My Favorite Yarn

I actually received this yarn last month, when I was cameraless, and I keep forgetting to take pictures of it. Today I remembered, so here it is:



It's beautiful yarn, sort of a variegated camel color, and with an angora-like halo. A close look at the label reveals its source:



That's right, you're looking at 100% Ruthie yarn. I have about 12 ounces in all, and it was spun for me by VIP Fibers.



As you can see, Ruthie is fascinated with this yarn. It doesn't smell doggy at all; in fact, they clean the fiber with something that gives it a fresh floral scent that's pleasant but not overwhelming. Clearly, however, discerning noses can still distinguish the yarn's origin (and wonder why that yarn smells like them!).

I wish I had a photo of how the yarn was packaged when it arrived. It was really beautiful. It even included a personalized plastic tag with Ruthie's name on it (like a dog tag). And the labels, as you can see, are very cute. You supply your own picture when you send in the fiber, and, as you're waiting for the fiber to be spun, they post the picture on their website, along with an update on the project's progress.

I met the owner of VIP Fibers and her husband at Stitches West, and they are both very pleasant people.

I'm not sure what I'm going to make from this yarn. I have enough for a scarf, but I'm thinking a teddy bear would be nice. Or something. I also have in my stash about 6 ounces or so of Billie (@RB) yarn that was spun for me several years ago by someone who had newfies, and who needed some light-colored fiber to make a striped sweater. I sent her a great big box of fur, and she sent back some of the spun results. I could combine the Billie yarn with the Ruthie yarn, if I wanted. They're not quite the same color or texture (Billie had more white fur than Ruthie, and her reds were less dark), but I could do stripes or something. Any suggestions??

The Internet Says It So It Must Be True

According to the How Quirky Are You? test at Blogthings, my Quirk Factor is 48%. This means:

"You're a pretty quirky person, but you're just normal enough to hide it.Congratulations - you've fooled other people into thinking you're just like them! "

See--it's in writing! I'm just normal enough!

I've gotta stop playing with Blogthings.

Tuesday Miscellany

My brother sent me a link to the Badger Song. I don't pretend to understand it.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case in which Florida lawyers were disciplined for using a pitbull as their law firm's logo. According to the Florida Supreme Court, the discipline was allowed because the firm's advertisements "demean all lawyers and thereby harm both the legal profession and the public's trust and confidence in our system of justice." Ha ha ha!!

Forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht has resigned as coroner after allegations that he misused county funds. Whether or not he actually misused the funds, this guy can write a killer letter.

I just finished reading a book that simultaneously fascinated me and creeped me out: Parasite Rex. I had no idea how important and ubiquitous parasites are. And the things they can do--like mind control!

If ever felines take over the world (as I have no doubt they are plotting to do) these people will be the first to go.

The Best Sentence In the World Is...

...the meeting has been cancelled!

Monday Morning

Outside my window is a tall evergreen tree. Everytime the wind gusts this morning, thick clouds of pollen are just pouring off it. Hack, cough, sneeze.

Whatever you do, do not begin the Google image quiz. You will instantly be sucked in, and will require emergency assistance to disconnect. Via Boing Boing. Also via Boing Boing, What Kind of American English Do You Speak? (I'm 65% General American, 20% Upper Midwestern, and the rest is mixed. I guess this makes sense; my first 9 years were spent in Illinois, and the rest of my life has been spent in Oregon, Nebraska, and California.)

And, via NotMartha, felted fortune cookies!

More Birthday Loot

I received an Amazon package today (Oh, joy! What's better than finding that swooshy-logoed box waiting for you?) containing birthday gifts from my brother and sister-in-law. One item was a nifty-looking book called "The Starving Artist's Way," which has inexpensive household projects and some recipes. But even better was the other book, which is pictured to the right. Apparently, the woman who established the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard (in 1936) created a series of little dollhouses that depicted actual crime scenes. These were used to help students learn to examine the evidence to solve crimes. The book contains photos and diagrams of the dollhouses. Also, this book has the best endpapers ever. They wouldn't show up in a photo, so you'll have to trust me on this one.

I'm not sure what it says about me that (1) my relatives would purchase this book for me for my birthday; (2) it would be one of my favorite birthday presents; and (3) I would be gravely (no pun intended) disappointed that this particular craft hadn't occured to me first.

PS--I am not a freaky serial killer. I am a Criminal Justice professor. Just wanted to make that clear.

Via Boing Boing

Among other nifty things, this site sells earrings that look like the ends of knitting needles. And the artist who makes the jewelry is apparently the same person responsible for Knitters Anonymous. I took the quiz. My name is dephal, and I'm a knitaholic.

And, my friends, why have we not yet abolished poverty or war or disease? Because men have been too busy inventing important stuff like this.

Birthday Presents

Some of my birthday haul. The yarn is from my sister; it's merino and is handspun by Misery Notes. The flower thing is a felted daisy kit.

And Thing 1's present to me.

Hah! I knew it!

I don't know how great this study was, but still...

Birthday

Today is my birthday. I think nobody should have to go to work on her birthday, but here I am. And here are a few miscellaneous links:
Feral Children
The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society
Crafters for Critters
Knatolee's Cow Diaries
Music from TV commercials
"Transparent" computer screens

I'm currently working on a skully pullover from Stitch 'N Bitch. I'm knitting to gauge and yet using about twice as much yarn as the pattern calls for. Don't know what the problem is. I should get it done just in time for the weather to turn really warm.

Dephal Pretends to Hit the Big Time

I'm in San Francisco for a couple of days for a meeting with my publisher.

