Sticks, Strings & Other Things

NH Sheep & Wool Festival 2006...and The Floods of 2006

2006-05-18T09:06:00.000-05:00

Rather than posting yet another photo of the New England Floods of 2006, I am going to share a photo of the beautiful yarns I got at the NH Sheep & Wool Festival. I'll tell my story of the Floods below.

Yarn first! The two skeins on the left are from Ward Brook Farm in Candia, NH and are hand-dyed by Ingrid. She has a wonderful eye for colors that she told me she didn't develop until she hit menopause! Now there is something to look forward to, huh? I will use them to make the fabulous Stained Glass Hat pattern I got from Green Mountain Spinnery from Putney, VT. They had about 50 of these hats in wonderful colorways displayed in their booth and I couldn't resist. They were selling kits but I chose to pick up the pattern and use yarns I already had. I'll use the colors with black and see what happens. The pretty pinky silky number in the front is a Merino/Tencel blend from Mountain View Farm in New Boston, NH. I bought a skein from Donna last year and it became Mittlets. I loved it so much I had to have another. It's amazingly soft and knits like a dream. Donna sells mostly gorgeous hand-painted rovings for your spinning pleasure and I have a couple tucked away for when I learn to spin but I consider myself lucky to have gotten there early enough to grab up this gorgeous skein of yarn! The two silk skeins to the right actually came from a member of my knitting group but I thought I'd share them at the same time. That big skein of pinks/purples/blues with a touch of oranges is appropriately called "Licorice Twist" and came from The Spinners Hill Shop of Bainbridge, NY. The entire booth smelled like licorice and it was lovely. It is an absolutely delicious 100% Merino hand-dyed yarn and I'm planning to use it to make Danica which is my learn-to-entrelac project and my prep for the Lady E stole. I also picked up a cute magnetic notepad with a sheepie from my LYS, The Elegent Ewe and had a lovely chat with Jacquelyn Fee who graciously signed my copy of her book "The Sweater Workshop" which my knitting group is using for a knit-along. We have already started our next Jackie Fee sweaters together. The sweater I'm making will have a "pit pocket" which Jackie showed to us. The sweater is for DH who thinks the pit pocket is fun. Shan's husband threatened her with never wearing a hand-knit sweater again if she put one in his. LOL!

And now...the rains. I've read a number of posts from people who were at the Festival regarding the weather and subsequent conditions at the fairgrounds. Just to put it all into perspective for the non-natives (we're "New Hampshirites" btw, NOT "New Hampsters" but we usually use "Granite Staters", it's easier >g<) For those who are under the impression that it rains every year...yes, it did rain last year. Not a measurable amount but it did drizzle all weekend. I didn't even carry an umbrella and I was at the Festival all day both days. 2003 and 2004 were both beautiful, as I recall, I know I got sunburn one of those two years. 2002 was difficult what with the backside of Hurricane Ivan trailing through, hardly anyone's fault...

This year is NOT anywhere near the norm though. I say "is" because for most of NH, it isn't over yet. Around 6:30 am Monday the state of NH broke its own record for rainfall in May and we are barely halfway through the month. There are over 600 roads damaged or washed away and closed due to the flooding. Lots of schools and businesses are still closed and entire towns are still shut down. Many, many people are displaced and homes are damaged or destroyed. A state of emergency has been declared by the Governor. The damages are listed in the tens of millions of dollars and the rivers are just starting to recede but there is more heavy rain expected over the next couple of days. There are still dams in danger. We've seen over 15 inches of rain across the state since last week.

I live less than a mile from the fairgrounds at the top of a hill in a huge New England farmhouse that was built aomewhere around 1850 +/- a year or three. We have a granite-lined, dirt-floored full basement that hasn't taken on water in over 30 years. After pumping for 4 days, we are now down to about 1/2 inch of the just over 3 feet of water we'd taken on and for 14 hours on Tuesday we were maintaining at 7 inches because the pump had caught up to the influx. We were literally at the "as fast as we pump it out, it comes back in" stage. We have had no heat or hot water for 5 days now but we are in good, no great shape compared to many others in the area. We have power, we have a fireplace and we have dry wood. Our home isn't seriously damaged just a little damp underneath. We will have to have our oil burner and possibly our hot water tank replaced, we'll know later today or tomorrow when the heating guys get to us. Our family and pets are safe. Our town schools are open again and our town businesses are still operational. We also have wonderful friends (with plenty of cold beer) who are making sure we can get hot showers. ;)

Other than all that...I thought the Festival was wonderful. I'm sorry for the vendors who didn't make the sales they should have because a lot of people didn't brave the wet. I'm sorry for the booth tenders who were cold, wet and cranky because of it. And oh lords, it *was* wet! The fairgrounds was turned into a series of lakes that made just getting around a challenge and the rain came down so hard at times it was downright scary! Sheepies and other animals had to be moved out of their barns and live with their people in vendor areas but they seemed to adjust well. There is a wonderful photo of a group of guys crossing a "lake" on the fairgrounds using a series of folding chairs and the water is almost up to the seats of the chairs! Now that's Yankee Ingenuity!

The goods offered for sale were amazing! Beautiful fibers in colors to make you drool! Fabulous textures that made even damp and cold hands itch to feel them. Patterns, books, spinning wheels and accessories, gadgets, fiber-themed pottery and paper goods, needles, sheepies, llamas, alpacas, goats and bunnies...anything and everything for the knitter, crocheter, weaver, spinner and more. It was a feast! Those who stayed away because of the weather really did miss out!

I got to meet Debbie at Purple Fleece who I've chatted with via the Knitter's Review Forums. DH is still talking about the spinning wheel made of PVC pipe that Debbie had at her booth! A sure way to a handy guy's heart is to build something unexpected out of PVC pipe! I didn't ask Debbie to help me with my spindle issues because honestly, my hands were so wet and cold and stiff from carrying the umbrella that I didn't think I'd be able to spin but I do appreciate her willingness!

The most fun for me was wandering about with my new knitters. They shopped and asked questions and had so much fun that we almost forgot about the deluge. Kim will be making socks 'til next Festival with the sock yarn she bought! Well, that is, as soon as Kim learns to make socks! Shan has sock and sweater yarn for her entire family and trumped all of us by winning THREE items from the Vendor Auction! Mandy (who I got the silk skeins from) got some gorgeous green merino/silk blend that she is going to combine with a variegated she already had for what should be a really beautiful sweater for her.

So I'm glad that those of you who came from "away" made it home safely and I hope you've all dried out by now! I'm sorry you got wet and cold and cranky. I hope you didn't get so wet and cold and cranky that you won't come back next year. Pray for no rain next year or that maybe the date for the NH S&W gets changed so it isn't planned during the May showers!

I'm back to sweeping/sucking the last of the standing water out of the basement so the heating guys don't get electrocuted and hoping we can get hot water by Saturday. I'm also praying there isn't more heavy rain this next week.

See you at the next NH Sheep & Wool Festival! (rain or not ;P)

TBC's Fair Isle Sweater

2006-05-11T07:06:00.000-05:00

This is the Fair Isle sweater I made my darling great-nephew (affectionately known as TBC) for his 1st birthday. His birthday was in February but I just got around to posting the photos so I'm showing it off now. The pattern is from the Spring '05 Interweave Knits and it's knit out of Nature Spun sport weight wool. It was a wonderful and quick knit and he looks adorable in it with his HUGE blue eyes! I did have to rip out the bind-off and redo the neck as TBC is a big-heided child and initially it wouldn't fit over his noggin but that wasn't any trouble at all. I'm thinking of making another in browns and creams...and maybe one in greens...and one in a deep red with black and white...

Better Late Than Never...

2006-05-06T08:39:00.000-05:00

My sister is a wonderfully patient woman. Last Christmas I gifted her with the Cabled Shrug from the IK Winter '05 in a beautiful deep rose color. Her office has a full wall of glass and as she is always cold, I thought this would be perfect to cozy her up at work. I gave it to her at her Christmas Open House when it was only about 1/3 finished. I showed her the picture and pattern in the magazine so she'd know what it was going to look like when completed. The look on her face was priceless! With a tone of utter horror she said, "Do I have to finish it?!" I about died laughing. She, you see, is not a knitter. When I calmed down enough to talk, I assured her that I'd finish it and tada! I finally have. I brought it to her last week and she loves it even more now. She did joke that I'd brought her an Easter present tho'. She took the shrug home to show her family and their comments were funny, too. Her oldest son told her she really looks like an old lady now and they all wanted to know where the rest of her sweater was. I told her to tell them she'd get the rest of the sweater *next* Christmas...or maybe Easter...lol! So here is a photo of the finished shrug wrapped around my sister who wouldn't want me to post the photo I took of the front view of her wearing the shrug because she has a really weird expression on her face which is a direct result of her telling me how much she hates having her picture taken while I was taking her picture. :)

Swirl, Tap, Buff, Tequila!

2006-05-03T11:07:00.000-05:00

Here is my beautiful daughter, Aurora and two of her beautiful girlfriends Alisha and Jen. I have a whole new passle of "adopted" children in Florida now, Miss Alisha and Miss Jen are only two of them!

