Hat Attack 2008 Hat

is done. The pattern's been out less than 24 hours, so I wonder if the hat was difficult enough; there are a number of people (I guesstimate more than 10%) of the participants who are already done.

About the pattern-eh. My project looks like it's supposed to but there's a few bits of weirdness going on in the pattern. I know it's not easy to write one, but if things gave ME pause, I know they really goofed up jeep knitters.

The pattern is based on binary code sequence (01100 and such). I wish it were more balanced. Yarn is Soft Angora, 80%merino, 20% angora, about 130 yards (1.25 balls), color raspberry

PRIZES-

I posted this competition on Ravelry, but wanted to give non-Ravelers a chance. It's a contest to write a birthday haiku for our friend Shui Kuen Kozinski, who's designed several shawl patterns. The announcement is as follows:

Announcing a contest!!! Where SK lives, the temperature has plummeted, and it’s hard to get into town or travel about. Talk about February freeze!!! That’s not a fun way to spend your birthday!! In honor of SK’s birthday next week, Feathersong and I are hosting a Birthday Haiku contest. As you know, a haiku is a form of Japanese poetry. It has a very specific construction. The first line has 5 syllables, the second 7, and the last line has 5 syllables. The message has to be succinct.

So here are the prize categories-
1) a haiku TO Shui Kuen 2) a haiku ABOUT Shui Kuen
There will be one prize for each category.
There will also be a speed demon prize for the FIRST haiku entry. Already won by Trish@mymerinomantra (see the right sidebar)

To enter: Post your birthday Haiku here or on Ravelry at the Friends of SK group. One entry per person. Contest deadline is 5 p.m. (1700L) Central Standard Time (US) on 14 Feb. Feathersong and I will judge that evening. Winners will be announced on 15 Feb, and prizes will be mailed early the following week. Your entry will be disqualified if it does not conform to haiku construction guidelines.

Please label it “to” or “about”.

Feathersong and I can participate, but not enter.
Need inspiration? Listen to SK’s radio interview. Needles 54 posted the link up on the Ravelry discussion board!
PLEASE USE THIS FORUM FOR ENTRIES ONLY. If you just want to wish Shui Kuen a Happy Birthday in regular ol’ format, see you at Elann next Friday morning!!!

The Wish Book

It's been at least a year since I actually bought a pattern because I liked the pattern. There is something about a Patternworks catalog that gets my attention. I think this time, the patterns were actually cute and difficult enough for me to think that buying a pattern book would be a square deal.

The cardigan is REALLy cute (and it's knit lengthwise, kids!) but it was the hoodie that REALLY got my attention. I LOVE that neck treatment, I wanna learn how they DID that neck treatment. OMG, they showed me a back/side view, so I could SEE there was no unholy mess hanging out at the back of the garment!!! This is the PERFECT garment for my stoner niece-look at the neckline, look at the lace....both kinda tucked in there. Love it love it!!!

Hat Attack starts tomorrow. My victim lives in FL. I am SOOOOO excited!

and dance by the light of the moon!

• Miss Clara P, on Knitter's Review, reviewed Buffalo Gals yarn today. Trouble was, the ball band made a break for it. As luck would have it, DH came breezin' in this afternoon, and wanted me to go ride around the golf course with him. I grabbed this hank, an Ann Budd, and my short Addis, in hopes of casting something on. DH drives golf carts like they are go-carts. Good thing I didn't pack anything trickier.

• Here's the Buffalo Gals 2 ply; this was plain and naked on my Jan 29 post and now it's sporting lime and blue raspberry Koolaid.

• My zippers came in today. They are BEAUTIFUL. Can't wait to knit stuff up and have the dry-cleaner sew the zippers in. Why yes, I AM lazy!!

I'm excited, but after last year....

Last year was supposed to be all nice and happy, with good money for me and all my friends. Supposed to be LUCKY for me. Liars. Most of my friends had a tough time too-death, health issues, oh, you name it. Did it pan out? This year-the year that is supposed to end a 12 year YUCK cycle for me (and why the hell didn't they just come out and SAY that 12 years ago-why'd they let me stay hopeful?) I think THAT was mean!

HONG KONG -- Caution will be the watchword for the Year of the Rat, the new lunar year that begins Thursday, as Chinese fortune tellers predict financial and political rumblings, tsunamis and epidemics in the year ahead. The reason, they say, is that water and earth -- two of the five elements Chinese mystics believe are at the root of all things -- are in conflict in 2008.
"Earth usually conquers water, but it is too weak to control the rat, which symbolizes the most powerful water," said Raymond Lo, a Hong Kong master of feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of trying to achieve health, harmony and prosperity by the arrangement of dates and numbers, building design and the placement of objects.

Millions of ethnic Chinese across Asia have eagerly anticipated the weeklong celebrations that kickoff the lunar new on Thursday. From Beijing to Bangkok, and Sydney to Seoul, streets are festooned with red and gold, and planes and trains packed with people heading home for the biggest family reunion of the year.

Year of the Rat predictions seem as though they're already coming true in China, where freakishly frigid temperatures in the last three weeks have claimed at least 60 lives. The worst snowstorms in five decades have crippled transportation, leaving millions stranded during the busiest travel week of the year, similar to the Christmas holidays in the West. Tang Ming, 45, a furniture factory worker in the southern city of Guangzhou, was standing in line at the train station for a fourth day last Friday, desperate to get on a train and spend the holiday with family in northern Hubei province. "It's unthinkable not to be with your family," said Tang. "I'm going to do whatever I can to go home."

Like the Chinese, the Vietnamese consider Tet, as it's called there, the most important holiday in the calendar year. Urbanites head to hometowns to visit family members or go to temples. Streets are filled with kumquat and peach blossom trees, which signify prosperity and goodwill. Markets overflow with dried fruit, colored candy and flowers.

As in many Asian countries, the Vietnamese have turned their thoughts to the animal being honored this year.

Tran Quang Thieu, 54, director of a rat extermination company on the outskirts of Hanoi, was reveling in the Vietnamese belief that the rodent population multiplies during a lunar rat year.
"This holiday will mark the start of a booming year for us, so this is a special Tet," Thieu said. "From a spiritual standpoint, I hope that our rat-killing techniques become more popular this year, so that everyone can protect their crops, factories and businesses from being ruined by rats."

