Wiz Knits

Felting in a Front-loader

2008-04-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

I've been collecting some old wool sweaters with the thought of felting them and turning them into pillows, purses, yoga mat carriers, etc. A couple of weekends ago I cracked Felted Knits by Beverly Galeskas and read that the sort of heavily supervised felting Bev advises should most vehemently NOT be attempted in a front-loading machine.

So of course I did it. And the results were not bad!

I have a high-agitation, energy-conserving model that only puts in the amount of water appropriate to the size of the load. This is a good thing, since Beverly says that for large items, you want less time in the machine and a smaller amount of water -- a little counter-intuitive. I threw in an old Fair Isle sweater and put a thimbleful of Eucalan in the detergent dispenser. Then I set the machine for Normal wash on hot, and also selected "no spin." Beverly says that you NEVER want your machine to rinse and spin. Rinse isn't so bad, just means you end up with your item in cold water instead of hot and you have to re-fill the machine with hot if it's not fully felted. But rinsing isn't necessary with Eucalan, so it's a waste of water. Spinning is bad -- you can make permanent crease marks in the felted item.

One major problem with front-loaders -- the door locks, so you can't check your work as you go. Beverly freaks out at this idea, since she wants you to check every five minutes. I decided I would risk it, and hit "Start."

After about 15 minutes, I noticed that the machine was draining and getting ready to re-fill for the first rinse. I stopped the machine, but the door was still locked, so I canceled the cycle completely and opened the door. Definite felting going on -- but not ready yet. I re-set the machine to the start of the cycle. Now that I knew the length of the first wash cycle, I was ready to stop the machine and re-set two or three more times until I was pleased with the results. I didn't mind the 15-minute intervals between checks, seemed to work just fine.

The huge problem with this system, of course, is the wasted water and detergent, since it insists on draining before you can open the door. Only a manual dial-type control system will let you avoid draining the water -- and those are rarer and rarer these days.

For example, Spinnity has a top-loading machine, so while we were over at her house last weekend making a birthday dinner for B-i-L, I figured I'd try felting the other two sweaters there. Because her machine is top-loading, you CAN open the lid every five minutes and check on your progress. However, her machine is new enough to have a digital control system, and you can't just crank a dial to keep the machine from rinsing and spinning. In fact, her machine doesn't even have a "no-spin" option. The machine wanted to drain and rinse after only about 11 minutes, and the ridges on the bottom of the agitator started to leave creases on one of the sweaters. (I did them separately so they wouldn't acquire each other's fuzz.) If I canceled and started over in time, some hot water seemed to stay in the machine, but it added more anyway.

Overall, I don't think the top-loader felted any better than my front-loader -- in fact, I think it took longer and left creases. All three pieces felted reasonably well. They're now drying and awaiting further inspiration. Beverly says you shouldn't throw your felted items in the dryer -- they can lose their shape.

I'm pretty sure experiences are as different as individual washing machines, but here's what some other people did. There are some other forums in which people relate differing experiences, easily found with a Google search. I have to admit I was a bad girl and did not put the sweaters in zippered bags first, for lack of having any at hand, but I certainly will as I continue to do more projects.

Props to the hubs

2008-04-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Occasionally there comes a time to pay tribute to those green influences in our lives. Yeah, I know, we all love Al Gore. My biggest green influence, however, never ran for President or made a documentary or posed for photo ops with Leonardo di Caprio. It's my hubs, Mr. Wiz.

When I first met Mr. Wiz, I recognized right away that he was a crank. You have to understand that coming from me, this is a compliment -- I'm English by heritage and when I lived in London, I frequently visited Cranks, a fabulous vegetarian restaurant. Cranks are people who aren't afraid to hold unpopular opinions. They don't care what other people think. They sing loudly (and often off-key) to their favorite iTunes playlist, especially when they are cooking and the list includes the entire musical output of Abba. They pick up trash in public, bring their own Tupperware to restaurants, and have been known to wear swim trunks with collared dressy shirts. (The ensemble Mr. Wiz sported the day I met him. Thank God I attributed the bizarre sartorial choice to some unexplained wardrobe emergency, and only found out later that he had dressed up SPECIALLY in anticipation of being introduced to me.)

When Mr. W started his green crusade, it wasn't anywhere near as trendy as it is now. He even had roommates who would walk across the room on purpose to throw things in the trash if he threatened to recycle them. Even I had initial disorientation with the idea that he re-uses everything -- he saves every plastic container and bag from the grocery store, washes them, and re-uses them. He saves orange peel to make orange soda. He saves every cardboard box and every piece of packaging for the next time he has to mail something. He makes his own toothpaste and re-uses little glass cosmetic jars to keep it in. One time a Whole Foods cashier had to give him something like 25 wooden donation nickels for the number of re-used bags he brought in.

Annoying? Maybe, for about 5 minutes. Over time, though, I started to think it was pretty cool. This is a guy who's managed to reduce our personal garbage output to one small bag a month -- the rest goes into the composter or recycling bins. And he's not stopping there -- now he wants to reduce our recycling to similarly miniscule amounts.

If you want to be a crank like Mr. Wiz, here are some tips:

1. Buy from bulk containers (at Whole Foods or other shops that carry bulk), and bring your own bags to take it all home in.

2. Get yourself a composter if you haven't already.

3. Buy your clothes at Goodwill. Even better, work at home so you don't even have to wear clothes.

4. Get yourself one of these. We're told they're all the rage in Germany. We call ours the "Zizzer."

5. Stop accepting styrofoam takeout containers. Carry your own Tupperware. Yes, people will look at you funny in restaurants. It's okay, you're cooler than they are.

