thursdays are for answers
May 27, 2010
i recently received this question from pattylatty:
Steven,
I’ve written to you before about your three Malabrigo blankets and finally bought a bag of Mal and have started one of the blankets. But recently I’ve been hearing about how much Mal worsted pills. So I thought I’d write to you and see if you have had any problems with that.
And why haven’t I seen you on the Malabrigo Junkies group? It’s a fun place to talk with people who are as crazy about Mal as we are.
Happy knitting.
Pat
well pat, there’s a few things i have to say on the subject of malabrigo.
if you make it into a sweater, it will pill.
but so will any other natural fiber.
the friction of body movements it just gonna do that.
malabrigo just pills more easily because it is a single ply.
now in terms of my blankets,
i can only speak for the zig zag.
(the other two of were gifts)
veronica and i used it pretty heavily this winter,
and while it hasn’t pilled,
it has a little halo going.
a nice soft halo.
you can’t see the spaces between the fabric anymore,
and the yarn has relaxed nicely.
i say go for it.
hell, you’ve already bought the yarn.
but if you’re really worried about it,
and can return the yarn you have,
get malabrigo twist.
just as soft but plied for durability.
if you can’t,
just add a pattern repeat,
and knit on a smaller needle (us 7/4.5mm)
hope to see the finished product!
a week in three acts.
May 23, 2010
i’m exhausted.
i worked a full week at the shop,
and helped a friend organize her stash.
you’d think with all that yarny goodness,
i’d have some really great blog material.
let me tell you, it’s been a struggle.
so, instead of one cohesive post,
i give three short ones,
and an epilogue.
act one: hotpants lives
as you may recall,
i became semi-infamous for the gams i knitted for this past maryland sheep and wool festival.
(they were pretty cool)
well this past week, our favorite yarn rep informed me that clara parkes had mentioned my shorts on the knitter’s review:
“I saw men in kilts, lambs in halters, women in giant floppy hats, and countless kids being led around in high-tech strollers. I spotted colorful tattoos and brightly colored knitted shorts, grilled lamb burgers and deep-fried corn dogs, kids playing catch on the grass, and nervous sheep being groomed to perfection. It was a weekend to end all weekends.”
i immediately sent an email informing her that it was in fact me in those hotpants, realizing that she might be too busy to respond herself. imagine my surprise when i received this:
“Hi Steven,
The gorgeous orange shorts? That was you? I LOVED THEM!! I was at the Spirit Trail booth when you came by, and I really wanted to ask you for a picture but I feared you’d take it the wrong way. I loved that you paired them with a turquoise shirt. And you looked so much more comfortable than everybody else combined. So I say bravo, and once again I tip my hat to you. Please oh please, keep the inspiration coming.
Take care,
Clara
Knitter’s Review”
the legend of the hotpants lives on.
act two: the international
what’s that?
what’s that i see?
that would be shara,
winner of the bitches get stitches girasole giveaway.
she graciously showed it around london
(if memory serves me this lion lives in trafalgar square)
this was certainly worth every penny of the international shipping to see my knitting on another continent.
i wonder where she’ll take it next.
finale: do not go gentle
in regards to my recent post about my grandma,
i just want to say thank you to all the people who were so supportive in their comments both on the blog and in person.
my dear friend nancy left a particularly beautiful comment,
braving her nemesis the internet to do so:
“3am in the ‘Burgh, reading about musk ox in the arctic tundra, memories of ice and the sound of birds flying guiding a migrating people, memories of your grandma knitting themselves into your heart, the sound of my Swedish mor mor’s voice, the sweater she knit me in junior high…We are connected by these threads; we wrap ourselves in their love. It is always the right thing to do, and you have the heart to tell it. You are a writer!”
thanks nancy.
as an update,
my grandma is out of the hospital
and back in the rehab center of the nursing home.
her appetite has returned, and they hope to get her up and walking again.
if i’m very lucky, she’ll be here to see me turn 26.
epilogue: i am, in fact, a crazy face
if you’ve made it this far, you have the opportunity to get a reward.
in the spirit of de-stashing, i’m announcing the second bitches get stitches giveaway!
the prize:
50g/170yds of pure, french, cashmere deliciousness.
the reason:
it’s been in my stash for a while,
and i still don’t know what the heck to make with it.
the rules:
leave a comment telling me what you will do with the skein,
and whichever idea i love best, wins.