Nguyen Tien Phat, who sells freshly butchered rat at a village market in the northern town of Bac Ninh, shrugs off any notion that more rat will be eaten this year than any other. They've been eating rats there for centuries, boiled and flavored with ginger, lemon and fresh herbs.
"Those who like it will eat it, and those who don't, won't," said Phat, who sells rat for US$3 a kilo.

Rats are sneered at in the West as filthy, despite the hit Hollywood animation "Ratatouille," which showed a more refined side to the gutter-dwelling rodent. They are revered in the East, however, for their anthropomorphic characteristics of wit, charm and ability to amass great wealth.

People born in the Year of the Rat include authors William Shakespeare and Truman Capote, actors Marlon Brando and Cameron Diaz, Britain's Prince Charles, climate change champion Al Gore, and former US President George H.W. Bush.

The rat is the first of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac's 12-year cycle and symbolizes new beginnings. Legend has it that the rat beat the other 11 animals in a race, not because it was any faster, but because of its cunning. After lying to the tiger about the day of the race, the rat rode most of the way on the ox before leaping off and making it first past the finish line.

In South Korea, the lunar New Year's Day coincides with "Chuseok," the Korean version of Thanksgiving holiday. Many people celebrate the day by eating a rice cake soup for breakfast, playing traditional games like a "yutnori," a board game involving wooden sticks, and spending quality time with family.

In Hong Kong, one of Asia's chief money capitals, the banks have printed up millions of fresh notes to fill "hong bao," or red envelopes traditionally given to children during the celebration.
Last year, the feng shui expert Lo predicted that the clash of fire and water elements would spark more bombings and gun battles. True to his predictions, the Year of the Pig saw a slew of suicide blasts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, including the assassination of popular Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Some countries will see new leaders this year, including in the United States, where a new president will be elected in November. Celebrity fortune teller Peter So was coy about who he thought would win the race. "I can only say Hillary Clinton stands a better chance, as I don't see that Barack Obama or [Republican hopeful] John McCain will have a good year," So said.

The glamourous life

It just goes to show you how little things change, I think. This photo is circa 1977, and that red thing is pretty certainly my bathrobe. I've got makeup on, so it's at the end of the day, and we were just goofing off in the TV room.



It's tough to stop natural talent and good looks....too bad we don't understand our gifts when we are that age. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out strengths and weaknesses, and how to best utilize those qualities.



I opened my mail today and found a skein of what is EASILY the most glamourous yarn I have ever owned. It's Tilli Thomas Mogul, in the Atmosphere colorway. It is a gift that warrants a little thoughtfulness, a little introspection. It's a great neutral (for me) and has the right amount of bling in it. (But why IS it dry clean only? Bueller?) What will IT be when it grows up? No hats-the beads would tangle, so probably a yoke, bands, patterns.... And what should I partner it with? Elann's Highland Wool, or maybe some Brooks Farm? Beads aside, I LIKE the yarn, it's a nice sheepy texture. I would think that bamboo needles would be the way to go. I am a wee bit worried about things that go crunch.

Con see err //gggrrrrrr// jjjjah

We went to the depths of hell today. We went to the Apple Store, because it was time for new phones.

I wasn't really wild about giving up my old phone. My last few calls from Dad are still in the call menu. I worked hard all year to keep them there. But I dropped it a few months ago, and the hinge finally fell apart.

Mark bought himself a very expensive Sprint Treo last year; that's a weird calculator/phone/portable typewriter hybrid. We're still waiting for the rebate check on that. Mark was never really happy with it. So off to the Apple Store we went.

The first thing you notice is that the store is packed. They don't have sales clerks, no staff, no store partners. If you can flag a kid down, he's a concierge. I think they made a mistake on that, because MW says a concierge is:

1: a resident in an apartment building especially in France who serves as doorkeeper, landlord's representative, and janitor

2: a usually multilingual hotel staff member who handles luggage and mail, makes reservations, and arranges tours; broadly : a person employed (as by a business) to make arrangements or run errands

Mark and I gave each other desperation looks several times. The store is loud, no one REALLY wants to help you or REALLY answer a question, the security alarm goes off, there's no calm place to set up your new phone accounts. It's set up weird. The guy had to go get our phones from the back-no biggie, but the cases and headsets weren't convenient, organized OR easy to find. And they are getting A LOT of your money.

DH is a computer security wonk. Ask him to type in his credit card and his SSN in that store-with his back to EVERYONE? The only reason he did it is because I watched behind him. We BOTH know better. He was distressed, and after about 5 minutes in the store, I didn't even want a phone, it was so crowded and noisy.

It was WORSE than "Saturday before Christmas" shopping at Walmart. It was AWFUL. So bad, I had to take him to lunch afterwards. At a place with real napkins. And nice staff.

Oh, a party! With PRESENTS!

This appears to be Christmas, 1963, and I am all dolled up behind my cousin Judy, and standing next to her sister, Jeanne. We are all standing in my Grandma's dining room, all revved up by Christmas fun and treats. 'So funny-John, who is wearing the white shirt and bow tie, is STILL significantly shorter (tho no less portly) than my older brother Fred. He's carrying Legos, which I think my parents stepped on and cursed for several years. Yes, I am wearing a kimono and flops. With socks, because I am so ubercool. (Actually, those are tabi.) I love, love, love parties with family. The big messy church-food buffet is just my style. I agonize about what kind of present to bring.

The gaeta (flops) and tabi brought me round to an interesting sidebar. Bri and I were talking a month or so ago, and she was telling me that since she moved to Florida and started wearing flip-flops, her feet grew at least a size. There is, apparently, a medical phenomena where your feet grow because of loose support provided by flops. I don't understand that-my feet GREW at 35, and I threw out all of my 6 1/2s and most of my 7s, but I thought that was just how things worked age-wise. And if flip-flop feet were the case, wouldn't there be a lot of Japanese women with size 10s?

So back to party life. DH has been in Co Spgs all week, and I've been closing up shop and getting W2s together. Today I looked at him and said "Isn't it your mom's birthday?" He sighed and said "No, it's Monday." "I didn't get her anything-what do you think?" "Flowers." Flowers. Ehh. My DMIL is a busy little bird, and appreciates most of what comes her way. Flowers just didn't send ME. I'd been in and out of East Cupcake's few shops this week, and didn't REALLY see
anything that I thought she needed. So I thought about it a little more.

