The Yarnarian Learns the Definition of "Old".

I was visiting the Mommie yesterday and she asked me when she was going to be 94. I told her it would be in early November. So then she said: I'm getting old."
"What do you mean, old?", I said, "You are already there." "Nope, old is 99. I have a few more years to go."

That left me pretty much speechless. "So what does that make me?" "Oh, Honey, you're just a child."

You heard it, directly from the mouth of a "getting old" almost 94 year old woman. The definition of "old" is 99!

Knitting news: I'm working on 1 scarf, a vest, 5 prs of socks, all of which have the first one knitted, and a lace shawl I started last Saturday. The last is from the book by Evelyn Clark: Knitting lace triangles. I saw this stunning shawl on Ravelry, and I had to do a variation on it. This is the shawl by the Knitting Doctor, and I'm in love with it. So, Saturday I cast on for it, frogged it 4 times, and was happy the fifth time. And this is all I've done. But at least you can see the color.



Carolyn - If I'm a child, what does that make my grandchildren? The book gives 4 lace patterns and tells you how to transition from one to the other and then gives you a border. It's nicely laid out. Truth to tell, I really didn't need it because I've been doing this a long time, but it's nice not to always re-invent the wheel, and anyhow, her patterns are lovely. If you're an experience lace knitter, you don't need it, but on the other hand, it's really a nice book. Take a look at my link above to the Knitting Doctor, and you'll see why I like the book.

Ria - That's a cute story.

Jean - When I have lunch with the Mommie, who lives in a senior residence, I really do feel like a youngster. The fist time I visited, all I could see was how old everyone was; now they look just like ordinary folks to me.
Thank goodness the metro New York area is not a youth-oriented culture.

Sharon - The Mommie is called "your Highness" where she lives. She gives them the Queen Elizabeth wave.

KV - She certainly is a character. Tough, gives nothing away, never loses an argument. She is THE Mommie!

KnitNana - I hope we make it to that age and are still as tough as our mommies!

To all you lovely responders: aren't Mommies wonderful?

The Yarnarian Lives in the Moment.

Things are slow in the Etsy shop; everyone is on vacation, too hot to knit, etc. So, the Yarnarian has been busy with lots of other things.

Just about all the yarn for the sotm has been dyed, and all the other details are falling into place. I now have bags of pretty yarn hiding out in a closet. Here's a pic of some more dyed skeins. These are a bit brighter than the others because that's where I was that day.



Yeah yeah yeah. But the Yarnarian doesn't sit in one place and stare at the walls. Not this Yarnarian!

So, here's what's on the needles:

a vest, picture of which is below in some post. k2,p2 for 7", decrease and work k1,p1 for 17" and so on. True auto-pilot knitting. And in worsted, for heaven's sake and size 7 needles. I have ta tell ya that this is mindless knitting and quite pleasant. Great for watching the Olympics. I'd love to finish it by Sept.1, but we'll see.

yet another mitered little scarf, this one done in STR lightweight bought a couple of years ago. I made a pr of socks out of the yarn and found them too heavy, but I loved doing scarves out of them, so here I go again. This is also auto-pilot knitting, perfect for the car and in restaurants. Yup, I KIP!




And of course the never-ending socks in progress; that goes without saying.

Dyeing: I have been thinking about knitting lace shawls again. I'm into it in a big way, so yesterday I dyed up 2 skeins of Zephyr for moi. It was a good way to practice how I want to dye up this yarn for another KAL Mystery Shawl coming up later this year. I'll probably dye those skeins a bit lighter, but I need to check with the designer. Anyhow, I now have my technique in place and 2 lovely skeins all for me as a reward: Pics are not really on target; my camera wants to make the yarns lighter. In the second picture, you get to see my neat yarn swift in action.




So that's what going on here. Not much, but I'm in a "retired lady" phase, so it's good to futz around and knit and read and go to lunch. The Hubbo is riding Rescue Squad all day today, so I am going to do nothing at all except go to the Stitching Bee, my favorite LYS owned by Judy, and buy a skein of superwash worsted in any shade of green for a surprise for a friend. The library to pick up a couple of holds, and that's it!

