Call me Nancy Drew....

but I think there may have been a bird fight on my patio today. If you see a featherless, stunned bird flying around, let me know. I have something of his. I think the pieces of nest and the apparent "poop of fear" (that's a technical term or a song title) close the case. It takes a keen eye but I'm thinking a career in crime investigation may be in my future.

On the knitting front...

K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2, K2, P2,

...in grey.

Call it that keen eye, but I think we can forgo the photo tonight, yes?

Secret Projects & Harry Potter!

My secret project is coming along nicely. Here's a sneak peek! There's one more pattern repeat left and then it's blocking time. I bought all the requisite blocking items: wires (rigid and flexible) and blocking pins. I've watched the YouTube videos, read the blogs and memorized the instructions that came with the wires. I'm sure to screw it up. ;-)

This pattern is called a neckerchief and in my opinion it's too long and not wide enough. In order for it to fold around the neck with the point in the front and have the edges come back around to the front (so it'll stay on the neck), it needs to be wider. Additional repeats are not the answer, it's already too long. One knitter did this...

* YO, k2tog, YO, k1, YO, ssk * all the way across the scarf’s RS before the 4 rows of garter stitch edging.

What do you think? If you have a better idea to increase the width, let me know. This seems plausible but I'm open to suggestions.

On the non-knitting front, last week I decided to finally read all the Harry Potter books before the November premiere of the first of the final films. I am loving them! I already finished the first 3 books and today I picked up Goblet of Fire. It's 750 pages and it hurts to hold it in my hands but I'm enjoying myself.

The fact that Daniel Radcliffe is finally over 21 and getting kinda sexy has nothing to do with the appeal of the books or I could just be embracing my dirty old man years! It's been known to happen. ;-)

Fiber Artist ... I don't think so.

Last weekend was spectacularly lazy. The kind of weekend you need more often than you take. The Golden Girls marathon was on, knitting was in arm's reach and the fridge was full of food. In between knitting, eating and Betty White, I surfed the net in search of new knitting blogs; they're always so positive and filled with yarny goodness!

For the record, I'm a knitter and it's a hobby. I love to knit. I feel creative when I knit and I cherish every finished object. I am not a designer nor an artist but apparently any knitter who can master garter stitch seems to think they're a "fiber artist". There are so many new knitters out there blogging about their experiences. I'm glad they want to share their progress with the world but it's plain obnoxious to refer to yourself as a fiber artist when you don't yet know how to purl. Maybe I'm channeling a less tolerant blogger tonight but it's really starting to get on my nerves. One blogger went so far as to call herself a "fibre artist". She's not British, she's from the deep South of the U.S. It's self-important and utter nonsense.

I know we're all supposed to get along. Knitters unite! Knit in public! Show your support for the craft! Strive for the most you can be but newsflash, it's a hobby and it's called knitting which makes us knitters. It may take up all of your free time. You may feel passionately about it but sorry, you're still a knitter. If you're making a living at being a knitter, stick a feather in it and call it macaroni, you get a free pass but if you've only knit wrist bands and a hat and still don't know why your stockinette scarf curls, you're not a fiber artist. If you spin and crochet as well as knit and use the term as an "umbrella", it's marginal but acceptable.

When did being a knitter become declasse anyway? It's an amazing pastime and has gotten me through some tough times. It just about saved me in Los Angeles and although I don't knit nearly as much, I bask in every finished project with pride. What do these bloggers say to people at social events when they're asked what they do in their spare time? And we wonder why Ravelers complain about the isolation of our craft, oops, hobby.

So if you're 'fiber artisting' today, get off your horse and come knit with the rest of us!

Finally Unpacked....

I finally unpacked (put the suitcase away and everything) from my trip and I'm still basking in the glory of friendship, knitting and an amazing city! Once again, I attended the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat in Easton, NY and enjoyed myself immensely. It's a bucolic setting (that's for you Joe, if you're listening) and gathering with like-minded men renewed my knitting spirit!

I loved the drive down from Boston in my deluxe SUV, thank you Charlynne for taking a shine to me at the check-in desk and upgrading me famously. The MA Pike is a lovely drive and in a few hours, I was in Easton. I love that you can make this retreat anything you want. This year, I didn't formally sign up for any classes but I enjoyed loitering in their vicinty. I had to see what all the hype was about steeking, lace blocking and two fisted knitting (that one wasn't what I expected). For someone who didn't want to take a lot of classes, I sure learned a lot!

