5.24.2011
5.12.2011
my first yarn bowl
Ya know, for my first attempt at the wheel in 7-8 years and my first yarn bowl, it's not bad at all. I really like it. It's very thick& heavy, but that's actually a positive feature because I can tug on the yarn a little without worrying that I'm going to knock the bowl to the ground.
I'm knitting on my couch (the project in the photo, actually) and the yarn bowl sits perfectly on the end table to my left. I'm pulling yarn from the outside of my yarn cake and it rotates freely within the bowl, without rolling away all over the floor.
I totally have to make more of these!
3.03.2011
crochet capelet photo shoot
Dani & I went out for pizza last night, & I brought my capelet along to finish the crochet edging & get an objective opinion. I think I like it, but next time I'd wear it with a dress instead of my Captain America t-shirt.
Yarn is Lion Brand Wool Ease in Seaspray, from LB Yarn Studio in Manhattan
3.01.2011
2.08.2011
12.28.2010
12.27.2010
harry potter christmas
Since I had a half day Thursday and Friday off, we decided to have Harry Potter Shabbos dinner on Xmas Eve. Harry Potter Christmas was on. Thanks to this wiki and Gryffinitter, we determined the xmas dinner menu from Sorcerer's Stone to be
To commemorate the 12 giant xmas trees that Hagrid decorated the Great Hall with, Rochel & I made 12 tiny xmas trees and decorated them with glitter glue. Unfortunately only 1 or 2 fit on the table with all the food, but they were really adorable on my coffee table!
- hundreds of roast turkeys
- gravy
- cranberry sauce
- chipolatas
- roast and boiled potatos
- buttered peas
- roast turkeys became roast chicken, since there weren't enough people to eat a whole turkey
- gravy we skipped, as there was no turkey
- cranberry sauce became cranberry crunch, a favorite traditional Shabbos food, because nobody wants to eat cranberry sauce with chicken
- I don't know where to find kosher chipolatas, so I made Dov's hotdog recipe instead. Same diff, right?
- I only made 1 kind of potatos - roast. Nobody minded.
- buttered peas became canned peas because we can't serve dairy at a meat dinner
To commemorate the 12 giant xmas trees that Hagrid decorated the Great Hall with, Rochel & I made 12 tiny xmas trees and decorated them with glitter glue. Unfortunately only 1 or 2 fit on the table with all the food, but they were really adorable on my coffee table!
12.15.2010
12.13.2010
chanukah and stuff
Chanukah ended last week (it was December 1-8 this year). Since my aunt that normally makes the family Chanukah party made a Bar Mitzvah on Thanksgiving and a Bat Mitzvah yesterday, I hosted the family Chanukah party this year. I checked with E first, and when I invited people I told them it's a 1-shot deal due to E hosting us all the weeks before & after - the goal is not to get "stuck" hosting Chanukah each year (or piss of E for stealing her holiday).
My immediate family had been over for Mom's birthday this summer, and most of the cousins came to the Cousins Dinner I hosted when I'd first moved it, but for the rest of the family it was the first time seeing my apartment. Out of the 30 people invited, 25 came to the party :) Only 2 of the no-shows are on my sh*t list, but we'll get to that later possibly. Or not.
Anyways, 25 people + 1 br apartment = kind of a tight squeeze, except that as expected (and advertised), people didn't stay for the whole 4 hour party. By the time my last aunt & uncle showed up with their 3 kids, at least 8 people had already left. I had 14 seats, and only for about 30 minutes at the end did we have more people than chairs. It worked out well for circulation. People couldn't cluster because if you got up you lost "your" seat and had to sit in a new spot and talk to new people. Plus, since there was enough seats for the most part, people weren't forced to stay sitting to retain their seat all night.
The food was good, I think. No complaints anyways ;) And I love my family: all but one of my aunts volunteered to bring a dish (pasta, blintz souffle, and quiches). Mom helped a lot, she made Salmon, Guacamole, and a last-minute chocolate cake. I did some quiches, apple-blueberry cobbler, veggie platter and fruit platter... I think I'm forgetting something, but whatever :) I need to remember not to ask E to bring a dish when I know she's going to be super late, that was a total rookie mistake, and I feel bad asking her to cook & then barely using her dish. It was good leftovers though :)
The best day of Chanukah was definitely December 6th, the day after the party. I was SUPER stressed about the party (to the point where I had trouble sleeping), but Monday I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the holiday.
At Rochel's Chanukah party on Tuesday, everyone said they wanted sweaters for Harry Potter Christmas. (I'm hosting dinner that Friday night & we're doing an HP Xmas theme). I think they're all getting mini house sweaters from the Charmed Knits book instead. I need to size them to either fit a bottle of wine, or buy some scented lotions at Bath & Body Works and fit the sweaters to those. (The photo above is one I knit for a Slytherin Swap on Ravelry).
