Friday, June 09, 2006

And so you're back... from outer space...

Blogger seems to have been down, but that’s no match for Amazing Madam Of The No-Posts!

I totally don't want this blog to turn into the way things are with my friend Kristine. I love her to death, which means that I have a lot to tell her and ask her about, but I either forget it all or try to save it up for one long phone call, and then it all goes to hell and I get ashamed for not calling at all :P

It TOTALLY won't. No. Seriously.

Let’s see here… where to begin?

Visit with Alexandra and Sow’s Ear

Last Saturday I had a lovely jaunt out to Verona with Ms. Alexandra-of-Artisokka.com. (I’m finding myself using more of these rather neo-medieval titles so I can accurately communicate their relationships. “Today I saw Eric-from-the-garage-sale, who was hanging out with water-aerobics-Amy.”)

I haven’t been out the The Sow’s Ear since the very beginnings of my knitting experience. My aunt had breast cancer and I had heard that Berroco Chinchilla was an exceptionally soft yarn for use in a hat, so I hightailed it out to the Sow’s Ear to pick some up. Of course, I didn’t know anything about anything and my aunt (being an expert knitter herself) probably never wore it, but I think it’s safe to say that wanting to do that was really the reason I actually sat down and stuck to my knitting. As for the Sow’s Ear, though, I hadn’t been back since I’d gotten a much better grasp on knitting and yarn selection, so it was a welcome excursion.

When I had described the Sow’s Ear earlier in this blog, I think I referred to it as more of a Knitting Guild place. Interestingly, the presence of two younger employees made me think that it skewed more youthful than I’d originally thought. They had a great selection of Dale in loads of colors, including a sample sweater knit out of Svale, which I don’t think I’ve seen in any large amount at other local stores. Mmmm. Definitely felt like something worth saving for.

The highlight probably came when one of the girls asked Alexandra, “Uh, you look really familiar. You have a thing in… Knitty, right?” Hooray for internet celebrity! That was fun :) While we ordered lunch (she had a ham and cheese prosciutto and brie sandwich; I had a very tasty cherry blueberry turnover) we gabbed a bit more about the state of knitting blogs. We all agreed on the complete stagnation of Wendy vs. Eunny’s intricate marvels and cheerful tutorials.

It’s always interesting to try and think about why you like particular things in particular situations. I don’t really enjoy reading the Mason/Dixon Knitting blog, but upon skimming the book I thought it looked pretty nifty. And I can’t say as I’m a huge fan of Glampyre designs, but I pay attention because I respect Stefanie’s ability to try out different styles and carve out a niche market. Someday I’d like to dream up some patterns of my own, so I like seeing/hearing about what’s involved when a designer tries to piece ideas together and market them or just format them properly so that others can enjoy them too.

Icarus Shawl…

…keeps on keeping on. You know, I really need to get an auxiliary project going on the side with this one. Happily, I started the last full repeat of the first chart. After that, there’s a half repeat before going on to the next four charts, each of which take only one repeat. Now, of course, that will probably bum me out because it’ll prevent me from wandering around without carrying the pattern with me, but I think I’ll live.

No more whining! Grrrargh!

Okay. I feel better now. (I wished I could have finished it today. It was cold.)

Dad’s Vest


I’ve seen some nifty stitch patterns lately which have made me think about some new possibilities. Marnie MacLean’s recent post had a diamond lace pattern that I thought could be very subtle, while Eunny’s Almost Argyle Socks intrigued me as well. And Eunny’s most recent work has SUCH a pretty pattern which I’d love to try for myself.

Back to Marnie’s, though… the Silky Wool she was using seemed like it would be just the perfect look and texture without being too stiff and traditional, but I am told that it is still quite scratchy. Though I realize that a sweater vest would probably not have skin contact… hmmm…

This weekend we are dogsitting again, which means that we get to use a car. I have half a mind to go out to The Sow’s Ear again, though I will also be pretty close to Stitcher’s Crossing, which I haven’t seen in a year or so.

Decisions, decisions.

1 Comments:

At 3:46 PM, Blogger TChem said...

Heh, I was just about to leave a comment that said "go to the knitting nights at Sow's Ear!" My knitting group goes occasionally and it's fun. It definitely is the most social of the nearby yarn shops, even if it is out of the range of where I can get to without asking someone else for a favor.

Also, I think Lakeside has Svale; that's the one with some silk in it, right? It's in the front room, not with the rest of the Dale for some reason. (I was just scoping out yarn for a summer sweater, otherwise I probably wouldn't remember.)

 

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