When I was in Florida on vacation (in addition to many other adventures) these girls and I spent an afternoon together indulging our girly selves with makeup and shopping. I have been interested in the Bare Minerals makeup line since I saw an infomercial years ago. Unfortunately the stuff can't be had here in New England so I'd not had opportunity to try it out yet. My daughter found a Bare Escentuals boutique at the Florida Mall and since Miss Jen has been a dedicated Bare Minerals wearer for years and swears by the stuff (just look at that face and you'll know why!) off we went to be swirled and buffed en masse. At the risk of sounding like an advertisment myself, this stuff is fantastic! What fun it was to have my face "done" by someone other than myself, too. I would only recommend to the store in the Mall that they lower their Starter Kit price to match the price at the make up store across the way (Sephora) where we all tripped over to buy ours. A $15.00 dollar savings per kit is substantial and the actual Bare Escentuals boutique lost 4 sales because of it that day alone. A week or so later my girls took the rest of their crowd for swirling and buffing and again, everyone went to Sephora to purchase.

After our makeup and shopping needs were met, on our way out of the Mall we passed by a lovely tequila bar (imagine 180 different kinds of tequila to choose from!) and Miss Alisha allowed as how we should all do a shot of tequila to celebrate our mutual swirling and buffing. I said it would be my treat and shepherded my pretty flock into the bar. No one has ever had to ask me twice if I'd like to do a shot of tequila. ;) The charming bartender asked if we would like a table and I told him that would be fine but we wouldn't need it for more than a couple of minutes so he invited us to join him at the bar instead. After a brief discussion, I ordered a round of Jose Cuervo Gold with lime and salt and passed the girls their shots. The gentlemen sitting at the bar were enchanted with my girls and most impressed when, after a brief tutorial regarding the salt and lime, the shots were tossed back like we'd been doing it for years. Well, ok...some of us have been, so? ;P However, when Miss Jen turned to me and said "Thanks, Mom! That was my first shot of tequila ever!" and Miss Alisha chimed in with "Me, too! Thanks, Mom!" you could have knocked me over with a nacho chip! As it turned out the only one of us who had any previous experience with shots of Jose was, well...me! After curtsying to the round of enthusiastic applause from the bartender and the gentlemen sitting at the bar (and a wink for the Aussie tourist who was very amused by us all), we swanned our bad selves out of the Mall and went off to meet "the boys" who were amazed that their girls had been doing tequila shots with "Aurora's Mom". So I guess I'm a bad influence but we are swirled and buffed and we all look great, so it's all good!

Chicks With Sticks On Display

2006-05-01T10:53:00.000-05:00

Aren't we impressive as a group? For the month of April the Hopkinton Public Library knitting group "Chicks With Sticks" was given the display case at the library to show off our work. We received many, many compliments and have even enticed some new knitters to join us. You should know that a good many of our knitters have been knitting for just over a year and are already turning out beautiful sweaters, bags and baby items! The library featured us on their home page and allowed us to also display the library's knitting book collection as an added incentive.

Chicks With Sticks meets at the Hopkinton Public Library every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm and we welcome all knitters and potential knitters to join us. All genders, ages and levels of ability are welcome and knitting lessons are free!

Thanks to everyone who allowed us to display their knitting and thanks to all who stopped by to let us know how lovely it all looked. We look forward to another display in the future.

Perhaps after we have all knitted up the purchases we are anticipating making at the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival...hhhmmmmm?

Do check out the link...

http://www.yankeeshepherd.com/

"Even at 48...Peer Pressure is Hell, Mom"

2006-03-29T12:57:00.000-05:00

So sayeth my daughter. After spending 8 glorious days keeping up with her and her group of 20-somethings, I agree! If I'd been in Florida for one more day I'd have needed far more recuperation time than a long weekend at Foxwoods with my DH! I will post at far more length later on when my left-behind camera arrives and I have pics to share but for now, I leave you with these bits...

Florida...Earth, Wind & Fire is just as good now as they were 32 years ago when I saw them last. My DD's friends got a huge kick out of the fact that the last time I'd seen E, W & F in concert, none of them had even been born!
Foxwoods...9 1/2 hours of $2/$4 Texas Hold 'em poker over a two day period and I not only came home with every penny I'd brought to gamble with, I took the casino for a whopping $4.00. Uh huh, they be skeered of me now. >g<

All in all, it was a wonderful two weeks of vacation fun and I thank everyone who had a hand in it. More later...

1st Annual Chicks With Sticks Knitting Swap & Sell

2006-03-13T11:08:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when you get a group of knitters, new and old who have too much knitting stuff they aren't using and you convince them to swap and sell their stuff to one another. The beautiful hand-crafted beaded stitch markers are made by a friend of mine who is a jeweler and she came along to add to the merriment. This was the first "outside" event for the knitting group we started as a month long library project a year ago and we are already looking forward to more. One of our members opened her lovely home to us, we all brought treats to share (ever had pickled watermelon rind wrapped in bacon? me either but WOW! what a flavor!) and shopped like it was our job. Everyone donated some knitting "thing" and we made up bags of knitting goodies for door prizes, too. All in all, it was fun, relaxing and profiable! If you are a member of a knitting group I highly recommend you consider this as a way to destash, pick up some great new-to-you knitting goodies and get to know your fellow knitsters outside of your usual venue.

Well...I'm off to lunch with Shan and then to finish packing for Florida! See you when I get back! I'll have lots to share about Florida, Mardi Gras at Universal Studios and the Orlando Magic basketball team!!

March is "I'm A Lucky Mom" Month!

2006-03-09T08:27:00.000-05:00

This is the view off the top of Gunstock Mountain looking across the Lakes Region. Isn't it beautiful? Yesterday I went with my youngest son's middle school for their annual Winter Carnival Day. It was a gorgeous late winter day in New Hampshire with a warm, bright sun and temps hovering around 50 degrees. It was slightly breezy which the skiiers and 'boarders assured us was good because it was "hot" on the slopes.

I gave up hurling myself down a mountain on skinny sticks years ago so I enjoyed my day basking in the sunshine streaming through the huge windows of the Base Lodge watching the kids hurling themselves down the mountain on a variety of skiis, snowboards and tubes while knitting a pair of Mittlets for my friend's son Gerry. I had wonderful knitting company, too! A friend from knitting group is a teacher at the middle school and she worked on a sleeve for a sweater for her husband and another teacher who is a new knitter worked hard on an Elizabeth Zimmerman baby jacket, her first actual project. We assured her that she was looking mighty impressive with her three balls of yarn while she was shaping the shoulders, front and back of the jacket.

Shortly after we arrived with our busloads of eager kids, my eldest son and his best friend showed up to say hi. They had decided to spend their day off from work (at another ski mountain) snowboarding there at Gunstock just in case I needed them for anything. How sweet is that? Now, I assure you, my son didn't actually SAY he was there in case I needed him for anything but when the middle school trip day was changed at the last minute, his plans to spend a day at the same mountain changed, too. Coincidence? I think not. >g<>

Next week...I'm off to Florida to bask in the sunshine and spend 8 fabulous days with my DD. She has gotten us onto a Mardi Gras float at Universal Studios to throw beads in their weekly Saturday night Mardi Gras celebration which runs through the end of April. I understand from the website that Universal Studios Orlando has rented authentic Mardi Gras floats from the city of New Orleans and is helping to raise money for the Katrina rebuilding. I'm beyond excited! DD has also scored (free!) tickets to the Orlando Magic game against the Utah Jazz and has arranged some ice AND roller skating for us while I'm there. It will be a week chockful of fun and I'm so looking forward to seeing her! We're going to hit a couple of LYS I found online so we can pick up some yarn for me to knit more socks for her, too.

When I return from Florida, DH is whisking me away for our long-awaited Weekend of Fun at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut! We are going with friends and have fat plans for a spa day, lots of lolling at the pool with tropical drinks in hand, poker tournaments and fancy dinners.

Am I not the luckiest mom you know today? *I* think I am!

My Knitting Olympics Gold Medal!

2006-03-02T08:01:00.000-05:00

Isn't it beautiful? It's not as heavy as the Games medal and thankfully it doesn't have a hole in the center so it doesn't remind one of a CD or DVD disc! LOL! I will be printing and laminating it so it can take up permanent residence in my knitting basket.

DH and DS are very proud of their socks and of me. I'm proud of myself, too. I learned a lot about my skills and about how much I hate knitting under a deadline. I also learned that I can tweak a pattern to make it right without having to write it from scratch. That saved much time and probably contributed to my initial quick finish and the addition of the second pair of socks. I learned why I always have multiple projects on needles at once. I apparently have the attention span of a gnat and get bored rather quickly. Imagine that? >g<

I made some new friends and I will be adding some links to blogs that I've been reading regularly to share with you. I'm very tired of ginormous man-sized socks right now! Oddly enough, because I needed a take-along knitting project in between the two Aran pieces I have to finish I have yet another pair of socks on the needles. They are the Simply Lovely Lace Socks from the IK Spring 2006 issue and I'm doing them in KnitPicks Sock Memories colorway Hawaii. It's a very pretty and easy pattern and they should work up fairly quickly. Not sure who they are for yet so stay tuned for that. Maybe my MIL as she and my FIL are headed for Hawaii to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next month...

Well, I'm off to frantically throw some more paint at the bathroom before Shan picks me up for much needed shopping and lunch out. I'm *almost* done and the happy vacationeers are due back this afternoon. Oh! We have two residents in the new fish tank I labored over for my FIL's b'day gift surprise. They are as yet nameless so stay tuned for Tales From The Wildside when I will share pics of our Finny & Furry Family members!