Last photos: this is what my spoiler sent me in the Slytherin Yule swap on Rav. OMG the doily is beautiful. It works really well with my glass vase, too. I just need to clear off the top of one of my bookcases so it can have a worthy display area.
12.02.2010
oops
I'd like to knit a Jacques Cousteau hat for my mom for Chanukah (due Sunday). The pattern calls for size 4 needles. My size 4 16" circular is currently in use for the ribbing on a Mila Beret. Once I finish the ribbing (any minute now) I need to switch to size 6 16" circular needle for the body of the hat. It's currently in use for an Upside Down Daisy hat for my cousin's baby for Chanukah. I can switch that needle out for my dpns in a couple more inches... but I'm not 100% sure where they are right now. Oops. Maybe I need to finish some WIPs?
10.25.2010
more yarn problems
Saturday night I was working on my Swallowtail shawl for the HPKCHC (House Cup game on Ravelry). It's an "OWL" project, so I plan to use 800+ yards -at least 2 of the 4 skeins I have of a certain fingering weight yarn - to make an extra-large Swallowtail. Anyways, I was working a wrongside row - purling across - not pulling hard on the yarn at all - and the yarn just broke on me:
Note that aside from a slight puffiness on the ends, there is nothing remarkable about this spot in the skein that should cause it to break.
- It wasn't an especially thin spot in the yarn
- I was exerting unsually little pressure on the yarn, since I was just purling across by rote & not doing fiddly lace
- there are no knots or anything in that area of the skein
The yarn just broke in the middle of my purl stitch. I had to tink (is it lrup if you are un-purling?) back a few stitches to make sure the end didn't unravel.
I'm up to repeat 9 of the Budding Lace Repeat of the Swallowtail, and am reluctant to continue this project - it's much too much work to knit an 800+ yard shawl if it's going to fall apart on me at the slightest provocation!
Gryffinitter gave me some good advice via email, and I plan to show the shawl to her and to Rachel at Panera tonight, to see what they advise. Most likely I will be restarting in a plied yarn, as Gryffinitter told me that plied yarns are stronger. However I think the deadline for making changes to OWL projects was 10/15, but maybe they can make an exception for me? Sigh.
My poor shawl:
Note that aside from a slight puffiness on the ends, there is nothing remarkable about this spot in the skein that should cause it to break.
- It wasn't an especially thin spot in the yarn
- I was exerting unsually little pressure on the yarn, since I was just purling across by rote & not doing fiddly lace
- there are no knots or anything in that area of the skein
The yarn just broke in the middle of my purl stitch. I had to tink (is it lrup if you are un-purling?) back a few stitches to make sure the end didn't unravel.
I'm up to repeat 9 of the Budding Lace Repeat of the Swallowtail, and am reluctant to continue this project - it's much too much work to knit an 800+ yard shawl if it's going to fall apart on me at the slightest provocation!
Gryffinitter gave me some good advice via email, and I plan to show the shawl to her and to Rachel at Panera tonight, to see what they advise. Most likely I will be restarting in a plied yarn, as Gryffinitter told me that plied yarns are stronger. However I think the deadline for making changes to OWL projects was 10/15, but maybe they can make an exception for me? Sigh.
My poor shawl:
10.21.2010
special orders
Back at the end of May, my LYS placed an order for me with my favorite Indy Dyer. I remember that it was the end of May, because it was the week after the Israel Day Parade and that was on 5/23. They were ordering yarn anyways, and asked if I would like a certain color. I asked for 5 skeins of a certain colorway, let's call it Colorway, which I'd seen online and in 1 brick-and-mortar shop as a very pretty copper-colored yarn with blue highlights.
My LYSOs are super nice to me, and even though I offered to pay half upfront, which is their policy on special orders, they said I didn't need to. I really love my LYSOs and the LYS.
It's now the end of October, and we have no yarn. My LYS hasn't received their shipment of yarn, and obviously my special order isn't there yet. Here are my problems with this:
- Five months is a very long time to wait for someone to fill an order. Even if I have the timing a little bit wrong, four months is also a very long time to wait. Does anyone know what the "industry standard" is?
- From yarn I've seen at other LYS and ONS, I think that my beautiful Copper-and-Blue Colorway has changed (!!) and is now Chocolate-Brown-and-Blue. I do NOT want chocolate brown yarn, I hate brown and even Copper was a stretch of my color palette. This dyer has changed some of their colorways lately, and I'm worried that Colorway will arrive in this new version that I will hate.
- Another LYS in my area has placed, and received, many orders from this same dyer. They are very clearly not filling orders as they arrive, and that makes me angry.
