Dogs Steal Yarn

What a "bad" writing night looks like

Log into iChat to see who's around. Say hi to one or two people, then tell them right away that it's a writing night and you can't chat. Turn on your Away message, but peek back to see who's coming and going every time you hear the soft WHOOSH of someone logging on or off.

Quit iChat because you can't stop checking to see who's online.

Log on again.

Quit again, and mean it this time.

Start to read over the five pages you wrote during your really really good writing day on Sunday because reading back over what you did the other day almost counts as working.

Get distracted two paragraphs into it, wondering what the boys are up to and if Billy dressed the baby warmly enough and are they really going to ride the tricycle around the block in the dark? And is that rain you hear?

Leave your office to check on the guys. Find the tricycle parked in the hallway and the car gone. Wonder where the guys are.

Sit back down to work, read a few more paragraphs. Note that you were brilliant on Sunday. Note that you are dull today.

Get up. Make a toaster waffle for dinner. Note that you also had toaster waffles for breakfast. Note that you are turning into a lazy schlub of a starchitarian.

Sit back down to work, read one sentence. A dull dull waffle eater. Flax seed waffles. Organic. A dull dull waffle-eating hippy. That doesn't look right. Hippie? Hippy?

Get back up to make a pot of decaf. Wonder if you should make regular instead so you can stay up all night writing, since clearly you aren't using this writing time now.

Go with the decaf.

Write a blog post.

Delete it because it reveals way too much.

Write another blog post.

Feel guilty because you're supposed to be doing your real writing. The "making shit up" kind of writing.

Think about having another waffle.

Pick up orange sock project from desk and knit half a round.

Pick up pink stripey sock project from desk and put it back down.

Think about deleting this post too.

Decide to post it because it's all you've managed to write in the last two hours.

And now...

Back to it. Four pages minimum, and two hours left to do it.

Fuck.

Mom on the loose!

I did something last night that I hadn't done since Thumper was born. I went out without Billy and the kiddo purely for recreational purposes. I wasn't going to a doctor appointment or going to write. Just going out to meet up with friends. Leaving the boys at home to fend for themselves.

And the house didn't burn down and neither of them cried. Imagine.

I feel like I got a little bit of my life back last night.

Helen and I went to Twisted to meet up with Kaarin, Shannon, and Lorajean. Knitting was knitted. Yarn was fondled (and perhaps purchased). There was tea drunk (but no treats. Hey Twisted--why no cookies?). The first teensy glimmerings of the return of a social life?

Cashmere for the comfort, red for the fight

I don't talk much about my family here, beyond Billy and the kiddo, because they'd rather I not. We're a private bunch. (So why do I blog? Good question. For another time.) Something is going on now, though, that I do want to talk about. One of my aunts, one of my wonderful, beloved, fantastic aunts, has breast and bone cancer. This is the aunt who taught me how to whine to annoy my mother--her younger sister. The aunt who taught me how to do the bump to Captain and Tenille (the song I called "I will I will.") At first the doctors were talking hospice, but now after some biopsies, they're talking treatment. And she's saying she's going to fight. She's a fighter. Tough and fiesty and not much over five feet tall. You'd love her.

She's got a hell of a hard road ahead of her, and I want to knit her something to comfort her and remind her that I'm thinking of her, even though I'm across the country now. But a lap blanket or a prayer shawl or lace aren't right for this woman. She needs something that fits who she is and always has been--with or without cancer. Nothing fluffy or pink or sedate. Nothing that goes too well with a rocking chair and slippers, if you know what I mean.

It has to be red. Screaming red.

I'm knitting her a scarf-size Clapotis from red laceweight cashmere. 100% cashmere, because that's exactly what she deserves. Of all the things I've knit, I still love my Clapotis the most. I've worn it just about every day the weather has allowed since the day I finished it. I hope she loves hers just as much. And I hope she wears it for a good long time.

Only 17 months old, and already rejecting knitwear

It was only a matter of time, I suppose, but I thought I had more time than this. Thumper won't even let me get his new hat NEAR his head to try it on. I'd say it was because the Noro is too scratchy, but it hasn't even come close to touching his head yet. I bring the hat near him, he pushes it away. And pushes it away. And pushes it away. He hates this hat. So I don't think I'll even bother to finish the matching vest, which just needs armhole and neck edging.

I'll just make him a plain cap from a nice cushy superwash and be done with it. Sigh. I had such visions of Noro purl welt cuteness.

