LoopyKnits

First, a little non-knitting contents in honor of our mini-vacation this past weekend:

There’s no place like HOME! It was fun to visit San Antonio, but it was so good to get back to my kids, my pooch, and my peeps in general. (The hubby came up for the weekend or he’d have made the peeps list too.) It’s nice to be around people without having to tip them every few seconds. (Teenagers excepted.) Our tour included the Alamo, the Natural Bridge Caverns, the local mercado (market), Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and a visit to a highly rated local Tex-Mex restaurant (wherein I tasted my first dish of baby goat — yum).

And finally we get to the knitting contents of this posting: We of course made a stop at the Yarn Barn. Wow! What a selection! I was in awe just of their knitting needle selection alone, not to mention an entire aisle just of SOCK yarns. I went in and out of this largish shop in a blur due to our other plans for the day (”blur” meaning about 45 minutes when I wanted to stay there for 2-3 hours), but I fully intend to go back for an entire afternoon the next time I’m traveling nearby. The staff was nice and knowledgeable, with one staffer immediately noticing my dropped jaw and asking me if I needed help (I’m sure she was offering retail assistance, not mental health help … pretty sure, anyway). She then walked me toward the back of the shop to see the lovely selection of wool and cotton sock yarns.

You could probably get better prices online, but they seemed comparable to my local shops and it was nice for me, as a relatively novice knitter, to be able to squeeze and stroke the various yarns. I kept putting some skeins up to my face and sighing while my husband just sighed and found a comfortable place to stand with my purse. There were a good 10-12 patrons in there, happily doing needlepoint, crochet, and knitting as other shoppers puttered around. I think I and another gal had the only husbands in tow, though. And only mine was actually in the store. ;o)

As much as I love visiting the local yarn stores back home (I recently dropped the bucks for three projects at two of ‘em), I do so love being “unfaithful” to ‘em on those rare occasions when I’m out of town, too. It’s just nice to see what other knitters have available to them.

You see two future pairs of socks before you, of course. This is Cherry Tree Hill’s fingering-weight merino in Supersock Solids Purple and Supersock Champlain Sunset (such pretty colors they almost sparkle).

I didn’t make it to the nearby alpaca farm as I had hoped, but I managed to wear Texas-size blisters on my little toes by the end of the day, just the same. Those pinky toes were curled up little balls of screaming meat — and I was still happy, just the same. Caverns! Yarn! Historical site! Exciting new foods! Weird stuff at Ripley’s! Coolness! I’m struggling with my two-color stranding for my newest sock project, however. It kept me occupied during my downtime between events at my work division’s annual meeting. Busy knitting and then frogging, that is. I have no trouble at all holding one color yarn in the left hand and one in the right and knitting away. It feels very nifty and I think I’d like to knit an entire sweater like this. It’s definitely addictive. The problem is figuring out what to do about the color jogs. Either I’m not following the directions well or I need to find better references online. The only free advice I could find online about color jogs was in the Swirt pattern online at MagKnits; it’s Tip #1 on that page. But when I follow their brief directions, the main color intrudes on the row of secondary colors. I feel certain I’m missing something …

There’s also a “dealing with jogs” tip on this KeyWay.net page but it doesn’t seem helpful either, for my socks. (If anyone has some good online tutorials — especially with vidclips — I’d appreciate a comment with the info. Thanks! I’ve spent a bit much on my stash lately and am trying to avoid purchasing a book especially about Fair Isle knitting — at least for now.)

In the meantime, I’m anxiously awaiting tomorrow’s revelation about the new sock pattern for the August project of the Six Sox Knitalong that I recently joined. All we know so far is that it’s supposed to look best in a solid color, not even anything tweedy, and we need 100 grams of sockweight yarn. I’m reserving the new purple merino for this project and will begin looking for another cute sock pattern to try the spiffy colors of the Champlain on. (I saw a sock pattern that looked almost modular recently with little “scales” of different color streaks … I’m probably not describing this well … and have been desperately looking for that link ever since, darn it.)

Okay, that’s probably enough about my weekend! — Carolyn B.

[tags]San Antonio, Texas knitting, sock knitting, Yarn Barn, Cherry Tree Hill yarn, travel knitting, knitblog, LoopyKnits.com, Carolyn Bahm/tags]

I think I was a bit more of a fuddy duddy this year than in previous years because I stuck to the hotel room for peace and quiet when we weren’t in meetings during this year’s annual conference for my corporation’s division (about 480 people) in San Antonio. I don’t find drinking to be that entertaining. Not being a prude about it; I’ve certainly sucked down a few brews, fine tequila, cheap wine, and expensive Remy Martin in my day. But it’s not as entertaining as it used to be, and drinking makes me feel bloaty and draggy the next day, so I usually limit it to just one glassful. This time I just wanted to sleep, knit, watch TV and get online after being pinned down in all-day meetings.