Checking with my LYS about the order status isn't terribly effective. My LYS has been expecting a shipment of yarn from this Dyer - not necessarily the base that I ordered, mind you, but a shipment - for weeks now, and that's all I know. I don't want to push it and be That Annoying Customer, you know?
To sum up my situation/frustration, I have $100 of yarn that will arrive eventually, in a color that I might hate, and even if they do send me the pretty Copper color I loved tomorrow, the season to wear such colors only lasts until about Thanksgiving, and even I don't knit that fast. So I couldn't wear the cardigan I'd like to make until next Fall. Gah!
I think I might need a new favorite Indy Dyer.
My LYSOs are super nice to me, and even though I offered to pay half upfront, which is their policy on special orders, they said I didn't need to. I really love my LYSOs and the LYS.
It's now the end of October, and we have no yarn. My LYS hasn't received their shipment of yarn, and obviously my special order isn't there yet. Here are my problems with this:
- Five months is a very long time to wait for someone to fill an order. Even if I have the timing a little bit wrong, four months is also a very long time to wait. Does anyone know what the "industry standard" is?
- From yarn I've seen at other LYS and ONS, I think that my beautiful Copper-and-Blue Colorway has changed (!!) and is now Chocolate-Brown-and-Blue. I do NOT want chocolate brown yarn, I hate brown and even Copper was a stretch of my color palette. This dyer has changed some of their colorways lately, and I'm worried that Colorway will arrive in this new version that I will hate.
- Another LYS in my area has placed, and received, many orders from this same dyer. They are very clearly not filling orders as they arrive, and that makes me angry.
Checking with my LYS about the order status isn't terribly effective. My LYS has been expecting a shipment of yarn from this Dyer - not necessarily the base that I ordered, mind you, but a shipment - for weeks now, and that's all I know. I don't want to push it and be That Annoying Customer, you know?
To sum up my situation/frustration, I have $100 of yarn that will arrive eventually, in a color that I might hate, and even if they do send me the pretty Copper color I loved tomorrow, the season to wear such colors only lasts until about Thanksgiving, and even I don't knit that fast. So I couldn't wear the cardigan I'd like to make until next Fall. Gah!
I think I might need a new favorite Indy Dyer.
10.17.2010
rhinebeck the third
So, the Rhinebeck recap:
I was supposed to go to Rhinebeck with my friend cre8ivgramom from my Monday night knitting group, but last Tuesday she backed out on me :( I was really bummed, but a friend from the Madelinetosh Lovers group (handdyer fanclub) had arranged for me to give her friend Christina a lift, plus there's really no excuse to miss Rhinebeck, so I was going anyways. Thursday night I spoke to Christina and she asked if I had room in the car for her friend Leslie. Shabbos lunch at Chavi's, I realized that Rochel's a crocheter, and even though she's not crazy into yarn like some people, I thought she might like to go. The enthusiastic "Yes!", even after I explained I'd be picking her up at 6:20 am, was awesome :)
Despite my strict "I am not picking anybody up, you need to come to Rego Park" rule, I left at 6am to pick up Rochel at 6:20 & then Christina & Leslie from Christina's in Astoria at 6:45. It was a beautiful drive through fall foliage and some incredibly picturesque fog
(Don't worry, Rochel took all the photos while I was driving)
We got there at 9:05, because someone (I won't name names here) had told me that Rhinebeck opens at 9am and I didn't double-check :( :( Some booths were open to early shoppers, so I introduced Christina & Leslie to Holiday Yarns and the awesomeness of the Tsock Tsarina sock kits. Of course I name-dropped and told Jen I'm friends with Rachel. Nobody bought anything - I need to finish last year's Oktoberfest kit before I get another - but Leslie & Christina went back later & Leslie got the Golden West sock kit. We then went to building B for The Fold & Socks That Rock, and found out that Rhinebeck opens at 10 on Sundays. I still feel terrible about making everyone leave so early, but otoh we browsed buildings A and B in like 20 minutes, so there was an upside :)
I was the first purchase of the day at Spirit Trail Fiberworks. Thank you SO much Moutons for the recommendation, their yarns are gorgeous! I bought 1 skein of Helen in Waikiki:
Rochel got 2 skeins but I don't remember what base. They were a dark blue and also very beautiful. We then backtracked to pick up some STR. Rochel bought a skein of Lightweight in Mesa for a Beret, and I got some Mediumweight in Paula Mae.
Rochel was a really good sport and let me drag her all the way across the fairgrounds, without any sightseeing along the way, so we could hit Sanguine Gryphon next. I kinda fell in love with Painted Desert on Traveler, until two awesome knitters in front of us in line told us where to find the Bugga. I bought 2 skeins in a color called Red Spotted Purple Butterfly:
Their colorways had the most excellent names.