Cashmere soothes the sting of rejection, though, doesn't it? Alison has a very long history of spoiling me rotten, and look what arrived in the mail yesterday:

It's Merino cashmere sock yarn from The Knittery. The card claims this is shipment number one of the Cross Atlantic Pacific Antipodean Sock Club. Which means there is more goodness to come. Luckily I had already begun to plan a package for her before this loveliness arrived. It's tough to match the master, package for package, but I think she'll like what I'm sending her way. As soon as I find the post office, that is.

I'm very happy to report that my rescheduled birthday was fantastic. There was a very very late breakfast (I hesitate to call it brunch at this place) at the Hotcake House. Billy took us there for breakfast on the first morning I ever woke up in Portland, back in May when we were in town so I could try the city on for size. I love the Hotcake House. There are plenty of great places for brunch (though we aren't really brunchers, you know?), but sometimes you just need a big plate of pancakes...er...hotcakes, I mean.

We had dinner at Old Wives' Tale. Thumper likes the play area, and Billy and I like that they don't mind that half of Thumper's food ends up on the floor. Kid-friendly doesn't begin to describe this place.

And between the two meals, there was a fibery treat at Twisted. Ah...Twisted. I hadn't been there before, and ... well... I have found my LYS. They have the best sock yarn collection I've ever seen. Seriously. The very best I've seen in a brick and mortar store. And I can walk there. So that's kind of dangerous... I bought the green yarn there, pictured above. It's Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Yarn in the Good Luck Jade colorway. A new yarn to me. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Also pictured, though not bought at Twisted, is my November yarn for the Indie Sock Club of one. (Yeah, I started early. You knew I would, right?) It's Monkeypal BFL Ultra Sock Yarn in the '57 Chevy colorway, from Michele's Etsy shop. The photo does NOT do it justice. It's a true screaming red. Screaming. And the BFL is a nice addition to the sock yarn stash, as I mostly have Merino yarns.

The Waffle House mug? Well, that was just a bit of nostalgia with my coffee this morning. No...they don't sell them. While we were on our road trip, I told Billy I really wished I could have a Waffle House mug. At a Waffle House outside of Dallas, Billy gave the waitress five bucks to let him take one for me.

So yeah...a great day with my guys. I would have liked to spend more time at Twisted, but Thumper in dire need of a nap and was gearing up for a meltdown, so I grabbed some sock yarn and got going. We'll walk over there one day very soon for a longer look.

Happy rescheduled birthday to me!

Back in August, my 34th birthday got lost amid the chaos of packing, closing on two houses, moving cross country. Billy promised me that I would get a redo once we were moved and settled. The tricky bit was that he refused to tell me when my rescheduled birthday was.

Apparently, it's today. And not a moment too soon. I was beginning to worry that I'd turn 35 before I got to turn 34.

Billy and Thumper are off at a baby-car-seat check at the Fire Department right now (safety first, dontcha know), and then we have a fun-filled day of I-don't-know-what ahead of us. I've been told there are presents involved, which suits me just fine.

For the moment, I'm drinking coffee and knitting a new vest for Thumper, to match his new hat. Because they're only young enough to let you get away with such things for so long. I'm feeling much better, though still hacking and coughing in a rather unbecoming way. High hopes for a total recovery by Thanksgiving.

Happy birthday to me! And have a great weekend.

ugh

I've got a nasty cold, and I'm having some serious nostalgia for the pre-child days when I was free to just climb into bed with my knitting and a box of tissues and hide out until I felt better. I need to rest. I need to doze. I need some restorative knitting. Nope.

At what age (the kid's age, not the mom's) do moms regain the right/ability to take a sick day? I need a sick day.

Thumper is an empathetic little guy, so he's been unusually low key in his play today, wanting to cuddle and read books. He's not racing around like usual or asking to go out. So really, I shouldn't complain. Except for the fact that my eyes are open and I'd very much like to close them right now.

Grumble grumble kvetch.

Oh--and I've strayed even farther from the monogamous knitting, but with good cause. Thumper has outgrown his winter hats and needs a new one. I've had a hat design kicking around in my head for a while, so I've cast on for that. (Yes, non-knitters, it would be easier to just buy him a hat, but where's the fun in that?) So if I manage to shake this plague, watch this space for a cute new kid's hat pattern, and probably an adult version. Just in time for last minute holiday knitting panic. Yeehaw.

