… from The Knitting Curmudgeon …
The best sign hanging from a freeway overpass I’ve seen all day
Who Would Jesus Bomb? – Anonymous

I spent a week with my Grandparents this summer, and found a book amongst their things. As I was leafing through it, I found a picture of my Great Grandmother and various cousins and such. How cool!
I have been searching for it on line since returning from Canada and wanted to get my own copy, and last week I finally found it. I ordered it from abebooks.com and the author even autographed it for me. Neat-o.
The book is by Caroline B Norwood, called Life On Brier Island Nova Scotia: Stories and Photos About the Place the People and the Boats.
If you happen to have the book, there’s a lovely picture of my Great Grandmother Viola Garron on her 90th birthday, on page 59. She had her 101st this year, and my uncle visited her over the summer. She had a bottle in her knitting bag, to keep her warm. You go, girl!

So, I spent Saturday in lovely, wet, Burbank at the TKGA market. I have to say, I wasn’t impressed. In fact, I walked around the place all day and only spent $100. There was a whole lot of the same stuff at most booths, and the Yarn Lady, which is my LYS, had 6 spaces, but I can just coast down the street to see that stuff so I didn’t stick around there much. And I confirmed my suspicion that she’s over priced on a lot of stuff. Everyone had Trendsetter, there was one booth with some Prism, and lots of books but none that I was looking for.
Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of stuff there, but I was looking for fingering weight wool, maybe some sock yarns in solid colors like pink or mauve (for a gift for someone) and maybe something crazy that might jump out at me. But nothing did. The sock yarns were all boring or baby colors.
It was pretty dead, I imagine because of the rain, and the fact that it was so close to Stitches West, I’ll bet a lot of people already spent their money up in Oakland.
So, what did I get? Some yarn from Shelridge Farms which was almost the only booth without the eyelashy frou frou. I found 12 colors of their Shelridge Soft Touch Ultra – 100% Wool Fingering Weight Yarn, in the colors that I want for my fair-isle design that I haven’t designed yet. I’ll take a photo of it later this week.
I picked up Joan M-M’s Heirloom Lace Jacket which I have been eying forever, but seeing it in person I just had to pick it up. Didn’t decide on yarn for it yet. Giggled at the i-cord butt floss.
The drive to Burbank and back was so stressful! I was exhausted when I got home and how silly is that to all you northern folks who drive in rain all the time! But this was big crazy rain and a whole lot of people who just don’t get it.
I guess I was expecting it to me more exciting than it was. I am a terrible shopper, I have to admit. I hate shopping. But I am happy with the purchases I did make.

OK, I am sure I won’t come up with one each day, but still, I thought I would share when they come up.

Having seen these and these and even some done in cloisonne and gold and stuff, I thought I could come up with a better idea come spring. And I did! Now, I wasn’t as frugal as I could have been, I could have waited til the day after Easter and probably done even better, but $1.49 for a dozen, I think I can swing it. Even if I break a few, I should come out ahead.
If you are wondering why I bought them, it’s because I am new to knitting, and I am sure some of my Kitchenered toes will need some help before the whole sock wears out. I am ready!!

Since I didn’t go to Stitches West, and Burbank is about 60 miles away, I am going to go and check out the market on Saturday. I didn’t hear about it soon enough to sign up for any classes, maybe next year.
I did join the TKGA, and also ordered the Level 1 Handknitting course. I even made my first swatch over the weekend. I am using the Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool for it since I have some left over from Christmas presents. I may do a kool-aid dip on some of it later on, if I need another color. I haven’t read ahead to see if I do. I also have some blue worsted wt wool that I could use if there is a need for a color change. We’ll see.
Still working on the shawl and I had to tink 4 rows last night because I somehow messed it up again! I guess it’s all the carpool knitting, sometimes I lose my place or something. After all that tinking, I put markers in every 10 stitches. They move around because of the YOs and (Sl 1, K2tog, psso)s but between the markers there should always be 10 stitches. I think that I don’t need the markers on the knit side, but on the purl side is where I keep losing stitches, so this should help. I did 10 more rows last night and didn’t make any more mistakes, so I think it’s helping.
It’s in the crumpled mess stage, so I don’t think I will post a photo until the center is done, before I pick up around it for the inside edge. My brother-in-law’s birthday is this weekend, plus a day of shopping at the TKGA market might cut into my weekend knitting time, but I hope to finish the center panel this week and start on the edges. I can’t wait to wash it and see what happens, the swatch looked nice but it’s tiny, I want to see the whole thing done!

I have been toiling away at my fir cone shawl. I don’t know what I am doing wrong, but keep losing a stitch when I transition from one pattern to the next. I can’t see where I am messing up, although I am reading my previous rows so in general it’s all lining up. It’s just the ends that are not stable. The thing will need a good wash and block before it’s ready for prime time, so I am hoping that it won’t show. If I could figure out the problem, I would just fix it. I am only about 4 inches from the cast on, so if I do figure it out, I will be able to drop a stitch and break out the crochet hook.
I am totally sounding negative, so I should say that I really like the yarn and the pattern is going to be really nice once it’s done, I am just frustrated with it now. Perhaps I was too ambitious, but really, it’s just a 10 stitch pattern, what’s wrong with me? I need to get over myself!
Ok back to work.

So here’s my solution to storing circular needles in their ‘not in use’ place. Index cards, a stapler, a binder clip thingy, and something to make it stick to the wall. I was thinking of breaking out the sewing machine and making something a little nicer, but I saw the index cards before I got to the sewing machine so they took over. Just sort of bent them without creasing and attach one to the one before it with a staple. It works for me!

A while back, I wrote to VY regarding the Sand Dollar (Adult) sweater asking if they were working on a reprint of the book. I just got a reply that didn’t answer that question, but does say that with the book the Children’s Collection, there is an amendment for an adult size that could be sent if I order the book and yarn. I had thought about the book anyway, maybe as a practice run for an adult size Fair Isle, but maybe now it’s even more worth it. I am going to think about it a bit and write them back.

I was having trouble reading my knitting on this lace pattern and kept making it worse while trying to fix my mistakes. So, I ripped back to the first row and have started over. Now that I am looking at the knitting and not the pattern, it’s working and I am almost back to where I ripped from.
I really like the color of the yarn. It’s called Plum, and has occasional flecks of blue in it that are really pretty.

…or knitting back backwards, I have heard it called. I love this, now that I have figured it out.
There was an article in one of the knitting rags last fall that explained it and I tried it, and for the life of me could not get it. They really made it sound a lot more difficult than it is. (I guess the writers get paid by the word?)
A few weeks ago I just tried to figure it out myself the most obvious way, looking at what the needle does when purling, and looking at what the yarn does when purling and there was the Eureka! moment. I used this technique on the bag that I fulled, and got lots of practice.
I purl much too tightly, so doing it this way makes it much more in line with my knitting. I will have plenty of practice too, since the Fir Cone Square Shawl that I am working on has every even row purled for the center square.