After SG it was almost 11am, so Rochel & I went to Building C to find some Yarn Hoars. KangaNYC had texted me that she was running late, but I was also expecting to meet Fairfield2002 & family. We didn't find them :( but we did have morning snack :) and then continued hunting yarn :) :)
We accidentally scheduled our day in the best way possible, because after the Big Three - Spirit Trail, STR, and Sanguine Gryphon - all other yarn had a lot to live up to. We made it to every building and only got a tiny bit more yarn. We bought a skein each of this weird-but-beautiful mohair yarn, because the booth displayed a beautifully simple, seed-stitch sample scarf (tonguetwister! :) that we just had to try.
I'm halfway through mine :)
I also bought a skein of "Random Grey Mohair" to recreate this:
.JPG)
I think it will go perfectly with a sleeveless mauve dress I sometimes wear to weddings, and needed to find a shrug for. Oh, and I also bought a beautiful print of a pen-and-ink drawing of a moose in the snow. It reminded me of skiing in Montreal :)
At around 1:30, KangaNYC texted me that she was at Rhinebeck, and we met her & her friend Teri (I think - I'm terrible with names!!) at Jennie the Potter's booth. I owe a HUGE thank-you to Andrea for explaining the Yarn Hoars & Madelinetosh stalkers to Rochel with me - Rochel probably still thinks I'm crazy, but now knows I am not alone in my insanity and that some people are much worse....
We followed Kanga back to Building B for some STR. I think Teri got something. Then Rochel & I went next door to Brooks Farm, where I talked her into a skein of yarn by promising to knit her some fingerless mitts. What hardship - I get to enable her, and play with the pretty yarn, and contribute to her continued crocheting. It was basically a triple win for me! I bought a pattern at Brooks (Counterspell Shawl). We hit Maple Creek Farm but weren't into the colors they had left.
For the first time (in three tries), I actually made it to every building and barn. We saw lots of adorable sheep and goat.
This sheep was getting a haircut prior to entering the show ring. Adorable!
Did this sheep use a hairdryer or what?
CUTEST SHEEP EVER:
Camouflage sheep blended into his environment:
Last stop of the day:
Continuing the tradition started last year with T & S, Rochel & I stopped at Pita Hot on the way home for post-Rhinebeck Shwarma :)
I was supposed to go to Rhinebeck with my friend cre8ivgramom from my Monday night knitting group, but last Tuesday she backed out on me :( I was really bummed, but a friend from the Madelinetosh Lovers group (handdyer fanclub) had arranged for me to give her friend Christina a lift, plus there's really no excuse to miss Rhinebeck, so I was going anyways. Thursday night I spoke to Christina and she asked if I had room in the car for her friend Leslie. Shabbos lunch at Chavi's, I realized that Rochel's a crocheter, and even though she's not crazy into yarn like some people, I thought she might like to go. The enthusiastic "Yes!", even after I explained I'd be picking her up at 6:20 am, was awesome :)
Despite my strict "I am not picking anybody up, you need to come to Rego Park" rule, I left at 6am to pick up Rochel at 6:20 & then Christina & Leslie from Christina's in Astoria at 6:45. It was a beautiful drive through fall foliage and some incredibly picturesque fog
(Don't worry, Rochel took all the photos while I was driving)
We got there at 9:05, because someone (I won't name names here) had told me that Rhinebeck opens at 9am and I didn't double-check :( :( Some booths were open to early shoppers, so I introduced Christina & Leslie to Holiday Yarns and the awesomeness of the Tsock Tsarina sock kits. Of course I name-dropped and told Jen I'm friends with Rachel. Nobody bought anything - I need to finish last year's Oktoberfest kit before I get another - but Leslie & Christina went back later & Leslie got the Golden West sock kit. We then went to building B for The Fold & Socks That Rock, and found out that Rhinebeck opens at 10 on Sundays. I still feel terrible about making everyone leave so early, but otoh we browsed buildings A and B in like 20 minutes, so there was an upside :)
I was the first purchase of the day at Spirit Trail Fiberworks. Thank you SO much Moutons for the recommendation, their yarns are gorgeous! I bought 1 skein of Helen in Waikiki:
Rochel got 2 skeins but I don't remember what base. They were a dark blue and also very beautiful. We then backtracked to pick up some STR. Rochel bought a skein of Lightweight in Mesa for a Beret, and I got some Mediumweight in Paula Mae.
Rochel was a really good sport and let me drag her all the way across the fairgrounds, without any sightseeing along the way, so we could hit Sanguine Gryphon next. I kinda fell in love with Painted Desert on Traveler, until two awesome knitters in front of us in line told us where to find the Bugga. I bought 2 skeins in a color called Red Spotted Purple Butterfly:
Their colorways had the most excellent names.
