The Last U.S. Yarn Giveaway
Misc. Knitting Magazines
Well, folks, the combination of lots to do and trying to write a post about color (and my love-hate relationship with color in knitting) have conspired to make me a slow, bad blogger. However, we leave on Thursday morning, which means that it’s time for the very last knitting giveaway. Because of time constraints, I’ll be choosing the winners tomorrow (Monday, 9/19) at noon EST. So get to commenting!
I also have some odds and ends of yarn that I don’t have time to photograph. If you’d like to receive a super-exciting mystery package, note that in your comment. Otherwise, remember to let me know which of the yarns or magazine sets shown here that you’d like to have. So – now I’ll give you guys a little update, to gain room for the yarn photos.
PennyRose Sock Yarn
This week has been a lot of packing and a lot of goodbyes – neither of which I’m good at. I applied for my visa, and I mailed off most of our photos to be scanned. Later, I realized that I had not sent in my passport with the visa application, nor had I included the tracking information in the photo scan box. [The visa problem has been resolved; the photo scan kerfuffle has not.] We ate at most of our favorite restaurants (left Restaurant Eve for a return visit). A friend had a small party for us, which was so, so nice. We spent a night at our favorite inn. We wrangled with a waterproofing company that forgot about our appointment for home repair (they should be done soon). I mailed out a lot of yarn and book giveaway packages, but in one batch I wasn’t able to put in little notes (major disappointment to me, for I am a dork).
Pear Tree Yarn: Yum.
It’s a strange place to be, these last few days. I am looking forward to so much about Oxford – most of all, the work I’m going to do when school starts. At the same time, I’m mourning my time here in the DC area. I was born here, grew up here (on the Maryland side), and returned here after college, graduate school, and New York City adventures. I love this area: the monuments, the museums, the tree-lined streets, even the politics. I love the fact that it takes about an hour to get to hiking trails and places to kayak and rock climb. I love the family history I have here – especially all of the people who knew and loved my mother. I loved teaching here over the past two years; I love all the knitters I’ve met here; I love that addictive yarn shop, fibre space.
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino
At the same time, I love Oxford. I love the learning that’s happening there; I love the bookshops and the libraries and the beautiful architecture. I love that there are Sunday afternoon strings concerts for a pound. I love that I can go to London in an hour by train, and take the Chunnel to Paris and other parts of Europe. This is going to be a great big adventure, and I think that it’s important for me to take this opportunity. So I’m genuinely torn between two places I love, two paths.
The way to look at this is that I’m so fortunate to have two different places I love, and so many people I care about, and such an amazing opportunity. It is, of course, a lot easier to think this way when I don’t have to pack a ridiculous amount of yarn, clothing, and miscellaneous items into three suitcases (note that I’m up to three now! very exciting).
Stonehenge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool
A few of you asked whether I am going to continue to blog – the answer is, of course, yes. The next few days are going to be a little hectic, but you can find little bursts of updates on Twitter and Flickr, if you’re so inclined. Also, I’ve decided to continue to offer a giveaway from time to time, as well. I really liked putting together packages for you folks. Plus, if I can’t pick up an extra skein for my super-duper readers when I go to a yarn shop in Europe, well, what are yarn shops for?
I have a little catching up in the winner-announcement category (although everyone should have received their yarn by now). Here we go:
Winners of the Small Knits yarn giveaway:
- Gwendolyn won the Claudia Hand Painted yarn;
- Wendy won the Noro Silk Garden;
- BigAshDog won the Rowan Calmer;
- Lynda won the Louisa Harding Grace.
Winners of the Mr. Trask yarn giveaway:
- KateL won the Fyberspates Scrumptious DK;
- Cathy won the Rowan Tapestry;
- Lorraine won the Dalegarn Falk;
- Patty won the Harrisville Tweed.
And…in a ridiculous turn of events…I realized that I had never done the drawing for the Yarn Multiplies in Storage yarn giveaway. I am so sorry, people. I am losing my mind over here. Here are the results:
- Annie won the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran;
- Wendy won the Dream in Color Groovy (lucky Wendy – two wins in one post!);
- dreamspunfiber won the red NFC sock yarn;
- Eva won the Shepherd’s Wool;
- Jessica won the Jamieson & Smith tweed yarn.
Here’s what we have today:
- Three sets of magazines: Vogue Knitting Winter 2009/10 and Interweave Knits Spring 2011; Interweave Knits Fall 2010 and Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine Fall/Winter 2010; and Burda Verena Knitting Fall 2010 and Knitting Today Nov/Dec 2010.
- PennyRose Yarns sock yarn – 20% nylon, 80% superwash wool. Lovely colors!
- Pear Tree Yarn 8-ply in light blue. Gorgeous and soft. There’s another skein in cream around here; I’ll pop that in as well. It’s been wound into a ball but retains its gorgeous nature.
- 2 skeins Shepherd’s Wool – one grey, one dark green.
- Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino – one full skein red, one partial skein white. Perfect for a child’s hat.
The rules are the same as always (view in the Stash Giveaway FAQ). So, commentors, what do you love about where you live?
Knitting in Art, Part III (also, I’m not dead)
The cat is overwhelmed, and I know just how she feels.
Darling blog readers, I am Not Dead. I am just buried under tasks: getting house ready for final settlement, getting visa, getting yarn mailed all over the world. It’s a great big adventure over here in Lawton/Trask land. But, as someone said to Mr. Trask yesterday, “Things like this are rarely graceful – but, luckily, they don’t have to be.”
