Ten on Tuesday

Yeah, yeah, it's been a while. I'm not about to let the entire month of June slip by, but having no knitting content to show you (I've been knitting, just nothing worth showing), I'm easing back into things with Ten on Tuesday.

Ten Memorable Sports Moments
Given my inclinations, it's not surprising that some of these didn't actually occur during a sporting event.

1. In the "memorable only to me" department, the summer after graduating from college I played church-league softball. (I was even a church member.) I was the catcher, which in that league was a good place for a big-time klutz, since stealing wasn't allowed. During one game we were getting creamed by the other team, who seemed to us to be celebrating rather more than necessary, when my parents stopped by to watch. During a brief delay in play, with the other team batting, my dad called me over. "They all swing at pitches that are low and outside," he said. "Put your target there." I did, and the next two batters struck out. Thanks, Dad.
   
2. My parents arrived to watch another softball game as play was about to start, and a good thing, because we were short a player and had to enlist Marjorie to avoid forfeiting. We had some trouble persuading her; she said she hadn't played since high school and would be terrible, and I pointed out that she couldn't be worse than a forfeit. As I recall she got at least one hit.
   
3. During the 2003 American League Championship Series the Sox had their starter pitch the first seven innings, followed by Mike Timlin in the eighth and Scott Williamson in the ninth. In game 7 Sox manager Grady Little deviated from this winning formula, sending starter Pedro Martinez out to pitch the eighth with a two-run lead and pulling him only when the Yankees tied the game. The Yankees went on to win, and Little fled Boston under cover of darkness. All right, not really, but he should have. (We're talking memorable moments here, not necessarily good ones.)
   
4. And then there was Game 6, tenth inning, 1986 World Series... do I really need to go there?
   
5. The Yankees led the 2004 ALCS 3-0 (they had won Game 3 19-8, an event thoroughly enjoyed by the raucous fans in the motel room next to Miss B's and mine during Rhinebeck weekend) and were up 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth when Dave Roberts, pinch running for Kevin Millar, stole second base and then scored on Bill Mueller's single. That was the turning point of the series, the Sox coming back to win in 7 games. (Aah, that's better.)
   
6. In the closing moments of the 2004 AFC divisional game between the Patriots and the Colts, the latter led by league MVP quarterback Peyton Manning, with the Patriots about to win, a fan held up a homemade sign:
   Make
   Vacation
   Plans
   
   Best sign ever.
   
7. In 1999, at the age of 29 and having decided to give it one more year before retiring, Maria Butyrskaya won the women's world figure skating championship. The US papers of course covered this grudgingly and gave a lot more space to Michelle Kwan's failure to win than to Butyrskaya's grit, but I love a good triumphant-underdog story.
   
8. During a women's doubles match at the US Open (tennis, not golf), the Williams sisters were in the process of demolishing their opponents when Venus jumped for an overhand smash. "What do you suppose her vertical leap is?" one of the announcers asked.
   "Whatever she wants it to be," the other answered.
   
9. During the 2000 US Open (still tennis), in an interview after winning an epic five-set match with Carlos Moya, Todd Martin was asked, "Where are you physically right now?"
   He replied, "Physically? I'm right here. Do you want to know where I am metaphysically?"
   (I also fondly remember the epic Martin-Rusedski match at the 1999 US Open, during which, after Martin had saved maybe the fifth match point against him at around 1:30 am, John McEnroe announced in his best Python accent, "'E's not quite dead yet!" Proof that even sportscasters get punchy.)
   
10. I didn't see this when it happened, but I have to include Ron Swoboda's catch during the 1969 World Series. Go watch it. It's not the best video quality, but you gotta see this. Srsly. It will forevermore be known in baseball simply as The Catch.

Menagerie

Yesterday I went to NHSW with Donna and Lynne. We had an excellent time. Having slightly overshopped two weeks ago at CTSW, I decided that anything fibery would have to work extra hard to talk me into taking it home. (It does too talk. You just have to be listening.) Luckily I had less opportunity than usual to resist the siren songs, because everyone was there, and I kept bumping into friends all day long. After a couple of years that somehow seem like an eternity of knowing her only online, I met Suzanne and her charming family.