After SG it was almost 11am, so Rochel & I went to Building C to find some Yarn Hoars. KangaNYC had texted me that she was running late, but I was also expecting to meet Fairfield2002 & family. We didn't find them :( but we did have morning snack :) and then continued hunting yarn :) :)
We accidentally scheduled our day in the best way possible, because after the Big Three - Spirit Trail, STR, and Sanguine Gryphon - all other yarn had a lot to live up to. We made it to every building and only got a tiny bit more yarn. We bought a skein each of this weird-but-beautiful mohair yarn, because the booth displayed a beautifully simple, seed-stitch sample scarf (tonguetwister! :) that we just had to try.
I'm halfway through mine :)
I also bought a skein of "Random Grey Mohair" to recreate this:
.JPG)
I think it will go perfectly with a sleeveless mauve dress I sometimes wear to weddings, and needed to find a shrug for. Oh, and I also bought a beautiful print of a pen-and-ink drawing of a moose in the snow. It reminded me of skiing in Montreal :)
At around 1:30, KangaNYC texted me that she was at Rhinebeck, and we met her & her friend Teri (I think - I'm terrible with names!!) at Jennie the Potter's booth. I owe a HUGE thank-you to Andrea for explaining the Yarn Hoars & Madelinetosh stalkers to Rochel with me - Rochel probably still thinks I'm crazy, but now knows I am not alone in my insanity and that some people are much worse....
We followed Kanga back to Building B for some STR. I think Teri got something. Then Rochel & I went next door to Brooks Farm, where I talked her into a skein of yarn by promising to knit her some fingerless mitts. What hardship - I get to enable her, and play with the pretty yarn, and contribute to her continued crocheting. It was basically a triple win for me! I bought a pattern at Brooks (Counterspell Shawl). We hit Maple Creek Farm but weren't into the colors they had left.
For the first time (in three tries), I actually made it to every building and barn. We saw lots of adorable sheep and goat.
This sheep was getting a haircut prior to entering the show ring. Adorable!
Did this sheep use a hairdryer or what?
CUTEST SHEEP EVER:
Camouflage sheep blended into his environment:
Last stop of the day:
Continuing the tradition started last year with T & S, Rochel & I stopped at Pita Hot on the way home for post-Rhinebeck Shwarma :)
10.12.2010
ready
I think I'm ready to buy some new shoes:
I just hope these don't fall apart before I get home tonight....
10.11.2010
the nyc yarn crawl
The NYC yarn crawl was/is this weekend (I'm working today so it's hard to remember it's still the Columbus day "Holiday Weekend"). I Crawled yesterday, but I don't think I'll be doing it again.
a) Too close to Rhinebeck! I can't get my knitting friends excited about going on a yarn crawl with me when we're all going to Rhinebeck next week. We can just as easily yarn crawl by ourselves another weekend when there's less going on.
b) The hours kinda sucked. Yesterday, stores opened as early as 11 am and closed as late as 7pm, but most were open 12-5. When you only have 1 day, 5 hours isn't very much time to really check out a new LYS, or a shop as chock-full of yarn as Knitty City.
I started out at The Yarn Company on Broadway at 82nd St. It was my first visit to the shop, and I didn't realize that they are "The Yarn Girls", so that was cool. It's a pretty shop, they had a few sample garments that I wouldn't mind knitting sometime. One scarf was knit lengthwise using 4 colors of yarn. I think they just did seed stitch using a different color each row, but the effect was really pretty. Then there was a beautiful grey scarf, it looked like a 6-stitch cable with 6 stitches of purl between them, which were cabled on the reverse side of the scarf. You know I love reversible scarves, and this was so symmetrical too!
Sadly, I never learned where to find the pattern for the grey scarf. I asked about the price of the kit for the multicolor scarf and was told, "It's $100. It's cashmere." As if I don't understand that there are more- and less-expensive fibers out there.
I purchased a pattern booklet at 1/2 price, to make #3 the crochet cardigan, and #7, the felted handbags. I also found a knitting tool I'd had my eye on for a reasonable price, and then for spending $25 I got a free Yarn Girls book. Still, I don't plan to return to The Yarn Company. The Upper West Side is the most inconvenient part of Manhattan to reach via subway from Queens, and none of their products warrant a special trip since I can find most of them at other LYS that are closer to my home or work.
After TYC I walked to Knitty City. I'm an idiot, because even though I've been to Knitty City a few times before, and I emailed myself the address of all the LYS I was planning to visit, I walked all the way down to 72nd Street before realizing that KC is up on 79th St. Sigh. I had purchased an unlimited metrocard and was kinda tired of walking, so I took a bus up Amsterdam to 76th. Don't judge me. The bus was kind of full and I'd accidentally started a conversation with either a homeless man or an unusually unkempt non-homeless man, and either way getting off the bus ASAP was worth walking a couple of extra blocks.
