It is interesting to me that so many people notice -- and are seriously irked by -- the complete lack of irony in Alanis Morisette's song "Isn't It Ironic?"

I think today really was ironic for me. I had reserved two spots for an evening with the Yarn Harlot at Lord & Taylor (which is ironic that a woman with 4 pairs of shoes and 1 bra would be hosting an evening at a department store). Unfortunately, I was also scheduled for some on-call, pre-Mother's day work at a department store (owned by the same company that owns Lord & Taylor. Not irony, but coincidence?). I am not in the position to turn down work, but I did ponder the option of calling in sick today and jumping a train to Manhattan.

Here is today's irony: I was injured on the job and subsequently sent home early (with a full day of pay!). Nothing serious, just a nasty gash on my Achilles heel. Lots of blood. Furthermore, said department store is ten minutes from a Metro-North stop. Manhattan and the Yarn Harlot were a two-hour train ride away. Common sense (and a puddle of blood in my shoe) prevented such a rash action.

Thankfully, the shoes (a comfortable pair of Clarks) are not one of my prized pairs. These puppies have endured a year of retail, so they are beaten and smelly. A bit of blood will go unnoticed.

Should have just called in sick!

Yesterday, I visited a new yarn shop south of here. Purls of Yarn. The shop had officially opened 9:30am that day, and I waltzed in around 2:15pm. The space is lovely, the owner (and her mother and friend) are lovely, and there is a great selection of yarn -- neatly displayed.

The drive there was a white knuckle tour of the Taconic State Parkway from Exit 52 in Dutchess County to Exit 117 in Westchester County. The road is punishing. Narrow lanes, bends that manage to be both long and sharp simultaneously, and wigged out drivers hopped up on caffiene and road rage. What we do for yarn!

My purchase was controlled. Just small needles for the IK Heart Sachet project, as well as some Deco Ribbon for another handbag. Carrying Sophie (felted wool) around during the summer just feels like a fahsion no-no. But then again, what do I know?

I suspect that I am one of those girls who tries with all of her power to be cute, sassy, and fashionable. Yet, in spite of her best effort, she misses the mark just subtlely enough to let you know that she is trying sooo hard. Witness my nearly complete Mini Sweater.

The yarn is perfect. The pattern is adorable. But it looks like a bucket of muck on me. It might be fine when the sleeves are finished, or I might look like the demented, dumpy offspring of Heat Miser and Snow White. Hard to say.

When I first started knitting, I purchased a pair of Addi Turbos because the project I had in mind stated to use those needles. As it turns out, there were a few flaws:
1) the project actually called for Inox needles
2) I was too new to know that I could use whatever needle I wished
3) I thought I was too inexperienced for the quickness of these famous needles

Since then, I have bought and traded for a few Addi Turbos here and there. Mostly, I use my Denise Interchangable Needles -- a gift from a generous friend (who knows the seductive powers of the Addis).

There was a small battle between my Denise Needles and my Glampyre Mini Sweater. The Mini Sweater refused to move along the cable smoothly, forcing me to manhandle the wool and the needles repeatedly. I regretted not starting the project with the Addis, but I was travelling, and the loss of those metal needles would be far too precious.

Last night, I threw caution to the wind. After checking the fit of the Mini Sweater, I loaded the stitches onto the Addis, rather than back onto the Denises. I know this is a knitting sin. My gauge will be off. My stitches uneven. My project doomed. Guess what? I do not care. The knitting is so smooth and easy that I am knitting for pleasure, not product.

But since we are on the topic of product...
I do need to buy me some more Addis.
Yes, I do.

Dear ChicKnits MondoCable and Glampyre MiniSweater,

You are all wonderful creatures. I do not know why I have abandoned you so quickly. It is me; not you. Really. I am a tawdry woman. Eeasily tempted. Easily led astray. Maybe if I were a much faster knitter, I could finish before boredom struck.

I know that you have been left to rot whilst I curse at work with Ginger. Do not be jealous of her. Instead of focusing on the attention that I am giving Ginger, focus on the fact that I have given absolutely no attention to Bob since the gauge swatch debacle. The Mission Falls 1824 Cotton has since been slated for another project (Sorry, Bob).