She was wearing a stunning shawl that she designed as she went along — dang, I wish I could do that, well, I can, but I wish I could do it as well as she did — and we talked about kids and politics and knitting.

A few days ago Norma was worrying that her red sweater wouldn't fit, wouldn't hang right, wouldn't look good on her, just all around wouldn't work.


I have no idea why. It's a perfect sweater in a perfect Norma color, and it looks like it grew on her. (How does she get the shoulder seams so perfect? I do not know.)

I was privileged to witness the culmination of five years of wheel lust.


Cate sat down and spun for maybe ten seconds, then pulled out her checkbook. As I had just been spinning on it myself and wishing that I could take it home without risking life and limb (the expression "fifth wheel" comes to mind in several senses), I was pleased to see it and Cate find each other. I also met Cate's lovely children. Are they not lovely?


Cheryl ate a pickle. We encouraged her to get some ice cream to go with it, but she was enjoying herself, not pandering to stereotypes.

And I saw Carole and Terry wearing her newly finished shawl, and Manise and Chris, whose fiber was its usual chatty self, and Martha and Marcy and Sandy and... what am I, a link machine? You know who you are.

And then there were the animals. I watched the sheepdog demo for a little while.


This is the first year I remember Dave's bringing his clever dogs and ever-patient sheep to NH. I see him with them every year at Fiber Frolic (anyone Frolicking this year? inquiring minds want to know), dogs are dogs and sheep are nervous, and I never get tired of the show.

I am all in favor of same-sex marriage (congrats to the state of Maine on recently becoming #5, and New Hampshire may follow very shortly).


I do generally prefer same-species marriage, but to each her own.


It's hard to blame anyone for loving the furry critters.

But the coolest thing I saw all day was not part of the plan. As I emerged from the restroom at the back of the fairgrounds, a movement near an unoccupied building caught my eye.




There were four of them, darting under the building (I think their den is probably under there somewhere), crawling back out again, stalking and pouncing and romping together. So cute! But I hoped everyone's lambs and bunnies would be safely locked up for the night.

Dang, I love festival season.

WIP

When I turned 50 a couple of months ago I felt a sense of liberation. I'm old enough to know what matters and what doesn't, and certainly too old to worry about what people think of me. WYSIWYG, as they say in my business, and let the chips fall where they may.

Then came last Tuesday. The Ten on Tuesday was ten words people would use to describe you, and I felt as if I'd consumed a quart of ice cream in world-record time. I guess I still care a lot what people think of me, and I worry that some of it might not be good. As a friend said, inevitably some people won't like me, and since there's nothing I can do about it I shouldn't worry; and after decades of practice I actually almost have that one. It's the people who do like me that I get bent out of shape about: do they really? and why? Because if I start trying to analyze it, I'm damned if I can come up with a reason. Of course it's hard to think when your brain is frozen.

Nonetheless, I'm going to take a crack at this, if (almost) a week late, as a character-building exercise.

Ten Words People Would Use to Describe Me

1. knitter
   
2. spinner
   
3. creative
   
4. funny
   
5. grammarian
   
6. ailurophile
   
7. sesquipedalian
   
8. tangential
   
9. unglamorous
   
10. bookish

Well. That wasn't nearly so hard as I'd feared. The factual ones are indisputable and therefore easy, but there are a couple there that I really could use if asked "what are your strengths?" — which, as you might guess, is the interview question I dread the most. #8 btw is a description actually given not of me, exactly, but of my conversational style: after (again) decades of self-training I am capable of staying on the same topic for more than half a sentence, but it's not easy.

Are you still here? If you've patiently read through all of this omphaloskepsis, the least I can do is give you some eye candy, even if it is Monday.



Bring on the next Ten on Tuesday: I'm ready. I think.

Kureyon, My Wayward Son

For some time Grant and Miss B had been planning a weekend getaway during school vacation; they originally scheduled it for next weekend, but I made them move it to this weekend so I could go to CTSW. They decided that Grant would pick her up when school let out on Friday, and they would leave directly from there. Little did I know that I would be presented with an opportunity to visit Mecca WEBS on Friday, but luckily I got a sitter to meet Taz's van and stay with him until six.

