Yo Ho, Yo Ho

Just got back from Pirates of the Caribbean - At Worlds End. It's Bobby's birthday so I skipped sit-n-knit to go to the first showing of it at 8PM with him. Funny how knitting has affected my life. All I kept thinking about every time Johnny Depp was on screen was

I wonder what yarn they used to felt that hair? Sheep, llama, alpaca, a blend? Did he have allergy issues? Did they braid it? I cord? Straight roving? What size needles?
Didn't I see that pattern on the Lion Brand site? Knitty?

Kinda changes your perspective, knitting does.

I just realized my Sheep and Wool post was still in edit and I never published it. And now, for your viewing pleasure . . .

MSWF

Oh yes. I did go.

Looking neither to the left nor to the right, I headed for the Main Building. There I found my nostepinne, right where Sheila said it would be. With all the beautiful woods, my decision was a difficult one. I settled on Big Leaf Maple, for it’s beautiful whorls and light weight. At $15.99 it beat the ebay price by far and – no shipping. I’ve already begun to wind yarn on it and it sure beats using my fingers. He had lots of other fine UWOs (Unidentified Wooden Objects) that were related to spinning and weaving. I tossed a little bobbin thing in my basket just because the Tulip Wood was pretty - although I have a few uses in mind.

My main goal accomplished, I began to push my way through the aisles. And I do mean push. Last year Bobby and I went late on Sunday. Today it was was packed and getting into the tiny stalls packed with yarn, roving and doo-dads was dangerous for me. I did venture into one shop that was more open for some cute Knit Clips, Bamboo cable needles, assorted tapestry needles and some yarn bras. Can’t beat Sheep and wool for doo-dads! I started a parade though and nearly took a tumble. Later at the Wall o’Sock Yarn, I stayed outside the stall with my purchase while another shopper held my place in line so I could sit on my scooter for a while. After a bit, the shop owner came smiling out to me and we conducted business right there. It was a bit embarrassing to go ahead of about eight other yarn starved women, but I paid for the German self striping sock yarn (mit Aloe Vera und Jojoba Ol) for Bobby and my sister Debbie and slunk away.

Some very cool wool/cotton blend caught my eye. I had been looking into the stalls for my sister’s favorite color for her birthday in August. Actual yellow yarn is very hard to find for some reason – everything is rather golden or orange. It's Green Mountain Spinnery 20% organic cotton 80% fine wool. The yarn feels rough now, but the shop owner assures me it softens right up with washing. I rethought my plan for socks though. There’s a bit more wool in them that I remembered for her diabetic feet – besides, her son does the laundry and neither of them has the patience for lots of hand washing. No, those skeins want to be arm warmers. Because of the solid color, it will lend itself to cables nicely. Perhaps Cabled Fingerless or Spooky Cabled Mitts . I’ll have to play with needle sizes a bit but I’ve got three skeins and can knit up a good sized swatch and launder it for both shrinkage and feel.

I gave up on finding the perfect yarn for two selfish projects. It was impossible to get into the places where I could fondle the good stuff for one of my dreams or spend time lining up nine compatible colors for another. Entrances were tiny and floors were cluttered. There was one place with wide aisles and lots of choices, but you had to buy 10 skeins of each color. Not to fret. I have plenty of other fiber to keep me busy for several years. Dreams.

There were plenty of non-fiber distractions at MSWF. I watched the Working Sheepdogs at work. They had Border Collies, and even though I’ve seen this many times, I’m still fascinated. New to me this year was the auction. While the focus was on spinning and weaving equipment, there was enough entertainment value to keep me there for close to an hour near the end of the day. I needed a break to eat a delicious lambburger anyway. Dilapidated looms and spinning wheels with pieces missing went very high I thought (bought for parts maybe?) and whole boxes of magazines and grandma’s patterns sold for $1. A used ball winder caused a frenzy for about $35. I believe the metal arm was missing. Now folks aren’t stupid, but it looked very used. A new one costs that and with a coupon . . . rural areas don’t have access to stores like Joann’s and the internet I guess. Sheesh!

I ran into several old friends. Maggie Sansone is still playing her hammered dulcimer of course. I worked with her my whole career at MDRF, playing a little percussion now and then at Musical Merrymaking in the mornings. One year her set followed ours on Gatehouse Stage. She had several musicians setting up on stage and I would talk and tease with her to help her keep audience between shows. I used to joke about her needing a better bodice to increase business. Yeah, right.

Brooke Parkhurst was tending her partner’s booth and gave me her newly released CD An American Wake. She had a personnel change in Tinsmith recently and the sound is much brighter without the (ahem) discord. I’ve been humming Evening Song ever since. But it was Sliabh Gallion Braes that made my eyes go wide. A personal dig at John, Brooke? It was good to see her and Bobby and I hope to get to a show soon.