See how fickle I am my darlings? Poor Bob never even reached Cast On before the honeymoon ended. Again, it is entirely me. I am the one who is unable to tolerate patterns that stress me, yarn that splits, or needles too small. I will return to each of you in time. Do not fear, you will be completed. Neither of you shall endure the fate of poor Ginger.

She perished in the Frong Pond.

After seeing Heidi's gorgeous version of the Beaded Top from Spring/Summer 2005 Vogue Knitting, I started having second thoughts about my Ginger in Summer Tweed.

The front is finished, and I am working the V-shaping on the back. It is going slowly, and I am wholely uninterested in deciphering the Rowan pattern any further. Summer Tweed is precisely the gauge required for the Beaded Top, and I think the mustard shade would be perfect for this Moroccan-inspired top. To rip or to finish?

Desperate for something that I could knit quickly and wear now -- rather than when Summer arrives -- I cast on for the collar from the new book by Teva Durham, Loop-d-Loop.

This used less than one ball of Reynolds Santana. The striping is slightly off as the lower portion calls for holding two strands together. I think I can live with it. I still have roughly 1/2 a ball left, which I could use to make the matching cuff. I am not really a Rock & Rock Cuff sort of gal.

But maybe I should be.
And if I were, would I rip or finish Ginger?

My friends, I have returned from the lowest layers of hell. I spent last week in High Point, NC, stuffed tradeshow booth for eleven hours each day. High Point is to the furniture/interior design trade what any Sheep & Wool festival is to you and me. You know how bored your non-knitting loved ones are in a yarn shop? Well, imagine six eleven-hour days of nothing but furniture, bedding, and various home accessories... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The lilacs were in full bloom (as was nearly every flower), which was the full burst of spring that we are still awaiting in Midstate New York. This nearly made up for not being able to visit a single yarn store in Greensboro, but it was hard to remember the beauty of spring when I spent the entire day indoors, directed not to knit or read a book while in the booth. As the only representative on site, I was always in the booth. Hellish!

In spite of the restricted knitting time, I made a tiny bit of progress with the Glampyre Mini Sweater KAL.

I am using Tosca from Lang Yarns. Sure, a summer yarn would have been a wiser (is that a word?) choice, but I really wanted to work with this yarn since buying it at the sale over two months ago. I adore the way it is striping. I bought a very plain button at Flying Fingers yesterday.

I had grand plans to spend the day wandering around NYC, but I actually spent the previous night with a friend in The Bronx, so my trip to Manhattan was solely to catch a Metro-North train out of Grand Central. I would have liked to ride the FF Yarn Bus, but I had not thought ahead to make arrangements.

After a week away, I was delighted to see Joe, be home, and find this in my mail.

Roughly a decade ago, I worked in marketing for the Philadelphia office of an international real estate firm. The office was a very buttoned-up sort of place, but we younger workers managed to create a fun environment for ourselves. One of my co-workers, a fellow Thespian, would often join me in an impromptu song or dance. Without fail, we would be caught in uncompromising dance positions by the computer tech guy, Bob. These moments of being caught out became known as simply, Hi Bob.

Publicly logging one's life and knitting progress, particularly if one is given to multiple/simultaneous knitting projects, is a bit like being caught out -- albeit purposefully. How many have us felt a pang of guilt when leaving an unfinished project for too long for fear that, eventually, someone in CyberKnitland would inquire about it? Yes, that is correct. All of us.

So, it feels utterly Hi Bob to show the yarn I bought today (with a store credit; not really buying it, is it?) for yet another project.

I leave for a trade show tomorrow, and I sense that neither Ginger nor MondoCable are up to the flight. So, I am bringing Bob along for the ride. After all, V (finally finished!) needs a companion.

V-neck Vest
Vogue Knitting, Winter2004/Spring 2005
KnitPicks Andean Silk Twist in Pumpkin Patch
KnitPicks Andean Silk in Cinnamon and Cream


Carrying the Mission Falls 1824 Cotton to the cash register was very Hi Bob for me. This was only the third time that I purchased ten skeins in one swoop. It felt naughty, but very liberating to be so committed to something. Sadly, my affair 1824 Cotton will be a trade show fling. The yarn is about to disappear from the planet, which like anything forbidden or illicit, added a deeper level of Hi Bob to the experience.

