Tag! You're It! And a little yarn porn...

I’ve never been tagged before. I’m not sure how well this is going to work. Thanks anyway, Brooke! Seriously. Thank you.

Seven Things To Do Before I Die
1. See the Taj Mahal.
2. Spend a year on a Greek Island.
3. See the Egyptian Pyramids.
4. Write the great American novel.
5. Spend a year in Ireland.
6. Spend a year in Scotland.
7. Wonder why the 7 things to do before I die all involve being in other places, either physically or mentally.

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Skateboard.
2. Speak Greek or Latin.
3. Figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
4. Make whipped cream.
5. Write the great American novel.
6. Knit socks.
7. Manage not to get lost.

Seven Things That Attract Me to… Australia
1. Those people can drink, and drink well.
2. It's beautiful. The length and breadth of the entire country. Beautiful.
3. The Great Barrier Reef
4. Uluru.
5. Coober Pedy.
6. The friendliest, kindest people.
7. Fascinating history.

Seven Things I Say
1. May I help you?
2. Is that everything?
3. Of course you can be the Black Dragon superhero when you grow up!
4. Just one more row.
5. Did I say that out loud?
6.You want me to knit you what?!?!
7. I’m lost.

Seven Good Books
1. The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie R. King
2. Still Life with Crows by Preston & Child
3. Godstalk by PC Hodgell
4. Quartzsite Trip by William Hogan
5. Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
6. A Kiss of Shadows by Laurell K Hamilton
7. Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt

Seven Good Movies:
1) The Secretary
2) Sex, Lies, and Videotape
3) Torch Song Trilogy
4) Dogfight
5) Fargo
6) Gormenghast
7) Rocky Horror Picture Show

Seven Blogs to Tag
ok, now I have had several of you who asked me just HOW do you know if you have been tagged: this is how you know it:

And in no particular order,
1) http://www.polliwannablog.blogspot.com/
2) http://knitspot.com/
3) http://lifesastitch.typepad.com/
4) http://www.kitchenerbitch.com/
5) http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/
6) http://vintagestitchorama.blogspot.com/
And because I don’t think any of those people actually READ my blog:
7) Anyone who DOES read my blog

haha!! Tag, you're it!!

There's an awful lot of knitting news this month, isn't there? I just hope next month isn't deserted wasteland of nothing new on the knitting front.



I bought another storage bin, and a new notebook for the patterns I keep trying to stuff in a smaller notebook. And there's a new knitting store in town! Well, okay, in the county - close enough. I don't have to drive more than an hour to find a knitting store!!!! You have no idea how excited I am, and how very, very, very happy this makes me. She's got quite some nice yarns, and some good magazines. Some nice patterns knit up as samples. And everyone so friendly, it's like coming home. Or at least, coming somewhere where the people actually LIKE you and don't merely tolerate you, at best. So it's not really like home. Knitters truly are kind-hearted. I bought some malabrigo in a stony blue. Mmmmm. Because I need something to put in the new bin. But it's quite lovely, and soft. And of course, I have NO project in mind for it. But I've got five skeins of it!!

Stash

I do not yet have S.A.B.L.E. I may never achieve S.A.B.L.E. Since I was never going to have more yarn than was necessary for the current project, I suppose I should be astonished that I actually have a stash. Heh-heh, I said stash. Listening to Stephanie on Thursday night, and reading Casts Off, made me think about my stash, and the storage there-of. One hiding spot I don't think has been covered (altho it may have been) - was putting the yarn in freezer bags and hiding it in the toilet tank. Seriously. You could fit quite a bit in there. Fortunately, I am not yet forced to try out and report back on this ingenious solution. My yarn was in one small-ish lidded bin, and 6 large-ish shopping bags. Obviously, while the bin could fit on a flat surface, the bags were piled hap-hazardly, everywhere, or alternately, shoved into the closet. This is no self-respecting way to store stash. So on Saturday, I went to the store on a stash storage solution quest. As I stood there looking at all of the different types of storage bins, scratching my head, I realized that there were too many choices, and I didn't have the first inkling where to start. Until I found some clear, stackable bins with drawers. Hmmmm. I can stack them. To the ceiling, if need be. They have drawers. I can access the contents easily. They are clear. I can see the contents easily. So I grabbed up three of them, bemoaning the fact that while I knew I'd be buying some large items, I didn't bother to get a cart. I don't know why I do that, but I do. So after a mighty struggle, I get the bins paid for, and to the car. And once home, I wipe them down, and stack them up. Oh lovely. Then I begin loading up the drawers with the yarn, and all of the yarn paraphernalia. And it fits beautifully. I put the pretty, soft, touchable stuff in the fronts, where I can drool, I mean, look at it. I have a tiny bit of room left for more yarn, but seriously, another bin would be ideal. And that means I need to hit some yarn stores so that I can fill it up, er, I mean, plan more projects.















And buoyed by the virtuous feeling of organization and neatness, I decided to start the knitting journal. I just have to add the pictures of the projects, and I'll be done - all the way up to the Manos cape.















Whoa! I fee-ee-eel gooood! This knitting thing IS good for your self-esteem. I feel so in control.

Yarn Harlot Representing Picture Links

Liz at the Honeyspot has some nice pics of Strawberry Fields, yarn shops, and FIT on her blog.

The Tsock Tsarina has some great shots of Stephanie wearing the Bohus up on her blog.

Christine at She's Crafty also has pictures on her blog.

Sandra at K-or-K has some great shots.

Kay over at Mason Dixon Knitting has some very nice shots at Strawberry Fields.