I love typing that--it sounds so impressive! Stephen King needn't worry about losing his place on the bestseller lists, though; this is a textbook I'm co-writing with 7 other people. Nevertheless, the publisher is paying to put us up at a swanky hotel, the Hotel Vitale. It's a new place with a minimalist/spa theme. The bathroom (complete with shower with a "rainforest shower head") is bigger than the bedroom in my first apartment. From my room I can watch the ferries coming and going across the street.

Watching the ferries reminds me of the time Thing 1 and I spent a couple days in the city when she was almost 5. I told her a friend was going to take the ferry to have lunch with us. Thing 1's eyes got very big, and she started jumping up and down with excitement, shouting, "A ferry, a ferry!" I was puzzled for a few moments, then I realized what she was actually shouting was, "A fairy, a fairy!" and she was picturing Diana showing up accompanied by someone with wings and a pink tutu. Of course, this being San Francisco, that wasn't so unlikely, but I did have to explain the situation to a disappointed child.

Anyway, I don't actually have to be available for the meeting until this evening, but I wasn't about to waste an opportunity to spend a day in one of my favorite cities. So I checked in early and then headed over to the Ferry Building, where I rounded up a strange and delicious lunch (risotto tartlet, organic blood oranges, and salt caramel from Recchiuti for dessert--these ought to be a controlled substance). This was a balanced meal, considering I once took Thing 1 to Ghirardelli and we had sundaes for dinner.

After lunch, I walked up Mission and paid a visit to one of my favorite yarn stores in the world, ArtFibers. ArtFibers sells only their own yarns, which you can't buy anywhere else. The store is fun, too. They have lots of swatches, and they encourage you to sit down and try out any yarn you want. I fell in love with Fauve, a cotton/hemp yarn with sections of shiny nylon. One of the employees sat down with me and custom-designed a pattern to my specifications. They do this for free, and even have a tape measure handy to help with measurements.

Happily sated on yarn, I wandered over to Gumps and daydreamed about being able to hand over $10,000 for a lovely glass vase. Then I headed back down Market, stopping at a newsstand to admire the magazines and pick up a bottle of Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray. I know, celery soda sounds gack-producing, but I like the stuff, and it's hard to find. During my walk, which was probably a little over a mile, I passed 9 different Starbucks. Nine. And that's not counting any on adjoining blocks.

So now I'm back in my room, Cel-Ray in hand. I love hotels, especially when they have wifi, and especially when someone else is paying for them.

Age or Ignorance?

Yesterday in class, I mentioned the song White Rabbit (it was relevant to the discussion, honest). Seventy pairs of eyes stared at me blankly. So, I helpfully added, "It's a song. By Jefferson Airplane." More blank stares.

So I was feeling pretty ancient, and the fact that my birthday's next week isn't helping.

Then after class, one of the students stoppped by my office to ask a question. He noticed my small collection of Freud toys. "What are those toys?" he asked. "Sigmund Freud," I replied. Brief pause. "Who's Sigmund Freud?"

Ack!

So it's not that I'm old, it's just that my students are ignorant.

Pinko

I've warned you before about my political inclinations. If you're like-minded (and even if you're not) you might enjoy this page at DemocraticUnderground.com.

How Many Children...

...can you fit inside a Saint Bernard-sized dog crate?
Parenting experts may disagree, but we have found this an excellent method of dealing with unruly children. ;-)

Incidentally, you may notice the batik throw on top of the crate. This is our pathetic attempt to pretend that the crate is "decorative furniture", seeing as it occupies a good chunk of our living room.

Things You Didn't Know Existed

All of these links come via Cribcandy:

• A party pack of 24 fake wishbones, so everyone at your gathering can have one
• A throne made out of AOL CDs
• An amazing array of things made from Lego, including a working desk
• A hand-sewn fetus pillow
• Underwear-shaped rug
• A vase that looks like stacked dishes
• And my favorite, a head-shaped knife block

Booga Booga

This is the Booga Bag, a felted purse made from Noro Kureyon. I love this colorway. I wish it was somehow possible to touch over the internet, so you could feel how soft this bag is. On second thought, given the uses many apparently make of the internet, maybe e-touch isn't such a great idea.

Finally, a Camera Again

The new camera arrived today. It's much smaller than the one that met its untimely end at the British Museum, it has more megapixels, it has better zoom, and it has a pretty dizzying array of features, 90% of which I'll probably never use. It's a Kodak V530, which I know isn't much by Fancy Photographer standards, but considering the type of pictures I usually take, it's great. Case in point:

I don't know if it requires a "SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH C-VARIOGON Optical Zoom Lens" to take a picture of one's own foot, but there ya go. I finished these socks a couple weeks ago. The ankle part is sort of bulky and slouchy, which does nothing to slim the profile of my leg, but I do like the colors. The yarn is Socks that Rock, from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. The pattern is from Socks, Socks, Socks. And yes, I did actually make two. But this foot happened to be up anyway, because this afternoon I managed to hurt my left leg in a particularly stupid and painful way.

Joys of Knitting

Here's a great thing about knitting. You can sit on the couch on a Sunday evening while your children sleep and your husband paints the bedroom, and you can have a great big pile of backlogged work to do, and you can watch the Oscars even though you've managed to see hardly any of the nominated films, and you can refrain from feeling guilty because you're not just sitting there, you're doing something. You're creating.

At least that's my excuse.

And, speaking of the Oscars, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit won best animated feature. Not only is this movie one of the Things' current favorites, but my guess is that it was the only Academy Award nominee this year to feature a knitting dog.

Snow Quip

We took the Things and Ruthie to the mountains today for snow play. Shortly after we got out of the car, some snow fell out of a tree onto Thing 2's head. Thing 2 shouted happily, "Mommy! I have winter on my hair!"

Some Things Never Change

This is the sign below an item on display at the British Museum:

Misc.

I finished a knitting project last night--a pair of socks. But with my new camera still somewhere between New Jersey and California, you'll just have to take my word for it.

