Frog Is A Four Letter Word

I want to announce that StitchinGirl rocks! She is having a yard sale and I got several things from her in the mail yesterday.

The baby camel is going to be a sweater for my mom--the pattern is from a summer Vogue Knitting, you know the one with the mango tank top on the cover. They had a little section on traveling lace patterns and I want to make the shawl collared cardigan featured there.

The cotton chenille T and I are splitting to make flower washcloths. And also included was some wool/silk Fourplay that Toni dyed that will become a One Skein Wonder.

More Haystack pics. This is one side of the dye studio, drool drool.



I promise to take some pics this weekend of the doubleknit bag I'm making, if I'm not fall-down, pass-out drunk from the Celtic Festival (but then what kind of good Irish girl would I be?). What are you doing this weekend?

Hey, I'm still here, this is still my blog. Ha! Insignificant things like my job have been keeping me from blogging, but I have been knitting and checking out great shops!

Last week was M's birthday and I was trying to finish a knit bag for her, but it's not quite done. I showed it to her this weekend, though, so at least now I can blog about it. Pictures soon. We went to Springwater Fiber Workshop on Sunday and I was very impressed. It's the most well-stocked, least snooty fiber/yarn shop I've visited. M got the groovy new Interweave Crochet mag and I got some kickass dye stuff! More on that when I get to use it.

Continuing the Haystack picture album, this is my textile piece that I completed. I could stand to do a bit more work to it, but I could also hang it on the wall as is. It's not obvious what technique this is, especially with such a crappy picture. The fabric is denim and the design is made by removing the indigo weft threads and leaving the white warp threads (or do I have that backwards?). Anyway, it's incredibly tedious but yet gives you some twisted sense of accomplishment. Enough talk.



What do you like about denim?

Y'all didn't come here for poetry, I'm guessing. But you're going to get it. I want to share my second favorite poem with you. It's got color, to boot! My first favorite poem is Vagabond House by Don Blanding and it's about seven pages long so I won't be typing that here. #2 is Explicating the Twilight by Jack Gilbert.

The rat makes her way up
the mulberry tree, the branches
getting thin and risky up close
to the fruit, and she slows.
The berry she is after is so ripe,
there is almost no red. Prospero
thinks of Christopher Smart saying
purple is black blooming. She lifts
her mouth to the berry, stretching.
The throat is an elegant gray.
A thousand shades, Christopher wrote
among the crazy people. A thousand
colors from white to silver.

Went to T's house last night to knit and had a great time. She is finishing a shawl with some frosty, festive sherbety mohair. Makes me miss my Mom's mohair shawl, but only for a second. I wish I had more time for lace. Anyway, I also showed her my vacation pics and told her how I stopped at FOUR yarn stores on the way home and none of them were open on Sunday! What the fuck, yarn store owners? I would have spent all my remaining vacation money at your place. So here are a couple more Haystack shots, these of the looms in the fiber studio.





What's in your dream studio?

Hey gang! I've returned from Maine, reluctantly. I thought of sending for my bf, the dogs and my laptop. Maine is so awesome (in the summer) and my visit to Haystack was very inspiring and refreshing. I'm still not sure why I came back. Today was my first day back to work since, uhhhh, the 2nd and guess how much it sucked.

I didn't get any knitting done on vacation but I managed to win some charity auctions without even being here! So not much news, but I'll leave you with a picture each day until I have knitting to show, k?

These are the rocks at the bottom of the mountain from the school. I sat here and worked on my textile project whilst listening to waves and smelling salt air. Can you smell it?

I admit that compassion and generosity are areas where I could use improvement. (Okay, so I've been called coldhearted and evil.) And there are lots of other areas where I differ from the socially acceptable. Don't we all.

But I am trying to improve on the two above mentioned aspects. You know, without getting weepy or caught up in the hype. Baby steps.

I bought Cookie's Katrina Rib pattern because it's a groovy looking top and for just $5 you can make a $30 donation!

I am also bidding on some items at Rox, Christine and Shannon's Donation Drive. I may even have some finished items I could post there.

And as part of my Recruiting/HR job at Place Where I Work, I am trying to offer jobs and relocation to people in the South. But that is proving most difficult. Wish me luck.

I am still driving to Maine next week. I know! But if I cancelled my trip now I would have both long- and short-term regret and I'm not into regret. So the school will put people who want to share rides in touch with each other, so maybe I'll pick up another student or two on the way.

Here is the pic I promised of the finished Gabe sweater. The little buttons are wooden because there is going to be a green Gabe coat and I wanted the same buttons to match both pieces. When T came over to knit this week I showed her the only error that I know of--I did 2x2 rib on the cuffs and 1x1 on the hem and the collar. See? You would never have noticed if I didn't say anything.



Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cotton/Wool
Pattern: Loosely based on Debbie Bliss "Sweater with Square Set-In Sleeves"
Needles: #4 for ribbing, #5 for body (Circs so I didn't have any seams!)

I am working on some charity hats/scarves and at Robbyn's suggestion I am trying to finish Dobby's Big Bird sweater. What are you working on during this gorgeous three day weekend?