And after all that doing nothing, by next week I'll be so revved to dye again. The question is what to dye.

Oh, I forgot something actually interesting: 4 of us on the PennyRoses forum on Ravelry (thank you, Sharon, for starting and moderating it) have started to exercise and cheer ourselves on. So,Friday, we all did our thing, and the Yarnarian actually went to the gym, and now has a sore butt and upper arms. A very nice feeling indeed. I hope we can keep the mojo up! If any dear readers want to join us, and are on Ravelry, go join the forum, say hello, and walk or work out with us. Very nice folks in that group, and we don't sit around and talk about yarn and patterns. Off-topic is the way to go.

That's it; long and boring post, but sometimes that's the way to live. I believe it's called Living in the Moment.

The Yarnarian is Thinking Fall Thoughts!

I'm still enjoying the summer, particularly since it's a bit cooler than July was, and the nights are really cooler! But those colors are calling me big time. So here's what I've been dyeing for the sock club. Don't worry, socksters, you don't know who's getting what and anyhow, I have a bunch more to dye. Same yarn in both pics, just a different arrangement to see the skeins.




Knitting Poem from a gracious woman on Ravelry's Dyers' Forum:

IRISH KNITTING POEM
When the folks next to you act like those in the zoo
Grumblin’, growlin’ and spittin’
It’s a pretty good plan
To be as calm as you can
And do something useful like knittin’.

When a gossipin’ Susan with poison barbed tongue
Comes into the room where you’re sittin’
And starts to defame
Some neighbor’s good name
Count your stitches out loud and keep knittin’.

When there’s been a slight misunderstandin’ at the church
And others hint broadly of quittin
Why the very best thing
You can do is to sing
And stay at your post and keep knittin

When Satan moves in with his cohorts of sin
Say, “You’ll never find me submittin’”
You irk me I find, so get thee behind
And please don’t disturb me, I’m knittin’!

Hubbo Corner:

And look at what the Hubbo found at a house sale! It was made in NJ, we don't know how long ago, but judging by the treadle, a while back. My engineer Honey dusted it off and found that it still works. I'm going to have to learn how to spin, probably not on this elderly baby, but just because I'm becoming more and more intrigued by it. But I'm not going to dye the fibe; I'm giving myself the luxury of buying it. When I get to that point. OK, if I get to that point.



The Hubbo is now totally intrigued by this little wheel and is researching it like crazy. I bet he would like to learn how to spin, just for the engineering end of it.

The Yarnarian is Back.

And she and the Hubbo had a most wonderful vacation! We started off in Bennington, VT, then to Manchester, VT, and then to New Hampshire! Keene, NH, Peterborough, NH, and, ta da, Harrisville, NH!

Bennington is a sweet college town. We stayed in the most amazing B&B mansion, replete with woodwork and plaster work you would die for! And the worst bed in creation. Amazing breakfasts, and terrible light at night so I couldn't knit or read.

And along the main drag and some of the side streets there are these charming statues. Here are some to admire:






Went to Manchester along all those gorgeous VT roads. No pics because I was too busy admiring the scenery to take a pic. Anyhow, you can see those in any wonderful book about Vermont.

Then we went across the border to Keene, NH. And I'm in love with that little city. It's a college town and so people-friendly! Drivers actually stop at crosswalks and smile at you. In NJ, they might stop but they'd be glaring, and in NY, forget it. You'd be part of the pavement immediately.

We were in the exact opposite little B&B: very simple with a continental breakfast, plain Jane architecture, etc. And it was so cosy and comfy. We walked everywhere because we were on Main Street about 2-3 blocks from the beginning of downtown. Such fun for urbany folks like us. Great library!!!!! I could move there in an instant except that I don't want those winters. I think we like it so much because it reminds us of home. (There are 3 colleges within walking distance of where we live).