6. Make presents for people instead of buying them, or give "experiential gifts" like theatre tickets or special outings. Very few people in America really need more STUFF.

6. Whenever you start thinking that it's not worth it, the world is going to hell in a proverbial handcart anyway and you might as well dance on the flames, go plant a kitchen garden with your god-daughter and remember this: it's never a bad thing to keep one more piece of plastic from floating into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

New blog focus for Earth Day

2008-04-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time about a year ago, I more or less abandoned this blog. I felt like I didn't have anything very exciting to add that was any different from all the better knitting blogs out there. So I went to live on Ravelry and share projects there instead, and it's been great.

Meanwhile, in life and in art, I've continued to evolve my personal commitment to living as green as possible. This is hard for a shopaholic/yarnaholic who was raised to believe that if something is on sale, it is therefore virtuous and good to purchase it. I had to think about consuming less, shopping less, getting rid of all those tempting catalogues, and living with the bounty of STUFF that I already own.

I vowed that I would buy no new yarn in 2008 unless it's extra yarn for a project that's already underway. I think I've fallen off the wagon only once. I have enough yarn to last me a good five years, might as well start working through it.

Even harder, I'm trying not to buy new clothes unless they are as eco-friendly as possible. That means not just organic cotton, but organic cotton that hasn't been imported from the other side of the planet, therefore negating its virtuousness with a cloud of fossil fuels. Mostly I'm trying to live by the principal that there's already enough STUFF in the world, let's just pass it around a little and make it look different and interesting.

So last Saturday, as part of my Earth Day observance, I went to the Swap-o-rama-rama at the Coyote Point Museum in San Mateo. I brought along a bag of old clothes, and left with a bag of other people's old clothes. Somehow when clothes used to belong to someone instead of you, it's like getting brand new clothes.

Even better, at the Swap-o-rama-rama, I sewed pretty flowers on an old tank top, and learned to screen print designs on an old skirt. Now my new-old clothes are unique as well as recycled.

Swap-o-rama-rama is coming back to San Mateo for the Maker Faire. If you've never been to this event, it's great -- like Burning Man with kids (and fewer drugs and naked people). Crazy creativity and genuinely something for everyone -- the hubs can check out cool new eco-vehicles and robot wars, the kids can do art and science projects, and the shopaholics like me can shop local designers and hang out in the knit and crochet booths.

I'm planning to go back and swap some more, do more screen-printing (my new obsession), and enjoy a fun, creative time with some great people. Come and join me! And happy Earth Day, everyone.

I'm on Ravelry!

2007-12-09T22:25:00.000-08:00

At last! It's really not an excuse for being absent from this blog for so long, but if you want to see what I'm up to before I actually update the blog, you can visit me at WizKnitter.

I know a lot of other people have already rhapsodized about Ravelry, but seriously -- this is a great tool. It appeals to my orderly and organized side. I like cataloging projects there. It frees up the blog for some actual writing. If I ever actually get around to that.

The DH has a great blog now: wiznals.blogspot.com. Visit that one to find out what we've been up to!

Meme-rizing

2007-05-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me point out that I'm blogging for the third time this month. Considering my recent track record, this is notable.

I found this on The Knitist! and thought it looked like fun.

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting (twined knitting)
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths,tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
LongTail CO
Entrelac Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerlessmitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

As the Knitist says, consider yourself tagged.

Even though frogging isn't on the list, for those of you who've ever frogged (and surely that's all of us), amuse yourself with The Five Stages of Frogging.

I am somewhere around Stage 5 with the Exotic Lace Jacket by Iris Schreier, but that deserves a post of its very own.

Maker Faire

2007-05-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday, the DH and I took the folks to Maker Faire as a belated Mother's Day gift. They were a bit non-plussed by the general weirdness, but Adam and I enjoyed it thoroughly. If you've never heard of it, it's very hard to describe, but here are a few highlights:

People in motorized giant cupcakes (complete with hats that looked like cherries or chocolate drops) zooming around.
Enormous fireballs shooting into the air on a periodic basis.
Glass sculptures made of compressed sugar crystals.
Felted pins of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Handmade bicycles put together from other bicycle bits, available to sample by wobbly riders.
A giant Lego village.
A giant Mousetrap game using bowling balls.
A huge booth encouraging people to make crafts from old wine jugs.
Places for kids to build robots, rockets, crocheted sea anemones, and fairy wings.
And finally, my designs for Great Knit Designs on display at Ada's booth!

The Faire will be the first weekend in May next year, and if you're looking for a little something for everyone and have a high tolerance for slightly wacky people with too much time on their hands (or who genuinely want to change the world for the better using green, DIY, and alternative methods), you should check it out.

Knittin' in the U.K.

2007-05-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

The DH and I got back from England a couple of weeks ago, where we had a very nice time visiting relatives. However, it was quite disappointing from a yarn tourism perspective. Here's what I discovered about knitting in the U.K.:

No one does it in public. Really, I never saw even sweet old grandmas with knitting needles. I thought knitting was supposed to be big in England! There are sheep everywhere! Grommit knits, for heaven's sake! My parents, who are English, had to learn to knit in school! Perhaps there's a backlash going on, but no one was knitting.
There were no cute yarn stores anywhere I went. Even in tourist-y Stratford, the only place selling yarn was a little five-and-dime type place with skeins of nasty acrylic. Bath, a large and lovely city, had a stall in the marketplace, also with acrylic. I once chased a bus because it had a yarn shop advert on the side saying "World of Wool." This was apparently in Leamington Spa, which wasn't on our itinerary. Finally, I found a sewing shop in dull, industrial Melksham with nice wool, so I bought some like the addict I am, even though it wasn't very exciting or exclusive or anything. What are they doing with all those sheep? The mind boggles!
My relatives mostly thought I was slightly mad for knitting so much. One of my aunts said, "Well, you wouldn't really want to knit a sweater anyway, would you, when it's so much easier just to buy one."
I still got lots of knitting done. Trains, which are plentiful and useful in the U.K., though much more expensive than they used to be, are great places to knit. I finished a sock for the DH and got most of the way through a shrug for me, which I finished this past weekend.

