Faboulous

So this past weekend was the most relaxing I've ever had in a long time. Saturday as you all know I went to Stitches Midwest. Sorry but I wasn't able to take any pictures (a big sign in the front prohibited patrons of the market to do so or they would have been immediately escorted out of the building). Nonetheless I had a great time. Here's what happened:


Saturday

For the whole week before I was to travel to Rosemont, IL where the event was held, I could not sleep. I felt like a child going to Disney World. When I finally arrived to the market last Saturday, I really was a kid in Disney World! I got several materials from the staff including a bag to hold my purchases and a pamphlet stating the schedule of events for the weekend, a list of vendors and their exact locations on the floor. I decided to walk around the whole area to get a feel of what everything was like. The space used wasn't as huge as some other conventions I've been to before but the amount of yarn per sq ft in that area was more than I've ever seen. Most of the yarns sold were main stream ones (Koigu, Debbie Bliss, Cascade 220), some were trendy yarns (Socks that Rock, Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Great Adirondack Yarn Co) while others were from unknown farms around the Midwest trying to get a piece of the market.

I shopped and shopped monitoring my funds with every purchase. Here's what I got:


These balls will become this pair of socks one day.



Vogue and Knit Scene Magazines. I got the Knit Scene for the Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky and the Vogue because it’s Vogue.



Two bottles of Eucalan Wool Wash and Malabrigo in Geranio. I’m using the Malabrigo to make a matching scarf for a hat I made while in Brazil this past May.



Going from left to right, the cream alpaca from Peru will be a glove and scarf set for my mother. The cashmere was too steep for my budget plus the alpaca was too soft and beautiful to pass up. The sock yarn is Trekking XXL. These will be socks for me. The gray yarn is Cascade 220, which will be apart of a felted messenger bag that I’m making for my little sister.


After all the shopping, I went to the eating area, which was behind another area filled with chairs and a stage for presentations that were held throughout the day. I sat down and started knitting away at my Wavy scarf. I got many compliments on it as well as my cotton top. I wasn’t the only one wearing something that she/he made. I met several knitters, most of them older than me, that had intricate shawls and practical felted purses while the younger set had on shrugs and belts with pockets large enough to use as a purse.

At around 4 pm CST I realized that I hadn't eaten since 8 am EST that day and decided to get some food from inside (because I didn't want to leave the yarn). However after seeing that 1 slice of pizza cost $4.50 and a sloppy joe cost $5, I promptly left the building looking for more reasonably priced food. As I ate, I read Vogue Knitting Magazine and thought to myself, "Wow not only are the patterns beautiful but the articles are pretty good too!" I think I might sign up for a subscription, who knows.

What was so great about Saturday was that I was in the midst of diversity on all levels in Rosemont. The people were friendly, the vendors were warm and funny and the atmosphere was just heavenly. I thought to myself, “If I’m still in Michigan around this time next year, I got to come back for the classes!”


Sunday

Sunday I decided that it was going to be a day of swatching and starting new things. Here's what I did:


Everything here is sock yarn for me (Fall is not too far away you know). Going from left to right from the top, the very red yarn is something I bought back in January. I have since lost the label and now do not know who is the manufacturer. I do know it’s superwash and hand dyed. The rainbow yarn is some Lorna’s Laces, the red fading into green yarn is Trekking XXL and the yellow yarn is Primo by Filatura di Crosa.

All and all a wonderful weekend. This coming weekend should be wonderful too seeing that I will be attending another fiber festival with my boyfriend this time (I was alone at Stitches Midwest because he was visiting his family in Canada last weekend). This one should be even more fun as there will be more unknown natural yarns to play with. Also my boyfriend is treating me for my 22nd birthday, which is always good!

I'm Outta of Here!

Sorry I didn't post yesterday but I was pretty busy doing nothing. Thats right, I was lazy! But that is certainly not a problem with me. Moving right along.


Shrug

So this



became this yesterday.



I was totally bored with the 1x1 rib and how the pattern was developing. In reality, I just wanted this yarn to be a professional looking vest for the office. Though I don't work in an office environment, I still want to make something that I will actually wear. A shrug, like I said before is not the type of trend I want to follow. I'm quite happy that I have parted ways with my failed experiment and am working on a new design that I think would much more reflect my personal style.


Stitches Midwest

Seeing that the Shrug is out of my hair, I can now wear my back up tank top.