On the way to Keene, we stopped at a little village called Harrisville. Yarnies, does this ring a little bell? Yup, THE Harrisville, home of stunning yarns made by them. So of course, I had to buy a bit of their Shetland. No, it's not the real Shetland but it comes very close, and anyhow I liked working on it in my Fair Isle knitting days. And since fall is very close, I indulged in autumnal colors!

Warning, this is a drool moment. Get your towel ready:



We went to Peterborough, an artsy town about 1/2 hour away and enjoyed it too.

We loved New Hampshire so much that I think we'll spend a lot of time exploring it. It's very convenient for us, too. We can stop at the kids and grands and have fun with them, and then it's an easy trip to my MIL and BIL and family.

Bags, bags and more bags: A neat new tote for moi (that's the first bag), and some cute project bags. The best time to buy project bags seems to be sale time in summer because you can find really cute ones for very little money.





Other purchases: a fun pattern. Yeah, I know, these things have been around for a while, and I've always resisted buying the patterns, but this time I got to try it on and it looks very good on moi.

And a new bamboo needle. I don't like bamboo needles, but here these were, and I had bought a Noro knock-off yarn at a shop in Manchester and wanted to knit it and had no larger needles with me. So I bought it, and it is really a wonderful needle. Inexpensive, too. Forget Clover, these are great. Judy, you need to get these!





Bev - Aren't those colors gorgeous? So you know where this is taking me: I'm now officially in my autumn dyeing mode. I was moving there, but now I'm on target. I took one look at those colors and went into overdrive.

Carolyn - They are almost too pretty to use. I bought them with the idea of a fairlsle something or other. But they'd look pretty on a simple garter shawl too. Or how about a mitered vest?

Sharon - They also had the most beautiful purple yarns!

The Yarnarian does what the Yarnarian does.

And what does that mean? I don't know. I'm in a really down state of mind, have been for a couple of days, although I feel it lifting. Have a bad state of the grumps. Piffle! Yay, lifting. Not to worry, just one of those ups and downs of life. We all get them.

Here's what I've been doing besides socks and more socks:




As you know, unblocked lace looks like a junky old bag, so you'll have to guess that this might just be nice when finished and blocked.

And here are some yarns not yet listed on Etsy. They will be middle of next week.




We're off to VT, NH, and swinging through MA to visit kids and grands. Leaving tomorrow and coming back on Tues. I can't wait. My mood need serious lifting.

Love, Grumpy the Yarnarian.

PS - The Yarnarian isn't grumpy any more thanks to best friend, and a haircut and color, and a lovely message on Ravelry. Whew, now you can all relax 'cause I won't throw anything at you. On the other hand, I won't be throwing yarn, so now you won't get it. Tee hee.

Love, The ungrumpy Yarnarian!

The Yarnarian Spreads the Joy! Fibers for Spinning!

"Ah," you ask, "the joy of what?" Wonderful etsy sites for dyers of fiber for spinning! I don't spin, although I'm so tempted to try, but I love looking at all these beautiful fibers that these magical dyers create. I just want to buy them and plop them on every available horizontal surface. (The poor Hubbo would lose his mind if I did that!)

So, in the interest of a bit of enabling and some serious eye candy, here are some wonderful dyers. I know I'm leaving people out. Not on purpose, just forgetfulness. So if I don't list you, email me and I'll put your goodies on another blog listing. Go check out their sites and carry a towel with you because you're going to drool all over your keyboard!

Here's Zarzuela, brand new to Etsy, and a wonderful dyer and the woman behind the Summer of Socks. Is this gorgeous or what!

Also check out Yarn or a Tale's blog. More serious fiber drool.

Then there's Dianne of Creatively Dyed. She does a lot of shows, so if there's nothing listed, stay tuned. She'll be back with more goodies!

I'm in awe of these dyers. They are seriously amazing artists and very, very lovely people.

Jessica - My you sell out your entire shop and then have to dye up more!

Sharon - You know we'll have to learn how to spin!