Necessity is the mother of a yarn splurge.

I made a promise to myself that I would seam the V-neck Vest today, but when I looked at the number of ends (stripes around the waist), I hyperventilated. I stuck my head in a Sophie bag.

Rather than face hours of finishing, I gathered together the boys' jeans, headed to the launderette, and I read for a few hours whilst fulling/felting Sophie.

SOPHIE
MagKnits Chilly 2004 issue
Yarn: Less than 2 hanks of Classic Elite Waterspun, Sweet Potato
Gauge: ~16 sts = 4“/10cm on US#10/6mm needles

After two rounds in the washer, there is still a bit of stitch definition, which does not bother me at all. I rather like the visual texture. Perhaps, a third round would remove the definition? Perhaps, this the final result because I started with a felted yarn? Perhaps, I did not knit loosely enough? I was a touch shy of 16 stitches. I will have to keep wondering, as I am not curious enough to spend another $2.00 and 60 minutes to test my first question.

I decided to keep the bag a bit more round than the designer intended. It feels more organic, and I cannot be arsed to go about cutting triangles for blocking.

Boob that I am I joined two knit-alongs! The appropriately-named (on many levels) Boob Holder/Mini Sweater and Asana. Also appropriately-named, I realize. Thankfully, the latter starts in May, giving me plenty of time to start (and ponder) numerous other projects.

Today, I awoke with a serious case of Monday Malaise. I am unable to pinpoint the cause; however, I suspect it has to do with work. Not working, and knowing that I must get back to it soon. A morning of perusing the regional online classifieds did not lighten my mood.

I am approaching the fourth decade of life, and I still haven't a foggy notion of what I would/could do that would be inspiring to me. I have not found my passion. I have not found my Own North Star. But for four grand, someone had better bring me to the North Star, not just help me find it.

In spite of my funk, I finished the I-cord handles on Sophie, which still needs to be felted.

The prospect of sitting at the launderette today (in my gloom) was too daunting. Perhaps, tomorrow will be a felting day. Whether or not tomorrow is a better day, it will be (and I am stating this publicly, in writing as a motivational tool) a seaming day. The V-neck Vest will be seamed. Mother Nature is throwing me a bone with cooler temperatures later this week, so I must comply.

I have been asked not to knit or read books (magazines are permitted) whilst working the trade show, which is not an (entirely) unreasonable request, but it will make for a particularly long and boring week. A week of perusing knitting magazines and printouts of patterns (sort of like an unbound magazine, no?) should allow me to narrow down the “must knits” from the summer issues of Knitty and Spun. There are one or two patterns dancing through my head from the spring Interweave Knits, but with the summer issue due in a few weeks...

Is it wrong to want a caplet?

Because I am a Gemini (multi-taskers with a procrastination and finishing issues), knitting is probably the worst hobby I could have chosen. It seems that every knitter I know (in real life of online) suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder when it comes to projects and yarn. The predilection for knitter‘s to stray, combined with the Gemini compulsion to stray, finishing MondoCable or Ginger this weekend was not in the cards. Instead of knitting today, I went out with Joe...Hiking!

Lake Minnewaska, Minnewaska State Preserve, New York

As Joe is one part billy goat, I am a less-than-perfect hiking partner; but the day was more about avoiding my knitting projects spending time together in the spectacular weather than scaling rocks.

I feel justified in placing the tanks aside, as the weather is slowly turning colder throughout the week. So why bother with the hurry-up-and-wait? The mini-cold snap will give me the chance to debut the V-neck Vest during my upcoming business trip to North Carolina. Better that I turn my attention to seaming it. Best if I actually did that.

Unfortunately, there was something far urgent than seaming. Sale Yarn! The Classic Elite Waterspun was just calling out to me. My urge to felt something was not to be ignored. I have hand felted before, but it was time to try my hand at felting a knitting object.

Hello, Sophie!

Well, it is Sophie before a good washing. Never mind that the washing machines have not been hooked to hot water for at least four months. Am I crazy to think of packing Sophie along for my North Carolina trip? The house where I am staying must have (fingers crossed) a washing machine with a hot water hook-up.

