Now Norma Knits

Red Scarf Goodness

There is so much good stuff going on with the Red Scarf Project I just had to take the time to shout out about some of it. 

Theresa's* dad taught himself how to knit so he could make scarves just for this project!  Go read his story, if you haven't already.  It made me grin all day yesterday. People at work were asking me what was up with that.  I told them they wouldn't understand.  :)

Interweave is endorsing the program again this year, and they have a sweet Ann Budd reversible scarf pattern available by pdf.  Check it out.

I hear tell (news travels fast) that Men Who Knit are joining us.  Welcome, Team Testosterone!  Don't forget to send me your scarf pictures so I can show them off in the gallery.  I'm expecting some good stuff from these guys. 

Get a load of the gorgeous scarf my dear friend Kim is making.  That woman is a style maven, if ever I saw one. 

And beautiful scarf pics are piling in for the gallery in the Red Scarf Blog.  The program is snowballing!

And in the "what goes around comes around" department, I was notified by Rachel H. (the other Rachel H., heh) that my hat was the first to arrive at her house and therefore I won....you're not gonna believe it.... 300 yards of beautiful red Schaefer yarn.  You know what I'm going to do with it; oh yes, you do. 

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*I don't know if Theresa knows this, but hers was the very first blog I ever read, and therefore I give her credit (or hold her responsible, however you want to look at it) for getting me into blogging.  I Googled "provisional cast-on" as a brand-spanking-new knitter a few years ago, and it brought me to her blog.  At the time I had not ever heard the word "blog."  It kept coming up in reading her entries and others that she linked to.  I remember having to then Google the word "blog" to find out what it was all about.  And the rest, as they say, is history. 

Now we have met in real life and are real-life friends.  I can attest she is as lovely as her blog. 

How did you start blogging or reading blogs? 

U is for Unexpected

....or "You're not kiddin'.  That's really not vanilla." 

.... or Man, That's Red.

....or "I might love it now even more than I loved it before."

Introducing Red Phoenix, (or David calls it Plain Crimson), or The Sweater Formerly Known As Plain Vanilla

It's bloody cold and windy out here! (Do you like my new Shiny Conker lipstick from London? Perhaps the color of the reincarnated sweater is "conker"...or "Love Conkers All".)

With gale-force winds, rain, and wicked cold temps, we cut the photo shoot short, so I realized too late that we did not get good photos of the entire sweater.  But I think you get the idea.  Suffice it to say I love it and I'm calling it a WINNER. 

The color is a nice glass of merlot held up to candlelight.  I was holding a bunch of cayenne peppers in the photo so you could compare and contrast the color of the sweater with the peppers, which could possibly help you to envision it. 

And this sweater?  This yarn?  Subjected to all that soaking and near-boiling and almost-scrubbing and stain removers and water pouring over it, and multiple bouts of dyeing and almost-boiling and rinsing and drying and spinning (but not agitating) in the washer and rerinsing and rewashing? And having been worn almost every day from November through April for two years now?  Held up like a champ.  Did not felt one tiny bit, and it's lovely, lovely, lovely with almost no pilling; soft like cotton against the skin; it took on a sheen that I didn't notice it had when it was white; and it's hefty and warm.  It's like a big wool (that feels like cotton) sweatshirt. 

Have I used enough superlatives to let you know how much I am still in love with this sweater?  Maybe more than before.  It's like a brand new finished object.  I will forever miss my Plain Vanilla, and I may make another white sweater.  But this red -- oh, how happy it makes me. 

The choice of red was a last-minute whimsy type of choice.  I'm sure that doesn't surprise those of you who know me, not one whit.  It was truly eenie-meenie-miney-moe. 

It took a few tries to get it right.  I used Jacquard acid dyes that I bought at Rhinebeck last weekend.  I only said "Rhinebeck" one more time to piss off Marcia.  Because she said if I say it ONE MORE TIME her eyes will bleed.  And she will come over here and knock my block off. But I think I can take her.

Back to the dyes:  I bought a variety of colors.  Here is a photo of the result of the first try, using one entire packet of Vermillion.  I loved, loved, LOVED that color.  It came out a warm rose color.  When it was finished, I chuckled and chuckled, because the words that Claudia spoke to me on Friday evening were ringing in my ear.  She said, "Aren't you the one who has great success with your seat-of-the-pants dyeing?  So go for it."  Sitting on the sweater as you can see, a perfect match, is the yarn I bought from Mel and David's booth.  I was psyched.  But can you see those spots on the front where the dye didn't take? Those were obviously the spots that had been treated with stain removers all those times before.  Ugh.  I loved the color, but I had no more Vermillion.  I ordered some more. 