This top was made last summer. The yarn is 100 % bulky weight cotton and I used size 10 US needles to make this sucker. It took me a whole of 3 weeks to finish this piece because for the first week and a half, I knitted a pattern I got in Argentina and realized at the end that I didn't have enough yarn (the design was a sleeveless turtleneck). Being pretty familiar with sweater design but never actually knitting a sweater, I simply made 2 identical pieces and sewed them together. Voila! A summer tank top. I'm wearing this with a brick red skirt that I scored for pretty cheap last Christmas at this store.

As for tomorrow's spending, I'm not buying much. I'll most likely buy some sock yarn and some Cascade 220 for a Christmas gift I'm knitting for my little sister. I'm also contemplating some fingerweight cashmere or a cashmere blend so that I could knit some gloves for my mother. I'm not spending much this weekend because there is another fiber festival in Michigan next weekend that I think would have more unique yarns. Plus I'll have more money next weekend so I'm saving till then.

Though I'm not spending much at this years Stitches, I am going to enjoy every minute of it. Why? Because my visit to the market is not to shop till I drop but really just to experience the energy of being in a whole convention center filled with people who are as passiosnate about knitting as I am.

Happy knitting and have a good weekend!

Neon Lights

So my blog is being featured as the "Blog of the Week" by the prestigious online publication called Black Purl Magazine. It not only features free knitting and crochet patterns but it also has essays written by other people who have knitting blogs. This magazine is perfect for the knitter who is also interested in cultural diversity, travel, and exploration. Go check out this website that is edited by L' Tanya.


Sad Knitter
Lately I've been feeling like I haven't been accomplishing anything with my knitting. I only have 2 projects on the needles but there are so many I want to start its ridiculous. It's just a matter of sitting down one weekend and making a whole bunch of swatches to prepare for future projects. Then there's the Christmas knitting I want to do for my family. I'm working on small items this year. A scarf for my sister, gloves for my mother, socks for my father. I'm using a lot of the patterns I found in this book.

As for the shrug, I'm still going to work on it but I doubt that I will care to actually finish it in time for this weekend. Besides, I have a couple other hand knit garments I could wear. The only reason I will continue with this piece is because I want to see if I could actually write a pattern that works. I like pattern writing and I believe that the only way to getting better at is practice. I'll keep you guys posted.

Things are Changing

Look what I got in the mail this past weekend:



A lovely package of yarn. Thanks for the gift, Sarah! These 2 skeins of South West Trading Company Bamboo will become this scarf someday. Yeah I know I'm late in the game but I'm new to this cyber knitting community.


Updates

So over the weekend I was knitting like a mad woman trying to figure out the pattern in the Stitch and Bitch Nation book. I was successful in finding out that I will not be able to knit the shortened version of the wrap because I don't even have enough yarn for that (I only bought enough of the Pima Tencel for a summer tank). I talked to my boyfriend about it and he suggested that I just knit 2 sleeves and then connect them somehow with 2 straps (one for my front, the other for my back). I liked the idea and started working on it. Here is what I have so far:



A close up of the increases




I'm thinking this might become a shrug by the end of the week. Now I'm not a fan of this type of garment but seeing that my arms get cold easily, I think it will be a useful item for my trip to the Stitches Market this weekend.

Here's a picture of the Wavy scarf:



I'm up to the 4th repeat. The pattern is pretty intuitive if you're paying attention to the stitches. However, I'm not in a big rush to get it finished (I do have 5 months till Christmas you know).


Other Things

Since August has started lately I've wanted fall to return. This is odd mainly because I've always loved summer more than any other season of the year. The bright burning sun, humidity, heavy thunderstorms, the beach, strolls in the park, family BBQ's and of course my birthday have all been contributors to my love affair with summer. However ever since I've learned to knit 2 years ago, some of my love for summer has been transferring over to Fall. Autumn is such a beautiful time of year in Michigan. The leaves that were once green then turn into burnt orange, bright red, pale yellow and deep purple. These colors influence my yarn choices and the cooler air encourages me to knit even more. Fall is also cool in Michigan because local farms start selling their last harvest fruits and vegetables for the year at pretty low prices. Fall is great because the air is crisp but not freezing and I'm able to wear the things I knit. There is also a certain calm in the atmosphere that I like as many of the people in my small town rather be inside than out in the cold.

Is it necessarily bad to love more than one season? Can't I like both? I love summer for the fresh berries and peaches that are in season but I also love fall for the fresh pumpkins and squash that are available too. Who said I would be a traitor to summer if I dabble into the bliss that is autumn? I see my new interest in fall as a blessing, mainly because I can now enjoy 6 months of good weather rather than 3.