Knitty City was as excellent as always. First someone said hi to me & I had no clue who she was, but then I figured out she's a Tuesday Knitter from Knit in Roslyn. Still have no idea what her name is, but I faked it well enough, I think. Then I found Tofutsies in the sale bin, and it was 1/2 price. I know I'm supposed to be boycotting STWC, and I am doing very well resisting, but I figure helping clear out a closeout isn't supporting them much. The KC staff couldn't find the skein of Madelinetosh DK in Tart that I'd reserved last week, but they found me another skein so it was cool :) They tried to find me some DK in Baltic but didn't have enough in stock for my project, which is just as well with Rhinebeck approaching. I appreciated them trying, ya know? And everything was 10% off, but that's not huge, so I didn't mind waiting to buy it later. And then I ran into with Moutons & her friend Diane (of the Madtosh Meetup cookies), which was really nice. To sum up: friendly staff, found the yarn I wanted and a good deal, and ran into some knitting friends too - all of my favorite things to do at an LYS :)
Last stop for me was Lion Brand Yarn Studio. Their Yarn Crawl sale was 10% off bags, the LB collection yarns, and some other stuff, and a free tote with purchase of yarn. The tote is HUGE - like 2 feet tall huge, seriously. Beth & I got some at Maker Faire a couple of weeks ago. I was determined to buy some yarn so I could get another, but on the other hand, Rhinebeck is next week, and they have a special where you get a certain percentage off on your birthday week, which in my case is 1 month away.
I ended up getting a skein of Wool Ease (15% off this month) to make a chemo cap for Cody's collection. Did I ever mention that? Cody is Teri's son, and back in March he got really sick and didn't have health insurance, so the doctors and hospitals wouldn't treat him properly until he got seriously ill, so they kept *sending him home until it would get to that point, treat him a little but not fully, he would get worse and go back to the doctor/hospital, and repeat from *. He still managed to accumulate $16k in medical bills from the very little they did do, so naturally this was cause for panic too. Also, they still hadn't fixed him! Finally in like, July, one of the hospitals gave him a grant to cover all his medical expenses through the end of 2010 - including the $16k and any other treatments he'd already received for this. As a "thank you" for treating Cody, Teri's knitting friends are making Chemo and Premie hats and sending them to Teri for Cody to turn in to the hospital. They've gotten like 200 hats so far, 20 of which are from one of my knitting friends, Marj, who is officially Super Awesome in Teri's book (as well as my own). She's never even met Teri or Cody, just loves knitting chemo and premie hats!
Back to the yarn crawl... LBYS was very busy but they had plenty of staff on hand to help everyone. Other shops should take note ::cough cough:: yarn company ::cough::. I petted their new LB Collection yarn: Angora! I decided that I don't like the texture of Angora, and the colors were Fugly. However, I do love their other LB Collection yarns and colors so overall, very worth a trip if you are in the area.
After LB I was supposed to meet some friends at City Bakery at 5 for coffee, however J ran late and arrived at 5:45 and they close at 6 on Sundays. So we went out for dinner to a Thai restaurant instead. I had a bad Thai food experience before so I have been resistant to going back, but for Jackie I'd try it again. I got a spicy fried rice dish that was yummy, so now I don't dislike Thai food, just their strangely squishy noodles.
To sum up the day, I tried a new LYS, kept stash enhancement to a minimum, and discovered I like a whole new cuisine. That's a good day in my book, but I'm not sure how repeatable it will be next year, so I think one official nyc yarn crawl is sufficient for me :)
a) Too close to Rhinebeck! I can't get my knitting friends excited about going on a yarn crawl with me when we're all going to Rhinebeck next week. We can just as easily yarn crawl by ourselves another weekend when there's less going on.
b) The hours kinda sucked. Yesterday, stores opened as early as 11 am and closed as late as 7pm, but most were open 12-5. When you only have 1 day, 5 hours isn't very much time to really check out a new LYS, or a shop as chock-full of yarn as Knitty City.
I started out at The Yarn Company on Broadway at 82nd St. It was my first visit to the shop, and I didn't realize that they are "The Yarn Girls", so that was cool. It's a pretty shop, they had a few sample garments that I wouldn't mind knitting sometime. One scarf was knit lengthwise using 4 colors of yarn. I think they just did seed stitch using a different color each row, but the effect was really pretty. Then there was a beautiful grey scarf, it looked like a 6-stitch cable with 6 stitches of purl between them, which were cabled on the reverse side of the scarf. You know I love reversible scarves, and this was so symmetrical too!
Sadly, I never learned where to find the pattern for the grey scarf. I asked about the price of the kit for the multicolor scarf and was told, "It's $100. It's cashmere." As if I don't understand that there are more- and less-expensive fibers out there.
