Hmmmmmm….Dolores is busted!

I am a quiet blogger. I read any number of blogs, which I track through Bloglines and read them regularly. I rarely comment, especially on the blogs that have hundreds of readers, unless I really need to….I reserve my comments for those I know and love. I feel that the big blogs won’t miss my comments, such Panopticon (altho I followed Franklin’s forays into the Mediterranean, and its delights with delight), or Yarn Harlot, or Knit and Tonic. These folks don’t need my comments, which would likely be very much like everyone else’s comments. Their notoriety really speaks for itself.

Occasionally, though, as my ever so precious readers will note, I post a link to another blog for some reason, which may vary considerably. Usually because my comments are so voluminous in nature that I do not want to saddle someone else’s blog with them, or they are pivotal in nature.

Yeah, whatever.

Anyway, today Franklin posted the agreement with Dolores, about her behaviour. I particularly like the part about the services she renders in exchange for room and board.

Franklin, should Dolores get completely out of hand, I am sure that you could rent her out to other knitters for these services….of course, I could not afford a first class ticket, since every spare penny not spent on yarn is used to feed and clothe my two children. Poor Dolores would have to ride on the tailgate of a cow transport, instead.

Look it’s DillyDallyKnitter!

So this weekend, I met up with a friend of a friend, and we trekked down to Los Altos Ca to Full Thread Ahead for a fun-filled day of knitting content. There was a speaker scheduled at about 5, and so we did the natural thing, which was to get a tray of appetizers and margaritas at a local Mexican cantina, and visited the other yarn shop in town as well, wherein we met nona of nonaknits, completely randomly.

What was the knitting content, you may ask?

Well. Since you asked. This woman from Canada was going to be there, and she was going to talk about knitting….yes, I know, boring, right? I mean who talks about knitting to 300 people.

Well except that she was really funny…and did you know that she’s married to a record producer, isn’t that way cool!? Oh, and if you look really carefully, she is knitting a sock while 300 people watch and don’t realize it…..

Anyway, the knitty blogstalking assignment is celebrities, so here is my photo of me with dillydallyknitter, aka cpurl17 ala knittyboard. Isn’t she just the sweetest thing ever?

Oh, and the woman from Canada is there in the middle, I am just not sure why she got in the photo, but hey, they always tell you that you should be gracious, and odd numbers do make for better photos.

Besides, she signed my book….Thanks, Stephanie!

No LeftCoastKnitter sightings to report.

Hooky Friday!

Tomorrow is Friday!

Tomorrow is the day that we decided to play hooky, so that we can go to this…..Monet in Normandy

Little Hill is not going to school, and I am not going to work, so that we can go see MONET (insert ooh, ahhhs and ohhs here), wherein we will pack everyone in the van, probably after a good brekkie, and drive to the city to the museum and possibly have lunch at the Crab House on Pier 39.

I mean, it’s Monet!

And now for the obligatory knitting content….I cast on again for the corset top last night, and got the first row done correctly….and the shrug sleeve has been increased to 81 stitches of a necessary 100. Aren’t you happy for me??

Wherein we flash the tools of our trade…

As part of this week’s blog assignment, wherein we flash the tools of our trade, I am showing you my drawers. Please note that I have simply opened the drawers and snapped the photo, closing the drawer immediately thereafter so that no itinerant tool leaps out and runs for the door.

One of the sewing drawers…the one with the scissors….I am not acutally sure how many pair there are in there. I always watch carefully when I go into this one.

The tube with the straight needles….
The hardware tool drawer….no really it IS organized.
Flashing the closet.
More of the closet
And the other sewing drawer.

Arrgggg!

My pirate name is…..

Bloody Jenny Bonney

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it’s the open sea. For others (the masochists), it’s the food. For you, it’s definitely the fighting. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate’s life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Whatsa Knitting Me?

This is knitting me…… although mine is knit in a lovely dark blue with shaakdes of blue and green shadows….it calls for 4 skeins of Caron SoftShadows in Soft Merino.

Of course, this ain’t the only thing that is knitting me, I have also progressed on Icarus to the point where one can actually see the shawl, and I cast on for this corset top as well, and proceeded to completely destroy the lace pattern in 2 rows. Although I must say that the color used to display the top is HID-E-OUS. I am doing it in a royal blue.

I am now remembering why most of my knitting is mindless knitting, it’s because the rugrats make it hard to do anything else…….DOH! The lace pattern on the corset has the chart which is 4 rows….then they pattern tells you to do 3 repeats of the first 2 rows and then 3 repeats of this, and then 3 repeats of that……couldn’t they just chart all of it so that you can just follow the chart? The more I have to switch back and forth, the more likely I am to F— it up. Of course, the fact that Littlest kept running off with the pattern did NOT help.

So I guess I will have to redo the chart for myself. Again.

Knitting is out…or is it?

Thanks to Rachel Knitter on Knitter’s Review I am blogging this article:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6365952.html?pubdate=8%2F28%2F2006&display=current

You know, I think that things like knitting play a real role in society and that will grow as we have more and more integration of technology into our lives…..technology both makes things more accessible, and makes us want to do things not involving technology as an escape from it. (How many of us work on computers all day and then completely avoid them at night?) This will only increase as people start to see the tech as a tool, and not an end in and of itself….technology for technology’s sake will lead us nowhere, but applied tech is very hot!