I Knew It!

I know it is the weekend but I had to share this with you guys. Today's topic has nothing to do with knitting and everything to deal with our lives and futures in this world. There is a documentary that you can find at Google Video called Loose Change that reveals some pretty heavy things about what took place on September 11, 2001. You can find their website and information on how to receive a free DVD copy of their documentary to send to those you know that do not have computers to download the documentary from here. And DO NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE (not even knit stockinette in the round) but watch and listen to the information in the flim. It is alot to take in all at once but I believe it will save all of our lives and sanity.

Money Whoes

So yesterday I found out that I over drafted my checking account over the weekend, leaving me with $99 in fees plus whatever I bought. I ended up giving away half of my pay check yesterday to the damn bank leaving me with about $78 in my account to live off of for next week.

That episode truly pissed me off mainly because that has never happened to me before. To make matters worse, I calculated that I had spent about $50 on gas and groceries to end up paying triple that amount to my freakin’ bank! And just when I thought I would be able to have a little bit of extra cash to at least go to Stitches Midwest next weekend (buying anything may require more money that I don't have), this shit happens.

So you know what this means? Like many fanatical knitters I have a credit card, and if I have to I will use it.

Why can’t money grow on one of these?

I Think this Broad is Crazy

I’m not a big reader. Now don’t get me wrong, I do read novels, newspaper articles and magazines from time to time but I won’t promise you that a book is always in my purse. Which is why I felt it weird when I got the urge to purchase this book at Barnes & Nobles two weeks ago just for some fun summer reading. From the looks of it, this broad is just a little too crazy for me.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love the Yarn Harlot. I think her blog is fun to read and the way she describes her adventures make you want to jump in on the action with her. What I don’t agree with is her style of stash organization. In one of the chapters of the book, she offers advice to knitters with too much yarn in their stash. She believes that places like kitchen cupboards, the closet, and even the refrigerator are great places to store yarn and the sleeves of sweaters and garment suitcases are great for giving temporary homes to small projects like socks or baby hats.

Call me anal or whatever but that is not my idea of organization. I would just go absolutely freakin’ crazy if I knew that my yarn was near food (what if it gets dirty) in a closet (dirty, smelly shoes) or if my projects were stuffed into sleeves of sweaters never to be found again till 2 years later when I decide to do some serious cleaning in my living space. I’m already a forgetful person as it is. I like to know that all my knitting notions and things are all in one area of my house. Granted she did say that her house is pretty small and that her stash is pretty enormous (which I do not doubt) but having my yarn all over the place just annoys the shit out of me.

So how do you organize your stash and knitting tools? I know that some people like to make an inventory on their computer of all the yards of all the types of yarn they own so that it is easier to pick projects in the future. I’m not that crazy nor do I have that much yarn to forget what I actually have in my stash. Others like to display their yarn on a bookshelf like it’s an ornament that changes ever so often. Some invest in special knitting bags to hold their on-the go projects while others throw everything in their purse or a simple yet effective plastic bag. As for me it’s pretty simple. All of my yarn and FOs fit into a basket, a yellow suitcase and a blue bin. All of my tools are in a separate bag and my straight needles are in a hand-sewn case. My patterns and books are on my bookshelf or filed away for later viewing. My current project and everything that I need to complete it are always in a separate bag, even if I don’t intend to travel with that particular project. One day I might just sit down and make a swatch book so that I could look back at it for reference. If I choose to knit with the same yarn on the same needles I don’t have to make another swatch for gauge! Plus I think it’s a cool thing to have. When I get out of school and buy my own home, I plan on making a room just for me and my knitted things. That way everything is contained in one space and I don’t have to pull out my hair when I can’t find something because it’s all going to be in one place.

Which brings me to my final point. I think that the key to not wasting time looking for lost items is to know where all of your belongings are. This means that organization is hella important. And contrary to popular belief there isn’t just one way of being organized. We are all different and need to develop systems of organization that work for us not against us. Messy or super-neat, I believe that finding a method that works for you and sticking to it is the only way to be successful in stash organization.

Fresh as a Daisy

So the smell that I've had in my apartment for the past 2 weeks is almost gone. Let me explain.



The tenants above me use to burn incense constantly, as in you go to bed you smell incense and then you wake up and your whole body reeks of the smoke from it. When I moved in I thought it was a once in awhile thing. Then when my boyfriend started to comment about how awful I smelt, I decided that my neighbors habit of continually burning incense was a problem that I didn’t want to deal with.