I purchased a pattern booklet at 1/2 price, to make #3 the crochet cardigan, and #7, the felted handbags. I also found a knitting tool I'd had my eye on for a reasonable price, and then for spending $25 I got a free Yarn Girls book. Still, I don't plan to return to The Yarn Company. The Upper West Side is the most inconvenient part of Manhattan to reach via subway from Queens, and none of their products warrant a special trip since I can find most of them at other LYS that are closer to my home or work.
After TYC I walked to Knitty City. I'm an idiot, because even though I've been to Knitty City a few times before, and I emailed myself the address of all the LYS I was planning to visit, I walked all the way down to 72nd Street before realizing that KC is up on 79th St. Sigh. I had purchased an unlimited metrocard and was kinda tired of walking, so I took a bus up Amsterdam to 76th. Don't judge me. The bus was kind of full and I'd accidentally started a conversation with either a homeless man or an unusually unkempt non-homeless man, and either way getting off the bus ASAP was worth walking a couple of extra blocks.
Knitty City was as excellent as always. First someone said hi to me & I had no clue who she was, but then I figured out she's a Tuesday Knitter from Knit in Roslyn. Still have no idea what her name is, but I faked it well enough, I think. Then I found Tofutsies in the sale bin, and it was 1/2 price. I know I'm supposed to be boycotting STWC, and I am doing very well resisting, but I figure helping clear out a closeout isn't supporting them much. The KC staff couldn't find the skein of Madelinetosh DK in Tart that I'd reserved last week, but they found me another skein so it was cool :) They tried to find me some DK in Baltic but didn't have enough in stock for my project, which is just as well with Rhinebeck approaching. I appreciated them trying, ya know? And everything was 10% off, but that's not huge, so I didn't mind waiting to buy it later. And then I ran into with Moutons & her friend Diane (of the Madtosh Meetup cookies), which was really nice. To sum up: friendly staff, found the yarn I wanted and a good deal, and ran into some knitting friends too - all of my favorite things to do at an LYS :)
Last stop for me was Lion Brand Yarn Studio. Their Yarn Crawl sale was 10% off bags, the LB collection yarns, and some other stuff, and a free tote with purchase of yarn. The tote is HUGE - like 2 feet tall huge, seriously. Beth & I got some at Maker Faire a couple of weeks ago. I was determined to buy some yarn so I could get another, but on the other hand, Rhinebeck is next week, and they have a special where you get a certain percentage off on your birthday week, which in my case is 1 month away.
I ended up getting a skein of Wool Ease (15% off this month) to make a chemo cap for Cody's collection. Did I ever mention that? Cody is Teri's son, and back in March he got really sick and didn't have health insurance, so the doctors and hospitals wouldn't treat him properly until he got seriously ill, so they kept *sending him home until it would get to that point, treat him a little but not fully, he would get worse and go back to the doctor/hospital, and repeat from *. He still managed to accumulate $16k in medical bills from the very little they did do, so naturally this was cause for panic too. Also, they still hadn't fixed him! Finally in like, July, one of the hospitals gave him a grant to cover all his medical expenses through the end of 2010 - including the $16k and any other treatments he'd already received for this. As a "thank you" for treating Cody, Teri's knitting friends are making Chemo and Premie hats and sending them to Teri for Cody to turn in to the hospital. They've gotten like 200 hats so far, 20 of which are from one of my knitting friends, Marj, who is officially Super Awesome in Teri's book (as well as my own). She's never even met Teri or Cody, just loves knitting chemo and premie hats!
Back to the yarn crawl... LBYS was very busy but they had plenty of staff on hand to help everyone. Other shops should take note ::cough cough:: yarn company ::cough::. I petted their new LB Collection yarn: Angora! I decided that I don't like the texture of Angora, and the colors were Fugly. However, I do love their other LB Collection yarns and colors so overall, very worth a trip if you are in the area.
After LB I was supposed to meet some friends at City Bakery at 5 for coffee, however J ran late and arrived at 5:45 and they close at 6 on Sundays. So we went out for dinner to a Thai restaurant instead. I had a bad Thai food experience before so I have been resistant to going back, but for Jackie I'd try it again. I got a spicy fried rice dish that was yummy, so now I don't dislike Thai food, just their strangely squishy noodles.
To sum up the day, I tried a new LYS, kept stash enhancement to a minimum, and discovered I like a whole new cuisine. That's a good day in my book, but I'm not sure how repeatable it will be next year, so I think one official nyc yarn crawl is sufficient for me :)
9.29.2010
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8.24.2010
three quick things
My now-favorite cousin texted me for washing instructions for the baby blanket I knit for his kid, because he didn't want to ruin it! I knew I liked that one, lol.
This weekend I went to a wedding. I wore my Saroyan shawl to dinner Friday night, and an aunt of the bride asked if I had knitted my Shawl. Turns out she's a knitter, and on Ravelry. It was pretty cool meeting a knitter in the wild like that.