I’ll be back tomorrow or, at the very latest, Thursday with one final giveaway and a post on color, but for now here are some fabulous knitting artists:
- Ben Cuevas’ Knitted Skeletons – ever so Halloween.
- Ilisha Helfman, who has written a book on an improvisational approach to knitting she calls Jazz Knitting;
- Glorious and famous portrait of Virginia Woolf knitting;
- Various portraits of Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, who knit socks for his soldiers and invented the ever-so-useful Kitchener Stitch.
Those of you who are willing and able to pay for book shipping, do take a look at what’s below, and comment if you’d like one of these fine books (find information on book giveaways here).
Lots of exciting books to be had here. Remember: commenting to enter the contest means you are willing to pay shipping. Sorry!
So – where have you seen knitting in art, lately?
Knitting at the Movies: The Debt
Ball of Shelter Yarn in AMC Hoffman Drink Holder: Fits Perfectly! Mr. Trask was unwilling to take a photo of me knitting in the theater (sigh).
Last night, Mr. Trask and I went to the movies with Jeff of GGSG. Inspired by Helen Mirren’s glorious career (as well as an NPR story suggesting male movie roles for Mirren AND our silly Twitter conversation on other roles), we went to see Mirren’s latest, The Debt. It was a real thriller – tense, tight, well-written and -acted. I knit all the way through, not because I was bored, but because I was intensely anxious – but, you know, in a good way.
Several exciting things happened in the course of our movie evening. First of all, I discovered that a ball of yarn fits nicely into the drink holders in the chairs at the AMC Hoffman in Alexandria, Va. So convenient! Also, I knit three more strips in the Log Cabin Shelter Blanket, changing colors blindly and only one of the three new colors was inappropriate – the orange, which I’d just used on that side. Utterly impressed with myself for picking up stitches without looking, and think I’ll be able to continue to knit the blanket at the movies (as well as, say, on the plane to the UK). I ripped out the orange strip this morning and replaced it with a nice navy blue one, but am posting a photo from before then, just because. If nothing else, the success of completely random color choice shows me how well Shelter’s different colors blend with one another, and makes me a little more confident about color in general. [Historically, I have issues with color choice. Perhaps that’s another topic for another post.]
Shelter Blanket after the film: only one weird color choice, the orange. Victory!
The film included a knitting moment, but not my favorite. One scene takes place in a Ukranian mental institution, a grim place indeed, and the camera pans past a nurse teaching a patient to knit. He’s holding enormous needles and struggling to complete the stitch, and she’s leaning awkwardly over the arm of a couch to help him. Neither looks particularly happy, and both Jeff and Mr. Trask looked over at me after the shot, as much as to say, “You belong in an asylum.” However, let me point out that the man in the institution did NOT know how to knit when he entered the ward (otherwise, she wouldn’t be teaching him), and clearly he is being taught in order to help restore him to health. Knitters are sane: QED.
Moving along to the next book giveaway, I located some more nice books for you all. Some of the books have fading on their covers, but otherwise they’re in good condition (and free). All winners will be chosen, as always, by the ever-popular Random Number Generator. If you tell me which book you prefer, and it is available when your number comes up, you will get that book! Therefore, as Mother used to say, ask for what you want. Without further ado, here are the books:
The Second Exciting Book Giveaway: includes Stephanie Pearl McPhee and some nice pattern books.
The Second Book Giveaway includes:
- Rowan Classic Weekend Book Eight by Martin Storey. Features the pattern I first tried to knit with the cursed yarn. Ah, the days of the cursed yarn…
- Colinette #47: Wayfarer, by Colinette Yarns
- Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off, by Stephanie Pearl McPhee.
- Bags: A Knitter’s Dozen, by XRX Books
- Knit Mittens!, by Robin Hansen – one of my favorite mitten designers, an expert in traditional colorwork.
- Odd Ball Knitting: Creative Ideas for Leftover Yarn, by Barbara Albright
- Modular Knits, by Iris Schreier – the owner of Artyarns!
- Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, by Joelle Hoverson of Purl Soho. An amazing book.
Comment on this post by noon EDT on Thursday, 8 Sept. 2011 for a chance to win. Please remember that, if you comment here to enter the giveaway, you are committing to pay for postage. The easiest way to pay for postage is to wait until the package arrives, read how much postage is on the package, and add a dollar or two to cover the mailer itself. Then use the Paypal button in the right-hand column of the blog to donate that amount. Again, thank you to all of you who are willing to pay for postage.
Finally, here are the winners of the first book giveaway:
- The Knitting Answer Book – Ivanna
- KnitLit – Elaine
- One Skein – CGuard
- Noro Knits – Sara
- Knitting on the Road – Tina
- Weekend Knitting – Robin
- Knitting Workbook – Krystal
- Knit 2 Together – Jeannie
Congratulations to all who won! Check your e-mail, send me your address, prepare for knitting book nirvana, etc.
Not sure what to say in your comment? Tell me your favorite knitting book or author (mine is Elizabeth Zimmermann); tell me if you knit at the movies; tell me how you feel about Helen Mirren; tell me which male movie role you think she’d excel at. Heck, tell me how your weekend has been! As The Master might say, Anything Goes.
On Mr. Trask (also, some yarn)
- Me: I can’t believe this. A whole new era is coming.