So the first thing I did was move back into my boyfriend's apartment. I removed all the important stuff that I knew would have been negatively affected by the smoke of the incense (i.e. the yarn) and packed a few things to wear while I was away. I complained to my landlord about the situation and to make a long story short he sent them a letter forbidding them to burn incense because I told him it made me sick. The smoke would give me headaches and caused much difficulty in breathing. The amazing thing is that I don’t even have asthma!

Today I went over to my apartment and found great improvement in the smell. I was very excited and started cleaning it more. I found out that Baking Soda on a carpet is an excellent way to get rid of smoke odors, so I spent the $2.50 on a big ol’ box and dumped the whole thing all over my floor. I plan on returning in a few days to vacuum up the baking soda and start my life over again in my new and improved apartment.

This brings me to a question that I would like to ask you people. What kind of smells do you like? Floral? Woody? Fruity? None? Stink or sweet personally I can’t stand strong odors. I don’t put on perfume but once or twice a year. I find that it is less attractive to smell a person before you actually see that person. I’m more of a soap and lotion kind of gal. A clean, fresh scent that doesn’t overpower the other scents around you does it for me. I’m not saying that everyone should refrain from using perfume or colognes to freshen but as for me and my house, the basics are all I’m using in my daily morning routine.

Thank God it's August!

I figured that since this is a knitting blog maybe I should show you guys what I'm working on. I only got 2 things on the needles. One is a gift for my little sister for this coming Christmas (you got to start early people). The pattern is called Wavy and you can find it at this reputable publication. Here's a pic:



The other project is not quite on the needles but needs to be re-worked to suit my needs. The pattern comes from the Stitch N Bitch Nation book written by Debbie Stoller. The pattern is this:



I know it's kind of late in the summer to start knitting such a "Summer-e" piece but I'm planning on attending the biggest event of the year. This event is Stitches Midwest, which will take place August 10. I'm not taking any classes (read: poor college student) but I am planning on taking the 2 1/2 hour drive over to Rosemont, IL to shop at the market that weekend. Seeing that the event will take place in a Convention center this means that it will be close to freezing in there. As a knitter, I wouldn't dare go to a knitting event in a store bought sweater. So that means I have less than 11 days to re-write, start and finish this wrap.

Now I know what you're thinking. "Rewrite" the pattern? Yes, that is what I shall do. I don't have the proper yarn or even the needles to follow the pattern word for word. Did I also mention that I'm poor? This means that there will be no more stash enhancement until August 12, 2006. I plan on using the green cotton yarn I bought from that big blowout sale Webs had back in May. I know I only have 6 balls and the pattern requires more. I know that my gauge is 24 stitches by 28 rows over 4 inches and the pattern calls for 26 stitches by 32 rows. Thankfully there is a schematic that I can make the re-working of the pattern easier. Updates to follow. Wish me luck!

My Boyfriend

I'm glad you guys enjoyed Friday's post and found it useful. I just like to tell it like it is. I did fail to mention the bad about Argentina and it's yarn but we'll leave that for another day. I certainly do not want to mislead my readers into thinking that Argentina or any other place I've visited that I plan on telling you about is a bed of roses. I plan to give you an honest look into these places so that you guys could make a better decision on whether you'd want to spend the money to go there. Now on to today's topic.

Men that Knit



This is Nathan, my boyfriend. He was born in Puerto Rico because his parents were Christian missionaries over there when he was born. He stayed in Puerto Rico for the first 3 years of his life and later on moved around a lot as a child. Though he's Puerto-Riquen by birth (his mother is from Pennsylvania and his father is from British Colombia), he considers Canada and Florida to be his homes because he spent the most time in those places. He loves camping and nature. He also likes computers, football, and of course hockey. Recently he has gained an interest in photography and enjoys taking paparazzi type photos or neighbors in our town.

But enough of all that boring stuff. What you really came here for is the knitting and that is what my boyfriend likes to do. He likes to knit. Nathan is one of the men in this world that really like to knit. Now the fact that he loves to knit is not amazing because he is a man but because he is my boyfriend. Have any of you ever met a man and a woman that have been in a relationship that both equally like a hobby as rare as knitting? Usually couples like sports or cars or cooking. We like knitting.