Say what you will about us Yanks, at least we know the point of a pair of needles, pun intended!

I know, I know, I know...

2007-04-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

...I've been very bad. I think, really, I've been trying to avoid doing an inventory of all the projects in 2006. Kind of like doing taxes, it seemed sort of dull. So I'm not going to do it. (I will, however, do my taxes. I promise.)

Instead, I'll just show some things I haven't posted yet.

I finished CNITU's holiday vest during a family visit to Wisconsin. Say what you will about the Midwest, all that crummy weather does force you to finish off those UFOs. I think it took me longer to weave in the ends than it did to knit the vest. This is me knitting the Cowboy Waistcoat from Miss Bea's Dressing Up by Louisa Harding, knit in Rowan Wool Cotton.

Do you see all those bobbins? It will be a long time before I knit another diagonal-striped intarsia vest, I'll tell you that.

Stop the madness.

It did turn out very cute, though.

Uncle Adam got CNITU a Sheriff's badge to go with it (since it's the Cowboy Waistcoat and all.)

Here's a belated picture of the throw I knit for Sis for Xmas. I'm pretty far along in this picture. I don't know why the picture is sideways, but hopefully you can still see the yarn. There's a Noro in the middle there, surrounded by Rowan Little Big Wool, and green Manos del Uruguy. There ended up being a little light blue Blue Sky Alpaca on the end, some fluffy blue and white, and a border of shiny ribbon, but I can't remember the name of the yarns.

In 2007 so far, I've knitted a reversible cable scarf for myself out of Rowan Tapestry, from a pattern in Scarf Style. I recently finished a skirt in Rowan Scottish Tweed for Great Knit Designs (a commissioned piece). No photos yet, sorry. Those took me all of January, Febuary, and March -- I was in rehearsal a lot and didn't have much time to knit.

I finished these baby sandals in a couple of nights for a pregnant friend who is due any moment now. They're from Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino book, the same one with CNITU2's onesie. I used some of the leftover yarn from that to make them. The process is a bit fiddly, but they're so great when they're finished. Being me, I forgot to take a photo before giving them to the mom-to-be, but hopefully I'll get one of them actually on the baby.

I finished them off with antique Peter Rabbit buttons. These are so great, I'm going to make them again for the next baby shower!

Triumph!!

2006-12-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

It has been a very Christmas-y/Chanukah-y week! Last Saturday we had our Cookie Party, a soon-to-be annual festivity during which many people show up at your house with plates of cookies, and you eat lots of them, get a massive sugar high, and attempt to send everyone home with a mix of what everyone else brought. Except that you are still left with 900 cookies. Not that this is a PROBLEM, mind you, it's just a test of the will. I have been giving away lots of them, but yes, I have also been eating lots of them.

In honor of Chanukah, we also made latkes for the first time, and they were not only fun to make but DELICIOUS. We used traditional latke and sweet-potato-and-parsnip latke recipes from the December 2006 issue of Sunset magazine, which worked really well. We are not Jewish, although I have huge respect for a religion whose major holidays all go along the lines of they-tried-to-kill-us-again-they-failed-let's-eat! We continued the eating on Sunday evening at Frank and Mark's annual Chanukah party. They had a giant cooler FULL of potatoes and a latke-making assembly line which was very impressive, but I have to say (at risk of sounding like a Goyish traitor) that I think ours were better.

Wednesday night we opened presies with Spinnity and Bill, and I received some wonderful knitting-related gifts from them! From the list below I received the blocking board and blocking wires, and from Mom Wiz I received a wonderful book about how to teach children to knit, which will definitely come in handy if I attempt a repeat of this fall's knitting class.

Last night we exchanged gifts with my BF and her daughter Princess M, and triumph! The Christmas sweater fits and looks adorable.

My BF gave me some knitting goodies, including a gift certificate for CommuKnity in San Jose and a book from my list, Knitting Nature. The poor DH! It turns out he had bought me the same book. It's a very DH sort of book, since it combines scientific principles from nature (fractals, spirals, etc.) with knitting. It's stunning to look at and everything looks quite challenging and interesting to knit.

She also gave me the 10th Anniversary DVD collection of the BBC Pride & Prejudice mini-series, which I have on video and watch constantly, plus a hilarious t-shirt that says "I heart Mr. Darcy." My close friends know that I have a Bridget Jones-esque obsession with Colin Firth and his dashingly understated sexiness.

Tonight we are exchanging gifts with my parents, and then we're off to Wisconsin for five days of holidaying with the DH's family.

The biggest and best gift of all is the gift the DH and I gave ourselves -- our new Toyota Prius! We got her on Sunday. We have named her Priya, and she's so much fun to drive. And the best part is that she will save us gas money AND help save the environment. Happy Solstice to Mother Earth!

Xmas Knitting...

2006-12-21T11:09:00.000-08:00

...is finished! More or less. It's seemed fairly pointless to post lately since everything I'm knitting is a gift, so I'll have to rely on the giftees to send photos to post in the New Year!