- Mr. Trask: You’re right. We’re moving to England, the DC Universe is rebooting…
- Me: Can I use that as one of my blog quotes?
- Mr. Trask: …Well, okay. But you have to include a link.
A rare photograph of the elusive Mr. Trask. Note his hand-knit scarf, made from Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Chunky.
Well, folks, a few posts back, Tina said she’d like to know more about Mr. Trask, and since I never miss a chance to chit-chat about my nice husband, I’ll give you a little intro to him. [Blame Tina!]
A Shared Obsession
Mr. Trask and I met through mutual friends. One night, a group of us were out having coffee, and the subject of film addiction came up. I said that I had the largest DVD collection of all time; Mr. Trask challenged me to a DVD-off. “I have the Criterion Collection version of Brazil,” I said. “The three-disc one.” He looked at me with a new light in his eyes, as if to say, “If I marry this woman, I will own that film.”
We were dating a few weeks later, and we moved in together about five months after that. In part because we took the beginning of our relationship so quickly, we waited four years to get married – Oct. 28, 2006. We both did a lot of growing up in that four years; although we met when I was 28 and he was 30, I often feel as if we grew up together. [Indeed, recently Brandy was telling me about her husband, whom she met when she was a teenager, and how they’ve known each other so long, and I found myself about to tell her how it was exactly the same with me and my husband…when I realized that she’s known Charlie like twice as long as I’ve known Mr. Trask.]
We have other shared obsessions: writing both fiction and non-, reading, hiking. He introduced me to a childhood guilty pleasure, reading comic books, and now we both review graphic novels for Publishers’ Weekly Magazine.
Fyberspates Scrumptious DK: From the UK to DC to your home.
An Early Riser
Mr. Trask recently transitioned from a full-time day job to working part-time (and remotely) in the day job while writing the rest of the time. His first book was published last fall; the next one is due in about six months. He wakes up every morning at 5:45 a.m. to go to our local coffee shop and write. Periodically, I try to do this, and then eventually I collapse of exhaustion, have a great big weeping fit, and he reminds me that I need more sleep than he does.
He used to get up so early to get a couple of hours of writing time in before his day job. Now, he does it because he likes the quiet of the shop in the early morning. Once we get to Oxford, his schedule will change, because the earliest-opening coffee shop we’ve found opens at 7 a.m. With that timeline, I might even be able to join him regularly. [We’ll see.]
Rowan Tapestry: Who knew that yarn could contain soybean silk?
Not Yet A Knitter
I have encouraged Mr. Trask to learn to knit several times, and yet he continues to resist. It may be that he feels we already have enough yarn in the house, and another knitter would just mean more stash. [Mr. Trask is a minimalist, to the extreme. When we met he owned, like, a couch and a bed and a leather chair, plus a bunch of books and DVDs. That is IT. He has asked me to say that he thinks he owned more than that. Oh, wait, he also had a television set.]
He is 6’5″ tall and therefore has never received a hand-knit sweater, from me or from anyone else. I am waiting until he’s really enthusiastic about receiving such a sweater before casting on – a sweater for a tall man is quite the time-consumer. I’ve knit him several scarves, one of which he wears regularly. Several of the others were repurposed into great swathes of knitting for the Saffron Walden Knitted Maze.
Dalegarn Falk: just waiting for your stranded colorwork.
Willing to Move Overseas
When I found out that I had a chance to apply for the program at Oxford, Mr. Trask was even more excited than I was. [When he gets excited, he makes sure you know: “Honey, that is GREAT news!”] He also tells people about my program a lot more frequently than I do – I say, “I’m moving to England,” and he says, “We’re going to Oxford because my wife is wicked smart.” [Mr. Trask is from the Boston area. Go Sox!] It’s nice to have a booster. As the time to move gets closer, he is putting up with me saying, “Oh my God! We’re moving to England! Who thought THAT was a good idea?!?” several times a day. He usually says, “Yes, we are,” and sometimes, “We did.” Very patient man, Mr. Trask.
Harrisville Designs Highland Tweed: Delicious and Desirable. Much like Mr. Trask.
Resistant to Both Photography and Biography
When I told Mr. Trask I was going to write something about him, he got the same iffy look on his face that he gets when I try to take pictures of him. Then I told him that he could write my blog bio if I wrote this piece about him. He looked even iffier then – another writing assignment? What was I trying to do to him? So – stay tuned for that piece some time later.
And Now, A Giveaway
You’ve read through the bio of a man you’ve never met and probably never will, so it’s time you were rewarded with the chance to win some yarn. Today, we have:
- Two skeins of Fyberspates Scrumptious DK in an amazing purple color. Purchased at the ill-fated UK Knit Camp and brought home in my luggage, this yarn is well-traveled but still beautiful, and can’t wait to make the trip over to your house.
- Four balls of Rowan Tapestry (70% wool, 30% soybean silk!) that stripes through different shades of blue. One ball was used to knit a gauge swatch (since ripped back); the other three are new, with labels still on.
- Three balls of Dalegarn Falk – blue, lighter blue, green. Would make a grand fair isle hat.
- Two skeins of Harrisville Tweed – one in green and one in a lovely oatmeal shade. Delicious, soft tweed.
The usual stash giveaway guidelines apply. Comment on this post by Tuesday, Sept. 6, at noon EDT for a chance to win: for whom have you knit the most? Do they wear what you knit? Do you mind, one way or the other? Was this post in any way interesting, or would it be better with some actual knitting content (for goodness’ sake)? Have you ever read a graphic novel? And what’s the oddest DVD in your collection?
