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!"

Ravelympics Day Whoknowswhat: Raindrops On Roses...

HA!!! There were a few raindrops when Wilbur and I were out today, but the roses are deeply buried in snow. After my massive post-a-thon yesterday, I'm a little short on material today, so I thought I'd give you a list of my Top 20 Favorite Things (in no particular order...)

1. Knitting and all things knitting related (yarn, rosewood needles, patterns...)
2. Gordon Lightfoot
3. Pizza
4. John Hartford
5. Lilacs
6. Mavis Staples
7. Genealogy (tying ancestral holes together...)
8. Gothic architecture
9. Old time fiddle tunes
10. Yoga (tying myself in knots...)
11. Border collies
12. Connie Smith
13. Snow (but not 30" of it all at one time!!!)
14. Sam Adams Cherry Wheat Ale
15. Singing
16. Anne Tyler novels
17. Gene Kelly movies
18. Blues harmonica
19. my Scion XB
20. Coffee (this should probably be #1 on my list...)

Yesterday, I ventured out for the first time since the latest snowstorm hit. It was a challenge getting out of my neighborhood (snow removal is notoriously spotty around here), but once I did get out, the main roads were clear.

My first stop was JoAnn where I went on a small yarn-buying binge.




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I went with the purpose of buying 3 skeins of Wool-Ease Thick & Quick to make the Knitted Scarf and Hat that was on the labels of the yarn I used to make the 3-Season Sweater Jacket. I love how the jacket turned out, and decided I wanted a scarf and hat to match.

I found my Thick & Quick...then I saw the Lion Brand Jiffy and fell in love with the color. I bought the last four balls they had. Luckily it should be enough for what I plan to make, the Snowy Triangle Scarf and Hat from Handknit Holidays . I might even have enough for a pair of wristwarmers to match!

The Serenity Garden Yarn was a true impulse purchase. It was on sale, there was one skein of green left, and I loved it. Believe it or not, I may make another attempt at the Pretty Thing. The one I made with the Mini Mochi is just a wee bit scratchy on my neck. I'd like to give this gorgeous pattern one more chance, sizing it down a bit to fit me better. We'll see how that goes!

Today, Wilbur and I headed out to Pet People, the world's coolest pet supply store. Since he still is having issues with the reflux, I decided to buy him a harness. I figure anything that takes stress off of his trachea and esophagus is a good, good thing. He enjoyed being made over (we're regulars there, so they know him well), and adapted to the new harness very well. We took a little walk in his favorite park before heading back home. All in all, a nice couple of days.

The Ravelympics scarf is almost 75% done.



I'm pleased with the way it's turning out, though I do have to keep a close eye on the pattern. I've frogged sections of it several times for stupid careless mistakes. Must count every stitch, even though the patten is very easy. I'm hoping to be done by tomorrow night...and might launch into that Pretty Thing as a second event. Who knows?

What are a few of your favorite things???

Ravelympics Day 1: Where's My Porridge?

I feel like frickin' Goldilocks!!!



My bag was packed, I was ready to knit...and knit I did! I only looked up from my work during dramatic moments in the opening ceremony...kd Lang's glorious version of "Hallelujah" and the mechanical malfunction. Couldn't they have crushed up a few of those little blue pills and poured them in the mechanism to get that thing to...rise...??? I knit about 11" of my scarf with the old, old yarn. Then I put it down and went to bed for the night.

I got up this morning all excited to photograph my amazing progress...until I picked up my knitting. Ugh...it all came back to me...why this yarn had been frogged from a sweater I made with it and hated, tossed into a grocery bag with nothing more than a label with the needles recommended for gauge (#8) and crammed into the bottom of one of my stash bins.

The yarn looks lovely and blue in the ball...kind of like faded denim once knit. The colorful, shiny slubs help somewhat, but it just doesn't look as good once knit. Worse...if you knit with the recommended needles, size 8, the knitting is heavy and hard as a rock, with no drape. This is a scarf...I NEED drape!!! It was also so tight that the yarnovers were pretty much invisible.