>glugglug<

Closing Ceremonies meet Bathroom Renovations

2006-02-28T13:36:00.000-05:00

I apologize for being late with my promised report from the Olympic Closing Ceremonies. I have been distracted with trying desperately to finish the bathroom renovation before my in-laws get back from their winter vacation to the Cape. Mind you, this renovation began back in July when they were on their summer vacation. Our BIL came up and spent the better part of a week with us gutting the bathroom and helping to install all new fixtures and a new floor. We took out the ancient 9000 pound cast iron tub (it is now living happily as a horse waterer across town, much to my delight) and installed a beautiful HUGE shower-for-two. Since Dad's stroke it is increasingly more and more difficult for him to be climbing in and out of a tub and since we are all shower and not bath people we all agreed that a big fat shower-for-two was the way to go.

We took down a wall, built a new wall, installed new fixtures, laid a new floor from the sub-sub-floor up, forgot about insulating the new shower piping and drain system (which has led to its own set of challenges that we will have to address in a more permanent manner come spring), sanded, washed and prepped for painting, stripped down the door which had at least 14 coats of paint, got one coat of paint up on most of the walls...and the folks came home. Three days before we expected them which promptly put a halt to the work in progress. Why, you ask? Suffice it to say that trying to accomplish home renovations when my FIL is at home is sort of like trying to take a shower alone when you have a toddler in the house. Impossible because the toddler wants to be glued to your hip AND wants a shower themselves whether they are capable of taking one or not. :) Living with a stroke survivor is a challenge much as living with a toddler is a challenge. You love them BUT...

So at this point I've been painting and painting and painting. DH has been drilling for molly bolts to hang the towel rings, TP holder and paper towel holder. He also painted the ceiling cuz he's the tall one. We're almost done.

Enough about my bathroom...on to the Olympics!

Closing Ceremonies are traditionally much more laid back and far less serious than the Opening Ceremonies. Or so they said during the broadcast. Yes, I can see how serious giant Moon and Sun balloons are to say nothing about the somber Sparks of Passion flame-headed skating dudes and the Ferrari spinning donuts. LMAO All in all, the Closing Ceremonies were very nice. The Italian cross-country skiier receiving another Gold medal from his sister was a lovely touch for Italy who was granted one more opportunity to belt out their national anthem en masse. I was knitting frantically through the ceremonies trying to finish DH's socks but I did take a moment or two to jot down a few notes in anticipation of this report so follow along...

Italy chose to end the Olympics with a nod to Carnivale. Now, you may have noticed that I'm a devotee of New Orleans and I adore celebrating Mardi Gras in the Cresent City but when the Ceremonies began with a herd of CLOWNS...I was less than thrilled. I'm not a fan of clowns. :/ I find them creepy at best.

The music was an improvement over the Opening Ceremonies. Happy Italian music vs. bad American Disco music. Easy choice.

The USA baseball caps weren't nearly as "Oh! I want one!" as the USA berets.

Lovely to see Emily Hughes with her teammates. How much fun was that for her? Hopefully, she will have an injury-free four years because I think she's capable of even greater things in Vancouver. For a kid who was called up at the last minute she was mighty impressive in Italy! Oh, and I hope Sasha Cohen heard about how that silly Flying Tomato snowboard kid was trying to impress her with his Gold medal. It was cute.

Speaking of Vancouver...how much do you think the Canadian teammates were being offered for those Vancouver 2010 scarves?? Very cool! And didn't you just LOVE the Mayor of Vancouver waving the flag?! I cried and I'm not ashamed. Almost makes one wish to be Canadian for that one day, eh? The most decorated athlete at the Games was not only a Canadian but a woman, too. How proud are they?

But then it was "Canadian Carnivale" and Avril Lavigne. What, Celine wouldn't come? Alex Trebeck was busy? Michael J. Fox couldn't travel? Good grief, what were they thinking?

I'm impressed with Joey Cheek's charitable donations and less than impressed with Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis' immature antics.

The USA men's hockey team are whiners and maybe playing professionals should be reconsidered in four years. We might have done better with amateurs and they would have been happy for the experience.

The Ice Dancing Soap Opera involving the married Italian couple who came out of retirement for the Olympics in their home country was incredible! You can't make up stuff like that! I meant to write about it but my Knitting Olympics knitting kept me from doing so. All I'll say now is this...if you missed it, it's too bad. As many stories as the Olympics generates, this was the best of this Games.

I've become a dedicated armchair curler. I've never even seen it live but I'm so convinced that given the chance I'd be good at it! Put me in, coach...I'm ready to play! lol

I will miss my favorite Olympic commercial. "Oh, no! It's Apolo! What do the other teams say? Oh, no! It's Apolo! ::handclappystuff::" It cracked me up from the first time I saw it to the last time I saw it.

And then there is Bode. I still love him and my DD still wants to kiss him. It's amusing that the media can't seem to swallow the concept that this man lives his own life and answers to himself. They created an enormous hype around him and when he didn't perform to their expectations they attempted to crucify him. When he didn't care what they were saying it made them even more angry. I read an article in the Boston Herald yesterday by some woman who's name wasn't important enough to remember who slammed him for not caring that he didn't win medals. Bode has different goals and according to him, he met his own goals and was very happy with his Olympic experience. Would it have been "better" if he'd won medals? Maybe, maybe not. It isn't about winning and losing...it's about experiencing, finding the lessons for you and coming away being satisfied with yourself. It's about being part of something that's bigger than you are. Participation is important. If it was only about winning medals all those dozens of athletes who haven't a prayer of winning wouldn't even bother to show up and then where would the Olympics be? Come on home to NH, Bode. We still love you!

So now the 2006 Winter Games are over. I loved every minute of them. Yes, even the mostly boring to watch cross country skiing! I can hardly wait for the Summer Games in 2008!

Today is Mardi Gras. I'd like to close by wishing everyone a wonderful Fat Tuesday and...

laissez le bon ton roulez!

On The Podium...Part Duh!

2006-02-26T22:29:00.000-05:00

10:22 pm February 26, 2006.

They are done. They fit. DH loves them.

(Aren't his snowmen jammies cute? He's mostly asleep but let me take a pic anyway. If he'd been awake it might have been a tougher sell.)

I am worn out with grown-up sized socks and I vow not to knit even ONE stitch on ANYthing all day tomorrow!

:)

Stay tuned tomorrow for my report from The Closing Ceremonies!

Darling, What Big Feets You Have!

2006-02-22T15:31:00.000-05:00

As of this very minute...3:45 pm 2-22-06...this is where I am on the 2nd pair of Knitting Olympics socks. I don't know if I've said so yet but this is absolutely delicious yarn to knit with! Trekking (XXL)...get yourself some. Very soft and smooth, the colors are gorgeous and quite to my surprise as it's a superwash, I expected not to have as nice a hand as handwash wool gives but there is no stiffness at all. I'm liking it and I'll absolutely use it again. Which is a good thing because I have another skein in my stash.

I was asked at knitting group last night why I do my ribbing all the way to the heel. Or FROM the heel, in this toe-up case. I think the socks fit better that way. I don't like a baggy leg on a sock. Since these are for my DH I asked him what his preference was and he gave me a favorite sock which was ribbed from the heel to the top so that's what I did here. It's amazing how LARGE a guy's foot becomes when you are knitting him socks one stitch at a time on teeny toothpick needles with finely spun yarn! DH is a big guy and all but it isn't like he's wearing Shaquille O'Neil-sized shoes! According to the shoe guy at Finish Line (blatant plug cuz I'm pleased with them this week) DH's shoe size is at the top end of average which is why it's always an adventure to try and find sneakers for him. His size is usually sold out because so many people wear it. According to me, the woman who loves him enough to knit him socks, his foot is HUGE! >g<

Stay tuned for more reports from the Olympic Venue but for now...back to knitting! ;)

Power Outages and a Pathetic Sunday

2006-02-20T10:51:00.000-05:00

May I present to you...the 2nd pair of socks. I'm knitting these for my DH. I (too easily) made my Knitting Olympics goal so I increased the difficulty in the hope of impressing the judges, joined the 2 Pairs of Socks Dash and I'm knitting away to get this pair finished by the end of Closing Ceremonies. The first sock can be seen on the needles. I'm still knitting toe-up as that was the challenge initially but I did change the cast-on. I started Friday the 17th about mid-day and took yesterday off completely and laid about looking pathetic and feeling very sorry for myself as I have a head cold. I didn't get a chance to blog before now because of the power outages on Friday and Saturday and all the pathos on Sunday. My poor 'puter tweaked and I've lost everything again, too. You may have noticed there are some >koff< "challenges" with my Olympic buttons and my photo but I hope to have those adjusted by this evening. Are you feeling sorry for me yet?

I've been faithfully watching the Olympic coverage on TV. Where else do you get to see things like biathalon and curling except during the Olympics? I don't know how we survive without it! I don't know about you but as many skiiers and 'boarders as I see around here, no one has ever skiied into *my* back yard, thrown themselves to the ground, shot at a target and then skiied off again. Well, there was that one time...but the guy swore he thought the '57 pick-up was an enemy tank in camo and we all know that he doesn't need his meds anymore since the "cure" and all...heehee

Have you noticed that virtually all of the biatheletes are in the military? I don't think that's a coincidence. We don't see much biatheletic competition on the high school level anymore. My DD tells me that curling is all the rage this year in Florida. Go figure. Now I have to take a broom on vacation! It's a mad plot, I tell you.

