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Songs of the Stash

I have a large walk-in closet where my stash is carefully and colorfully organized; I like to walk in on it suddenly to see if any of it is singing about what it would like to be. Zephyr, Noro, Rowan, Jamieson, Opal. It's a regular Tower of stashBabel.

Except right now. Curiously, none of my stash is speaking to me. I don't know what that's about, since it was yakkety-yakking nonstop all through the time I was knitting the ASJ by Elizabeth Zimmermann.

So. We're going to sit quietly, drink S. Pellegrino straight out of the bottle, listen to Zombo-com, and wait for the stash to start singing again. It's a Blue Moon weekend, so surely we can expect something magical. For Friday enlightenment and entertainment, we highly recommend Art for Housewives, the website that keeps us busy and happy for hours! Virginia, I'll call you this weekend.

Cheers! Happy Friday!

Woofs! from ActionMikey and his favorite chewie.

P.S. There's a new-ish knitblog called Knitting, With Dogs! Isn't that nicer than Knitting with Dogs? I mean, who but me would keep trying to stick their little heads through all those little loops over and over again? Talk about doing it the hard way! No wonder the ASJ took so long! Happy knitblogging to Janice, Cammie, and Ivan!

Silly Business

Can you find the sheep dog?

Happy Thursday! Happy Knitting!

Anarchist Wannabe

Faced with a number of projects to cast on for and very limited time to do so, I opted out of choosing and instead read the new book that had arrived in the mail.

Anna Zilboorg's Knitting for Anarchists (ISBN:0966915372) was published in 2002, but somehow I didn't pick it up then. I meant to, as I'm an admirer of Zilboorg, but just didn't get around to it. Lately, though, I've been nagged by the thought that it is going to be one of those books that, once out of print, will be next to impossible to find. I ordered my copy from Marsha.

(Digression: Don't you love to get an order from Marsha? It comes wrapped like a present but in brown paper, with ribbons and Euclan samples and poetry bits and bookplates! The only thing missing is chocolate!)

Zilboorg was a solitary for a while, and it's obvious she thought about her knitting a lot between prayers. She doesn't care for gauge as a concept, preferring instead to knit with what feels right in her hands and produces the fabric she likes best. This book has exceptionally clear descriptions and illustrations of ways to knit. The first part is actually a treatise on knitting. It's very heady stuff! I imagine if you had this as the book on a desert island, you'd quickly become obsessed with figuring out a way to make string and sharpen sticks so that you could follow along, page by page. The second part is a fascinating exploration of how to make the "All-Purpose Strip-Knit Anarchist Sweater." Now this is some very cool stuff that tells you how to knit a sweater—pullover or cardigan—without following any directions. You can chart it out on paper in squares if you want to, but you don't have to. Impressive and liberating! Like our hero EZ, AZ wants to free knitters from being blind followers. Zilboorg's knitting is a mindful knitting, and she wants you to be mindful, too. The last bit of the book is "The Knitting Way," and it is a beautiful essay that I wish every knitter could read.

Knitting for Anarchists is very aptly named. It is a book about knitting, and does discuss technique, but mostly Zilboorg gently brings you along toward rejecting any authority or coercive control over your own knitting. The entire book is a lovely reminder that you should knit what you like, and in whatever materials you like. This is a great book to read and to knit by. We give it 10 out of 10 beaded stitch markers. It's brilliant.

A Project

SharonB of In a Minute Ago is embarking on a grand new art project that you can participate in. Read her tale about "Textale" here, and start thinking of how you'd like to be included.

Pups

Pretty warm here...you really can't imagine it if you live somewhere normal. The pups spend very limited bits of time out of doors. They do enjoy the brief cool part of the early morning, and they like the feel of the concrete once the sun has set. Jack is pretending that he is an African lion out on the savanna, I think.

We hope you have an opportunity to imagine yourself as an anarchist or an exotic sometime today. Happy Wednesday, and we'll see you tomorrow!

Luxury

Thanks, knitbloggers and knitblog-readers, for your kind emails and comments about the finished Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann. For those of you who were unable to leave comments because I had accidentally turned them off, well, sorry :-) Comment spammers had hit recent entries between the time I posted Monday's entry at midnight and Monday morning when I turned on my PC. While I was closing the earlier entries to comments, I very efficiently turned off comments for the 26 July entry as well. Comment spammers! Now we know what roaches come back as in the next life when the dharmacharka turns.