Then it hit me. The Texas wine industry started in earnest about 10 years ago. And DMIL lives in a dry county. And ma likes her glass before dinner. And they SHIP!!!!!! Music to my ears. I feel smug, because I've addressed her likes (wine) and her requirement (30 miles to the nearest liquor store). I would just as soon have a few bottles of Riesling as a bouquet, and I think she'd like to get her merlot on.

On the knitting front, not much is going on. I'm working on some cotton. The pattern calls for lace on 8s. I'm down to 2s (just because my 4s are occupied). Gauge is SO annoying.

You should shut up and knit before we figure out that you are both stupid AND annoying-

--Welcome to Betsuary. In celebration of the bestest of months, I am digging thru the photo albums for fun and general amusement. I plan on a different decade each week. We will start with the 1960s-I think this was from 1968. It's funny, when we are little we cheese for the camera. Then, when we are older, we don't cheese, but are offended when our photos show us as sullen dorks.

--Dorks, like cream, rise to the occasion, and claw their way to the top of the dumbass pedestal. There's a lot of dork posturing on Ravelry.

--Take for example the YarnSaleORama forum, where one of my friends posted a link for a decent quality, well known, bulky yarn at a fire sale price. Someone had to pop on there and say "Oh, too bad it's not dk or fingering weight...." Oh, you mean, "Too bad it's not spun from fairy farts during the light of the last full moon and dyed with plankton recovered from Matanuska Glacier!" That's what you really mean. Shut up and find your own bargains.

--Or recently on the "DesignerKnockOffs" forum, someone was asking for a pattern of "LeReallyExpensiveFrenchBag". I was trying to encourage, and talked to the seeker about the design elements, and how she might fake them, and generally, just encouraged her to try it. And the moderator (who lives in Florida, and is a beginning knitter) pops on and says "Oh, and do two patterns, because I don't like felted bags. And I think you should make latigo handles." Oh, GRRRRR--knit your own LeFakeO.

--And Hat Attack-I am sooooo crazy excited about the upcoming Hat Attack! It's a knit group, and of course someone had to pop on and say "Oh, too bad it's knit, because I haven't caught the knitting bug, I CROW-SHAY." I had to step in and say "Oh, you should start up the crochet version." I think she shuffled off in her bathrobe.

--These people clearly indulge in too much whine. None of these people ever smacks themselves in the forehead and says "Wow, I COULD try that." I'd like to help them out with that smack. For starters.

ZZZZZZZip!

Surf at the speed of light to Discontinued Name Brand Yarns. They are having a SALE on rhinestone zippers. I saw that and I couldn't think of anything else this morning. I went straight to the zippers and bought an armload. I had seen these before and admired them, but the price (23.00 for a 22" zipper) always stopped me. These zippers are 1.99. They aren't really multi-colored rhinestones, in the traditional sense, but aurora borealis. Blingy.

Buff'douvres

My hat came home today, and brought friends! Wow, I'll let my hat go on a road trip any old time! Of special interest to me are the two skeins on the lower left-Buffalo Gals Bison and Merino blend (that should be DANDY stuff--DH is getting a hat) and the pale skein is Bambalo or Buffboo-25% buffalo, 75% bamboo. (I rather like calling it Buffboo-that just makes me want to giggle.)

I think DGD is getting the toy buffalo.

How to do it better-

This is the "knitting that must not be named" that I worked so hard on before Christmas. I used Elann's Highland Bulky and size 10 needles.

I thought really hard about the things that need to happen to make this pattern more knittable. You can find the pattern in VK Winter 2003/2004. I thought the point of being a pattern designer was actually having people make and enjoy your designs. No one ever intended a soul to knit that top up the way it's written.

1) Chart the patterns. There are only a few that you actually need to do. This is a sanity saver. I was struggling on the collar, and pissed off about frogging it for the 3rd time....I went back and counted, and the pattern covered 49 different stitches without taking a breath. No wonder I was struggling.

2) Knit it in the round. The pattern is intuitive when you are on the right side, but the P2W and PTBL locations aren't clear when you are working on the back side. Having a right and wrong side made it unnecessarily difficult. I knit the neck in the round. There comes a time where you have to just knit reasonably. Maybe make it 2" longer, too.

3) Every other row is wrong on the point slope. If you are working in the round, you can see the error, but it's not easy to catch when you are working front and backs. I wrote VK but they did not respond. If you work in the round, just compare the instructions to what's actually happening.

I don't think I am an expert knitter, but I am a competent knitter. I can't believe that after all that, the designer wrote a chart out to Swiss darn!! Can we take it any farther over the top?? Crazy talk!

Oh, and sharp needle points are NOT this yarn's best friend....too snaggy. My life got better when I switched from Balenes to bamboo.

PS-if you want the real deal, search my blog for "knitting that must not be named"

Dammit-Cobblestone does not fit.

Grrrr-

It doesn't quite fit. Almost.
Not quite. And DH refuses to be photographed in it.

He doesn't feel cute in it.

I finished, I finished! My first FO of 2008!!!

Well, almost-I have underarms, some ends, a little Euclann bath and a big //holding my breath to see if it actually fits him// DH try on and photo session. Hope it all goes well. I gotta say, I really like it, now that it's done. Gosh, I hope it fits.

If you make this, the Cobblestone yoke is freakin' endless. I made it a little deeper than suggested for a guy, because guys need roomy pits. (Who knows why?) I made added the depth after the initial decreases, because I was really not sure I had enough yarn. Somehow, I haven't really mastered totally invisible wrap-and turns, and that bugs me. I modified the neck a little, because DH likes ribbing, and I don't like knitting garter in the round.

I used Tahki Lima and CTH laceweight. I tried out the wooden Options on this, and I liked them.

,,

Da Mail (Part Deux)

Wow, the mailman came again today! The dog had a fit.

I finally took the plunge and ordered some Knitpick Options. They look like my Inoxes, I am anxious to give them a try. I ordered them in my common sizes-5, 6, 7.