Poor Bode has had a rough go on the slopes (and reportedly, off the slopes) but he still has opportunity to medal so I haven't lost all hope yet. I think it's nothing short of miraculous that he didn't rip his leg off when he caught that edge and went off course during the Super G (I think it was the Super G). C'mon Bode! We're still loving you here in NH!

Last night, the poor ice dancers couldn't seem to keep their feets (or their partner's feets!) underneath them! Maybe they were distracted by the juxtaposition of their neon costumes against the weirdly-colored-if-you're-wearing-neon rink wall. Rumor has it that the French judge walked out in disgust and the Olympic Committee is bringing in the Magic Fridge commercial guys who will be scoring high for creativity in the Ice Sprawling segment.

Speaking of ice skating costumes... on the first night of competition most of the ice dancing women looked like Vegas brides gone bad. Last night they just looked mostly naked except for the stragically placed neon Post-It notes and fringe which I would think could be a bit distracting. Imagine those Post-It notes floating about in the arena because they have come loose! The guys either look like companion neon Post-It notes or terribly faux Vegas waiters gone bad. I suppose they are aiming for "edgy" and "modern" and maybe even "we're in Italy so we're going to push the fashion envelope" but IMHO that envelope should be resealed, put in a wine bottle (Bode has some empty ones, I'm sure) and buried in a "where we went wrong" capsule under the entrance to the Olympic Village.

Johnny "The Swan Guy" Weir's costume was gorgeous. It's just too bad his performance hasn't lived up to his costume. If anyone spots his missing aura, please return it to the Olympic Village so he can skate the way he thinks he should. I think it's out shopping for another body to inhabit. Maybe Bode can use an extra aura...

Watching Cross Country skiiing is boring. I don't care what the back-stories are, it's like watching golf and that's none too exciting. Although seeing the sister of one of the relay/team/pursuit/whatever-they-are-called 4x10 guys present him with the Gold medal was quite nice.

I like the arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner they are playing at the medals ceremonies. I'm hoping to hear more of it.

I still LOVE the snowboarding events! I took a break from the Olympics yesterday to watch the Daytona 500 (well, ok...NBC stopped Olympic coverage so they could broadcast the race and I was too pathetic to change the channel) and there were those adorable Gold and Silver winning snowboarding girls Hannah and Gretchen riding with Wally and starting the race! How much fun are they having? My DH is quite worried that they won't be able to get back to Italy and participate in the Closing Ceremonies so if anyone knows what's going on with that, please let me know!

And how was your day...?

On The Podium!

2006-02-16T21:14:00.000-05:00

9:06 pm Thursday Feb. 16, 2006.

They are finished. They fit. DS loves them.

The k2p1 Crawl For The Gold Continues...

2006-02-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

YAY! I've finished a sock and I'm well into the second one. It fits, too! I had a minor change in competition timing Monday afternoon when DH kidnapped me for an early Valentine's Day frolic. We both had other obligations Tuesday so we had gifts, shopping and way too much seafood dinner and I left off the knitting for the rest of Monday.

Tuesday brought about a change in equipment. My darling Gracie saw fit to chew off the end of one of my size 1 DPNs when I wasn't looking which led to a mad scramble in front of the Knitting Olympic Committee to have the change in equipment approved. I had to switch from the short needles program to the long needles program and the change was approved in a matter of minutes. I think the members of the Committee have cats. Tuesday also saw the finish of the first "leg" of the Sock Pair Event while I was at knitting group. Shan and I hummed the Olympic Theme and I started the second sock. And ripped it out. Started the second sock again. And ripped it out. Started it a third time, got it right and was off into toe increases. Or so I thought...

Wednesday morning I woke up, picked up the sock, confirmed my suspicion that I'd done the toe increases wrong and ripped it out again. The good news is that by 8:00 am I was back on my game and by 9:00 pm last night when I surrendered to the lure of a warm bed and an early sleep I had finished the toe increases, the foot and had the heel turned. Once the back of the heel is complete it's the Home Rib to the finish bind off!

That's all for now...I'm off to conduct a tour of the LYS, do some mad bargain hunting and have lunch with friends. My knitting is packed in its basket and I'm aiming for LOTS of knitting time today!

Winter Things That Begin With "S", Oh, no! It's Apolo! and Bode Miller

2006-02-13T09:06:00.000-05:00

The USA Olympic Team has taken a hard blow with the withdrawal of figure skater Michelle Kwan. After everything she went thru to convince the committee she could perform at the appropriate Olympic level she apparently has decided she can't after all and is going home. The silver lining for us spectators is we won't have to *watch* her fall on her butt. Oh, come on, you *know* she would have, the poor kid. Emily Hughes will be in Torino to take her place on the team as soon as her dad shovels out their driveway and they re-open the nearest airport to fly her to Italy.

Some Knitting Olympic competitors have also suffered set-backs and there have been a few reported trips to the frog pond but like the true creative types they are, they've worked thru their personal barriers, made appropriate changes to their equipment and training regimen and are forging on with true Olympic spirit! Be proud of them, they've earned it. Check out the Team Socks and Team NH blogs for details and for photos of the beautiful work being produced with the incentive generated by both the Knitting Olympics and the Winter Games. I guarantee you'll be impressed and maybe even inspired.

Updates on my own progress are all good. I am proud to report that I'm well ahead of schedule on the first sock. As you can see, I've finished the foot and I'm ribbing up the leg now. I did have a bit of a glitch turning the heel but I only had to take out a row or two to find the error (dropped a stitch which led to a miscount) and I was back on track with no penalty. I expect I'll not only finish this pair but (dare I say it?) I'm considering upping the ante to a second pair designated for DH. Finishing one pair even if they are Godzirra-size AND toe-up just isn't turning out to be the challenge I'd envisioned and to stay true to the event I think I have to commit to TWO pair. What do you think? Is it too late to enter for a second pair? Surely the Speed Knitting Team could use another member, yes?

I blame my Sunday speed-knitting on Mother Nature, Bode Miller and the Flying Tomato! We were a little snowbound here yesterday but only ended up with a few inches out of the Storm That Closed The East Coast. DH took me downstreet for breakfast at the local Diner where I bored, ummm,no...ENLIGHTENED everyone about the Knitting Olympics (they were fascinated and amused but assured me of their support). After picking up a few groceries "just in case" we headed home. Other than that brief foray out into the storm, I spent the day glued to the TV and knitting.

After an afternoon filled with watching the fantastic USA Women's Hockey Team throw their second shut-out gauntlet down in front of the rest of the Women's Hockey teams, I watched American's Shaun White and Danny Kass garner Gold and Silver respectively in the Snowboarding Halfpipe event. Now, it used to be that the Downhill Skiing was the most exciting thing to watch at the Winter Games for sheer edge-of-your-seat action but in the last few years it's the Snowboarding Halfpipe that does it for me. Those kids are amazing and I found myself knitting furiously as they spun and twisted and jumped seemingly impossible heights above the gnarly 'pipe against the azure blue Italian skies. Go Team USA! Shout out to Japan for their plaid 'boarding pants! Loved 'em!

Speedskater Chad Hedrick will be carrying a Gold medal home after winning in the 5000 Meter Speedskating event altho' his quest for 5 Gold medals may be in jeopardy after the withdrawal of Shani Davis from the team pursuit event. The USA medal count stands at 2 Gold and 1 Silver and plenty more to be had over the next 12 days. Poor Apolo Anton Ohno put a finger down wrong on the ice skate of a competitor and put himself right out of contention in the 1500 Shorttrack Speedskating but he has other opportunities AND IMHO the best Olympics inspired commercial. I just love the guys who do the hand-slappy cheerleading "Oh, no! It's Apolo!" commercial! Cracks me up everytime!

And then there is Bode. What can you say that hasn't already been said about this perfectly adorable and incredibly talented native NH ski bum? In my world, Bode is the epitome of the NH state motto "Live Free Or Die". He answers to no one and nothing but himself and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. Love him or hate him (I'm on the "love" team) he is always refreshing and candid and gives his all and part of someone else's that he borrowed to his sport. He placed an unfortunate 5th yesterday but that's ok, he'll be back. Allow me to mention that he put in an incredible performance on a NEW pair of skis he'd NEVER raced with before. His teammate, who shall remain nameless ;P, changed from *his* new skis at the very last minute and gave a less than impressive run considering he was the American "favorite" going in. Love you, Bode! NH is rooting for you straight, wasted, sober or hung-over, you da bestest, dude! Oh, and my DD wants to kiss you.

Let The Games Begin...Finally!

2006-02-11T08:33:00.000-05:00

After watching the clock all day, I cast on RIGHT at 2:00 pm and got straight to work. And RIGHT at 2:30 pm, DH burst into the house and said,"Come on! We have to go to the bank! We got our tax refund check!" >sigh< It isn't that I don't want the money, really, it isn't but I was on a roll here, people! I was in the groove, on my mark, at the peak of my game...well, you get the picture. So I took a 30 minute break, feeling rather wimpy for breaking a mere 30 minutes into my event, and we headed off to the bank to do the income tax refund thang and because it was on the way, to the library to pick up the new KnitGrrl book I had reserved. More on the book later...