So. I was thinking how absolutely luxurious it is to be able to leisurely decide on what to knit next. My knitting felt rather driven as I was knitting the miles and miles of the XL ASJ, and so it's quite lovely to ponder potential projects. Nanette posted a photo of her finished "Pearls of Wisdom" socks, the ones with the Pablo Neruda poetry knitted in, and they are fabuloso! I love these socks, and decided to read the directions as a warm-up to knitting. Nanette's socks are from the 1999 XRX book Socks Socks Socks (ISBN:0964639157], and what a great book it is. I remember the hubbub when this book came out; I was still a contributing member of the Socknitters list, and I must say it was very exciting to be a socknitter back in the dark days before self-patterning sock yarn. Socks3 has over 70 sock patterns in it, many by knitters that we know and love. Some, like our talented Katherine and the brilliant Debbie New, have two prize-winning pairs each! I was reminded while leafing through the patterns of how knitting wheels are constantly being reinvented— Debbie New designed a pair of socks knit from strings of licorice for this book. Knitty wasn't even a twinkle in anyone's eye yet, but five years later, licorice socks have morphed into licorice undies.

What a nice book! I'm so glad that Nanette knit those poetry socks, because it gave me the opportunity to look through this book and enjoy it as much as I did the first time. Katherine's "Tipsy Knitter" (p. 41) and "Ribble Socks" (p. 75) are on my list again, as are New's "Freeform Socks" (p 53), and Lucy Neatby's "Traveling Socks" (p 52). And perhaps now, five years after buying and loving this book, I'll be able to knit the magnificent "Tiger Eyes" lace socks (p. 42) by Margaret Radcliffe! Yes! I dream on, and I dream of lacy socks! Do you have this book? If you don't, I think you should add it to your library while it's still available.

Dude!!

Must have!!! "Rosner's mp3blue jacket has a built-in, 128-megabyte player controlled through cloth buttons on the left sleeve, the company announced Monday. Headphones are built into the collar." See it here.

Pups

The pups got to visit with their cousins Dyna and Apple Monday evening, and I got to visit with my sister and my nephew. What a nice thing it is to live near your sister—nicer, even, than a piggy-rollup! (For some mysterious reason, the pups are not interested in being vegan.)

We wish you a happy Tuesday, and hope you allow yourself the knitting-luxury of knitting whatever you darn well please whenever you darn well want to. We're going to luxuriate in the feeling of knitting-abandon a bit longer here before casting on!

92. Nope! 93.

But as you know, it's not the heat, it's the humidity. Or maybe it's not the humidity, it's the heat. How hot did it feel?

What we won't do for you and for Anima Caliente! It was a relatively balmy day in Austin and so Sister and I waited to be certain it wasn't getting any cooler before taking photos of the completed Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann.

The whole enchilada:

Yes. It is a bit large. But that's my fault, and it's actually a good thing :-)

The back:

The beautiful sleeve:

The very exciting and lizard-y neckline:

Pretty sweet! You'll recall how it looked before being grafted together along the shoulders and sleeve tops. Oh-what-the-heck, I'll show you here:

Pretty magical, isn't it? And you know, even though I had made the Baby Surprise Jacket and knew how this one was supposed to work, I still kept forgetting how it folded into a jacket. So I'm glad it's sewn together for more than one reason. I decided against EZ's Afterthought Pocket only because I didn't want to break into the third bag of Kureyon. As it is, this jacket took all of two bags of Kureyon with about a meter of wool left over. However! Remember my version is a size XL. Your mileage will definitely vary.

In reading about the clever Afterthought Pocket, I was reminded of how much fun it is to read EZ, so while it was so hot last week and there were no television or internet distractions (say, is that a human rights violation?), I read all through my library of EZ books. What a lot of splendid ideas are in those little books, not to mention how entertaining. Reading Knitting Around made me think that it must have been like visiting with Herself in person. I would like very much to have met her, although I'm sure I would have acted like a complete chowderhead from unworthiness! What a legacy that would be, though, to still be so topical and soothing to knitters after so many years. I was reminded that I want to knit a Bog Jacket, and a new Pi Shawl, and a Pi-are-Square Shawl, and of course The Mittful of Mittens. A Pelerine. And the Very Warm Hat.

I anticipated summer all through spring because I thought it would be easier to knit with the a/c turned low, in fact, as low as it could go. But somehow, even with the chill in the indoor air, I am very slow to pick up my knitting needles. I think that, before returning to the "Knitted Stitch Cardigan" by M. Swansen, or the perennially unfinished "Morning Glory" by A. Starmore, I will do some small and useful projects. The Godzilla Lace socks, some gloves for Christmas presents, a hat or two, and perhaps Geane's Xtreme Hedonism goody. Plus, I'm deeply envious of Nanette's Pablo Neruda "Poetry Socks." And of course everything on Françoise's knitblog makes me hyperventilate!

