I frogged it...(collective gasp of breath here...)

only because I saw an error when I looked at the picture...oh, and I thought some of my ssks looked a little sloppy.  So, I frogged...and restarted the bunnybarf yarn shawl, (collective exhale of relief here...).  I have to admit, when I looked at the pictures, especially the closeups, it started to grow on me.  And yesterday, lovely day that it was, I spent some time working on it outside, and it really grew on me.  In the end, it may become a gift to someone since I don't think there is thing one in my wardrobe that will go with it, but I'm happily committed to the (newly named!) Springtime Brandywine Shawl (no more bunnybarf!).  Thanks for setting me straight on the beauty of pastels.

I've decided to designate Wednesdays as "WIP Day".  Right now, I have four projects I'm struggling to complete:

The Ten-Stitch Blanket

The Christmas Tree Skirt (which I'm committed to only doing one wedge per month)

The Jiffy Scarf which goes with the cool triangle hat I knocked off a week or so back

and a Thick & Quick scarf that goes with another hat I recently made.  I'm only about four rows into it so haven't bothered with taking a picture yet.  Truth be told, I'm sick of all the wintery hats and scarves, and since I won't be using them (hopefully!) again till next year, my motivation is seriously flagging.  However, I am hereby pledging that these projects will get my full attention every Wednesday, and I'll report back on my progress.  Feel free to hold my colorfully-toenailed feet to the fire on this.

Yes, look at that!!!  It was so balmy yesterday, I was able to set bare feet onto the porch for the first time in 2010!  Sandal season cannot be far away!  It was a beautiful barefoot day to sit on the porch and knit.  Wilbur thought it was a good day for porchsitting, too.  Happy weekend, all!!!

Back among the living...

Yes, I am back among the (relatively...) living today after my week-long battle with what turned out to be strep throat. My body kept fighting it off, it kept coming back, wearing my immune system down a bit more each time till the REAL sore throat and ice-pick-in-the-ear pain started late Monday night. Thank goodness for antibiotics and ibuprofen...I'm pretty comfortable and a lot more energetic (read - LESS brain dead!) today!

Before I launch into my promised tale of how the Easter Bunny barfed in my knitting basket, I want to announce that I received my autographed (YAY!) copy of "Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece" yesterday. Thanks again, Gail and Kristin!!! And stay tuned for my dyeing (mis)adventures in weeks to come!

A little background: I don't like pastels. I don't even usually knit baby clothes in pastels. Every year about this time I look at the new spring clothes in the store and think "WTF???? I don't want to look like I fell face-down in a vat of rainbow sherbet!!!" I'm an earthtone, jeweltone, primary colors kind of gal. And I'm pale...really pale...put me in some lovely pastel outfit and I'll become completely invisible. I need bright colors so you know I'm there!

So...remember this lovely Inca Sport yarn I picked up at Tuesday Morning last week?


Whoda thunk (c'mon, really, could you have predicted this???) that when I got the skeins wound, they would look like a psychedelic orgy of Jordan almonds? It still looked relatively normal, nice mid-tone, clear colors, when I put the first skein on my office chair/swift (Am I handy, or what?):

Yes, this really does a good job...most of the time...


As I started winding, chaos ensued. I think the yarn realized I was going to hate it as soon as it was wound into balls, so it resisted. It didn't knot but it...stuck together in some strange way...and it didn't wind neatly. I'm used to winding very neat little balls of yarn...like this:



or this...


The Inca Sport wound into loose floppy balls, it wound itself under and around my yarnwinder in maddening patterns...but it never, ever knotted. Amazing...naughty, but not knotty, if you will.

It took an hour to wind the first skein, and it looked like this:



And that's when I said to myself, "This will look like the Easter Bunny threw up in my knitting basket."



For some reason, the second skein wound much more easily than the first, though the yarn still liked to stick together and before long, I had a whole basket of psychedelic, Jordan-almond bunnybarf. And I sat there and stared at it and pondered...