But last night I cast off the edging on Sis' throw blanket, and it's now boxed and ready to go to Laguna. But I'm so bad about photos, I forgot to take one, so you'll have to wait to see it until she takes one and sends it. (Hear that, Sis? Please send photos!)

The knitted gifts for Princess M and CNITU2 were done long ago. I have since started a vest for CNITU, but he's so unenthusiastic about clothes that I figured it didn't really matter when I finished. But I think it will be done before the New Year.

Which brings us to a realization I had last night -- is it possible that I could have NO UFOS by the end of 2006!? All that I would need to do would be to finish CNITU's vest and sew a lining in the birthday backpack I'm making for CNITU2.

However, this would mean that if I finish both of those projects *before* midnight on Dec. 31, I wouldn't be allowed to start anything else, which would be silly. So perhaps the goal should be to have only one WIP by the end of 2006.

Here are some reflections on the best and worst of knitting in 2006:

New skills practiced:
Intarsia
Cables
Sweater and Throw design with software
Socks!

Favorite project:
Hands-down winner: Hourglass sweater in Cash Iroha from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I wear it constantly.
Runners-up: My knee socks, Adam's socks, Princess M's intarsia sweater, Gedifra Golden Tweed Auntie Becca purse, Kaalund Water Lilies scarf (also worn constantly)

Biggest knitting accomplishment:
My baby blanket sample selling for $350 at 9R.
Second place: Silver medal in the Knitting Olympics.

Least favorite project:
Fizz cardigan in Rowan Cotton Braid. Annoying to knit, and somehow a little fluffy on me. Not quite my style. Everyone else seems to love it, but it makes me feel like Zsa Zsa Gabor, and not in a good way. (Is there a good way?)

Best knitting book:
Knit 2 Together by Mel Clark and Tracey Ullman. I got to meet Mel at a signing a few weeks ago. She is fantastic. I haven't actually made anything from this book yet, and I still love it. The writing alone is worth the price.
Other good ones: Miss Bea Dresses Up -- beginning intarsia projects, very cute. Got it right after I started knitting, but didn't make anything from it until this year.
Scarf Style -- I've already picked out a bunch of things to make from this great book. Don't know why I turned my nose up at it for ages -- thought I was beyond scarves! But it's amazing.

Projects already waiting in line for 2007:
Commissioned skirt to go with Autumn Sweater for Great Knit Designs.
A few scarves from Scarf Style.
Something for me -- a cashmere-blend cardie from Knit 2 Together.
More socks! Lots more socks!
Something in Fair Isle -- maybe one of the gorgeous patterns from the last Interweave Knits.

Favorite LYS:
Nine Rubies, Nine Rubies, Nine Rubies. It's down the street, they have beautiful yarn, there are always wonderful knitters hanging out there, and did I mention I can walk there?
Honorable mention goes to Fengari, where they can always find that obscure last skein that you desperately need in a box somewhere.

Watch this space in January for a complete list of 2006 FOs.

Have a wonderful holiday season, my friends and family!

Xmas List

2006-11-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

Fun! I'm writing this in the new Blogger Beta, so I can change fonts and text colors. I like it!

The DH is always suggesting to yarn stores that they introduce on-line gift registration for clueless husbands, but this is tricky for most LYSes to manage on limited staff and budget. I'd love to create a sort of Amazon-style wish list for yarn and things, but the local yarn stores I like to patronize can't really do that.

SOOOO... I'm creating this wish list for the holidays for family members who are looking for the perfect knitter gifts. Some of these items are available at local yarn stores such as Knitting Arts, Fengari, and Nine Rubies, and I'd much rather you go there (if you live locally) than spend extra on shipping and handling. But some places, like KnitPicks, offer really great deals on some of the things I want, and are useful for those out-of-town people (Hi, MomWiz!) who are always asking the DH what I want for Xmas.

PLEASE do not feel as if I am begging for gifts. This list is certainly not meant to imply that anyone should feel obligated to give me anything for Xmas. I have a lot of yarn (and other stuff) already, and if you do want to give a gift, I am just as happy to have donations made to my pet charity, Heifer International. (If you've never been to their site before, please go now, but I suggest you grab a box of tissue first. It's powerful stuff.)

So without further ado...

Wish List 2006, Part One: Books and Tools (all these items are linked from KnitPicks.com, for the out-of-towners, but most can be found elsewhere)

KnitPicks magnetic chart keeper

I've created a monster

2006-11-09T16:57:00.001-08:00

Actually, several monsters. They are my 4th-6th grade after-school Shakespeare students in South San Jose, and I have made them all addicts. Knitting addicts, crochet addicts, but mostly just yarn addicts.

It started a few weeks ago when wee Caitlin, who is about as big and as cute as a button, saw me knitting the Autumn Sweater. She asked me a lot of questions - "Is it hard?" "How long does it take?" "Who's it for?" - until she got to "Will you teach me?" I started doing little lessons with her during their 15-minute rehearsal break.

The other kids saw what we were doing, and every day a few more stayed inside at the break - boys as well as girls. I found more leftover yarn, and started bringing as many needles as I could collect around the house. Some of them can't quite grasp knitting, so I tried crochet. Some of them can't quite do that yet, but they are taking to finger-knitting like moths to wool.