But as you may have gleaned, Patience is not my middle name.  I looked at the other packets I had on hand.  I tried to imagine what they might look like over the Vermillion.  I settled on Scarlet, and I threw in a very unscientific, unmeasured amount of Aztec Gold.  Yeah, baby!  I LOVED that color.  But I still had a whitish spot in the front.  Luckily I had another jar of Scarlet.  I went another round.  And now we're done.  I could try yet another time, but honestly I'm sick of messing with it and I'm satisfied.  The mottling that is there is barely noticeable, and I think it adds character, as well.

This is a sweater I wear mostly at home, and when I want to wear it out of the house, I will wear a scarf like the photo above, and no one will be the wiser.  Well, except all of you who are reading this now. 

For newer readers, here is what it looked like before, my favorite sweater, and my very first sweater, the one I named Plain Vanilla.  Plain Vanilla was the victim of a horrible staining incident which rendered it unwearable until I took a leap of faith and dyed it red.

It is Knitting Pure & Simple's neck-down pullover, size small, knitted from a small run of 100% Rambouillet yarn from the fleeces of the sheep that often win First Prize at Rhinebeck and Maryland, purchased on eBay from Roclans Farm.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to have it for sale much anymore.  The sweater is truly very special to me (and David, it turns out -- who knew?).  I'm going to check my inventory -- I bought a lot more of this yarn at the time -- and see if there is enough for another sweater -- I may even dye the yarn ahead of time.

For the Warm Hands knitalong, I've finished the first Green Mountain Mohair mitten.  I'll have one warm hand, anyway.  And none too soon, it seems.  It's been pretty blustery and cold out there.

What took me so long to knit with this yarn?  I have a sweater's worth of the same gold color (called "Spice") that is in this mitten, and now I absolutely can't wait to knit it.  I'm currently having an internal debate about the 2nd mitten:  Will it match or will it be very much a fraternal twin?  Stay tuned, but I can't get to it right now.  I've got a Federal (capital) homicide appeal transcript that is due Tuesday and lots of depositions Monday and Tuesday.  Just my usual work hot water situation.

Heather

I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for my husband to take a photo of me in the new green sweater, but it just hasn't happened.  This has been an extraordinarily busy time for him.  When he's home, it's dark, and the flash just does nothing good for the color of the sweater, not to mention my flesh tones.  When Margene was here, we were so busy gabbing and eating and driving places that we also never managed to do a photo shoot.  I appear in quite a few Rhinebeck photos around the 'net, but none of them really clearly show the sweater.

But tonight I lucked out.  Lucia sent me photos that she took at Rhinebeck, and that's fitting, because the sweater made its debut there, anyway.  So here we are, in our comfortable Rhinebeck setting.

Heather

Rowan "A Season's Tale" - Designer Kim Hargreaves

Shaba Green Peace Fleece, 5 1/2 skeins

Size M

 

I love it.  I'm wearing it right now, as a matter of fact.  The pattern was perfect, although I'm short and it fits me just right.  Apparently a medium-height or tall person would have to add a lot of length to it.  This always surprises me with Rowan patterns.  Their models are lean and leggy and tall-looking and I figure I should have to shorten the torso about three inches, but nope -- I almost feel I could have added another inch to the length of this sweater. 

I had a bear of a time setting in the sleeves.  I set the right one in four times, and the left one twice.  Still, I felt there was some ugliness at the sleeve joins, but it seems to have settled down quite a bit now, with wearing.  I love the color -- it's fresh and different and very complex.  It is impossible to capture with the digital cameras, but there are subtle little flecks of blue and orange that make it extra-special.  Peace Fleece is soooooo warm, especially knit at this gauge (4 1/2 st./inch). 

I'd gladly make this sweater again, and will definitely use this yarn again. It was harsh on the hands for the knitting.  Part of that is my fault, because I am a tense and a tight knitter.  Part of it is the yarn.  I got a callous on one of my fingers from knitting with it.  But the yarn's character really blossomed after washing.  The transformation was amazing.  The first wash water was amazing, too:  It looked a lot like pond scum.  Part of it was excess dye, I believe.  Part of it was dirt.  Peace Fleece is well known for that close-to-the-farm authenticity.  It smelled sheepy and sweet and .... yeah.  Close-to-the-farm. 

I predict I'll be living in this sweater throughout the winter when I'm at home.  It will be far too hot for wearing to work.  I've got a skein and a half of the green Peace Fleece left....I'm thinking mittens. 

Here's a bonus shot of me, Sandy, and Deb in our Rhinebeck knitwear.

