knit and tonic

Is Yarn a Collectible?

I once knew a guy who spent about six weeks in a deep depression. After pressing for the details of his anguish, he finally told me the source of his state of mind: He didn't know if he wanted to collect stamps, or coins.

Twenty years later, I still can't understand all his distress. But here's a confession. I have befriended a woman who craves the Wollmeise yarn worse than any stamp or coin collector craves stamps or coins, and I actually enjoy her company. A lot. All the other crazies who crave to collect about as bad as she does I see on TV documentaries about Star Trek or vintage comic books.

We'll call my Wollmeise loving friend "Leslie." She keeps her Wollmeise stash in two Rubbermaid boxes under her bed. I know this, because she pulled them out and brought along 16 hanks, eight to a box--all wrapped up "just so"--to show me when we met for coffee at a coffeehouse near the DMV the other day. (I mention the DMV only because I have to renew my license in person after something like eight or 10 years. I dread this because first, I need to divulge my weight gain and reduce my height from 5'6 1/2" to 5'6", and second, bother through another vision test which I will fail with flying colors. I'm blind in one eye and the government workers for some reason can't figure out how in the world I avoid falling over with just one working eye. In the past, I've lied and said "I have a doctor's note on file." One of these years, my story won't work. I'm not a good fibber.)

Anyway, "Leslie," my Wollmeise-freak friend told me that I couldn't tell anyone on the blog that I scored this hank until she told me it was safe to do so. Her reasoning was that she has had to stay up late at night and into the early morning hours trolling the internet and fighting other Wollmeise freaks off in order to score a particular colorway and she didn't need any competition. (She gets hers at the Loopy Ewe and at the Wollmeise site.) Now that she got that particular coveted hank and one for me, a superwash sock yarn in the Indisch Rot colorway, she told me while we were stitching our balls last weekend, that I have the all-clear and can tell all, so here you go:

Looking at the hank, it is lush, the colors are vivid, and let me tell you, it's inviting as all get out. I can barely stand it, I must tear the band off and get started on some socks. Thing is, I have no idea how this stuff knits up. "Leslie" has at least 18 hanks and from what I gather, she hasn't knit up a one. Talk about being a yarn collector.

BTW: You know Drive-Thru? That pattern I made for kids? I spotted one on Ravelry knit up by an adult for herself. It looks great! I wonder if you all would be interested if I re-designed it for women?

Is Harder Better? Or is Easier the One?

It's a good thing I moved out at 17. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to blast Elvis Costello ad nauseam on the stereo night and day (dad wouldn't allow that while I was at home; but hey, Waylon Jennings was always welcome). This is the first thing that came to mind today, as I lay my fingers down on the keyboard to write a post. To this day, I am hard pressed to find an Elvis Costello fan like me. Funny thing, though, when I went to UCLA to see a small concert a few years or more ago, right when he became the Resident Artist, the auditorium was packed. I wept. HWWV sat very still, fingers threatening to stick into his ears.

About writing posts: I don't ever want it to become a chore for me, that is why some weeks there are more and there are some weeks when there are fewer. It's like writing a diary: You shouldn't force yourself unless you're using the writing thing as an exercise to make your writing better. Sort of like knitting. You knit more so you can get better, faster, more skilled, make a lot of presents, or in some random cases, to be able to announce in a circle: "I just completed insert difficult lace or colorwork pattern here, and sheesh. What a snoozer!"

Which brings me to this: How is it, I sit in some circles and the difficulty of the pattern often takes positive center stage, yet, when I talk to my pattern distributor and we discuss designing LYS Pattern-Only patterns that she states "the Easier Ones Sell Best"?

Honestly. Do we really need another basic raglan or another simple scarf? From what my distributor says, the answer is "yes." What do you think?

On a related subject: I have been struggling with the Shetland Shorty. I can knit. I can. I can knit and I can purl and I can yarn-over, but follow a simple stitch pattern consistently for 14 rows? Maybe not. I have re-knit this thing a number of times and I won't even tell you how many times I have considered ripping it out for good. Thing is, this yarn, the stuff Scout dyed for me, has held up and it is too pretty to put down.

Oy. I think I just answered my own question: If Shetland Shorty were simpler, I would have finished it by now. Wowee wow wow.