I bring good yarn for these kids - leftover bits of Noro, Debbie Bliss, Karabella, Great Adirondack. Their attention spans are short -- so far no one's managed more than a few rows or a long chain before deciding they want to start something else. (Sound familiar, anyone?) Anna, who is quite a good crocheter, made herself a pretty necklace yesterday out of some Great Adirondack. Robert lamented loudly that knitting just didn't seem to be his thing, but he's picked up crochet with no trouble at all. Michael made a fingerknit chain from the stage into the audience.

As for Caitlin, she managed to finish a project yesterday. She calls it a "dolly scarf," and it's a four-inch long bit of Noro Cash Iroha, twisted, knotted, and looped, but an FO as far as she's concerned. As she says, "Sometimes I have a little trouble keeping the stitcheries on the needles."

Here's the problem - they are so busy knitting that they don't want to learn their lines, paint backdrops, or even rehearse anymore! I may have to start confiscating yarn! This goes against my very moral fiber, but kids, we've got a show to do. There's a time and a place...

I took some photos of them yesterday and I'll post them soon.

Bits and pieces: Ada loves the Autumn Sweater. I'm glad it's in good hands! We picked out yarn for the matching skirt (a nice tweedy reddish-brown Rowan).

Dropped off some Auntie Becca purses at Come Ci Saturday, but haven't heard anything from Valerie about them yet.

Signed up for Stitches! Bad timing this year -- I'm opening "Arcadia" at the Pear Ave. Theatre the same weekend. So no Thursday or Friday classes for me. I grabbed two Saturday classes -- Entrelac with Margaret Fisher (about time I took something from her) and Pattern Writing 101 with Edie Eckman (I always love Edie).

New blogger in the blog-o-sphere

2006-11-06T13:33:00.000-08:00

Sis and the CNITUs are now on-line! Check out the hysterical new blog "Boys in Tow" (also linked in the sidebar) for the continuing hilarious adventures of a "stay-at-home" mom and the two little guys who WON'T GO TO SLEEP! A must-read for all parents and those who think they might like to become parents, or even those who need excuses for NOT becoming parents.

Bad, bad blogger

2006-11-02T16:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, I know, it's been almost two months. I'm terrible. Shortly after that last post I went into Shakespeare overload, directing "The Comedy of Errors" by day and rehearsing for "Richard III" by night. Both shows are now open and playing at a theatre that may or may not be near you. "Richard III" runs through Nov. 18 at Project Artaud -- click here for more. "Comedy" is touring all over the state. You can book the show by going here, or just stop by the Excelsior Library in San Francisco at 3 pm on Nov. 8, the Treasure Island Boys and Girls Club at 4 pm on Nov. 15, or the Mission Bay Library at 2 pm on Nov. 18 for free public performances. "Comedy" is only 55 minutes long and great for children -- they did it for a crowd of 4-8-year-olds yesterday and they all got the serious giggles.

Self-promotion over -- on to the knitting content! I've been dragging a large lump of orange Nature Cotton with me everywhere since that first rehearsal, and yesterday I proclaimed the thing an F.O. This is the Autumn Sweater, designed using Great Knit Designs Knitware software, which I really like (and I'll like even more when they have it for the Mac). I'm very pleased with this sweater. I especially like the big bell sleeves. It's designed for a size 32 woman, a little smaller than me, so the sleeves are a bit short and the length is a bit short, but I still kinda wish I was going to get to keep it instead of watching it pose at the Knitware booth at Stitches West. There will be a brown knit skirt to match -- short and straight, I think, in a fine gauge wool, to contrast with the bulky top. Should be worn with brown opaque tights or leggings and some fun flats.

The yarn is Araucania's Patagonia Nature Cotton in color 204. No dye lots so you get a patchy effect, which doesn't bother me, but if you want more uniformity, they suggest alternating 2-4 rows from a couple of different skeins and carrying the yarn up the side. Size 9 needles, body worked in the round, sleeves flat, neckline made by picking up stitches with size 8's and casting them off on the next row (Spinnity's suggestion, and a nice one).

I've also finished off a nice little Auntie Becca purse in Gedifra Golden Tweed, with an antique pressed flower button I picked up at Stitches. It's in a great stitch pattern, seed stitch sections in a sort of wide rib, finished with the seams facing outward for that raw-edged look that's everywhere these days. I love this purse and I have enough yarn to make at least one more!

Now I've got the giant Christmas throw blanket for Sis on the needles, and it's getting too big to carry around comfortably. But I like the way the textures are working -- photo soon when it's a little more interesting to look at.

End-of-summer productivity

2006-09-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling very designer-ish lately. First off, I'm a sample knitter for Great Knit Designs, Ada's fantastic knitting software company. My assignment is a skirt and sweater set, and I just love this idea -- it's so 1960s. I've been cataloging stash yarn, trying to figure out if there's something I can use.

I went down to visit the Laguna Beach crowd (including the CNITUs), and knit CNITU2 a new hat (he's outgrown the old one.) It was fun to design while I could try it on him. I wanted sort of a party hat with a floppy tassel -- I had to rip almost the whole thing back once, but it turned out really cute!

Here it is off the model.

And on the model.

I tried to get a closer side view, but of course if I came near him he just turned to smile at me, and I ended up with a big blur. But a really cute baby smile every time, which was nice. He's the happiest little guy I know.

We visited the beach on Friday -- what a great day! CNITU and the DH made a huge hole in the sand.

CNITU2 just ate sand. He loves eating sand.

Saturday Sis and I went to the LYS, Strands and Stitches, and picked out yarn for a throw for Sis' new couch. It's beautiful, all creams and browns and blues and greens. I'm planning to use the Great Knit Designs software to design it.

Meanwhile, I've just been swatching, sketching, and planning for the holidays. Oh, and the secret project is a lovely FO, but I can't post it until Christmas!

