My Merino Mantra

Eye Candy Friday - 5/9/08

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Purple Haul

I just participated in a purple swap.  My haul?  Two hanks of Malabrigo yarn in a luscious medium purple color, along with other goodies.  I think I might make a neck warmer out of it. 

I finished my ZigBag Z by ColorJoy.   I just need to line it, buy handles, and do some fine finishing. 

I am disappointed in what used to be one of my favorite places to buy fine fabric, Haberman's in Royal Oak, Michigan.  I went there specifically looking for a jazzy liner fabric which will do justice to the ZigBag Z.  Nothing.  They had nothing.  I walked away with a solid purple color, but once I got it home I knew I wouldn't use it for the bag.  This bag deserves a bright, satin print.  Haberman's has plenty of fabric for weddings and proms, and lots of home dec fabric, but their apparel section seems to have suffered.  I may go back to shop for buttons, though, as that section seems to have increased in size. 

While in that neck of the woods, I stopped in Ewe-Nique Knits, also in Royal Oak.  The store is separated into two sections, each across from the other with their own entrances.  It's a small store, located in downtown Royal Oak in an old church building on the lower level.  Their selection is minimal, but the staff was quite friendly.  They carry some colors of Noro Kuryeon I had never seen before.  I especially appreciated the many swatches in various yarns they had hanging here and there.  I think every yarn shop should do this.  One side of the store has spinning wheels.  It's decorated nicely, and it's quite cozy, but their selection isn't worth the drive out for me.  I was optimistic, and overpaid the parking meter $1.50, but I only spent 15 minutes there. 

Speaking of purple, I started a new cardigan in a lovely medium purple yarn, Cashsilk, my new love.  I am really into this pattern, called Spring Forward by Janet Szabo.  I just wish I had more time to knit.  It's more intricate than the Must Have Cardigan I have laying around somewhere, but I am having an easier time of it.  I am mad at my Must Have Cardigan.  I went through a lot of trouble mirroring cables, making the ribbing match the cables, changing the pattern, and generally spending way more time on it than I would have liked.  When I miscrossed a cable and became discouraged, I put it down, and haven't picked it up since.  I can't fix a cable by unraveling and knitting back up.  It looks gross. 

That was over three years ago.  Remember what happened to the last cardigan  I threw down two years ago?   Yes.  It involved scissors.

The Press, Wrong?

By now, I am sure most of us have heard about the abomination in Texas with the FLDS sect, and the children who were taken away into foster care.  It's a pitiful, heart wrenching scene, to imagine any child being yanked from a loving mother's arms, but it is even more pitiful when there is suspected abuse going on in the loving household.  Just what the heck was happening there? 

I was reading Norma's blog, and found some slovenly journalism.  No, not in her blog, (tee-hee!), but in a reference to an article on cnn.com .  It had to do with the FLDS fiasco, and mentioned foster children in a negative manner.  The author of this article portrayed the FLDS children as sheltered and innocent, which may or may not be true, but went on to note that, "In contrast, many other children in foster care have a certain worldly swagger, and are there because they have used drugs or committed other crimes".  "Many" foster care children may be just as described, but when left in that context, especially when prefaced with the innocent FLDS children as described in the article, it is an insult to foster children in general.  Using the descriptive, "many" does not negate the author's intended picture for us, in my opinion.  "Many" is not "all", and while the story might not have been written with bad intentions,  I still believe the author certainly came across with little understanding of foster children. I think the author was more interested in a flowery pen than a factual story.

See the Orphan Foundation of America's blog, and the article, When the Press Gets it Wrong.  If you are so moved, scratch off a quick e-mail to CNN and Associated Press (AP), voicing your displeasure of the above comment, which some people could construe as a blanket statement about children in foster care.  I'm not being overly sensitive; I hate that, when people overreact to a comment.  The entire FLDS gives me the creeps, and if there was abuse going on, I am glad people are writing about it.  But pegging foster children as swaggering does not help the foster children who don't swagger.  Nor does it help the funding for organizations like The Orphan Foundation of America.  Thanks for nothing, CNN.