All winners chosen by my good friend and yours, the Random Number Generator.
A Brief Announcement (or, Losing My Mind)
- Me: I think we need some more compression bags.
- Mr. Trask: Why?
- Me: For the very small amount of yarn I will be bringing to England.
- Mr. Trask: …How small?
- Me: Well, if we don’t get more compression bags it won’t be as small. It’ll be more like medium.
You all are really polite. I posted the most recent giveaway on Tuesday, and forgot to announce the winners of the last giveaway, and no one mentioned it in the comments, or sent me e-mail, or anything. Clearly, you know, or somehow guessed, the state of shock I went into when I found our living room couch had turned into this:
Those Adirondack chairs belong on the porch.
Sad but true: Mr. Trask and I are now living like very poor students. We’re sort of regressing: from too-much-stuff adults, to minimalist adults, to adults just starting to furnish their home…and now we’ve gotten to students just out of college who eat mostly yogurt.
At any rate, I apologize. The giveaway must go on! Here are the winners from the Franklin Habit post, for which the signups closed on Monday:
- Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Chunky: Jeannie
- Fyberspates Scrumptious Aran: Karen
- NFC Sock Yarn: Cathy
- Sheep Shop Yarn (TWO winners, because I found two more skeins): Beki and Gwendolyn
Congratulations, one and all! Check your e-mail, so you can send me your snail mail address. Everyone, check back tomorrow, when there will be more yarn to give away…and possibly books as well.
Gasping in Summer Heat? Knit Something Small.
Tiny Airplane: Much smaller than the one we'll take to England (I hope). Photo copyright and courtesy Mochimochiland.
Well, folks, the Slow Boat to Britain shippers came yesterday, and today the staging company is coming to retrieve the furniture they rented to us. By tonight, I suspect we’ll have brought our Adirondack chairs in from the deck so we can watch television without sitting on the bare floor. We know how to live. Starting today, folks will be at our house to do some repair work in preparation for the house sale on the 21st. The cat is definitely not going to be happy. But we still have a bed, and a television set, and an internet connection. I even have a couple of P.G. Wodehouse books set aside for moments of true stress. And a leetle bit of yarn in addition to the future giveaway items. So – onward and upward!
It’s late August in DC, when the air feels like melted butter. Even if you’re as knitting-obsessed as I am, you may be feeling the merest hint of resistance to draping something wooly over your lap. This is, of course, the perfect time to knit a hat or a pair of mittens or socks, either for yourself or as early planning for holiday gifts. Or…you could knit 50 life-size bees.
The amazing thing about this miniature Christmas sweater by Althea Crome is - if it were regular sized, I'd wear it. For how many Christmas sweaters can we actually say that? Photo courtesy Bugknits.com.
That’s what artist Hannah Haworth did recently. She made the bees to accompany some bee prints she made, which were commissioned by the Union Gallery in Edinburgh for their Plight of the Bumblebee exhibition. How cool is that? Check out photos of the bees on her blog. They’re made of Malabrigo yarn (yum) and she clearly put a huge amount of work into them. Also check out the great white whale she knit for another exhibition – on a completely different scale, and yet just as cool.
I don’t knit small things (or large things), and yet I am a little obsessed with those who do. This started when I heard the 16th Cast-On podcast, way back in 2006, in which Sage Tyrtle was the guest host and talked about her miniature crochet. If you haven’t heard this episode, pop on over and listen to it. Among other things, Sage has a gorgeous, whimsical voice and is a lovely writer. [Plus, she crochets tiny items!]
Claudia Fingering-Weight Hand Painted Yarn: Yum.
There are other amazing miniaturists out there: Althea Crome, for one, who knit costumes for the incredible stop-motion animated movie Coraline. She’s been knitting on tiny (like, pin-sized) needles for more than 10 years, and often makes garments with intricate colorwork. She sells patterns and needles, too, if you’re brave enough to try! [I’m not.]
Then there’s Anna Hrachovec (the genius behind Mochimochiland). I think one reason these creations strike a chord in me is that they hearken back to childhood, when it seemed possible that other worlds (smaller ones, like those in The Borrowers or even The Cricket in Times Square) might exist parallel to our own.
Noro Silk Garden: Two balls that want to be striped together.
Anna’s little Woodins from the long-ago Knitty remind me of times when I thought there might be elves or fairies in the woods; her tiny factory reminds me the whole world is loveable (especially when it’s knitted). Her second book, Teeny-Tiny Mochimochi, just came out; it includes patterns for (among others) a tiny hot dog, tiny chickens, a tiny mailbox…basically, it proves anything can be cute if you make it really small.
Of course, I can’t type about tiny things without putting in another plug that you Knit A Tiny Hat for Innocent Drinks’ The Big Knit. 25p from each hatted drink sold goes to Age Concern UK, which looks after older people in the winter (making sure, among other things, that they stay warm). As I told you in my earlier post, if you make a tiny hat, you’ll get to choose something from my stash! [Or, if you knit that hat after the stash is depleted, I’ll send you a fun little knitters’ care package from Oxford.]
Rowan Calmer: For some peaceful cotton knitting.
Perhaps this is the exhaustion talking, but I might try to knit some nifty tiny items when I get settled in England. After all, I’ll have a lot less yarn, right? Plus, what a stash-buster…no, wait, the stash is depleting…yes, I think it IS the exhaustion.
