Ramblin' Knitter

The Stashhaus will soon be on the road for an extended period of time.

Rest assured, if there are yarn shops where I'm going, I'll be there...

and will report back on the delicious details.

While researching yarntastic opportunities, I came across a great website that's extremely useful if you're trying to find LYS outside of the continental US. Planet Purl is the place to check. You can search without joining. Most of the information on the website is available to people who have not joined as a member.

In anticipation of my travels, I've invested in some new luggage.



Notice the sleek case.



The three cords are in a pocket on top of the needles.


The needles are US 4-15.


If you click on this picture, you'll see who packed my box of needles.


Thank you, Martina Malcus.

I got these at a LYS - who honored a very old coupon for 20% off my next purchase.

I've test-knitted with them. They are very nice. The only drawback that I could see is if you travel with your lace knitting, you'd probably not want to change out your Addi Lace Turbos for these. While the join is smooth, I could see it possibly being a problem with very fine yarn (anything more fine than fingering weight). Then again, I did not test knit with fine lace weight yarn.

My intention is to have these in my checked luggage (not carry on, as I'm pretty sure someone would have a problem with metal pointy sticks) for use while I'm gone. I'll have knitting with me...but these are for the chance that I'll want to eagerly cast on new yarn.

Back Again

Here I thought I was going to be posting more often.

Ha! So much for best laid plans...

Since you last read this blog, a number of events have occurred - some good, others not so good. Let's start on a happy note and talk about knitting.

Our guild hosted Gayle Roehm who spoke about Japanese knitting and designers.



I think it's fascinating to see what others are doing on the other side of the globe. Her talk was another example how knitting connects us - no matter where we live.

On another knitting note, I have a couple of finished items. OK - not totally finished because I haven't blocked them yet. That won't happen for a couple of weeks. Photos to follow soon.

The sad event was the passing of DH's father, Cecil, early last week. The silver lining that eases our loss is that he lived a full, active life, just recently celebrating his 80th birthday with family and friends. He died as I can only hope I will - at home, in his own bed, in his sleep.

He was an activist and a minister in the Methodist church, serving in the Philippines, Illinois, Tennessee, Kansas and Wisconsin. He protested against government action he didn't agree with - including the Vietnam war, US involvement in Nicaragua, and both Gulf wars and nearly every year at Fort Benning. He tried to speak truth to power and was sometimes targeted for his views. In Kansas, a sickle and hammer were painted on their house and his car tires were slashed. He wanted those who believe in the teachings of Christ to actually follow those teachings - to help and serve those in our society who are disenfranchised, poor, and outcast, to treat creation with respect and to act as true stewards in conservation and ecological matters. He was a loving and involved father and grandfather.

To me, the following words epitomize his life - "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist." — Hélder Câmara

A favorite quote he used often came from his favorite hymn, God of Grace and God of Glory - "Save us from weak resignation from the evils we deplore." He lived his life, doing his best to avoid falling into a state of weak resignation.

He left quite a legacy of lives he touched while among us and he will be sorely missed.

Long Time No See II

While I've been incommunicado, the Guilty Pleasures/Good Karma swap was happening on Ravelry. I got my package from Hilliknits, but did not want to open it until I had (belatedly) sent my swap partner her package.

Finally, last week, I got the package mailed out so I could finally tear into mine. Hilliknits did a fantastic job.

This package was packed full of goodies.
A notions case, stitch markers, Addi Turbo Lace needles, a sheep needle gauge,


chocolate, chocolate, chocolate,


sheep soap, Eucalan wash


treats for the cats,


and Briar Rose Fibers laceweight! Oh, how I wish you could feel this skein! It's lovely, lovely, lovely!


Knitting

Still on the needles is the Acero Scarf,



The Holey Squares Scarf,


another Noro striped scarf,


the Alpaca Princess,


and off the needles, but not blocked is Dane made from Zauberball.

(This is more the true color than the previous photo.)

Long Time No See

It's hard to believe I've not posted in nearly two months. It's not that I've been suffering from a lack of subject matter - in fact, quite the opposite. The last 2 months I've really needed 36 hour days. So I'll start back where I left off.

In February, our knitting guild hosted Donna Druchunas who spoke about ethnic knitting - mainly knitting in Lithuania.



Now I've got another country on my list of places I'd like to visit someday.

In March we had Melissa Leapman who talked about her new book "Color Knitting The Easy Way."



I was especially taken with her patterns for kids - the samples were very cute.

Quite a bit of my spare time had been spent on the organization of our guild's Knit In last weekend. We had 22 vendors, 16 classes with talented local teachers and also with Joyce Williams and Franklin,



and our headline speakers were Ann and Kay from Mason Dixon Knitting. (I know - crappy photo, but this was the best of them.)

Our vendor marketplace.



All are vendors are listed here (scroll down to the bottom of the page). If you want to see what goodies you missed, click on the vendors' links.

Look at all those door prizes! I didn't win one. But I more than made up for the fact in the marketplace.


The best part of the day was after it was all done with (whew!) and we were able to relax with some good wine and good food.



Many thanks to Joan (our co-chair), Joyce, Franklin, Ann and Kay.

Y'all come back now, ya hear?

A Shocking Beginning

Knitting

The first shock is that I bought the US magazine that rhymes with Schmitter's.

The second shock is that the reason I made such a purchase is because there are a couple of projects in it I actually want to knit.

I know.

The third shock is that I've already cast on the design on the cover. Although the name of the pattern sucks, is completely ridiculous - seems inappropriate, especially when the item is being knitted for anyone over the age of 19.

Shall we play Charades? The pattern name is 2 words. The first word is the abbreviated form of dormitory. The second word is the title of the daughter born to a king and queen. I see by the roll of your eyes that you've figured out the name.

Exactly.

The fourth shock is that I'm using stash.

I know!

I feel quite virtuous starting out the year like this.

The fifth shock is quite big.

You might want to sit down for this.

I swatched.

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. You'd normally expect the word "didn't" to appear in that sentence.

I KNOW!

But here's the sixth shock.

Warning: You may want to take a quick belt of any alcohol you have on hand - for the medicinal qualities - before reading further.

I WASHED AND BLOCKED that swatch.

(You were forewarned.)

And I've got photographic proof.



Here's the progress so far.



Make Your Own Junkfood
In an effort to eat healthier while trying to suppress cravings, I made our own oven fries as part of dinner the other night. Very easy.

Coat pan with olive oil, cut up potatoes into desired thickness, lay in pan, and sprinkle with your choice of seasonings. I take the simple way out and just sprinkle Mrs. Dash (original blend) on them. The cayenne pepper in the blend gives it enough kick for DH while not being too hot for me. Bake at 375 around 45 minutes to 1 hour until brown. Good winter comfort food.



Sorry - but I've got no "after" photo. They're that good.

I've also found a way to avoid snacking during my commute - the times of day I'm most likely to eat junk. I just started learning German and have found that it's surprisingly difficult to eat and correctly pronounce words at the same time when listening to the practice CDs in the car. When I'm listening to podcasts, there's chewing gum. We'll see how long I can keep this up.

Weather
We've had several days/nights of freezing fog (scroll halfway down the page to see the definition). I've come to realize I really hate driving in it...even more than a snowstorm. I don't like the feeling of being encapsulated in my car while having such limited visability while also dealing with slick roads.

The one positive aspect of freezing fog is it turns the entire countryside into a winter wonderland. Everything is encased with a light coat of ice and if you're lucky enough to be outside when the sun peeps out, it is a spectacular sight.




The Unanswered Question



What I want to know is who is Wayne and why does he rock?