Feline Approval

When I'm knitting, my cats sometimes get involved -- you know, playing with the yarn and the needles, although they are pretty well-behaved most of the time, but seriously, I get a lot of cat curiosity around here:



The best is when I get feline approval, such as here:



and here:





and when it is something specifically for the kitty, the love is very evident!



It is a good feeling!

Turning the (Knitting) Work

Over the holidays, I got a lot of knitting to give, receive and work on. The holiday time is now a festival of extra time that I totally indulge in.

And the knitting Gods sent us awful weather with major traffic issues -- basically all major highways around me went defunct yesterday, so staying home and knitting was a good thing.

Ok, so some of the fun was in the giving -- some sock yarn (6-ply Opal in a lovely black, white and rosey red) and the very good Interweave Knits Getting Started Knitting Socks (which is now out of stock 'til March, so I'm glad that I bought it in December). This is a very good book for beginners -- it has ton's of photos, a sample sock, and lot's and lot's of text to explain the things you need to know. My friend Nhien has now knitted a pair of the sample socks, and is on to bigger and better things.

Other progress: I knitted with Zitron's Trekking Pro Natura, which has a lovely feel, wasn't splitty at all for me. The pattern is from Sensational Socks -- the Slipped-Stitch rib, which works well for a variated yarn. I also tried a new heel the "forethought" heel, which works so well for a variegated yarn, and allows one to finish the sock at the toe. I will definitely do this again.



I also finished a hat that will match a scarf that I have had for about 5 years -- and it looks really cute. Yeah! I love it when I finally figure out how to work a yarn.



BTW, I'm grateful to Judy for her great idea of getting the Schurch book cut into a binding format so it now sits nicely flat. SO much better. And I've got to get my Moosewood Cookbook (now over 25 years old) to go through this treatment.

And I'm working hard on a blanket for Afghans for Afghans -- using the Mason-Dixon Moderne Baby Blanket, with some extra color for fun. A nice, mindless knit. I'm getting close to the minimum size needed, we'll see how much yarn is left when I reach that!



And the other project OTN is Juliaca by Jane Ellison (the bottom sweater) -- a ribbed cardigan with some small cables at the bottom of the body, sleeves and at the collar. It's perfect for a short girl. I'm using Goddess Yarn's Ellen, a 50/50 wool/cotton blend, so I'm hoping that it will not get too draggy by the end.


And then, it turns out that my Karabella Empire Silk, a purchase made possible by a gift certificate by leaving my last position. Apparently, it is in the perfect color that will be "fashionable" to those who spend time worrying about these things. I am glad, and maybe that will help me get more organized for this yarn.

The color is very close to this:

I am so glad to have turned this page!

Christmas Knitting

For the past several years, I picked a new thing to knit each year. One year it was scarves, another it was hats, a third year it was socks and the last time I did this it was felted bags.

Now I've mastered enough stuff that I pick out things for particular people. I'm not on the Yarn Harlot's kind of schedule, knitting amazing quantities of socks, hats, and other amazing things in great quantity. I have modest goals.

For my little cousins Allison and Rachael, there is a shrug and a pair of fingerless gloves, respectively.





Ok, the shrug doesn't look like a shrug here, and the kitties, Isadora and Brandy, were definitely intrigued!

My Mom is getting the Carlsbad scarf from Wrapped in Comfort in a lovely Bombyx silk from Ellen's Half-Pint Farms.



It's all knitted now, but not blocked yet.

My friend Lesley is getting these wonderful socks (the second one is now done too):


There is no guy knitting this year. Last year, I knit my brother and cousin socks, but they were not all that enthusiastic, so I'm passing. Life is too short to knit for folks who are polite about it, but not thrilled.

I've also got some yarn loveliness for my friends who are knitters. But they are web-savvy sneaks, so I'm not posting any photos.

For my cousin Marie, there is a secret knitting project that cannot be shown - it's the last one that is being worked on!


But the biggest Christmas knitting project is turning out to be Knitters for Critters -- between organizing (go here) and knitting ornaments like this:



We've already raised about $750 for those non-profits that have and will continue to help with the oil spill. What a great knitting Christmas it is turning out to be!

December Cheer

This year is an odd year for me. For the first time in nine years, I won't be a pastor-type this holiday season. Added to that, I'm actually taking time off work for most of the month. Advent will truly be a time off for me.

On the knitting front, that won't be the case, of course. I'm involved with Knitters4Critters which is taking up a lot of time. And my Christmas knitting is going well. There are secret projects for my cousins Allison and Rachel, and I'm almost finished with wonderful scarf project out of the Bombyx silk for my mother and I've frogged the Jaywalkers that I was doing in the Regia bamboo because they were fitting me funny and I didn't think they'd work for my friend either, so I got some lovely yarn by Pagewood Farms in a wool superwash:

My cousin Marie has a surprise project too. Not too bad for December.