New MagKnits is up.

James Lileks's website is full of advertisements and other ephemera from the 50's, 60's, and 70's, accompanied by his amusingly sarcastic comments. I think my favorite part of this site is the Interior Desecrations.

Nietzsche Goes to Off-Track Camp

For some reason, Thing 1 always chooses to begin theological discussions while we are in the car. So the other day, as were on our way somewhere, she pipes up with, "Mom? Is God real? And is He really invisible?"

"Well," I replied, "Lots of people think so."

"But the other kids at off-track camp* said that God is dead!"

*We have year round schools here; the grade schoolers are on track for 3 months and then off for 1. Thing 1 has been attending a city-run off-track camp during February.

When Life Interferes with Hobbies

I haven't had much time to knit lately. First there was our trip, and then there was all the work waiting for me when I got back from the trip. There was also the beginning of the semester. And then this weekend, hubby decided to paint our bedroom and bathroom. This is a good thing, as these rooms were previously decorated in Builder's Cheap White Flecked with Dried Dog Drool. The bedroom is now a glorious Cornflower with American Anthem trim, and the bathroom will soon be Laurel Mist (who makes these names up??). But his painting meant I spent the entire weekend on Child Entertainment Duty, a task made worse by the rainy weather that has descended upon us. So, not much knitting.

I did take the camera in this weekend to get it fixed. They said it would cost $200, so nevermind. For exactly $201, I have ordered a new one that's half the size of the broken one, and has more and better features. It does seem a shame to just toss the old one, but I haven't yet though of a creative use for a camera with a busted lens mechanism.

Tube Maps

I love London's Underground system. It's fast, it's clean, it's convenient, and it's a snap to navigate. Many of the stations have pleasingly amusing names (how can you not enjoy getting on a train whose final stop is "Cockfosters"?); the Central line alone stops in Barkingside, Fairlop, and Chigwell. The conductors tell you to mind the gap and there are Cadbury's vending machines in most stations. There's something quaintly anachronistic about the stations. The official Tube website has a quirky little online poll on Tube etiquette. And, like most public transport, it offers excellent peoplewatching opportunities.

Sure, it has its quirks. The routes from train to the way out and between lines at a single station are often labyrinthine. The lift was broken at Earl's Court on the day I had to drag myself and my suitcase back Heathrow (but, thankfully, not the day I arrived, when I would have had to drag my suitcase UP those stairs). The 7-day transport card I'd ordered ahead of time and had shipped to me in California was demagnetized, and also some outmoded form, and nobody I asked at 5 different stations could fix it or replace it, so I spent a week having to be specially let through gates by (mostly cheerful) transport employees. My husband's card, ordered at the same time, worked fine.

Still, if it's not my very favorite public transport system, it's certainly in the top 3.

And this site has a bunch of creative variations on the Tube map, including my favorite, the Musical Map.

Sites for the Inner Voyeur

I think we all have a bit of an inner voyeur or eavesdropper, and here are some sites to satisfy those urges: Post Secret, Overheard in New York, and Overheard in the Office.

Great Day

This morning I left the Things in the able hands of their father and I made the 100 mile drive to Santa Clara. It was a great morning for it. The Diablos were rich emerald green, spotted with cows and an occasional tree in full flower, and sprinkled with snow at the very tippy tops. My destination? Stitches West.

I arrived just after the market opened and had to get in a long line, even though I had pre-bought my ticket. However, the line moved very quickly and soon I was inside. I spent over 4 hours (and who knows how many dollars) inside. If my camera weren't broken, I'd post a picture of my haul. But it'll just have to suffice to say I came away with hand-painted angora and cashmere, banana fiber (!) rayon in lollipop colors, a big skein of Socks that Rock, and some dyed roving for needle felting. Of course, much, much more caught my eye as I was there, but because I already have a closetfull of yarn, I tried to keep myself under control.

My only real complaint about the market was that at times the crowds were so overwhelming that it was hard to browse. For example, Habu Textiles had a booth, and I would really have liked to take my time and examine some of their intriguing fibers, but I couldn't even get near them.

On my way home the sunlight was that particular ethereal color it gets when the sun has to peek between rain clouds. As I crossed over the Altamont the air was actually clear enough for me to see across the entire valley, all the way to the snowy Sierras. The radio was playing some of my favorite songs, there was nobody else in the car to complain when I sang along, and I didn't even mind when I got stuck in traffic, as usual, in Tracy.

Thoughts

Some more random comments from our trip:

1. Stonehenge is really cool. You can't get right up to the rocks, and it was pretty crowded even on a cold February day, but it's still cool.

2. London sort of reminds me of New York, but cleaner and with politer people. You hardly every hear Londoners honk, and they will stop to let pedestrians cross the road. Within a block of the Earl's Court Tube station, which was near our hotel, I met a well-dressed middle-aged gentleman who offered to carry my suitcase up a flight of stairs, and then wished us a good trip; another well-dressed middle-aged man who saw us reading a menu in a restaurant window, and stopped to give us a bunch of (good!) tips on where to eat; and a sweet waitress at a Chinese restaurant who asked us all about California and gave us all sorts of suggestions on what to visit in London, which Tube stops to use, and where to avoid pickpockets.

3. It horrifies me that I could have legally driven a car in London. It would probably take me years of being a menace on the road to get used to driving on the left.

4. If a particular ritual was silly 500 years ago, it isn't any less silly now.

5. Despite the weather, February is the perfect time to visit London. We walked right into watch the Houses of Commons and Lords without queuing at all, and practically had the Tower of London to ourselves.