I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of self-striping or self-patterning yarns; they offend my inner control freak, who wants to be the one to decide when the yarn changes color. For some time, however, I've had a mild case of Noro virus brought on by an idea bumping around the back of my head, and it flared into passionate lust that would not be denied when I saw the wall of Kureyon at WEBS. (I tried in vain to talk myself into a discontinued, thus cheaper, colorway.)

I have several knitting deadlines (mostly self-imposed), and summer will soon be upon us, so since I am a sensible and logical person the first thing I started when I got home was...



a scarf in Kureyon (#229) and Lamb's Pride worsted. You may recall my Wild Thing scarf; this new one is another take on two-color brioche stitch. I'm calling it Sibyl because, as you can see, it has two sides, one quiet, one colorful. (I know the eponymous Sibyl was reputed to have many more sides than that, but for the moment I am sticking with just two.)

In my Ravelry notes on Wild Thing I said I couldn't really call it a design as it was simple two-color brioche; one person said I most certainly could if I felt like it and asked for the pattern, so here it is.

Materials for Wild Thing: bulky weight brushed mohair yarn in a solid color (A), bulky weight space-dyed thick-and-thin wool yarn (B), about 250 yards each (yardage is a wild guess! I really have no idea since I was working off huge cones). Size 10 circular needle.
Materials for Sibyl: About 300 yards (150 grams) each Lamb's Pride worsted weight in black or background color of your choice (black really makes the Kureyon pop) (A) and Noro Kureyon (B). Size 7 or 8 circular needle.

1. With color A, cast on 29 sts for Wild Thing or 35 sts for Sibyl.
   
2. With B, k the first st (edge stitch; in all subsequent rows you will slip the first stitch), *sl 1 with yo (sl st and at the same time yo over the top of it with the working yarn), k1, end sl 1 with yo, k edge st.
   
3. Slide sts back to the other end of the needle and with A, *p st and yo, sl 1 with yo, end p st and yo, k edge st.
   
4. With B, *sl 1 with yo, p st and yo, end sl 1 with yo, k edge st.
   
5. Slide sts back to the other end of the needle and with A, *k st and yo, sl 1 with yo, end k st and yo, k edge st.
   
6. Repeat these four rows until done. Note: much more info about brioche stitch (possibly more than you want) including photos can be found at the brioche stitch site.

I think Sibyl will be my first offering to the Red Scarf Goddess this year. (I trust and hope there will be a Red Scarf this year, O Magnificent One?)

Mary's Socks

A couple of months ago I was invited to join a small sock swap, and I happily accepted. I made a pair of socks for Mary; my original design was based on the facts that 1) her favorite colors are black and red 2) she admired the Sunday Brunch stitch pattern while I was working on Grant's earwarmer.


(Photo shamelessly pilfered from Julie.)

I thought about writing out the pattern for you exactly as I worked it, but I quickly realized that practically no one else on the planet is going to need 84 stitches for a sock leg worked in elann Esprit, even on size-3 needles in a cable pattern. Therefore I will give you the basic method, and you get to plug in the numbers.

Basic Method for Mary's Socks

1. Choose your main and contrast colors. If using Esprit you will need less than one ball per sock (probably less than one ball total) of the contrast color (CC), one full ball per sock of the main color (MC).
   
2. Determine your st st gauge in your chosen yarn (A) and the circumference of the relevant foot (B). Make a toe by whatever method you wish, using A x B sts adjusted to a multiple of 6. (I started with 66 sts.)
   
3. You will be using half the sts for the instep, half for the sole. Put the sts on two circs or one long circ for magic loop or dpn's in whatever arrangement is comfortable for you. Work one round st st in MC.
   
4. Increase round: On the instep sts, p3, *k1, p into front and back of next st, k1, end p3. (I now had 42 instep sts.) Work sole sts in st st on this and all subsequent foot rounds. You now have more instep sts than sole sts; this is as it should be.
   