Which isn’t to say the meetings were bad — we had a former Olympic skiier and a workplace diversity/bias reduction speaker who had some useful insights and who were each vibrant and funny in their own way. And the head honchos did drag us out a bit to have dinner at Rio Rio Cantina (the mild salsa was flaming hot but good, and the frozen margaritas were EXCELLENT). And of course there was the night when we all got to play cowboys and cowgirls.

My friend and co-worker, Deb (on left) and I
hold down the benches and hold up a couple
of the souvenir cowboy hats.

We went to the Knibbe Ranch for an evening of line dancing, pool playing, grub-eating fun. I have two left feet when it comes to following dance instructions, so I just watched and took photos of more nimble-footed friends. Some folks had their picture taken astride what must be the world’s most placid longhorn bull, a mild creature named Oreo. (With a name like that, he’s got to be an easygoing critter.) I didn’t want my thighs to smell like, uh, bull the rest of the night — not that any thigh-sniffing was planned (darn it), but still. So I passed on that too. But I couldn’t resist a shot of Oreo’s reaction to all the dancing and commotion.

Meet Oreo. That’s one calm bull.

I also took my knitting to the ranch in anticipation of having little to do besides vie for position at the pool tables (too crowded) or stomp on everyone’s toes, including my own, out on the dance floor. And once there, I found a fabulous use for the cowboy hats we each received as souvenirs.

Valiantly trying to knit amidst the clamor …

We were only there a few hours, some of which was eaten up by VP speeches, so I didn’t get a lot of knitting done, just a few inches on my socks. I’m making the Relax and Breathe socks from the Betsy Lee McCarthy book, “Knit Socks!” — which I picked because I wanted an excuse to learn Fair Isle knitting. I’m doing them in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. Mmm, soft goodness. The colors are peach (main color), a mossy pale green, beige, and butter yellow.

I took the third bus back to the hotel for a quiet night in the room. (Sometimes it’s just too hard to resist taking advantage of those rare times alone — at least they’re rare for me!) I realized I was making a tangled mess of the Fair Isle portion of my socks anyway and stopped until I could get back to my room and check out the KnittingHelp.com site, which showed me a simple technique for holding a yarn color in each hand. It was easy and looked so cool doing that!

Now I’ve got to look up something on preventing “color jog” and I’ll be all set. I did go ahead and rip out the work done because I wasn’t happy with the look of the top cuff. It looked a bit large and floppy.

(It looks better in the photo than in real life, actually.) I’m going to try a second time with the alternate version of the pattern, which uses a garter-stitch rolltop. So I frogged, studied my yarn a bit more, and decided that I was happy being a fuddy duddy for the night. After all, my room really did have a great view — at least from my vantage point.

A room with a view

P.S. I’ll have more postings next week; my husband’s flying over for the weekend and we’re going to an aviation museum, some underground caverns, at least one yarn shop and (maybe) an alpaca farm. But no more blogging until Sunday or Monday night! ;o)

Technorati Tags: San Antonio, Rio Rio Cantina, Knibbe Ranch, travel knitting, sock knitting, Fair Isle knitting, color jog, knitblog, LoopyKnits.com, Carolyn Bahm

Despite the fact I’m traveling without the usual helpful presence of my hubby, I made it to San Antonio intact for my business trip. That is, I arrived with my two suitcases and purse and *new* laptop. (Did I ever mention that I don’t pack light?) I’ll be the first to admit that he spoils me, handling luggage and tips and checkins and such, so when I’m on my own, it’s Ditz Time as I fumble around to figure out where to go and what to do.

But never fear. I’ve got yarn to entertain me too. I got to play with some new Debbie Bliss Cashmerino on the plane, and let me say that this woman was aptly named. Her yarns really ARE bliss! This is the softest stuff. I’m following a pattern for some relatively simple two-color stranding (my first foray into such) to make some cool socks for myself. Already, I’m entranced with the pettability of this yarn!