At the RE Piland booth I stopped to see if Rob was in and got a warm greeting. Seems he had heard I was dead (a horrible misunderstanding/rumor I was already aware of) and we had a nice visit. Liz, he says, get me Bonnie Swans. Now Rob and I go waaay back (Ren Fair again) and he already gifted me with an expensive malachite ring from his shop back when Bobby was courting me. He let me pay the $12 for resizing it and Liz says he still has the envelope with my trademark kiss behind the counter. Geez. Anyway, out pops Liz from behind the counter, then she frowns and goes down again. A second later she is threading a long silver chain through my newest bauble. Rob’s celtic knot work is always beautiful, but my love of birds makes this one special to me. The chain is delicate yet won’t catch in my hair or sweaters and feels sturdy enough to stand up to a good pull by a small child’s hand. Bonny Swans hasn’t been off my neck since. That’s quite a feat since I’ve worn the same gold necklace most of my life.

Music Festivals and many other artsy gatherings bring out the renn fair crowd. A few fans of The Bawdy Balladeers spotted me too. Some I recognized, some I didn’t. Still, it is nice to be NOT dead and be remembered.

The last thing I remember was zipping into a building in the rear at closing. They had Koigu KPPPM earlier but were swamped beyond reason. I couldn’t get near the stuff which was tucked behind the register. I guess they keep it under a watchful eye for a reason. The place was nearly deserted at 5:45 and I boldly parked my scooter and went in to the inner sanctum. There! A color that reminded me of a peacock I saw in Disney World. But my elation was short lived, there was only one skein. I pouted. She had bags and bags of Koigu and only one dream skein. She must have heard me moaning and began to haul out boxes of the stuff from under the table. What a gold mine! We hunted for a while, but it was after the witching hour so I decided on another lovely color for my own arm warmers. No wonder knitters rave about this stuff. The colors are like the wings of dragonflies, or water. Ever changing. Photographing this yarn was tough. The one in the shade on the left is truer to color but dark. Out in the sun, it reflects too much light like the yellow cotton above. But you see why I had to have them? Do you? And some sock blockers which were too cool to pass on?

She had to open the barn door to let me out.

Google Calendar

I just added a link to my calendar over there <---------<<<

I use Google Calendar. I can access it from anywhere and don't have to carry a book around. Seems every business has internet these days and I carry a teeny purse because of balance problems and using a cane. I've never had trouble getting a Doctor's office to let me access mine to make an appointment. In fact, most think it's pretty cool that I can do that. Anyway, Google lets you have several calendars in different colors. I have two, one for me and one that has my husband's schedule on it (he has access to it as well). When I found out I can now post a calendar to my blog I thought I'd change my knitting events to a new color and call it tinkknitz. I may add other local knitting events to it as a resource to others.

Today I'm off to knit with the Kiwanis ladies. Oh, and draft my dissertation on the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!

Bless Me Blogger

Bless me Blogger, for I have sinned. It has been 53 days since my last post. I vacationed. I finished objects. I joined two new knitting groups. I gave my first crocheted gift.

But forgive me, dear blog, for I can explain . . .

After a nice long vacation, I wanted to blog with my pictures.

Editing 863 (yup) pictures takes time. Before I knew it a month passed and I still haven’t posted here. But with all these new things going on, doing our taxes, etc, I decided to make the time and finally get some of our trip down. Because it suits me, I pre-dated the entries. I know it sounds weird. It just pleases my internal calendar. So go back a few days to March 16. Think of it as time travel.

Group : Take II

Since the Mayer Center is only twice a month, I started looking for another daytime charity group. The Kiwanis Wallas Rec Center on Frederick Road in Ellicott City was just what I was looking for. They meet two days a month also - on the alternate Wednesdays from my other group. Perfect!

Their stash is huge. Four two-sided cabinets, six feet tall and crammed with every imaginable color. These ladies turn out a lot of knitted goods, let me tell you. On the day I was there, They turned in about 20 blankets, their biggest project. There were also numerous hat/scarf/mitten sets, baby sweaters and hats for hospital nurseries. Several blankets had gauge problems with mixed yarns, and when I offered to help organize, the ringleader laughed it off.

Honey, we're all about product here. This is charity work.

Seems she just can't keep up with the supply and demand. Women go through large lots of yarn as fast as she can bring it in and return odd balls and partial balls. These are tossed in where they will fit. People use several small balls for hats and scarves for shelters. Besides, it would take time away from knitting. I acquiesced.