5. Foot: on instep sts, p3, work row 1 of Sunday Brunch stitch pattern: *p into back of second st on left needle, k first st, slip both sts from needle together for a left twist (LT), k second st on left needle, p first st, slip both sts from needle together for a right twist (RT), end p3, work sole sts. Work 3 rounds even. Next round: on instep sts, p3, work row 5 of Sunday Brunch stitch pattern: *RT, LT, end p3, work sole sts. Work next 3 rounds even, completing one repeat of Sunday Brunch. Continue to work foot pattern as established until sock measures about 2 inches shorter than the relevant foot, leaving room for stretch if working with stretchy yarn. (I can't tell you how much exactly; about an inch seems to work for me in Esprit.) End with a row 2 on instep sts.
   
6. In CC, work a heel by whatever method you wish. I made a short-row heel with 2 instep sts "borrowed" on each side.
   
7. In MC, work 1 round in pattern as established. On next round, set up Sunday Brunch pattern on back of leg as in step 4. (I now had 84 sts.) Work 2 rounds in pattern.
   
8. You will have 6 purl sts on each side of the foot (3 on the front needle(s), 3 on the back). On the next round, k the middle 2 of these sts (1 on each needle, or you can move them both to the same needle if this is easier) in CC on each side.
   
9. Continue in pattern as established until leg measures 3 inches from top of heel, ending with a row 2 or 6. On next round, on the front of the leg work the first 3 sts k1 in CC, p2 in MC, work the first Sunday Brunch st, then *work 2 together (k2tog or p2tog, as the case may be), work 2, last 3 sts p2 in MC, k1 in CC. Do the same for the back of the leg. You should be back to your original number of sts (66 in my case).
   
10. Work 3 rounds in 1x1 rib in MC, knitting all CC sts on the first round.
    
11. Bind off (I used my favorite 1x1 tubular bind-off).

Obviously you can make the leg as long as you wish or have yarn for. Luckily for me, as I finished barely in time, Mary likes short socks. I actually worked both socks at once on two circs, separating them to work the heels and then putting them back together for the legs, but no law says you have to do it that way.

Saturday Sky: Woolapalooza

It's true: I'm a bit late with my Woolapalooza report, since it was last Saturday. Better late than never, though, and better a Woolapalooza report than details of our wild and woolly week, in which Taz proved once again that he can scare us to death for no apparent reason. (He was eating and drinking little and talking even less. There were many tests, all normal. Now he's fine. That is all.)

So, anyway, Woolapalooza. There were lambs.




So cute!

There were goats.


There were calves.


(And here I thought the goats were supposed to be the ones chewing on random inedible objects.)

There was shearing.


No sheep or sheep parts were harmed during the shearing.

There were spinners.


Only a couple of people were spinning, but as always they did a great job of explaining it to the kids and letting them try it. (Being a little too small for the wheel, the young gentleman here is helping with the treadling part.) Thus are future spinners born (mwahahaha).

We had an excellent time, as did a large crowd of other people, the weather being gorgeous. We saw the regular animal and bird exhibits, which are definitely worth a look should you be in the neighborhood. We would have stayed longer had they not run out of food before we decided to have lunch. If we go next year we'll pack a picnic.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Miss B got new glasses, which she models here along with a Miro sample that I made for the lovely Janet, of Woolpack fame. Note the landscape behind her: I took this picture a week or so ago, after what I devoutly hope will be the last serious snow for quite a while.


The melting snow revealed our catnip plant, or rather the dead stalks that remained from last year's catnip. This concerned Miss B: "What will Achilles do without his nip?" she asked me. I told her not to worry, the plant would be back, but she was skeptical... until she cleaned off the mat of oak leaves that had filled the pot to the top and discovered that I was right. I remain madly jealous of Carole's crocuses, but at least we have something growing here.


And, most amazing, Taz is 15 today. Fifteen, I tell you. How did this happen? I do not know. But please wish him a happy birthday, and then go wish Margene one. Taz and Margene both know how to let go and enjoy themselves, and if they're both celebrating, spring is definitely on the way.

And the Winners Are...

Not blogging is getting to be way too much of a habit, but I don't seem to have much to say. I mean, I think of things, and I don't write them down, and next thing I know either I've forgotten them or they no longer seem interesting. But, hey! I was running a contest, wasn't I? So I can tell you about the mittens and the contest winners.



