Now Norma Knits

Remember Frappr?

Oh, we look fondly back at the Frappr! craze.  That's sooooooo last month....innit?! Can you believe how quickly that rose and died? But it DIDN'T die ... at least not to me. I'm still going around and finding new ones once in a while and adding my name and pictures. I try to spice it up a bit by adding crazy pictures sometimes. And I've been checking my map. It sat stagnant for weeks, but all of a sudden lately I've had a few new pins. Very much fun.

One from Wales:  Hi, Margaret!

One from Austria: Hi, Angie!

There's Maryann from Garner, NC, and Chris from Minneapolis and Nicole from Alexandria, VA.

South Dakotah came through! I knew there must be somebody up there. (now we need to work on North Dakotah, Gail!)

And Montana was very lonely, so Carrie put a pin in from there when she went to visit her in-laws in Hamilton. Then Shannon from Helena joined her.

Hi, all!

-------------Some work was done around here yesterday. It was horribly slow, plodding work that didn't make me feel terribly accomplished at the end of it. But it made for some ideas for what to get the person who has everything. Perfect for any occasion! Unfortunately, that is really all I can say. Use your most unpuritanical imagination. -------------------------

And I happily COMPLETED my CEUs, with possibly two to spare. Depending on which person at headquarters I spoke with last week, I needed either four or six more points.  So I did six just in case.

Sometime around all that, I managed to knit a little on the second sock and started a stashbusting Dulaan hat.

I feel I owe it to my readers who reported to me that they did red scarves, so I plan to, very soon, comb through the comments and my emails and try to make a list. I am so warmed by all the response and by the fact that people remembered to come back and tell me how many they did. I've also written the coordinator of the program who commented on the blog when I first blogged about it, and asked her if she will let me know the final tally of scarves received. This won't reflect the ones we are directly responsible for in knitblogland, but I think it would be fun to know anyway. Imagine what we could have done if we'd had more notice! Dave said:  Wouldn't it be cool to see all the recipients in a group picture, like in a football field, wearing their red scarves? Of course I know that would not be practical, but yeah, wouldn't it be cool?

What? Do You Think I'm All Work and No Play?

Well, yes, I am, actually. I just poke my head out of the cave every now and then.

This sock was completed last week, after Sandy kitchenered the toe for me at Claudia's gathering. (thanks, Sandy!) I'm just getting around to showing it to you. A plain sock with rolled top, pattern from Ann Budd's Book of Patterns (a book I believe every beginning-to-intermediate knitter should have), made of the Fleece Artist sock yarn from my Better Pal. It feels like Heaven on my foot. I cast on for the second while still at Claudia's, but that's as far as I've gotten. Red scarves and work got in the way.

I did 179 pages of transcript this weekend. Not too bad, but not as many as I would have liked. I also groomed Vincent, much to his dismay. And dyed the sock yarn sent to me recently by my Better Pal. It came out a really great coral color - not the tomato red I had planned, but I love this color, too. And consumed approximately 40,000 calories. And watched The March of the Penguins (5 stars) and Batman Begins (two thumbs up), our Blockbuster-by-mail selections of the week.

And I wasted a lot of time doing this test. I got 20, and then stopped to get back to work, but it took me about twice as long to get 20 as it later took Lauren, the little smartass. And then she showed off after I left and got almost all of them. At one point I was heard to moan to daughter Abigail, who was online doing the test at the same time I was, "I've lost my genius mojo!" (blame this whole thing on her. She's the one who linked me.....but then again, it was a good break and always-welcome mother-daughter time)  But I should have spent the time doing transcripts or more continuing ed tests. Hey, if I prove I'm a genius, albeit a slow and aging one, maybe they'll waive my tests. What do you think? Nah, I didn't think so, either.

Back to the cave now.

I Couldn't Resist

I know I'm supposed to be working, but I saw this over at Purl Jam and just had to share it with y'all.