On another note, I got my hands on Sweater 101 by Cheryl Brunette. This is a tome published some years ago and now again available online in an eBook version. It is great! Although I don't normally knit from the bottom up, this eBook offers a lot of fantastic advice on changing necklines on existing patterns, planning sleeve shaping on the fly and understanding set-in sleeve shaping (Oy oy oy. What a heavy subject). This is a classic and, from what I am hearing, it's  a workshop-type book that any knitter who enjoys knitting "on their own" will use like crazy.

So Much to Learn

Well shoot, shoot, crud or what have you. Girlfriend scored a single Pokemon card from the local Burger King (in a kid's meal) and now she wants to know how to play the game. Game? Game? I have no idea about that one. I can show you Candy Land or maybe Dominoes or perhaps Monopoly, which I can't stand, for your information, but Pokemon? I thought the kids simply traded them willy nilly and there were no rules except for maybe you had a duplicate or maybe one that was significantly more sparkly than the other one or maybe you just didn't like the leggings on Ms. Pikachualicious or something like that, so you organized a trade then went to school.

We just called up a neighbor kid and asked him to come over and explain the game to us. He trotted in bearing a huge binder full over plastic covered Pokemon cards, and after about 10 minutes we realized he didn't know what the heck was going on, either. We are all in the Pokemon Dark.

Actually, I'm sort of kidding. But it seems to me this Pokemon card game has a lot in common with a bevy of other needle arts. I was just sitting in my every-eight-week's Temari class and I tell you what. Those stitchers, the ones in the group who do a lot needlepoint certainly know a thing or two about stuff I have no idea about. Like, did you know that they have tools to lay down threads? Huh? They have tools to lay down threads! Needle threaders, I understand. But Thread Lay-ers (or whatever they call them)? Who'd have thunk? They also have these little plastic boxes with little sponges in them. I have no idea what they use those for.

They also have special packets, little sandwich bags for their DMC threads. I mean, they could have probably purchased snack packets with no problem, but these, they have spaces on the fronts for info like color lot, color number and type of thread. Oy. And get this: the would-be snack packets get threaded through these big metal loops so they stay together in a neat little pile. The gals who come to class have little baggies with all their threads perfectly twirled into little swirls. I can only hope I can ever come close to that kind of "mise en place." But, to tell you the truth, if I manage to arrive with the appropriate colors in the first place, I am totally on the mark and there's nothing stopping me.

I have a copy of the book, Custom Knits! Here is a pic of the front and the back. I am speechless. I just hope that there are a few knitters out there who will appreciate a little knitted bikini cover - slash - teeny tiny dress. . . .(available end of August!)

Yogini Bolero

I never really put the words, "yogi" and "bolero" together in my mind before, but when this pattern was complete, it just seemed right. Well, at least until I said the two words together out loud. When I said "Yogi Bolero," out came visions of a know-it-all, hat-wearin', on-two-feet walkin' bear who happens to have a best friend named "Boo Boo." It was then that I knew, just knew, that I couldn't name the thing "Yogi Bolero," after all.

In walked the "Yogini Bolero."

Whips up in no time flat--at least the short sleeve version does--you can throw this one on in a pinch on your way to a class or use as a cover up for a little tank or wildly printed dress. The hemp or linen offers just enough warmth for warmer climates, but if you want something with a little more heat, try a worsted weight wool. Something with just a bit of a halo, or shimmer, or something just, plain sumptuous.

Yogini Bolero is knit in one piece, from the top down. The pattern also includes instructions for two sleeve lengths: short and long.

SIZES
XS (S, M, L, 1X, 2X, 3X)

FOR SIZES
32 (34, 36, 40, 42 46, 50)" chest
Shown in size Small; two inches negative ease suggested

FINISHED UPPER WAIST
30.25 (34.25, 37.5, 39, 43, 45.5, 49)", including bands
Note: This is not meant to overlap in the front

YARN
Short Sleeve: Hemp for Knitting Allhemp6LUX (100% Hemp; 143yd-130m / 100g): 3 (3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6) hanks; Color 52 Zinfandel, or approximately 450 (450, 575, 575, 725, 725, 800) yds same weight yarn

Long Sleeve: Louet Sales Euroflax "Light/Worsted Weight" (100% Wetspun Linen; 200yd / 100g): 4 (5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7) hanks; Color 112 Celtic Blue, or approximately 800 (850, 950, 1050, 1200, 1200) yds same weight yarn

GAUGE
20 sts and 24 rows = 4” in St st

NOTIONS
One 29" (74 cm) or longer circ needle size US 5 (3.75mm)
One set double point needles size US 5 (3.75mm) (for working in rnd; optional)
One add’l 29" (74 cm) or longer circ needle size US 5 (3.75mm) (optional)
Stitch markers
Waste yarn
Yarn needle

DIFFICULTY
Adventurous or Advanced Beginner

Click on the button below to buy a copy. It will be sent to you in a zipped PDF file via email when payment is made or eCheck clears. Thanks!