Okay...the kid and the couch call.

Cough. Snuffle. Cough.

One of those fascinating posts in which I do nothing more than update you on the growth of my sock

The first Lenore sock is coming along nicely. I'm madly in love with this pattern and this colorway (both named Lenore, from the 2007 STR sock club):

That is all.

Another weekend in Utopia

Sorry for the blog silence. My mother has been visiting, and there hasn't been much time to feed the blog.

Ready for another picture-heavy What We Did in Glorious Oregon post?

Sure you are.

But first, some yarn. I'm off to a great start with the indie sock yarn thing, thanks to Helen of Painted Skeins. I had the pleasure of meeting fellow writers Helen and Linera for some shop talk one evening last week, and Helen presented me with this beautiful yarn:

She created the colorway in honor of my move to Portland. It's called Autumn Welcome. I can't begin to tell you how blown away I was that she would design something for me...and then to have it be so damn perfect... Can you imagine a more Cari colorway? I need to find just the right pattern for this stuff.

And now...this weekend's adventures in utopia. We took my mother to the Columbia River Gorge, with stops at Bridal Veil Falls and Multnomah Falls. I don't think much explanation is necessary for these photos. Oregon is ridiculously beautiful. Period.

The Gorge:

Bridal Veil Falls:

Multnomah Falls:

And yes, we climbed to the top:

Happy Oregonians:

A sock club of one

Bet you thought my sock yarn stash would be bigger than this, hunh? One of the side benefits of always having multiple sock projects on the needles is that I'm always dipping into the sock yarn stash, so it stays a nice manageable size. Modest sock yarn stash, happy full sock drawer.

Those of you who have been reading since before the baby-induced Great Knitting Time Reduction know that I have a thing for sock knitting and sock yarn and the wearing of handknit socks. Love love love knitting socks. Love love love wearing handknit socks. So you probably weren’t surprised to learn that I’m a member of the 2007 Socks that Rock sock club, even though I have also been pretty forthcoming about the fact that knitalongs and the like give me a rash.

The great part about the sock club has been receiving a package of mystery yarn and a mystery pattern every other month. It’s coming from a reliably wonderful source, so there’s no risk of getting crap yarn, etc, and if I don’t like the enclosed pattern I can always choose a different one. No problem. I’ve rarely met a sock yarn I didn’t like, so it’s been a lot of fun to take part in the club this year. That said, I’ve only been moved to cast on for one of the projects so far.

Renewal notifications went out to the current members recently and I had to decide if I wanted to re-up. As much fun as it was this year, I am on a budget and the club ain’t cheap. You’re paying a premium to get colorways and patterns not yet available to the public, and frankly I don’t give a damn about that. I can wait. Also, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go for a second year of surprise yarn. I think I’d like to choose my own, and I’d like to try out some different dyers, just for variety.

If I rejoined the sock club, I’d have to budget $18 a month for it, and get shipments every other month. Instead, I’m going to take about the same money (give or take) and buy a skein of sock yarn from a different indie dyer each month. My own Indie Sock Club. I’m pretty excited about it. I may even let myself start a month or two early. I plan to revisit favorites I’ve already bought from, like Brooklyn Handspun, Vesper, and Fearless Fibers, but I also want to try others, like Painted Skeins, Sweet Georgia, etc. What indie dyers must I absolutely take a look at? Who are your favorites right now?

(Truth be told, there’s also likely to be more STR making it into the stash. I’ve got a big crush on the new Ravens series. I’ve always loved crows and ravens. Living in Portland now, finding that the crows are as common here as pigeons are back in New York, has been kind of wonderful. Spotting a field full of crows, hearing them caw back and forth to each other from the trees outside our bedroom window… I hope I never take the crows here for granted like I did the pigeons back in NYC. So yeah…definitely some more raven sock yarn headed my way. And Lenore is knitting up beautifully. Yep...I want more of that series for sure.)

ETA: Thanks to Aura for reminding me of Twisted yarns. I've got some in the stash already (can you spot it? It's a lovely orange skein) and definitely plan to go back for more. Lovely, lovely stuff.

