It's Been A While...

Hello?  Is this thing on?

My apologies for the silence, but I've had a thing or two go on in my life that made me feel like I could barely get out of bed.  So I'll recap the last couple of months, being as vague as I'll allow myself, and then you can go ahead and judge away.

As it turns out, I hate surprises and I hate waiting.  So there is something going on in my marriage that's pretty much splitting me in half, and it got to the point where I would postpone pretty much everything for another day, and then the next day would come, and I would postpone for yet another day.  I didn't write my column for over a month.  Then, just as the one thing was coming to a head, the other thing actually DID snap me in half.

My dogs were in an unfamiliar situation, and to make a long story short, Penny attacked and killed two little dogs.  My sweet, unassuming animals that are afraid of pretty much everything and say hello to the smelly garbage man every Tuesday.  Penny, who had the chihuahua at the dog park at Berteau and Central bite the back of her leg and she would just turn around and look at it like, "Seriously?"

So I have done pretty much nothing of value except cry and feel sorry for myself for the last, I would say, eight to ten weeks.  To top it off, I was struggling in my head by screaming, "Get out get out get out get out!" to one problem, and then screaming "Get me out get me out get me out!" to another.  Basically, I just needed to shake out all in my life to reset things to where they belonged.

I have succeeded, sort of.  One issue is resolved, I had to put Penny down (which isn't resolve but it is closure, as awful as it was), and a few others are on the horizon.  But because I can see the future, I am finally starting to feel better.  So I have that going for me.

I finished a pair of socks, and after ripping the first one out when I was all the way down to the ball of the foot, only to start it on a larger pair of needles, I decided I still didn't like how they looked on ME.  I mailed them to someone with a similar foot size.  The person was pleased.  So then, so was I.

I finished a garment...it is the sample for the Chicago Yarn Crawl.  Perhaps you have seen it...Cascade Yarns featured it on their website.  If you want to get it for free, just stop by Knot Just Knits during the Yarn Crawl.  If you want to buy it, give me a few days and I'll have it up on Ravelry.  It's called the Plot Twist Shell, and here is Elizabeth modeling it in her store:

Now I'm knitting one the next size up for me...the least I could do is wear my own design, right?

Anyway, then I finally started the Vogue Knitting 30th Anniversary issue aran tunic designed by Deborah Newton.  I have finished one panel and plan to bring the ball with me when I leave town next week, so I can maybe finish the second panel and start on the third one.

Oh, and finally...I will by tomorrow have completed Steve's harmonica cozy.  I hope to remember to post a photo of it...basically, Steve (our rhythm guitar player and my former roommate on Laporte) only plays the harmonica on one song, so he doesn't want to bring a music stand to shows just to hold his harmonica.  I knitted him a harmonica sock that hooks onto his guitar strap, so all he has to do is reach in and grab the sucker.

So yes, I have been knitting.  But I have been extremely depressed and lacking direction and wishing things would change...they are.  I no longer lack direction.  I am getting there.  Hang in there with me and keep those needles clicking!

If you want to indulge in a sale or two before the yarn crawl, here are some stores offering discounts in the coming week or two:

http://www.examiner.com/article/weekend-yarn-sales-are-brightening-chicago-crafters-weekends?cid=db_articles

Speaking of writing...which I only sort of was, but still...

...I think I'm going to have an AWESOME speaking gig next year relating to my column.  Stay tuned!  Big things happening because of my silly little column...yay!  Guess that means I have to keep blogging...

Spring is HERE!

Good evening!  I'm sitting at the laptop, trying desperately to get organized, but I knew I was in trouble when one of the items on my to-do list was...seriously..."Get Organized."

Well, I was more specific, but not much more specific.

Anyway, I am currently organizing my stories, organizing upcoming designs, organizing my real estate investment business, organizing a personal matter, and then when I'm finished, I am going to try and organize the house.  Notice the part involving actual cleaning is last on the list.

I entered Franklin Habit's Templeton Square Contest through knitty.com, and while I did not win, I did receive very nice feedback from Fiona Ellis.  So after I came to after reading one of the greats say nice things about my design and whacking my head on the hardwood floor, I decided that now I could actually share with all of you what my design was!

I call it Lizbeth...it's named after Elizabeth Halpern (the model in the photo and owner of Knot Just Knits in Oak Park) and Beth Casey, owner of Lorna's laces (which is the yarn used for the project.  I don't know why I thought making a tank top from sock yarn was a good idea, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out and I hope you like it as well.  Franklin's Templeton Square pattern is obviously free, since it is through knitty.com, so let me know if you think I should write out the free pattern for the whole tank top while of course giving him full credit for his part:

The pictures don't do the yarn justice at all...it's amazing.  The color, the feel, the springiness and drape...all of it.  And now that I didn't win, I'm dying to see the winners' entries!