Eye Candy Friday 5/2/08

Happiness is a Michigan Baseball Game

Aaah, Tuesday night at the spanking new Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The University of Michigan versus the Western Michigan Broncos.  7-4 win!  I'm always happy whenever Kalamazoo gets beaten, just because my sister lives there, and it is the alma mater for both she and her husband.   Yuck.  Sometimes we call her immediately to let her know of the pitiful loss.  Sometimes we play dumb, and just innocently ask her husband if he knows the score, whereupon he usually swears before hanging up.

GO BLUE!

I'm equally as happy when Michigan State gets whipped.  YEAH!

And now, we will have the opportunity to annihilate  those wretched BUCKEYES on Friday, the day of the official inauguration of the new stadium.  OH YEAH!




   <-------Hat Heads

  Here's Tarzan, practicing his swing below.  He has all the mannerisms of a ballplayer, but he has stopped the spitting part, thankfully.















Notice the huge cranes in the top photo?  That's for renovation for the football stadium.  Wow, big stuff.  Every time I drive by it, I am in disbelief.  Of course they can afford it, with the football prices they charge.  Can somebody please buy the Pfizer facilities, and offer more jobs to this area?  Thank you.








Did I mention how fantastic these guys play?  I am so impressed.  Somebody call a recruiter!  I have to admit, I love Tiger baseball, but there is no way driving all the way to Detroit is worth it monetarily for my family and I, both in gas money, and for stadium fees.  They charge too much money for a game at "Comerica Park" (I still hate that name) for me to watch the lousy baseball the Tigers have been playing.  Then, I have to hassle with parking, fight the traffic for the other venues in the area, and drive through crappy neighborhoods.  No, thanks.   I can view it better on TV anyway.  Let's see:  $150 for my family?  I'll take Ann Arbor baseball any day.
   

Eye Candy Friday 4/25/08

Eye Candy Friday 4/18/08

Eye Candy Friday 4/11/08

Cutting Into Lace: The Save of the Century

Two years has passed since I started this cardigan.  It has been the most painful project I have ever undertaken.  It lay in some area of my house until I decided I really wanted to wear it this spring.  Early on, I knew that the pattern was not going to work out.  It had me wringing my hands and cursing the designer, whose creations I happen to love.  I was not happy with the way the lace pattern looked as I increased for the sleeves.  I felt that it compromised the integrity of the sleeve seams, given the fact that I was using a cotton yarn which is rather heavy and splits like mad.  I thought it would over stretch the seams to have the lace right at the edges.  After many starts and stops, I decided to incorporate the increases into the lace after I had enough stitches for one full repeat.  There.

But that was nothing.  Midstream, I decided to change the size from a large to a medium.  I fearlessly forged ahead, not giving a whit about how I was going to change things when it came time to seam.  And then it was time to seam.  I had extra fabric at the sides. There was no way I was going to rip back for the fortieth time.  Wait!  I know!  In a flash of brilliance, I decided to add a couple of lines of stitching with a sewing machine, cut into the lace, and then seam it together.  I grappled with the prospect of that task for two years.  Finally, I became brave.  Shade your eyes and read no further if you are faint of heart.

I placed a line of slip stitch crochet near the place I wanted to cut off.  I pinned it with tissue paper, and reinforced the area with three lines of machine stitching.  Then I slept on it, waited a few days, had a drink, and used my Razor Fiskars to cut right into the lace.  It was either that, or be faced with the reality that I would never wear this cardigan.                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Done.  Suddenly, I had energy.  I didn't even care that there were a million minute pieces of yarn scattered all over the house, or that I would have to pick out the tissue paper from the seams with tweezers for months afterward.  The seams didn't look that bad.  It looks like ready to wear.  And I am ready to wear it!

Pattern:  Victoria by Mags Kandis from Mission Falls Quinte Scrapbook

Yarn:  Gedifra Korfu (50% cotton, 50% microfiber), color 88, peach

Amount Used:  1057 yards / 970 meters / 21-1/4 ounces / 606 grams

Needles:  Addi Turbo size 6 and 7, and KnitPicks Options size 6 and 7

Do Not Be Deceived

This is not your typical clicker-type counter.  It looks quite innocent, doesn't it, all pink and pretty?  Oh no.  This counter will drive you nuts.  And to think that I searched long and hard for a non-red clicker counter.  When I finally found a pink counter, I was ecstatic.  It was nothing but a demon in disguise.  Now why should finding a non-red counter be such a difficult task, you may wonder?  I have questioned myself many times over that.  I used to wonder why there was only one brand of ball winder, made in Japan.    I still can't figure it out.  Finally, after many years, we have the option of quite fancy wooden yarn winders, with smooth gears and the capability of winding large balls of yarn.  But a non-red counter?  That is too hard of a task, plus, I guess there is not much profit to be made from other colors.  I already have three counters, all in red, for various projects on the needles.  I won't go into how many projects I have on the needles.  Anyway, it's not just that I need another counter in a different color so I won't get it mixed up with a current project, it's that I am a very visual person, and I need different colors in my life.  The mini green counter which you can wear around your neck will not do.  Too small.