I also think that at some point, any hobby reaches critical mass, and becomes so mainstream as to be above trends. With 53 million knitters in this country, I think we are almost there….especially with so many men knitting now, as well. Especially if the hobby is not some kind of aesthetic masturbation like much of the greater ‘arts’ scene, but actually serves a purpose, a function in our lives….providing us with entertainment, food for thought, epicurean delight, or warmth for the soul or body.

We are in fact seeing this kind of explosion on the handspinning side now….think pluckyfluff….there is a new kind of revival happening, as the knitters start to learn to spin. I predict a revival of weaving as a result of the spinning revival…..

Thanks, Secret Pals!

You may remember a previous post wherein I received Package Two from my One Skein Secret Angel Pal, somewhat in advance of Package One….but we crossed our fingers and waited with bated breath for Monday’s mail.

‘And Lo, their faith was rewarded, and it was good!’

That is Littlest having yarn for dinner, which she has determined needed some butter….

There were two skeins of Katia Diva yarn in cool colors that should go well on Littlest (do you think there’s enough-60+ yds in toto- for a shrug for her??), some row counters….Oh, and let’s not neglect the cozy fuzzy socks! The socks that will keep my always very cold tootsies warm this winter. Of course, being from Maine my pal would not appreciate how cold it gets in the SF Bay Area….at my house we have at least one good frost in the winter….meaning down to the high 20s….yep, California ain’t all sunshine….in fact we rarely have sunshine in winter here.

A family photo of my angel’s most favoritest female relatives in the North Atlantic,

and a note about a certain post to my blog that some of you may remember.

And then today, I got this package from my Secret Pal 8 Pal, wherein she reveals herself as one of the mods for SP8!

The package from her contains two skeins of Crystal Palace Taos yarn in oh so lovely subtle colors, which may be just right for Papa Bear:

a cool pattern for a Brioche pattern scarf (I have never done Briche before, so that will be cool), lots of chocolates from Ritter and Ghirardelli (which unfortunately have now disappeared!!! I had help, honest), and some lovely soaps that are not pictured here.

And I think, that my Secret Pal was trying to say something with Lucy’s Predica-Mints…..I am just not sure what…..

Who is my pal you ask????

Well she is KnitKittyKnit!

Who knew?!

Thanks ever so very much, Secret Pals……I am loving everything, and floating just a wee bit higher today at all the attention **wink**

Knitters can rob banks too!

OldLadyPenPal Shares a Tale: If I needed a bank robber costume….

Arizona-Local Authorities were amazed today when a robbery was reported by a local bank. Apparently the robbers were all clothed in hand-knit sweaters and were armed with numerous sets of knitting needles, which they waved threatening at the tellers and security guards.

“I just could not think with the lead robber who wore a handknit thing over her head waving her size 17s in my face. I just handed over the money and forgot to put in the ink packets, says Mary who was the teller who was told to put all the small bills into a bag already full of yarn and knitting paraphernalia.

Fortunately, the gang, calling themselves Knit One Steal Too, were easily apprehended at the local yarn shop, where they bought huge amounts of luxury yarns with large bills. The yarn store owners became suspiciuous when she noticed the handknit mask in one of the knitting bags with a lot of large bills and the size 17 inch straight needles. “You know, knitters just don’t use straight needles anymore,” said Linette owner of the yarn store across from the bank. “I saw some commotion over at the bank, but had no idea it was Knit One Steal Two, but I am sure glad I had that silent alarm system installed last weekend.” The detectives had actually found a lead on the internet to the gang that have been on a bank robbing needle-waving crime spree lasting 10 months, where one of the gang-memeber apparently posted a free pattern for a ‘bank robbing ski mask’ called Babyface on a site called Knitty.com

The members will be arraigned Monday in the Federal Court Ninth district for multiple accounts of conspiracy, assault with deadly weapons, and federal bank robbery. The maximum penalty for these is 10 years, 35 years without knitting needles, and life, respectively.

A raid on the gang’s hideout turned up more knitting needles, including some size 50 needles used at the Compass Bank robbery three nights ago, and huge amounts of yarn. “Clearly, these robbers had an unhealthy obsession with yarn and knitting; so unhealthy that they had to resort to bank robbery to fund their habits,” says Dr. John Knitlees, the police psychologist. “There was so much yarn that they could never hope to knit it all in their combined lifetimes. Really, this hoarding behaviour is extremely unhealthy and indicative of individuals with personality disorders accompanied by shades of obsessive-compulsive tendencies. These knitters should be stripped of their yarn and pointy sticks, lest they do some terrible damage to themselves. Restraints would probably be good too.”

Footing the blog!

Here are my feet…..

Here are my feet on carpet….

Here are my feet in UFO socks on carpet….

Here is the yarn in the UFO socks on my feet on the carpet in the aforementioned photo.

Here is the bag that holds the yarn that knits the UFO socks in the aforementioned photo for the feet on the carpet….