Annie Knits

The Top Ten Reasons I Haven't been Blogging

10.  I have too much laundryshoppingcleaningknittinghomeworkhelpingworking to do to stop and blog.

9.  Notice that spinning isn't in number ten?  It gets a slot all to itself.  I've ordered roving from the Loopy Ewe, Hello Yarn, Funky Eclectic, and Crown Mountain Farms.  On top of the Dyeabolical rovings I have.  They all CALL me from the other room.  Can't you hear them?  spin me! no me! ply me with that other one!  we all want your attention! 

8.  Construction is ongoing.  And while the men who arrive at my house every morning at 6:30 a.m. are not holding me hostage and away from my computer, their presence messes with my routines and those of the dogs and the kids and the husband. 

7.  My knitting has been minimal -- no progress, in fact reverse progress on the second iteration of the Kauni Cardigan.  I did do an Irish Hiking scarf for me out of my handspun.  I periodically pick up an old sock and work on it.  And Cecily's lace.   But not a whole heckofalot else.

6.  It's Lent.  And while I've been busy with baking and singing for Fish Fry Fridays as in past years,  I've knit nothing for charity.  A few things for others, but nothing for the less fortunate.  I'm a bad person.  Really bad.  That's hanging over my head but... well, watch the rest of the list.

5.  It's Winter.  Like a real winter.  Which we haven't had here in St. Louis for years.  Snow and ice and snow days with kids home and wet outdoor stuff and mud on the breezeway floor.  Five snow days I think since we've started construction in January.  Not only are kids home periodically, but man alive, I'm totally unmotivated to do ANYTHING.  I've never thought of myself as someone who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder, but whew!  Since the time changed on Sunday,  I've  reorganized my stash, cleaned our room and closets,  and daughter's room (no small feat -- an season's worth of books, magazines, whatever... and a fine layer of construction dust.) 

4.  I've been working.  Not a lot, just two or three days a week, but when I'm there it's BUSY.  The recession that all of the news outlets have been going on about ad nauseum (ever heard of a self fulfilling prophesy?) has not hit our yarn shop.  Or architecture for that matter (hubby's busier than he's ever been, but don't tell anyone I told you).  I think the banking industry and home builders in this country behaved abominably over the past 10 or so years, raking in record profits and loaning irresponsibly.  The situation in these two industries and the numbers tied to them, coupled with gas prices are leading to alarmist behavior in the media.  I read a piece in the Wall Street Journal saying just that.  That there are many sectors of the economy that are doing really well -- home rehab, nesting stuff, entertainment and technology for instance.  So there.

3.  I was really sick.  Like as sick as I've been in my adult life.  With the flu.  Weak as a kitten.  Still have a little upper respiratory stiff even after 4 weeks.  I did not get a flu shot.  But plenty of folks did and got it none the less.  Dear Son missed 5 days of school.  I missed singing at two Friday Fish Fries and I missed a week's worth of work.  Sick, sick, sick.

2.  I don't have a camera that works.  And I really like to put pictures up on the blog.  I'm a visual person that way.  I've tried to buy one, but one place I went was out of the cameras I wanted and anyway the guy waved me off saying there was going to be some big news/new technology in cameras.  The other place said that people who had gotten tax rebate checks had bought all the cameras I wanted.  Rrright.  Things are crazy all over.  Really.

And the number one reason I haven't been blogging?  Well,  I never bought any Mystical Creations Yarn (The first is a blog with links to some crazy customer service stuff, the second is a Ravelry specific link, sorry)  So I figured no one wanted to read or talk about anything I had to say anyway. 

Seriously, folks.  Is that some crazy stuff or what?  First, I'm really glad I never mis-dyed yarn and tried to sell it to any of you all.  'Cause you people are some crazy internet stalkers when it comes to yarn acquisition scorned.   Second, I love me a good internet car wreck.

So.  Where to now?  To talk to my contractors.  To try and buy a camera.  To choose curtains and furniture as I gave away most of the furniture that was in the front two rooms.  To work.
 

Ahem. Where Were We?

Oh.  Right.  Rabelry... which I shall now un-renounce.  Due primarily to a lovely forum for spinners which has redeemed the place for me entirely. 