Other than that, I finally...FINALLY...finished the kimono sweater.  Here is proof:

Only took me something like eight months, but I'm pleased.  This morning while waiting for my friend Jeff, I actually ripped out a sock I started to go up a needle size.  Might not sound like a very big deal, but I was halfway through the foot on a top-down sock...I probably only had two more inches to go before shaping the toe but something about it was nagging at me.

Now, I shall go back to organizing.  And probably not cleaning.  I might knit some more, however...

A Yarny Easter

Happy Easter, everyone!  As most of you know my "day" (well, "night") job, I'm a huge fan of commercialism.  If I am wishing you a happy (insert holiday), no matter what time of year, I am probably just encouraging you to eat chocolate in whatever shape it comes at that time of year.  December?  Have a chocolate tree!  Easter?  Bunnies and eggs!  Independence Day?  Sad but true...patriotic Peeps!

I woke up this morning thinking that I should use my column for a yarny public service.  I made one "bad" skein and one "good" skein of hand-dyed yarn using Easter egg dye, and I wrote a tutorial about it.  Keep in mind that tomorrow, these dyes go on sale for half off almost everywhere (as if $2.50 was too much to spend on dye in the first place), and the tablets last forever in a dry cupboard.  You may as well stock up and have some fun!  Here's what I did:

http://www.examiner.com/list/dyeing-yarn-with-easter-egg-coloring?cid=db_articles

Then, I felted Axl's cat bed...it shrunk about 40%, which is a good size for my goofy cat.  Earlier today, he went outside and since the dogs were stalking the neighbor's dog, they were already on the hunt.  He came back inside with Penny drool on his neck and Bluto drool on his butt.  Here is his bed drying, anyway:

I think I am finished yarning for the day, since I have to go to work this evening. My to-do list has not shrunk, however...there is so much to do to get my life on track, but I'm feeling like I am at least heading in the correct direction.  Or directions.  Either way, all is good.  For now, it is time to watch the Blackhawks complete their annihilation of the Red Wings, pay some bills, maybe do laundry (although I think my washing machine is tired after the cat bed incident), and spend my next four days knitting while waiting for the Bensenville train to pass.

It is also nice enough outside where I should probably open the windows, lest my house smell like burnt vinegar for the next several days...

Maiden Voyages

Good afternoon!  It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, literally...I've been walking around the Loop for the last hour until I saw a decapitated "Walk" guy, which made me need tea.

This morning, I finished knitting Axl's cat bed.  Now, I just have to entertain my maiden voyage of felting.  I mean, I have felted pieces before, but nothing this big and...nothing on purpose.  So that said, I did some reading up on the subject, and conveniently I have a copy of Tamara Mello's book, Heart Felt Knits, which gives explicit instructions on how to do it.  So here is the finished knitted piece:

And before we go further:  yes, yes that is my pair of Grover-colored slippers on the right and no, no Muppets were harmed in the making of the slippers.

So anyway, it's about the size of your average Welcome Mat at the moment, and I only need it slightly larger than an iPad box.  Huh?

See, this box didn't make the move from Texas to Illinois, and Axl currently sleeps in the recycling box.  So he needs his own bed.  And it needs to be iPad-sized.

Anyway, while reading about the process of felting, I saw that a lot of people use an old pair of jeans to agitate the wool so it felts more beautifully.  I was heading downtown today on an impromptu field trip in my old jeans, so I did what any normal person would do - I purchased two new pairs of jeans to replace the soon-to-be-wool-and-mohair-covered ones I'm wearing.  They are nine years old, so it's only if we break up amicably and they do me one last favor before heading to the Salvation Army box.

After the Blackhawks game, if I am too wired I'm going to go ahead and fire up the washing machine...the results will be posted here ASAP.  For now, though, it's off to enjoy the gorgeous weather.

Post-Rotation Grog

Uggh...if there is one thing I've learned, it's that I should not do anything both complicated and yarn-related the day after I'm off of my rotation.

At least I took this lesson to heart yesterday, when I went to my local yarn shop and, instead of knitting the double-cable sock pattern I'm making with the Zauerball, I brought the felted cat bed I'm making for Axl.  I know...big deal.  But it's on big needles, in garter stitch, there is no actual pattern (just garter stitch for miles until I run out of yarn), and I'll survive if I drop a stitch.  Last week, I was making a Templeton square for the knitty.com design contest, and I dropped stitches on three different needles in three different rows.  The pattern itself is easy for a decent knitter like myself, but picking up a yarnover from three rows below when I'm not thinking clearly in the first place is no fun at all.