As if waiting for the newest Knitty to go live was not enough torture, I was also awaiting the email arrival of a pattern purchased online. It arrived very early this morning, and it made me very happy. It also made me very sad. It is rather complicated, but understandable.

With two tanks in progress, how can I justify turning my attentions to the temptress pattern which arrived at my cyber doorstep? I just have to force myself to knit faster. Maybe the seaming on the V-neck Vest can wait until September. There are too many pressing patterns issues at hand.

Clearly, I need a hobby to pull me away from my knitting fixation hobby. If I calculate the amount of hours I devote to knitting -- physically knitting, perusing pattern books, perusing online patterns, wandering through yarn stores, checking online yarn sources for sales and new additions, reading knitting blogs... -- it is remarkable that I have time to shower.

And heaven knows how the hell I will fit work into the mix when I finally get around to the serious business of job-hunting. The hunt alone is a time-consuming endeavour, but what will I do when I am actually working a proper job? Factoring in the the time lost to commuting (via car, not the book/knitting-friendly train) just makes it all the more dismal. All of those relationship and knitting hours lost!

Oh, where is that precious balance of time?

Without fear of reprise or punishment from Mother Nature, I can state that Spring has arrived in the mid-Hudson Valley. After enduring a long winter of indoor confinement, Snickers is eager to soak up the sunshine.


Sadly, my cute vest project may have to wait months for a debut. Do not tell Joe, but I have my fingers crossed for a few cooler days and nights before the onslaught of a stifling, sweaty summer. I have to wear the bloody thing at least once before I put it away for the season. I have forged ahead with blocking -- or semi-blocking.

Without 1) more blocking pins, 2) a spray bottle, or 3) an iron where the “steam” function is indeed functioning, the blocking .

In spite of my hope to sport the V-neck Vest sometime this month, I am otherwise all tanked up and getting ready for summer. MondoCable creeps along, but Ginger still is stranded on the island.

Something about the Rowan Summer Tweed…appealing, and yet, not.

It seems that every pattern that strikes my fancy lately is some sort of tank. I need to think “sleeves”. 3/4-length. Short. Capped. Some sort of sleevey something. I cannot run around all summer with naked arms and shoulders. Unless, of course, I find a way to avoid both an office job and the tyranny of overly-air conditioned establishments.

Now that we have sprung forward, my knitting mind is occupied with nothing but tanks, shells, and adorable summer tops. The wait for the Summer Knitty and the Summer Interweave Knits is nearly maddening.

To sate myself, I decided to work up Bonne Marie's MondoCable shell for the day when a swingy, sassy tank would be needed. After an exhaustive search for the "right" yarn in the right gauge (I finally gave up on trying to make my Creamsicle-colored GGH Goa work), I settled on Southwest Trading's Phoenix in White. It is a soft and creamy white, and I think it will look wonderful. I cast on yesterday, and I am hoping that I will be able to finish it by week's end.

Did I hear you asking about the state of the Vest-neck Vest and Ginger? Maybe those will be finished by week's end as well -- perhaps just this particular one.

Today was another field trip with Theresa and Celeste. We hoped to visit Knottygirl, based on Sarah's rating, but the shop is closed Monday. We spent nearly two hours pondering and pawing through the selelction at The Knitting Niche in Greenwhich, CT. Nevermind that Theresa is a employed by a local yarn shop -- the same shop where Celeste and I often work a few hours for trade.

And oh what a sweet discovery! Ten balls of the Tahki Capri Print in the sale bin!

And close-up of the Great Adirondack Yarn in Paprika.

Yummy!

Yarn Hangover

It might be the strangest thing you have ever read or heard, but I had my fill of yarn yesterday. I worked at my local yarn store two days this week. My main focus was to neaten and organized the yarn. No small task.

Yarn Central is a cozy store, and somehow there is more yarn crammed in that one shop than larger yarn stores in Manhattan. If you have travelled to both Seaport Yarn and Downtown Yarns, I ask you to imagine Seaport's inventory in Downtown's space.
The mind boggles. It is a dream for the yarn shopper, but a nightmare for the worker.

As with all overindulgences, a period of recovery is needed.

I was back at the shop to hang out and knit three hours later.