I had plans for this yarn. I wanted to make the gorgeous Brandywine Shawl. I purchased it almost a month ago, and that pdf is sitting on my desktop teasing me every time I turn on my computer, "C'mon...knit me...knit me...you know you wanna..." Now I had to decide...would I be doing this shawl a grave disservice by knitting it in the bunnybarf yarn? I still can't decide, but here are some pics of my progress thus far:







What do you think? It's still not too late for me to frog it and use a more dignified yarn. I'm more than happy to do it.

As you ponder. I'll leave you with a picture of Wilbur, enjoying his after breakfast nap. Please don't notice the filthy carpet - remember, I've been sick!

And then she just fell off the face of the earth...

Well, no I didn't...not really...

LSS, this "cold" that I've been fussing with off and on for the last week is kicking me hard. One minute I think it's gone, the next minute...I just gotta go lay down.. Last night, after having a great time at choir rehearsal (more about that in another post), I developed what has to be the worst sore throat of my life. It's still here, and I'm off to see the doc in about an hour. I'm sure there are antibiotics in my future, and I'll be back on top of my game in a day or so.

In the meantime, here are a few pics to tide y'all over...we took Wilbur to Whetstone on Saturday and let him run around in a full-fledged doggie scrum (had to be 20+ dogs, but who could tell, they were moving so fast and all were black with red collars and harnesses). Enjoy!!!

A walking advertisement for Cento! Notice how the cowl also makes a nifty headband for those days when it just isn't quite warm enough to go hatless.


Wilbur: "Woooo-hooooo! Buddies!"


My dog is in here somewhere, honest!


Wilbur met a new four-legged friend...


And a new two-legged friend...


I'm plugging away on the Evenstar Shawl and frogging on a regular basis. More about THAT in another post...


And...stay tuned for how the Easter Bunny threw up in my knitting basket (and I didn't even know he was sick...).

I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Dye

(with deepest apologies to Country Joe McDonald...I just couldn't resist...)

Much to share, so I'll just jump right in and probably break this down into more than one post. The cold is hanging on...one minute my throat is sore and I feel completely braindead, the next minute not...a little cough...nothing to write home (or in my blog) about, so I won't.

Last night, I made Lentil Stew with Sausage from Simply Recipes. It was simply out of this world. I doubled the recipe, because a stew just isn't a stew if you can't eat it for a couple days and then freeze some, right? I'm not a big fan of sausage, but I do love Bob Evans, especially their hot sausage in the red and white package. It's really spicy and almost NO fat when you brown it. So I browned up a pound of that, crumbled it, and added it to the stew. Oh, and because I doubled the recipe, I needed 12 cups of liquid. Wow... When I added all that liquid to the pot, it looked like a thin, watery, disgusting soup. Yikes...nervous time... While the stew simmered, I started reading the recipe's comments, and no one complained about the consistency of the stew, so I felt encouraged. I read and read and twenty minutes later, when I went back to check on the stew, it looked like this:



Yeah...perfect!!! Those little lentils really suck up the juice, don't they? My husband loved it, raving about every bite. Life was pretty darn good. But guess what? Life got even pretty darn better after dinner! The Knitting Gods have taken me into their favor once more!

After dinner, I headed off to check email and found a message from Kristin Nicholas at Getting Stitched On the Farm telling me I won her blog giveaway and would be receiving a copy of Gail Callahan's new book "Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece"!!!



I got way goofy and gushed all over my reply, and she probably thinks I'm about a half stitch off gauge. I KNOW my husband thinks as much, especially after he heard me hollering from my room, "Woooo-hooooooo! I'm gonna dye!!! I'm gonna dye!!!" Which comes out entirely differently when you HEAR it than when you READ it...but I can explain!

A couple months ago, I was at the library, one of my favorite places on this entire planet. We in Columbus are blessed with the one of the best library systems in the nation, as determined by folks who rate these things, and I'm a devoted fan. I was browsing through the knitting books when I spotted a book on dyeing yarn, and little light bulbs started going off in my head. Yeah! I could dye yarn!!! How cool would that be??? I grabbed three or four books on the topic, came home and started reading. I was immediately intimidated and deflated.

