Dogs Steal Yarn

A wee spinning update

As I write this, Thumper is finally napping. He's having a rough day because a certain someone who is responsible for breastmilk production ate toast with butter over the weekend and then a burrito with cheese yesterday when she knows damn well that dairy gives him excema and lo and behold he has a doozy of a flare-up today. Poor itchy kid. So back to the strict no-dairy for me (it really worked, cutting out dairy. Until this slip his excema had pretty much entirely cleared up).

But the promised spinning post...right. Thumper will tolerate my spinning for about ten minutes at a time. This means it takes a damn long time to fill a bobbin when spinning what will become (one hopes) a 2-ply sock yarn. So this is still the first bobbin of this Lorna's stuff (Lorna's Laces Wool Top in the Flames colorway. Breed unknown), started the week before Rhinebeck.

A standard Louet bobbin has a 4 to 7 oz capacity, or so the internets tell me. Eyeballing the 10 oz I started with, I think there's about 4 oz on the bobbin right now. So if I fill it and then fill another and ply 'em, I'm thinking I can expect enough yarn for two pairs of socks or some serious knee-highs.

I'm also very occasionally spinning some Foxfire BFL on my smaller Bosworth. (That is, the Bosworth that doesn't have toothmarks in the shaft. Jonathan Bosworth has kindly agreed to repair the cat damage. I need to send that one off to him very soon...) Sorry for the crappy photo. Anyone have any tips on how to get a decent shot of pale laceweight singles on the spindle?

And that's about it. I've got some plans for what to spin after the Lorna's is done. Plans that involve both some luscious mini-batts that Julia very generously sent me and some roving she's dyeing for me as well (She's insanely generous, actually, besides being so damn good with the dyepot.) Photos of all that to come soon.

And now to do a bit of knitting while the kid sleeps off his crankiness (I hope).

Hey! Isn't this a knitting blog?

Why, yes. Yes, it is.

As promised, the answer to that eternal question: "What's on the needles, lady?"

I have been knitting. Slowly, because I only get to do it while Thumper naps, and there are any number of other things that also have to happen while Thumper naps. Things like doing the editing by which I earn my portion of our living. And blogging. Etc Etc. But yes, there has been knitting.

I'm catching on to the fact that now that my knitting time is so short, I can't flit from project to project quite as much as I used to, or nothing will ever get done. So now I work on two sweaters at a time--one for me and one for Thumper--and then allow myself a few smaller projects to pick up when my hands crave something different.

Most of my knitting time is now focused on my Sunrise Circle Jacket. (Color not even close to true. In person, it's a fantastic deep red with flecks of bright red and gold.)

I'm using coned yarn purchased a couple years ago from WEBS. It's 80% merino, 20% cashmere. It's coated with all kinds of industrial yarn goo, and I'm knitting it straight from the cone, so I don't get an especially soft, pleasurable experience in the knitting, but the lack of ends to weave in at the end balances that out. Knitting with the oils still on means I had no choice but to swatch and wash said swatch (extreme, I know) and the swatch washed up so so soft and with a nice dense gauge, as befits a jacket like this. Which is my way of explaining why the yarn looks less than great now but will be stellar when washed.

I'm in love with this pattern. Kate's a genius. I mean, look at that. Isn't it gorgeous?

When I need knitting that doesn't require row-by-row pattern reading (such as on the few car trips we've taken recently) I'm working on the Debbie Bliss Donkey Jacket for Thumper.

The oatmeal color is the lining, which is finished. The chocolate brown (a richer color in person) is the outside of the jacket. That's the body there, nearly done. Then we need a hood, some sleeves, and two ears and he'll have an insanely cute little jacket that will hopefully be too big on him for a while yet.

I'm nearly done with a pair of Trekking socks for my mother-in-law:

Plain rolltop st st socks. Perfect for when the baby is happily playing on his floor mat because at this point I could knit this pattern with my eyes closed and brain completely turned off and it will still come out just fine.

I had this weird sort of fit last week where Billy came home from work and I reallyreallyreally needed some time to myself and not just time to myself but time to myself with colorwork and I handed the baby off and dug this mitten out of the stash. I'd knitted the cuff while pregnant and then set it aside. I did six or so more rows the other night and now it's been set aside again. At this rate, the mittens will be finished just in time to drop Thumper off at college.

