The Knitist!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Yes, it's been some time since my last post.  I''ve been quite occupied this past month.

Just after you last heard from me, Bex Bri and I spent some time "back home" in Omaha visiting my family.  I treasure these visits so much more than I used to.  My two remaining grandparents are 87 and it is always a bittersweet experience.  On the one hand, I'm so grateful to have this time to spend with them.  On the other hand, the thought that our time together dwindles as the years pass seeps in each time I must leave and come back west.  It gets more and more difficult each time.

My Maternal Grandfather & Willis

My Paternal Grandmother

I also got to go horseback riding a few times while there.  My mom & stepdad have a couple of horses that they board at a ranch just outside of town.  It was a bit nostalgic for me, as I used to have my own horse back in high school.  Yeah, I was That Girl who always wanted a pony.  Here, I am on my mom's beautiful Dusty Rose.

It was a road trip.  Consequently, I got a bit of knitting done.  I finished a Nutkin sock

and a Pomatomus sock.


I also finished my Kusha Kusha scarf back in June but just now got a chance to photograph it.

I decided to use the merino throughout the entire scarf instead of ending it 2/3 from the end and leaving just the stainless steel hanging off at one end as the pattern calls for.  I think it looks more finished this way.

Next up?  Ravelympics...

Moon River Now on Ravelry

Just a quick post to announce that my Moon River sock pattern is now available as a PDF download in my Ravelry Store.  (You must be a member of Ravelry to view the store, sorry!)  As before however, you can still purchase a hardcopy at Bobbin's Nest Studio in Santa Clara, CA.

  (You do not need to be a member of Ravelry to purchase the pattern, however. Yay!)

This sock was designed for Bobbin's Nest Studio and their exclusive colorway of Hazel Knits Sock Yarn.  To purchase this absolutely gorgeous yarn or the hardcopy of the pattern, contact BNS.

One last thing, the Ravelry Store, as with Ravelry is still in beta so if you have any problems purchasing or downloading, please let me know immediately at theknitistATgmailDOTcom.  I will try to respond within 24 hours.  Thanks!

A Wheel For A Steal!

I've been spinning so much more since my JMM class.  So much in fact, that I bought a "new" wheel.

It's a very sweet wheel, an Ashford Traditional.  It's been going around our spinning group.  I think I'll be hanging on to it for awhile, though.  It started out as Lori's first wheel and then went to Hannah who bought it for her son.  He sort of lost interest after a while.  I made Hannah an offer on it the other day and she was all too happy to have it go off to be of use to someone.  Not to mention how happy her husband was to see it leave the garage!

So now it's mine... for $45!  I feel like I stole it.

With just a bit of oil and a few adjustments (which I know how to do now, thanks to JMM - LOVE her!), it spins like a champ!

I went to the hardware store yesterday to get some new hooks for the flyer, a spring for the scotch tension, and some furniture polish to give it a good shine.  I think you'll be seeing more wheel and handspun photos soon!  Thanks Hannah, you're the best BFF evAR!

If There Was Kool-Aid, I Would Have Drank It

This past weekend, Spinnity and I joined the Cult of Judith.  We drove up to Eugene, OR for the Black Sheep Gathering where we were signed up for 3 classes with Judith McKenzie McCuin (otherwise known as JMM), the be all and end all of spinning as far as I'm concerned.

My first class, on Saturday, was about spinning sock yarn.  Judith says... 3-ply is best.  Judith also says... cashmere makes wonderful socks.  I'm going to share this fact with Becky.  Judith says too... that spinning worsted for socks is best.  So after listening to all of her opinions on the best sock yarn and her tips and tricks for spinning this type of yarn, I gave it a try...

Behold, the best sock yarn my wheel has ever seen.  That's merino top, 4 colors and 3 plies.

My next class with Judith was on Sunday morning - Popular Wheel Mechanics.  In this class we learned all about our wheels and how to adjust the ratios on said wheels (like one would adjust the gears on a bicycle) to spin thicker or thinner.  While watching her give the class a demo, I couldn't believe that the actual thickness of the yarn could be changed by adjusting only the wheel and not the technique used by the spinner.  I was dying to try it out for myself.  Could it be true?

Yep.

