knit and tonic

The Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet - Commentary and Giveaway

When I recieved Hunter Hammersen's book, The Knitter's Curiosity Cabinet, I was immediately intrigued, probably not because I don't have a curio cabinet of my own, although my grandmother did have one.

Years later, like 20 years later, I can totally see in my mind's eye what she had in her curio cabinet because as a child, I used to stare in there for hours. There was one nude that my grandfather sculpted and other than that, lots of china, some doo-dads and years later, a cake topper that I scultped for them for their 50th wedding anniversary.

I always admire people who have purposeful collections. Not a crap load of stuff, but you know, collections of items that are kept free of too much dust and that are thoughtfully arranged or re-arranged on a pretty regular basis. Girlfriend has a collection of these tiny erasers that are shaped like hot dogs, triple-dip ice cream cones and the like. She takes them out of this big box and arranges them here and there and then admires them. She shows me and at first I think she's just a kid and then I recall all of the stacks of fabric that I take out of a big bag and arrange and re-arrange on my bed while I lay there at night some times and realize that I guess we all have our stuff. 

As for Hunter, she has taken botanical illustrations and admired them and used the inspiration to create a pair of socks from each of her collected illustrations plus another item. I've been studying stitch patterns lately and from what I can tell, she has very carefully selected patterns that invoke the mood and sway of her botanical prints.

Mood and Sway?

I think you know what I mean.

There are 20 patterns in this book. They are all charted and not all are written out line by line. So, if you like to work from charts, this would be a good book for you. I particularly like the cover pattern, the Chrysanthemum Frutescens Sock pattern.  Most of the yarns in the book are easily found online and substituted with light-weight yarns.

Hunter wants to give one of my readers a copy of this book.

You know the drill: Leave a comment and this time, tell me what you collect in your comment. Today is Tuesday and on Friday I'll do a random drawing.

 COMMENTS CLOSED

Congrats to Kate who won a copy of this book!

 

I'm Blaming Loretta.

Boy, I have pretty much decided that people who own aquariums must love real-life drama. I'm serious when I say this because I thought, when we took home our very own and got it all started, that it would be everything that it hasn't turned out to be.

Last night, our Bamboo Shrimp, Lucky Stripe, aka "Jumbo" got out. And Godot did too. I only know this because this morning Girlfriend came around my side of the bed, tugged at my sleeping arm and said "Mom, I'm not sure if Jumbo molted on my bathroom floor or if Jumbo somehow got into my bathroom."

This bathroom we're talking about is about 25 feet from the aquarium.

And then I looked into the tank (after seeing Jumbo there on her floor) and I realized Godot was missing too. We only had that frog for about a week and let me tell you, he grossed me out plenty. He'd hide for ages (hence his name) or hang out in his cave with his four limbs planted on the four corners and stare back at me. Maybe he was plotting his getaway but problem is, he's now missing too and we haven't found him.

I will surely die a thousand deaths if I step on something squishy in the middle of the night.

Or maybe he plotted with Lucky Stripe, aka Jumbo, for a getaway while I wasn't looking and he became Loretta's snack. Ugh.

Never ending freshwater aquarium drama, I tell you. I should contact a local freshwater magazine and ask if they want an aquarium columnist who specializes in wonky ph balance, escaper and swimming sideways stories.

On knitting news. Well, there's plenty, but it isn't half as interesting as what is going on in and around that dang tank.

1. I'm knitting my first chemo cap. This one is jaunty. It's not for me but for a family member.

2. I think yarn bombing is a waste of time.

3. I will not knit a cozy for that tank.

4. I have officially spent 8 hours knitting one 4-inch swatch. It wasn't a good time.

5. The chicken is almost done so I have to wrap this up.

6. Knitted socks are completely underrated. Especially the ones that are just stockinette.

7. When your husband wears them till they die, it is a compliment.

8. When your daughter wears them till they die it is even more of a compliment.

9. People, knit socks for your loved ones. And don't use worsted weight yarn.

That is all for today.

Except this: I probably won't be able to eat shrimp again. For your eyes only: Jumbo, aka, Lucky Stripe, on Girlfriend's bathroom floor. (How the heck did he get there?) 

 

Being Alone and All the Lost Promises

Awhile back, Girlfriend and HWWV left to visit his family far, far away. The first day I cried a lot and then I decided to buck up and get. things. done. Get lots of things done. You know: like, clean the closets, vacuum a lot, finish two chapters of the book, keep things really pristine, read a lot. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Go to the gym every day. Look glamorous.

