Author Archives: pdxknitterati

I feel lucky…

Posted on March 6, 2009 | 9 comments

The Lantern Moon “Beat the Winter Blahs” event on Thursday was really fun! They were well organized, and that’s saying a lot for a first time event. Nine local yarn shops were there, each featuring something from their stores. Twisted featured socks and local designers, and I was thrilled to see my patterns and Athena sample there, too. Thank you, Shannon & Emily!

Yarn Garden was giving away yarn and patterns for chemo caps and scarves, and I scored a ball of Katia Cindy, a worsted weight acrylic.

The other yarn pictured is Lantern Moon Silk Gelato, a silk taffeta ribbon that knits up to super-bulky gauge. Leigh Radford was there signing books, and I believe she developed this yarn in collaboration with Lantern Moon. She asked me if I had ever knit with it, and offered me a ball to try. Sweet! It’s really pretty; I’ll have to find a good project for it.

I finally met Nancy, who works at Close Knit and designs and blogs at GettingPurlyWithIt. We talked a bit about designing; I’m glad to have met her.

Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks was there, too. I visited their shop last Friday for the first time*; Sellwood is a long haul from my neighborhood! They have beautiful yarns, and their staff is loads of fun.

There were about 200 knitters there, including many of my favorite knitfriends (knitfiends?). A fabulous party! (I forgot my camera; no party pix.) Shopping in the warehouse; that was a great opportunity to see the full product line. I am in love with the Bindi tote, but resisting so far. There were raffles throughout the evening, and I was a winner! Didn’t I say that I feel lucky? I won a Lantern Moon Gidget bag!

It’s gorgeous. And it holds a lot. I think it’s going to be my new teaching bag, for my supplies when I’m teaching at Twisted. Or going to knit nite. Or wherever!

I really am lucky. Lucky to win, lucky to live in Portland, which is a knitters’ mecca with so many great yarn stores and the home of Lantern Moon, which makes my favorite needles and bags. Lucky to be supported as a fledgling designer by my LYS. Life is good.

*Oh, my trip to Abundant? What could lure me to Sellwood before I knew about the Butternut Farms Super Sock Yarn? Deb Accuardi was having a launch party at Abundant for her new newsletter about spinning, cooking, gardening…she does it all! She even made a fabulous vegetarian risotto for us that evening. She’s multi-talented; check out her blog at Deb on the Web!

9 Comments

Posted in Knit

Like Cleopatra…

Posted on March 5, 2009 | 16 comments

Queen of Denial.

Um, I bought some yarn. Now, you may remember me saying that I don’t stash. And I don’t.

Because it’s sock yarn. And so many of you have said that sock yarn doesn’t count as stash.

Besides, I’m not a sock knitter, right? At least not with skinny yarn. Like this stuff.

Butternut Woolens fingering weight, Ocean colorway.

It looked thicker than fingering, more like sport. We’ll see. I wanted to make another pair of the Seafoam Socks that I’m designing, with lighter (but not too much lighter) weight yarn. So it’s not really stash, it’s next in the queue.

Did it matter that I’d bought this, earlier in the week, for the same reason?

Not really. Because I subsequently realized that the Lanaloft isn’t superwash, which I like for socks. (Although I do have worsted sox that aren’t superwash, and they do fine. Shhhhh!)

But here’s the other thing. I need to make something for the church’s youth group dinner auction. I think it’s going to be another pair of Arctic Blast Mitts, but this time in icy blue instead of off-white. Like this Malabrigo Silky Wool that I, uh, bought yesterday afternoon.

Stop laughing! It’s not stash unless I don’t knit with it this month…

16 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, yarn

Little Sky Sox

Posted on March 1, 2009 | 15 comments

In preparation for Sock Summit, I thought it would be a good idea to get Cat Bordhi‘s book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters, just to try to wrap my mind around different ways of seeing things.

There are top down and toe-up socks in here. Bordhi begins with a sample sock of each kind, but they’re not your usual top down or toe up. I decided to go for the top down first, since that’s my usual modus operandi. Here are the Little Sky Socks made out of worsted weight Dream in Color Classy.

They look like they’d be perfect for chubby little baby feet. A little wide through the instep? Maybe not, after you actually get something in there.