Me:  Heather Sweater and Flower Basket Shawl, worn the way I wear it -- as a scarf with the point in the front.

Sandy:  Peace Fleece Buffalo Brownski Everyday Cardi and Brooks Farm Scarf

Deb:  Celtic Dreams

This is My Month, I Guess

It's called return on investment. Not that I would know too much about that.  I was absent on the day they passed out the luck to make money grow, but all of a sudden I feel like I'm being paid back by knitters and crocheters.  And that feels good, so good like you would not believe.  (All right, I would not mind if the money would do this, but maybe this is a start.)

Rachel D. wrote:

Hi Norma,

....a couple of months ago, you sent me a portion of donated yarn to use for Dulaan.  I’m just writing to show you what I’ve done!  I’ve managed to get a fair amount of other yarn – some donated and some just at a fine (i.e., low) price, so I’ve been using it in conjunction with yours to make 7 pieces so far.  I’ve made the commitment that for every piece I knit for myself or others between last month and June 1 2007, I’m going to knit something for Dulaan, with the exception of Christmas knitting season.  I have NO idea how much that’ll end up being, but I’m hoping it’ll be a good pile.

So attached is a picture of what I’ve done so far: (click for bigger) 

Green & white sweater – Avalanche Sweater – made with stuff you sent me along with another donated yarn.

Maroon and navy sweater – Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Baby Surprise Jacket

Purple and white hat – my first go at spinning (on a spindle) – bulky and uneven but WARM.

Black, red and pink hat – cashmere blend

Green and beige hat – cashmere blend

Grey and white hat – alpaca with cash blend lining

Scarf – stuff you sent me mixed with skein ends from stash

It has been nice to knit with wool again – it’s not cold enough here to wear (and therefore knit) really heavy yarns.

Anyway – I’m not totally sure where I first heard about Dulaan, but I think it was from you – so thanks for that! Oh yeah – I have some nice red yarn reserved for the red scarf project.  I’m just wavering on a pattern – cables, mistake-rib, or my first stab at entrelac.

All the best,

Rachel D........

And all the best to you, Rachel.  You've made my week.

Sadly, Panera has turned us down on the Red Scarf Project.  They say it is not possible for them to handle this on a national level because they pride themselves on allowing the individual stores decide what is right for their immediate neighborhoods.  You know, all things except the entire menu and the decor and the locations.  Everything else.  You know.   Um.  Never mind.  I guess they are franchises, so the national control for something they did not contract for when they bought the franchise is probably nil.  This is just my speculation and I know nothing, so ignore me.  

But a big huggy thank you to all of you who wrote and tried.  Nobody can say we didn't try our hardest, and at least we got a polite email complete with a wish for "best of luck in your attempts to continue to make a difference in the lives of others."

*sigh*

*brightens* 

This puts me in the mood to talk about another project I've joined in on, The Soaring Eagles Project. 

Procrastiknitter Rachel contacted me about this late last week, and it seemed right up my alley.  I quote from Rachel:  "Our project is to come up with the hats/beanies/headbands for approximately 400 children ages 4 -- 12."  So I made this

while I was watching a couple episodes of LOST the other night.  I followed Ann Budd's pattern for a hat for an older child/young adult.  It's right on gauge and is the right size, supposedly, but I have such a pinhead that it seems big.  *Sigh*  I hope there is a child with the right sized head for it.  :)  It also doesn't seem very warm.  How cold does it get in winters in Oklahoma?  I honestly don't know.  I hope and I believe this hat will give some little girl some happiness for Christmas.

This is made with Red Heart TLC.  It is yarn that is left over from my very first hat and scarf -- the first things I ever knit.  And this will kill you -- it continues to kill me.  That set is the only thing ever, in the history of my knitting, which caused non-knitting strangers to compliment my hat and scarf.  "I LOVE your scarf and hat!"  People literally stalked me and asked me where I got the hat and scarf, and they'd nearly swoon when I told them I made it.  It was a crappy knitting job, seams that looked like hell (it was a flat-knit hat AND flat-knit tube scarf, with hideous seams) and it was Red Heart, people.  It's all about the color.  It's not too evident in this photo, but it's a salmon pink, which is "my" pink.  Anyone who doubts the power of the Color M*e B*eautiful philosophy, I'm telling you, it's just as the color consultant said, lo' those 20-odd years ago:  "Go buy the cheapest t-shirt you can find in one of 'your' colors and wear it.  Count the number of compliments you get on it in a day.  Then go to the most expensive store you can and buy a very expensive something NOT in your colors and write down how many compliments you get on it." 

It's the truth.

