An announcement and a small request

It's poetry time again -- this is from Reya (of The Gold Puppy):

From Deborah Oak:

Let poetry bless the blogosphere once again!

WHAT: A Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading
WHEN: Anytime February 2, 2008
WHERE: Your blog
WHY: To celebrate the Feast of Brigid, aka Groundhog Day
HOW: Select a poem you like - by a favorite poet or one of your own - to post February 2nd.
RSVP: If you plan to publish, feel free to leave a comment and link on my (Deborah's) blog. Last year when the call went out there was more poetry in cyberspace than I could keep track of. So, link to whoever you hear about this from and a mighty web of poetry will be spun.

Feel free to pass this invitation on to any and all bloggers. Thank you, Reya, for beginning what is now an annual event.


You're welcome, Oak [says Reya]. I'm thrilled this event has been so popular. Special thanks go the knitters. They're the people who made this event work so well the first year. Poetry on Feb. 2? YES. Count on it.

Well, I'll definitely be there/here again this year. I "met" Reya through the first (Silent) Poetry Reading in 2006 and I've loved her writing and her photographs ever since. One of these days we'll meet in person!

I'm spending this grey and sort-of-snowy day knitting and spinning, with the warmth of a cozy cat tucked at my side. I started the Baby Soft Cardigan from KBoY, and I'll be finished with the knitting in an hour or so. I love Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton yarn. It's happy knitting.

Otherwise, I'm all over the place with ideas, and overwhelmed by all the possibilities that my yarn collection presents. The Japanese Vines scarf gets attention in the evening, when I'm relaxing. I just finished some socks that I've been working on since July -- Crosshatch Lace in Sundara's Blue Grape Hyacinth color. I'm itching to cast on a new pair of socks, even though I'm sure I have three or four pairs to finish.

I think I'll spin this afternoon, though. The Reeves wheel and I are getting along so well that I don't want to neglect our deepening friendship. Crown Mountain Farms Corriedale pencil roving is just the right fiber for today -- Teyani's Inspiration colorway is like a shot of Spring, and the wheel can do most of the work while I sit back and admire it.

~:~

If you are on Ravelry, you probably know that voting is open for the 2007 Bobby Awards. Yes, they are silly. Yes, the categories are somewhat strange -- but I hope you'll choose Hedgerow Socks for the Best Free Pattern! They were nominated along with eighty-one other patterns, most of them "famous" like the Clapotis shawl and Jaywalker socks, so they don't really stand a chance. Vote anyway -- I'd love to get a hundred votes (there are 64 so far)! Go to the Bobbys Group page -- my pattern is the 18th post in the Best Free Pattern category. Thanks!

Observations

I have just one goal for NaSpiMoMo: SPIN. It's been hard to get to it this month, but at last, today was the day.

My observation: I like quiet when I am spinning. I don't need music, television is distracting, and frankly, what's running through my head is noise enough. I don't sit down at a wheel with pure concentration in mind, but I suppose quiet helps me focus. I do sometimes listen to a book as I spin, but more often than not it's silent except for the whirring of the wheel.

Speaking of whirring, I made another observation: the Reeves makes a very nice little schooshing sound when the drive band leaves the wheel. It's not rubbing anything, just moving from the big wheel, across itself, and on to the flyer. Nice. I'm working on some camel-tussah roving. It's the same yarn I've been working on since last year. If it existed, I'd join NaSpiMoYe.


I'm almost finished with the baby bonnet that I started the other day. It took a while to get the I-cord to look the way I wanted it to; Kay's I-cord technique saved the day. I'll make a pair of booties, block the hat, and this gift will be ready to send to my niece before her babe arrives.

Baby bonnet observation: I will forever imagine this little one wearing a tea cozy on her head!


My Palindrome scarf is finished and blocking. It is such a beautiful color, and I love the way the yarn looks in cables, even these simple ones. It's so soft and luxurious!

Scarf observation: If I were persnickety, I'd be bugged by the way reversible cables (or at least these, in K2P2 ribbing) are off-kilter. The cables aren't set into a background, so they don't stand alone. I don't mind; this is a scarf that is reversible, for goodness sake, and it will spend its time wrapping me up and keeping me warm.