I look forward to exploring more “sockitechture” soon. For now, these need to be wrapped for a baby shower this evening!

15 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged cat bordhi, Knit, sock

Beach souvenir, and a Lantern Moon event

Posted on February 25, 2009 | 19 comments

I bought two skeins of Mirasol Hacho at Coastal Yarns in Cannon Beach, Oregon last year during Crafty Moms Weekend. It’s been sitting in my tiny stash, waiting to become socks. I love dk weight socks; they knit up so quickly.

When I first started swatching, I tried some lacy patterns, but the lace got lost in the variegated yarn. I thought about my entrelac socks like the ones Anna test knit for me with some Hacho last year (same yarn expedition).

But I wanted something different. This yarn definitely needs some stockinette to have an opportunity to sing. Here’s what I finally settled on:

I love the way this is knitting up. The ripples remind me of waves at the beach. Very fitting for a yarn from the coast!

I’m having a lot of fun making this up as I go, and I’m planning to write up the pattern when I’m done.

In local news, Lantern Moon is having an event at their warehouse next Thursday, March 5, 6:30 pm. There will be an opportunity to view January’s TNNA fashion show, local yarn shops showing what’s new and hot in the stores, Leigh Radford signing copies of her new book, AlterKNITS Felts, and refreshments. It’s also an opportunity to purchase Lantern Moon products at 20% off retail prices. Reservations are required; RSVP to diana@lanternmoon.com to let them know you’re coming. It’s no secret that I’m a big Lantern Moon fan; I’ll be there!

19 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design

Tagged Knit, lantern moon, Mirasol Hacho, socks

Ebony and Ivory…

Posted on February 22, 2009 | 16 comments

I just finished my Arctic Blast Mitts, and I love them. They’re like little clouds. Sweet!

The only mod I made was unintentional; I was supposed to end with 5 rounds of ribbing, and I ended with two. Didn’t read closely, duh! But they’re the perfect length on my small hands; 5 rounds would have made them too long. I meant to do that; yeah, that’s the ticket…

This is the first time I’ve used a sewn bind off. It was easy, and it’s nice and stretchy. And I loved the arrowhead lace pattern on this so much that I started my blue Marisol Hacho socks in the same pattern. But the lace is completely lost in the variegation, so it’s back to the drawing board on those.

Arctic Blast Mitts, pattern by Star Athena, exclusively for Twisted‘s Single Skein Club
Malabrigo Silky Merino, 1 skein (50 grams), with a decent amount left over
Lantern Moon 6-inch Ebony Sox Stix, size 3

I love these needles; they’re the perfect length for the way I hold the my needles. And they’re more blunt than pointy, which fits my “scoop” rather than “poke” method of knitting.

Lovely!

16 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged arctic blast mitts, fingerless mitts, Knit, lantern moon sox stix, malabrigo, single skein club, twisted

August Meteor Shower (of knitting)

Posted on February 20, 2009 | 10 comments

The luminous stars of the knitting world are landing here in Portland in August. Check out the teacher list for Sock Summit. It is truly amazing. (Click on the names for bios, or check out the Yarn Harlot’s posted list.)

I’ll be there! I guess I’m a sock knitter after all.

10 Comments

Posted in Knit

Tagged Knit, sock, sock summit

We be chillin’…

Posted on February 18, 2009 | 15 comments

Here’s what’s on the needles these days…

No, it’s not a fancy beer cozy. That’s just the model. It’s really an Arctic Blast Mitt. These were designed by Star Athena, and are part of the first package from Twisted‘s Single Skein Club. DH bought me membership in the club for Christmas. Every other month I’ll get a skein of a fabulous luxury yarn, an exclusive pattern for that yarn, and goodies! This month’s goodies include a tote bag and a pen.

I finally had a chance to cast on last Sunday, riding in the car while the Teen drove us down to Eugene to visit CollegeMan. (CollegeMan just turned 21, so I can’t think of him as CollegeBoy any more.) The yarn is Malabrigo Silky Wool, a single ply yarn that is lovely to work with. The stitch pattern is Arrowhead Lace, which is easily memorized because 3 of the 5 rounds are “rest” rounds; only two rounds have yarn overs and decreases.