Where did the summer go?

2006-08-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

It always happens this way... the summer Shakespeare schedule gets crazy, and there's no time to blog. But summer camps ended Friday, and I've got a short breather between major work projects, so it's time to catch up!

Here are a few fun highlights:

In June, I started work on the Fizz cardigan from Beach Cool by Rowan, in cotton braid color #357.

My Bollywood "Taming of the Shrew" opened in Stinson Beach in early July, with wonderful weather, a wonderful cast, and fortunately wonderful reviews. Here's the set against the Marin hills.

In my production, Kate (the shrew)'s weapon of choice is a knitting needle.

CNITU turned 3 and blew out the candles on a train cake he helped to make himself.

CNITU2 got cuter, if such a thing is possible. Here we are at the birthday party.

Mom Wiz came for a visit, and on July 20, we joined a lot of other knitters at AT&T Park for Stitch 'n' Pitch. Here's Spinnity and Mom Wiz:

The yarn they gave away was horrid, but we all got a pair of nice needles, and it was a fun time.

Early August, we enjoyed my BF's birthday at Teatro Zinzanni in SF -- I wore the Charlotte's Web shawl Spinnity made for me. Here we are, birthday girl in the middle.

There was a fun activity day with Princess M, including pancakes, a trip to the Exploratorium, and a ride on the train in Central Park. She really liked her pancakes:

Is it any wonder I want to knit for these children constantly? Could they be any cuter?

In knitting news, I've been hanging out at Nine Rubies regularly for Knitting Meet-up. The sample baby blanket I made for them sold for $350! Valerie at Come Ci Interiors wants to carry my kids' bags and backpacks later this fall.

I finished the Fizz cardigan in early August but have yet to take a picture. I also finished a Christmas sweater for CNITU2 -- soooo ahead of deadline! Here it is -- it's a Wendy/Peter Pan yarns pattern for Velvet Touch, color 1224. Kind of a weirdly written pattern, I made a few changes to it along the way to make it look right. But I'd definitely do it again, the results are superb and it's the softest, cuddliest thing ever, and machine washable.

I have a couple of other Christmas projects in the works, but they're secret!

Last Sunday I took a machine knitting class at Knitting Arts -- very interesting, and I definitely want to try more. Spinnity has a machine I can borrow. Here's the swatch I made, but it's curling too much to see clearly.

Overall, a pretty good summer -- work has been tough, but rewarding, and despite the 60-hour weeks, there's been some fun family time.

For your admiration and delight...

2006-06-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

I hereby present... the Yarn Party Poncho, from Sally Melville's Colors, modeled by the Princess M herself, at her 4th birthday party!

Yarns are GGH Samoa, Amelie, and Capri, various Great Adirondacks in colorway 124, Target's $1 ball of fuzzy fur, and a nice sparkly one from Wool in the Woods.

PM was a bit flumoxed by the poncho at first. She kept looking for somewhere for her arms to go, then slipping it down like a skirt. Finally we explained "like a cape!" and she got it.

I should also mention that she got a pair of pink slippers from Mom Wiz. Here she is putting them on:

And showing them off:

The next day, DH modeled his socks at the Memorial Day BBQ. I think they're quite fetching with his sandals, although I am not normally a socks-and-sandals fan.

Here's a close-up:

Saved!

2006-05-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

I found time to go to Full Thread Ahead yesterday. And they had the right colorway of the DH sock yarn. Wrong dyelot, but since they're both already knitted to the same spot, the two socks will still look relatively the same.

The DH tried the socks on yesterday, before I finished the first one:

Is it me, or are they kind of thick? I'm worried they won't fit in his shoes. He was between two sizes, and I went for the bigger size, so they're already a bit big. They're awfully cosy, but since the man is never cold, I wonder if he'll get much use out of them. That, of course, means that they'll last for years and years, which is always nice.

Now I have to share Alimum's genius, since I just saw this on her knitting blog:

How fantastic is that? There's a fuzzy white bikini in the same post, it's almost too fabulous to wear. Alimum is the person who knit me the purple mohair scarf before I knew anything about knitting or how much effort something like that takes to create. She is divinely talented and a very good writer, so her blogs are fun to read.

Not much to report...

2006-05-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

...in the knitting world, anyway. Professionally speaking, things are crazy, with two final student performances in the last week, plus preparation for my next directing gig (Taming of the Shrew). Throughout all this, I've been stuffing the DH socks into my purse. There are some issues with the DH socks at the moment:

1. I stopped just short of the toe on sock #1 because I weighed the yarn and was about halfway through it. I'm nearly to the same spot on sock #2, and it definitely looks like these will be yet another pair of contrasting-toe socks.

2. Unfortunately, this Cherry Tree Hill yarn comes in really small dye lots, and I've never seen this particular colorway anywhere but in this one beautiful skein. Solution -- blue or brown toes! Cherry Tree Hill makes a nice indigo yarn in the same weight.

3. Full Thread Ahead, the only place I know of on the Peninsula to buy Cherry Tree Hill, closes at 6 on weekdays, thus making it impossible for me to get there after work. And I'm gone over the weekend. When will I get my yarn? What if I run out of this skein before I get a chance to get over there?

Yes, you know what will happen if I run out of yarn. I will start something else. And if I start something else, the DH socks will languish, toeless, in a drawer until who knows when.

I do have a triumphant FO to boast about, but I can't say anything about it here until the end of the month, after a certain birthday. Let's just say it's very cute, and was much admired at the San Mateo meet-up on May 10.