Egg Questions

Okay, here's something that's been bugging me for a week and a half now. I noticed that all the grocery stores in London stock their eggs on shelving, and not in refrigerated cases. Every grocery store I have ever been in in the US sells the eggs refrigerated. So here's what I want to know: (1) Is it safe to store eggs at room temp? (2) If so, why do stores in the US bother to refrigerate? (3) If not, why aren't the British dropping dead in droves? (4) What explains this strange difference in grocery customs? (5) How do grocers in other countries store eggs?

I know in the grand scheme of things these questions are hardly of vital import, but they're bugging me, and I'd love to have some answers.

Back in the USA

I didn't have time to blog while I was gone. And I didn't get to do any yarn shopping, although we saw lots and lots of sheep. The afternoon we wen to the V&A, they had the floor with the textiles closed off for some reason, but I did see some very old knitted items at the Museum of London (which is definitely worth a visit in any case).

To the right is the ceiling of the Grand Court in the British Museum. By the way, the British Museum has very hard floors. Ask my camera. And that is why there are no pictures here of Stonehenge, which we visited after.

Here is Genuine British Dish Soap. I'm not sure why I took a picture of this; I guess to show even dish soap can be a little exotic when you're abroad.

And now it's time for my Ode to Clapotis. We lucked out in that it was clear almost the whole week we were in London (actually, they're having a drought). But it was also quite cold, especially to those of us who are acclimated to California. I wore my clapotis every day, and it was wonderful. It was warm, soft, and snuggly against my neck. No scratchiness at all. And unlike some scarves, it did not tend to shift around or tighten up around my neck; it just stayed put like a nice little thing. It wasn't too bulky to stuff under my coat. If I lived in a colder climate I would knit clapotis in every color I could.

Here is my clapotis visiting the Tate Modern:

And finally, when we were at the Museum of London we saw a painting from the late 19th century that depicts the members of a theatre company. And look what was front and center in the painting:

According to the caption, the Saint is "Mr Smith's dog."

Off to England

My clapotis and I (and hubby, too) are off to London in the morning. Theoretically, I will have internet access there, but frankly, blogging will probably not be my first priority.I still haven't decided whether to take a knitting project with me. I'm trying (with mixed success) to pack very light.

MagKnits

New MagKnits is up. Knitted sushi!

Goths, Olympians, and Terrorists

Those whose taste tends towards goth might enjoy a new online knitting mag, The AntiCraft. The first issue's title is, "You're Going to Die Anyway, so You Might as Well Knit." There are patterns for a voodoo doll, skull armwarmers, and several other items. Actually, while there's certainly nothing cutesy-cutesy here, the designs aren't actually all that goth, really. Even those whose wardrobe includes colors other than black might find something they like. My only complaint is that some of the photos are so artsy that it's hard to get a good idea of what the item really looks like.

Yarn Harlot is hosting a Knitting Olympics event. The idea is each contestant chooses a project that will challenge her, casts on during the Olympics opening ceremony, and finishes before the Olympics do. I won't be participating because I'll be in London for a chunk of that time, and because what should be 22 hours of perfect knitting time is ruined by the fact that Virgin does not allow knitting needles in carry-on luggage. I suppose this makes sense. We all know about the links between knitting and terrorism.

A favorite picture

I actually took this photo a year ago, but I like it a lot, so I decided to post it. I use it as wallpaper on one of my computers. The picture was taken at sunrise, on the deck of our timeshare at Kingsbury Grade, above Lake Tahoe. The shot is looking down on the Carson Valley, from an elevation of over 7000 feet. When the clouds clear, the valley's not so exciting-looking, but this picture always seems to me like you're looking down from heaven. Except in heaven, your children don't wake you before dawn.

Wavy Gravy

Ruthie Toothie models the Wavy Gravy scarf from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. I think she looks good in purple.

Confession

I am a grown woman, and I am currently hiding candy bars from my own children.

When I was a kid, my favorite candy bar was the Marathon Bar, a long, braided piece of chewy caramel covered in chocolate. No nougat nonsense. No nuts. Just caramelly, chocolatey goodness. I'd walk to the Plaid Pantry and buy one for a quarter, and then savor it slowly the whole way home. And then, at some point during my youth, Marathon Bars disappeared. Alas.

About two years ago, though, I discovered with much joy that Cadbury's makes a Marathon clone called the Curly Wurly. The problem is that they don't sell them in the United States, so you have to order them from companies that import candies or British foods. And during the warm months (which is a good part of the year here in the San Joaquin Valley) you can't order them at all, or else all you'd get would be a melted gooey mess. Plus, they're pricey--about $1.30 each plus shipping. And, of course, no immediate chocolate caramel gratification.

I was planning on importing some bars for myself when I go to London in a couple of weeks, but there's probably a limit on that. I can only imagine explaining to TSA offocials why I have a large hoard of candy bars in my suitcase. I'd probably end up on a list somewhere.

Last weekend we visited our nearest BevMo so that Dennis could stock up on beer for football-watching (on which I will comment, parenthetically, that if you have to get kinda buzzed to enjoy something, it's probably not that interesting to begin with). And there, to my great delight, was a whole box of Curly Wurlys (at $.99 each). I instantly snatched up 10 or so and tucked them into the cart behind the beer, where the prying eyes of small children wouldn't spy them. When I got them home, I spirited them away into the back of a cupboard, where I have been slowly doling them out to myself. In my defense, I have been sharing with Dennis, but maybe only because it's a lot harder to hide candy from him than the kids. The kids are perfectly satisfied with more common forms of junk, and we can save the Curly Wurlys for the more discerning adults. I'm just glad to have found a local source.

One problem: you can't knit and eat a Curly Wurly simultaneously.

Tell me about your mother...

As promised, fresh off the needles...it's Knitted Sigmund!

I used the "Knit Your Own Rock Star Pattern" (Henry Rollins version) from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation as the body template. But the facial features and clothes design were my own creation. Siggy was a bit fiddly to make, mainly because of all the layers of clothes, but I did enjoy adding a pocket watch chain and, of course, the cigar.