Taking the donkey for a walk

It's a beautiful Saturday here in Utopia. Crisp and sunny. We bundled the little guy up in his newly finished Donkey Jacket (a Debbie Bliss pattern) and headed for the Hoyt Arborium this morning. We took the Wildwood Trail, intending to loop around after two miles, but missed the part where we should have looped and found ourselves five miles out, into Forest Park. We came out at Macleay Park and Thumper had really had enough and was starting to get cold. We called a friend to come get us and drive us back to our car. (We tried a cab first, but they wouldn't come get us because we were at a parking lot but not at an address. Thanks, Radio Cab.) It was a nice day, so no harm done, but we've learned an important lesson about having a map of the (extensive and GORGEOUS) trail system and a compass with us, because the maps provided along the trail were too few and far between, and when we really needed one, the map was completely worn away at the You Are Here spot. Anyway, we made it out of the woods alive and well and there's a new FO to show off:

I used Mission Falls 1824 Wool. The only modification I made to the pattern was to omit the pockets. Thumper carries his wallet and cell phone in his jeans, so I didn't think he needed pockets in his jacket too. The double-thick fabric formed by the jacket and lining are nice and warm, but it makes for a heavy jacket for a little guy, and a rather heavy hood. When he pushes the hood off--which he does often because the ears annoy him--the weight of the hood hikes the jacket up around his neck. So...super cute design but not all that practical for a toddler. I'll probably make him wear it a few more times (when we aren't doing so much running around etc.) and then pack it away. It may have gotten more use if I'd made it much smaller for when he wasn't yet mobile. And a note on the Debbie Bliss Universe of Monster Babies--this is the 12-month size and Thumper wears 18-24 months clothes. So bear that in mind if you choose to knit this.

Monogamy vs temptation

I finally got around to uploading my projects to Ravelry. (username DogsStealYarn) Not all the old FOs, but most of them anyway. I also went through my WIPs and got most of those up there. There are two WIPs not up on Ravelry because I'm pretty sure I'm going to frog them: the Ribby Cardi that's been stalled forever and I think I'll frog it and use the yarn (Cascade 220) for Twist instead, and Rogue, which has been one sleeve for about two years now. This is the second time I've knit the first sleeve for Rogue and then set it aside for ages. I think I just don't actually want to knit the sweater. Time to admit that and reclaim the Peace Fleece for something I DO want to knit. Also not posted on my projects list are several plain socks I have going, and a mitten that I should photograph and post because I do think I'll finish it. Okay...so maybe there are quite a few WIPs I haven't put up there. Which is part of the problem.

Anyway, all of this going through the WIPs and organizing them for Ravelry got me thinking about my knitting, and my tendency to start a project with great enthusiasm and then set it aside when the next shiny thing catches my eye. I know I'm not alone in this. Not even remotely. I guess that was fine when I had more knitting time, but it's not working for me anymore. As I was entering my FOs into Ravelry, and putting in the finished dates, I noticed that 2004 and 2005 were pretty big years for finishing projects. In 2006, not so much. And in 2007? One sweater that was finished on New Years Day 2007 so does it really count as 2007? And then some socks. Wait...maybe not even socks. I need to go back and check that. (But not right now. Call me a crappy fact checker, but whatever...I've never claimed this blog to be totally accurate. I may or may not accidentally lie to you in small ways all the time.)

The reason for the lack of FOs is, of course, Thumper. But Amy has a toddler and she manages to turn out beautiful projects all the time. I've asked her if she has elves who knit for her at night, but she insists that it's just that she sticks to one project at a time. Project monogamy leads to finished projects. Shocking revelation, right?

I decided to try it, starting with all these WIPs. I'll take on one WIP at a time, and nothing new will be cast on until that WIP is finished. I picked up Thumper's Donkey Jacket, finished the knitting, and set in on all the seaming. (Holy crap, is there a lot of finishing for this jacket!)

And then this came in the mail:

That's STR Lenore, from this month's sock club kit. And it came with this brilliant pattern by Stephanie. I've liked most of the patterns and colorways from the club this year, but not a single one before this made me feel like I had to cast on for it RIGHT NOW. In fact, none of the other skeins from this year's club are even wound up yet. But this one? Well...Let's just say it's not only not in the skein, but I may or may not be on row 18 of the pattern.

So there goes the monogamy.

But just this one sock. Or pair of socks. I swear. Otherwise, I'm going to do it. I really am. I hope to have all that damn seaming done on the Donkey Jacket in the next few days, and then I'll move on to the Equinox Yoke Pullover. And then finally finish the Corset Pullover. Etc etc. Really. I mean it. Watch this space for actual FOs. Eventually.