I think my next project will be the Peter Pan toddler sweater for CNITU2 -- the goal is to make it to fit next winter. Yes, I'm starting the Christmas presents now. I've been a knitter for almost 2 years now, and I'm learning a thing or two.

TKGA review

2006-04-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Since most of us were still in post-Stitches yarn comas, I don't know that many people who attended TKGA (it was in July last year, when we were ready for more; this year it just came too early.) This led to smaller classes (nice for students, bad news for teachers being paid by the student), and a very relaxed, uncrowded marketplace. I did see some friends (Jocelyn, Ada, and Patt from Meet-up, plus Spinnity, Jen, and Bogie), but most of them were just at the market. My classes were primarily populated by guild members from Arizona and Oregon.

My first class was Saturday afternoon: "Celtic Cables" with Melissa Leapman. I have avoided Melissa since Stitches 2005, when she seemed much too self-promoting for my tastes. Still, I have several friends who like her a lot, and the information she gives is excellent, so I decided to give her a second chance.

I went in steeling myself to not get annoyed at the inevitable book sales, and I succeeded -- it was a full class of about 30 people, and she did the full spiel. I *was* interested to hear about her new cable books, because, after all, that's what we were there to learn. She showed some samples from the books, then got down to the meat of the class -- making those cables!

Melissa always assigns a lot of homework, which I don't mind because it means you'll really get to do some serious knitting in class. This class was no exception. One problem: too many beginners. The whole row behind me literally seemed to have started knitting last week, so Melissa had to cover a lot of basics. This was frustrating for the rest of us, who moved quickly through the exercises and were ready for more. Sadly, we never got to the design portion of the class, or to knitting the final, most difficult, swatch. Not Melissa's fault -- she was well-organized as always. I blame TKGA. Can't there be some sort of prerequisite for so-called intermediate classes -- like you have to know how to read a chart, do basic increases and decreases, etc.? I had never done cables before, but I had enough skills to pick up that part quickly based on charts and instructions.

At any rate, I love Celtic cables, and the DH saw my samples and immediately ordered a sweater in charcoal grey with a celtic motif. That's a successful class, if it can get the DH to want to wear a sweater.

Second class: Sunday morning, "Going in Circles" with Edie Eckman. Edie taught me to crochet at Stitches 2005, so I figured I'd be comfortable in a crochet class with her, especially one labeled as "beginning." It was a tiny class, about 5 people, mostly crocheters, a couple of people who do both. I was probably the second least-experienced crocheter, but with a small class I tackled what I could and ended up with some nice motifs, including a square and a triangle. It was nice to have so much individual attention.

We also stole peeks at Edie's amazing collection of Japanese crochet books. This class inspired me to go down to the market and get Edie's "Crochet Answer Book," a handy little guide for those of us who crochet rarely and need to understand the basics.

Third class: Back to Melissa for "Perfect Pleats." With my interest in design, this was the class I was most excited about. As it was Sunday afternoon, a lot of people had left, and there were only 6 of us in this class, mostly very experienced. We got through the whole lesson and had time to chat. Melissa taught us a number of different and interesting ways to make gathers and pleats and flares, in order to add couture shaping to garments. I love this stuff. Even better, because most of us had taken classes from her before, Melissa kept the sales pitch to a super-minimum, and we focused on the knitting. There was a problem with the way TKGA had posted the homework on-line, and although I had seen it after they'd corrected it, a couple of people had done the wrong thing, and one woman hadn't done it at all. She was quite behind and a little difficult, since she didn't know some basics and was a slow knitter. In a small class, this didn't affect us nearly as much as it had in the large class -- Melissa could see that she was in the minority, and moved on with the rest of us. I know that small classes are a bummer for teachers, but this one was a blast. One of my favorite classes ever! Definitely take it next time she offers it.

I guess my biggest accomplishment for TKGA was learning to like a teacher I hadn't cared for before. I can also do cables now, and read cable charts.

On the shopping front, I focused on the sock yarns -- a couple of men's colors from Village Spinning and Weaving, some Lorna's Laces (on sale, couldn't resist), and a little Koigu project. Not much at all compared to Stitches -- came in well under $100.

Knitting progress: Still on the fab DH sock! Also the birthday project.

The socks at last!

2006-04-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

I'm too tired to write much, so I'll relate tales of our Easter weekend in LA at another time. This post is all about photos I should have posted a long time ago. First of all, here they are, the Olympic socks!

Here's also a photo Alimum has been asking for, of me in a scarf she knit for me long before I knew how much work she had put into it. It's a great lace mohair scarf, very beautiful:

Here's CNITU2 in his favorite hat, the one with the letter "L" that I knitted for him in January:

Ooo, de shnuggems! He makes me talk all silly!

Finally, here's me starting the DH's socks on the way to LA. I loooove this Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. It's glorious. And the DH has decided it's not too girly, so there's some hope he'll wear the socks even though they aren't black.

Early April FO's

2006-04-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

The Oat Couture windowpane baby blanket in Zara is now in the window of Nine Rubies! I finished it up last Tuesday and took it to Social Knitting. Saloni and Sudha were quite pleased with it. I rewarded myself by buying a skein of Tilli Thomas beaded silk. DE-CA-DENT! Here's the blanket on the sofa before I said good-bye to it:

Lest I submit to post-partum depression, on Friday I finished the Hourglass sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I looooove this sweater. It fits just right, it's amazingly soft and warm, and the color is perfect. Yes, it's the same color as my sofa. I like green, okay?