I have to say that I was VERY disappointed that I couldn't actually watch the Opening Ceremonies at 2:00 pm. You'd think with 900 channels on the TV here that SOMEone would have set up a channel for AllTheOlympicsAllTheTime but no. I have to knit along Olympicless and wait until 8:00 pm when the network coverage was aired. By the time the show started I was well into my sock, my M&Ms and my Killian's. "Drink First...Then Knit!" I could have blamed the Killian's but there were other people watching with me who weren't drinking and they were seeing the same weirdness I was so I know it wasn't the beer. I realize that the Italians are known for being cutting-edge in an aesthetics/fashion/we're molto-modern sort of way but all I can say is what were they thinking?! It's hard to describe without a lot of very Italianate gesturing and arm waving (to say nothing of the looooong breaks while I laugh my head off and wipe the tears) so I'll just put a couple of thoughts down here:

Sparks of Passion segueing into Ice. Can't view this as a positive omen.
The waltzing teenagers in the spotted dresses/tuxedoes were strange enough but when they added the giant rolling cow statues AND the "moo-ing" over the classical music...I put away the Killian's because frankly, I wasn't sure anymore.
Did Laura Bush do the wave with the rest of the spectators and why didn't the "dignitaries" have to don white capes like the spectators immediately around the arena floor?
The Sun and Moon-faced balloons were beautiful. The meaning escaped me but they were very artistic. Might make good tattoos.
The Dove of Peace was pretty but until that moment they just looked liked so many white spiders crawling about on a giant web. >shudder<>
Alps as a fashion choice. LMAO! What woman on earth wants her hips likened to gigantic mountains??
A Ferrarri doing donuts. Oh yes, molto Olympicia! OK, next time the Olympics are held in the USA...I say we combine the Daytona 500 and the Opening Ceremonies! If the Italians can do it, so can we! The athletes can all ride in in NASCAR race cars and line up in the pits. "Gimme a Budweiser, Bubba...there's the checkered flag and the figure skating gold medalist is gonna climb the fence now!!"
Did they use bootblack on Luciano's hair, beard and (only half of) his eyebrows?? For such a >koff< "fashion concious" people, that was one baaaad dye job.
Yoko Ono??? Umm, 'nuff said.

Even Bob Costas was confused, bless his heart. There was a significant amount of "no talking" air time and I'm sure they were all practicing the "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" rule. That or they had the mics turned off so they could laugh *their* heads off and wipe the tears.

The best part, as always, was the March Of The Athletes. I wept at the visions of the countries with only one or two or three athletes. I just love that kind of dedication. There's a tall, beautiful dreadlocked man from the Bahamas. A cross-country skier, of all things! The only athlete his country sends to the Winter Games proudly marching in behind his very own Alp-fashioned GirlWithSign waving the Bahamian flag like it's his job. Now *that* shows Sparks of Passion! I'm rooting for him! Apparently he attended UNH right here in NH as a cross-country scholarship student! Yup, I'm hoping for a medal for the Bahamas!

As for my own event in the Knitting Olympics...I feel as if I am right on track. The start for the toe-up sock event was smooth altho' for the next sock I'm going to try to tighten up the stitches just a bit on the first couple of rows. I have completed the increases thru the toe and I'm knitting thru the foot now. I know it looks kind of funny in the pic but it looks much better *on* the foot. The yarn is knitting very smoothly and I'd knit with it again. DS likes the way the stripes are working up. I tried the toe bit on his Godzirra-foot and it fits like it were made for him! Wait! It *is* made for him! Funny how that works. >wink<>waving and snapping photos of my team like a good Olympian<

Stay tuned for more updates from the Olympic Village. I'm going to hang out at the Olympic Village shopping center today *with* my knitting, of course! Why, you ask? Because I need more yarn, natch!

Reporting From The Knitting Olympics Village

2006-02-09T15:55:00.000-05:00

Jo here reporting from the Knitting Olympics Village aka the WorldWideWeb. I'm with the Team USA Sock Knitters, representing Team NH. It's about >checkingclock< 22 hours from Opening Ceremonies and the training has reached the "intense" stage. Knitters all over the world are sanding wooden needles, delegating household chores and stocking up on quick-to-fix meals for their families. Yarn has been chosen, patterns are copied in triplicate (just in case), knitting bags, baskets and bowls are filled and ready to serve. Swatching is complete (mostly) and beverages of choice are warming/cooling/breathing or being consumed NOW in the hopes of allieviating tension! There is plenty of chocolate here in the Village but I heard there could be a run on M&Ms by the end of the week so get yours now if you haven't already!

As for my own training, I have burned the first choice sock pattern and I'm now onto writing my own as I knit. :D Doesn't *that* sound like fun? I have swatched and I'm all set to cast on at 2:00 pm tomorrow. I can hardly wait! I have copies of suggested cast-ons and heel options sitting in a file at the bottom of my computer screen should I need to quick-reference them and I have traced both of DS's Godzirra-feet onto card stock with all pertinent measurements written in. The middle school suggested that maybe I find another alternative to busting into class glassy-eyed and frantic to fit half-knitted socks smack in the middle of the day. Apparently they thought I might frighten some of the other children or disrupt something trivial like a test or something. It's the Olympics here! This is serious too, y'know! I want to know WHO gave them my blog addy so they knew my plan and why they think I'll be a frantic, swearing mess by the deadline? Hhhmmm? C'mon, fess up!

There is good news in the Olympic Village! After hunting high and low all over this huge place...I have found Team NH!! There are a whopping, umm, 5 of us but that's ok. We are a small state and it's all relative. We plan to win BIG! There is supposed to be an article about Team NH and the Knitting Olympics in this weekend's Concord edition of the Hippo. Are we cool or what? We're even getting press! And our button rocks! Check it out over there in the sidebar. Many thanks to KatWithaK for handling the Team NH blog. That's our dearly missed Old Man of The Mountain proudly sporting his knit cap on our button. No, Team Maine...it's NOT a Band-Aid! Sheesh, some people's kids! Real men wear pink! ;P He fell and he can't get up but we still love him and everything he used to stand for.

Team Socks keeps growing and growing. There is a link over there for that blog, too. Trekcelt is the Captain of the team and kudos to her for a fantastic blog! We now have close to (if not more than) 40 members. There will be a whole lot of warm feet when this Olympics is over. Watch out for us...we have DPNs and we know how to use 'em! I'm tempted to poke Maine for that Band-Aid remark but I'm into Live Free or Die Trying right now so I'll let it "slide". >groan<>

Well, I have knitting group tonight so I have to get ready for that. I hope all my ladies are going to cheer me on in the Knitting Olympics. I'll be posting every day or so with brief updates because I don't want to use my knitting time for blogging. I'm going to pace myself and when I need to break I can check in here and see how my teammates are coming along.

Good luck to all...see you at the Games!!

M&Ms, Olympic Training and Petty Annoyances

2006-02-06T16:34:00.000-05:00

My DH asked if he'd have to get in some oxygen for my training sessions for the Knitting Olympics. He's a funny, funny guy. All the training aids I need are in the pretty bowl in the photo. I am not a member of Team Chocolate by accident. I love M&Ms. You'll probably notice that there are no brown M&Ms left in my bowl. This is not a subliminal indication of prejudice in any way. It's only cuz, well, see, I like to eat my Ms one color at a time and this time the first color is brown. Now, I want you to know that I'm not anal about my Ms and I'm happy to share them. So if you walk by my bowl and idly grab a handful I don't mind what colors you have grabbed but *I* like to eat them one color at a time. I like to see the relationship the colors have to one another which changes when you randomly remove a color. It amuses me, so? ;P

Last night I decided to use the Superbowl time to train for the Knitting Olympics. After reading the pattern eleventynine times I realized that without materials in my hands I plain didn't GET it. So I got out some waste yarn and the needles and tried to make some sense of it. This entire concept is new to me. Two socks, two circular needles, two balls of yarn, knit at the same time, together, both socks on both needles. Confused? Imagine how I feel. See, I LOVE my DPNs. My favorite pair of needles in the entire needle collection is a set of bamboo DPNs, size 2.5, about 5 inches long. I use them for all kinds of things and if you were to tell me I could only keep one set of needles, they would be the ones, hands down, no argument. But the object of the Olympics is to challenge my skills, right? To make a rather longish story shortish, here is how the training session went:

1. Juggle 2 needles and 2 balls of yarn. Read pattern. Twice.

2. Cast on for 2 socks with 2 balls of yarn on 2 needles while juggling aforementioned objects AND reading pattern.

3. Read pattern again (and again to be sure) and realize that it's written wrong and you can't possibly "turn" your work now to knit so skip that step.

4. While continuing to juggle 2 needles and 2 balls of yarn, knit across cast on row of 1st sock. Realize that working yarn for 2nd sock is trapped somewhere below and can't come up between the two socks on the double needles and how in the good lord's name are you supposed to knit like that?!

5. Reread pattern while juggling 2 needles and 2 balls of yarn to see if pattern explains a solution for this dilemma and when it doesn't...