See above anecdote, but insert lace. Every once in a while I'll work a row (or less) on a flared smoke ring. I'm using School Products cashmere. Mmmm. Cashmere. This is a very simple lace pattern, but the most complex I can manage right now with the knitting time I get and the fact that all knitting must be of a nature that I can put it down at a moment's notice. Therefore, short repeats and stitch markers between each repeat. But I haven't touched this in nearly three weeks. It'll get done when it gets done. It's just nice to have some cashmere on the needles for when you really really need it.

I have a few projects on the needles from before Thumper was born, and I do want to get back to them. There's a ribby cardi, with a finished back and a barely begun front, which is mindless enough knitting that I'll probably pick it up again soon. There's a Rogue with just one sleeve done that will probably sit for a while longer. There's a Kimono Shawl that's more lace than I can manage with the baby right now. And then there's my Corset Pullover, which needs only its sleeves. Though I'm back in my pre-preg jeans now, I'm not back in my pre-preg tops and won't be as long as I'm nursing. The Corset Pullover, as fitted as it is, will not contain what we lovingly refer to around here as "Thumper's Diner." So that one can wait another year or so.

Up next, when I finish the MIL socks I'll be casting on for a pair of Here There Be Dragons socks for me. I'll be using this lovely stuff, Vesper sock yarn in Algae:

I'll also be knitting socks from handspun, hopefully before too long. Spinning photos in the next post.

(Now to publish and see if Bloglines decides to update me.)

Dogs Steal Yarn Unplugged: the Q&A set

You're out there! Nice to know so many of you are still reading, even if I'm unloved by Bloglines this week. As promised, the answers to your questions:

Heather asks:
Which writers would you most like _your_ work to be compared to?

Oh jeez... Which writers would I most like my work compared to, vs which writers have most influenced me, I guess, because they aren't always the same... I'd love to have my work compared to Proust, for example, and In Search of Lost Time has had a profound influence on me as a writer and as a person, but I certainly don't ever expect to be compared to Proust. I mean...really. Proust? I'm good, but I'm not THAT good. My biggest influences (at this point, and with names always being added) are Marcel Proust, Salman Rushdie, Federico Garcia Lorca, Carole Maso, Mary Gaitskill, Lydia Davis.... (Proust and Lorca both changed my life. Seriously.)

If my work could be compared to any of these writers, (I swear I'm being sincere here, but how does one talk about this without sounding a wee bit pretentious?), I'd say I have the most in common with Maso and Gaitskill. With Maso I share a certain concern with use of language and imagery in a lyric, muscular way. With Gaitskill, well, I'll just quote my friend Emily Mitchell here (whose first novel, From the Air will be published this spring by Norton and you will all love it and I'll let you know when you can buy it). Emily said in an email, of Gaitskill's latest novel, Veronica, "I realized how much she is a writer in your vein - she is interested in looking at the terrible things which freedom allows people to do to themselves and each other." I hope she'll forgive my publicly quoting her private email. I think she will. She loves me and I love her and therefore such things are, I hope, permitted. Plus, I think she's right on the money re: why I feel such a kinship with Gaitskill.

Danielle asks:
You obviously wear many hats, as an artist, and I've seen evidence of you using one medium to overcome blocks and difficulties in another (I can't remember specifically which post, but there was one about painting to realize a character more fully). So what makes you feel like you are, more than anything else, A Writer? Is it a compulsion to write, a feeling that you are more clearly expressive in that mode, or...what?

Definitely a writer. I play around with painting and drawing, etc, but I'm not terribly proficient in them and it isn't how I see or communicate best. I haven't painted since I got pregnant (since oils are toxic and I don't like acrylics) and I'm surprised to find I haven't really missed it. Visual art has been a useful tool for me in the past, for gaining some understanding of aspects of a story or a character before my brain is ready to put words to it--image and feeling and color coming before words, I suppose--but it's a tool I haven't felt the need to turn to in the last year. Even when I was making visual art more often, it didn't feed me the way writing does. Not sure how else to explain it... The writing feeds me. It's not something I could ever stop doing, the way I've stopped painting.

Jenn asks:
Have you ever posted your writing online? Short stories, novel excerpts, anything like that?

I haven't posted any writing online, but you can read one of my short stories here. I was thrilled that Mary Gaitskill was interviewed in the same issue where my story appeared. I figured there was the smallest chance that maybe she'd actually read my story as a result... Sigh...

Another Jenn asks:
I guess, if I had any questions to ask, would be what inspired you? I've been thinking about inspiration and creativity a lot recently, and I'm always interested in hearing what other people have to say on the topic.

