memememememememe

thanks to one of my fave bloggers, eunny, i got tagged to do one of these things. i am a meme virgin...in fact, i just figured out why they call these things "memes." it's because it's all about me-me, right?

well, here goes nothin':

what is your all-time favorite yarn to knit with?
by now it's a cliche, but i love love love rowan kidsilk haze. the colors are gorgeous. the fiber itself is soft, whispery light, not too hairy, and surprisingly strong.

your favorite needles?
i got turned on to the bryspuns while working on birch. they have nice pointy tips and an overall smooth finish that makes them great for lacework. i also have a collection of vintage needles that i inherited from a friend's granny. most are plain old aluminum, but there are a couple pairs of bone needles in there that are just beautiful.

the worst thing you've ever knit?
there were some seriously cheesy items i made in the 80s that i've blocked out of my memory. a recent hall-of-shame entry would have to be the VK shrug by twinkle. i love twinkle's funky, chunky knitwear and could not wait to knit this baby up. apparently, i was so a-dither, i neglected to notice that i used the wrong size needle on one of the sleeves. the result: one side of the shrug fits and the other, well, let's just say it's balled up in the back of my closet, where it lurks in the darkness, taunting me.

your most favorite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it, but it was the most fun to knit.)
that would have to be this seed stitch cardigan from a fall '89 VK. it was the first really challenging thing i ever knit. it had beautiful, fine finishing details: picot edgings, a beaded-rib peplum, and thistle-stitch fleurs. it was actually knit out of paternayan crewel yarn.



most valuable knitting technique?
are you kidding? binding off!

best knit book or magazine?
i treasure my collection of vintage knitting mags from the 30s-80s, given to me by my honey bunny's aunt." and one of these days, i'll pony up for this incredible series of books from weldon's which has been reissued by dover press.

your favorite knitblogs?
eunny is one of the most inspiring knitters i've seen in blogland. and the girl can write, too! i gotta have my knit fix nearly every dang day. though it's not a blog, i love donnawilson.com for its funny drawings and fresh take on knitted objects. and naive knitting is anything but.

your favorite knit-along?
gotta go with my ONLY KAL...jody's river-along at savannahchik knits.

your favorite knitwear designer?
kim hargreaves is a genius. leah sutton is so freakin cool i can hardly stand it. and twinkle.

the knit item you wear the most? (how about a picture of it?)
it's kinda silly, but i wear this beaded cuff a ton. i've made a bunch of accessories over the past couple of years, and those definitely get quite a bit of wear. i made this gray sweater about 10 years ago. it still keeps me cozy and warm in my cold, cold studio.

tag time!
i know she's busy learning how to be a fashion designer, but maybe our fave punk rawk tammy could give us a little meme time? would love to get the naive knitter'stake. and the very coolio mary-margaret at yarn tart.

tinseltown's new knitting guru

anybody seen this yet? i haven't. but it looks like this chick is ready to give suss cousins a run for her money.



i love this beautiful sweater from the new vogue holiday knitting.

yarn over the edge

my favorite place in the whole wide world: the wawbeek on upper saranac lake in the adirondacks.



the wawbeek's cutest couple, sporting the wawbeek phallus hat. fondly known as "winky tink." (or is that tinky wink?)



turns out the wawbeek is the perfect spot for a little fall knitting. and a lot of fall boozing with old college friends. btw, it also turns out vitamin water is great for rehydrating and replenishing brain cells.



thank god for reverse stockinette stitch. not a lot of brain cells required.

how much is that UFO in the window?

another fashion mag using knitting to tell a story. it's a little hard to see in this bad scan, but the model is "trapped" in conran's and doing a little late-night knitting.

stop the presses!

in an exclusive interview with OK! magazine, catherine zeta jones revealed her deepest, darkest secret to the world.

she is a knitter.