I should know better by now.

Let's just say I didn't accomplish much of anything that I planned.

I did sew stacks of cocktail napkins even though the last time I had a cocktail party was, oh, uhm, never.

I completed those Mitini Mitts from Blue Sky Alpacas. Remember how I said I weighed the yarn before, in between and after? Folks, check your gauge because this was a nail biter. I actually enjoyed the suspense. The mitts are adorable. I had just one gram of yarn left over. (My gauge was a bit loose so the drama was my fault.)

And I was glamorous--never--but in my mind, heck yes. 

Oh, and I taught a class and did a book signing. The class was all about semi-circular shawl construction. When I walked in, one student said, "Hey, I thought you'd be, I don't know, maybe less serious, in person. Then another student said: "Yeah, and I always pictured you with a southern accent, or maybe like a southern belle."

?

So, the class was fun and everyone was fantastic. We had a great time. But the comments about me not being the way others thought I would be in person baffled me. 

And then it hit me as I was driving home: They were confusing me with Crazy Aunt Purl!

Other news: I'm doing a Custom Knits Accessories KAL on Ravelry, in my Knit and Tonic Group. The kick-off is tomorrow. This time, we're encouraging lots of customization and there will be lots of yarn prizes as well as a Pattern Fairy who will stop by and shower Knit and Tonic patterns on participants. And yes, the Pattern Fairy is me. I won't try to fool you like my neighbor whose son is at least 13 and is still bamboozled by his parents who insist on keeping Santa and the Easter Bunny alive for him.

Like I said to Girlfriend when she asked me about the Easter Bunny while driving home from school a couple months ago (age 9): "Mom, is the Easter Bunny real?"

"Think about it and decide for yourself." I said. "Do you really think a bunny can deliver hard-boiled eggs and candy to everyone who celebrates in one night?"

"Maybe," she said.

In my defense, I asked her an honest question.

But when it comes to yarn, a gram is a gram is a gram. Check your gauge and go forward and be fabulous.

Cast On Bind Off Book Review and Giveaway

When it comes to casting on and binding off I have basically done it the same way since the day my grandmother taught me. Except for one of them. Grandma was a basic knitter. When she cast on to knit, she did the backward loop method. This is super easy to teach to people first learning to knit. I don't think she knew of any other way, but I assume--and I can't ask her if this is the case because she doesn't remember me anymore--that she didn't know any other type of cast on.

Anyway, I think I have told the story to you before, but I knit a bunch of swatches when I was little and that was pretty much it. Kind of like Girlfriend has done. And then I dropped knitting. Kind of like Girlfriend has done. And then in high school I knit a long striped scarf for a boyfriend and it rolled furiously and most passionately (I didn't yet know the part about adding a garter edge) and he loved it anyway. Then I never knit until I was pregnant with Girlfriend. But sitting there on a Friday afternoon a long time ago in the LYS, I showed off a sweater that I had altered to be a maternity tank. I was so proud. Then the owner walked over and tut-tutted about something. I asked what was wrong and she sneered, "What kind of cast on did you use? A backward loop? That is not good, not good at all!" And the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

Well, let's just say later I quietly checked out other options and settled on the long-tail cast on in secret. Since then, and it's been about nine years, that is the only way I have cast on except, of course, when I'm needing to do a provisional or cast on in the midst of a row and then either backward loop or cable cast on gets thrown in. What I'm getting at are actually two things.

Numero Uno: Never shame someone when they're doing something for pleasure. It's not fracking rocket science and who the heck cares if I used a dang backward loop?

Niban: If you have a no-nonsense guide to a multitude of cast ons and bind offs that will serve you well and it's not the likes of a huge encyclopedia that can double as a weapon should a burglar try to break in, then Leslie Ann Bestor's Cast On Bind Off will be a great book for you.

Although I'm perfectly happy doing the three or four in my personal repertoire, I really like the idea that instead of fiddling at the top of a top-down cap (I knit my caps and berets from the top down most of the time) that there are two in the book that will suit me well. There's a Circular Cast On that uses a crochet hook and then there's the Invisible Circular Cast On that does not. Both are pretty simple and from now on, I'll use them when I knit or design new caps. She also covers provisional cast ons, which are obviously on my radar with all the top-down stuff I do, as well as multi-color cast ons that look pretty easy. All techniques are shown side-by-side with step-by-step photography.