There was a white box today-it IS summer knitting time, after all. Wouldn't you know that a cold front came in last night and dropped us 30 degrees?

I also got a big box from Kohls with a Dockers jacket for DH. You know the drill on that-"I broke my zipper on this coat, can we see if I can get a new one, 'cept in black? I really like that coat, I've had it for, what, 5 years?" Later, "But it's not the same-I don't liiiikkkkkke that waistband..." I think to myself "Shhhhh. It's 70% off, it's black, and it's a tall for your monkey arms. I am ordering it and you WILL try it." Heh. Shush up and listen to the wardrobe manager. At least she makes sure your jacket shows up on the day you will freeze your tuckus off.

I also got a box in from Penzeys! If you have never shopped there, oh, for God's sake, get ye on their mailing list yesterday! Seriously, we've been trying to eat clean this year, and haven't done too terribly. A good variety of Penzey's products helps a lot. If you don't order anything else, Fox Point and Mural of Flavor are the two blends you must try. Do it. Your family will think you learned how to cook or something.

What he doesn't know won't hurt him-

I passed the postman on my way back from the Brooks Farm hike today. The back of his truck was open and I saw two big white boxes.

They are probably mine. (It's soooo sad that I know this.)

I got to my house before the postman did, and guess what was on my front porch?? A bursting at the seams box from Ram Wools. Gulp.

It's been years since I ordered anything from Ram Wools. I liked the little zippy bags. I am showing off two colors of Fresh (1.47 a ball) and Watercolor Mix (2.06 a ball). It's a good thing DH wasn't home. I got in about 59 balls of yarn.

I need to zen with my Bond. SOON.

Super Shammy Findings & a Walkabout

I tried out the Super Shammy last night on the two uses that impact my world.

1) Sweater drying. I Euclanned and spun out two sweaters, and wrapped them up in SuperShammies. The shammies (it really bothers me that I am not typing out chamois, and thanks for letting me say that) got damp. Not damp enough to wring anything out of. Meh.

2) Hair drying. First, let me say that I have a fairly big head. It was tough to actually wrap it around my head. The shammy soaked up some water-but not enough for me to wring out. However, my hair didn't drip. The jury is still out on that.

Definitive finding: It smells when wet. Smells like chickensaladwetdogdousedcampfire. Don't say I didn't warn you. One went thru the wash with regular laundry soap, and still retains some stenchiness.

On to my second topic. I was screwing around on Ravelry, signed myself up for Hat Attack, and looked at some of my opponents blogs (the ones with fun personalities.) Mrs. Aytch did a thing last fall called "Walking to Omaha" where she promised herself a yarn splurge after she walked the equivalent of a trip to Omaha. (She's in Illinois, can't believe she picked Omaha. She promised herself some Lime and Violet yarn.)

I looked at a map. Unlike any other state in the union (except Alaska and Hawaii) it takes for-freaking-ever to leave Texas, so I chose Brooks Yarns as my destination, which is just up the road a piece.

In the great tradition of an Australian Walkabout (where you go on for years trying to find your ass) I have started my trip to Brooks Farm Yarns. Because I would like to find my happy ass.

I did my first mile/4 laps/23 minutes today. In the rain. My calves were pissed.

Betsy vs. SuperShammy

They've been on TV every five minutes. I was fascinated by their "dries an entire sweater" claim. We were at the auto show the other night, and picked up two sets (for 20.00, which is close enough to the ad to suit me.)

What they are: 100% rayon (non-woven) sheets, made in Germany. Can't bleach or throw in the dryer.

I was trying to think of how to demo this at home (I am NOT throwing soda on the rug) and couldn't think of how to demo this in a situation where a bath towel wouldn't work equally well (now that I think of it, how about my hair, after a shower?) so I am going to have to wait until I need to block a sweater. Or wash my hair.

I'll let you know.

Hat Attack!

I found a new group on Ravelry. (You can find them on Yahoo too.) They model themselves after Sock Wars. I am pretty stoked, because hats in worsted weight are both fun and easy! Sign ups continue thru the end of the month.

On a side note: they turned DSL off at the cafe yesterday, so I will be surfing at the speed of sloths until we move (hopefully this year.) Hi-speed isn't available where I live. Don't be mad if I don't come visit.

Where do you live vs. Where are you from?

Joan and I were chatting back and forth this morning, and she said something about "you Texans."

That set me back on my heels. I wrote her-

I think it's weird to be thought of as a Texan-I am pretty sure I can make decent salsa AND guacamole with fewer than 6 ingredients total (and the garlic and cilantro are totally optional), but ya know, Texas is just where the military sent me.

I think we might be kind of like New Yorkers, except we say ma'am and y'all, and aren't so twitchy.

So I did a tally-

12 years in Chicago
10 in Colorado
4 in Texas (Fort Worth)
4 in Germany (KL/Winnweiler-Hochstein)
4 in Alaska
3 in Texas (East Cupcake)
2 in Germany (KL/Mehlbach)
7 in Texas (East Cupcake)

So far, the greater Chicagoland area still wins. I know Joan will embrace her inner Vamanta when she gets a Subaru (which is, by the way, one of the favorite cars of the Anchorage-Matsu region). I don't know what it would take to make myself believe I am Texan.

Horses? Sorry, I ride English. Baking, State Fair-nah, I did that in Alaska. Big Hair-c'mon, I have Japanese hair. Bling-oh, give that a rest too. A boob job and blonde hair....well, ok, maybe.

The funny part about living in East Cupcake-when my dad was a young guy and left the Wauconda/Kenosha area to seek his fortune he went west. He ended up working for a pig farmer about 30 miles west of here. I have pictures that prove that. I have a sneaking suspicion Dad ran out of money.

Do you live where you are FROM?

I am still Cobblestoning away. I started sleeve 1 last night.

It's 5 o'clock somewhere

The Recipe For Betsy

3 parts Courage 2 parts Giddiness 1 part Charisma Splash of Devilry Shake vigorously Garnish with Crabby

What's" the Recipe for Your Personality?

Bonecrushingly DULL

I am being well behaved, but this is one DULL project. I've started ball 4, and I think I have enough yarn. I was worried about that; this yarn is supposed to knit as chunky. No way, no how would that happen, more like worsted verging on DK. It IS an attractive and very soft tweed, and I like the way laceweight brings a little interest to it without making it too crazy. I'll probably do that again.

