Really Keeping Track on the Tour

I have grand plans for the Tour de Fleece. I’m finishing some Lynne Vogel Limited Edition Colorways from Three Waters Farm: merino/bamboo in the Black Hollyhocks colorway. I’m practicing the the thick, fluffy, and arty skills I learned from Lynne Vogel and Maggie Casey in the past month, at least a bobbin full of each. The biggie is 2 lbs of long drawn singles, slightly fulled, for a sweater from oatmeal BFL that I dyed myself after writing about it last week [see the finished results at left]. The oatmeal BFL was from The Spinning Loft. I haven’t watched one minute of the Tour de France, but I’ve ...

The Hidden Costs of Summer Knitting

The seasons have changed: it’s getting hot in the northern hemisphere, and cooler in the southern hemisphere. Seasonal knitting is an interesting question: I know a lot of knitters who tend to put their needles down in hot weather.  Makes sense to me – do you really want to have a massive wool blanket draped over your lap when the mercury rises? The colder the weather gets, I crave larger projects: blankets I can wrap around myself as I work, and big sweaters I can cuddle up with. I knit socks and lace in the summer, for the most part, and I choose the yarns carefully.  My hands get very warm and a bit ...

Gift Knitting Season Already?; Patriotism

Some knitters are starting to consider their project lists for end-of-year gift knitting.  To help you with those lists,  look for these books on your LYS bookshelf very soon: Joelle Hoverson & Anna Williams’ More Last Minute Knitted Gifts Mags Kandis’ Gifted: Lovely Little Things to Knit and Crochet Anna Hrachovec’s Knitting Mochimochi: 20 Super-Cute Strange Designs for Knitted Amigurumi.  If you’re in the NYC area July 11th, attend the launch party at Brooklyn General Store to see some of this adorableness in person. We’re in the throws of World Cup, and the season of National ...

Spin dreaming

It’s Knitty production week and I really should be working, but my mind keeps drifting off to this: Nearly 3 pounds of oatmeal BFL that I want to spin for the Tour de Fleece. I dream about spinning it into a beautiful long-draw single that I would full and knit into a sweater. I also dream about dyeing this bfl, national blue, bright violet with maybe touches of avocado or maybe grasshopper ( yes, those are pro chem colors). Not with total coverage —  I want some of that oatmeal to show. What are you dreaming about spinning for the Tour? I met Sasha this weekend at a Maggie Casey workshop. Sasha has a ...

You can’t knit if your hands are numb.

This is something I’ve been progressively learning over the last few years. You don’t want to read a recounting of my medical history, so I’ll summarize it like this: I overdid things with my hands by using my computer and mouse, hand quilting, knitting and spinning over the last 15 years. Despite ergonomic changes in my work and leisure habits and the nightly wearing of wrist braces, they hurt, occasionally were numb and sometimes I’d wake up with pain that felt like I’d dipped my hand in a pot of boiling oil. No exaggeration. The official diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome came a few ...

What the heck is a Nabaztag?

It’s a rabbit. It’s a device. It’s plugged into the wall. It’s got wifi. It lights up. Its ears move. It does tai-chi. It’s made of plastic. It reads messages aloud that were sent electronically as text. <— It looks like this. I know. Nuts. Who cares? Go for a second and watch the opening animation at the Nabaztag site. Then come back. [Please.] See? it’s kind of captivating, isn’t it? Nabaztag was introduced in 2006 and was, honestly, buggy and limited in function. The new Nabaztag can be identified by its belly button, which houses a microphone. –> This ...

Inspiration and Duck Feet

An arty and inspiring Wednesday. I’m regularly awed and inspired by the work featured on the ArtYarn blog….  the work of Fibre Artist Karen Searle was recently featured. Karen works in a variety of fiber media, and she has knitted and crocheted a variety of pieces – some life size, and some miniatures.  The stunning dresses are each 6 inches high, knitted in copper wire. ArtYarn is a collaborative knitting and crochet project coordinated by visual artist Rachael Elwell, and their goal is to collaborate with local community groups, world wide knitting and crochet networks and arts organizations to ...

How Paper Clips Save My Spinning Sanity

I am a spinner that likes to take my wheel everywhere with me. I am also a spinner who tends to drop and lose things. There are days that, as I carry my wheel, I feel like I’m a dandelion shedding fluffy fiber and tools everywhere. The tool that I most seem to lose no matter how I tie it on, keep it in a wee basket or even carry it in my purse is an orifice hook. I lose 1 or 2 a year. Behold the everyday object that saves my spinning sanity: I throw a small handful into every bag I carry, and if I’m orifice hook-less I grab a paperclip and unbend, leaving or creating a small hook at one end. Adjust the ...

A plaid August for me

E-mails have been flying back and forth across the Atlantic for a little while, and the result I can now share with you: I’m going to UK Knit Camp this August in Stirling, Scotland. I am so excited about this, I can’t even stand it. Have you looked at the website? A world of teachers are participating, many of whom  have never been to the UK to teach before. It’s only fair. North America has had an abundance of  super-cool knitting events, including (of course) Sock Summit, Stitches events, Knitters’ Connection, and tons more. So now the other side of the ocean gets a chance, and I’m ...

What I’ve Knitty-ed

This past November I knitted myself a Morgan hat. It’s a tremendously fun and interesting knit, and I wore it all winter. I love it enough that I wore it on days when I didn’t really need a hat; I even wore it indoors.  And come summer, I’m still wearing it.
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