I'm not really sure. I'm not even sure if I believe in inspiration, in the traditional sense. What do you folks think?

Amanda asks:
What is your favorite book about writing (either the mechanics or the craft aspects)?
I've never really found writing books all that useful, personally, though I know others find them helpful and I think that's great. I did read Stephen King's On Writing (because Emily kept going on about it) and found it to be a very good reminder of the basic things one already knows but has forgotten in the muddle of the actual work of writing. I found it reassuring: "Ah, right. Yes, I know how to do this." Also, it's not exclusively a writing book, but I found Jane Smiley's 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel to be quite helpful in this latest round of revisions.

KaKi asks:
If you could only recommend one book about knitting, what would it be?

I feel like I should say something responsible here, like The Ultimate Knitting Book, but really I think everyone should own and use Knitting Vintage Socks. Because no knitted thing pleases me more than handknit socks.

Darling Carolyn asks:
When did you start dyeing your hair? and what prompted the first decision to do so?

When I was sixteen because I was a suburban punk and thought it was terribly clever to have magenta hair. Now I just do it because I like the way it looks.

Wen, Catherine, and Toni all asked after the dogs. (As to what's on the needles, I promise to get to that in another post. Remember when this used to be a knitting blog? I'm getting back to that in my next post.)

The dogs are both doing well. They seem to like Thumper just fine and are good with him. The cat is another story entirely. The cat...oy vey... I've meant to knit sweaters for the dogs for years and still haven't done it. I'm a terrible dog mom that way.

Thanks for the questions, and very nice to hear from some lurkers! Next post, a view of what's on the needles... (ooh! so exciting!)

Hi there. Yes, you. Welcome. It seems a little roomier in here than usual, doesn't it? That's because there are 935 people who are normally notified when I blog who are currently blissfully unaware that I've posted at all this week. Bloglines isn't updating me for some reason. The lovely and kind folk of Bloglines have been notified and it's being looked into, but as of right now, it's not working.

I'm a bloglines user. I don't check any of my regular blogs until Bloglines tells me there's something new to read. So there you have it. It's just you and me, kid. No one else knows this thing's on. So what do we do, seeing as I'm playing a smaller club than usual? Think of it as an intimate acoustic set. Yeah, I'm on a stool and wearing something casual like I just dropped by your living room on my way to the store and by the way while I'm here would you like me to blog for you? Or do we treat it like a school day when almost no one shows up so the teacher plays movies? I don't have any movies for you, though. What do you want to do?

How about Q & A? Anything you've been dying to ask me? Probably not. But ask anyway.

If anyone's out there.

Remember the knitting blog ring before bloglines existed? How we all (all 200 or so of us) checked in on each other via the ring or via our own bookmarks? Amazing how quickly we became dependent on Bloglines.

But not you, because you're reading this now.

So yeah, it's a casual night. I'm taking requests.

Thankful

So yeah...

I was going to do a second part to the true crime thing where Oscar Madison was interrogated about the spindle attack and he would confess but have no remorse etc, but then a baby ate my blogging time and I kind of lost interest and...there you have it. The cat was accidentally locked in my office (where he isn't ever supposed to be left unattended because that's where the wool lives) and he killed a Bosworth full of LincolnX.

Ah well.

Happy Thanksgiving, folks.

PS: I made this last night. It's really damn good.

PPS: Thanks again to everyone who added to that collaborative short story. It was fun!

We interrupt this story for an important announcement

Working on the novel while eating fresh, crusty pumpernickel bread slathered in pumpkin butter... Oh my... I am happy.

True Crime: A mystery in two parts

Part One: The evidence

Gory, I know. The astute viewer may note toothmarks along the spindle's shaft. The manner in which the singles was torn from the spindle and killed may also provide a clue as to the culprit. (A chilling look into the criminal's cold, cold heart.)

Three characters in search of a middle and an end

and perhaps a plot.

The collaborative storywriting has been a lot of fun. I've loved following along as you've added to it. Thanks to everyone who's contributed!

I'd love to see this story finished rather than abandoned. Let's move this thing toward a resolution, yes? If you've been feeling too shy to participate, please do jump in. No worries about style. We're just having fun.

And to the people who've been tempted to throw in alpacas etc but hesitated because the tone seemed so serious...and you know who you are...please let the alpacas or whathaveyou in. We could all do with a bit of whimsy.