Knitting Daily has started selling Cobblestone patterns at 5.00 each. Tahki Stacy Charles has the same pattern on their website (knitted in Torino, so it's chunkier) for free.

TNNA Sneak Peek-

My hat is having a good time on vacation....I got an email this morning from Ron.

Betsy,

The show is going well... lots of people looking and ordering. Had Annie Modisette, Cat Bhordi and Clara Parkes in yesterday... they all admired your tam. It is quite the hit.

Hope things are well

Maybe next year, I can go too. I am a little embarrassed that my hat is on display to the US needlework heads of state fastened with SCOTCH TAPE.....I swear to God, the exhibitors aren't from East Cupcake but they might as well be. That's like going to the White House in flip-flops. Oh, wait, these guys aren't all that far from the Texas White House; maybe they know something I don't.

I am a little giddy because I have the only NON-BROWN buffalo wear in the booth. Yeah, I know it's burgundy, orange and green-not a far stretch at all, but I DID stretch. OK, nuking that 60.00 hank of yarn was a big stretch, because I didn't REALLY know what would happen, and it was scary.

Myths that tripped me up

I was on the phone last night with LaLib. We were discussing knitting patterns that we liked, loved, wanted to wear. I REALLY want a Fifi. The top is pretty simple. It wouldn't be any problem to knit.

The problem is my figure. And I am not lying there. I've been living on the high stress potato chip diet for almost three years, I am pushing 50, and holy crap, all of a sudden I look like this:



That's only a slight dramatization. The thing is, I didn't start out this way. If you look at my family, you wouldn't suspect that I would be the chunk-a-miss. Actually, that's not true-if you look at the Japanese side, they are all what I think of as regular sized-somewhere between a size 4 and a size 8. The British side, well, they are another matter entirely.

But I can only blame so much of that on genes. I can only blame the most recent 7 lbs on stopping my 30 year smoking habit. The rest is up to me.

I think two things that give ME trouble are diet lies the media taught me in the 80s, when I was a little tiny stick girl and care passionately about my weight.

1) Carbs don't have fat. Eat some.

2) Eat more smaller meals.

I've looked at the way I eat. These two statements have done a lot of damage to my waistline and to my eating habits. Any more, I just shove a lot of starch into my mouth at all hours of the day. And it shows.

I have to move my mouth less and my ass more. I REALLY want a Fifi. And I can't cast on for it until my scale numbers have moved down significantly.

Pipe down, Junior-

I put aside my knitting wanderlust long enough to start something. I started the Cobblestone pullover for DH. (BTW, if you want to make this in a heavier yarn, the Tahki website has one. I think it's totally weird the Tahki and IWK would publish the same EXACT pattern within 15 minutes of each other....but I digress.) I am using Tahki Lima (acrylic!! and alpaca) and some CTH hand dyed laceweight, because I think this is a better sweater if there is a tonal difference-a tweed, a heather, a multicolor, something-that plays up the textural contrast. Plus, I can really up my knitting yardage stats by holding two yarns together, PLUS this is supposed to be an aran weight yarn, and I am not seeing that.

I modified it slightly by putting in ribbing at the bottom, and keeping the garter racing stripes all the way down. (Anyone that has ever had to wear hand me downs can appreciate that modification.) That caused an interesting hiccup, because the garter section was SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than the ribbed section (I just didn't know that would happen) so I short-rowed in an extra row (back and forth, that is) to compensate.

The ribbing was complete when I let DH know this sweater is his.

"Don't knit me any sweaters. I don't need sweaters."

We have this conversation regularly. The last time we had it, I was picking up a few Columbia cotton sweaters for him to have for his early December road trip. "Don't buy me any sweaters" were his exact words. He wore that sweater last week, as I recall. Oh, no, he wore BOTH sweaters last week. Seriously, he doesn't buy his own undies, how much wardrobe input do I have to listen to??

I have to disregard his input on Cobblestone-I have to make it such a kick-ass sweater that it's the one he reaches for first. And I have to have it done at the end of the month!

Buyer's remorse

I've shopped New Year's online yarn sales alot. I've also been stuck with a lot of crap at New Years sales. This year, I shopped ONE New Year's sale--Web's. My box came in today. I had one cone of 2/4 tweed wool, and 10 skeins of Noro Cotton Hill, which was described as nubby, and should be described as a boucle. I wish I'd bought more of the tweed (15.oo per kg), and none of the Noro (3.99).

Note to self-Don't buy any more Noro. It's not like you actually knit it.

I really like the tweed, tho. THAT's going to be DH's Cobblestone, or some such. That's the ultimate guy color-grey tweed with flecks of blue and brown, and charcoal. Perfect. Goes with almost everything.

DH made me laugh today. I bought him two Docker's sweaters to wear on a trip at the end of the month. Lightweight ones. (We need sweaters for about 15 minutes a year around here.) I showed him his sweaters. He touched one and said "ewwww, I don't like the fabric. It feels really plasticky. And slimey." I questioned him a little more on that. He really DOESN'T like acrylic sweaters at ALL. (I think time in Alaska spawns a distinct acryliphobia.) He would really like wool instead.

"Her whole life has been an experiment in terror"

I love that line. And on the knitting front, I have done my best to live up to it. Over the past two days, I have cast on at least three different projects, ripped out four (I think) and still have two...no, three projects on the needles. Just knitting disatisfaction, I suppose. I went thru my patterns and found some cute stuff, but nothing I want to do right NOW, with the things I have on hand (um, I mean, at the top of the pile).

I learned something today. I suspected it, but now I can prove it's true. If you work short row angles in variegated yarn, guess what happens?

Nothing. Yeah, ok, fine. Don't be all snotty about it.

BTW, you can see tam photos on the last two posts from December.

I told my little brother about the tam thing, and he's all "That's nice, in a 4H kind of way." And I think yes....and no. I understand trade shows. My hat is a sugar sprinkle on a flaming six quart sundae with seven kinds of fruit and chocolate liquer made by elves on alternate Leap Years. I GET it. But my dad used to take us to the county fair and tromp us thru the exhibits. I admired EVERY single blue ribbon. This is my ribbon. And no one else in my family has this, this need to make shit, or play music, or draw, or write, or dance.