I went on and asked about my Louet S90, which came to me as you will remember used and without documention.  And for a song, come to find out.  No complaining here.  One gal even sent me a PDF of the original documentation for the thing.  I can now fold her up, (in theory, 'cause she gets too much use to be folded up, but if I were to want to take her somewheres, I could now with ease) oil her and manipulate the tension better... you know.  All the tricks.  And I can do this.

That there is some plyed up yarn.  Yee haw!  Oh.  Ahem.  Sorry.  I know it's early in the morning -- well, actually, it shouldn't be that early.  Except we mess with the time and it takes the dogs and I and the kids like a week to get back on schedule and someone has to get sick in the process and we all are crabby for a week. 

The swift measures 4 feet per revolution -- that's about a  150 yards there and more on the bobbin.  And I have this cake of 180 yards.

Yep.  It even knits up kinda nice.  I'm thinking of using it for the yoke of a sweater (it's very soft) with the body of the sweater being this (5th color down on the right -- a deep, bright orange).  I'm getting like 5 1/2 stitches to the inch on US5s.  And while this first plying attempt isn't particularly perfect looking in the cake, it is perfectly lovely and smooth knit up.  And I guess that's what matters, right?

Did I ever show you the roving?  It's a mohair/wool blend from Buckwheat Bridge Angoras and it's carded (or combed?) into layers:  green, chocolate, barn red, and bright orange.  The green and the orange are duller and stickier (must be the wool) and the brown and red are shiney and can really be pulled out as you spin.  I've been trying to get stretches of just green and just orange separated by sections that mix in the brown and red barber-pole style.   It's kind of working.  And it keeps me endlessly amused, and isn't that the whole point of the thing, anyway?

Yes -- it's An Unoriginal Hat.  She's right -- took one evening.  This one's out of some "The New Periwinkle" colored yarn, and how I came about having this yarn only Rabbitch knows for sure...  I've got to blog about that tomorrow.  Daughter walked by the screen as I was looking at the pattern, newly posted, and she said, "Oh, that's cute.  Can it be in blue?"  Well, you all know what happens when progeny actually wants hand-knitted items.  A stash-diving we went and everything else was dropped.  She's worn it and gotten compliments already...

There is another one on the needles -- Malabrigo chunky.  Oh yeah.  And next to that we have "Mistress of Dance" sock yarn.  The story goes that Rachel was dying this yarn in a colorway inspired by me and one of my trek sock bags, when she noticed that it was a perfect Mardi Gras color combination and then she remembered that Deborah had lamented that dyers always added one extra color and mucked up the gold purple green Mardi Gras colorways in yarn.  So Rachel stopped.  And my yarn was Deborah's.  At least I got a skein before they were all snapped up... ***grin***

Are you wondering about the polar bear book and the Moon Sand in the background of many of these pictures?  Dear Son's been down with a fluish snotty thing for 3 days -- we've pulled out all the toys and activities.  Because Cheetos and Mythbusters can only get you so far when you're stuck in the house for 3 days. 

So, It's Unanimous Then?

Rabelry is great -- for the yarn and pattern and knitting tools.  The forums?  Not so much.  At least not right now.  Thanks, peeps.  Love you!

And enough of the crabby stuff.  What follows is a list of a few of the things that currently make me happy.  In no particular order.

Karamichelle, fellow Knitorious Knit Night Knitster, made me this bag.  I heart it.  Actually, I shamelessly begged her to make me one out of this fabric and she graciously and for her own safety obliged.  I'm nagging her to make me an Ann Butler bag.  (hey... I'll buy the fabric and pattern!) Wish me luck.

It's about 10" by 10.5" -- perfect for carrying around the Monkey Socks in progress.

My Louet S90.  This is the wheel I bought slightly used after I finished my spinning class.  I didn't get any documentation on the thing and I think it folds up and I totally do not care.  I love it and I'm spinning the finest singles on it I've ever been able to spin (in my long and illustrous 4 week spinning career **grin**).

They are kind of out of focus here, but yum.  Recognize the Rhinebeck Roving?  Oh yeah.  And this wheel came with a swift attached -- see it folded down on the back?  I will be able to measure the yardage of my spinning with this -- as opposed to an umbrella swift which constantly changes circumference. 

One bobbin mostly full, one to fill, one to ply, and one for Dear Daughter...

 

How about a wheel naming contest?  There'll be sock yarn in it for the name I like best... Leave your suggestion in the comments.