(a rav link might help you)
the winner will be announced in may 30, 2010
fairness factor:
zero.
the last giveaway was completely fair.
this time, it’s completely arbitrary.
hey it’s my blog.
do you want cashmere or not?
it’s been a day
May 14, 2010
this post was supposed to go out yesterday.
but my family lives in the land of dial up.
things take time here.
it’s been day.
or two really.
i wasn’t sure if this was the proper place to write about it,
or if it’s even appropriate to share this kind of thing with the world.
but life isn’t just amusing anecdotes and knitterly antics.
my grandma is ill.
her body and mind have mostly given up the fight, and my mom is her last line of defense. she went into the hospital two weeks ago and it became clear that, while she may get well enough to the leave the hospital, she’d never be able to go home again. my mom found a great nursing home (if that isn’t a contradiction in terms. she assured me that is passed my requirement that it didn’t smell like death) where people seem to care and can handle residents with dementia. only a couple of days after she was settled into her new home, a fever spiked, and i got an early morning wake up call from home.
switched shifts.
cap and gown unclaimed.
diploma in the mail.
5 highways and i’m back in the great lakes state.
there were many hugs exchanged back at the homestead, reunited with parents and pup under midnight clouds. but a good night sleep in my childhood bed did little to prepare me to see my grandma this morning.
i came with the sole intention of supporting my mom; i wasn’t thinking about how i’d react. i definitely ate my tears to make it through the day.
the change from the last time i saw her is stark.
it’s hard to see in this frail, confused woman the grandma who played “farm stand” and “kick the sponge” with me when i was a toe-headed boy.
she may have forgotten,
but i haven’t.
and i’ll gladly remind her of what day it is, what time it is, where she put her purse, and any other question whose answer she’ll forget the moment i give it.
it’s the least i owe the woman.
while all this is going on, i get some crazy awesome news:
i got into the yarn harlot/knot hysteria’s silk retreat
(stolen from the harlot's blog)
i received the email confirmation yesterday,
and a call from stephanie pearl-mcphee today to go over the details.
(i promptly saved the number in my cell and did a gleeful jig)
i absolutely cannot afford to go to this retreat.
(and will unashamedly accept any donations you’re willing to give)
but why have I worked for ten years to build an excellent credit score if i can’t throw caution to the wind and melt my visa card every once in a while?
i don’t think it’s healthy having this level of emotional stimulation coming from two very different places.
or fair for that matter.
all I can do is form a plan of attack;
a strategy for coping so to speak.
so far, the list includes an obscene amount of diet coke, thai food, spindling, and casting on with impunity.
i cast on this sock:
and this february lady sweater without a second thought.
i’ve got a long weekend in front of me.
i’ll see you in pittsburgh on monday.
lessons learned
May 10, 2010
the great thing about working at a knitting store?
you learn something new everyday.
for instance,
one day, when everyone was singing praises at the alter of elizabeth zimmerman, i impudently remarked,
“she’s not that big a deal.”
a yarn over immediately jumped off my needle.
lesson learned.
recently,
while working on this beauty,
i thought to myself,
“gee, i’m doing really well! i’ll wait to put in a lifeline.”
a number of stitches popped off the needles and fell down several rows.