6. Rip out the 2 needles, roll the yarn back onto 2 balls and throw the pattern across the room.

7. Eat M&Ms.

Repeat steps 1 through 7 until you feel like stabbing pattern repeatedly with both needles in frustration. Remind self of skill level and years of experience and get out second Cafe du Monde fancyschmancy glove to knit instead while cheering for Seattle. Not that I'm really a Seattle fan but someone in this house had to root for them. Maybe daylight and a quieter house will be helpful so swear to self that you'll try again in the morning. After all, if it were easy, it wouldn't be the Olympics, right?

So today, after DH and No. 1 DS had gone to work, No. 2 DS had gone to school and the DInLaws were off to pool therapy, I tried again. I'm happy to report that I made better progress. I think I have the start figured out altho' the mystery of the working yarn in the middle is still perplexing. Each row I stranded off enough yarn to work the few stitches that are there and we'll see how that works out. Reagrdless of what the instructions say I'm going to try keeping the working yarn *above* the needles and see if that works at my next training session. The increases were no trouble until I read this helpful little instructional tip: "Continue working 1 knit round and 1 increase round until the toe section fits snugly around your toes. You will be trying the sock on frequently as you knit." WONderful! Except I'm not making the socks to fit MY feet! Now, No. 2 DS is an easygoing sort and while I think I can probably sneak his dear foot out of the blankets in the middle of the night without disturbing him at all should it be necessary, I doubt the middle school will approve of me popping in two or three or twelve times a day to fit his half knitted socks during class, Olympics or not! So now I'm not sure if this is the right project at all. >sigh<

Stay tuned for Olympic updates!

Bring on the annoyances! Other than the KO socks dilemma...a brief list of things that have intruded into my peace of mind lately...

1. Fast food counter help who tell you that their particular franchise doesn't accept the coupon you have when in reality it's about them not knowing how to key it in.
2. Endless spam in my email from Christian Singles dating services. Don't even get me started.
3. People in the 20 items or less line who break their 3 carriages of groceries up into SEVENTEEN separate "orders" to meet the 20 items or less designation. Really, do you think you're clever now?
4. Consistently getting 7 or 8 Chicken Fries at Burger King when I order a 9 piece! Sheesh, people! Can't you recognize an addict when you see one?! I NEED my 9 pieces and if I didn't, I would order 6!

And how was *your* day?

Tribute to New Orleans

2006-02-03T15:53:00.000-05:00

I live in New Hampshire but my heart lives in New Orleans. Most of my knitting has been done for others. I tend to be a "process" knitter and once I'm done knitting something I don't seem to have much of an emotional attachment to it and I'm happy to gift it to someone who will love it. Until I saw the pattern for these fingerless gloves. They are so feminine and so delicate and then when I saw the name "Breakfast at The Cafe du Monde" Fingerless Gloves...I knew I had to knit them for me. One is complete sans the French silk ribbon to be woven into the eyelet trim and the second is now on the needles. So far, I'm loving them and the one that's finished is getting a lot of attention at the library where my knitting group meets. I *might* have enough yarn left to make another pair...

Next month my DH and I will be joining some friends for a mini-vacation at a resort/casino. We are going to be living large with a fancy suite, reservations for dinners, plenty of gambling, show tickets and a day at the spa for the ladies. These lovely gloves will be worn proudly with my "dress-up" clothes when we step out Friday or Saturday night! Ooo-la-la, indeed!

Knitting Olympics: USA Sock Team

2006-02-03T10:47:00.000-05:00

Oh lords, what have I done to myself now??

Yarn Harlot is a brilliantly funny knitter/blogger/author who has challenged all of us knitters to join in on the Knitting Olympics. The basic premise is that you choose a project that is a challenge to your skills. You cast on during the Opening Ceremonies on Feb 10 and you must be finished by the end of Closing Ceremonies on Feb 26. You have 16 days to finish your chosen project and if you succeed, you will be gifted with a fine Gold Medal to proudly display on your website or blog or print out and hang on your wall.

So, I joined up. Yes, me...the girl who isn't much of a "joiner" is all over this Olympics thing. I have chosen to knit toe-up socks. Now, those who know me are well aware that I live, breathe and sleep knitting socks. BUT...I knit baby socks! Little, teeny, tiny, adorable, can-be-finished-in-one-day baby socks. Ok, I have ventured out into CHILDREN'S socks, too but let's be honest here...I have finished exactly ONE pair of adult sized socks in my whole knitting life and they took me what...6 months? (My daughter has them and I'm sure she'll remember exactly how long they took and will let us all know and now she knows why she only has one pair)

The socks I've chosen for the Knitting Olympics are adult-sized socks for my youngest son. He picked the yarn and the pattern was given to me by a knitting pal (thanks Shan!!). Both the yarn and pattern are from KnitPicks. Oddly enough, my son ended up picking the exact yarn that's shown in the pattern pic without ever seeing the pattern. It must be fate! They are knit toe-up, at the same time, together on 2 circular needles. I LOVE my DPNs and altho' I've heard rumors about this loopy thang for awhile but I haven't even read the pattern yet so it should be interesting! I would also like to mention that I've never knit anything under a deadline...I march to my own drum and don't like that kind of structure in my art. So now you see why this project is challenging enough that I felt it qualified me to represent the knitters of America in the 2006 Knitting Olympics!

Check out the link below and see if you want to join in the madness, errr, FUN of knitting along with thousands (yes, THOUSANDS, really, check it out) of us in the Knitting Olympics!

http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/olympics2006.html

Wish me luck, people! Get out there and cheer for the USA Sock Team in the 2006 Knitting Olympics! Wave your DPNs and circular needles high! C'mon...chant with me...KNIT 1, PURL 1...KNIT 1, PURL 1...KNIT 1, PURL 1.........

What Kind of Yarn am I??

2006-02-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

You are Shetland Wool.
You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a

little on the harsh side. Though you look

delicate you are tough as nails and prone to

intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you

are widely respected and even revered.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

LOL!! Well, OK then. *I* am Shetland Wool! I can live with that, I guess. So...what kind of yarn are *you*?

Rabbit, rabbit

2006-02-01T18:03:00.000-05:00

Happy February! Did any of you grow up believing that if "rabbit, rabbit" was the very first thing you uttered on the first day of a new month it would bring you luck? LOL Silly the things we don't let go of. Anything for a little luck, huh?

Today I'd like to show off a completed project. The sweater set belongs to my grand-nephew TheBabyCole. He is my sister's first grandchild and we are all madly in love with him. For him I knit an Aran sweater with matching roll-brim hat topped with corkscrews and socks. It was a mistake. :( The sweater pattern is terrific and wasn't tough to knit and the yarn is gorgeous but because it's varigated it hides all the fancy-schmancy stitch work I worked so hard on! Totally my fault for not thinking it out before getting past half done so I went ahead and finished it anyway. I doubt that TBC is scarred by it tho' and AuntieJo promises to do better next time! He has received other AuntieJo hand knits but I don't have pictures of those yet.

The other photo is of another pair of the Mittlets that I've been so hooked on these last few weeks. They are an adult XL size and belong to my son's tutor Jessie. She requested the colors and I think they are fun! They are knit with sport weight wool, are warm without being hot and take no time at all. Anyone who lives in a drafty old house (like me!) will appreciate a pair or three and there are eleventy gajillion patterns out there. If you can't find one or just want another one feel free to email me and ask...I'll be happy to send you mine. I highly recommend them for gift giving.

I'm frustrated by this photo posting thing. While reading other people's blogs (referred to as OPBs from now on) I see how they have all these cute link-like things on the right hand side of their pages usually labeled something like "completed projects" where one can click and see a slide show of wonderful hand knits. I so want to do that so if anyone can tell me how, I'd appreciate it! I can follow directions, really. When I want to anyway. I also want to add more links. I thought I had this process worked out but apparently I need to try again. I'm halfway there (I think) so be patient and I'll figure it out soon.

2006-01-27T18:37:00.000-05:00

Well. I've had quite a day! After the discussion and questions regarding copyright laws we had at Knitting Group the other night I've been on and offline since the wee hours researching knitting and copyright laws. I have compiled a bunch of info here and I hope it helps answer any questions.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER NOTICE THING: I AM NOT A LAWYER! (Well, duh!) I will NOT come and bail you out of jail for copyright violations and "Jo said so" will NOT be a sufficient defense to get you off in court. I'm just a dedicated researcher who is trying to apply some basic common sense to a really thorny area of legal mumbo-jumbo.

This information is gathered from a number of sources including government websites, attorneys who deal with copyright law, knitting books and magazines, professional designers and professional knitters. I have carefully sifted through mountains of (often conflicting) information, dug up things I had tucked away on my own harddrive and tried to make it as simple as I can.

For those who weren't in attendance at Knitting Group the other night here's a simple and quick overview of what we were discussing. It basically breaks down to four questions:

1. Can you knit an item from a copyrighted pattern in a book/pamphlet/calendar/online source or wherever and sell it without infringing on the copyright? This refers to items designed by anyone other than yourself.

2. Can you knit an item from a copyrighted pattern from the same source(s) as above and donate it to a non-profit organization for them to sell without infringing on the copyright?

3. Can you take a copyrighted pattern from the same source(s) as above and alter it a certain as yet undetermined percentage, call it "yours" and then knit and sell the item without infringing on the copyright?

4. What exactly can be or is protected by copyright? The entire pattern, a technique, a stitch pattern, how the pattern is written or the items made from using the pattern?