And he's a pretty talented knitter too. Just look at the amount of stuff he's made since he learned back in October 2005:


An i-Pod cozy (for the i-Pod he got me for Christmas



A hat for his little brother


An alpaca hat and scarf set for his mother’s birthday



A hat for himself



A hat for his father


Do you see the trend? There are sock knitters out there and then there are hat knitters. Nathan is a one-track minded hat knitter kind of man. He calls himself the "Mad Hatter" sometimes because that's all he cares to knit. Either way, I enjoy watching him knit quietly on his orange lazy chair. It makes me so happy when he’s relaxed (because his life doesn’t permit him much free time). Currently he's working on, you guessed it, another hat. Here’s a picture:




This is his own design because he hates patterns. The yarn is called Elisabeth Lavold Silky Wool, a beautiful 50/50 blend of silk and wool. Since I got the blog, I suggested to him that he should write a pattern for his hat when he’s done. Nathan told me that he doesn't know how to write a pattern and so he asked me for help. If enough of you guys are interested in this type of hat pattern, let me know. I'll see what I can do.

Though this hat is super cool, don't expect this project to progress quickly. As stated above, Nathan doesn't have much time to knit because he's doing his BA in Business Administration on-line. However, when he is done with it, I will definitely post a picture of his accomplishment.

When knitting gets ugly

The subject of my boyfriend brings me to another discussion question I would like to bring up. Knitting has always been seen as a selfless act of love for those that we knit for. Family and friends are always recipients of lovely hand knits that show that we care. Though a lot of my knitting is given away (because I don't like clutter) most of the time I'm ignoring the people around me while I knit, even if the thing I'm knitting is for them! So my question is when can knitting become too much of an obsession? What is one to do to prevent from loving knitting more than they do family and friends or other things in life? And is this necessarily a bad thing?

Can't wait for your response!

Yarn Heaven

Thanks for the comments to my last post. They were a lot of fun reading them and I got to know just a little bit more about you guys. I'll be posting such questions like that from time to time, but don't hold your breathe for them! They'll come when I feel it right.

Why Argentina's the best place to buy yarn?



So a lot of you have shown interest in my travels in South America. I think that instead of boring you with the whole story at once, I could share with you small portions of it from time to time. I will try my best to incorporate knitting in those future post if at all possible.

As you already know, I've lived in Argentina for 9 months learning Spanish. I absolutely love the people and the friends I've made there but there are 2 things that I will definetely go back for ever so often. First it is the beef (sorry vegetarians) which I have to say is the best beef I've ever tasted. This is because they let their cows be cows. They roam free in the plains, eating grass. When the meat is cooked, the only seasoning on it is salt (yeah, I couldn't believe it myself). The meat is so soft and flavorful, nothing like it's tough, mediocre American counterpart, which I rarely eat.

The second thing is yarn. In Argentina, knitting is not some passing trend/fad like it is in North America. It is something that is taught in grade school and stitched into the cultural fabric of the country (sorry, had to use that form of speech). Now you're not going to see many teenagers or 20 somethings knitting in public or even in private but many older women, most with children or grand children to clothe do knit regularly.

Because so many people knit down there, finding a local yarn store is effortless. In fact after traveling around the country, I realized that there is at least 1 yarn store in every town in Argentina, even in the desert and rainforest areas of the north! This makes yarn and knitting a profitable business. The two most important newspaper publications, Clairín and La Nación, do yearly 12 week long series on knitting and offer patterns printed in separate magazines. Collectivley, the magazines are all one big book of knitting patterns chopped up into smaller magazines based on topic like "Women" "Teenagers" "Men" "Kids" Accesories", etc. set in magazine format. I like to knit things that I could actually wear so I appreciate that most of the patterns are chic, classic designs with a new twist that makes it interesting enough to knit and wear.

This type of categorization can also be found in the way many South American cities are set up. There is usually only one major comercial center that everyone goes to for shopping. If you want a mattress for you bed, all the mattress stores are in one place. If you're looking for shoes, all the shoe stores are in one place. It is the same with the yarn stores. There is a street in Buenos Aires that I call "Yarn Heaven". Within a 5 block stretch, there are over 12 yarn stores, some of them being next door neighbors. The stores look like chic clothing boutiques and when fall rolls around (April/May) they are always filled all the time. I say filled as in you are tripping over people and pushing your way through the crowd for some bright jade alpaca! The yarn itself is gorgeous and good quality. Many of it is acrylic but most of it is all natural fibers (wools, alpaca, silk, cotton, mohair, angora, llama). I've never seen cashmere down there but that doesn't mean it isn't available to those who would like some.