Anyway, on to the giveaway:
- Three skeins Claudia Fingering-Weight Hand Painted Yarn. Pretty, pretty! Think of the tiny airplanes you could make with these colors.
- Noro Silk Garden in two colors – crying out to be a striped scarf or hat. Noro’s color combinations always teach me something about color theory – as I stripe with two color-change balls, I’m surprised at different combinations I never would have tried.
- Three balls of Rowan Calmer – one in light green and two in ivory. Lovely cottony goodness for those with wool allergies or who just want to knit with something less sheepy.
- Two balls of Louisa Harding Grace Silk & Wool in pale pink. Soft and drapey.
Louisa Harding Grace Silk & Wool: Deliciously silky.
The usual information (now found in the handy-dandy Stash Giveaway FAQ!) applies: I will mail via first-class mail, you can donate to shipping using the button in the right column of the blog, yarn frozen before mailing, one-cat non-smoking household, etc. Comment on this post before Saturday, 3 Sept. ’11 at noon EDT: what’s the smallest thing you’ve ever knit, or the largest? Did you see Coraline? Is it still hot where you are, or are things cooling off? Why do you think these little knit items are so appealing?
The Illustrious First Knitting Book Giveaway
- Me (opening another box from storage): Dang. More books.
- Mr. Trask: Hey, at least it’s not more yarn.
Well, people, this weekend Mr. Trask and I cleared out the storage space and packed Phase I: the items going by container ship (also known as Slow Boat to Britain). The Slow Boat movers arrive sometime Monday, so our little house is filled with boxes that are going via Slow Boat, boxes that will be stored, boxes of items to be donated, and more. Also an irate cat:
This Will Not Stand: Gertrude objects to the changing topography of the house.
Also, there was a bit of a thunderstorm over the weekend, and I bashed the side of my foot on our kitchen island, and I seem to be developing a hideous chest cold from the dust of the storage boxes. But other than that all seems to be well. Hey, here’s our progress:
Some of the many, many boxes we have packed. So far, yarn content = 0. But not for long...
Anyway, I haven’t had much time to write or knit, although I did finish the Stash Giveaway FAQ. Further, since Hurricane Irene our Internet connection has been spotty. So I’ll just give you what’s promised in the title, and get back out:
The First Book Giveaway: Comment by Friday 2 Sept
The giveaway consists of:
- The Knitting Answer Book, by Margaret Radcliffe
- KnitLit, edited by Linda Roghaar and Molly Wolf
- One Skein, by Leigh Radnor
- Noro Knits, by Jane Ellison
- Knitting on the Road, by Nancy Bush
- Weekend Knitting, by Melanie Falick
- Knitting Workbook, by Debbie Bliss
- Knit 2 Together, by Tracey Ullmann (yes, THAT Tracey Ullmann) and Mel Clark
Remember that, if you comment to enter this giveaway, you are committing to pay shipping (you can choose either media mail or first class mail). Also, these books are gently used. Weekend Knits is a hardback and the dust jacket has some fading. I think that’s it for condition warnings. Comment by noon EDT on Friday, 2 September for a chance to win. Hurrah!
As soon as the movers leave tomorrow, I’ll post something more substantial, with another yarn giveaway (and announce last week’s winners). Thank you for your indulgence while we lose our minds over here.
So, those in the hurricane’s path, how did you fare? Everyone else, how did you spend your weekend? Entertain those of us who spent ours cowering in the dark. And does anyone want to give me advice on how to pack clothing really, really small, so I can fit a little yarn into my suitcase?
Exciting Technological Advances in Knit Night
- Me: The comments just keep coming in. What do I do? Just keep blogging and giving away yarn?
- Mr. Trask: Um…yeah. Or you could declare everyone a winner.
- Me: I can’t do that! We don’t have enough yarn.
- Mr. Trask: That can’t possibly be true.
Franklin shows us the swatch for his new "Feline" pattern. It has a companion pattern, "Canine," so that (as Franklin told us) you can wear cats and dogs together. More photos in this Flickr slideshow.
Overnight, I seem to have a whole passel of new readers, and I suspect it’s mostly due to Google+. After the Franklin Habit Google+ Hangout last night (about which more in a moment), Yana posted a note about my stash giveaway project, and this morning I had many new comments and even a few blog subscribers (hi, everyone!). Yes, I know you’re kind of here for the yarn, but maybe a few of you will stay for the prose. Right? [I’m having flashbacks to being a somewhat shy 10-year-old and watching my mother hire babysitters. I always had this suspicion that she was getting them not because I had a 4-year-old sister but because she felt she had to pay people to be my friends.]
For those who are just joining us, I’ll be posting an FAQ on the stash giveaway later today or tomorrow (depending on how well packing goes this afternoon). Essentially, though, find yarn you want, comment on that post, and wait for the deadline to pass. You can donate to my shipping costs, but you don’t have to. The deadline on the last post is Friday at noon, so there’s still time to get yourself some nice Jamieson & Smith yarn. Scroll down on this post to see more yarn you could win, just by commenting. We leave for England on Sept. 22, so Everything Must Go (except, well, for a few skeins I’m keeping for myself). All winners are selected by the super-duper Random Number Generator.
Shelter Log Cabin Blanket: Franklin Habit saw this! With his Franklin Habit eyes!