OK. Here goes. In order:

Q1. Can you knit an item from a copyrighted pattern in a book/pamphlet/calendar/online source or wherever and sell it without having infringed on the copyright? This refers to items designed by anyone other than yourself.

A1. Probably not. The phrase "all rights reserved" and/or that funky lil copyright symbol on a pattern are powerful, don't mess with either one. The copyright protects the copyright holder from ANYONE "unduly" profiting from their work without their permission. "All rights reserved" means exactly that, ALL rights including the rights to the item itself. Generally the funky lil copyright symbol means just the pattern as it is written but we can't be sure so we shouldn't risk it, IMHO. You can apply to the copyright holder for permission and depending on the designer some may grant it for a fee. It's doubtful but you never know. So, to knit an item that someone else designed and then sell that item for profit without their permission is most likely a violation of the copyright. If a pattern doesn't say you MAY knit it to sell or use it anyway you want to the law will generally stand firmly on the side of the copyright holder in the greatest majority of cases. One would assume that if you wanted to knit it and sell it at a loss it would be OK but I wouldn't recommend this either. >g<

Q2. Can you knit an item from a copyrighted pattern from the same source(s) as above and donate it to a non-profit organization for them to sell without infringing on the copyright?

A2. Maybe. This area is far more gray. Basically, the law says that noone can "profit unduly" from another's work if that work is protected by copyright. For the sake of discussion...If YOU buy the materials and YOU knit the item and donate it YOU have not profited so YOU might be in the clear. I say "might" because we can't be sure how the court would decide this. You might also be liable however, if you KNOW the item will be sold or if you take a tax deduction for donated goods on your income taxes. The non-profit organization that sells the item COULD BE in violation IF it is determined that they profited "unduly". That is where it gets really murky because who is going to determine how to define "unduly"? The argument could be made that the sale fee that the non-profit sets on a donated hand-knit item will probably not cover the cost of materials (that they didn't even purchase anyway) and the knitter's time wouldn't even be factored in because, after all, that was donated so the "profit" probably wouldn't be considered "undue" BUT, we just can't be sure so again, it is best to contact the holder of the copyright for permission even in cases of non-profit.

Q3. Can you take a copyrighted pattern from the same source(s) as above and alter it a certain (as yet undetermined) percentage, call it "yours" and then knit and sell the item without having infringed on the copyright?

A3. No. This falls under "derivative works" and is another protection built into copyrights that protects copyright holders' original material. There are many suppositions around that state that if you change something "x" % it no longer can be considered derivative but apparently this just leads to more murk because again, who is going to agree on how to define "x". You CAN take a pattern, three patterns or seventeen patterns for that matter, and use them as a jumping off place and develop your own pattern. Ideas can not be copyrighted. Taking an idea and developing your own way to do it isn't an infringment. As long as you really are working on developing a new pattern for an old item, you're ok.

For example: "SuzieQ"* gave me a pattern for the fingerless mitten things (seen below in a previous blog). She knew I was exploring making fingerless mittens and gloves and thoughtfully brought me a pattern she had used in the past. I took that pattern and knit one up as I had three or four or seven other similar patterns. I didn't like any of them for many reasons...most were too short on the wrist (so I made that part longer), some were too tight or too loose in the wrist and hand (so I added or subtracted stitches in both places), I didn't like the ribbing patterns (so I went with a rib I prefer), the thumb gussets weren't long enough on any of them, some didn't even have thumb gussets (so I made long thumb gussets on mine), the tops of the hands weren't sturdy enough for long term wear (so I made a longer rib on top in the rib pattern I prefer) and finally, I chose my own needles and yarn types and gave them my own touch color-wise by adding black bands at the top and bottom. People who are familiar with my knitting over the long term know that adding black is a "signature" of mine. I'm crazy about the way it makes colors POP and how it helps items that will get a lot of wear and/or use stay cleaner longer. THEN I wrote a pattern to take all of these changes into account using my own notes as reminders for what I'd changed, how many stitches I'd used, increases and decreases and the needles and yarn I used. This is development. So, have I infringed on a copyright? *I* don't think so but I suppose a court could possibly see it differently. Do I think I'm in any danger of being sued? No... but if I am I expect every single one of you to come to court with me. :)

Q4. What exactly can be or is protected by copyright? The entire pattern, a technique, a stitch pattern, how the pattern is written or the items made from using the pattern?

A4. The entire pattern as it is written AND MOST LIKELY the item(s) made using the pattern are protected by copyright. The knitting techniques and the stitch patterns are not copyrighted UNLESS it can be proven that they are brand new techniques and/or stitch patterns. Just putting together technique A with stitch patterns B & C do NOT make them new however if you put technique A with pattern stitches B & C AND develop a pattern from them your pattern can be copyrighted if IT is new. Knitting has been around since forever minus a decade and there are probably not any new techniques or stitch patterns out there however the law does allow for the possibility so if you think you've invented one, do your research and if you're still convinced you've invented something new you can publish it and copyright it. Good luck. ;P

Now, that said...there are lots of patterns out there for basic knitted items such as socks, scarves, washcloths and even basic plain sweaters. So let's say for sake of argument that you knit a bunch of washcloths out of your head using the basic and universal YO increase and k2TOG decrease. You knit them 'til they look big enough to you and you go off and sell them to all the moms at the soccer game or wherever. Let's say that you stopped your increasing when there were 52 stitches and started your decreases. Is someone who has a copyrighted pattern that uses the same basic techniques for increasing and decreasing and stops increasing at 52 stitches to begin the decreasing going to send Lawyer Jones to sue you? >shrug< Maybe. Will they have a case? Again, maybe. YOU will have to prove that you did not infringe on their copyright possibly by proving you don't have their pattern, never saw their pattern and indeed, never knew their pattern exsisted among other factors. Let's also say that you wrote down YOUR pattern and you produce it to prove it's yours. Should your pattern oddly enough, have the exact same phrasing and style of pattern writing as theirs (yes, Virginia, there ARE styles of pattern writing) ...they may win their case. Even if your pattern is written completely differently from their pattern you could lose your case because the end product is identical. Most likely NOT with washcloths or other "basic" items but you see my point, right? It depends on the judge, it depends on how good your lawyer is with copyright law, it could depend on if the judge's granny used to knit washcloths *just like* yours/theirs...who knows what it could depend on? Only the judge. If you can prove development, you may win. But then again, you may not. Sound silly? Welcome to US Copyright Law 101...we never said it would make sense, it just is what it is and like all US Law is open to interpretation by the fine judges on the benches.

>phew<>

In a nutshell...don't knit from patterns and sell the items knitted without permission from the copyright holder unless you *like* living on the edge and would be happy to potentially challenge the law. C'mon...sing it with me...~~o"...I fought the law and the law won..."o~~.

Don't knit from patterns and donate items to be sold even to non-profit organizations without permission from the copyright holder. Most copyright holders can be found online and it's a simple thing to get an address and write a nice asking-for-permission letter for non-profit situations.

(If you are affiliated with a non-profit and are on a commitee which might be offered hand knit items to sell don't sell the items without permission from the copyright holder OR without talking to an attorney who is well versed in copyright law first. That's just my recommendation cuz again I AM NOT A LAWYER, I'm just trying to use common sense in relation to the info I have gathered and the advice I have been given.)

Don't take copyright protected patterns and divide them by 12, multiply that number by .0036547676 to the 4th power then subtract the square root of an oak tree and call it the "correct" percentage to determine you aren't infringing on a copyright.

My advice? Learn all you can about basic knitting, how and why techniques work, play with stitch patterns, experiment with yarn and needles and color, color, color and start to develop your own patterns, get your own copyrights and then sell what you make. It's so much more fun that way, too! All of this is, of course, built on the supposition that the very instant you try to copy, sell or donate something knit from a copyrighted pattern that someone is going to jump out of the woodwork and slap you with an order to appear in court. YOU have to decide how likely this is and act accordingly in such a manner that you can live with your own conscience.

You will notice I did NOT talk about copying patterns to share with friends/relatives/complete strangers/knitting group members or your sister's best-friend's veterinarian's secretary's mother-in-law's church group. That's a whole 'nother ball of yarn and IMHO...we all have to decide if we can live with this one for ourselves. We know it's wrong, end of discussion. 0;)

I WILL recommend you NEVER, EVER copy and then SELL OPPs! (OtherPeople'sPatterns)

*names have been changed to protect the (notso) innocent ;)

2006-01-25T11:29:00.000-05:00

I have been knitting like crazy lately and want to show off not only my knitting but that I have learned how to add photos to my blog so here we go. I've fallen in love with these fingerless mittens things. The most prevelant name I've seen for them is "wristers" I hate that name. :)

So after knitting up a bunch of assorted patterns for these critters and not being totally happy with any of them, I've developed my own pattern and I call them "Mittlets". So there! :P
I do them in 4 sizes and the 3 smaller sizes are named after my friend's lovely girls who are more than willing to be spoiled by me with fun hand knit goodies. They have been spoiling me in return, Emma finger knit me the coolest scarf in shades of ocean blues and greens! I just love it!

From left to right above, "Maddie's Mittlets" are adult medium size, "Emma's Mittlets" are large child size and "Erin's Mittlets" will fit a wee one. Aren't they cute? The girls' hands, silly...I *know* the Mittlets are cute! >g<

2006-01-25T11:15:00.000-05:00

I have to tell this story...

