) but rather that of stalwart side-project companion (you have it by your bedside, take it to you kids' orchestra concerts, work on it when your husband is lecturing you about money--oops, that's still passive aggressive), that is knit not with the expectation that it will be finished anytime soon, but fulfills your physical urge to stitch away and watch the nutty colors change up nonetheless. The Specs Pattern: Chevron Scarf, LMKG Yarn: One skein each of Koigu can't-read-the-numbers and Koigu P-something-or-other-9 Needles: size 5 addi turbos Dates: December 07-May 08 Mods: A fairly significant one, in fact. I only used one skein each, so in fact that the scarf is half the recommended length, which as it turns out is plenty long for me. It passed my French scarf tying technique and fit, so I am happy.
Another appealing aspect of the Chevron is the dizzying color combinations that it affords. You can spend hours and hours on the Ravelry gallery page and imagine all sorts of different outcomes. "Oh, STR Puck's Mischief and Titania, that would be amazing for so many reasons....". I do have another one on the needles and another one planned (STR County Clareand Lemongrass--I know, right?), but hopefully reality will set in and I will rein myself in. Ha! and
After our presentation at the conference in Liège, Kenric (yes, the guy that now kicks my knitting ass with his entrelac skills) and I had a café liégeois (i.e. you get the whipped cream on your coffee without the humiliation of actually having to ask for it) and hopped on a train for Brussels with the aim of horning in on the Friday night café-tricot at Arthur's, a lovely little café conveniently located right across from the Luxembourg train station. As Kenric cast-on for the Koolhaas hat on the train we had a gas with our usual mix of shop talk, knitting chit-chat and general tom foolery. We made excellent time and arrived at the event without a hitch, despite a fit of nervous lip balm application just before entering (does anyone else do this?).