The amazing surge in readership leads me to my thoughts on Google+, which I joined a few weeks ago. Here’s the thing: I thought it stood a small chance of replacing Facebook, and it’s not going to do that for me. Too few of my friends are on it, and I believe Facebook’s got a major advantage still in its wealth of distractions (Lexulous, anyone?). Where G+ is really taking off for me is in its ability to connect me with people I don’t know. On Facebook, I post more personal information, more photos, etc. I’ve never really been comfortable with friending many people I don’t know there. On Ravelry, I am, but since Ravelry doesn’t have a news feed there isn’t that real-time conversation feel that Facebook offers. So far, G+ is giving me real-time conversation with knitters I haven’t met before, and I’m really loving that.
Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Chunky: Recommended by Mr. Trask's neck.
A lot of the connections among knitters there is due to Yana‘s efforts. She was one of the first people on G+, and she decided she wanted to create a community of knitters there. She thought carefully about how to do that, and she has already introduced many of us to one another. She’s figuring out ways we can identify other knitters through one another’s circles, and then what we can do to interact without feeling we’ve been shoved into the Wild West of the Internet. Every week, she seems to have another idea about how to get us all together (today’s idea: an exchange to finish one another’s hibernating Works-in-Progress). It’s pretty neat to see an interactive knitting community take root from the beginning – and I feel I’m seeing that more here even though I was a relatively early Ravelry beta tester. Some of the difference has to be that the online world has changed mightily over the past few years, but some of it is just that G+ is a different animal, with different priorities.
Fyberspates Scrumptious Aran: Just what it sounds like.
So – that’s my plug for you to try it out. It’s definitely one more social media site to cope with, and at the beginning that was a major drawback for me. But in the past few weeks, it’s started to feel different enough (in structure and in the people with whom I’m connecting) to be worth it. Add Yana to your circle if you want to keep up with her knitterly action. And, while you’re at it, add me, too! If you’d like an invitation from me to G+, just go to this link.
One of the new and different features of G+ is the Hangout feature, in which groups can video chat. This is perfect for a virtual Knit Night, which is what the Franklin Habit Hangout of last night was, ultimately. Those of us who had been chosen to participate were a little shy at the beginning, and having a few blips in the technology made me, at least, shyer. Plus, Franklin Habit is one of my favorite knitting people. I love the varied nature of his work: writing, drawings, patterns, historical inquiry into knitting patterns past, documentaries of his pet yarn crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2. He clearly works on what fascinates him, no more and no less. People like Franklin make me think that I might be able to cobble my eclectic interests into some kind of coherent whole, someday. And there he was, on the screen, looking like a man who knows what Einstein and the Queen argue about when they argue about knitting. So I kind of muted my microphone, sat there, and stared. [Eventually, the catatonia got better.]
Kimberly shows off the penguin Franklin procured at Knit Nation 2011. We never really got the story on the penguin...
When I signed on, Yana was showing everyone the yarn she’d received from a recent stash giveaway, which was so nice. And then there was some awkward silence. We all kind of sat there and knit and stared at Franklin and Kimberly. Eventually Kimberly asked each of us what we were knitting, and after show-and-tell the questions started popping up. I asked Franklin about Knit Nation 2011 (I was sad to have missed it, after the glory of 2010), and we gushed over the gorgeousness of Wollemeise. I also asked him whether Dolores would be writing her memoirs; he said that she’s hard at work on them right now, and that they will be illustrated, “but tastefully, so you can leave them out on a coffee table.”
Neighborhood Fiber Co. Sock Yarn Smorgasbord: The red and the pink probably don't go together, so don't combine those socks.
I also got to show everyone what I was knitting: a blanket made of Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. Tina (who also told us all about working behind the scenes at Rhinebeck) asked me whether I’d sold a kidney to pay for the yarn, and I admitted, in Mr. Trask’s hearing, that I have been buying a few skeins of Shelter each month on the sly, to make the blanket. [Now I will have to sleep on the porch for the rest of the week. But, you know, it’s going to be cold in England!] Yana asked him which of his patterns she should knit first; he said that he’s very proud of the Sahar Stole‘s construction and its knitted-on edging, and showed us his (and now I want to make one. I can’t cast on for anything new! Help!). He also showed us the purple gorgeousness of the shawl he designed for his mother, and several other goodies. A fabulous time was had by all. You can see more photos of the chat (and little anecdotes in the captions) in my Franklin Habit G+ Hangout slideshow on Flickr.
Sheep Shop Sheep One: really shows off the grain of the wood in that antique tray.
On to the yarn!
- Three skeins Debbie Bliss Donegal Chunky Tweed: one green, one red, one charcoal. This is crying out for some kind of striped scarf. I bought these skeins and two others at a little knitting shop in rural Pennsylvania – I wish I could remember the name. I used the other two skeins (navy blue and oatmeal-ish) to make a striped scarf for Mr. Trask. People, it is the only item I have ever knit him that he actually wears. It’s coming with us to England and everything. You, too, can make a scarf that will be worn! Imagine the glory!
- Two skeins Fyberspates Scrumptious Aran – one in Water and one in Natural. This yarn is 45% silk and 55% merino. Scrumptious, indeed. Make yourself a gorgeous lacy beret for the fall…or, heck, whatever you want to make. Why am I going all bossy today?
- A gathering of Neighborhood Fiber Co. sock yarn: semisolid blue, pink, red. The blue is Watershed and the pink (a special edition called Hypercolor) and the red are Studio Sock. All three are yummy, yummy.