I’m also deeply in love with my newest toy, er — make that my newest NECESSITY, a TOOL, really — a new laptop for the first time in several years. It’s a 17-inch HP Pavilion zd8000 series. It’s hefty and more of a desktop replacement than an actual “portable” notebook, but it’s oh-so-me. Now if I were a rich woman, I’d also have one of those 2-pound ultraportables too, but I’m more than simply content with this baby. It’s so nice to have a laptop that no one has had before me … which belongs to me and not my company … and which has the latest operating system and no buggy problems. Heck, I didn’t really have much to say here today but I came a’blogging just to have an excuse to play. ;o)

So what’s San Antonio like, you might be asking? I’ll give you the quick answer. Not a clue, people. I came straight from the airport to a blessedly chilly hotel room which I’ve only left for a quick lunch. Now I’m resting for a while before we have our 5 p.m. general session and the 6 p.m. supper. Some fools, er, more energetic folks are already out shopping on the Riverwalk (a shop-lined canal next to our hotel). Not my idea of a good time, though!!! I dropped enough cash on the computer and some new duds for the trip, and it’s just too bloomin’ hot to go anyway right now anyway.

I think I must be going through some serious periomenopause, because I’m starting to experience some real sweating issues with even the lightest exertion. And if I get to a certain temperature, I have a hellacious long time cooling down. It’s dripping down my face, down the back of my neck, pouring down my cleavage, etc. My hair is wet everywhere but right on top of my head (an attractive look, don’t you think) — I look like I just came in from mowing the yard, I swear. I started sweating at home this morning when I was doing the last of my packing, and I don’t think I really stopped until I got in my hotel room (with the brief exception of some cool air on the jet). But all is well now. One thing you’ve gotta love about company-paid hotel stays: rooms that have their own thermostats.

Heh-heh, I’m going to see if it can actually make it to 55 degrees.

Technorati Tags: San Antonio, business trip, new computer, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, travel knitting, periomenopause, sweating, knitblog, LoopyKnits.com, Carolyn Bahm

I was so entranced with how slinky and drapey and “netty” the loosely knit ladder yarn for my stole was feeling, the end of the black skein kind of crept up on me. Only then did it occur to me … how in the heck do you keep the “old” end and the “new” end worked into the stitches when the stockinette stitching is so bloomin’ loose?

Why, one improvises, of course.

I don’t know what other folks do, but I just picked some sewing thread that blended (black), aligned a couple of inches of the tail over a couple of inches of the new skein’s beginning, and stitched several of the little “crossties” of the ladder/railroad yarn together. When I finished, it was darned near invisible and so far looks like it’s going to hold.

Feeling mighty proud of myself, today! It’s the small triumphs that get you through the day, right?

In non-knitting news, I’m also stocking up on all the things I need for one of my rare business trips and — at the prompting of a friend — I recalled what made my jaw drop when I popped open my suitcase in Orlando on another business trip a few years ago. (One of my girls had been helping Mommy cut tags off her new business trip clothes, and she had brought me a steak knife instead of scissors. When we were finished, she had — without my knowledge — lovingly tucked it in my suitcase for me in case I needed it again. It made it through two airports’ X-ray lines and one open-luggage check, untouched. Yikes! I’m still surprised that I’m not in federal chains. Needless to say, I left it behind in Orlando.)

Technorati Tags: ladder yarn, travel knitting, knitblog, LoopyKnits.com, Carolyn Bahm

Friday night was, of course, devoted to blowing money on the new Harry Potter book when it FINALLY went on sale. I foolishly took my knitting along, confident that I could find a quiet corner to sit and knit while Caitlyn played in the kids’ section for an hour or so.

Uh, no. There had to be at least 500-600 people there. (Shh, don’t tell the fire marshall.) Unless I wanted to stab someone (a few tempted me), knitting was clearly out. Man, it was packed! The last time I was jammed in somewhere with that many people dressed in quirky costumes, it was Mardi Gras in New Orleans and I had a drink in each hand and a couple more already in my belly. ;o) Much like Mardi Gras in N’awlins, it was an experience worth having. Once. Next year I plan to quietly order my book for home delivery.

Saturday morning, I jumped up faster than I normally do on the weekend and headed to the Memphis Agricenter’s Intergalactic Bead Show at 10 a.m. with other members of Memphis Stitch ‘N Bitch. Although I didn’t find the Miyuki beads I wanted for my NeedleBeetle stole (*sniffle*), I did enjoy prowling around among the tables. I couldn’t resist buying some cute beaded gifts for my girls.

Caitlyn got a tiny beaded butterfly in blue but she’s also coveting Ginny’s present — a little froggy.

For myself, I indulged in a 24-inch leather cord ($4) and a 34.25-gram lime-green gaspeite stone. Just $12 and already drilled and mounted to hang on the cord. I wore the darlin’ thing home.