When I began this project, I didn't know that Anna knitted. I may have to knit an Anna as well.

For now, I can imagine a friendship that may, perhaps, exist in the Hereafter:

Anna Knits!

I'll be heading to London in a few weeks, and while I'm there I hope to visit the Freud Museum. That's what comes of having a PhD in Psychology. So I was just visiting the museum's web page, and happened across this little bit of information about Anna, Freud's daughter (and a well-known psychologist in her own right): "Anna Freud was a keen weaver and a knitting enthusiast, this latter activity being one which she practiced during analyses of patients." The museum has her loom on display. I wonder what she knitted as she listened to her patients?

Felting Fun

The other day I completed a couple of felted vases. I really like the one on the left, which was made using two strands of Plymouth Galway (one red, one off-white) together. Nice and valentiney. The one on the right, however, felted oddly. It was made with Berroco Foliage. As my hubby commented when he caught sight of it drying in the bathroom, "What is that thing growing in there??"

Okay.

But what to do with it? Seems a waste just to dump it. Then I turned it over to dry more thoroughly:

and inspiration struck. Hideous, malformed vase, but not a bad pincushion! So I'll just stuff some fiberfill inside, and pincushion it shall be. I may even pretend I meant it to be a pincushion. So there.

And no, this isn't the mystery project to which I alluded yesterday. That one's still in progress.

More Unusual Knitted Things

Courtesy of Knatolee, here are links to a fiber artist who has created, among other things, a knitted ab roller, and to an elaborate knitted garden blanket. I have an unusual project of my own on the needles right now. Hint1: "Anxiety is the price we pay for civilization." Hint2: It is not any bodily organs.

Hoody

Thing 1 models her new hoody. The yarn is the natural-colored wool from KnitPicks that she and I Kool-Aid dyed several months ago. She chose the colors herself. The pattern is from Sally Melville's The Purl Stitch. I think it turned out cute. I wish I'd made it a little longer. It's fine for now, but she grows so fast! Oh well, Thing 2 can inherit it later. I do like the way the yarn color worked out, and the whole thing still smells faintly of Kool-Aid, which isn't a bad thing. Now if she'll only wear it. Thing 1's thermostat is apparently set really high, and I have to argue with her to wear anything but a t-shirt on even the coldest days. Or maybe it's the perpetual motion that keeps her running warm.

This Is Not a Hat

This is actually intended to become a felted vase thingy. But Thing 2 discovered it before I felted it, and for a while it got to be a hat.

Thing 2 pulled it over her own face, as you can see in the first picture. I had to persuade her to just wear it on top of her head. I'm not sure quite what she resembles in the first pic. A miniature bank robber in footy jammies? A rasta hostage? A very strange alien?

More Interesting Knitted Things

The Victoria & Albert Museum's website has a section on knitted things that aren't garments. You can submit your own picture. I love the jellyfish1 and 2; must make one for Thing 2, whose room has an undersea theme. And Knatolee, there is a knitted cow sling! But the best is the Flying Spaghetti Monster, complete with link to the pattern. I posted about the FSM some time ago; you can read about it here.

The V&A site has other interesting knitting stuff, too, including patterns. Check out the Conrad gloves.

Nifty

Very cool time-waster, via Metafilter. It takes a few minutes to load, so be patient.

Demon Spawn?

I found these barrettes in Berkeley today. Are they not just about the best barrettes in the whole world?? It's coincidence that Thing 2 was wearing red today, and that she had spent the whole day hanging with Dad, thus her generally disheveled appearance.

The new Magknits is up, with a children's theme. I find one of the patterns especially appealing, for reasons that will become obvious.

Another Strange Knitted Thing

Knitted electrical cord, to wear as a scarf.

New Reviews

I updated my Yarn Store Review page today; I added several new reviews and re-organized a bit.

Knitted Zombies

at Craftster. And, by the same artist, knitted Shaun of the Dead.

Old New Sweater

Long before my kids were conceived, I knitted a bunch of stuff for my potential children-to-be. Most of it was baby stuff, and the real kids have now long since outgrown them. But a few were in larger sizes. This sweater was one of them, and it now fits Thing One nicely. The bright colors suit her, too. I have a new hoody for her on the needles now, made from the yarn we Kool-Aid dyed, but I still have a way to go on that one. So she'll have to be content with this sweater for a while.

Oh, and that's Ruthie eating breakfast in the background. And a changing table, which I am soooo looking forward to getting rid of, but Thing Two isn't quite ready to give up diapers yet.

Just one reason I will never live in LA

This picture was taken on I-5, right around the southern end of the LA city limits, at about 11am on a Thursday. Okay, it was the Thursday between Christmas and New Years, but still.

Note that traffic is backed up in both directions. It was backed up basically from Irvine to Valencia. Ick.

I'd like to also comment that this is not the most scenic stretch of freeway in the world, especially at 2 MPH.

New Yarn Store Record

We are currently wrapping up our visit with the in-laws in San Diego. Happily for me, hubby's Aunt T knits, and also happily, hubby and Grandma were content to hang with the kids while Aunt T and I yarn shopped. We visited five stores yesterday, a personal record. I bought stuff at four out of the five. Hey, the kids got Legoland and the zoo, hubby got hours of football on tv, I get yarn. Fair enough.

And I like the zoo, too.

Hmmm.....

Today I found myself wondering what sorts of visitors they normally get in Encinitas.