Since I didn't couldn't get enough of hanging around the house last week (I'm feeling much better, thanks to rest and everyone who sent good thoughts) (and my sheepy pj's came from Macy's, Chris!) I'm taking tomorrow off, too. I plan on doing more spinning, more knitting, a little de-cluttering, and there's a birthday dinner for Judy in the evening. That's plenty for one holiday.

Rest, yet progress

Tea and rest. Rest and tea. That is my work for today, and it will be accomplished in my new sheepy pajamas, under the little down comforter. As long as I don't move my jaw much (as in talk) I'm fine. Everything went well yesterday -- I am forever grateful to Rho for driving me and letting me huddle in the car while she went into the pharmacy to pick up my prescriptions. Thanks to everyone for the good vibes!

Since I'm taking it easy again today, I have some new knitting percolating. There's even some new knitting on the needles since I curled up on the couch a couple of hours ago (I love sick days -- you get out of bed, wander around for a little while, and then lie down somewhere else on purpose). There are two babies on the way in my world, so I cast on the Baby Bonnet from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts with the Malabrigo left over from the tea cozy. I also placed an order for some Blue Sky Organic cotton to make the Baby Soft Cardigan from Knitter's Book of Yarn. Both of these projects should be quick and pleasant knits.

I was determined to finish my odd socks before Wednesday, and I did. They match well enough for me, and they did soften and bloom enough to be comfortable, but still sturdy. I can't call the yarn scratchy -- it's just not. It's rough, I suppose, but not harsh. And the colors are more interesting to me than the usual self-striping stuff that bores me to tears before I've finished the first sock. So odd they may be, but I'm pleased.


All this thinking and not-reclining on the couch has me worn out. I'll get back to my knitting now. Maybe I TiVoed something halfway interesting, too.

Tea time

The cozy ...

... and the teapot.

Will it be Darjeeling, or Earl Grey?

I'm waiting for snow. Since I'm waiting, it won't happen. I'm tired of too-warm temperatures and damp, heavy air. It's January, and it's not supposed to be like this. Today is cold and the clouds have been building. There's hope yet.

Knitting continues on the Kureyon socks and the Japanese Vines scarf. Progress has been made, but I don't need to show the same two pieces again, do I? I've finished half of the second sock and a little more than half of the scarf. In a few days I'll be ready to think about the next new thing, or maybe this is the time to finish some of the things I've been neglecting.

I'll be hanging around the house for a couple of days this week, recovering from another -- I can't type it -- isdom-way ooth-tay ing-thay. This will be the last, but it's the lead-in to the next part of a long process. Will I still have readers after I spend the next six months alluding to frightening dental procedures? I'll try to spare everyone the details, but the end result will be a happier and healthier Jane. That, and the extra knitting time I'll get when I have to take a sick day here and there, makes it worth it.

A and some oddness

A is for Abundance.

I'm blessed with an abundance of delightful yarn. Soft wool, silk and wool, silk on its own. Dyed by hand, hand painted, not dyed at all. Yarn for lace, yarn for socks, yarn for scarves and shawls and hats and mitts. Oh, the anticipation of knitting pleasure!

~:~

Most evenings lately I've been working on just two projects. I have several more (ha!) in process, but these two have been holding my attention.

The Japanese Vines scarf is growing steadily, and though I haven't had time to give it my undivided attention, it's always a pleasure to pick it up and work a few repeats. I'm not sure I'll ever capture the color -- a purple-hazed green -- but I promise that it is not grey!

This pattern reminds me why I love to knit simple lace. I can read the knitting as easily as I can read the chart. I'll find myself saying things like, "Oh, here's where I switch to ssk," or "Together, two, over, purl," as I work a row. I can pick it up and figure out where I left off with just a glance. It grows with little effort or intense attention, but needs just enough, or else I'll look down and realize that I knit a whole motif too many times. It's a deeply satisfying experience, especially with this soft silk and merino yarn, and it's one of my very favorite things about knitting.