“shit!”
apparently, arrogant thinking is a sin in the eyes of the knitting gods.
now, it looks like this:
i’ve dropped down.
i’ll attempt to re-knit the rows.
i’ve done it before, though never with knitted lace.
i’ll burn some incense and maybe do a little chant prior to the attempt.
lesson learned.
recovery
May 7, 2010
i’m in a state of recovery.
from my trip to maryland,
and my (second) masters program.
that’s right bitches, i’m graduating.
again.
symptoms?
fatigue, aphasia, loss of time, peeling scalp,
and my room smells like sheep.
course of action?
milk shakes, knitting, find my watch, head and shoulders,
and stay out of my room.
i’m actually doing quite well, and enjoying finding all the pictures of me and my gams floating around the internet.
you can find them on:
linda’s facebook,
kim’s flickr,
anna’s blog,
karen’s photostream,
and elsewhere. i know more people stopped me and asked for my photo than i’ve been able to track down. even with yvonne creating a ravelry thread about them.
but my favorite by far was taken by cristi:
because she kinneared me, and i love her for it.
in knitting news . . .
let’s keep in mind that i’m a relatively new knitter (less than two years),
but there is evidence mounting that my i’m maturing.
for instance, i now have a small stash.
and i have a project that is coming up on its one year anniversary:
my shetland tea shawl.
i find the signs disturbing.
so i’ve decided to fight these manifestations of conventional knitterdom,
and knit the shit out of this before it turns 1.
first step in attaining my goal?
casting on 449 stitches for the stora dimun knit along
(note my yarn ramekin and the perfect alpaca silk soufflé)
what can i say?
i’m a sheep.
maryland sheep and wool festival
May 3, 2010
well folks, i’m home and well.
and tired.
and a little crispy.
the weather in maryland was exceptionally sunny and hot.
the result? my fair skin is a bit brown in some places,
pink in many others.
as with many of my big life events, i’m finding it difficult to accurately describe the weekend. (i need to start carrying a dictaphone with me or something)
plus i have two final papers to finish this week so i kinda need to conserve some of my writing mojo. but as always, i’ll do my best.
here goes:
it’s the middle of the night and i can’t sleep.
i’m totally stoked for tomorrow and my mind won’t shut up.
so of course, i edited my “i’m with hotpants” blog post, and did a mini photo shoot.
after which i questioned my sanity, put late night vegas poker on the tv, spread out in my king sized bed, and hugged all six of my downy pillows.
sleep came soon after.
later that same morning . . .
we started out early and beat the traffic.
i left my friends at the fold/socks that rock line, making a bee line for. . .
the fleeces!
now, i’m not a spinner.
but as this was my first fiber festival,
i had this romantic notion that i would own the grand champion fleece.
so i waited in my own line, and put in a stupidly aggressive bid.
i also had what i feel is a pretty realistic fear that i actually wouldn’t win, so i purchased “ike’s” fleece, a border leicester/lincoln/corriedale mix ram from shepherd’s hey farm in comus, maryland.
it’s beautiful and would easily make my black sweater dreams come true.
i then braved the heat, saw some baby sheeps,
and proceeded to buy some lovelies.
not too many though.
i had to be sure i could pay for my fleece if i won.
by noon we were all pooped.
(note the custom “i’m with hotpants” tees made by annette)
unfortunately, i had to wait around ’till 3 to see if i won the silent auction.
so i wandered around some more,
saw some more sheepy things,
drank my weight in lemonade and root beer floats,
and headed to the “big barn” at 2:40 ish.
when i arrived, the gossip amongst the volunteers was that a mysterious man was lurking. last year, he swooped in a bought all the winning fleeces at the last minute.
i was obviously concerned.
when he moseyed into view, the ladies quietly pointed him out.
his wife clearly wanted my fleece,
what with it being an uncoated black merino that won best in show.
the volunteers galvanized their power behind me,
handing me a pen to write in a last minute bid if i needed,
and heckled the couple, warning them of my ire should they try to outbid me.
i gave the interlopers my absolute best evil eye.
those who have met it’s gaze can testify to it’s sauron-like power.