Sweet

This afternoon I was waiting to pick up Thing 1 at school. The first graders spend part of the day on "rotation," which means they go to another teacher's class. Because all the classrooms open directly to the outside, the kids have to walk outside to return to their regular classroom. So as I was waiting, a bunch of kids came out of Thing 1's room. A couple of boys started running, and suddenly one of them lost his shoe. He fell, and dozens of papers scattered from the notebook he was holding. Without missing a beat, the girl behind him picked up his shoe and brought it to him. Then while he stood there looking helpless, she carefully gathered up his papers and handed them back to him.

Knit this!

You wouldn't think anything could top the knitted womb from Knitty, but here ya go: an entire knitted digestive system, all the way from tongue to anus! I doubt I'll be knitting this one myself anytime soon, but you gotta admire the effort. At this rate, eventually one could knit an entire anatomically correct human being. Elsewhere on Matie Trewe's web pages, she has a knitted donut and a shrug with lacey skulls.

Moebius Basket

Felted Moebius Basket from Cat Bordhi's Second Treasury of Magical Knitting. It took me several tries to get the moebius cast-on correct, during which I did not lose my patience, because casting on incorrectly multiple times is still more fun than grading papers. I like this cute little guy because:

1. Once I figured out the cast-on, it was a very quick project
2. It used a single skein of variegated Manos that I couldn't not buy (oh, I do love Manos), but which I had no use for
3. It's felted. I love felting--it's like magic
4. It's a moebius, which is just kinda cool
5. I can put stuff in it
   

Knitting Needle Cases

I sewed these using the pattern in Stitch 'n Bitch. They're easy to make; well within the reach of my extremely limited sewing talents. The one on the right is my own, which I've been using for over a year. I just finished the one on the left as a Christmas gift for a pink-loving family member. I really like using these--they've saved me much time searching for needles, and everything stays nice and neat, no matter how chaotic the rest of my life becomes.

Winter Is Here

This morning the grass was frosty. Allison and I agreed that when Ruthie was outside for her morning potty, her breath vapor made her look like a furry dragon. And all my students are bundled up this morning in parkas and scarves. This is as close as it gets to winter here.

And the Winter Knitty is up, and it's a particularly big edition. I am positive that some Pocket Creatures are in my near knitting future; probably Marley as well. But first I need to figure out how to do Cat Bordhi's Mobius cast-on. It's not that I can't figure it out; it's just that every time I try, I end up with a different number of stitches, none of which resemble the actual number of stitches I'm supposed to have.

Vegan Fox

Allison is modeling the Vegan Fox, from Knitty. Unfortunately, between the black yarn I chose and my crappy photography skills, it's impossible in these pictures to see the detail on its face. You'll just have to believe me that it's cute. At least Allison and I think so. Dennis said, "What the hell is THAT?"

There's a special irony for me with this piece, because one of my grandfathers was a furrier (and I'm not vegan, but I don't eat mammals).

Al's shirt, BTW, is from Baby Wit, which is also where we got Quinn's "I already know more than the President" shirt.

As If I Had the Time...

the new MagKnits is up. All bags this issue. I have an extra skein of Daria that may become the corded bag, someday.

Mixed feelings

The girls discovered the spider this morning when they came downstairs for breakfast (I'd left it on the kitchen table). Quinn laughed and said, "How cute!" and then proceeded to chase her sister around the kitchen with it. Allison pretended to scream.

I don't know whether to be disappointed that they didn't freak out, or proud that they've inherited my taste for creepy-crawly things.

I Am a Bad Mom

This creative use of yarn ends didn't take much in the way of skill to execute. However, its strategic placement should result in some satisfying reactions from the girls in the morning.

Heh heh.

New Model

My hubby is the type who wears shorts and t-shirts year-round, which makes for limited knitting opportunities. However, ski season is approaching, and I had some yummy chocolate-colored alpaca. Voila, a scarf for skiing, made to his exact specs (not too long, not too frou-frou, no fringes). The alpaca was only sport weight, so I added a strand of Araucania wool, black in parts and variegated blue in others. Not very exciting knitting (just seed stitch) but at least he'll actually wear it.

PS--Yes, that's a pile of laundry in the background, waiting to be folded. I have my priorities straight.

Fashions I Could Live without

I though about this while I was walking across campus the other day. If I were the fashion police (highly unlikely as that may be) I would issue tickets for the following:

1. Girls in low-cut jeans and tight, belly-baring t-shirts. Is there some sort of tragic fabric shortage?
2. Suburban white boys in really baggy pants that are worn low and beltless.
3. Girls in spandex pants with writing across the butt. Your ass is not a billboard.
4. Boys in baseball caps, especially if worn backwards.
5. Girls wearing pajama bottoms to class. Is this a fashion statement, or were they too damn lazy to get dressed that morning?
6. Boys in dyed mohawks. I thought it was kinda cool when I was in high school a long long time ago.
7. Girls with long fingernails that have fancy art on them. Because (1) these girls can barely function with such long nails and (2) they never seem to have time to study, and yet have hours to get their nails done.

On Safari

Friends and I spent the weekend at Safari West. Here are a couple of the animals we met. The giraffe was, obviously, close enough to touch. Looks like he's blowing his coat. The cranky looking cow-thing is a Cape Buffalo. And that ostrich was just a pest.

Too cute not to post

The children are asleep. Now the parents get to raid their loot. Shhhhh. Don't tell.

Che sorpresa.

Mr. Stupidhead picked another conservative white guy for the Supreme Court. I'm shocked. Just shocked.

Magknits

October Magknits is up.

Car Trip Art

This evening we were driving home on I-580. The kids were watching a video in the backseat, and I was bored. But aha! I had the camera handy! Here are two of my favorites, taken as we went over the Altamont. The first one reminds me of hearts, and the second of musical notes.

The camera, BTW, is just a Kodak point and shoot digital. I took these shots using the night-time setting, and zoomed in to the camera's max.