- Two skeins Sheep Shop Sheep One in a purty green color. There may be a third skein around here somewhere, and if I find it I’ll include it in the parcel. This yarn is single-ply and delightfully sheepy.
The usual info: yarn has been stored in airtight containers in my non-smoking, one-cat home since being purchased. Before mailing, I freeze the yarn for 24 hours. All winners are selected by the handy-dandy Random Number Generator. Comment on the blog by Monday, August 29 at noon EDT for a chance to win: what are you knitting right now? Would you knit “Feline,” “Canine,” or both? Would you ever trust someone else to finish a hibernated work in progress, or are you trustworthy to finish someone else’s? Do you want to hear about Mr. Trask’s and my transatlantic trip on the QE2 in 2003, or should we let the dead past bury its dead?
[Winners of the last giveaway: Syd won the Malabrigo, Laura won the Cash Iroha, Kitten (who must have a lucky horseshoe over her door) won the green Rowan, Jennie (from Wales! Where I’ll be in October!) won the Canopy, and LeAnn won the pink Rowan. Congratulations! Check your e-mail and send me your address!]
Knitters Are Lovely, and Yarn Multiplies in Storage
Talk about extra yarn: festival attendees walk the Saffron Walden Knitted Maze. Photo by Linda Pollard.
So on Sunday night I went diving under our guest room bed, trying to find a pair of shoes to wear out to dinner, and I found – lurking in the middle of the underbed space, behind some empty plastic containers – more yarn. People, this is an emergency. I can’t ship all this yarn! You will have to take it. So, even though you have until noon today to comment on the last giveaway post, I’m popping some more yarn up here for you to win (see end of post for details). As a result, I think this will be a sort of conversational post, in the way that Cowper’s The Task is a conversational poem: moving from subject to subject as they occur to me (Hey! Look at me dropping in a piece of my master’s degree class from last summer). If this is off-putting, do skip to the end of the post for some nice yarn.
[A brief aside: this is not the first time The Great Discovery of Knitting Supplies has happened. Indeed, last week I opened the handy-dandy file cabinet section of our amazing coffee table and found…like 25 knitting books. I am thinking of posting a few of those here to give away as well, except that mailing them will be more expensive than mailing yarn (larger mailers with heavier contents). Does anyone want a nice knitting book or two?]
Jamieson & Smith: Gorgeous teal tweed. Not to be missed.
Meanwhile, back in Saffron Walden, the Knitted Maze became a reality this weekend. It looks like they had a beautiful day for it; I so wish I could have been there. I keep peering at the photos, trying to find my little scrap of the whole. [I will admit that I also am wishing I’d found the latest cache of yarn earlier, so that I could have knit it into more strips for the maze, hence getting it out of my house sooner. But I digress.] You can see more photos of the big day on Flickr. I just love that the idea of one woman became an international effort, and gave pleasure to an entire town (and their maze festival). For I am a cheeseball.
Speaking of which, I have to tell you all that I was so touched by the comments that came in on the last post (helped to a large degree by Amy of Knitty re-tweeting a link to the post). There are an amazing number of wonderful knitters out there, with so many great stories! I hesitate to pull out any of them, because every one is lovely, and if I got going I’d never stop. Pop over to the last post if you haven’t had the chance, and read what knitters will do for one another.
Debbie Bliss and Dream in Color: A hurried photo due to found-yarn panic.
In an unexpected bit of fortune, I was chosen (randomly) to participate in a Google+ Hangout with the glorious Franklin Habit and Kimberly Reynolds this evening. I am ridiculously excited, and will try to tweet a bit during the discussion. Any questions for Dolores? Also, if you’d like me to send you an invitation to Google+, let me know.
And what can you do for me? You can give some of my stash a home! Today’s yarn:
- Two skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran: one in 300201 (a lovely deep teal color) and one in Grape (just what it sounds like). The Grape is much prettier than in the panicked photo here.
- One skein Dream in Color Groovy in Alpine Flurry (the Dream Club yarn for January) PLUS one skein of Louet MerLin Worsted Weight in a nice purple color.
- One ball Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock in a beautiful semisolid red. [Provenance: Karida gave it to Danielle, and Danielle gave it to me.]
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Stonehenge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool: Ever so soft and shiny.
Three balls Stonehenge Fiber Mill Shepherd’s Wool: white, gray, purple. These are partial balls, but full skeins of Shepherd’s Wool are hefty (250 yards of worsted weight) and these probably have around 175 or 200 yards left. You could easily make a few complementary Turn A Square hats with these, or perhaps even some striped French Press Slippers (you’d have to stripe them due to yardage, I think). The yarn is utterly gorgeous: soft and smooth. You will not be disappointed. To sweeten the deal, I’m including a skein of Cascade Yarns Eco Alpaca in Straw.
- Three skeins Jamieson & Smith Shetland Aran in an amazing teal tweed shade. Photos do not do this yarn justice. I would love to keep it, but am telling myself I’ll be able to buy J&S in the UK. These would be gorgeous in a Jared Flood pattern, as well, maybe one of the cabled hats.
Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock: From Danielle's house, to my house, to yours.
As always: the yarn has been stored in airtight containers in my non-smoking, one-cat home since being purchased. Before mailing, I freeze the yarn for 24 hours – this is solely for your peace of mind, as I’ve never had any kind of moth problem.