Last week I discovered I didn't miss blogging very much; I'm not sure I want to update on a daily basis for a while. On the other hand, I wonder if I don't stick to the daily blog-discipline, will I blog at all? It's a puzzlement.

Pups

Too hot! And the weekend is too short!

Della would like some coffee but I told her it would stunt her growth. Ho! Monday. Coffee-up!

Our Week in Pictures (Homage to Roy Lichtenstein)

Actually, now that we're hooked up again, we're all quite happy. We have a new ISP. And we no longer have to wait for the Cable Guy to arrive (again and again). Note our new email address in the sidebar! Happy Friday! See ya Monday!

Technical Difficulties

Hiho, knit-sweeties.

We're experiencing
modem difficulties
here!

We'll be posting regularly again
as soon as the cable guy shows.

Cheers and happy knitting from me.
Woofs from the pups!

It Ain't Heavy It's My Jacket

Surprisingly, the ASJ isn't that heavy; it's so cleverly engineered that it simply hangs perfectly with all its weight distributed in a beautifully balanced manner. I'll finish it up this weekend and show you a photo on Monday or so. While there have been requests for me to model it, I'm still a bit concerned about spontaneous combustion (mine!) here in Austin right now. We'll see, okay?

In the meantime, thank you for your joyful comments! The ASJ was the longest knitting I've ever done. Having a cheering section during what felt sometimes like a knitting marathon was very helpful. The jacket is going to be truly and lizard-ly gorgeous, and so every stitch was very worth it, but my! it was slow knitting!

The sleeves—wide or narrow? I think mine are just right, but then, my jacket was knit from the original recipe created by Elizabeth Zimmermann (Spun-Out No. 1). I want to add an afterthought pocket, as per the original design, so I'll have to study up on those this weekend. I'm glad the major portion of the knitting is through, and at this point, can only quote the delightful Carrie: "YAY Knitting!"

Nanette posted an entry detailing some trade items I had sent her; since she's posted, I now feel free to announce what I received in return: her ALREADY STARTED Dale Kasimir kit! Was I happy? Yes! Yay Kasimir and Yay Nanette!

And! by dint of prodigious groveling and persistent hinting on my part, our wonderfully generous Geane graciously granted me two of the "Knitting Mermaids" Cahoon note cards— how I love those things! (You can see them stitched on a pillow here, since I can't find a print.) They are almost too wonderful because they are so wonderfully evocative. I'm delighted to have them. I'm keeping one at my office to remind me of the salty-fishy scent of the ocean on the East coast, and one at home where I can see it every day and think about Geane and her boys and knitting mermaids. YAY Geane!

Glove Gallery

Melissa pointed Interweave Knits' Glove Gallery out to me the other day, and I've been drooling uncontrollably ever since. I was particularly smitten by the gloves of Carol Wassell, but all the gloves are inspiring. Mari has her Houndstooth and her Sanquhar gloves in the gallery; Yay Mari! (This isn't exactly Mari's website, but she sometimes posts her FOs here, and there are certainly lots more gloves to admire.)

Pups

The most helpful dogs ever can be seen here.

Here at the ranch, two out of three dachshunds wish you a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend! Enjoy! and YAY Knitters! (boy! that YAY-stuff is so contagious! I love it!)

Off the Needles

Not blocked, not buttoned, but a sneak preview of a coming attraction:

Happy Thursday!

The Long and Winding ASJ

As the sun fades away behind the majestic dachshunds and sets on another day spent knitting the Adult Surprise Jacket, we stop to consider our progress.

We finished the buttonband Tuesday, but before casting off purlwise we realized that we still had some knitting to do. One of the things that differentiates the ASJ from the Baby Surprise Jacket (both by Elizabeth Zimmermann and both available from Schoolhouse Press) are the sleeves. The Baby SJ is complete, all in one piece. The ASJ is also complete, all in one piece, but only if you like three-quarter length sleeves. So, you pick up on the wrong side, creating an invisible join in the garter stitch, and work down toward cuffs. I have that left to do, but that's okay, because it will be a few days before my groovy buttons arrive.

So. In this garment, I decided to use the aptly-named "The Definitive (I Think) Buttonhole. One Row. 3 Stitches." This buttonhole was another inspired unvention by our hero, EZ, and it is documented on page 80 of Knitter's Almanac (ISBN:0486241785). The thing that makes it inspiring is there is no yo-ing and dec'-ing on the one row, then coming back and casting on stitches on the next row. With this buttonhole, it's done all at once over three slipped stitches, and I must say I think it's quite elegant and easy.