Which brings me to my last point. The prices in Argentina are excellent if you are from the USA or any other country with a stronger economy.I've been there several times and I have always left with more than what I intended but I still don't break the bank because the exchange rate in Argentina is $3 ARG pesos to every $1 USD With the exchange rate being 3 to 1 it insures that I will always be returning to Argentina for stash stocking. The last time I was there in June, I purchased $200 ARG pesos or $60 USD worth of yarn on this one street. I was like a mad women going from store to store, checking out what I liked and what I didn't, making sure that my purchases were things I had a project in mind for. I went back to my hotel with 5 kilos (or 11 pounds) of yarn, enough to make 3 adult sweaters, several hats and scarves, a pair of socks, and whatever else I could put my knitterly mind to. That's more yarn than I could ever get at this place.

So there you have it. My reasons for buying yarn in Argentina. I'm not sure if you can buy any of the yarn online, but I insist that you visit this beautiful country if you plan on buying yarn. The experience is incredible, whether you're a knitter or not.

Wow!

Wow you guys! Thanks for the big welcome. I did not expect to have so many people welcome me to Blogland. It is a wonderful place and I plan on being here for a while. I am still trying to commit to memory how to make a link or how to put up pictures on my blog but I assure you that I will learn quickly.

I must say that I am having difficulty deciding how I should respond to your questions. There are so many questions that I wish to answer but I'm not sure what is the best way. I could place all of my responces to you guys in my comments section or I could email you people or I could leave a comment on your blog. Tell me what is the best way to continue our conversations and I'll make sure to do the right thing. However, for today, I will answer everyone who had a question publicly on this blog. Here goes!

Knitting Pinki asked me if the bright rainbow yarn in the leftover section of my stash was from a manufacturer called Katia. Personally I've never heard of Katia. What I do know is that that yarn (and many other yarns in my stash) were bought in the wonderful streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Why was I down in South America, you ask? That's another post for another day.

Meg asked me where did I purchase the Cascade Pima Tencel from. Well I got that yarn from the big blowout sale that Webs was having on their website back in May. I'm sure they still have some leftover for pretty cheap if not cheaper, but you will have to check for yourself. I loved working with the yarn and I am planning on making a tank top out of the green yarn for myself for Stitches Midwest in August (if I could come up with the money in time to fund the trip!).

Many people commented on my hair story including Noblinknits, Nik, E to the M, and Betty (her blog is completely in Spanish BTW). I appreciate all your comments. As you can tell my hair is a pretty important feature of my body. Not necessarily it's upkeep but what it means to me and how it defines who I am as an individual in this world. Though I loved my fro, it was 6 years old and I like the fact that I can now wear the hats that I knit for fun (I love knitting hats!).

Maluena (a woman living in Barcelona, Spain who is from Argentina) and Gray la Gran (who has traveled alot like myself) commented on my travels through South America. Well just a little synopsis, I went to Argentina 2 years ago and stayed there for 9 months to learn Spanish. During that time I was able to go to Brazil, Peru, and Uruguay. It was one of the best experiences of my life, having to depend on learning a new language for survival, which I eventually did. Thankfully I still speak Spanish pretty well and use it almost everyday. I'm working on Portuguese and hope on learning Italian (because of the food) and French (because it's useful).

So now that you guys know a little bit more about me, here is a little scenario for you to respond to so that I could know a little bit more about you.

*

You've just won the lottery and instead of winning money you are rewarded with a lifetime supply of whatever type of yarn you desire. The catch is that you are only allowed to knit 1 kind of item for the rest of your life (socks, sweaters, scarves, lace, etc). What would that item be and why?

Happy Knitting!

* No I do not have this pattern book. This picture was placed to keep this post interesting

My Inventory

No blog about knitting is complete without some pictures of yarn. I have decided to show you guys my stash. It's not as big as some of the stashes I've seen that can fill whole rooms. This is mainly due to the fact that I am a poor college student and can't afford to buy the amount of yarn I really wish to have (though deep down inside I am a minialmalist and would one day like to not have more yarn than the projects I'm working on at any given moment). So now without further interruption I present to you my not too big stash.


Sock Yarn



Okay first the sock yarn. Most of it was purchased in the United States. The varigated yarn at the bottom was purchased in a mall near Toronto, Canada and the grey tweed-like yarn was bought in Argentina (more on my travels in South America in another post). The Lorna'a Laces in Rainbow will be some very tall socks.