The other project du jour is a pair of socks in the new Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. First we have the just-finished sock (color S185, Blueberry Waffle pattern, 2.25mm needles):


What the photo doesn't show is that this sock is stiff as a board. Not dense, just stiff. So, into the Soak it went:


The result: a softer, more relaxed sock, which is also not visible in the photo. Sturdy enough, I think, even though the yarn is single ply. I've been carrying it around with me, and I've decided that it's a good sock, just odd. I'm proud of it, even though it's a little homely. Its mate will join it in a few days, and together they'll do what all socks are meant to do, keep my feet warm.


I just can't seem to shake the feeling that it's a strange little sock, and I wonder if I'll continue to be slightly astonished by it even when it's on my foot.

I've been spinning a bit, too. Keeping up with NaSpiMoMo is harder than I thought! My goals are modest -- spin, just spin, and use the Reeves wheel for some of it -- so I'm just about to finish up a bobbin of Blue Faced Leicester from The Painted Sheep. It's delightful to spin, and I'll post a photo when I've spun another bobbin and plied it. I'm planning to make some real spinning time in the next couple of weeks.

~: Bonus A :~


Annabelle, who adds all the cat hair to my yarn and project photographs. She was my A in the first ABC-Along. I wanted to choose another thing for A, but since she inserts her self into everything I do anyway, here she is. I love her to bits.

Still new

New Year's Day, 2008, Fowler's Beach, Southampton. Weendy!

The sky was wild, the wind blew directly off the ocean, and I had to spend most of my time facing the dunes. It was either that, or inhale sand. I did get to have a few breathless minutes enjoying the ocean and the sky, and the bigness of the world, before it was time to turn toward home. Welcome, 2008!

By sunset things had calmed down a bit.

And in between, I began knitting this Japanese Vines scarf. The beautiful yarn can't be captured on a snowy morning like this one (hooray for snow on a day off!). It's the yarn that looks like dragonfly wings -- String Theory Yarn's Silk and Merino. I am enjoying this pattern, which I found on Ravelry. We all know how much I love stitches that tilt and tumble!

I had a wonderful first day of the year. There were a few end/beginning of the year things to do at the store, but they took just a few minutes in the morning, before I went to the ocean. I had a bit of a sore throat so I spent the rest of the day at home, quiet and comfortable (I didn't even turn on the TV until after dark!). By evening I was feeling better, and I'd finished three repeats of the vines pattern.

Everywhere I turn, knitters and friends seem to be making their New Year's resolutions. I'm more inclined to have intentions. I aim for things, knitting and otherwise. I steer in the direction of what I want. That way I get to meander a bit, and dawdle if I feel like it.

In that spirit, last year I didn't join up or swap or meme or anything -- I just wanted to wander. I learned new things and absorbed new ideas, tested myself, and had many new knitting experiences along the way. For one thing, who knew I would design stuff for other people to knit? And knit a tea cozy? Me? Ca-razy. [Oh! I was given the cutest little teapot for Christmas! I'll get a picture soon.]

This year, though, two projects caught my eye and my fancy. I'm not crazy enough to try to do something like blog every day, but these two little things, I can handle.


Margene has declared January to be NaSpiMoMo (Ravelry link) -- National Spin More Month. Since I do want to spin more, and I'd sort of thought that maybe I might spin more in January, this is right up my alley. There aren't any rules or guidelines to worry about. It's a Just Do It sort of thing. I intend to spin in January, on my Reeves wheel especially. Thank you Margene and Carole!


The second project is one I'll also enjoy. Vicki Knitorious has revived the ABC-Along, which I participated in in 2006. There's a Ravelry group, and a Flickr group too. I have a new camera that I want to get to know better, anyway. And I'm excited about focusing on photographs again, and spending more time thinking about them.

Our little snow has stopped now (I've been fiddling with this post for an hour and a half), but I think I'll pretend that it's still falling. Tea (in a pot!) and knitting are on the agenda for today. I hope your day, whatever it holds, is just as cozy.