As always, the best part of these retreats is the time spent with the guys. Chris was a great roommate and Michael, always the best company. Troy, my 'stylish' caffeine buddy and Matthew, an unexpected bond. Bob/John, the party was a blast and of course, Joe and Ted, thanks for making it all happen!

On my way back to Boston I got lost and if you follow me on Twitter, you know I ended up in Vermont. But who could complain when covered bridges like this appear out of nowhere.

In Boston, I had the esteemed pleasure of meeting my fav, Rav pal Mel. We met for lunch and she is a funny, smart, engaging and as lovely a woman as I could have ever imagined! A two-hour lunch proved the highlight of the entire trip. We must spend more time together!

While I was at the retreat, I knit my first moebius scarf of Cat Boordhi fame and I love its infinite design. In Blue Sky Suri Merino it made the perfect gift for Mel. She was kind enough to photograph it and I hope she'll think of me when she wears it this Winter.

I ate my way through the North End, it reminded me of growing up in Brooklyn. Pasta, pizza, bread, pastries, cookies -- can you say carb coma? I don't have to say it, I was in one -- heaven! I loved this building and its patina was incredible in the sun!

Thanks again Mel! Every direction was a postcard!

Boston Commons was so lovely, I read Pride & Prejudice under a tree for almost 2 hours. I know, I'm a girl. Tell your jokes. I don't care. ;-)

And, this is my idea of a bookstore. How I do miss city life sometimes!

Thanks for the memories guys and girl. J.

Dear Eunice

Hi, it's me, from the pharmacy last night around 11:30PM. I was the guy who came running in with burns across all four of his fingers from accidentally grabbing the iron. You remember, the crazy soaking wet guy from the rain in the scary pajama pants, mis-matched t-shirt and really poorly groomed hair. Yeah ... that's me. I wanted to say thank you for the burn gel. It worked great and I'm blister-free this morning just like you said.

For those of you who weren't there, here's what happened....

[Guy outlined above runs into 24-hour pharmacy]

Guy: Burn cream!! Burn cream!!

Eunice: Honey, come with me. Mister you gonna have to wait to check out, this boy's got a burn. Follow me baby.

Guy: Thank you.

Eunice: First, we just gonna spray this and this cause they help with the pain but don't buy these, they just for sunburn. This is the one you want to get. This gel works really well.

Guy: Are you sure?

Eunice: Honey, please, I work nights in a drug store. I'm practically a nurse.

Guy: okay.

[At the register, payment transacted]

Guy: Thank you so much. Are you sure it's okay we sprayed all that stuff but I didn't buy any of it?

Eunice: Please ... don't you mind that. In fact, chocolate makes everything better so you take a few of these Kit Kat bars (throws Kit Kat bars into guy's bag). You like Kit Kats?

Guy: Yes, but I didn't pay for those either.

Eunice: You a nervous little thing, aren't ya? Never mind that, I'll just eat a few less tonight. [devilish grin from Eunice] Okay, bye-bye, you take care of that burn.

Eunice: [to gentleman still waiting to check out] Sir, thank you for waiting while I handled my emergency. It's like this all the time.

[end scene]

Helpful burn tip for the day: When you leave the house to get your burn gel, take a cold wet kitchen towel. If you put it up against the air conditioner vent in the car and then rest your hand on it (with the air blowing full blast), it's like anesthesia! Wet+Cold=Pain Relief

Thank you Eunice, you're the best! Don't you love her?

Well....I say it's knitting content

Get Smart

Just watched this film tonight. It's not going to win any Academy Awards but I swear Steve Carell is hysterical and kinda sexy! How'd that happen? It's amazing what you can find on YouTube, huh?

Road Trip....

Ive been busy planning my Spring knitting with a few new purchases. I know I have a ton of WIPs but there's something about Spring that calls a knitter to put a few designs into the queue. I've been meaning to start a real sweater but haven't found the right pattern until now. My friend Bruce fixed that problem with his new book, "Knits Men Want, The 10 Rules Every Woman Should Know Before Knitting for a Man". Bruce is an accomplished culinary author with 15 books already under his belt. For his knitting book, he designed the perfect mix of men's patterns and was fortunate to have Jared Flood of BrooklynTweed fame photograph all of the designs. His Ski Sweater is definitely my favorite and one that is making its way into my Spring queue. The book is lovely. It's a great read and turned out really well. Congratulations Bruce!