The pattern can be found here

The purple yarn at the top and the varigated Canadian yarns are destined to be

Jaywalkers

and

Pomatomus

respectively.

The orange yarn to the left and the red yarn to the right will be creations of my own doing. My boyfriend who is also a knitter (more on him later) has the Vogue Dictionary of Stitches and I do plan on using it this summer.


SummerYarn



All of these yarns are Cascade's Pima Tencel which is the perfect summer yarn. I just finished a baby sweater for my new niece with it and it's not too rough on the hands like most cotton yarns because of the tencel. Originally I was planning on making baby sweaters for my other twin nephews but I realized that I only had enough yarn to do 1 sweater. Henceforth I have scraped the idea and am thinking about doing a tank top for me. I've looked at various patterns all over the web but nothing really captures what I'm going for. I guess I'll have to design it myself, which isn't too bad, seeing that I love to make stuff from scratch.


Sweaters



These yarns come from the great land of Argentina. For those of you that don't know where this country is, it is located in South America, south of Brazil and east of Chile. About 2 years ago I went to Argentina to learn spanish and just recently returned there (after being in Brazil for 3 weeks) to visit some friends of mine. While in Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, I stopped by a couple yarn shops (okay more like 10) and picked up these babies. The yellow mohair is going to be a simple sweater pattern I'll find somewhere someday. The red yarn will be either something I design or

this

The blue, purple and beige yarns will be a stripey turtleneck pattern that I got while in Buenos Aires. Sorry I don't have a clear picture of it because I fotocopied the pattern and the picture that came with it however when it is completed a picture will definetely be posted on this blog


Canadian Yarn


My boyfriend is from Canada and wanted me to show of my yarn from there in a separate picture. This yarn is none other than the discontintued White Buffalo yarn. This yarn is just like Reynold's Lopi: hard, scratchy and perfect for felting or knitting up oversized jackets in the winter months. I made a sweater out of the eggplant yarn and soon after finishing realized that I'm going to have to wear a shirt under it if I want to not itch to death. Did I mention it's 100% wool? Meaning I'll only be wearing that sweater if I plan to be outside for a couple hours.

You can find out more about this brand of yarn here

And if you want to buy some of the stuff,

click here

Gift Yarn


Most knitters reading this already know what this yarn is. It is the bread and butter of all yarns. The most basic yarn out there. This is Cascade 220 brought from that crazy WEBS sale back in May. This as well as the Pima Tencel above and some Debbie Bliss Chunky Cashmerino were bought together. I bought all the crazy colors to get a head start on Christmas presents. I was thinking of doing the usual hat and scarf sets when I realized that this yarn is not superwash. I realized if I were to make anything for my family it had to be already felted or something in the machine washable category. Henceforth felted slippers, computer bags, and hats here I come!


Leftovers


Everyone has leftovers. I'm no exception. The good thing about leftover yarn is that if the project you already finished a couple months later decides to fall apart, you have enough yarn to repair it. Also leftover yarn is great for making cute last minute gifts like a hat or a scarf with some intarsia or strips. Sadly, my leftovers don't come all in one gauge which makes my reuse of it more challenging. Either way I won't give them away nor throw them away. I like my leftovers and my leftovers like me.

So there you have it. My stash. It's not very big but it's not very small either and that's how I prefer it.

Damn Unpretty

Sorry that I've been absent for this past couple of days, however when life gets in the way, blogging gets push to the side. I am happy to announce though, that I have received my first comment from none other than the beautiful and talented knitter named Saun from Saunshine. She has a ton of free patterns as well as some other beautiful items for pay that you can knit. Go check it out. It is worth your time.

Today’s Topic

So just to let you know I’ve cut my hair off GI Jane style in light of the heat. Here’s a picture:

Before



After



This allows me to go into the saga that is my hair. I’ll start from the beginning.

Hair is a very important part of being a woman of my skin color. As a child growing up, my mother would always tell me that hair is a woman’s beauty and that she should keep it looking good at all times. When I was in elementary school I got a lot of help from my mother to keep my hair looking kempt. Then I turned 10 years old and my own natural/nappy/very curly hair wasn’t cutting it. So my mother did like any other women of African descent in the western hemisphere did to their female children’s hair after a certain age. She chemically straightened it or as the lingo goes “Permed” my hair (I know a perm is to make your hair curly but this is what it is called in my circle of friends and family). So I did that for the next 6 years of my life, hating every moment of it.