Looks good, doesn't it! That woman was a genius. Oh, btw. EZ also notes in the pattern sheet for the ASJ that the buttonband rows are "endless." I felt validated when I read that, as it indicated to me that it's not just me whining about the time this has taken--those rows really are long! Oh, and another btw. I think I'm going to come in at exactly 20 skeins of the Noro Kureyon, and you'll recall that I'm knitting an ASJ large enough for layering. So Terri, for example, will have enough probably to knit the ASJ, a coordinating Booga Bag, and possibly even some Felted Fuzzy Feet , should she so desire. Which I really can't imagine. Her desiring a coordinating jacket, purse, and fuzzy feet, that is. But she could if she wanted.

While I ordered lizards and glass buttons by mail, I have strong feelings about shopping locally, so I stopped into Silk Road today to look at their excellent button collection. I found several I really liked, so if my mail-order buttons fail to please, I'll have these to consider. And if my mail-order buttons are simply fabulous, then I'll have these in my stash, and in my favorite colors.

The round ones are handmade, handpainted clay, and the green curved ones are glass. What a luscious color! Regarding those lizard buttons: they are four inches long! So I felt very lucky when I found this three-inch long critter button to practice with, so to speak:

Cool, right? Right!

We thank you for your FO vibes and button advice! Happy Wednesday, and we'll see you tomorrow.

High Hopes

We had hopes; indeed, high hopes, for finishing the Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann on Monday. But the best laid plans yaddayadda created some setbacks to our hopes. That plus the fact that the button band is apparently seven miles long.

Can you believe this is going to be a Jacket? I had to back away from it 20 feet to fit it into the frame. So, I got through the initial four ridges of the band (28 miles in dog-years) and now I have the buttonholes to work and then another four or five ridges and then, Then! it's done. I'd better go look for some buttons at The Button Drawer.

I rather like the idea of square ones, since the jacket itself will be forming squared lines.

But I'm not sure I will be able to resist having lizard buttons:

Dear me. Decisions! Well, really. If there are lizard buttons available, is there truly any decision to be made?

Pups

Too hot for hairy pups. Little Jack says if you want a taste of religion, bite a minister.

Surely tomorrow I'll be able to show you a finished ASJ—keep the faith, knit-babies!

WhaHappened?

Della is hunting for The Weekend. Where did it go? And how did it get away so quickly?

We're on the button band of the Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Tune in tomorrow for a finished ASJ!

Cheers! And happy-not-weekend!

Itsabirditsaplane. . .

Nope! ItsaFriday, and we're taking a blogdogblog-day off. See you Monday!

Scottish Textiles: Cool Website

"The Scottish Textile Heritage Online website brings together information and images on the history and developments of Scotland’s textile industry held in archives and museums across Scotland and beyond. A pilot of the project has been running for a year, and its success has led to the launch of the permanent website.

The website carries information on embroidery, textile art works, textile machinery, tweeds and tartans, haute couture garments, trade union banners and records and industry business records. Many of these collections are relatively unknown, but can provide a wealth of information for historians, textile designers, researchers and the public. The website contains a database of more than 3000 records, including textile-related museum and archive collections and objects, as well as more than 400 images."

Read more from this story in the Evening Telegraph, or dive right into the Image Gallery (with search capabilities!).

Happy exploring, doras! And happy Thursday.

Midweek

I'm still knitting even on 260 st for the Adult Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann, and now I'm getting so close to the checkered flag that it's hard to put the project down! I'd like to finish it up all at once. However, my wrists will feel better if I continue at the current pace. Luckily, there are wonderful distractions!

Knitting Tarot T-Shirts

Yeah! The exceptionally talented Amber sent notice that a t-shirt based on the forthcoming Knitting Tarot was available to order. You can bet I jumped on that like Dyna on Apple! With Amber's generous permission, I can show you a peek here:

This is the High Priestess, with wool and needles at hand, that illustrates the front of the tee. On the back is the accompanying text plus the Knitting Tarot logo. Cool.

Watching Amber's progress through the Knitting Tarot process has been inspiring (she trusts her own creativity) and energizing (it's always electrifying to watch an artist work). The deck nears completion, and the cards that have been available for preview have been thoughtful, intelligent, and beautifully rendered. I'm happy that there's a t-shirt for the fans! Knitting Hipsters, click through here.

Wow. Sometimes I'm speechless when confronted with the creativity of women and men who shape the times of our lives through textiles. In the digital era, I'm comforted by the sight of fiber in action. As the Great Wheel turns (and Proud Mary keeps on burnin'), it's good to have a centuries-old constant.

In Other News

Four words: Colourway. Midsummer Madness Sale.

Go! Go! Go!