(Please add story contributions in the post below. Any other comments welcome in this post.)

Procrastination is the mother of possibly good blog ideas

Both of my guys are asleep and I wish I was in that family bed with them but instead I'm up working on a freelance editing job. Or, I SHOULD be working on an editing job (and will get back to it shortly) but as you've probably noticed, I'm blogging instead.

Maybe I'm just tired, but I just had what seems like a great idea: Let's write a story together!

I'll get us started with an opening paragraph. Then you add anything from one line to a paragraph in the comments, and we'll build the story like that in the order the comments come in. Feel free to add more comments to shape the story as it builds. I'll probably pop up in the comments and do the same... Don't think too hard on it, now. I'm just pulling the first paragraph unedited from a freewrite, so no need to be precious here. It'll be fun.

Okay?

Okay.

Here's our beginning:

"He stands, hipshot and hair in his eyes, sunlight slanting an angry slash across his shoulders. Arrow of light angling down, following the tilt of his shoulders, cracked sidewalk at his feet and the light disappears there. The ground eats the light and there’s just the rubble and the dirt and the cigarette butts playing around the toes of his boots. He stands like that, all hipshot and shaggy haired in that violent swatch of sun and he knows exactly what kind of picture he’s making. "

Tag, folks. You're it.

Dear Knitters,

Thumper here. I'm so excited today, and not just because the Democrats took back the House (and maybe the senate! And bye-bye Rumsfeld! I don't know what it means but I do like the way Mom danced me around the kitchen this morning when she put on NPR.)

Check it out. Mom knitted me a tomato hat.

Can you believe it? I KNOW! It's a hat that looks like a tomato!

She says she's knit so many of these for other people's babies, but that this one is extra special 'cause she made it just for me. And she made it with room to grow, so I can wear it for more than five minutes.

I'm so cute in this hat that I can barely stand it. Behold my cuteness!

I know, I know... almost too much cuteness to bear. I'll put it away now, before you're all overwhelmed.

Yours truly,
Thumper Dogsstealyarn, esq.

Thumper's got a crush on Frankie

The discovery of a great new blog led to a blind playdate today for Thumper. I think he's smitten. We both had a great time. Thanks, Elise, Ry, and Frankie!

Now go check out Elise's blog. You'll be glad you did.

Today Billy took Thumper to the neighborhood café (yes, the one with the muffins) to give me some time to work on the novel revisions. I was totally alone in the house for the first time since June. Such a strange feeling…

The revisions… this will be Draft Seven. Except it would be more accurate to call it Draft 3.8. I have to admit that some earlier revisions were quick and lazy, because I left some big questions unanswered—not just in the pages but also in my own mind—rather than do the hard and somewhat painful work of answering them. Lesson learned: If it’s painful to think about why something is happening in your novel or what is motivating a character, chances are that’s EXACTLY the question you most need to ask yourself and to answer in the text. Because chances are it’s at the heart of what the book (and likely your own issues, but isn’t that a topic for another day and place?) is about. Go figure.

The thing that really sucks about revisions? When you have a big revelation, it almost always turns out to be embarrassingly obvious.

So this time I’m really taking my time and reading through draft six again and making lots of notes. I’m feeling good about it. Hopefully my agent will feel good about it too and we can get this beast back into circulation.

I’ve been looking at my yarn and thinking about projects I’d planned long ago and haven’t yet started, as well as projects abandoned when pregnancy made my brain go all gooey and useless for chart-following. And now my knitting time is so limited that I’m—get this—pretty much just working on one project at a time. I’ve realized that’s the only way I’m ever going to finish anything. (Full disclosure. I guess I mean mostly one big project at a time. I've also got a hat for Thumper on the needles, as well as a flared smoke ring that I work from time to time, and some socks. But they're small, so they don't count. Anyway, that made sense in my head. Less once I typed it.)

Cassie came by last night and we were looking at my stash and she pulled out the (Jade) Starmore Valtos kit. I’d swatched for it while pregnant and hadn’t been able to follow the chart due to acute pregnancy brain. Now my time is much shorter, but my brain’s nearly back to normal (unless the baby is crying or I’ve just finished a marathon nursing session). I’m thinking maybe it’s time to give Valtos a try again. But first, must finish the Sunrise Circle Jacket (two-thirds done) and Thumper’s Donkey Jacket (a bit more than half done). And that IK Fall ’06 cover sweater, not yet started.

Oh yeah…and the novel revisions.