Morning Musings

I live in California's Central Valley, where summers are long and hot. But Fall is finally here, with comfortable days and cool, crisp nights. Yesterday we had a few rain showers, and today there's some cloud cover. My students have responded by putting on hats and scarves and parkas and Ugg boots. They look like they're ready for a polar expedition. For goodness sake, the highs are still in the mid-60's! I don't know whether my students are genuinely cold, or if they're just anxious to use their cold-weather gear.


My beloved SUV got crunched this weekend in the grocery store parking lot. An idiot in a pickup backed right into me, even though I was honking like mad. He says he didn't hear me, and he certainly didn't see me. I strongly suspect he was talking on his cell phone, because he managed to have 2 more phone calls in the 5 minutes it took to exchange insurance information. He did $1700 worth of crunching, which my body shop won't get to until the end of November, and which will take them a week to fix. Foruntately, although the kids were in the car with me, nobody was hurt or traumatized. And there is a small silver lining: the fender he squished, which will be replaced, already had 2 largish door dings in it. So at least I'll get rid of them.


I stopped this morning for a venti pumpkin spice Frappuccino because I needed a major caffeine and sugar boost. Right in front of Starbucks, some guy was in the process of being arrested. I have no idea what for; probably nothing important, because there was only one cop car involved. I felt kinda sorry for the guy. What a crappy way to begin your Friday.


Thing One needed to get some cavities filled yesterday. She was an extremely good girl. And for an extra $200 out of her parents' pockets, she got Twinky Star fillings, which are colored and glittery. She even got to choose her colors (pink and blue). The dental tech warned us against orange--he said it just looks like the kid's been eating Cheetos. While I certainly appreciate anything that will help a 6-year-old tolerate dental work, I wonder if it's really such a great idea to make cavities FUN!?!


Elizabeth Hickok has sculpted San Francisco in Jello. Knatolee, does this inspire you?

Clapotis est fini

Allison is modeling my clapotis, fini. I'm very pleased with the scarf, which ended up using about 3 1/3 skeins of yarn. Allison looks a little strange in this pic because (1) she just returned from the dentist, and her mouth is numb, (2) she's about to leave for gymnastics, hence the leotard, and (3) they're having a Halloween party at gymnastics today, hence the hot pink hair.

I should mention that Angelika's got my extra yarn to me within 3 days, and the dye lots seem to be a good match.

I am looking forward to taking my clapotis to Europe with me.

Ooh la la?

I have been slooooowly making progress on my current project, a clapotis. I'm using Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in the Jeans colorway. This yarn is equally scrumptious to look at and to touch. I bought it a bunch of months ago at Stash in Berkeley. Now, I normally buy an extra ball of yarn or so, just in case. But this stuff is really spendy--as in $30 or so a pop. So I just bought the 3 that the pattern calls for. Well, Saturday night I hit the halfway point on my clapotis and realized that 3 wasn't gonna make it. I searched online and found Angelika's Yarn Store, which had the right color in stock. I ordered one more ball, and it looks like it was shipped today. I just hope the dye lot is a good match. I'm wondering, too, why I'm running short, because I tend to knit tightly, and because I didn't care about gauge in the project, I should have had enough yarn.

Clapotis was inspired by Parisian women, and it looks like I'll actually get to wear mine in Paris. This winter, the plan is for the grandparents to come stay with the kids, so hubby and I get a grownup vacation in London and Paris. First time the two of us will have the time and the money to go to Europe together. Hooray!

As If My Knitting Backlog Wasn't Big Enough Already

The Fall Knitty and September Magknits are up.

Best Character Name Ever?

I saw this in a teaser for next week's Arrested Development. Scott Baio (where has he been for the last 20 years??) will play an attorney named Bob Loblaw. I can't stop saying it out loud....

Ruthie Models Again

Ruthie models my newest FO, the Alpaca Crack Scarf. It's made from one of the balls of yarn I received from KnitPicks. A single ball of Suri Dreams costs just $3.99, and it's enough for a quite long scarf. The yarn itself is really light and lofty. It's like wearing whipped cream. I'm not sure if Strawberry is Ruthie's color, nor do I think she really needs a scarf when it's 90 degrees out, but doesn't she look pretty? (ignore the drool-related guck on her neck and chest, please).

Time for a Quickie

Noro Daria drop-stitch scarf. A nice immediate gratification project, and I just had to try Daria.

Not California Dreamin'

It's not even October yet, and I'm buried in work. So of course I'm dyadreaming about vacations. Right now I'd probably jump at a vacation to anywhere (hey, we honeymooned in Lincoln, Nebraska!), but I've decided on my top 3 Fantasy Exotic Trips: Bhutan, the Galapagos Islands, and Botswana.

This week I haven't even made it to Modesto.

Ruthie in Stitches

This is my version of the Boyfriend Bag from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, with Ruthie Toothie as the model. It's made of Cascade Sierra, a cotton/wool blend, and lined with dog bone-print fabric. It took me forever to knit because I'm painfully sloooow at fair isle knitting.

Truth in advertising, finding religion, alpaca crack

Possibly one of the 10 best commercials, ever. Really. And this is funny, too.

Have you found the Lord yet? No?? Try this! Some religious group sent a flyer home with my Thing 1 today (from public school) which stated, "Release time for religion, an important part of education, is provided for by state law and school board policy...." Parents are supposed to sign a permission form so kids could attend "Release Time Rallies." After visiting this website, I think it's time to schedule my own Release Time Rally.

Last night I skipped over to my husband to show him my KnitPicks loot. He said, "Oh. That's what crack looks like." He knows me too well.

Major gloat time!

Last week, I received an email from KnitPicks about a surprise package they were sending to a few customers so we could see the new fall yarns. "How nice!" I thought. "They're sending me color cards." Well, the box arrived today, and it certainly looked too big for color cards.








Hmmm! What's inside??