I photographed my work, made coffee and headed off to read the paper and stew about this a while.



After much stewing, breakfast, and a shower, I got out bigger needles, size 13, grabbed another ball from the knitting bag and started knitting. This was much better, nice drape, but the yarnovers were too big, so I frogged again. I got a pair of 11s and tried again...SUCCESS!!! As Goldilocks would say, "It was just right!" Nice drape, visible but not honkin' big yarnovers...even the color looks nicer. I reknit about 6" of the scarf before having to head off to other things, and I'll be a much happier knitter for my troubles. Granted, it will probably be the world's widest scarf, but a scarf with nice drape it will be. It won't weigh my shoulders down to wear it. YAY!!!!

If any folks from Columbus, Ohio, are reading and looking for something fun to do tonight between 8pm and midnight...come on out to the India Oak and catch my husband's band, The Subterraneans. Great obscure and not-so-obscure rock covers, and a lot of fun at a neighborhood bar with fabulous subs and chili. No...I won't be doing any knitting tonight...but if I remember my camera, I will post pictures.

Oh, the weather outside is...

whiteful!!!! Snow, snow, and more snow, up to a foot or more here in the middle of Ohio. Every winter, the weatherfolks predict a snowstorm or two...the buildup goes on for days, the news anchors are breathlessly dramatic. It's a farce. A central Ohio snowstorm is usually three days of dire heavy snow predictions followed by one inch of snow, about a half-inch of freezing rain, and another half inch of plain old rain...maybe another half inch of snow on top of that. Rarely do we get clobbered. Today...we are getting majorly clobbered!!!

A few hours ago, it looked something like this...bear in mind, it's still coming down hot (relatively speaking...) and heavy and isn't supposed to stop till tomorrow evening. This is just the beginning, folks...




Wilbur is singularly unimpressed with the white stuff. You know, dogs like to...umm...sniff where they've been. He wanders around the yard looking confused as if to say, "Dude...where's my poop?"



This should make for a very nice knitting day, right? However, I haven't knit a stitch. I've cleaned the house, I've taken pictures of the snow, and I've played on the internet all day. Supposedly, we are having a friend over for dinner tonight, however, I'm just waiting for him to cancel. Can't imagine him making the drive, even for my famous Pesto Roast Chicken. We'll see...if not, Pete and I will have a yummy dinner tonight, and I'll get that Pretty Thing finished.

Recipe for a Migraine

Take 1 happy, friendly dog
add 1 cable TV technician who is clearly uncomfortable around dogs
put them together in a very small house for 3 hours
Owner of house and said happy, friendly dog will develop migraine within one hour.

Such is my day today... I tried deflecting my stress by knitting away on the Ten-Stitch (Knitting Around Corners is a Blast!) Blanket, telling myself, "Yes, I'm having FUN knitting around these corners! There's NOTHING to be stressed about not a darned...hey! Wilbur!!!! Leave him alone!!!".

By the time the cable dude left, I had supposedly finished the blanket (at least I was finished with the last skein of yarn). I ate some lunch, took a very long nap (3 hours long!), stumbled back downstairs and looked at the blanket...and decided it was too small. No decision, really, it's only about 32x36. So I ordered two more balls of Marble Chunky from Paradise Fibers...and how awesome are these people????? I'll tell you - the yarn is ALREADY ON ITS WAY!!!! I should be back to knitting around corners in less than a week.

In the meantime, I've kept my promise to myself to work on the Christmas Tree Skirt. This is a fun project, but it doesn't have to be done till, well...Christmas...so there's no rush. I'm going to complete a set of red/green wedges between projects till it's done...or till I have to panic and madly knit in time to get it under the tree.

Then...I'm grabbing the gorgeous Crystal Palace Mini Mochi yarn I just bought a couple weeks ago and start working on The Yarn Harlot's Pretty Thing. I figure I can probably at least get an inch or so done tonight, and it will be a welcome relief from the blanket and tree skirt.