Ok...I will need a separate room dedicated solely to the practice of dyeing. Um...maybe the basement? Look, this is a small house, we don't have a "separate room" for anything except necessary bodily functions. We multitask everywhere! I guess I could use a corner of the basement...ok...but wait...I need a separate stove, too. Um...there's not room for a stove in the basement. We don't even have a sink in the basement! And what's this? I need a respirator and goggles? How's about a welding mask? Would that work? You get the picture...I had brief fantasies of turning the falling-down thing we call a garage into a chem lab...but then I just sighed and put the books back in my library bag and toted them back a day or two later. No dyeing in my future...

A couple weeks ago, after one of Wilbur's doggie adventures, I popped into the library to pick up a few reserves. I was in a hurry because Wilbur was waiting somewhat less than patiently in the car - I knew I had about five minutes before he'd figure out how to get the car door open and come in after me. Don't laugh - he's a border collie - he can DO things like this! My library has this area right inside the front door that is, for me, like that irresistable candy bar display at all the grocery checkout counters - the featured books area! I cannot walk into the library without stopping there, and I have found some of the best reads of my life in this wonderfully serendipitous way. On this particular day, "Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece" was one of the featured books. I tossed it into my book bag without a thought and hurried off to the reserve section. Time was a-wastin'...

Once home, I started looking through Gail's book with no small amount of apprehension. But wait...she was saying this was do-able...in a house...in a kitchen...no need for a "dye lab"! I got more excited and optimistic with every page I turned and...there are cool patterns in the back of the book! Suddenly dyeing became possible again! I read more and more and then...because I knew I'd start dyeing and ruin a library book, I took it back to the library and decided I'd better get my own copy right away.

Last Monday, I read Kristin's blog, entered the giveaway and, last night, I won the book!!! I have plans for this, and you'll get to see the whole escapade in all it's glory. I need to start collecting jars and pots and pans (these things DO need to be kept separate from any cooking use). I need to get some yarn to dye and some dye. I need to schedule some time when my photographer/DH can chronicle the process. And then I'll dye. And I'll come back from the "dyed" to blog about it! And...yes, you'll probably have to suffer through more "dye" puns. It's just the way I am.

More later, but for now I'll leave you with a very secure and content Wilbur - life IS good! And if this isn't cute enough for you, hop on over to Kristin's blog and check out the little lambies in sweaters...it'll melt your heart faster than the sun is melting the snow on this gorgeous almost spring day.

And the Knitting Gods Said, "HA!!!!" Pt. 2

Actually, they're still chuckling a bit, throwing little monkey wrenches in my plans here and there. I woke up yesterday morning with a raging sore throat. Today is much better, but I don't want to infect anyone with this minor but irritating crud, so my plan to blog "on location" has been scrapped for today. On the bright (and I DO mean bright!) side, look at this!



Yes, it's THE SUN (as seen through my very dirty living room window)!!!! I think it has been....oh, probably an entire month since I have seen "Old Sol", as Grandma Young used to call him. Welcome, dude! Stick around a while!

When I left you yesterday, I was standing in the middle of my former favorite LYS (which will forevermore be known as FFLYS) in a pre-migranic, hypoglycemic haze. Had I been thinking clearly, I would have demanded to talk to the owner, and would have more than stood my ground and one way or another, I would have gotten a refund on those needles. As it was...I left. Got in my car, angry and starving, and started driving. I headed north, to that yarn shop I had originally planned to visit. I tried to remember the map I'd seen online...thought I had it right...couldn't find the shop. Drove through town a few times. Got dizzier from lack of food.

At this point, probably the most rational thought I'd had all day popped into my head. DOH! Girl, go get lunch at that coffee shop you've been wanting to visit - and get directions to the yarn shop while you're there!!! Things immediately began to look brighter.