And here is the Rebuilding Greensburg Afghan I volunteered to piece.  Sandy and Rachel at the shop helped me crochet the squares together, and now I just have to run a crochet border around the outside to even it up.  It is ... interesting.  Actually it is very soft and it is the mish mash one would expect from an afghan pieced together from squares knitted by knitters from all the world, apparently.  There is a lot of love in these afghans.  I'll send it back to Laura tomorrow.

And I did find the coolest Halloween decorations ever.  No, Mindy, sorry.  I'm not sharing!

Aren't they silly?  We had our annual Halloween party this weekend.  Here is a picture of the cast of characters.

We have, from left to right:  Bast (Cat Goddess from Egypt?), a Strawberry (see the straws?), a fairy princess, Mother Nature, a witch, a ballerina-princess-butterfly-pirate, a sleepy person, a hoodlum, and two hoodlums with masks.

And right in the middle of the party, I had to leave to pick up Dear Daughter's date for her school's Fall Ball.  Second verse, same as the first.  Only with a pink sweater as the weather has cooled down some.

Yes, this time I was in on the whole thing.  On the way to the restaurant (South City Diner for you St. Louisans)  from his house, Date Boy regaled us with the stories of the deaths of each of the dictators of the Axis powers during World War II.   Daughter told him it was all so interesting.  I maintained a straight face and kept quiet.  They ate at the Diner, I picked them up and took them to the dance, they danced, and I took them home.  He leaned over, patted her on the shoulder, and told her it was nice to see her again and went inside.  And that was that.  I'm getting killed with cuteness over here.  Just killed.   Now, she's grounded because of a lack of truthfullness about having turned in back assignments in word-processing class, but it was sure fun while it lasted.

And finally, lucky for me!  Dear son Trick-or-Treated twice this weekend (if you hate it when people verb nouns, then ... well ... sorry).  Today he is a school.

His bag full of candy is home with me.  I will watch it very carefully...

I Have a Secret

I don't like Ravelry very much right now.  Yes, the pattern search option is great -- I just used it to to decide how to go  about kitting up a sweater.  And the meet-ups at Rhinebeck were fun.  Conceptually, it is a great idea:  gather knitters to help each other and to network.  But in practice the forum it gives to single voices is a little bothersome.  People with a lot of time on their hands and an agenda are bringing me down.  The fact that I can't make a thread in a forum disappear and die a quick and painless death is bothersome.  I'm quite sick of it and have sworn off of checking it for a week or so.

Notes to Self:

•    Edited to add:  I must remember that for many people, every yarn purchase is special.  It represents something to which the buyer will devote a great deal of time and talent.  It's easy to get jaded when faced with all of the yarn possibilities every day.  And when you have a discount.

• Some knitters do not realize that we do not work in or own a lys to make a gob of money or to piss them off.  We do not get up in the morning with the express purpose of ripping them off or ignoring them.  We are not automatons.  In fact, we are people with faces, and lives, and mostly good intentions.  We read the postings on the internet, and we have families, and activities, and feelings.
• When you post in a public, local forum that the service sucks in a lys, you are talking about a person.  In a small community, everyone in that community knows of whom you are speaking.  It is personal.
• While I am not saying that service in lys's doesn't periodically suck, (hey everyone can have a bad day) if you come in during a big-once-a-year-sale please don't expect to be fawned over.  Ditto crowded Knit Night shopping.  If someone comes in ahead of you, she or he will be waited on first.  Oh you can expect to be greeted, that's fair, but first come first served.  He or she is receiving the service and attention you will receive in a minute -- be patient.  And that even goes for older ladies buying baby yarn.  Really.
• And that employee sitting at the front table, chatting and laughing with other knitters?  She is not ignoring you.  She is teaching a class.  She is being paid to work with them exclusively for a little while.  Really.  And if she got up and waited on you or chatted with you?  That would be a bad thing.  Everything is not as it appears.  And everything is not about you.
• When you ask people in an internet forum to remain civil and to remember above, they will chafe at that bit.  They will cry that the Internet is all about free speech.  Even when that speech is irresponsible and flatly untrue.  They will fight to the death to post whatever and whenever they please, the rest of us be damned.  (Get a blog, for goodness sake!) They will whine that seeing a civility reminder is "depressing".  They will make forums uninteresting and unpalatable for the rest of the community.
• Some people crave attention, good or bad.  They will say anything to receive that attention, even tell lies (easily verifiable ones?!) to make themselves look better to a group that they value.
• People who crave Internet attention do not want to be recognized in person.  In fact, when you invite them to a local coffee shop to discuss face to face and off of the forum what you could do to help them feel better about and improve the service you offer, they will not even dignify your invitation with an answer, yes or no.