Knitters Unite

Friday was our opening event for Knitters for Critters. We raised $350, which is a great start.

May I say that we have a fabulous knit night group at Marin Fiber Arts? Let us begin with Warren Agee, the owner.



How cool is Warren to have donated his space at the Parade of Lights event along 4th Street in San Rafael for our event. Yay, Warren.

Judy was AMAZING!



Along with Allison!



Sandy provided essential logistics and a winsome spirit!



Emily brought great snacks, flyers for folks to know more about the oil spill, and knitted more of her very cute Christmas stockings.



And many thanks to David Reidy of Sticks and String podcast fame for his support by mentioning this project!

Knitters for Critters

I've been heartsick about the oil spill from the Cosco Busan ship as it hit the Bay Bridge in San Francisco Bay. My sadness turned to anger as the initial response seemed to make several strategic errors in enfolding in volunteers, and making assessments quickly.

The nonprofit organizations have been heroes in this story. Many of them are mom and pop organizations, relying on a few dedicated volunteers and staff to stitch together resources, and when something like this hits, they are in need of help as this story will play out further in the weeks and months to come.

When I proposed to the Marin Fiber Arts Knit Night that we do a by and for Knitters Fundraiser, the reaction was very positive, even though it means that we are getting busier during an already busy season.

There are two pieces to the project:
We are making ornaments to sell this coming Friday, November 23rd at the Marketplace at the Parade of Lights and Winter Wonderland in downtown San Rafael. We welcome knitters who would like to knit for this (it’s short notice). Or, stop by Friday to help put together ornaments, or help us display and sell them later in the day.

You can also make an online contribution to one of the three organizations that we are highlighting because of their direct assistance and monitoring of the Bay following the oil spill. As an incentive to make a donation, the Knit Nighters and Marin Fiber Arts are looking through their stashes for some wonderful yarn as a drawing prize. For each $25 that you donate, you’ll get a chance to win! The deadline for donations is Friday, December 14th. We’ll draw on Saturday, December 15th, just in time for the lucky winner to have for some nice knitting time during the holidays.

Please join us as we make the connection, and help to clean up the bay one stitch at a time!

The Language of Knitting

I've knit for a long time. I have old issues of Family Circle with knitting patterns, I remember when Red Heart was just about the only yarn out there for the average knitter. I remember when slp 1, k1, psso was the authoritative way to do a left-leaning decrease. There were no ssk, spk, or all the infinite variations one can find on the internet today.

Knitting these days is a whole new re-birth of the craft. There are wonderful free patterns on the internet, blogs that share FO's and UFO's, boards to share and commiserate, store sites to boggle the mind and pocketbook, and Ravelry to get us distracted from the actual knitting.

But at heart, knitting, if it involves a written pattern, still involves the knitter sitting with yarn, needles and a pattern to be interpreted. We cannot escape the need to speak the language of knitting. The thing is, which dialect are we speaking? Are we in "Knitty" land, or one of the older variations. How does this particular pattern envision the simple or not-so-simple yarnover?

So, I got this lovely Ladder Lace Shrug pattern by Ivy Mok as part of a purchase at CommuKnity on the Peninsula to Pier LYShop Hop last month. I took it with me on a short retreat to this beautiful place




and by the looks of the pattern (two rows long for the main lace pattern) I thought this would be a mindless knit. I needed a mindless knit. Then I read the pattern, and tried it, and all of a sudden my years of ignoring those pesky little details of yarnover variations became clear.

I've always been confused by the variations in how knitters describe putting the yarn over the needle to make a whole, except for the most simple yarnover between knit stitches. That one I've got down.These two rows bit my you-know-what. I literally put the whole thing down, because I was second-guessing myself - was this variation of a yarnover big enough? Is the hole the way the designer intended? How lacey should this lace pattern be?

(I'll note that far more experienced lace knitters have run up against this language issue -- Alison Hyde told me that she and her editor of "Wrapped in Comfort" do their yarnovers differently and had different notions of what she was intending. It makes me feel better to hear this.)

These are indeed the existential questions of knitting. Am I doing it "right" or right enough for me? What language is this pattern-maker writing?

Well, this is how my ladder lace shrug looks before sewing it together. I hope Ivy approves.





In another burst of lace knitting, I finished the Tuscany Shawl from No Sheep for You, this in Alfabeto from Artfibers. Those yarnovers are always between knit stitches, so my main problem was counting up to 10 over, and over, and over again.



I like it. Amy and I speak the same dialect of knitting!