I steam-blocked it Saturday morning and put it on while it was still wet for a mini-yarn crawl and pedicures with Spinnity. We went to the two yarn stores in downtown Los Altos, Uncommon Threads and Full Thread Ahead. At the first, I got a copy of "One Skein," from Interweave Press. I got it just for the knitted cupcakes. It's pretty cute, though, some nice baby things and other little projects.

At the second, I got some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn, "Sensational Knitted Socks," an adorable new purse from Lantern Moon (it's sort of a knitting bag, but I think I'll mostly use it as a purse!), and a little bottle of Eucalan. I'm going to make socks for the DH. I really like the sock knitting book; Spinnity and the Knitist both recommend it and it seems really easy to use. I can't wait to start the next pair of socks!

Now I'm in the midst of a top-secret birthday project... I'll show photos in the fullness of time.

So out of touch!

2006-03-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

Part of my out-of-touchness is due to opening a show on Friday, and part of it is due to continuing guilt about my failure to take photos of my completed socks.

The show is Tales of the Lost Formicans, and you can see it at The Pear Ave. Theatre in Mountain View. It's a funky little play; so far a lot of people like it and some other people are confused by it. But you won't be bored, I promise.

Now that I am no longer working 14 hours a day and knitting one row before crashing into bed, I am making some progress on both the green Hourglass sweater (yes, the one in Cash Iroha, it's not done yet, but only about 10 rows to go!) and on the more pressing project, the Windowpane baby blanket I'm knitting as a sample for Nine Rubies. This thing is frickin' huge, and it's supposed to be done by Friday. Probably not gonna happen, as I'm not even halfway done, and with 170 stitches/row I'm hard pressed to do more than 20 rows a day. I think I calculated that the whole thing is about 250 rows long. Nice yarn, though, you should go right over to Nine Rubies and buy some. It's called Zara, from Filatura di Crosa. Not cheap, but it's 100% wool, completely washable, and soft as a kitten's tummy.

By the way, a lovely lady named Kathy from Tennessee commented on my blog a while ago -- she wants to make the Cashmerino onesie that I made for CNITU2. However, she can't find the darn Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino book! If you see it somewhere, would you let me know so I can email her? It's the first one, not the one that just came out.

Finally, I have a new favorite blog, which I have added to the sidebar along with some other new links. It's called Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog. Go there now, especially if you were an English major. Don't let the spelling throw you, trust me, it's hysterical.

Quick check-in

2006-03-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

First of all, thanks to everyone I tagged. It was fun and entertaining to read about you! I am delighted that we all share such good taste in movies and television.

Secondly, I would like to report that I finished the Olympic socks, thanks to being home sick last Thursday and Friday with the flu. Convenient, that flu, if annoying. I wore them to Spinnity's spinning party on Saturday, where they were much admired, though I completely forgot to take pictures. As soon as I remember, I'll post those.

I am now slogging away on the Hourglass sweater, which is going very slowly since I'm working 12 hours a day at the moment. I can't wait to wear it, though, it's looking fantastic. The sleeves are on the same circular as the body now, and I'm working the raglan decreases.

The next thing I must do is the baby blanket for Nine Rubies -- my deadline is the end of the month, and I don't want to shirk! Plus, I get paid, always nice. Should offset my $500 Stitches spending spree.

Finally, I would like to wish my DH a happy anniversary! We were married one year ago this Sunday. I'd do it again in a second. The traditional 1-year anniversary gift is paper, and the modern is clocks. The DH cleverly combined the two into new Palm PDAs for both of us! This is very useful, since my rather obselete Visor has been by my side for four years now.

I love you, cute boy!

Tagged by the Remarkable Cow

2006-03-01T14:33:00.000-08:00

Been tagged. Gotta talk about myself. Here goes:

Four jobs in your life:
1. Current job -- Eduction, Outreach, and Casting Director for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival.
2. Part-time Associate at Balzac Communications and Marketing in Napa (wrote PR copy and came up with the Bug Spot Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter campaign for Napa, Marin, and Solano counties.)
3. Janitor at U.C. Davis while at grad school. Vaccuumed a lot of meeting rooms and set up a lot of chairs.
4. Part-time Sales Associate at Accessory to a Wedding Bridal shop in Chicago. Learned that most brides are really horrible to deal with, and their mothers are worse.

Four movies you could watch over and over:
1. The Princess Bride (my first date ever)
2. Pride & Prejudice, which is technically a mini-series (the Colin Firth one, not the Keira Knightley)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird. Love me some Gregory Peck.
4. Vertigo. The ultimate San Francisco movie.

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Deadwood
2. Battlestar Galactica
3. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
4. The Daily Show

Four places you have lived:
1. San Francisco, CA
2. Chicago, IL
3. Napa, CA
4. London, England

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. New Zealand
2. Fiji
3. Belize
4. Switzerland

Four websites you visit daily:
1. Google
2. Yarn Harlot (not quite daily, but almost)
3. SF Gate
4. Spinnity

Four of your favorite foods:
1. Anything Indian -- Palak Paneer, Aloo Gobhi, it's all good
2. Fish and chips
3. Dark chocolate
4. Really good San Francisco sourdough bread

Four places you'd rather be right now:
1. Our honeymoon jungle hotel in Belize
2. Just about any yarn shop
3. In my cozy bed on a Saturday morning
4. In a theatre, watching a really good play

Four favorite types of yarn:
1. Karabella Aurora 8
2. Noro Cash Iroha
3. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino
4. GGH Samoa

Four bloggers I'm tagging:
1. Alimum
2. MKMonahan
3. Jeff
4. Jo Knits