Comment on the blog by Friday, August 26 at noon EDT for a chance to win. Possible topics: Do you want to join Google+, or would it just feel like one more thing? Who would teach at your dream knitting retreat, and what would they teach? What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever hidden or found yarn? Would you respond to a knitting book giveaway if I asked winners to contribute a few dollars toward postage? And what would you say to Franklin Habit if you had the chance?
Sweater Quest, by Adrienne Martini. A whole year on one sweater?!?
When last we spoke, I was busily giving away my stash, and trying to decide whether to rip back to add some length to my Schieffelin Point Shawl. And then…then I read Chapter 3 of Sweater Quest by Adrienne Martini (isn’t that a great name?). For those of you who haven’t picked up the book, Martini decided, after knitting for a few years, that she’d climb what she calls “knitters’ Mount Everest” – the Mary Tudor sweater. First she knits a hat with her left hand to prove she can do the left-hand/right-hand fair isle thing. Then, to get the pattern for the sweater, she buys the book Tudor Roses on eBay for an ungodly sum. And then she goes on an epic quest to find the right yarn for the sweater (the original yarn has been discontinued). An EPIC quest.
This is where I got scared. Here is a woman who is hunting down really specific yarn via panicked phone calls to Canadian yarn distributors and sad e-mails to Ann Shayne (lucky girl, to be a Friend of Ann!)…am I making a mistake, giving away all this yarn? I mean, Danielle told me not to, and Danielle talks like she knows everything. What if she does? What if I need some of the yarn someday? What if…some of it gets discontinued?!?
Rowan Yarn: Already Discontinued. Oh no! Comment on this post for a chance to win.
We are lucky that I was on the cross-trainer at the gym when I had this thought. The cross-trainer doesn’t pause to let you lose your mind and breathe into a paper bag over possible yarn losses of the future. Indeed, I was already breathing pretty hard, what with the cross-trainer being the most sadistic of cardio machines at the Monroe Street YMCA.
[Are you now wondering why I was reading Sweater Quest on the cross-trainer? Would it help for me to explain that I couldn’t watch Downton Abbey because I had left my headphones in my purse? Are you now feeling sorry for me, but even sorrier for the people who have to work out near me, as I must be an utter nut job?]
At any rate – I reminded myself that I don’t need the yarn, that there is yarn in England, that I cannot ship all the yarn to England because customs would probably detain it, thinking I was planning to tank the wool market by dumping the entire stash into the UK at once. Also, that giving the yarn to deserving homes is fun, which it is, and has introduced me to you good people. Most of all – that you people are worth it. You people deserve the yarn! Huzzah!
Canopy Worsted wants to come home with you.
As if to reward my return to sanity, Sweater Quest had some reassurance for me, too. When Martini hit a wall in her quest for one of the 11 colors of yarn she needed for the sweater, Shayne had the yarn she needed. Before that, when Shayne was looking for a similar color to knit the Keava sweater, a stranger in New York sent her an entire box of yarn so she could select exactly the right shade she needed. One of Ravelry‘s first features was a way to post yarn one’s stash with a “will trade or sell” icon so knitters could find the right yarn, in the right dye lot, to help knitters who didn’t have enough yarn to finish a project. Knitters take care of our own.
Here’s a nice (and recent) example. It’s about a month until I move, and anxiety is starting to set in. One thing that’s keeping me from just lying curled in a tiny ball and hiding (possibly while rocking back and forth) all day is knowing that I’ll be part of a community of knitters when I get there. From Sophie of the Knitted Maze (premiering this weekend!) to Gerrard of I Knit London, the knitters I’ve met in the UK have been as generous and friendly as knitters here.
Noro Cash Iroha: soft, with a yummy sheen and gorgeous purple color. You know you want it.
What’s more, I found an amazing retreat that’s happening in the UK this fall – the Plug + Play + Pembrokeshire, with Brenda Dayne and Amy Singer. Yes, THAT Brenda Dayne, and THAT Amy Singer. Can you believe it? I immediately tweeted that I wanted to go, but needed to convince Mr. Trask. Over the next few minutes, both Brenda and Amy sent me tweets asking what Mr. Trask likes to do, and then gave me scads of information about where to send him and how much he’d love Pembrokeshire. Brenda! and Amy! Tweeting to me! I am such a fangirl. Long story short (too late): we’re going. Join us! Mr. Trask will hike, visit castles and other historical sites, and write his little heart out. I will learn Amy’s spiffy “plug and play” design method and knit with 19 other knitters in the gorgeous Beggars Reach Hotel.
Today, we have:
- Two lots (for two different lucky winners) of Rowan Lightweight DK: the greens at the top of the photo (above), and the pink/blue/charcoal combo at the bottom. Yummy.
- Two skeins of Canopy Worsted: one in Orchid and one in Cat’s Claw.
- Two skeins of Noro Cash Iroha in a gorgeous purple color (#61).
- One skein of Malabrigo Sock in Tiziano Red.
Here’s what we always say: the yarn has been stored in airtight containers in my non-smoking, one-cat home since being purchased. Before mailing, I freeze the yarn for 24 hours. Comment on the blog by Tuesday, August 23 at noon EDT for a chance to win: how have other knitters taken care of you, or where do you see knitters taking care of each other?
[Also, last week’s winners: Kitten won the Alchemy; my cousin Cindy B. won the Debbie Bliss; Michelle’s daughter Annika won the Noro Kureyon; and Roxy won the Rowan/Thistledown combo. Winners, don’t forget to reply to my e-mail with your address!]
Knit Like You Mean It. 