The Yarnarian Stays Home.

Nope, I'm not in Maryland at the sheep and wool festival. I'd like to be there, but I'm not. So be it. I'm waiting for Rhinebeck and possibly Stitches East.

For some reason, Hubbo and I never travel south unless we're forced to. I think it's something to do with the highways being boring, although we happily go to the Hudson River Valley with never a complaint. There's an entire world that could open up to us if we went in that direction.

The countdown has begun: 2 weeks from today we'll be on the Cape. We can't wait. We're practicing our Cape Cod sighs. Sigh. I really need a vacation. I thought when I retired that vacation wouldn't be so necessary, but I really could use a change of pace. I need to wind down in order to get back up. Sometimes you need to step away from your daily existence in order to appreciate it. That's where I am. 13 days until Cape Cod. For member of the tribe, this is my Omer moment.

PennyRose Sock Club news: Yesterday I packed up the last of the shipments and will mail out today. I've really enjoyed doing this. It was a good challenge for me. I learned how to write up patterns (no small feat for feet), organize a sotm, etc. And I've made some great yarnie friends. A very positive experience. The only negative was that I underestimated just how much work and time this takes. I didn't charge much, given that it was my trial club. Next time, I'll charge $85 for 3 months of goodies, which is far more in line with my time and effort. Still pretty inexpensive since I include a brand new sock pattern.

Knitting news: the endless garter stitch part of the Kona shawl continues. Because it's so mindless, I tend to knit very quickly, which is not good for the wrists. So I stop every couple of rows and do something else (like laundry). It makes for slow going, but my hands are much happier. This thing is as light as a feather. Oh, man do I love this yarn.



Exciting, isn't it? Garter coming out of me ears. I can't wait to start the lace part. I worked up a very cute pattern from one of my Japanese books.

Today we're off to a bead store in Maplewood; someone on the web posted great instructions for the kind of stitch marker I really like, and I want to try it out. Then the never-ending garage sales for the Hubbo, and finally a Mommie visit.

Gotta go and knit on the Kona: garter stitch, here I come!

Hanne - you lucky thing, you. I'm in the States and have never seen the Harlot! Yup, I'm doing another sock club in the fall: "I love New York." Rhinebeck is always the 3rd weekend in October, should you want to visit there.

KV - There are not a lot of vritties in retirement unless you make it so. It is the most splendid time to try out new things. You have to work at retirement; it doesn't come to you easily. You could end up watching soaps all day. If that's what you really love to do, then fine. But at 64, I'm not ready to put my feet up. There's a whole world for me to explore. But now I've done so much that I need a vacation.

If you go to Rhinebeck, let me know and we might be able to meet up.

I Bunny Save Troy - I love typing that; it's so cute. I'd love to meet you at Rhinebeck. Bring lots of money and charge cards. ;-)

"Happiness is May!" quoth the Yarnarian.

Warning: This is a L O N G post, just because it's May and I'm feeling verbose.

Happy May Day to all who celebrate it. I have no idea on how to celebrate it except to say it, however. Jo says we have to wash our faces in the morning dew. It's too chilly out to do that, so I'm washing my face in a virtual manner.

I have no decent junk food to nibble on. This is a crisis of unimagine proportions. No Devil Dogs! No potato chips! What is the world coming to? And I'm too lazy to get to the market to buy some more. I'm desperate enough to continue to eat the Passover matzo with a bit of margarine on it. This is a bad situation. We are going to Whole Foods for our Thurs. supper, but their junk is entirely too wholesome. OH, woe is me!

It's going to be 58 deg. here today, about what I expect the weather to be on the Cape in a couple of weeks. Maybe even a bit cooler. I'm not complaining, because when it warms up, it's going to be summer weather. We have the weirdest spring here, almost nothing and then it gets hot. But all the trees have their leaves, and everything is that bright spring green, and it's May!

Dyeing news: Take a look at these pretty skeins. 1100 yards! Superwash merino in a fingering weight. They are reserved for a shawl KAL at this point. But, I love this yarn so much that I plan to dye more. Hey, I just might keep it all for myself. Selfish Yarnariarn!

Kona Rose, Jade, Blackberry, Terracotta, Orchid, and Azure!








Other yarns dyed up yesterday are Sunday in the Park, Dreaming, Flowers in the Grass, and Soft Sand (which is my favorite in this batch).

The Yarnarian Throws in the Towel!

Yes, indeed, I finally gave up on Laminaria. Not that it was so difficult, but I put it down for a while, and last night when I picked it up again, discovered some strange miscount . So I gently tinked back. Hah! And kept tinking and tinking, and then in total disgust, I just frogged the bloody thing. i might try it again, but now I'm too irritated with it.

So, instead, this afternoon, I started on a shawl of my own design. Same luscious yarn, but this will be made to my pattern. Here are my plans: garter stitch forever, and then a really, really neat border. Plus, I may just attach a small border to the outside edge. So, to prepare for that possibility, I'm making nice slip stitches. Needless to say, you can't see anything worthwhile yet, plus you know how lace is before you block it: a mess. But, still, here's a pic.