So after sleeping for over twelve hours, I started looking at my yarn.  I am in the middle of a pair of socks, I need to make another pair of socks, make a bag for a housewarming gift for someone, finish the i-cord on the kimono sweater (it won't die), finish the cat bed, and make a list of stuff I have to do this week.

So what did I do?  I opened the drawer of unfinished projects I have and decided to rip one of them out.

Notice this was not on either the knitting list, or the less-specific other stuff to do for the week list, for the day.

But whatever...I took a shawl I started ages ago and decided that for some reason, I needed the 32" size US5 needle off of it, so I may as well re-ball the yarn.  I pull from the inside of the ball, so no big deal...I could just wind on the ball winder from the end on the outside of the ball.  Except that I couldn't find that end.

Seriously.

After ten minutes of flipping the half-used ball over in my hands, and continuing to look for a straggly piece of yarn, I gave up and realized I was going to have to rip this sucker out and use the cast-on end.  This was a shawl that was knit by making the entire border first, and then short-rowing the middle.  I was about halfway through the 440-yard ball.

Well, if you have ever tried to wind previously-knitted yarn, then you know that knots form for no reason.  It took me 20 minutes to wind this freaking ball.

Then what did I do?  I realized I wanted another ball of sock yarn wound.  I think I picked the worst skein EVER to wind...it may as well have been Malabrigo (dearest Malabrigo...I love your yarn and promote the crap out of it because it's so awesome, but your skeins are wound as if the person who looped them around was too hammered to drive) but it was actually by Dragonfly Fibers.  Axl, who has been known to crawl into my lap while I'm knitting and not be bothered with the colorful string flying about his face, found the yarn swift completely fascinating.

After realizing that maybe I was not awake enough to knit, I received a phone call that I'm hoping will change my life a bit.  More on that later, but I need to get off of my butt and do something.  Stitch(es) in Winnetka has their monthly Sit N Stitch tonight, and it's about time I actually started firing up my column again.

Sigh of Relief

Good evening!  Lest you all think my blog has been shut off by authorities, let me clarify.

I've had a busy and stressful couple of months, so I dialed down the column and blog in favor of a few other ventures.  The big time investment went to the Knitty.com design contest.  I can't share a photo just yet because I assume it would disqualify me (if that's not the case and I get approval to the positive, I'll share), but I'm actually proud of myself for stretching my creative legs a bit.  I like one-hit wonders...scarves, hats, blankies...and then just reserve the garment-making for myself by following a pattern.

But I designed a garment.  With heavenly yarn.  And I finished it and entered with an ENTIRE DAY TO SPARE BEFORE THE DEADLINE!  Life is good.

There was a huge weight lifted off of me the day I closed on my condo.  This process made me question the short-sale culture; it was nobody's fault, but MAN what a pain in the arse.  The bank was slow, the lawyers were slow, the mortgage guy was slow, I was slow, the seller was slow, the agents were slow...okay, so nobody was actually "slow," but the process took seven months.  Then, on the last day of my rotation (when I am so over-tired that everything makes me cry), the closing is scheduled and I'm sitting at the title company, knitting the contest garment.

It's okay...it was sixty miles of an easy stitch pattern so I could do that while over-tired.

Anyway, we waited for hours in order to close because a glitch in a computer system was preventing some documents from being printed.  We were so bored, we friended each other on facebook.  Finally, with literally five minutes to go and no other day for the closing to happen, all went well and I went to work and then to Canada to teach a lace class.  Poof.

Ooh, and I filed my taxes with...if you can believe it...a MONTH to spare.

So the contest and the taxes were actually completed on the same day.  I had that feeling of "I don't need to do another thing for days!" feeling.  Even better, though...if any of you have ever test-knit something for someone, you know there's always the discussion of what was wrong with the pattern, what was decidedly RIGHT with the pattern, what may need to be worded differently and the like.  Well, I wrote this pattern out, drew the schematic, started knitting, and did not have a test-knitter besides myself.  In the moments I was sewing the last seam, I literally felt my heart start beating faster...I was nervous.  If it didn't work out, too bad...I was too close to the deadline to rip it out and do it again.

But it worked.  And it more than worked...it was cute and a half, it was so cute.  It's the same feeling, I think, that a groom feels when he sees his bride for the first time on his wedding day, but without the lifetime-overwhelm that comes with it.  Done.  Happy.