(the few that have survived that is)
with two minutes two go,
it was reported to me that the wife said,
“if he wants to pay that much for it, he can have it.”
my stupidly aggressive bid did the trick, and i walked away with my grand champion fleece. by christmas, expect to see me in gorgeous black sweater of my own making.
i then headed back to the hotel to crash, and sooth sunburned scalp.
after a beautiful thai dinner,
and my first lesson in spindle spinning,
i proceeded to the maryland sheep and wool after party which was conveniently held in my hotel.
when i found out that the epic pakistani wedding also being held in our hotel bumped the after party outside into the parking lot, i should have taken it as a sign that things wouldn’t end well.
here’s the good of it:
there were crazy good prizes,
and i was with my friends.
(anna apparently got some good gossip)
but there were some serious issues:
there were not enough chairs,
or enough light to knit or drool over peoples hand knits.
so we were left to wait,
and wait,
and wait,
and wait some more for the raffle.
and guido, bless him, had pretty much no skills as an emcee
beyond mad geeky enthusiasm
which may have worked against him really.
and of course they did the raffle in two parts meaning,
(god help me)
we had to wait another hour to see if we’d paid for more than and evening of sitting in the dark with our friends with only the hope of a coconut shrimp and fruit skewer to warm out spirits.
of course i didn’t win.
but two of my friends did.
i took my bitter, pouting, sunburn to bed.
the next day,
after a leisurely breakfast in bed,
we made our way back at a more respectable hour to make sure we hadn’t overlooked anything we had to have.
somehow,
i resisted the cashmere,
but left with a gorgeous golding spindle
i don’t spin.
with that crazy purchase, i knew i needed to head home.
and here i am, back in pittsburgh with a pretty impressive haul.
(excuse the unnatural light please in this photo)
did i mention i got some sun?
“i’m with hotpants”
May 1, 2010
it’s been a pretty rough week here at bitches get stitches.
i don’t really want to get into too much detail here.
or any detail really.
i’ll just say this:
i’m behind in everything,
my mother is my hero, shouldering the weight of a family crisis,
and my trip to maryland couldn’t have come at a better time.
(or worse depending on how you look at it)
part of my being behind (in everything)
means i didn’t get to set up a proper photo shoot for my gams.
so i brought my trusty tripod,
and took this shot in my hotel room.
(though the tripod made anna wonder if i were making knitting porn)
i will be wearing my shorts to the fairgrounds tomorrow
and my friends will be wearing t-shirts that read, “i’m with hotpants.”
somehow, my dignity remains intact.
anyway, hope to see some of you there.
if you see us, say hi.
till then,
good night bitches!
bottoms up!
April 20, 2010
in ten days, i’ll be headed to the maryland sheep and wool festival.
this will be my first fiber arts festival and i am totally stoked.
(my life is so small. please don’t judge me)
while it’s not as big as rhinebeck,
it’s supposed to be a pretty big deal.
for a while now, i’ve been hearing people (especially certain coworkers) talking about what they’ll be wearing to maryland.
apparently, wearing an exceptional hand knit is key.
i thought it was all about sheep and shopping.
evidently, it’s a “see and be seen” kinda thing too.
so i decided to make these bad boys by craig hunter.
i recently came upon his work on the internets and absolutely love his aesthetic.
so,
do you think i’ll get noticed?
buttoned up
April 15, 2010
i found it.
the perfect button.
(jeg elsker det!)
after finding the perfect button, i headed to the strip district and . . .
let us never speak of the money i spent at loom
i’ll just say,
i have a bag of fabric.
they have a bag of money.
>bitch will work for food<
first crochet
April 15, 2010
last night,
in a fit of “i need to f-ing finish something”
i turned to my naalepuder
(that’s danish for pincushion i believe, and the name of the pattern)
i’m not that proficient at crochet.
mostly because i don’t really do it often.
and let’s be real bitches,
most crocheted items are über tacky.
(did i just drop a drama bomb?)
but i find this little buddy to be pretty sweet
and gives me hope for the next generation of hookers
i just have to decide which side is the “right” side.
which do you prefer?
today’s mission,
use my day off to find the perfect buttons.
(my life is so small)
*weep*
Bitches Get Stitches 