Yes.  That's my secret.  I've been on Ravelry nearly since it's inception, and I don't like it very much right now.  A better name might be Rablery...

Good Morning, All!

If you're here because you followed a link via the kerfuffle over at the St. Louis Forum in Ravelry, welcome!  Get a cup of coffee and stay awhile.  I said what I meant over there.  We forget, I think, when we are online and alone in our jammies, that we are discussing real people who get up in the morning and want to run a top notch business.  I've been guilty of just that amnesia several times and I've been called on it too.  Really, people, civility please.  Yes you have the right to talk about a bad experience, but with that right comes a responsibility.  Help make it right. Talk to management.   We are a relatively small knitting community here in St. Louis, even though we'd like to think we're all that and a box of chocolates.

Enough about that!  On to the important stuff.  The Date.

And now that I've said the D word, you are to cock your head slightly, maintain a deadpan look, blink your eyes medium fast, and say, "Motheerrr.  We are friends."  You can cross your arms for emphasis if you like.  And to that I say, "Yes and that's just the way your father likes it.... Friends."

They had so much fun.  They ate together at a restaurant, they danced ("Only to the fast songs!  Gosh!") and it was loud.  She got home at 11:15 and Dad was waiting at the door.  There was a kind of "Aw shucks" kicking the dirt "Goodbye" and a "See you next weekend" because they are going to the Fall Ball at her school this weekend.  At least I'll get to be here to hover over them for this one.  Ask Bridgett if my hovering 800 miles away was a pleasant experience... ***grin***  Turns out Dad is perfectly capable of getting Dear Daughter off to a Homecoming dance -- makeup, hair, dress, jewelry, flowers and all.  Especially when he has help from the local salon.  Thanks, Nina!

Oh, right.  And something else went on this weekend.  In case you live under a rock. 

I got to go to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival at Rhinebeck again this year.  Yay, me.  Loved it.  Bridgett and I stayed in Saugerties which is a little north of the festival as we fly into Albany.  Great restaurants each night!  But first things first.

We sit down in the St. Louis Airport to wait for our flight out of town on Friday and we look over and this gal is knitting a Norwegian mitten.  Really.  Of all the gin joints!  It's Marji, of Fiber Arts Afloat here with Bridgett!  She getting ready to teach a class on these beauties at Kirkwood Knittery (oops -- sorry about that!).   Good start to our weekend, no?

Saturday morning, we arrived bright and early and joined the mob at Briar Rose where I got the yarn I've been coveting, and sure enough, it was gone by afternoon.  Grandma's Blessing in a brown with olive hits and a barn red with rust hits.  Gorgeous stuff.  Yay me again.   Oh, and buttons to put on whatever I make.  (scroll down for the picture) You read that right.  Purely stash enhancement ... with colorwork in mind, though.  Then we ran into Ruth and Lucia and WoolyBabe, but alas, we didn't get to spend much time with them as we were all intent on shopping.

We hit the blogger round up and ran into Kelly and these lovely ladies whom I hope someone can identify... I'm bad with names and notetaking.

Carole ran out of beer.   And she was sad.   But I was glad to finally meet her!

I chatted with Joe and Thaddeus, Marilyn, Norma, Dani, Carla, Zarzuela ... and who else?

I got Bingo. 

 

I got some yarn and roving....

My sweater got to meet Stephanie's sweater.

It was really too hot to wear it, but also... none of the pictures of me in it make me happy.  The arms are just too long.  I have to rip them back.  Maybe next week.  Ah me.  (My hair was having a lovely moment, wasn't it?!)  I also had my "All your yarn are belong to us" shirt with me, wore it on the plane on Friday ... I guess I could have worn that  too ... how sycophantic of me.

Yes.  It was a just right weekend.  And we are home now, safe and sound.  And the house was cleaner when I got home than it was when I left it. 

You can't ask for more than that in this world, I don't think.