Pups

The pups had as great a mail day Tuesday as I did, but it's late, so we'll talk about it on Thursday. In the interim, *smooches* to some mighty sweet knitters—you know who you are! Mwah! Kiss-kiss!

Wednesday! Little Jack reminds you that Early to Bed and Early to Rise makes Mother Irritable. Have a swell knitting day!

It's Only Tuesday

We hope your Monday was productive and happy. Now let's talk about the Dale of Norway RTW collection featured in yesterday's entry. Me Wants. Katherine of WabiSabi suggested in a comment that those of us who admire the RTW designs might want to contact and encourage Dale to produce handknitting patterns for us insatiable Norgi-knitters. What a great idea! And to make it easy, if you select this link, you can not only be notified by email when Dale updates its main site, you can leave a comment, too! I suggest something along the lines of "(My Name) would like to knit the 2004-05 RTW collection. Give over." Or perhaps you can think of something equally effective in persuading the suits. Do you have deathless prose for Dale? If so, let us know!

Hee!

C'mon! Which one of you is knitting in her SUV?

"When I saw a woman knitting something green while wheeling her really big sport utility vehicle through a crowded intersection, I realized that driving to and from work is dangerous, too."

Pups

Did you notice the little black and tan speck at the top of Monday's photo of my three beautiful dachshunds? Head on over to Sister's and meet the little black and tan speck in person. Welcome Apple!

Little Jack reminds you that Dachshunds speak Louder than Words.

Cheers, and Happy Tuesday.

Vakker! Skjønn! Pen!

Eye-candy! We have new Norwegian eye-candy!

Courtesy of Ruthie's Run, we can view the new Dale of Norway ready-to-wear sweaters for the 2004-05 season. And the newest Oleana designs, as well as Icelandic Designs. Now all we have to do is cross our fingers and chant for Dalegarn, or Oleana, or Icelandic Designs to turn some of these beautiful wooly creations into handknitting patterns. PleasePleasePlease!

Pups

Our weekend flew past like a big gorgeously colored bird. We hope your weekend was swell and similarly colorful.

Happy Monday.

Cotton + Acrylic

We like it. I took a small break from the ASJ to revisit the swatch for the Lightning Lace Jacket by Jill Vosburg—you'll remember from last week that we were complaining about knitting with pure cotton, even though it was lovely cotton. There's just no give and take with pure cotton—I don't know why I hadn't realized this before, but then, I'm not sure I've ever knit with pure mercerised cotton. I recently bought some Rowan Calmer, which is 75% cotton + 25% microfibre and which feels completely luscious while knitting. But we can't afford to be profligate with our Rowan stash.

So! We've been road-testing Lion Brand's Cotton-Ease. It feels hundreds of times better than the pure cotton we were wrestling with last week. Who knew? I'm now an acrylic convert. Bless me, Wendy, for I have sinned.

Nice zig-zags, right?

I was thinking when I looked at this swatch through my camera lens that this jacket is a good candidate for knitting little creepy figures into, as in yesterday's Lacemaker photo. How cool would that be?! Looking around for knitted figures, I came across Olga Gringa's website. She's a Russian artist making some lovely things, but this is my favorite. Click the thumbnail to see a completely wonderful dolly.

Because It's Friday

And because we can't get enough color! Color Matters is one you'll want to bookmark; this website has loads of compelling and colorful information.

Color in Motion is an amusing exploration of the way colors are perceived by us humble humans (little Flash movies!). Enjoy!

Pups

The sun is out, and we're glad of it. Even though this is a short weekend for me, the pups have plenty of frolicking scheduled. Cousin Dyna is supposed to have her stitches out tomorrow, so we're all looking forward to a dachshund reunion. Until then, Mike and Jack muse on the general adorableness of themselves.

Happy Friday, and Happy Weekend to You!

Story Hour

While I'm knitting away on the ASJ, how about a story? I found a very moving one by clicking through my favorite treasure trove of textile happenings (mille grazie, Cynthia!).

From Raw Vision:

"The patient who I have come to call "The Lace Maker" was born in Virginia in 1863, the eighth child in a family of nine. Until recently, I hadn't succeeded in discovering who she was. Since this piece of lace is her sole claim to immortality it matters greatly that her real name be attached to it."

Documenting the compulsion to create, for whatever reason, is both fascinating and heart-breaking. This is the tale of a woman physician who took the lacy art of a female patient seriously enough to understand the story the patient was trying to tell.

Shobhana's Fun Link!

By popular demand! Thank you, Shobhana, for the excellent and amusing link for charting designs!

Pups

Happy Thursday! Wet your needles and make glove to the camera.