I had planned to join the Clintonville KnitGang for their weekly get-together this evening, but the post-migraine fatigue and the "is it coming back?" anxiety are keeping me holed up in the house, pot o' chili simmering on the stove, snoogly puppy at my side, knitting my troubles away. Tomorrow should be a better day.

Oh, what a tangled tale...

It seems that life keeps cutting into my valuable knitting time lately. The most recent intrusion...researching home-cooked food for my dog. Yes, Wilbur the Wonderbeastie has developed a terribly sensitive tummy and, after a huge vet bill and a week of feeding him prescription food and having him STILL burping and shooting gross stuff out of his nose, I decided to take matters into my own hands. It's sad that my dog and I are sharing the Prilosec these days, but that's the fact of the matter. I'm boiling up brown rice and stirring in some boiled chicken breast, he's gobbling it down and, most importantly, keeping it down...but I know I need to do more. He needs some supplements to make this a complete diet. So...I'm researching...Pitcairn...Strombeck...Messonier.

In the little bit of knitting time I did have yesterday, I had this thought...which came first...the yarn or the pattern? In my younger knitting years, I would always find a pattern I liked, go buy the yarn and start knitting. These days I'm much more likely to grab up a yarn that catches my eye, bring it home and let the magic happen...what does the yarn say it wants to be? Sometimes it takes days or weeks to make its decision but it never fails. One day I'll look at it, and it will say "scarf" or "blanket", and I'm on my way to find or design the pattern. Intuitive knitting...let the yarn speak. What comes first in your projects, the pattern or the yarn?

Tap...tap...tap...is this thing on???

Greetings, and welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere!  We’ll chat about life, music, and dogs but, most importantly The Art of Tying Holes Together (aka knitting).  Before we get started, here’s a little background info:

Who am I?  Well now….don’t we ALL ask ourselves that question every now and again?  I’m Laurie, happily married to Pete, with two grown stepdaughters and a beloved border collie named Wilbur.  You’ll probably hear a lot about Wilbur and an occasional mention of Pete and one of his musical endeavors. 

Why knitting?  Because I love to knit!  Why do I love to knit?  Because it keeps me off heroin!!!  No…really…seriously…I love the feel of yarn moving through my fingers and the soft click of the needles.  It is meditative, it is soothing and relaxing, the most yogic thing I can do without dragging out the mat and the props.  And…I love to talk about knitting, what I’ve made, how I’ve made it, the yarn and the ideas behind the project.  And while there are many, MANY things I can discuss with my husband for hours, knitting just isn’t one of them.  If I talk to y’all, he doesn’t have to hear my latest…yarn…

Who is the Everyday Garden-Variety Renaissance Woman?  My not-so-secret alias.  When I was 45 years old, I decided to take voice lessons…mainly to prove to my husband that I could NOT sing.  Turns out I was wrong…I can sing and spend many of my non-knitting hours singing in several community choirs.  But I digress…my first vocal coach christened me Your Everyday Garden-Variety Renaissance Woman for my willingness to take risks, step out of my comfort zone and try something new, and my never-ceasing curiosity.  After a year of lessons, she told me I may have learned to sing from her, but she had learned much more about many other things from me.  My student file was labeled “EGVRW”.  When I do something a little “out there”…like decide out of the blue one morning that I’m going to teach myself entrelac knitting or read everything I can about the Bayeux Tapestry…or start a blog…I’m in my EGVRW persona.

Um…what’s this “tying holes together” thing about?  It’s in honor of my parents, both departed, both loved and remembered as creative, talented and wickedly funny people.  One Sunday afternoon, Mom and I were in the house, happily knitting away when a friend came in the front door and said, “I just had to see what you two were doing in here!  I just asked Mac where you were and he said you were in the house tying holes together!”  I’ve never been able to look at knitting…or crocheting…or lacemaking…in quite the same way again. 

Any other questions, feel free to ask.  Oh, and drop me a comment.  You now know who I am…but who are you???