However, now that I think about it, since everything I knit for myself now is in "my" colors, and I get no compliments on the knitwear, that kind of shatters that theory.  But I'm not kidding you when I tell you that this el cheapo Red Heart is the ONLY thing that nonknitters have EVER, EVER, EVER complimented me on, knittingwise.  Ever.  Once I became a "serious" knitter (stop laughing), this whole scenario offended me so much that I donated my hat and scarf to the Salvation Army.  Probably somebody else is wearing it and being stalked and complimented on it now.  Heh. 

Paying It Forward

Oh, I'm all teary-eyed.  Look what I got from Lyssa:

Hi Norma,

It's that red scarf time of year again.  Since last year when you sent me some yarn to make a scarf for the project, I have graduated from college and gotten a good job (woo hoo!  I can afford to buy yarn now!).  I have also relocated to North Hollywood, CA.  I read about the push to get Panera to sponsor, and I'd like to hold a red-scarf knitting night at the Studio City location (12131 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604) to meet new friends locally and help out.  This will be Tuesday, November 7, gathering 7pm.

If you could post this to either the red scarf blog or your main blog, I would really appreciate it!  I hardly know anyone around here yet.

Thank you,
Lyssa

I'm so happy I could burst.  Last year Lyssa was a student and left a comment that she didn't have any red yarn, but she'd be happy to knit up some of mine if I sent it to her, and I did and she did. 

Now she's paying it forward in a very big way and is going to host a red scarf knit night at the Panera near her.  (heh, before my post urging about writing Panera, she did not know there was one near her, but she found out she has one pretty close)  If you're in her area, please join her for her Red Scarf Knit Night, and please let me know all about how it turns out.  Pass it around!

Is It Just Me?

....or is everyone else totally wiped out from the weekend?  I can hardly function. 

zzzzzzzzzz

Come on, people!  What's up with the low turnout to write to Panera?  Just log in to panera.com, choose "contact us," tell them you'd like them to sponsor the Red Scarf Project.  Do I really have to offer a prize?  Do I have to show you pictures of poor orphans feeling sad that they don't get care packages at college?  Won't you just do it to help out the cause?  Geesh. There are 63 or 68 Bloglines subscribers to the Red Scarf Blog, and a lot of red scarf knitters who are not subscribed through Bloglines.  I expect 100% turnout for writing to Panera.  Don't make me come over there!  (I know some of you don't have a Panera near you -- in fact, I don't.  But for those of you who do, please do write and let us know about it.)  Thank you.

Don't laugh, but I ordered yarn.  What?!  The next big thing I want to knit is Brier, and I'm anxious to cast on very soon.  I saw Margene's in person last week and she said she doesn't mind if I copy hers completely, I love it so much. It's the absolute perfect color and style for me.  I was going to do the moss stitch jacket, the pattern for which I bought last year, but Margene took one look at it and reminded me the style is so similar to Brier, without all that pesky moss stitch, I should do Brier instead.  I was always intending to knit Brier anyway, and I already have the Rowan pattern book.  So that required an order of chestnut Black Water Abbey. I did give a half-hearted look in Rhinebeck for something that would be an approximation of that yarn for that sweater, but I really decided why mess with perfection, ya know?

So there you have it.  Now I'm back to work, which is not an easy thing to do right now. I'm sure I'm not alone in that sentiment. 

I'm trying to decide what if anything I should do about the wonky sleeves in my Heather sweater (the green one I wore this weekend) before I call it "finished." I have to schedule a photo shoot for it soon, I suppose.  Feels kind of silly, since it's plastered all over the internet in Rhinebeck photos.

Plain Vanilla is most definitely no longer vanilla.  Details about that later, as well.

Now, for a more serious topic.  Martha left the following comment yesterday: 

The reason I'm writing is that my mom has Lymphoma and I'm running a contest on my blog to help get blood donations. She was in dire need of blood and we had to wait DAYS for her blood type to be located and transported. Simply, I need your help to get the word out. Please help.

Please go to her blog for more details and donate blood if you are eligible.  It'll feel good. 

Rhinebeckonomics

I wasn't spending anything.  Really.  I bought nothing. No, seriously! I wasn't even shopping, because it was too crowded to shop and I've bought all that work equipment lately.

But somehow the $110 cash David put in my wallet before I left, added to the $90 that was already in there, and the $140 that Sandy and Leigh each gave me for the room, resulted in this much when I arrived home:

What the?!  Where in the world did all the money go? 