This pink counter randomly adds numbers to the counter when clicked.  It has a mind of it's own.  It took me a few months to figure out the problem.  All this time, I was blaming my mix ups on my youngest son, who loves to rummage through my knitting basket and add numbers to the red counters to drive me nuts.  The pink counter locks, yet it would still be off count on occasion.  Finally, I watched the numbers turn over as I clicked.  It would add two rows when it felt like it.  There was no rhyme or reason, or so I thought.  When I finish a row, I grab the counter, and CLICK it!  It gives me a sense of accomplishment to click that counter.  Wow.  I finished a row.  I know it's a small thing, but subconsciously, it gives me pleasure.  It is way too much trouble to tick off rows with a pencil and paper, or even turn the wheel on the side manually.  I want to click.  I paid for the enjoyment of clicking.

As I was working on my ZigBag Z this weekend, (yes, I cast on!), I noticed I was way off count.  Terribly so.  I watched the counter as I vigorously CLICKED it.  Sometimes, but not always, it would add two numbers.  I then had a flash of brilliance, and clicked it slowly.  Viola!  The correct numbers.  I clicked it slowly after the next row.  It added two numbers again!  Arrggh! 

If anyone would like to join me in a pink counter smashing party, let me know. 

Eye Candy Friday 4/4/08

Spring, with a dusting of powdered sugar.  No ice on the creek, but winter will not let itself go.

ZigBagZ

Here are the colors of yarn for my newest project, which has pushed itself to the front of my list.  It's the ZigBagZ Maxi bag by Color Joy, a new pattern by Lynn H, hot off the press, and I mean HOT.

I'm using Noro Kureyon and Cascade 220.  The violet solid color of Cascade is not as red as the picture shows, but rather more like grape jelly with a little raspberry in it.  The Noro colors are spot on. 

I finally had the energy to drive to Threadbear, where I got the pattern and Cascade 220.  Oh my gosh, if you live in Michigan GO THERE.  Sock knitters, rejoice!  They have oodles of new sock yarn, fantastic sock yarn at that, which of course beckoned me to no end.  I'll post pictures of the sock yarn later. 

Meanwhile, I have suffered through the most agonizing project I have ever undertaken, in all my years of knitting and crocheting.  I could barely take pictures, as I really didn't want documentation of these events.  However, I am on the home stretch, and I really hope to finish sometime this weekend.  I have been saying that for the last two years, but I really think I could accomplish it this time.  That is, if the ZigBagZ doesn't take all my attention, as I am afraid it will as I am SO EXCITED to cast on!  Love that bag!

Eye Candy Friday 3/28/08

Sizzle

WOW!  I love this new top!  I love everything about it.  I love the yarn, the fit, the feel; you name it, I love it.  I am very happy! 

Pattern:  Sizzle by Wendy Bernard

Yarn:  Takhi Yarns New Tweed (60% merino wool/14% silk/26% viscose), color 053

Amount Used:  604 yds / 658 meters / 328 grams / 11.5 ounces

Needles:  KnitPicks Options size 6, 47-inch circular

Modifications:  I made the length 23", and I began the neck edge at 14".  I also added 3" between the decreases and increases for the bust, but I only got 1/2" more in length than the pattern stated, due to the difference in gauge.  If I make this top again, and I most likely will because I LOVE it, I will go down one or two needle sizes for the seed stitch edging, and I will also knit it in the round. 

The shaping adds just enough interest to what is otherwise a very simple pattern.  It doesn't look like much on the hanger, but it wears so nicely.

The yarn is wonderful.  It is soft, has loads of tweedy character, and has a nice feel while knitting with it.  I hope that it does not stretch out, as the top is perfect just as it is.  I would definitely make a cardigan out of this yarn.