You've probably seen them on Ravelry or Facebook already, but if not, voila. They have thumbs now, and I wove in the ends, but I haven't gotten around to taking another picture. Miss B commandeered them pretty much as soon as I put the tapestry needle away. I may make another pair for myself with a couple of design tweaks. Does anyone want the pattern? If so I will write it up. (No, I didn't wing this one, except for the thumbs, but I have to write out all the stuff like how many stitches in the thumb gusset. I hope I remember.)

The winner for guessing the motif was Debbi, who got it immediately despite my feeble attempt at misdirection. Debbi will get a little surprise at SPA, I think, since we will both be there and something there is bound to scream her name at me.

The random number generator picked CCR as the other winner. I will find something nice for her as well.

Oh, and I got an award! More on that later.

And tomorrow I have to do a Serious, Reflective Post on My Life So Far and How I Got Here (As Best I Recall). Well, I don't have to, but it's one of those milestones, a large, round one, so I'll try to come up with something semi-respectable.

A Song for Knitters

There was a stretch a good while back where it seemed that all my blog comments were coming out as song parodies, ranging from a line or two up to whole stanzas. For this year's silent poetry reading I've expanded one of them to the whole song, and I present the result here for your delectation.

You must remember this,
It's yarn we can't resist,
No matter how we try:
The pull of wool will never die,
As time goes by.

And when two knitters meet
They'll check each other's feet
And handknit socks descry,
Wool socks will always keep us warm
As time goes by.

Shawls, hats and sweaters,
Never out of date,
Yarns of alpaca,
Yak, and wool are great,
Right glove needs left
And left must have its mate,
That no one can deny!

It's still the same old story,
We knit for love, not glory,
A case of spin and ply,
The world will always welcome knitters,
As time goes by.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

Well, all right, mostly ladies (Dave? Are you out there?), we have a winner! But I'm holding out on you until I have a bit more mitten done, so I can show you instead of telling you. Since way more than ten of you guessed, there will be a random drawing, and you can still enter before midnight Saturday. All of the guesses have been good, and some have given me ideas, so if you still want to enter, tell me what motif I should use on my next pair of mittens. (Please use the previous post so I can keep track of all the entries in one place.)

Who Knows Where the Time Goes

So I've been a bit quiet lately, to the point where people are starting to wonder if I still exist. I am fine, we are all fine, even the cats are fine, as well as feline. And I was starting to write a fairly whiny post about my work crunch and how it keeps being winter, which I may pick back up at some point (you can hardly wait, right?), but at the moment I have some business to take care of, and before I do that I will show you a picture of an actual FO. Yes, I have been knitting, and I've finally managed to make something for my husband, who doesn't wear sweaters because they keep him too warm and likes the white athletic socks they sell at CVS.


It's an earwarmer in the Sunday Brunch stitch pattern. If it's not actively snowing, earwarmers work for him, because he is always warm — he will lounge on the bed in his underwear while I huddle in flannel pj's under three or four layers of bedding — and this way he can lose heat through the top of his head without freezing his ears.

Pattern: cast on a multiple of 4 sts to fit the relevant head (take a gauge swatch first: Sunday Brunch pulls in a lot), join into a round, work Sunday Brunch stitch pattern for 4-5 inches or however wide you want it, bind off. There is, alas, no perfect bind-off for 2x2 rib afaik — if you know of one, for heaven's sake speak up — I used the tubular bind-off for 2x2 rib given in Priscilla Gibson-Roberts's Simple Socks Plain and Fancy.

Now, about that other business... you'll never guess what I just noticed: it's my third blogiversary today. Yay! I managed to miss my first two, and almost missed this one as well, but looked at the calendar in time.

I'm trying to think of something either witty or deep to write about What Blogging Means to Me, and my mind is a blank. It does not help that I've read several excellent posts on the topic lately. I may try again later, but I'd be remiss not to mention what lovely readers and commenters I have. Couldn't have done it without you. Well, I could have, but I wouldn't have: being a voice crying in the wilderness is not my idea of a good time. So much do I appreciate you that I'm celebrating my blogiversary in traditional fashion by having a contest. (Entrants are warned that I can be extremely slow about sending out prizes, as Abigail could tell you, but I do get to it eventually.)