Other than that, working overnight is taking a lot out of me; I'll fire the column back up after my rotation for the next four days, and I have some great stuff lined up (that is, if you're a knitter or care at all about helping people).  For now, I am continuing trying to find new and different ways to sleep so my life has some balance to it, but my lack of a thyroid is getting in my way.  I've been having extreme headaches, and after having my blood drawn yet again I was told to keep my current dose of my meds because I'm "sensitive to higher thyroid doses."  A true statement.

I'm excited to pick up a project I put down in favor of the contest.  Hmm...the Zauerball socks, the cat bed, the sleeves for the kimono sweater that won't die...

Vogue Knitting LIVE ~~sigh~~

Good evening!  Well, I'm sitting in my hotel room, wishing I knew sooner that the Rangers home opener was tonight but still thankful I could watch Downton Abbey on a television, and I'm decompressing.  The good news is that the Blackhawks are on the radio (in case you thought all I did was knit).  My status on facebook earlier said, "I'm knitted out."  Wow...what a fun weekend.  Lots of great experiences, new friendships and contacts, some free stuff AND paid-for stuff...and a ton, a TON of inspiration.

In case any of you are curious, here is a recap of the stories I've written this weekend, and there is still one more to come.  Maybe two, but most likely one:

http://www.examiner.com/article/deals-aplenty-at-the-vogue-knitting-live-marketplace?cid=PROD-redesign-right-next
http://www.examiner.com/article/gallery-of-artists-at-vogue-knitting-live-does-not-disappiont?cid=PROD-redesign-right-next
http://www.examiner.com/article/knitters-get-more-than-just-tricks-of-the-trade-at-vogue-knitting-live?cid=PROD-redesign-right-next
http://www.examiner.com/article/manhattan-ballroom-where-the-action-is-on-day-one-of-vogue-knitting-live?cid=PROD-redesign-right-next
http://www.examiner.com/article/knitters-worldwide-descend-upon-times-square-for-vogue-knitting-live?cid=PROD-redesign-right-next

This morning, I audited Franklin Habit's "Knitting Tessellations" class, and of course geeked out because I love math and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  Then I went to the Marketplace...I waited all weekend to choose if I was going to buy anything, because lord knows I don't need anymore yarn, but at the same time, I have been pretty good about knitting stuff and giving it away. I bought two skeins of sock yarn from an independent dyer named Dragonfly Fibers.  Their colors are amazing...I saw her stuff in Chicago and was just 360 degrees of impressed.  And indie dyers are a dime a dozen.  I chose boy-sock colors this time, since my stash is full of girl-sock- and silly-sock colors.

Then...I bought a copy of Nicky Epstein's The Essential Edgings Collection.  Wow.  I don't know how her brain works, but I would love to watch the MRI with contrast as some psychiatrist asked her important knitting questions to see which sections went from blue to red and at what lightning-quick speed.  The book on the left...a thirty dollar value...was absolutely FREE!  So I think I did well, considering how much more I could have spent.

After saying goodbye to Kelly and popping my head in on a few other speakers, I met Peter for a drink and then went back to the hotel to fall over.  I actually finished the infinity scarf I was making out of my friend Renee's yarn...Renee owns an Etsy shop called the Carolina Fiber Company.  If you shop from her, you too can get yourself a gorgeous hank of her hand-spun stuff and look as fly as I do in the picture!

By the way, I cast on 321 stitches, and then just K8, P8 until I was almost out of yarn.  Then I bound off in pattern and was left with...seriously...less than five feet of yarn.  It was about 350 yards if you wanted to do it in a heavy DK to worsted weight yarn.  The yarn is slightly thick-and-thin, so I'm at about 4.75 stitches per inch, if not a bit more.

If you look at my facebook page (The Fiber Friend), you'll see a photo of me and artist Kelly Fleek.  The woman who took it actually invented a knitting tool...more on that later...and when I saw her this morning she said, "Did you see your photo?  You're so damn photogenic!"  I hope that's true...since my brains don't seem to be advancing my career as fast as I need it to, maybe I can get by on my looks.

Just kidding.

My two-year plan is actually going well...I haven't exactly ticked a bunch of items off the list, but I see the vision, and I know where I'm going.  That's actually a pretty big deal...it means the pieces will fall into place more quickly.  Trust me.

If any of you can get this blog post to Nicky Epstein...NICKY!  I LOVE YOUR BOOK!  I THINK YOU'RE A GENIUS!  (can i have a job?)

Just kidding.  Again.  But Nicky Epstein's book is amazing...this is the third time I've said that.  I mean it.  I actually met her for about two seconds in Chicago, and I either said, "Nice to meet you," or "Uhh...err...UMM...ahem..."  I honestly don't remember which sentence I uttered.

Oh well.  I'm all coherent now so maybe I'll see her on the street before I leave New York tomorrow.