Later that afternoon Spinnity and I joined about a dozen other women and one gentleman for our last class,
To Spin A Fine Thread.  I had pretty high hopes for this class.  I had heard what a miracle worker Judith is with new spinners and figured I might come home with some samples of a pretty decent laceweight and with some practice, I might be able to spin something useable soon.

This is my first attempt at a 2-ply laceweight after just listening to and watching Judith give a demo for a few minutes.  48 WPI!  Can you imagine what it will look like after some practice?

Next, Judith handed out mongolian cashmere and camel.  We were directed to spin semi-worsted and woollen yarns, respectively.  I was ecstatic at my first attempts.

I just can't get over how well my first attempts at these new spinning techniques went.  Judith is just an amazing teacher and I haven't been this inspired to spin since I first started 2 years ago.  With all of this energy and excitement, I decided to finish plying my Sheep 2 Shoe kit that I've been working on for over a year...

And I'm also finishing up some llama that I bought in 2005 at the Taos Wool Festival.
   

Lastly, I'd have to agree with Yarn Harlot and Spinnity when I say that if Judith ever teaches a class on how to flush a toilet, I. Am. So. There.

I *Heart* Willis

Have you all seen MOO cards?  I found out about them a little over a year ago maybe.  I use them to give new people I meet (mostly knitters) my email and blog address.  On the front is a photo of one of my FOs and on the back is my name, email, and url.  I've been thinking of ordering new ones since my photos have gotten a bit better over the years, as I'm not too fond of the photos I used for my first batch.  But I feel like I have to use them up before I order new ones.  They come in sets of 100.  It may take me 10 more years to give out the rest of these cards.

In the meantime, I think about what my new cards would look like.  I subscribe to the MOO blog.  I have a MOO card holder.  I look at what other people do with their cards and stickers on the Flickr pool.  Today, I found the best Photoshop templates for MOO cards.  I had to try it out.

Someday when Willis is a professional model, this will be his card.  Isn't he hoTT?!

In Which I Defend The Oil Sucking American

Warning:  No actual knitting content available today!

It seems that I must respond to my European friends, in the last post's comments, who've taken the opportunity to point out that fuel in Europe is WAY more expensive than it is here.  Basically, they are pointing out that they have it way worse when it comes to buying gas for cars and so we should stop our bitching already.  Right?

Well, maybe.  I've never been to Europe, but for those of you that have been maybe you can help me out here.  I've always heard about how Europe has such an awesome public transit system:  trains, trams, busses, etc.  Many cities in Europe have narrow streets and little or no parking.  So public transit or a taxi seem like a brilliant alternative to driving, no?  Higher gas prices in Europe are due to higher taxes on fuel but those taxes pay for  a variety of things, including awesome public transit, health care and higher education.  So Europeans, when they choose to drive, are paying for more than just fuel for their cars at the pump.

Unless one lives in a city of 1 million + in the US, these things aren't true.  Public transit can be expensive, slow, unpredictable, and many times you can't get where you need to go in less than 3 transfers and more than and hour wasted.  A car could've gotten you there in 20 minutes and in many cases, less $$.

In my search for clarification on why exactly gas is "cheaper" in the US (which it is not really now, if you look at the decline of the dollar from the Euro over the past 10 years) I found a really great article that talks about the differences in expansion, culture, urban planning and government policy regarding transportation and oil in the US and Europe.

So before any more is said about how gas costs twice as much in Europe as it does in the US and how Americans should drive less (although I agree with this one) , lets all look at the actual facts shall we?

WTF?!

What is going on? $4.50 for a gallon of gas is criminal! How can the oil companies charge that much (and probably more by this weekend) when they are posting record profits every quarter? It's not like they're losing money.

When will it stop, I wonder... $6... $10?

Uh Oh, More Sewing!

Today I hung out and had a little Sewing Afternoon with Hannah, Erin, and Maria.  We each had a project that we were working on.  Actually, Maria got sidetracked from her actual sewing and spent most of the time giving the rest of us help and tips with our own projects.  Poor thing barely got to work on her own.

Hannah worked on her Betsy Ross Tote Bag that's just like mine.  (see the previous post.)

Maria and Erin discuss plans for a quilt.


And I finished a pair of pillowcases from Last Minute Patchwork Gifts.

Hmmmm, maybe this is a sewing blog...