Here's the gimmick: I'm working right now on designing a pair of mittens. They're going to be stranded in two colors, I've already picked a motif, and I want you to guess what it is. (It's not reindeer. Reindeer mittens are lovely, but reindeer live where it's even colder than it is here.) Leave a comment with your guess before midnight Saturday; the first correct guesser who didn't get inside information (sorry, Ruth) will win a prize, and if I get at least ten guesses I will do a random drawing for another prize.

Ten on Tuesday: Special Blogslacker Edition

Hello again, everyone! No, I did not leave the planet, but that sure went fast: I thought I'd blog again in a day or two, and next thing I know almost two weeks have flowed by. About 20 minutes ago I looked up, noted the time, and said to Grant, "Crud, I missed spinning." Sorry about that, ladies: maybe in another two weeks I'll have my head on straight. Herewith, therefore, my own spin, as it were, on Ten on Tuesday.

Ten Things I Didn't Blog About Since I Last Blogged

1. We said goodbye to the Ohio crew. We had a great time, and we were sorry to leave, but we did discover that flying with Taz is a lot easier than we'd feared — so we're already thinking about going back next year.
   
   
   
2. We flew home.
   
   
   

   my son the pack mule
   
   
   

   flying high
   
   
   

   just a plane knitter
   
   
   

   welcome home
   
   

3. I spun at St. Distaff's Day.
   
   
   

   my friend Debbie and her lovely pin
   
   
   

   my other friend Debbi and her sherpa
   
   

   Crystal, newly aspinnilated
   
   
   

   Penny and friend
   
   

4. We shoveled snow.
   
5. I finished Miss B's scarf. One of these days I will get her to model it.
   
6. We shoveled more snow.
   
7. We celebrated Grant's birthday. Happy birthday, honey!
   
8. I discovered that my fatter jeans (my fat jeans having been retired long ago) don't fit.
   
9. I went on a diet. Sort of. I am being aware of what I eat, and I have desisted from snarfing up all the available pie, cake, cookies, candy, and other assorted carbolicious treats. For the last six months I don't know what was with me, but, not to mince words, I ate like a pig. I am setting a modest goal: get back into my fatter jeans. Then we'll see.
   
10. I am still working on the top-down hat that I started, yikes, before Christmas.
    
    
    I'm afraid it might be still a bit too big, but it's now within the realm of fitting a human head. I may decrease a bit before starting the ribbing, which could give it a slightly fungoid appearance, but this is the joy of making things up as you go.

Whew. I think that's everything, more or less.

That Didn't Last Long

Sometime soon I will take a break, really, but I can't resist the opportunity to do a post with actual knitting content. Before I get to that, however, in the life's-little-ironies department: I decided a couple of weeks ago what my Z would be and that I would post it on the last day of the year. Ever since we arrived at Ellen's I've been trying to get a picture of a sleeping dog to go with all the sleeping-cat pix I already had. I didn't think it would be hard, since there are three dogs and all of them like to curl up and snuggle, but every time I got the camera near them they would perk up and look at me alertly.


This was the scene that greeted me this morning. Apparently the dogs held New Year's Eve revels of their own while no humans were looking.



I finally finished Miro and gave it to my niece G, who seems quite taken with it, judging from the fact that she hasn't taken it off since I gave it to her six hours ago. (Technically G is Grant's niece, but I'm happy to claim as a relative anyone who accepts knitted gifts so graciously.)


And I've started a new scarf for Miss B. The pattern is my best approximation of one we saw in the LYS; it's not exactly right, but it's close.

Z is for Zzzz

Whether you do it in a favorite warm place...


or where there's room to stretch out...



or curled up with a good friend, sleep is one of life's great sensual pleasures. Sometimes going to sleep is like descending a staircase slowly, deliberately, pausing to take in the moment, making it last. Sometimes it's like a quick bite snatched off a tray when no one is looking, and sometimes it's falling into a deep blue ocean, not caring if I ever surface again.

I began 2008 thinking I would try posting every day, but not committing to anything because I didn't know if I could keep it up even a week or a month, much less a whole calendar full. I joined the ABCAlong in much the same spirit: give it a try, see how it goes. I've reached the last day of the year and the last letter of the alphabet at the same time, and I feel I have earned a loooooooooooooong winter's nap. You may not see me until June.

Only kidding, of course. You know I could never stay quiet for that long.

Happy New Year, everyone!