"i knit sweaters and scarves and blankets, things like that," she confessed. "i'm a very good housewife."

what courage! what chutzpah! to brave the slings and arrows of a knitophobic world press armed only with a ball of lionhart extra bulky and a dolce and gabbana gown.

catherine zeta jones, we salute you!



besides the news about CZJ, the other thing that's got my heart racing today is this crisp bit of crochet from taeko's blog. i wish i could read japanese! oh yeah. i wish i could crochet, too. like this. isn't it beautiful??

falick symbol

another day, anoter chance to procrastinate WIPs with WIDs (that's short for Work in Dreams).

here is how it began today. i was working in my studio, which just happens to overlook my next-door neighbor, a house with four apartments and an always-interesting collection of tenants. now, i promise i was not spying. this was totally different from oogling the hot guy who lived in the upstairs apartment...or staring in disbelief at the wacko germophobe who used to put little baggies on the handles of his scooter so he wouldn't have to touch them. or who used to hang all of his laundry--which consisted of 10 black track suits--to dry in the tree in the front yard.

this wasn't like that at all. i just happened to notice my friend michelle who owns the house was there chatting with a workman. michelle is also a knitter and has been asking me about patterns and such. of course, i had to drop what i was working on (my paying job), and run outside to say hi. and of course, that turned into an opportunity to chat about knitting. and that, of course, turned out to be a two-hour frenzy of yarn and pattern books.

all of which leads me to the WID. the newest obsession. the TICLW (that's short for Thing I Can't Live Without). it's a handbag in the new melanie falick book. it's knit in this beautiful scalloped stitch. it's big and boho. it's got bamboo handles. and it will very shortly usurp every other project in my very long cue of unfinished objects.

at least until the next WID comes along.

river: off the needles, on the shoulders!

finally got a chance to sport my new river last night to our friends' wedding. it was about 48 degrees out, so it was the perfect cozy wrap for the evening. sheesh. what a dorky smile on this next one. can you tell i'm excited to be wearing this thing?

anthro

more droolworthy needlecraft-inspired goodies from anthropologie...i love the idea of using knitted or crocheted flowers on a big necklace like that. the shoes are a cool idea, but i'd have them gigged up with mud and road scum in no time. they're pretty to look at, though.

river: done & blocked!

can't wait to wear it at a wedding i'm going to this weekend. i ended up doing one more rep per yahaira's advice...so 13 patt reps in all. after blocking, it measures about 70-72" long. haven't tried it on with my "outfit" yet...but when i tried it on over my jammmies last night, it looked fine with the scrunchie. and i think it may look just a tad more glamorous when worn over a silk camisole as opposed to one of my husband's old t-shirts.


and voila, la beaded scrunchie! isn't it cute? like a little sea urchin. the directions for the scrunchie weren't too specific in the book. also, they called for just 6 cm of elastic...which i thought was way too small to slide over the shawl without getting beads caught in the lace. i'd recommend making your elastic 8 or 10 cm. (about 3-4 inches). also, the pattern says to join the elastic ends first. i think it's easier to seam the scrunchie like a tube, THEN, slide the elastic inside and sew the ends of the elastic. then, join the ends of the scrunchie and seam those on the outside.

add this to the nyc yarn trail

i recently read a post on claudia's blogthat describes the ULTIMATE manhattan yarn sojourn. to that fabulous post, i would humbly add the new suss design on lafayette between prince and houston. looks like it's a retail shop slash yarn shop.

river: should i stay or should i go?

i'm at my 12th rep...what to do? i guess i could have a rep or two left in me, but i sure would like to be done. so i guess i could just stop now and block the hell out of this thing. my goal is to get it long enough to wear with that beaded scrunchie. the chick in the rowan book must be about as narrow as a box of spaghetti...the river she has on is long enough to drape over her shoulders and fall to her waist!

close-knit weekend

the perfect fall knitting idyll: a family reunion of sorts in vermont. the quintessential new england backdrop...mountains, fresh air, yarn shops, and enough rowan tweed 4-ply to pave the main drag with felted squares. it started with a visit to the adorable whippletree yarn shop in woodstock, vermont. there, we found an entire wall of rowan. haze, felt, big wool, calmer, and the elusive 4-ply tweed in every imaginable color.

then, it was back to the summit lodge in killington for some non-stop knitting and eventual hand-felting on the deck. turns out an ice bucket filled with hot water and a little hotel shampoo bottle makes perfect felt.

the result: these beautiful felted squares. (no jimmy, "Felted Squares" is not the name of a boxing heavyweight. my husband is a real comedian when it comes to knitting terms.)

and...finally...more solarises! (be patient, yahaira...your is coming. i promise.)