No one else, Bets, just you.

It's freakin' magic, I tell ya!

When I was a kid, the toney subdivision in town was called Village 7. It had street names like Carefree and Serendipity. I looked Serendipity up in the dictionary when I was a kid, and had a little trouble with the concept. Nowdays, Old Webster defines it as "the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for; also : an instance of this."

These days, I seem to be finding a lot of Buffalo Serendipity. (Much nicer than finding buffalo chips, I'll tell you.) Last year, I asked Ron Miskin of Buffalo Gold if he was going to Kid 'n Ewe in Boerne. He wrote back and said "I wasn't planning to, but since you asked." And he exhibited.

Chris (aka Scullyknits) went to K'nE twice. WE went on Sunday. The day before, she went with her family. They stopped at the Kid 'n Ewe booth, where the Divine Miss M charmed the socks right off of Ron. He gave her a small buffalo toy, which she toted around all weekend. I thought that was just great, that the guy I asked to come 1) showed up, 2) had a busy booth (i.e. it was worth his trip) and 3) was flat charmed by Miss M. I happily bought my skein of laceweight.

Serendipity, right?

Monday, I sent my Prairie Star Buffalo Tam in to Wild Fibers as a contest entry. I really wanted the "runner up" prize of a basket of buffalo goodies. My entry bounced. (They must be changing emails at the magazine??) Anyhow, I thought "Oh, no, I just finished this, I am on time, I am SOOOOO not going to give up." So I sent a copy of my entry on to Buffalo Gold (the contest sponsor) , and explained that my entry had bounced. I got an Auto Response, and thought, ok, fine, it made it to someone. A few hours later, I got a phone call from Ron, who said "We were sitting around, admiring your hat, and we want to display it at TNNA next week. We'll send you some yarn."

You WHAT???? I wanted to do a butt-shaking happy dance, but had to sound reasonably dignified and coherent.

I mailed my hat today, and wrote up a little blah-blah for them to keep with a small yarn sample (leftovers!!!) that explained the method, the pattern and the results.

And he wrote me back and said

"Betsy,

Wonderful!!... Dad is truly excited about the Tam, and we are getting ready, and our display for this show is sort of an art gallery format. I have a canvas all ready for the hat, and it will be a featured piece. I am putting a bio card on the board as well, and I would love to put any information you would like on it.

Thank you again, and I will get some yarn on its way to you today.
Have a Happy New Year.
Ron"

I am absolutely beside myself with excitement.

THAT's serendipity.

Slow Food

This is not about biodiversity and the philosophy of eco-gastronomy. Not that I don't support that, but I wanted to talk about what came out of my kitchen today.

Bread-that took 8 hours (that's not 8 monitored hours, that's mix the dough up and look at it an hour later to see what it's doing) and stew that cooked for 5 hours. That was stew I browned and chopped for an hour, and then put it to frolic in the oven for several hours.

Wow. You'd think I could cook or something. DH had to comment a little-"cut the meat up smaller" and "you need a chainsaw to cut that bread". I threatened him with "ding-ding" microwave food and he shut the hell up.

The stew process was a little different. Brown the meat, then cook the onions. THEN add flour, then your liquid, blah blah. I threw in beer. It was really good.

The bread was different too-crank up the oven as hot as you can get it, preheat a dutch oven, then throw the dough in the dutch oven, cover and bake. My bread came out very much like a German loaf, with rustic crust and chewy insides.

The how toos are in Cook's Illustrated Feb 2008 issue. Dang, dinner was good around here.

Tamnalysis

The LAST project of 2007. I finished it in time, I just have to take a photo of it ON someone. It's still a little wet, and a little large....and it figures that buffalo doesn't felt, so no fulling the fibers to take up the slack.

Ah, what the hell, this is what I made out of one ball of expensive buffalo laceweight, dyed with KoolAid and knit double. I was hoping I could knit one double stranded and one single stranded out of that yarn, but I am not so sure that can happen. BUT I am sure I can't get hat two done before the deadline, and both hats need to be 100% buffalo for the competition. So the pressure is OFF for hat two. It can be what I want!

I had an AHA moment with this project...one of the normal methods of reducing the crown is reducing once on each point (6 stitches decreased) every row. OR, you could do 12 decreased every OTHER row (one decrease on each side of a fixed point every other row). I had a big deal moment where I decided (remember, I have fine yarn and a 14 stitch repeat to deal with, so I have a ton of stitches to decrease down) to do twelve stitches EVERY OTHER ROW...and the trick part was that I decided to alternate my decrease points from decrease row to decrease row. It sounds insane, but what I GOT was a diamond star on the back of my hat.

I'll post another photo later in the day. It will show better if it's not on the scanner! Two more photos, and I send in my submission.

And comin' off the line when the light turns green....

Well, she blows 'em outta the water like you never seen.

I REALLY like this stitch pattern.  It's from the blue Barbara, pp. 163, Wave and Shield pattern.  It has two complementary patterns that use it as a starting point, which is really why I chose it.  I am having trouble translating a flat pattern into round knitting....or there is an error.  Thankfully, I need to show a project, not a pattern;  I can just soulja on.  ;-)

Guess I'd better hurry up-

I bought a skein of laceweight buffalo yarn at Kid 'n Ewe. As you recall, I dyed it. My whole REASON for buying a skein of BROWN, expensive yarn was to enter this year's Buffalo Gold contest.

The prize is 200.00. I don't really want to win the prize, I want to win a goodie basket instead. At any rate, I need to hurry up and KNIT something to enter. Quick, like a damned bunny. I "lost" my blue Barbara, and spent Christmas Day hunting her down. I found her last night (Oh, I need to organize my stash!!!) So I have 1/2" of project cast on, and a LOT of deadline knitting to do!!!

Texas Two-step

A one:

and two:

Elann Highland Wool (4 balls) and Lion Brand Fun Fur (1 ball). Began 25 Dec, finished today! Fiber Trends Alpine Boot pattern. This project was "good stuff"! They are drying NOW!

These aren't for me....there's a January birthday in Colorado. Judging from the weather, I'll bet she wishes she had them now.