Kippany at Snit n' Knit has some very nice pics.

Kathy has some pics of the Today show crowd, and the Strawberry Fields.

Beth at Cigars on the Porch has some excellent shots.

Jennie at Knitting Rage posts pics of the scene at FIT.

CCR in Ma has a detailed description and pictures.

I'm sure there are many more out there in blogland, so if anyone feels left out, I apologize.

The Yarn Harlot in Person

Let me start by saying I didn't make it to the knit-in in Central Park. I didn't want to wend my way that far north. Why? Because I was wearing heels & my feet were killing me, that‘s why! So in between yarn shopping, I shoe shopped. Actually, before I did anything else, I shoe shopped. There are a lot of shoe shops in NY, aren't there? HOW COME NONE OF THEM HAD SHOES?!?! Well, in my size, or that would be wearable. And, you won't believe this, but I didn't buy ANY yarn. Yeah, it's true. I swear to you. And as I rode home on the bus, I wondered, vaguely, when the last time I had bought yarn was. And I realized that it was Super-bowl Sunday at that yarn store in Mt. Holly. Not bad! Nearly 2 months without purchasing yarn. Since I now have a respectable stash, um, I mean enough yarn for twenty projects, that’s probably a good thing. Although, I’m beginning to accept the idea that I will need more yarn for the Manos del Uruguay cape project. I’m starting the 3rd skein, and I only have 4 inches. Yeah.

Now, on to the main event. First, I’d like to apologize for the picture that is neither the author, or the HUGE audience! It’s the only one that came out, and as people start posting their not-completely-black pictures, I’ll link to them. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Was. Fantastic. Out-of-this-world. Phenomenal. She was nervous, and their was an aww-www-www moment when she realized that her husband was in the audience. Her talk was about an hour and a half. It was riveting, inspiring, funny, touching. And it made you want to hunt down those non-knitting muggles and teach them a thing or two! I love you, Stephanie! She followed with a question-and-answer period. The book, which I finished reading already, was excellent. So many of the steps of the Knitters journey that I’ve already taken in 15 months. So many steps of the journey to go. The yarn and needles hand-out co-sponsored by the Yarn Council of America and Storey Publishing was great. I didn’t attempt the impossible - knitting a 7x9 square in an hour and a half. But I will! Um, you know, as soon as I finish the Manos cape thing.

Representin'

Wooo Hoooooo! I'm going into NYC to support the Yarn Harlot in her quest to prove to the muggles that knitters are indeed taking of the world. You can read about it here. I'm going up Wednesday night, so that I don't waste any precious time Thursday, traveling. On March 22nd, there's a knit-in in Central Park at noon. And she'll be speaking at the Haft Auditorium at the Fashion Institute of Technology at 6:00 p.m. I'm so excited that my boss gave my time to be able to go. What could be better? Hanging out in NY? Yarn crawling? Getting to see the Yarn Harlot? Admit it - those of you who can't make it are jealous! Don't worry, I'll bring you with me, if only in spirit.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The good: I've been matched up with my secret pal for SP10. Just took a quick look at her blog, and she seems smart, funny, and (gulp) a good knitter.

The bad: The adult school called to tell me that the intermediate knitting class had been cancelled. AGAIN. I'm so disappointed, I can't even speak of it.

The ugly: While knitting at lunch today, my circs came apart at the join. We will not speak of this horrible happening. The result? A LOT of stitches were dropped. A LOT of the 420 stitches on my needles. Did I mention it was a LOT of stitches? I hope I was able to pick them all up, but I suspect that I missed some. I will be very upset if that's the case; I really don't want to start over again.

Sigh... Can we just start today over again? Please?

Knitting News

1) Still knitting - slowly - on the mohair bias scarf.

2) Still knitting away on the cape - yep 420 stitch rows of stockinette is slow going. Since there is no way I will have this finished by April 28th, I think the mohair scarf, by default and the fact that I may finish it, will become the MoA project.

3) I decided to make the felt magic hat for the Harry Potter Knitalong. My son will love it, and there is also the possibibilty that it will be finished by July.

4) The intermediate knitting class starts next Tuesday. I'm so excited. So many things I want to learn. First, I'm hoping to learn how to revise the (cape) pattern to a different gauge. Second, I want to cast on a sock, and learn how to turn the heel. Third, I want to actually make a large, finished object that involves increasing, decreasing, and seams. And fourth, I need some help with finishing techniques. These seem to be about as good as my sewing techniques.

And since I've started the CPM class, have a job interview on Monday, am taking a major test on the 21st, and of course, needs must be a parent to my son, things are just a tad hectic. Just a tad...

Mathematically Challenged

I had ordered this pattern for the Baby Alpaca Grande yarn I happen to have coveted, er, I mean bought. But I decided the pattern would be perfect for the Manos, with a few modifications. So I swatched AGAIN, and it turns out the Manos is 4 stitches to the inch. The Alpaca Grande is, and incidentally the pattern calls for, 3 stitches to the inch.

Now, I am mathematically challenged. I was able to figure out how many stitches to cast on to achieve the right size in inches. That was a miracle in and of itself. I have NOT been able to figure out how many stitches to decrease, and on which rows, to maintain the pattern. I'm only on the 2nd row, so this is not yet critical, especially since I'm planning on extending the length. If you, Dear Reader, are familiar with either the magical mathematical formulae or a source that explains the magic to achieve this miracle, kindly impart it to me. Also, if anyone is aware of an invisible decrease, I'd appreciate that information, too.