The first meeting my knitting group held after Christmas was a ton of fun. Everyone brought all the knitting goodies they had been gifted and we had show and tell. One of our group had a terrific knitting calendar and of course, the rest of us coveted it madly. Noone in the area had any left so the hunt was on...

My DarlingHusband spent the two weeks following Christmas driving with me all over the state to every book store and calendar place in the mall we could find looking for this thing. My mission was two-fold: buy as many as I could find for the knitting group AND get them at 1/2 price. I know, I know...everyone had it online and I could have gotten 30,014 of them but they were all still selling at full price when all the calendar places had gone to half price so this frugal Yankee was on a mission...a mission from the discount gods.

At the end of a gallant but fruitless two week search DH and I hit the LAST Barnes & Noble we could find in NH and they were out of them, too. He decided to visit the Little DHs Room before we headed home and as I wandered around a corner nowhere near the HUGE calendar display...THERE THEY WERE! Two of them. Sitting all alone on a bottom shelf hiding under the Crochet calendar just waiting for me! Shyly wearing 50% off stickers like proud badges of honor! YAAAAAAYYYY!!!! (My abject apologies to everyone who was in that B&N but sometimes a girl's gotta yell) I snatched them up and RAN for the checkout. I must have looked like a madwoman...mothers were snatching their children out of my way in alarm, fathers were diving over stacks of books...I think security was called but they must have decided I was harmless after all because they didn't actually approach me they just hovered in the background. >lashflutter<

(The girl at the checkout said to me, "Oh! I saw this calendar! I'm going to get one of these for myself...I just learned how to knit." To which I replied, "Good luck! I think I just got the last two." I hope she was able to get one...she held up the lines admiring my newly knit mittlets and talking knitting with me for at least 20 minutes...lol)

I found DH perusing the motorcycle magazines, showed him my coup (he was proud) and off we went for the 2 hour drive home. When we got home I pulled one of the calendars out of the bag and handed it to my MotherInLaw, who knits with me but doesn't often make it to knitting group and said, "Look! It took two weeks and 8000 miles on the truck but I finally found it! I got two and I only paid half price!" She looked at the calendar, looked at me, put her hands up on her head and gazed into the distance for a minute, looked back at me, held up one finger in a "wait a minute" gesture and went off into the other room. We heard sounds of mad rummage and she returned bearing >GASP<>

>blink<

2006-01-25T10:47:00.000-05:00

I took this Psi Q test. It was interesting I guess but I'm not sure now if I should run out and open a physic readings place, start lighting black candles or just continue as before. I think I'll just continue. If you click on the graph thingy you can take the test, too. Just don't be asking me what it all means, ok?

2006-01-11T11:10:00.000-05:00

Moving along...

OK. I have managed to learn how to edit the links so you'll see a couple over there that might interest you. I'll add more later today like a couple of my favorite yarn stores and maybe a fun knitting site or two. I haven't tackled the pics thing yet so be patient, I'll get to that soon. I did have some issues with what my actual address is so I could invite criticism from those who know me but I seem to have conquered that, too. Nothing like a new 'net concept to make one feel like a neophyte on a 'puter. On with the knitting!

I've been knitting for more than 40 years. My mother taught me when I was about 7 and I've seldom been without a project or twelve since. I'm a "public knitter". I'm the lady you see in the doctor's office knitting a baby blanket or at the high school basketball game knitting a sweater. I'm the lady you see walking around the mall with needles in hand and yarn stranding out of the felted belt bag at her waist as a tiny baby sock grows like magic off of the sticks. It's the magic that holds me. A couple of sticks, a piece of string and abracadabra! a sock! Or a sweater or a blanket or a bag shaped like a fish! Isn't it just amazing? Such simple materials and such complex end results! I've been casually teaching knitting for the last few years and my favorite students are children. They SEE the magic right away and just want to be a part of that. They are so eager and they are unafraid. They take the sticks, add the string and KNOW they can do it. We overthink everything as adults and it gets in the way, don't you think? Teaching children to knit has made me more accepting, more tolerant and easier in my own life. More comfortable. With myself and others. "Just do it" isn't just a cute catchphrase for the Nike Company...it's the battle cry of knitting teachers everywhere and kids GET that concept. They don't think about it and try to make sense out of it...they just do it ...and it works!

I must knit every day. My hands need the sticks, my soul needs the magic. I spent most of December teaching finger-knitting. Not the typical crochet-like chain most know as finger-knitting but rather a needle-free finger technique you employ which results in a 4 stitch wide panel. (which a bunch of moms and dads here in my small town can expect to receive as a scarf for Christmas or Hannukah gifts this season...SURPRISE!) As much joy as I got out of this, by the end of the sessions I found my hands positively itching for the feel of the needles!

Deciding a couple of weeks ago to knit Shirley Paden's Cabled Shrug from the Fall 2005 Interweave Knits was a boon! Like the wood we chop, stack and then burn for heat here in NH our knitting also warms us three ways. We are warmed by the excitement of choosing a pattern and the yarns to make it, we are warmed by the actual item growing off our needles to cover our laps and we are warmed by wearing the item when complete. Even gifting or selling the item has warmth, at least for me. I get a rosy glow inside when I see someone fall in love with something I have made that is just right for them!

As soon as I figure out the magic picture posting thing I'll show you some of the scarves *I* received as gifts. (Thank you SO much to Tucker and Emma!!) I'll also show you what I'm working on now...like that Cabled Shrug.

Stay tuned!

2006-01-08T16:18:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are. Welcome! I'm Jo and this is my blog. The "about me" portion of this blog is in the profile thing so go there if you're remotely curious "about me". Or just read on. In my blog I will talk about my knitting and my art and probably other things as well. I tend to ramble so either click off and go someplace else where the blogger is more thought-gathered than I am or sit back and enjoy. Your choice. I love choices, don't you?

My art explorations are vast and unlimited and consist of many things. "Sticks and Strings" refers to my knitting which I am a little obsessed with. I knit all the time, I knit everywhere. I have a bazillion and four projects going and I actually finish them! Mostly. Someday I'm planning to knit on the back of my DH's motorcycle. As soon as he decides to get one with one of those armchair-like seats on the back for me, you'll see me happily knitting away as he plays at being one of The Wild Bunch. Currently we are very happy with me snuggled up behind him on his new Harley not knitting, we'll see what the future brings. (Safety Chat Alert: I'm not planning to knit on my own bike cuz I need both hands to drive it and knitting while driving just isn't safe. Knitting while riding in a car is mostly ok, there could be airbag issues, but again not while driving. End of Safety Chat.) So right now I bring my knitting everywhere in the hope that I'll have an extra minute or 60 so I can knit a row/round/sock while I wait in line, wait for food, wait for the practice or game to be over, wait to be "next, please" or anything of the like. Having mastered the enviable technique Knitting While Walking I can be seen knitting while strolling the mall, wandering around at the beach or walking the fairgrounds during a fair or festival. (More Safety Chat: knitting while ogling men in kilts can be harmful to your health...or rather the health of your knitting >>holding up "extra-long sock-with-no-heel" as example<< face="trebuchet ms">
"Other Things" are exactly that and can range from painted bowls, furniture and home dec items to altered books to memory pages for scrapbooks to handmade books to altered boxes (an alternative to memory pages and scrapbooks) to cards and tags to painted murals to trompe l'oeil and faux finishes to tattoos to...well, you get the idea. My family warns that if it's round or half round it is in grave danger of being painted like a watermelon and should beware. "It" being any object within reach of my paintbrush. They only exaggerate a little because I have been known to give attention to other fruit on occasion. If it doesn't get painted it may well be in grave danger of having things glued to it. "Things" being any item that will willingly be glued. I'm firmly against gluing things that don't wish to be glued. A good policy that I encourage everyone to practice. Your children and your pets will thank you. I'm also exploring the world of tattoo flash. Yes, I have tattoos. No, you can't see them. Maybe later, if you're good. Why? Because I said so. Currently I'm working on a koi and on some things for my nephew who is learning how to tattoo. So basically, as you can probably tell, I have the attention span of a gnat and if I'm not immersed in a gagillion and five different things I get bored! A bored Gemini is an unhappy Gemini. An unhappy Gemini makes others around her miserable. Because she can.

Have you guessed yet that I don't know a THING about making a blog? I've read some blogs online and in a book my daughter loaned me. (The book was rather risque so we won't talk about "those" kinds of blogs here. >wink<) I get the basic blog idea (I think) and I'm excited to see how I can build mine. I plan to have cool links. I like to run amok around the 'net (with scissors of course) and see what I can find and I'm happy to share. I already have some ideas I'm just not sure exactly how to do it yet. I plan to post pictures. No, not of me, I'm horribly photo-allergic and tend to break out in hives no matter what side of the camera I'm on. I'll post pics of my art and my knitting and probably my photogenic pets who are camera hogs and love to show off. I'll absolutely post pics of the motorcycle. It too is a camera hog and loves to show off. Show me a Harley that doesn't. As soon as I master links and pics, you'll know. Look forward to them, it will make your day more exciting and it's good for your blood pressure. Anyone I've invited in, have at it! Anyone who just finds their way here and thinks they may know me, I deny everything! Feel free to contact me and offer suggestions, criticisms or recipes for your favorite cookies. I don't bake cookies but I know people who do.

So we're off to the races! Or something like that...