Not knitting!!!

I went FABRIC SHOPPING today. I went to Gorgeous Fabrics, and bought a bunch of 1 yard cuts of jersey. Since I am a lazy woman, they are all "with black". I've been to Macy's and bought a few of those 30.00 tops, and I think a yard of 60" jersey will fill in nicely. And besides, who can resist this? Or this? For 8.20 a yard!! That's a Walmart price, and it will only take an hour. I really like New Look 6405.

I haven't sewn in years, but gwajus fabric like this makes me little.......antsy.

I SHOULD be ashamed of you

because you HAVE no shame.  

DH and I went to the movies.  We were in a VERY short line-maybe 4 people.  We couldn't help but overhear the young woman ahead of us speaking to the ticket seller.

"Do you have a military discount?"

"No, ma'am, we don't."

"You ought to have a military discount.  I put my ass on the line for you.  grumble grumble."

Judging from the size of her ass, she hadn't put it anywhere but on the couch.  

Mind you, in East Cupcake, we have a really sweet deal-it's 5 bucks a person to get in to the movies, and 7 for two large drinks and a large popcorn.  Correction: a large BOTTOMLESS popcorn, which the whiner in front of me no doubt purchased.  Seventeen dollars for two people to go to the movies and get popcorn IS a deal-as I recall, it was 15.00 when I was in high school.

 Whiner was grumbling about a 5 dollar ticket.  In front of 35 years of military service.

And now, for MY knitting pleasure

Playing around with Austermann Inverno. I have two tams I have to finish this week, but all MAJOR obligations are done.

Just under the wire-

You might remember the Wren-Along from May.  I whined.  I complained.  But I knit the whole thing up like a good girl.  

Suddenly, here I am, days away from Christmas.  And I need to finish it up so I can gift it to MIL.  I had the Pfaff hour at my house, a little Euclann bath, and a little tumbling into the dryer (I wanted a denser fabric.) 

Here she is, done up in the Elann Highland Silk that DH bought me for Christmas last year.  Eight or nine balls, if memory serves me right.  Brooch from Burlingtons, about 5.00.  I am going for MIL points this year!

Not child friendly-

We have a Texas Lottery Commission ad that starts out "We are holiday elves."  Somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, the next line should be "We play with our selves."  This ad annoys the shit out of other people too.

Now, for your stressed out Christmas viewing pleasure-

Fun Christmas music

UnHappy

I ordered two bottles of Clinique Happy for my nieces last week.  My sister-in-law just called.  The bottles came in.  But the photos weren't ours.  She thought it was kind of funny that we got other Asians.   Guess we all DO look alike.   Anyhow, maybe they can send new stickers in time??

In other news, Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant.  BFD.  The rumor is that Nick is talking about a love and sex special.  She's 16 and her boyfriend is 19.  The age of consent is 18 in California, and 17 in Louisiana.   Maybe they should put him on Judge Judy and lock his ass up.  THAT's a love and sex special that kids NEED to see.

Packages from afar-

DH's "I bought you a present" came in the other day.  It was broken.  My gift is to fix the problem, I think.  You can see it in its glory here; the style is Lubeck.   We searched thru the packaging to find the missing arms, tendrils, whatever you want to call them.  They aren't there.  So two of the arms are half arches.  Looks dumb.

In other news, my cousin sent me a package!  Always love that.   Other countries have much better packaging strategies than we do.  The packages always look like you are getting something that's a really big deal.  I am so excited about the year of the Rat linens!  To me, that IS a big deal.  I'm a rat, can't you tell?

So what it it about this guy, anyhow?

About 35 years ago, when I lived in zip code 80501, there was a mythical guy that my father told me about. It was one of THOSE years, and he'd been robbed of his just cashed paycheck; it was a lean winter.

I haven't heard of him too often since then. One year, I promised my niece that if she didn't behave, Santa was gonna bring her Granny panties. It was the funniest thing to see those size 3XXX undies lying in the middle of the courtyard because she got mad and threw them out the window.

Daryl spoke of him first. She said her DH would not go out and buy his own socks OR underwear. Kelly agreed.

So what the is the deal with a man who asks "Got everything under control?" who won't buy his own undies?? Or cologne? Or a damned razor? Do they WANT a bottle of OLD SPICE? No wonder they get shit for Christmas. They won't buy stuff during the rest of the year.

Hi-ho, Undie Claus!

Your Christmas Stocking Will Be Filled with Money

You've either been really really good this year... Or Santa is trying to pay you off!

What Will Be In Your Christmas Stocking?

Yeehaw. And I am on sleevecaps.

'S embarrassing....

Once again, I backed da Bears. Sigh. Growing up in suburban Chicago, it's something you DO-and you either like the Sox or the Cubs, not both. I wish they'd quit embarrassing me.

BTW, I didn't smoke at all today. AT ALL. Not one. Kinda weird going to dinner and not sitting in the bar or running outside afterwards.

Ate like a bastard, tho.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

No shit. I have always aspired to be Mimi Bobeck, but I didn't expect to turn into her. I've been taking Chantix, the stop-smoking drug for about 2.5 weeks now. It works really WELL on the nicotine receptors, however, I am turning into a fat bitch, bless my heart. Chantix has been linked to suicides, and the drug company poo-poos that, but I cry more than a junior high girl now. I am bitchy. And I recognize that I can't take this Rx for more than the original script, there will be no refills for me. I guess I'd better quit sneaking the smokes.

Last week I was making a steamer for one customer, and a single-cup for her fussy husband. The big burly guy (that usually comes in with his 'oh, for God's sake, honey, put a bra on' wife) came in and was standing at the register. The espresso machine sprung a leak. Big burly got a cup and was tapping it on the counter. I almost SCREAMED. And next time, I will just tell him about it.

On the knitting front, it's actually going pretty well-the VKFTCI is almost done.

Heh

I've dubbed "Knitting which must not be named" as "Vogue Knitting for the Criminally Insane".   I have taken to chanting like a Buddhist when I go thru and check the pattern, which is every 2 stitches because someone HAS to interrupt me about silly shit.