What can I say about Espresso Yourself Music Cafe? It's an awesome place! I'll be visiting more often, bringing my knitting and doing some blogging there in days to come - I had hoped to do so today. The owner is a great guy, the food is delicious, and the atmosphere...homey and welcoming. I ordered a sandwich (turkey, cheddar cheese, mustard and...sliced apple - OMG, you can't believe how good this is!) and a cup of coffee and sat down for a quiet, relaxing lunch. I was wearing my Jaspe wool shawl and, after I asked directions to the yarn shop, the owner complimented my shawl and told me of a friend who lives near me and is a knitter. As I was finishing my sandwich, he gave me a hand-drawn map to the yarn shop and the name and number of his knitter friend, encouraging me to call her.

I honestly could have stayed at Espresso Yourself all day, but I still needed to get those needles and get home. My trip, which I thought would only take about an hour, had stretched into over two at this point, and I knew Wilbur was waiting at home patiently for his daily doggie adventure.


Is she EVER coming home?


It took me two or three tries to find the yarn shop. I'd been told it was kind of tucked away and hard to find if you hadn't been there before, and that was true. The confusion was worth it. A Tangled Tale is a GREAT little yarn shop! I was cheerfully greeted by Linda as soon as I walked in and asked if I needed help finding anything. When I said I was looking for Addi Turbo Lace needles, Linda brought me over to a small but complete display. She had everything I needed, and I mentally kicked myself for not going there in the first place, right after I left Tuesday Morning. I looked around the shop and was impressed with the yarn - she has Universal Yarn Classic Shades, one of my favorites! I didn't see the to-die-for Grapevine colorway, but that was a minor point. I wanted to buy yarn, yes, I really did, but since I'd jacked my credit card balance up enough for one day, I restrained myself.

There were two other women knitting in a cozy little area. We all chatted. The shop was light and airy and welcoming. It reminded me of a fabulous little shop my husband and I found while driving through Tennessee last October that I think is the Greatest Yarn Shop On Earth (Yarn Patch in Crossville, TN). They even had a lot of the same yarns - yarns my FFLYS does not carry.

Here is the kicker: After I'd paid for my purchases and was starting to leave, Linda asked me to bring my shawl in for show and tell then said, "And if you don't get gauge with those needles, BE SURE TO BRING THEM BACK" I wanted to fall at her feet and kiss them...I will shop at this store forever and ever, even if I do have to drive for 20 minutes instead of 5. A Tangled Tale has a new customer for life!

I drove home, with a happy fully tummy and a car full of yarn and knitting needles (only size #3!). It had been three hours since I left, I still had a headache...and Wilbur still needed his daily adventure.

Yesterday...no knitting occurred, not even the so-easy-I-could-knit-it-in-my-sleep scarf. I just felt too crappy. I did, however, wind four skeins of Knit Picks Shimmer into balls for the Evenstar Shawl. Had planned to wind all the Shimmer in my collection, but ran out of steam. Thus, the shawl will be knit in Bayou, and not in Spice, as originally planned.



Thanks for dropping by my little corner of this big, wide world! How are the knitting gods treating you these days???

Wilbur says, "I'm ready for my closeup!"

And the knitting gods said, "HA!!!!"

Ever have one of those days when you feel like the Great Spirit of Knitting is just messing with your mind, conspiring to make all your grand stitchery plans go horribly awry? Yesterday was one of those days in my knitting world.

It started out all grand and glorious. I saw a sale flyer from Tuesday Morning that advertised Knitting Fever yarns at 50% off. Who can resist that, right? I also needed to purchase the needles for the Evenstar Shawl Mystery Knitalong...oh, and there is this wonderful coffee shop up north of town that I've been receiving tempting emails from for quite a while but just never quite got around to visiting. And I know there is a yarn shop nearby that I've heard is quite wonderful. All the makings for a great knitting adventure, right? Um...for the most part, not so much...

I remembered there was a Tuesday Morning in a strip mall about ten minutes from my house. While driving there, I changed my plans. I decided to postpone the trip "up north" and pick up those needles from my LYS, which is a mile from my house. That way, I could also whip through the grocery, pick up a few items and be home in, oh...probably about an hour. Ha...ha...ha...