I think these will be lovely. I’ll have to take them back from the beer. Beer doesn’t get much respect in this household, anyway; I bought this beer specifically to make beer bread! I made some last night.

Beer Bread

3 cups self rising flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 12 ounce can/bottle of beer

(If you don’t have self rising flour, add 4 1/2 tsp baking powder and 3/4 tsp salt to 3 cups regular all purpose flour. This is what usually happens at our house.)

Mix ingredients; pour into greased pan. Cover with a dish towel and let rise in warm, non-drafty place for 30 minutes. Bake for 70 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven. Remove from pan and cool on rack until just warm. Slice and enjoy with butter and jam.

If you try to cut it when it’s still hot, the crust will break off from the bread. Ask me how I know. I had to leave for a meeting last night, so we ate this in a hurry, which is why the crust broke, and why there is no picture of the bread!

15 Comments

Posted in Knit, recipe

Tagged arctic blast mitts, beer bread, Knit

Keep your eyes on the prize…

Posted on February 16, 2009 | 4 comments

Because you have another chance to win! I received an email from Cristi (Turtlegirl76). Sometimes a comment is just a comment; she didn’t mean to enter the contest. She’s not a dpn knitter (but she does make a lot of socks), and would like me to redraw for the sox stix. I offered her the yarn and cake, but she graciously declined because she thinks it should all go together.

So another trip to the random number generator, and the number is 22, or the 22nd comment. Marie, you’re the new winner! And as a new sock knitter, I hope you enjoy these goodies.

In other news, I finished my fourth Athena yesterday. It looks just like the last one:

Except it has 9 blocks around instead of 8. But no new picture; you know what it looks like!

4 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit

Tagged entrelac, sox stix

Drum roll for the winner please…

Posted on February 16, 2009 | 9 comments

And the winner of the drawing for the Lantern Moon Sox Stix is…

Turtlegirl76! I’ve added a couple things to the prize package, too. The yarn is fingering weight, hand dyed by Knitted Wit. I love the colors of this yarn, but when I started to knit with it, I realized that I’m just not a skinny yarn knitter. All my socks are sport or DK, or even worsted! Also included is a cute cake keychain, also from Lantern Moon. Have fun, Cristi! Please send me your snail mail addy, and I will send your package out this week.

Edit: It turns out that Cristi’s not a dpn knitter! See the next post for the new winner…after checking out the blogs mentioned below.

And I’m a winner, too! This week, I’ve been nominated by two bloggers, Jeanne Knits and Knitting Siamese, for a Kreativ Blogger Award. Thanks, Jeanne and Courtney!

Here are the rules:

1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

And here are the blogs that I think you should check out:

Emilee Knits: Emilee is working her way through the Barbara Walker treasuries, doing a swatch a week. I’m enjoying seein the swatches, and Emilee’s commentary on the stitch patterns.

Earthtones Girl: Denise is a fantastic knitter, and a big fan of Elizabeth Zimmermann. You can see it in her projects. A woman after my own heart!

Princess Pea: Anna lives in the UK, and knits exquisite things. Tea cosies, Jared Flood’s druid mitts, anything! Her photography is lovely.

Turtlegirl76: Cristi (yes, the same Cristi who won the Sox Stix!) is an amazing knitter; I love seeing her projects. And her cats, Ripple and Calvin!

Smariek Knits: Marie loves cables. Me, too. Her scarves and mitts are in many Ravelry queues, and she’s just finished her first socks.

We Do Not Have a Knitting Problem aka IrishGirlieKnits: Carrie is a big fan of BMFA, and I can see why. I love looking at her projects.

What Katy Did: Katy is a local blogger, and I found out last month that we have a mutual friend in real life. Small world. Check out Katy’s Kiki Mariko.

Enjoy!

9 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit

Tagged lantern moon, sox stix

Hacho Leyburns

Posted on February 14, 2009 | 15 comments

Attention! We interrupt this parade of projects from Crafty Mom Weekend to bring you this special announcement. The Mirasol Hacho Leyburn socks are done!

In a comment to my previous Leyburn post, Krista suggested that I embrace the pooling, and try to make the second one pool the same way as the first. Unfortunately, I didn’t note where I had started in the color sequence on the first one. If you look at the ribbing at the top, you can see that didn’t start with the same color.