$6.00

EDITED TO ADD: I added more info on the Euroflax. It is "Light/Worsted Weight."
 

Knitting is Harder

The day finally came when she asked me how to knit. I was at the ready, needles and yarn donated from Birds of a Feather in Ohio (I visited when I was taping a couple segments for Knitting Daily TV which should be airing by now).

I have never shown anyone how to do anything, really, and to think that I have a book coming out is sort of scary. I've never been a teacher, at least not in my vision of "teacher" and I don't know if I want to be one. I am sort of in the realm of wanting to show what I know or sharing what I have learned, instead of teaching things, step by step or by rote. I am more excited about just sitting and talking about things, rather than leading. So showing Girlfriend how to knit was, should I say, mildly daunting and sort of scary for me.

But it was good. And she nearly knit three rows before running upstairs. She was proud. And I will hang onto her UFO until she's ready to tackle it again.

Unless, like me, she rebels against her mother's artistic pursuits and decides to throw her nose up at everything and every idea I have. I did that in Bluebirds (the young version of Camp Fire Girls) when my mom was a Bluebird Leader. I refused to wear my uniform. I never followed her directions. I basically made her life a living Bluebird leader mommy hell.

If I could take it back now, I would.

Meanwhile, I will save this for (my) prosperity and leave the rest to her. Bless her soul. She'll decide what she likes and as long as it isn't stripping or alligator wrestling, I will always be there for her.

By the way: I was just thinking, as I was joining my crocheted motifs together the way the latest Interweave Crochet suggests (thanks to all of you who commented) that crochet is a lot easier than knitting. At least to me.

Oh, I did a couple designs for Blue Sky Alpacas. One is for free (a girls' tank that can be found on their site and at Knitting Daily TV) and another, a unisex kid's pullover with a Mariachi theme. Both use their new skinny cotton that is fantastic.

I Prefer the Stuff in the Plastic Green Jug

Not to bring up potty subjects since I've mentioned that sort of thing twice or more in the past week or two, but as I lay there today face down on the table, beee-hind exposed and my physical therapist with his elbow digging into the exposed portion, all I could think of was yarn.

He knows about the blog, he even accidentally referred to it as "Gin and Tonic" the other day, and I hastily reminded him that although I'm a gin and tonic lover (even the cheap gin is good gin--actually, I like the cheap stuff more than the expensive stuff), the name is "Knit and Tonic." And today, when he noticed that my pelvis was really out of whack, and I told him it was because I was working all day, knitting, then he stood upright (remember, my bee you tee tee was exposed) and said: "You really knit? For real? You actually knit?"

"Uhm, yes. I knit. Honest."

You really gotta wonder. So far, two guys in the same Physical Therapy Establishment thought I was kidding when I said "knit." They thought I was pulling their legs or something. But be nice to them. They're into sports. (And they read the blog.)

Next Tuesday when I'm in again, I'll do a little digging to find out what sports my physical therapists enjoy the most, and I'll wait a day or two and say, "So, do you actually [fill in the blank]? Or do you just watch?"

I thought an aching hip was enough to compel them. I guess not. I suppose if I wore orthopedic shoes and dragged my husband along, carrying my purse for me, complaining about the slipping dentures, they may have believed, right off the bat, that I actually knit.

A couple of things: Yarn continues to flood into the front door, and if you're wondering where I find all of it, like I said, I just have to answer the door and it's there. But for the latest stuff, three skeins of Opal Rain forest Butterfly/Raupe Green/Snake colorways, I found it through my friend, Allison of Supercrafty, who is having a fire sale like all get out. Everything is 30 - 40 percent off. So if your children are learning about the rain forest like mine is, socks in colorways that resemble some of the inhabitants there might be a good thing--especially at such a good price.

I also finished the Yogini Bolero Long Sleeve. Sneak peak above. The pattern is being edited as I type this and it will be available soon! (Oh, and the hip is coming along, thanks to all the P.T.)