Since I’d already enriched the Memphis retail environment enough in the last couple of days (Note to husband: *gulp* Just kidding, honey!), I skipped the lunch out with stitching gal-pals and headed home. (Also had that new HP book to read, doncha know.) Plus, to be *totally* honest, I really suck at my navigation abilities and didn’t trust myself to find the restaurant they were talking about, even though they were giving me directions any bonehead (other than me) could easily follow. (Sorry, ladies — I *hate* to admit how directionally blind I am.) I’ll find out the destination in advance next time so I can do a little pre-lunch visit to MapQuest. And if I’m really ‘fessing up, I was feeling a bit lonely for the dear hubby. I’ve had so many little stretches of “me” time lately with my hobbies and work that I’ve kind of neglected him. It was nice to have a long lunch and run a few errands with him and catch up on all our shelved conversations. ;o)

In actual knitting news, the shawl I’m hoping to take on my San Antonio trip on the 26th is progressing rapidly. It’s just plain stockinette stitch, knit loosely on giant size-15 needles. The only reason I’m not flying through it is that I don’t want to spear the middle of the ladder yarn with each stitch. Also, I’ve found that I need to stop in the middle of a row instead of at the end. When the gauge is this loose, it’s easy to overlook whether the next row is supposed to be knit or purl! Here are some snapshots of progress so far, including a closeup of the knit fabric. Because of how slippery this yarn is, I strongly suspect that I’ll have to tie off the end with either a knot (nah) or a discreet stitch or two or three with black thread (that’s more like it). I’ll add some fringe on the ends, too.

Isn’t it funny how mixing two yarns changes the fabric’s color so much?
This combo is the brainchild of a LYS, Rainbow Yarn and Fibres.

Ain’t it purty. I love the color flecks and the drape.

You can tell a little more from this closeup.

Technorati Tags: Harry Potter, Intergalactic Bead Show, ladder yarn, shawl knitting, beading, knitblog, LoopyKnits.com, Carolyn Bahm

One of my favorite bloggers frequently talks about her own mishaps with a tongue-in-cheek reference to her breezy elegance. Boy, did I identify with her today at work.

A friend was chatting over the cubicle wall to me, wanting to know what this whole “blogging” thing is about. I eventually hopped up with the intention of going to the other side to help her get set up on Blogger.com. (Probably not the helpful team spirit my boss wants me to exhibit, but what the hey. It’s Friday.) My feet got tangled in my headphone cord, and — once again losing my work/life balance — I plunged to the floor. First to my knees (MAJOR thud), then kind of slumping onto my butt with a secondary thud, a groan and a couple of choice words.

As co-workers scrambled to my area to see who had dropped a load of bricks or fallen dead in the aisle, they saw me on my ass. And, I’m sure, they thought, “Oh. Just Carolyn again.”

And although I laughed it off while my stinging knees were crying for mama, I was left to wonder, “Why the hell doesn’t something like this ever happen when there ISN’T an audience?”

On the upside, I didn’t tear my jeans. On the downside, I left a couple of layers of skin on the inside of the jeans’ knees. Here’s a picture of the boo-boos. I’m just hoping all evidence of this breezy elegance is gone by the time of my business trip on the 26th. Or will there be green bruises by then … never can tell. Breezy elegance abounds. (Update: As it turns out, the knees were not the worst of it. I had a purple bruise the size of a salad plate on one side of my fanny. And, since I fell with all my weight on just one hip, it was a huge spinal adjustment. Put a kink in my spine that took weeks of chiropractic visits to unsnarl. Whee.)

But enough about my natural grace. A bright spot in the day was my very first purchase of railroad/ladder yarn — it’s so pretty! Normally I prefer to focus on the pattern and use plainer yarn, but I liked the springy, drapey feel of this in the sample wrap that my LYS had on display. Plus, it knits up on size 15s, so it’s uber-quick. You use two strands at once, one of the red/pink Mega and one of the glittery black Dazzle. It may sound gaudy but it works wonderfully together for a subdued glow. I’m going to start it tonight while we’re sitting around a local bookstore tonight at one of the local Harry Potter parties. (Yes. I’m a book nerd TOO.)

And tomorrow, I head to the Intergalactic Bead Festival here in Memphis with other members of Memphis Stitch ‘N Bitch to see what we can see. Maybe I’ll pick up the glass beads for my Seaweed Stole.  FYI: I say “My Seaweed Stole” loosely — I haven’t even bought the pattern yet. It’s just one of those that I know I’ll make someday. So lovely with the zig-zaggy fringe. Completely impractical, but things you love seldom are. Check it out at Needle Beetle and see if you don’t agree. Go on; I’ll wait. (tapping toes) You loved it, didn’t you — I knew you would.

 So many pretty things to make … but so many UFOs to tackle first.

Ciao, folks! - Carolyn

Technorati Tags: breezy elegance, fall at work, ladder yarn, seaweed stole, knitblog, LoopyKnits.com, Carolyn Bahm