While I was screwing around AVOIDING the Criminally Insane, I visited the US Olympic Training Center's page (my dad used to work there), and followed a link for the Olympic Sport & Art Contest.  The prizes are BIG, the deadline is coming up.  I thought it was hysterical when I clicked for the entry form and saw this-

So how much DOES it cost to help someone keep their job this Christmas?

In my case, it cost about 250.00. I asked DH for a Fenton piece for Christmas, too. The box is in the living room, and I want to peek! That's the vase I asked for-isn't it pretty??

Remember last month, when I told you that Fenton Glass Works was struggling, and might go under? They announced last week that they were restructuring, slimming down (and carrying some imports), and the spring catalog was ready to preview!!!

I am proud to live in a country of people who will stretch a little to keep a company like Fenton going. In no way do I think my post really affected their survival, but if it made you reconsider when you made your Christmas shopping list, I think I did well.

Now, what the heck am I going to use this lovely little vase for? I found kits to convert bottles to lamps. I think that's the right way to enjoy her every day.

Now if we can hit insurance companies that will cover Viagra, but not asthma meds, we'll be in business.

I think this is funny-

Edward Scissorhands vs. Sweeny Todd-hmmm, the same lead actor, the same director. Same make-up artist, apparently.

It's the closing of the year, the finishing of old...

We decided last week that it's time to close the shop. So when we lock the doors on New Year's Eve, we lock the doors. Unless some odd thing drops out of the sky that will make the coffee world more viable in East Cupcake, we are totally done.  Enough, already.

In other news, a dear friend is closing a year and a half of hell.

Rudolph!

Note: It's Jewel and her mom.

Hey, remember these-

I cheated on the behemoth project, and looked in another knitting bag this week.  Whew, what a relief to find all this soothing dullness.  

I am about ready to split for the underarm seam-I sure hope I calculated that right, or there will be one big-assed frog party.   And tears.

This is actually pretty long, and will smooth out when blocked.  The coat body is probably about the length of the sleeves.  

Look at how textured the body is when compared to the sleeves (which match!  I think that's the cat's ass!)  

Also notice that there is no lavendar in my coat body.  That's because it's all in the sleeves, ace.

O, the horror!

Good pattern, bad pattern, or wrong pattern??

I've been working on "Knitting that must not be named" for a while now. I swear, it's sapping my will to knit-I haven't even cheated on it. Last night I pulled out my entrelac jail project. Ahhhh. I just knit. And knit. And knit. I know it's dull, but I made progress. And progress has been very slow on "KTMNBN". The reason? It's a bad pattern. And I don't think I'm whining; I know I am a competent knitter. It came with the disclaimer "for the virtuoso knitter". I'll say. A freaking virtuoso clairevoyant knitter. Because someone didn't bother writing a decent pattern!

What contributes to a bad pattern? A complicated pattern is not the same thing-Dale makes complicated patterns, but the instructions are pretty clear-just complex. A bad pattern is the result of a combinations of many things.

Bad photography-if you can't see understand your knitting, and have a question, refer to the photo. But if the model' arm is twisted behind her back, and her hair covers that seam that you want to look at, or there is no view of the tricky part, it's useless. The more I knit, the more I think some of those photos are intentionally posed to hide an unholy mess.

Obfuscated instructions---for example, my sleeve increases must be worked in at point X. Very nice, but point X occurs 5 times on each sleeve, and not necessarily together. So exactly where DO my increases go?

Knitbabble. I worked a two row pattern for three inches before I got fed up and charted it out. Whew. Big help. Now I see it. I needed the overview.

Things that don't work, don't look like the picture, give inaccurate yarn requirements, or don't have the correct stitch count.

"Repeat as for left side, reversing shaping" or "work pattern as for the front" ---these are useless if the reference point was WRONG.

So what makes a good pattern?

Accuracy
Brevity
Clarity.

The festival of lights-

I went to go look up the lyrics to a Hanukkah song I learned in grade school, and couldn't find the song at all, so you'll have to make do with ol' Adam.

And I will write the lyrics out-so they DO exist on the internet. I have no idea what the name of this song is.

Tis the week of Hannukah, good cheer we are bringing,
This holiday we celebrate with dancing and singing,
Gather 'round together the Horah we'll do,
Then join in the song that our forefathers knew.

But hush now, and come now,
the candles we light one by one.
And then hear the story of God and his Glory,
and how precious freedom was won.



Enjoy the candles, enjoy your treats. Hope the song is ok, don't want to upset anyone. My diversity plan is to celebrate EVERYTHING, and damn the torpedos. I don't want to miss anything.

Introducing the IoP

Many of my Elannimal buddies have had a rough year-deaths in the family, serious illness, frozen pipes-you name it, it's been a tricky one.

Dear T, of Gryffinitter fame, keeps her Infant of Prague figure on her stove so that she can light a candle as needed. (She has small people in her house, and on the stove is probably the BEST place to burn anything.  She doesn't really like to cook, either, LoL.) This evening, it finally dawned on me to ask her WHAT her Infant of Prague looks like.

It looks kind of like this little fella, who I bought in Budapest in 1991 for 25.00 He is Goebel HJ14, and from the trademark, he was made somewhere between 1935 and 1950....judging from the paint style, I would say pre-war.

Put in that perspective, someone had to love him a lot to keep him safe thru the fifty years between the start of WWII and the fall of Communism. He's traveled with me from Hungary to Germany to Alaska to Texas. I know he's been thru a few earthquakes. And TWO military moves.

Ask me why I have this. I don't know why a Japanese Baptist girl from Colorado was traipsing thru Europe, buying Infant of Prague figures. Or holy water fonts. But I did.

T reminded me that when I see my HJ14, who I have rechristened the IoP, I should say a prayer. (IoP-sounds like a union, or a secret society, doesn't it?) Up til now, I looked at him and thought about the day that Judy and I traipsed thru the flea market in Budapest.

I think T is right; prayers are in order. THAT must be why he's been with me for 18 years.

Again.

It's amazing what the omission of little words will do to you. When they say "Hold to the front" ask yourself "Do they mean "hold to the front OF THE WORK" or "hold to the front OF THE GARMENT". After knitting the same blah blah twice, and frogging twice, I think that's what she meant.
Damn, wish I was clairvoyant. And this designer would stop mumbling. And I wish they hadn't thrown these in nilly-willy. This shit is exhausting.