When I got to the strip mall, I could not find Tuesday Morning. I even googled it and confirmed there was one in that shopping center...but it was not to be found. Luckily, I remembered the location of the second closest one, about 15 minutes north. I hit the road and found it easily. They had two very small boxes of yarn, and none of it was Knitting Fever, however, it was 50% off.

I bought a few skeins of sock yarn which I think will make pretty spring/summer shawls.






I was impressed with the friendly, helpful staff at this store. It has a real "hometown" feel, not a "suburban strip mall" feel, which was very pleasant. I could tell I'd drop serious bucks on things other than yarn if I spent too much time there, so I hopped in the car with my new stash and headed back south. Oh...there for a moment I considered that I was really only a few miles from that coffee shop and yarn store now and could just zip across Powell Road and be there in...naw...not in the mood to deal with Powell Road traffic. I'll hit my LYS and the grocery and get on home. Knitting awaits!!

This is when things turned seriously funky. The knitting gods are probably still laughing, rolling on the floor of knitting heaven in breathless, silent laughter. I am not laughing. When I pulled into the parking lot of my LYS, I had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting a woman dragging a reluctant toddler across the parking lot and paying no attention to traffic. She walked right out in front of me, never looking right nor left...and as I parked, I watched them go into my LYS. I took a deep breath of understanding...yes...woman on a mission to buy yarn...and how nice to be indoctrinating her little girl into the world of knitting, even if her traffic safety lesson was a little lax. Why, I'll bet that little girl will be a mighty fine knitter someday...if she doesn't get mowed down by traffic first. My understanding was short-lived.

Now...I will say this about my LYS. They have fabulous yarn and great sales. I was always thrilled with this store. They know me and know I've dropped a good chunk of change in their store over the years. They're usually friendly and helpful. I've talked this store up a bazillion times. I even remained a loyal customer after a friend had a terrible employment experience there. Here's the thing: they are almost always out of knitting needles. At first I really didn't notice the empty display pegs too much, after all, they usually had the ones I needed. Then I went in a few days after Christmas, and they had maybe a dozen knitting needles for sale in the whole store. The racks were empty. When I asked about it, they told me it had been a really good Christmas season, and they were out of just about everything. I understood, and I was really happy for them. But I began noticing that they never have much of a selection of needles at any time, despite having a really large display area. It always looks badly in need of restocking.

So, I'm standing at the knitting needle wall and realizing, as usual, it's pretty picked over. I'm wondering if every knitter in town is doing the Evenstar Shawl Mystery Knitalong. I want the Addi Turbo Lace needles, but they only have #3 in the 32" length. That will help me when I get to that point, but not for a while. As I'm pawing through the display looking for more #3's in any size...toddler hell strikes.

I'll go on record right now and admit I do not have children. I love children, but I chose not to have any of my own. It's a long story, having a lot do with spending a lot of my own childhood taking care of ill older relatives. But I love children and don't ever expect them to be quiet, perfect little angels. In fact, I usually enjoy kids the most when they're not being perfect little angels. However, I did NOT love the cute little girl who was suddenly running through the small shop screaming that she wanted to leave while her mother ignored her, chatted with the yarn store employee and looked at yarn. I especially did not love her when she got in between me and the knitting needle display, still screaming, and started taking the needles off the pegs. And I really did not love her mother for paying absolutely NO attention to any of this. Oh, and then someone's cell phone began ringing loudly in probably the most obnoxious ringtone I've ever heard in my life...and no one bothered to answer, so it rang...and rang...and rang...

By this time, I had developed a raging, on-the-verge-of-migraine headache. I was not thinking clearly by any means. I started grabbing #3 circulars and dpns...one of this brand in a dpn...one of that brand in a 16"...the Addi in 32"...another brand in 24"...you get the picture. I'll also point out here that I stood at that knitting needle display for probably close to 20 minutes, trying to figure out what to do, and the yarn shop employee walked by me half a dozen times and never once asked if I needed help.