“Permed” hair prevented me from doing many normal things like swimming at the pool or running around in the rain because any type of moisture outside of weekly washings were death to my straight “beautiful” hair. Even more time and money were spent at the salon. Deep condition every 2 weeks and a “perm” every 8 weeks. This made hair prep a long and tedious process.

Then I turned 16 years old and that’s when the breakthrough took place. I decided that it was a complete waste of time, energy, and money to chemically straighten your hair. I didn’t like sitting in a stylist’s chair for half the day inhaling harmful chemicals that were being applied to my hair and I certainly didn’t like the association “permed” hair had with “sophistication” or “professional” all synonyms for “all right white” and “stand back black”.

It hit me that it was all self-hatred amongst blacks in the United States. Chemical strengtheners were not the way out to an easier morning routine just as how affirmative action was not a good solution to equality. Words like “nappy” and “kinky” all seemed too negative to me. It saddened me that every time I went to the hair care aisle at Wal-Mart all I saw geared toward African-American hair were “Perms” and artificial hair moisturizers that claimed they helped your hair when they really just weakened it further. The products on the shelves only reinforced the idea that in order to be beautiful I had to look as European as possible and it broke my heart.

So like any other girl trying to find out who she was back in high school, I did something drastic. I grew out my “perm” and started sporting an Afro. At first it was more of a political statement, sort of my way of fighting the power. Slowly my perception of my hair changed however, to the point where now I just see it as something that covers my head and keeps me warm during the winter.

I decided to cut my hair like a boy for many reasons. One is that I was tired of hearing the complaints of my family who hated that I rarely combed my hair (yes I am lazy in that department). Second, I realized that a ‘fro wasn’t necessarily a mature look and cutting it all was a gutsy move on my part. Finally, I figure it was time for some change in my life seeing that I just got my own apartment and am now a full-fledged adult not depending on my parents for money.

So if you would excuse me. I have to start knitting a ton of hats for the winter for my now hairless head.

Krazy Kelly

When I was a kid growing up, I would always hate when the teacher of any class would force the kids to find a adjective that starts with the same letter as their first name and explain why they think that word describes them the best. Lucky Lisa, Clever Carla, and Marvelous Melissa were all great options. Then there was me. Kelly. The letter "K". No amount of Sesame Street could help me find a good word to describe who I was at the time. So it was Krazy Kelly for me and I hated it.

Now don't get me wrong. I was and still am crazy. My whole life I've always seemed to go to my own drumbeat. However after a few years of saying the same thing to sometimes the same teacher, Krazy Kelly just wasn't cutting it anymore.

I learned how to knit about two years ago from a co-worker at a call center I used to work at. The job was rather mundane. Some days, we would get on average close to 2 calls per hour (which is not a lot for a call center). Sundays were the busiest because that's when we got the most calls. Either way I was happy because I had a paycheck and ample time to do my homework when it was down time. However, at the time I learned how to knit it was July and school was out. With no homework and nothing to do, I bought a cross stitch (because I absolutely love that thing) and started working on that at work to fill up time between calls. Then one day I saw my co-worker knitting away at a black scarf. I was instantly intrigued by her craft and how her finger manipulated the yarn and needles to make her creation. Up to that point, I wouldn’t have said I was a crafty girl. I've sewn a couple pillows in my life, did some cross-stitch and embroidery and did all the usual crafty things that children do with crayons and watercolors. Knitting was something completely new to me. So I did like any other Krazy Kelly out there would do. I went up and asked her to teach me right then and there.

I took a couple lessons for me to be able to practice at home. Unfortunately I just wasn't getting it. Knitting was easy; it was purling that was frustrating. I made ugly swatch after ugly swatch of garter stitch and tried to include some purls in there but it just wasn't working.

Fast forward to September 2004. I was in New Jersey visiting a friend at her house and I woke up one morning to find Debbie Stoller's Stitch & Bitch book in her room. I opened it up and read the whole book (including the introduction) that day. When I asked her why she had it she told me that she started knitting and her mom got her the book. My friend then walked me through knitting again, then we went to Wal-Mart, got some cheap acrylic yarn and I started at my very first scarf. It was some ugly maroon color with a thick tweedy green yarn that my friend let me borrow from her. The colors were too manly for me so I gave the scarf to my boyfriend at the time.

Two years later I haven't put my needles down. Some still call me Krazy Kelly because of my obsession with yarn, knitting and anything involving it. However, now I have a new word to describe me. Knitting Kelly. It's not quite an adjective but it does describe who I am. Take that Smart Sean and Thoughtful Theresa.