I'm working on a quick project for the Queens County Fair before finishing the 3rd and final sample. Need to finish the first tonight so I can finish the second by Sunday. I think I can handle it :)
This weekend I went to a wedding. I wore my Saroyan shawl to dinner Friday night, and an aunt of the bride asked if I had knitted my Shawl. Turns out she's a knitter, and on Ravelry. It was pretty cool meeting a knitter in the wild like that.
I'm working on a quick project for the Queens County Fair before finishing the 3rd and final sample. Need to finish the first tonight so I can finish the second by Sunday. I think I can handle it :)
8.18.2010
8.12.2010
madelinetosh meetup @ knitty city
The madelinetosh meetup was at Knitty City last night. It was very fun!
I didn't get any photos of the HUGE amount of yarn they had in stock, but it was a lot of yarn. 80lbs arrived yesterday - plus they had been stocking up for us. The shelves were full, there were 4 HUGE bags of yarn on the floor, and there was more in the back that you could ask GuyAtTheCounter (Zack?) about if you had a skein in hand.
It was really neat to meet so many people that I already knew through the Ravelry boards. Everyone was very cool, and we had a lot of fun discussing madtosh yarns, checking out all the colorways and looking at ways to combine them. I also got to meet a bunch of Knitty City "regulars" who were really awesome, and if it wasn't such a schlep for me I'd love to go more often :-/
Pearl is the best! She arranged for us to Skype with Amy at Madtosh:
It was very crowded around the computer as Amy answered all our questions. Her dyeing process sounds really interesting. She said that Earl Grey is going retail whenever someone orders it, but I'm not a neutrals person, so I was more interested when she described Sugar Coated as MGP for people who like primary colors. (My SC arrived today and I think that's accurate!) I missed the official answer straight from Amy, but someone relayed that Sport and MCN are going retail, in the Fall and sometime this year respectively.
After a lot more time chatting and fondling yarn:
We made our selections and headed out to dinner.
I picked out some yarn to make a Cosette Wrap, 2 skeins of Bloomsbury and 1 Norway Spruce in Dk:
Some Mulled Wine (love that color!) and Dahlia to either make another, or a heavyweight Akimbo shawl, and 2 skeins of Well Water TML because it was SO pretty. It'll grow up to be a shawl someday, if Moutons doesn't claim it from me first!
We closed Cosi down afterwards chatting about, well, stuff. You want to know what we talked about, you shoulda been there! lol.
Caliknitta kindly let me hop in her cab to the East Side, and I made it back to Queens by 11:30, too tired to do anything but shower (it was so freaking muggy all day) and go straight to bed.
I didn't get any photos of the HUGE amount of yarn they had in stock, but it was a lot of yarn. 80lbs arrived yesterday - plus they had been stocking up for us. The shelves were full, there were 4 HUGE bags of yarn on the floor, and there was more in the back that you could ask GuyAtTheCounter (Zack?) about if you had a skein in hand.
It was really neat to meet so many people that I already knew through the Ravelry boards. Everyone was very cool, and we had a lot of fun discussing madtosh yarns, checking out all the colorways and looking at ways to combine them. I also got to meet a bunch of Knitty City "regulars" who were really awesome, and if it wasn't such a schlep for me I'd love to go more often :-/
Pearl is the best! She arranged for us to Skype with Amy at Madtosh:
It was very crowded around the computer as Amy answered all our questions. Her dyeing process sounds really interesting. She said that Earl Grey is going retail whenever someone orders it, but I'm not a neutrals person, so I was more interested when she described Sugar Coated as MGP for people who like primary colors. (My SC arrived today and I think that's accurate!) I missed the official answer straight from Amy, but someone relayed that Sport and MCN are going retail, in the Fall and sometime this year respectively.
After a lot more time chatting and fondling yarn:
We made our selections and headed out to dinner.
I picked out some yarn to make a Cosette Wrap, 2 skeins of Bloomsbury and 1 Norway Spruce in Dk:
Some Mulled Wine (love that color!) and Dahlia to either make another, or a heavyweight Akimbo shawl, and 2 skeins of Well Water TML because it was SO pretty. It'll grow up to be a shawl someday, if Moutons doesn't claim it from me first!
We closed Cosi down afterwards chatting about, well, stuff. You want to know what we talked about, you shoulda been there! lol.
Caliknitta kindly let me hop in her cab to the East Side, and I made it back to Queens by 11:30, too tired to do anything but shower (it was so freaking muggy all day) and go straight to bed.
7.20.2010
ugh
According to Ravelry, I have 25 projects "in progress" - and I know I have a couple of projects that are off the books (but on the needles, lol). Goal for the week: get 2 things off the needles. There's a 2-project penalty for anything I start before Saturday night.
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