Finally, irritated, frustrated, feeling more than a little sick, I brought my handful of mismatched needles to the checkout counter and, believe it or not, I'm still trying to be cheerful and pleasant. I make a little joke about how this yarn shop must be the #1 shop in the entire state for knitting needle sales...and Ms. Yarn Shop Employee launches into a vent about what a problem this is and how embarrassing it is that they are always short on their stock of knitting needles. My head is pounding louder now, and it has been over four hours since I had breakfast, so my blood sugar is beginning to plummet. I'm dizzy and thinking even less clearly. Then Ms. YSE starts talking about how using all these different brands of needles will probably throw my gauge off and cause all kinds of problems with my project...and all this time, she's ringing up my (not cheap!) purchases, I'm handing her my credit card, the sale is finalized. And then a thought worked it's way through...can I return these...and she tells me they don't take returns on knitting needles. I'm standing right there in front of her. She can see that I didn't take them home, knit seventeen shawls with them and then try to return them. She won't take them back.

I'll tell you the rest of the adventure tomorrow, possibly "on location". Suffice to say, since I'm writing this from my living room, I didn't commit any felonies (or even misdemeanors). And, just so you know my day wasn't a total knitting bust, after I got home, grabbed a handful of ibuprofen, walked Wilbur and took a long nap, I finished the Camel Spray (erk...) Hat,



started the matching scarf,



and put the really cool and groovy tassles on the Edgar Scarf. I'm not usually a tassle kind of gal, but I adore the Edgar Scarf with tassles!!! I even wore it to choir rehearsal last night. I'll get a better picture this weekend - when it is actually supposed to be SUNNY! YAY!!!



Oh, and the approximately 7.83 yards of Cento that remain will join a small glob of leftover worsted yarn that was too pretty to part with in my pin weaving "2010 wall hanging project" basket.

Today, I hope to get the yarn wound for the Evenstar Shawl - maybe even start knitting. I do hope the knitting gods are appeased after yesterday's smackdown. I'd hate to have to sacrifice a chicken before I could start knitting again...oh, wait...knitting gods...maybe I could just burn a skein or two of cheap worsted and click all these #3 needles together a few times...

Chomp...gulp...

Wow...thanks everyone! I had so many messages/comments advising me what to do with the 14.5 yards of Cento - and not one person scolded me for creating a terminal earworm. Guess what song was going through my head the entire weekend. I think I'm going to try Dee's idea and make tassles for the ends of the Edgar scarf. I also really liked nona's idea of the strap for my camera condom but, like all good condoms, it fits my camera so tightly that I can carry it by its own strap (not that condoms have straps - least not last time I checked - but they are supposed to fit tightly). Lastly, Zina's link to the Threads article on pin weaving stash yarn blew me away. I'm thinking wall-hanging with my future odds and ends...

Friday afternoon, I finished my second Pretty Thing. I'm much happier with this one than the first, though not particularly thrilled with my technique in a few areas. I've decided to make the stitch detail for this lovely green creation my wallpaper for a little while - till I make something else big enough to qualify. Here are a couple pictures:





I also whipped out a hat to go with my MLB Playoff Jacket. It looks a lot better on my head than on the kitchen table.



I'm also messing around with some Lion Brand Jiffy yarn, making a hat and scarf from the "Handknit Holidays" book



It's going really well, and I love the color of the yarn, a tan blend which for some unfathomable reason Lion decided to name "Camel Spray". Um...do they know anything about the mental image that conjures up? Camel spray, indeed...ugh... Gorgeous yarn, though. Pics later this week!

Now...what's with "Chomp...gulp..."? Well, Your Everyday Garden-Variety Renaissance Woman has very well bitten off a bit more than she can chew. In my throes of knitting passion, I signed up for Susan Pandorf's Evenstar Mystery Shawl Knitalong. I've done a little lace knitting in my time but, folks, I'm knitting with freakin' THREAD here (albeit, lovely thread). See....lovely!



Oh, and it will have beads on the edging. This will be yet another new challenge, and I'll be blogging my progress or lack thereof. But my first challenge, before I can begin, is to find myself some good sharp needles for lace knitting. Nothing in my arsenal comes close to what I need. So, my question for today is: Knitting needles for lace, discuss pro and con. What do y'all recommend?