Sheesh. It Ain't Open Heart Surgery . . .

Even though my grandma taught me to knit when I was about eight years old, I didn't knit again until very recently. What I mean by very recently is about six years or so ago. When I decided that I would knit, I bought myself a book by Debbie Bliss, I think it is called "How to Knit." Then, whenever I came across something I didn't understand while knitting a project, if I couldn't figure out my "own" way to do it, I'd grab a reference book.

Thing is, I've been told by people who've knit for many, many years that I knit backwards. Or I don't do things the "right way." I like the way I do things. I'm comfortable. The only thing that makes me uncomfortable is trying to explain why the things I do the way I do them works for me.

I just had a conversation the other day with HWWV about this sort of thing and he said: "Taking a different approach to a known craft is fine, but first you have to know how to do it 'correctly' and by the rules. Then, you can make your own changes. But you have to fully understand how to do it by the book, first."

I don't know.

When it comes to knit and crochet, at least, in my mind, there may be a set way of doing things, but it is fine by me if someone who knits for their own pleasure--and others' pleasure--approaches their craft in such a way as to refine it and define it in their own mind and share what they like openly without someone telling them that they are doing it "wrong," "backwards," "upside down" or "not by the book." Who the heck cares if you like to crochet your knitted pieces together instead of mattress stitch? Or twist stitches because you like how it looks? Or knit everything in the round?

The reason I love what I'm doing these days is because I have the autonomy to knit the way I want to knit and not do things exactly by the book. Same goes for all the very skilled and seasoned knitters. You knit your way. I'll knit mine, and let's just forget about it.

Come to think of it: I wouldn't have ever known I did things wrong or differently unless some of the stalwarts had so politely informed me. Heck, I never knew there were so many rules to playing with a couple needles and an innocent ball of wool.

Had I known there were so many, I don't think I would have ever picked up the needles again in the first place!

Speaking of rules: Anyone have an idea about how to join motifs like the ones above? They're crocheted and a simple sunflower shape. I am not a skilled crocheter and I was thinking that I may just sew them in strips and then join them, strip by strip, with another strip of maybe single or double crochet. What do you think? (This is the Filati Sailor in Versailles for Girlfriend's room. We are changing her red and white gingham and Toile "baby" room into a little girl room. Her colors will be like Neapolitan ice cream.)

On the Spinning (and Not the Kind that Makes Yarn)

As the world turns on its axis, so does my yarn. My yarn, all the projects that have been left unfinished, skeins of wool meant for this or that, lists of design ideas, deadlines, they turn too, in a rash-riddled clump of fiber and dreams, faster and faster and faster.

For awhile, I can keep up with the pace of it all. But a day always comes when I get caught up in the swarm and end up in the epicenter, the eye of the storm, but in a guilt-ridden vortex of inactivity.

I'm stuck.

And I would love, like the multitude of bloggers, to slap a button on my front page that declares I will not knit anything new no matter what until all my UFO's are completed.  Thing is, I just hate making promises I will never, ever be able keep. So, for now, I am "Yarn Diet" Button free.

To me, that whole Yarn and New Project Diet craze: It ought to happen organically, kind of like some sort of industrial action that will prevent me from doing what I want to do. You know, kind of like how an alcoholic who, on purpose, moves to a state with those crazy Blue Laws to keep themselves from buying loads of beer on Sundays.

Actually, I'm starting to hope for some sort of tragedy, like a big, bad sheep strike, a llama walkout or an all and out alpaca revolt so all that yarn stops showing up at my door willy nilly. And, if I'm lucky enough, those spinning wheels will refuse to spin or just plain, get stuck, so I will turn to my stash and actually pull something out of the heap and cast on, and perhaps complete it.

I'm hoping that, all of the yarn and pie-in-the-sky ideas will just stop coming so the cyclone that is my current day-to-day existence will start slowing down. That I will wake up and find myself in, oh, Tahiti, where things go a bit slower. Or Texas. Or somewhere that seems like it would be still. Like maybe a dungeon, a dungeon run by a couple of slowpokes on downers.

My yarn. My yarn. My yarn. Its bounty overflow-ith.

BTW: You gotta hit Elann.com for this stuff (Filati Sailor) You can buy a bag of it for 14 bucks or thereabouts and the colors are breathtaking. Nice stuff for a lousy 14 bucks or thereabouts. . . if you have a place to store it all.