Wow!!!

The booty:

I know this is very smart marketing by KnitPicks. It's reminiscent of the tactics used by drug dealers. You know, "Here kid! Just try some! It's free!"

But I don't care.

I'm sure the marketing will work and I will order some of this yarn. In the meantime, I can decide what to do with a bunch of single balls. The package did include a pattern for a 1-ball scarf. And now that I have been appropriately bribed, I can still truthfully attest that these yarns are very nice. The green one at the front right is Ambrosia, a baby alpaca-cashmere blend, and it's especially yummy.

I'm not sure why I got the free yarn. I've only ordered from KnitPicks maybe 3 times, most recently in June, and I haven't spent a fortune there. My Mon, who's also ordered from them, didn't get free yarn. Maybe I'm just lucky. Maybe I'm just obviously a sucker for their ploy. I don't care. I'm just going to gloat for a while.

The Perfect Yarn Store

I do yarn shop tourism. Partly this is because yarn shops in my immediate vicinity are scarce, and partly because it's just fun. So any time I travel, if I have the chance, I try to visit new fiber stores. You can read reviews from some of my visits here.

I have a (totally unrealistic) fantasy of owning my own LYS. As the new academic year begins, and I begin the thankless and unrewarding job of department chair, it's particularly tempting to lapse into this fantasy. So yesterday, as the family was driving home from a visit to the Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento (which entailed no yarn shopping), I gave my patient husband an oral dissertation on the Perfect Yarn Store. Here are some of the Perfect Yarn Store's characteristics.

1. Naturally, it has an excellent selection of yarn. It is particularly strong on high-end basics, and it carries a wide selection of some of my frequent standbys, such as Lamb's Pride, Manos, and Noro. It also carries some novelty yarn, but it's stronger in basics.
2. The staff is friendly and helpful, and yet allows people to shop without hovering over them. I like to feel like I can browse forever, unmolested, but also that assistance will be at my beck and call if needed.
3. The store is sufficiently well-staffed that it's easy to find someone to help you, and you don't have to wait long to pay.
4. The yarn is displayed in such a way that it's easy to find something specific. I prefer stores that organize by fiber weight and type, not by color or brand.
5. Like Lint (in Portland, Oregon), yarn bins have tags that are color-coded by yarn weight. This makes it easy to find, for example, all the worsted yarns.
6. The store is attractive and it is clear that the owners have given thought to its design.
7. There are places to sit and browse patterns or, perhaps, just sit and knit.
8. There's enough room in the store that it doesn't feel crowded, even when there are lots of shoppers inside.
9. The lighting is good.
10. There is an excellent and well-organized selection of patterns and notions.
11. Each yarn is clearly tagged with price.
12. Each yarn has at least a small swatch displayed nearby, so you can see what it looks like knitted up.
13. There are lots of knitted up garments on display, each clearly marked as to pattern source and yarn tpe, amount, and cost.
14. It's easy to reach the yarns (I'm 5 feet tall).
15. It's kid friendly. Really, I prefer to shop unburdened by my offspring, but that's just not always possible. I love yarn stores that have a box of toys to occupy the kids. I also prefer if the staff does not give the evil eye to my generally well-behaved girls the moment we enter.
16. There's a cafe in the yarn store (which also makes a good place to occupy children and spouses).
17. It's easy to find the store, and parking or public transportation is convenient.
18. The store also carries a nice selection of buttons, and maybe even other goodies like jewelry.
19. There are other interesting shops and restaurants nearby. I often make a day's outing out of a yarn store trip, especially since many stores are located 2 hours or more from my house.
20. The store is open long hours. I have a full-time job and two young kids; I can often only manage to shop on weekends or evenings.
21. The store has a website with information about hours of operation, directions, and a list of yarns carried. News on upcoming events would be nice, too
22. The store sponsors not just classes (which I have never taken) but also fun events. For example, I've seen shops that have book club/knitting nights, special knitting nights for moms, and knitting trips and camps. At one store, I recently saw a poster advertising a Knitting at the Movies night: a local theater would be showing March of the Penguins with the theater lights only part-way dimmed, so that people could knit and watch the movie.

I'm sure I can think of other things as well, but this is a good start! Of course, no single store can meet every one of these criteria, and some of the criteria are more important than others. If anyone thinks they've found the Perfect Yarn Store, I'd love to hear about it. In my next post, I'll list the closest contenders I've found so far, at least in Northern California and Oregon.

One More Completed Project

A sweater for Thing 2. It's Isabel's Sweater, from "Knitter's Stash." I made it in grape-colored Katia Himalaya, with yellow Berroco Pronto for the trim. It was slightly traumatic, because I ended up just a few dozen yards short on the Himalaya, and my original source, Elann, no longer has this color. Fortunately, I found it elsewhere online (Perfect Touch Yarns, to be precise), and thanks to Priority Mail, I had it in hand in 3 days. And there's no discernible line from unmatching dye lots.

I think this will look cuter on, but there's no way I'm going to make Cutie Pie model a heavy sweater when it's 95 degrees out. So instead, I have posed it in its natural element, among the detritus of an evening's playing. Tonight, the girls were playing Veterinarian, Pirates, Taking Care of Babies, and Putting Things in Bags.

When Dinosaurs Have Tea Parties

Tooth Fairy Purse

Thing One has her very first loose tooth. So what does she need? A felted Tooth Fairy purse, of course! In the requisite 5-year-old girl colors: purple and pink.

Felted laptop bag from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. It fits my laptop perfectly. I finished the knitting and felting last week, and then bought the zipper while were in Oregon, celebrating my sister's wedding.

The view from the car as we headed north near Mt. Shasta. Note the bug spots on the windshield. We drove at night on the way home. Less scenic, but, with 2 young kids, waaay quieter.