And while I'm on pics, here's my new Piddleloop bag from the terrific Piddleloop Sisters.



And that's the story.

Home From the North

We are back from our weekend sojourn to the lovely state of Massachusetts. They are considerably behind us in flowers and foliage, but spring has definitely arrived there.

The kids were great, and the grands are so cute. But then, you knew that already. A got in some of his adult teeth, and it's a bit disconcerning to see those large front teeth. But he is a great kid, and super bright, and awfully silly at times. He's turning 8 in June. And the Princessa loved her birthday presents from us. This is one little munchkin with opinions, which she is not afraid to express. And cuddy and yummy.

Hey, Grandmas are allowed to brag.

Knitting news: I made great progress on the sock. Christine informed me that it looks very much like the monkey sock without the purl stitches. I have to say that the monkey pattern is in most stitch dictionaries. I had been looking at the pattern for a while, totally forgetting that I had already knitted the famous monkey sock pattern. Surprise! But the reason it's so well loved is that it's very pleasant to knit, and looks great to boot. Here's my variation on it: I reversed the pattern twice. This was not as easy as it sounds. My initial reversal didn't work at all, and I had to think out of the box (sock?) to get it to work. Decreases are in an entirely different place. I was so pleased when they worked out. So here it is:





I also made a bit of progress on the lace scarf. I'm not in a hurry on this. It's very easy, only 2 rows, but I tend to knit lace slowly. Still, I added a few inches.



I'm uber busy this week. I want to finish up the May sotm dyeing, print out the pattern, reskein the yarn, and send the packages out.

Then, I start on the dyeing for the Mystery Shawl group. I'm very excited about this. I'll keep you posted as I hear from Renee.

OK, heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to dye I go.

Christine - That's what I was trying to tell you, but couldn't verbalize it. This whole sock designing thing is really challenging. It makes you really think. My BIL asked me why I couldn't get a computer to design it all. I couldn't make him understand that this is a human matter. But then, he also made the comment recently: People really knit? He's a sweetie, but is a complete muggle.

The Yarnarian Knits Lace!

She does. And she is getting her lace mojo back! After frogging various patterns with different size needles, she now has the center of her lace scarf underway. The middle of the scarf is using a Ploughed Acre pattern in mulitples of 10. When it gets long enough, I'll pick up stitches on the long side and put in a pretty border. And then repeat for the other side. I'm using my alpaca/silk yarn in a sea green colorway. Here's a picture:



I've frogged that bloody sock at least 8 times and got disgusted with it. So I switched yarn to one that DD#2 had dyed while she was here, and changed pattern, and now I'm a happy camper. Here are pics of the beginning of it.





I don't yet know how I'm going to vary it, maybe reverse it at the halfway point of the leg. I love to play with patterns; it keeps my interest in the second sock.

That's all the excitement around here. No excitement is good!

Bev - I found the pattern on the sock in a Japanese stitch dictionary. It's so easy to do, and I like the way it works with variegated yarn. i have some plans to play with it on the sock. I might do that this weekend in between visiting family in MA.

Jen and KV - I did some more on the scarf this weekend, but only a little more. I find it hard to knit lace in a moving car. I did do a lot on the sock, though, reversed the pattern which turned out to be much trickier that I expected. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

New Lace Yarns Are Here!

Yup. They finally dried. And I've just put them up on Etsy. I'm calling them "Laces" for obvious reasons. I hope to try out a few different kinds of lace yarns to see which ones people prefer.

The first two are called Violets and Sea Spray. 80% Alpaca/ 20% Silk! You cannot imagine how lovely this yarn is. Soft and silky! I just want to pat it, it's so lovely.

These are pricey yarns for me to buy, so they are not cheap, but they are affordable at $30/skein. And with 860 yards, it can take you a lot longer to knit than a pair of socks.

The Yarnarian is ecstatic over this yarn. Sigh! Maybe I should keep it all for me. Bad, greedy Yarnarian!

KV - Not a vritti in sight here! Sea Spray sold in 10 minutes! I think it's a popular color this year. I love the way the yarn takes the dye, so muted and soft!

The Yarnarian is fixated on certain colors. Sigh.

I've dyed a bunch of yarns again. And even though 3 of them look alike, they were done at different stages of my dyeing session. The colors must have been in my mind! I did a few more, but they are for my sotm, so I can't show you.

Daydream, Rainbow Violet, Rainbow Lime, and Flower Pot!






Recipe: For those of you looking for a quick Passover snack, I have one for you. It's just as good on Finn Crisp crackers, too.

Spread some shredded cheese on top of your matzo, and nuke until the cheese melts. That's it. The entire recipe. And it is so good.

Betcha didn't know that I was a gourmet cook, huh?

Knitting news: I have 3 things in progress: Laminaria, which is on hold, and a pr of socks and a lace scarf, each of which has been frogged so many times that I'm at the screaming stage! Snarl!

Off to visit the Mommie.

Velma - Miss P wanted that yarn for me to knit into scarves and blankies for her dolls. Hah! I'll make her some out of my leftover yarns.