It makes me want to go buy a thong suit immediately.

Right. 10 pounds to lose.  Check.  But still.

Journey's End

I finished the second scarf.

Pattern:  Dave Daniels' Cabin Cove Journey Scarf, with modifications (removed all moss stitch from sides except 2 stitches each side).  This was a test-knit of his pattern, and I loved it. Dave also donated copies of his pattern to other knitters at their request for the Red Scarf Project.

Yarn:  Lion Brand Cashmere Blend, 5 balls (scarf is 54 inches long and 7+ inches wide, unblocked)

Needles: Size 9 US, 5.5mm

So soft and lush. I think I need to make one just like it for myself.

It'll be going out in the mail today, along with the one I finished the other day.

Now I'll go back into my work cave.

It's a Gen-yoo-WHINE Work-A-Thon

BUSY TOILIN'

(MAKIN' YARN MONEY)

be back soon(er or later)

(I finished one, so far)

Tired of Hearing About Better Pals?

Ok, I won't tell you about my latest package, then.  NOT!

I apologize to those of you who are damn sick of hearing about this, but I'm about to gush about my Better Pal. I'm literally DROWNING in work and I really don't have time to do this. (btw, I did not get to answer most of my comments yesterday, but I got a huge chuckle about all the people who said they are going to move to New England. Yay, come on up! Make the stash swaps even bigger!)

I wrote my pal and told her I wouldn't be able to blog about her package goodness until Friday. But I sat down at my work computer after eating leftovers for dinner last night, and I just couldn't concentrate until I took a photo and got this down on the blogpage.

So, we start with a picture:

And we give a little tour. (I wish I had Photoshop, so I could do one of those fancy labeled or numbered photos for you, but I don't.)

I love my BP. She (or it could be a he. I use "she" as the default.) really has done her research, and oh, how I love that. There are people who give gifts because they have to, and then there are people who give GIFTS -- the ones who really try to get to know their recipient and give the gift to match the person. Such a wonderful quality in a person!

In my package (which came at the perfect time -- after I'd had a really rough day at work and driven home in a sleet storm -- I promise I did not just recycle that line. It truly seems that I've written that a lot lately, but it's only because it's true. Gack.) was a full pound of gorgeously soft South African wool top (from Great Britain, my favourite place in the whole wide world. So in other words, I take it that "South African" is a sheep breed? Anyone know the answer to that?); a book on Lichen Dyes; several packets of Kool-Aid in my favorite reds and oranges; a huge skein of dye-your-own sock yarn from Knit Picks; a fragrant sachet (yum!); and a lovely card with a nice note from my pal.

You KNOW how I love my Kool-Aid dyeing, and I have lots of lichen around my home. I can't wait to study up on it, do some nature-friendly collecting and make some dyes. I already thumbed through the book and see that it advocates tread-lightly collection techniques, which makes me all the more happy. And that South African wool????  Absolutely BEAUTIFUL. So, so soft. I know that is going to spin up wonderfully. I'm planning on making the sock yarn my favorite shade of tomato red.

Thank you for another lovely, lovely package, Better Pal! I am one happy camper.

Now, all gushing aside, I don't think we've said this enough:  A big thank you should go out to Rock Chick and Shobhana for coming up with the Better Pals idea. Many people don't know what the program is about, I realize now, and perhaps it would be helpful to explain, so people understand what we're going on about all the time.

There have been several iterations of secret pal programs around the knitblogs. Many of us have taken part in them. For the most part the experiences have been just fine.  But some of us felt that they had grown too big and that they had developed some problems because of their bloated size. There were too many cases of what I call "drive-by" signups. People who signed up, and then the matches were made, they might (or might not) have sent a package, and then they were never heard from again, not fulfilling their end of the bargain, and someone would end up very disappointed. Why would someone sign up for a thing like this and then not follow through? It's a mystery. And let's be honest: It's annoying as all hell.