I also picked up Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. It's a classic lace knitting book that will serve this hobbyist for a lifetime. I'm especially enamoured by the Kimono pattern since it's definitely within my reach. It's knit in one piece and extremely straightforward in its design. Too often shawl construction is impossible to understand and a deal breaker for me but this design is perfectly balanced. If you want to see a photo of it, head over the amazing Eunny Jang's website for a few photos!

In the quest to find the right yarn for this shawl, I went on a road trip yesterday to Sarasota, Florida. It's about a 90 minute drive and I heard a new store opened there called, A Good Yarn. First off, I never felt more invited in any yarn store than this one. They opened last Fall and their customer service and friendly staff were amazing. Go there, spend money and tell Susan I sent you! The local yarn store is a critical part of our craft and too many of our purchases are being made online. The store experience is so sensory, I don't know what being a knitter will be like if stores continue to close. End soapbox.


I didn't find the silk/silk-blend I had in my mind's eye but I did find this amazing sock yarn from Three Irish Girls. This yarn is going to be my first pair of socks on the CSM. I'm getting better acquainted with the machine and soon (I use this term loosely) it will produce actual socks in this beautiful colorway.


My last find was my new notion case. It's made by a company called Knit Happy and it's the bomb. If you didn't know, I love boxes, cases and bags. It holds everything except my double-pointed needles. They're ten inchers but crochet hooks fit just fine and it folds up into a cute little box. I could have lived without the logo but hey, a little free advertising for a new company goes a long way. Go to their website and find a local store that sells it and buy it there! begin soapbox, end soapbox


Once you open it, it contains 4 wonderful compartments to hold all of your notions. All of the stuff in this photo came out of three containers to fit in this one, amazing case!

While I was in Sarasota, I had lunch at their park/marina in the downtown historic district. At least I think it was the downtown historic district. The grilled grouper was yummy and the weather, started out poorly & really windy but some time between the grouper and the coffee, the most amazing blue sky appeared for the remainder of the day!


Thanks Sarasota and the wonderful women at A Good Yarn!

And thanks everyone for the comments on the slippers! Such high praise for such a simple project, you're all the best! They were received last week and my niece has proclaimed them a perfect fit!

I know it's been around for a few weeks but this ad is really cool and it made its way from the craft world to the mainstream. I just saw it on Towleroad. How'd that happen? Enjoy a little Monday morning creativity everyone!

Slippers & Surprises...

First surprise, YarnHarlot knits faster than I do. She claims on her blog that this project took her 1.5 hours to complete. Maybe time moves more slowly in Canada but in these parts it took about 3 hours which means she knits twice as fast as I do. I suspect she knits even faster than that especially since she's got the determination of a gazelle running from a tiger and I have the attention span of a flea. Did you see her Ravelympics Sweater? Holy Moly! Back to the matter at hand, seaming took another hour. In total, this project took me 4 hours (see how good I am at math)!

This is how the mess starts....
Second surprise...felting does in fact overlook the sins of terrible seaming. The first slipper was joined so poorly, I considered scraping the whole project. The second was seamed with a bit more expertise and in the end, wasn't too bad. I continued under the premise that in felting no one would know. "I can flatten out this super thick, bulky spot after it's felted, yeah, sure I can." If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know I hate finishing. It's tedious and I'm not good at it. Enough said!


You'll feel better once they're assembled.

Third surprise...gauge actually matters. I know , I know, it's the basis of all knitting projects but with felting I always think I get a free pass. My tension was a little loose but I continued on since I didn't think I had a size 13 needle. Yeah, it's knit on really big needles (size 15 US) which is why it's such a quick project. I know, like the math, more earth-shattering news. I now know that the seaming problems were due to the over sized stitch size by not using the right size needle. I guess I'm a loose knitter, more surprises!


And then you'll feel even better once they're felted.

Final surprise...I really like this pattern. If you knit these slippers, search YouTube for "seaming french press slippers", the tutorial is excellent and takes all the guesswork out of the process (except for how her stitches line up so nicely and mine well, didn't). It's definitely an afternoon project and one that I highly recommend as a quick gift. I wish the photo was better, the yarn is a spectacular color and the sparkly, flower buttons are perfect for my niece!

This pattern is the French Press Slippers by Melynda Bernardi. It's $7 bucks but well worth it, not just for the pattern but for the tutorial on YouTube as well. Oh, one more thing, be sure to check out the minimal errata on her blog as well, it's very minor but helpful. Go Melynda!