The only thing I didn't find--and to tell you the truth I don't know if they exist--are multi-color bind offs, which I would really like to try.

Her publisher will award a copy of this resource to randomly selected commenter on Knit and Tonic. All I ask is that you leave a comment with your favorite cast on or bind off method.

I'll leave this post open until Friday, July 13th (whoops!) and alert the winner via email. Thanks for playing!

BTW: There is a whole Blog Tour going on. If you want to increase your chances of winning, here are the next three blogs in the tour: Zeeneedle, Ramblings of an uncluttered mind and Neoknits.

Comments are now closed. Thanks everyone for joining in! Congratulations, Stacy D!

Singing Roy Orbison Songs Right About Now

I just came home after leaving the house for a couple of hours. Things are sad in here. Girlfriend and her dad left for the other side of the globe last night. They got on a flight at 1:44 a.m. and as I type, they are still in the air. They won't be at their destination for awhile yet. I am sad and feeling alone.

Much of the time, Girlfriend drives me crazy. Anyone with a little one will attest to that. Kids just drive you nuts. Funny thing is, though, once she is gone I'm sad and I miss her.

On a typical day she asks me so many questions that I cannot answer. Almost so much, that I want to fling myself out the window.

"Hey mom. What is a coincidence?"

"Hey mom. Who is your favorite Muppet?"

"I like Miss Piggy, but Elmo is another favorite."

"Elmo isn't a Muppet, mom."

"Yes, he is."

"No, he's not."

"He is."

"He's not."

"Is."

"Not."

"Is."

"Nuh huh."

"Huh huh."

"Nuh huh."

And so on.

So I've been sad and they haven't even landed yet.

They'll be gone two weeks.

For now, I'll avoid the house and try to do some work (and have some wine). 

I did ask Girlfriend to take a picture of something that interested her each day while she is away. And on her layover in Taipei she sent me this picture.

I am very pleased. She must take after her mom--in terms of her sense of humor, that is.

Meanwhile: I am working on those Mitini Mitts. I have so much time on my hands that I actually weighed the ball, then weighed one completed mitt before casting on for the second one. This pattern is supposed to take just one ball. Guess what? The finished mitt is 17 grams. The remaining yarn is just over 17 grams. The total ball weight before knitting? Just around 35 grams. Tonight, while I finish the second mitt, should be interesting...

They Gave us Their Hairs and We Sighed

When you're around so much yarn, you get jaded. I mean, when there's just so much around you, you eventually become indifferent. Yeah, over there is the Woolmeise. Over in that corner there is the Koigu. And back there, is the Rowan.

You know I'm kidding, right?

Even though I'm not a sucker for some yarns, particularly handspun, superwash wool, super duper chunky and junky, or metallics (unless used with panache and a pointy pinky) if you give me a neat-o package with something beautifully done, maybe a little ball of something with a matching pattern that does it justice (and is portable) I will probably inhale just-so.

When you see this, I think you'll know what I mean.

When I was at TNNA the other week, I stopped by the Blue Sky Alpacas booth and nearly swooned when I saw this little ball of their Royal Alpaca and accompanying pattern for Mitini Mitts. Normally they package this yarn in larger skeins, but they had a fantastic idea to package these "petites" and sell the little balls and patterns that just take only one ball. The pattern is just amazing. You open the little booklet and in there is the pattern and a little postcard showing one of the alpacas who gave their hairs so that we can knit. (I like to say "hairs" because it always reminds me of a woman who used to come into the salon--yes, I was once a hair stylist--and plop herself down and say "I need my hairs cut. They've gotten really long. Yup, Those ones in the front, they're really pesky!")

Anyway, I've cast on for the mitts and lucky for me, I have plenty of young ladies around me who'd love a pair.

In the meantime, for those of you who are celebrating Independence Day, I hope you are safe and happy. I also hope that you don't get stuck at a community pool like the one in our neighborhood. (It's so crowded it even had a Facebook page at one time.) The other day, I had myself in such a lather over the crowds, the noise, the clueless parents who allow their babies wearing diapers into the already slimy hot tub, those who insist on filling the postage stamp-sized pool with huge blow up toys and runover the little ones, yadda yadda. Sheesh, I was so lathered up that I fantasized about stabbing the toys with my size two circulars. Lucky for me, I managed to end the day without incident.

And if you were me, you wouldn't, either. Just look at that yarn and breathe! It works *nearly* every time.