The Better Pal program was specifically designed to alleviate many of those problems. It's deliberately kept small, and it's by invitation only, the idea being that we invite a few people we know we can trust to follow through and follow the rules. The emphasis is less on "getting stuff" (although, let's face it, that is always nice) and more on developing or strengthening relationships. It's been 99.577% fabulous.  But guess what: It's still not perfect. Nothing ever is, I guess. There are still some people who don't "get it." There are like four simple rules to this thing, and some people still can't seem to follow them. (it's very, very few -- don't worry, it's not you, or you, or YOU, EITHER! But maybe it's you.) That's ok. That's what sieves, strainers, and weeders are for. And we know how to use 'em. Keeping it small helps everyone keep wraps on what's happening, rather than some thing with 600 people in it. Something that size is just not possible for any poor blogger-admin to keep tabs on.

Be honest:  That's what you like (or hate) about me: I'm about as subtle as a rock up 'side your head.  ;-)

Anyway, I want to give a big shout-out and public thanks to Rock Chick and Shobhana for coming up with the original idea, for staying on top of things, and for keeping it fun. Rock Chick just has to touch the keyboard and I start laughing. Even before she's pressed "send" on an email or "post" on her blog, I'm laughing. She just does that to me. And I had not "met" Shobhana before the first round of Better Pals. There are so many blogs, I just can't find them all. But I'm so glad to know her. She was my giftee in that first round. (we're now two-thirds through the second round)

Small swaps are a lot of fun -- regional ones, or between people who have certain things in common, or whatever. I recommend it. It's been a blast for me to choose just the right gifts for my spoilee, and I certainly have loved getting things specially chosen for me.  Many of us have had a great time with subterfuge and mystery, too.  And we love spoiling our gifter in return, who has put a lot of time and effort into putting together just the right package for us, by giving him or her proper appreciation and public thanks in the blog, with full, detailed disclosure of the contents of the package. So bear with us. 

Swap on!

P.S. As a reward for sticking it through to the end of this post, which probably bored the pants right off you, you're in luck: My, what a big needle he has.

Fair Trade, or How To Get New Yarn Without Bending The Stashalong Rules (Too Much)

UPDATE:  I've updated the link to the Cloud Hat pattern to a more current (and perfect) version.

One of the most fun parts of Claudia's get-together on Sunday was a stash swap. I put in two skeins of A Touch of Twist - a yarn from a small vendor I bought in....ummmm, Maryland? New Hampshire? I can't remember (Ms. Moth Heaven took it) and a mondo skein of Helen's Lace. (who took that? speak up)

I took: two balls of mohair and a skein of Claudia's lovely handspun. See how nicely the colors coordinate? I plan to make Dulaan Cloud hats with it. There is a pdf of the pattern here. I like to warn (and be warned) when a click is of a pdf because pdf's freeze my computer if I don't right-click and open them properly. It's a pet peeve of mine when people don't warn me of it. So now you know. DON'T DO IT. peeve, peeve.

and: three skeins of Cash Iroha!!! Who was crazy enough to put this in the swap? Of course, someone probably thought the same thing about my Helen's Lace. This is going to be something for ME. I'm so excited about it. It has just a touch more green in it than appears in this photo. More tealish.

The stash swap was HUGE. There was handspun, there was fiber, there were tools and books and yahn. At the end, there was still a lot left, and Claudia said if it didn't go, someone was going to suffer bodily harm. So the last I saw, someone was stuffing the remainder into a huge bag and making away with it.

I'm a big fan of stash swaps. All knitters' and spinners' get-togethers should have them. Thanks again, Claudia!

I also took a little side trip with Claudia to her LYS. Though I was sorely tempted on a couple of items, I remained virtuous. I just bought yarn for my Better Pal, which I am not going to show here for obvious reasons. Although it might be fun to taunt the Better Pals, I won't. Oh, all right, there's a pic of it here if you really want to see it. But it won't be going out until the February package, which is the final package in this round.  taunt, taunt

And I bought a skein of Trekking sock yarn for a gift. AND Carole gave me a skein of Vesper sock yarn that was her part of a trade that we engaged in a while back. Pretty, hm?