Their current biggest charity is lap blankets for wheelchairs at the Veterans Home. They have a great pattern that starts with four stitches at a corner and knits with diagonal increases on both sides. When you are halfway through your chosen yarn, you start to decrease This forms a square. The YO increase even gives it a pretty edge. It's simple and eliminates waste. One lady had several lovely blankets made in this pattern made from ribbon. They were beautiful, luxurious and flexible. There was some discussion of how the gentleman in wheelchairs liked the blankets like this because they stayed in place better. Pop Pop had one at Riverview. I never knew who knit it or where it came from, but it was always there. When he passed, I asked if I could have it. I liked the idea of "replacing it" for somebody else's Pop Pop.

I found a woven cotton yarn from Spain. 5 grey, 2 red and 2 mauve. I took all nine balls, no leftovers from me.

Group Therapy

I took the pink vacation cap over to the The Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource and Image Center here in Columbia. They liked my design, saying the ladies often complain the hats are too tight at the top. One of the women I met there a few weeks ago said she like exotic hats. She was wearing a green eyelash hat at the time resembling a Koosh Ball .

Knitting groups are cool. I already look forward to every Thursday night at K1P2. Before vacation, I decided to step up my efforts with charity knitting. So. Twice a month, I now knit with the ladies at the Center. It is a homey place associated with Howard Co General Hospital & Johns Hopkins. There is a humongous cancer resource library and salon for free consultations and product purchase/guidance for everything body image. Operators from some of the top salons in the area donate their time and talents there. We meet in the front room which is set up like a comfy living room. Many of the knitters are clients of the center, but the group is open to the community. There is someone to guide new knitters, donated yarn and needles and a few designated charities although you can knit what you like for whichever you like.

I picked up some baby yarn from them and made my first preemie hat for the hospital. Whew! Sooooo many stitches for such a little thing. 2 x 2 rib takes a long time. I finished it in two weeks though (me?) and am quite proud of it. I used the pattern provided by the center, but I would look for better resources if I make another. It was knit on straight needles and sewed. The crown had just a few decreases and was . . . odd looking. I got to use some of my ebay needles - size 4 (thanks Dad). That’s the smallest I’ve used so far. They felt strange in my hands at first, as did the cheap yarn, but after a few rows I trusted myself to not break them and we got along fine. The thought of keeping some little wailer from loosing body heat seems right after all the babies I worked with in Labor and Deliver and theNursery.

I decided to knit Koosh Ball lady (gotta find out her name) a new hat since hers had definitely seen better days. I found a site with a free pattern, No Hair Day from Headhuggers. and some unidentified donated yarn from my stash. Their site has lots of caps to knit and crochet geared/sized for folks without hair. I swear Koosh Ball lady's hat was made from that pattern. I went with another variegated yarn because her green one is made with several greens, yellow and cream. The pattern calls for 1 ball of yarn for a small. Since she is not a large person I went with that. Wrong! Luckily, a picture on the site showed a variation with a yarn crown, so that’s how I finished it off. The lavender yarn is very soft and should feel comfortable against her head. If she likes it, I'll make her another with two balls so it can be furry all over.

I hope she’s there the day I take it in.

Knitting on the Road

Knitting in the car works for me. Don’t worry; I’m not driving at the time. We love to take driving vacations, and often there are long stretches of highway with absolutely nothing to look at. This is when knitting has been a godsend for me. I used to fall asleep a lot, leaving my husband to fend for himself when it came to looking for the next highway. Of course navigation has always been one of his strong points, but I like to follow along and note places of interest.

I polished off two (count ‘em 1-2!) projects in the car. I had started a scarf for my niece in my crochet class back in February. I had mostly put is aside and had about 14 – 18 inches done. I really needed to get cracking for her Birthday on Easter. Working in the car, I finished a scarf about 4 inches wide and 6 feet long. I made it like that to double and wrap around, slipping the end through the loop. Pre-teens love to play around with fashion so I left her options. Since I had never done it, I asked for some help and added the fringe at K1P2 one night. I’m glad I took their advice to hold off on cutting the fringe – Jessica wanted it just the way it was. I wish I’d gotten a picture of her in it but I plum forgot to.

Next was a pink chemo cap. At Stitches East last year I made a miniature hat knit top-down. I also saw an adult pattern called Karlchen and experimented with my own top down version. It has a nipple at the top (tee hee) and four peaks to let some air circulate or keep the crown off sensitive scalps. I put in a little eyelet while I was working my increases. It adds a bit of a feminine touch. I still had a good bit of the yellow left, so I designed a little fairisle pattern too. I wish now I had thought to do a Mickey Mouse head for my Disney vacation, but working out the simple design was tough enough. I had to guess on the look with hand drawn long-box graph paper. I kept it veeeery simple.

That makes four chemo caps so far for me. For John.