The red yarn for the scarf came in from joann.com, but guess whaaaaaat? Work, work, work is still coming in, in, in, and keeping me busy, busy, busy. I should still be able to finish my two scarves -- Friday evening and Saturday morning before the post office closes, if nothing else. So I'll "see" you when I come up for air every once in a while.

Brav-O! to all the commenters who are doing red scarves. I think those program organizers are going to plotz when they get their mail this week and next, don't you?

Lyssa Made A Red Scarf, Baby

I hunted and hunted, with no success, for an image of one of those '60s magazine ads with a photo of a nicely-dressed, nicely coiffed, nicely manicured lady, sitting in her chair looking at a magazine, with the caption, "I'm cleaning my oven."

Anyone old enough out there to know what I'm talking about? I love those retro things from my youth, and I thought it'd be a good intro for this:

...which I would then ever-so-cleverly caption, "I've knitted a scarf." But alas, the effect is lost, because I had to tell you in words rather than have the ad available to help me with the visuals. I know I've seen reproductions of those ads somewhere -- more than one, actually -- but where are those things when you need 'em, eh?  Just where?

But behold Lyssa, a reader, photographed above, looking so lovely in that gorgeous red scarf. When I posted about the Red Scarf Project, she commented something along the lines of, "I'm just fresh out of college myself, and I don't have any red yarn, but I would gladly knit up some of yours." So I sent her a little of my red stash -- some oddballs, and two balls of red Furz. She received it only two days before she flew off to Japan, but she still managed to take the Furz I sent and a ball of burgundy KnitPicks yarn she found at her home, and she made that beautiful scarf and sent it off to the project before she got on the plane to go to Japan for two weeks.

I'm appreciative and proud that she used my yarn this way, and I love the scarf and her sense of style. She also pledged to use the rest of the yarn I sent her for a Dulaan project when she gets home from Japan. Thank you, Lyssa. I hope you get to see this post.

Me and my red scarves? Not being quite so successful. I've given up on the L.B. Suede one for now, although Dusa made a good suggestion, saying that she has used it successfully for drop-stitch scarves. If I have time (which is looking less and less likely each day now), I will rip it out again and try it one more time. I'm mad at Joann.com right now. I ordered the Cashmere blend yarn from them on the 14th and it hasn't arrived yet. Their confirmation email says the standard delivery will take 7-12 business days. SINCE WHEN??? Any other time I've ordered from them, I got it in two or three days. If I don't get it in time to finish that long scarf, I'm going to be even madder.   

So while I was waiting, I took some Chunky Wool-Ease and started a twin-rib scarf, which is coming along and is pictured in the center of the photograph. But geeeeez. That's just a lot of red partial scarves up there in that picture, and none finished. So, as of now, I can only rely on Lyssa's work as my main contribution to the project. But my girl Jenn, everybody's favorite nipper and my (pretend) cousin, came through for me and sent me a ball of the Cashmere blend, so you know where you can find me -- in my knitting chair.

Norma's Steakhouse

Poor Claudia. She thought I knew how to cook.

Claudia and I propose this as a new Socks That Rock colorway called:

Norma's Steakhouse (aka BURNT)

More to come later, when I rest up from the fun-filled weekend for which I extend great thanks to my devastatingly handsome, warm host, Igor; his compatriot Kimba; and their people.

Unfortunately, I had camnesia* (a condition marked by forgetting to use one's camera), so those seeking photos will have to go visit the multitude of others in attendance on Sunday.

*thanks to Cate for my most-favorite new term

HIP! HIP! HOORAY!

Get a load of the Dulaan pictures in Ryan's blog!!!! 

It's a wonderful thing; it really is.