Partly to Mel, my own personal knitting veterinarian blogger who helped me so when Vincent was ill, and his partner David.  That yarn is soooo soft and gorgeous I couldn't pass it up.  Mel had an Irish Hiking Scarf knitted in it, and that's what mine is going to be, too.  LOVE.IT.  My David likes to wear red socks in jury trials. It's a superstition thing or something.  I don't ask. It just is. But I knew he would love these alpaca blend lovelies. 
Partly to Angoraonline.com (Thanks to Paula's eagle eye for spotting this in the last minutes of my time on the grounds.  I had been searching and searching and consulting and consulting with the experts, and everyone told me that angora yarn is all but impossible to find here -- that the good stuff is from France.  Angora fiber for spinning -- easy.  Angora yarn?  Not in America.  Huh.  Never knew that.  But I finally found these little pathetic skeins of handspun angora.  They're a bit rough around the edges [they look better in a ball than the little skeins I bought] and the colors from which to choose weren't the greatest, but I wanted to get these for Jane.  I hope I did ok, Jane.)

Partly to Green Mountain Spinnery.  They need no link.  Sandy and I got sister mitten kits.  I started knitting one next to Kristen.  I'm warning you:  Beware Kristen spinning.  She gets a little rambunctious.  Well, that, and also Sandy. She's just mean. She threw the mitten into Kristen's wheel, but I won't point any fingers or make any wild accusations. What, haven't you heard of that new super-expensive novelty yarn?  The kind that already has a mitten cuff spun into it? It totally could catch on. It could be the next Socks That Rock.  Or not.  Lucky for us, Kristen finished a surgery rotation recently, so extricating a mitten cuff from just-spun wool?  Easy.

Partly to Golding and Stefania, and partly to Jacquard dyes.

Partly to feed my tastebuds and fat pads.

Ahhhhh, it was wonderful to see so many friends, sad that I couldn't see everyone, sad that I only spent terribly limited time with some, but wonderful to spend quality time with a few, as well.  So many people were so fun and lovely.  So giving. Paula was a lovely addition to the group in our room.  She is a frighteningly fabulous knitter, and she came bearing gifts of Fleece Artist roving and butter tarts, and the best gift ever -- a red scarf for the Red Scarf Project.  (I'm sorry to play favorites and not link ALL the important people, but my head feels ready to explode at all the linkage.  Don't feel slighted if I forgot to link you, please!)

Speaking of the Red Scarf Project, take a dip over to the Red Scarf blog and please write a note to Panera saying you'd love to have knit meetings at their establishment (where you will of course buy much food and drink) and you'd also love for them to take part in the Red Scarf Project as a sponsor.  We need your help in convincing them they should do this and that they will benefit from doing so. 

So back to real life now.  Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment.  When I took out my wallet to show my insurance card to the billing secretary, this fell out of my purse. 
Thanks a LOT, Ann! I'll get you, my pretty.  You just wait. 

I Think I'm Home

I think I'm home, but I can't be sure. I came to a place that is covered in snow, and there was no snow when I left.  I've got a bit of laryngitis and a sore throat.  Probably from all the laughing and talking and screeching over the weekend.  I sure hope it's just that and not a cold coming on.

This weekend is the first time the new GPS has been put to the test. I gotta tell ya, I'm not so sure about this gizmo.  It did indeed get us to the hotel in Poughkeepsie on Friday afternoon, and in fairly good time, despite the torrential rain we drove in most of the way.  Margene was heard to say, "Thank youuuuuu, GeePeeeEsssssssss!"  But that was once we were (finally) safely in the hotel parking lot.  In between when we left my house and when we arrived at Jessie's, we got slightly lost, just at the very end.  Pinpoint precision it does not have -- at least for the destination bit.  It's like the developer was working on his (I say "his" because this MUST have been done by a man -- men never ask for directions, dontcha know) Ph.D., got most of his thesis done, but some of the pages might have got a little out of order -- AND a few psychedelic drugs were taken in the middle bits.  Then he went to the pub and had a few beers, said, "Aw, screw it, it's good enough."

Ask Margene.  Man, did we have a ride on the way there -- the complete Vermont experience.  Except it was in no part of Vermont I've ever seen or heard of.  Windy roads, little muddy dirt roads, through a swamp that was dangerously close to overflowing its banks, over a one-lane covered bridge. Left, right, left, right, left, left.  Lake Hortonia?!  What state are we in and where the hell are we headed!?  Very pretty, but where the fuck are we???? (Lived in Vermont my whole life.  Never heard of the place.  But Google proves its existence, so I guess we had not entered some kind of alternate universe after all....) I can't speak for her, but I will admit to having some butterflies in my stomach until we found ourselves on I-87. My route home was much the same -- windy desolate route through quaint little one-hole towns with no pee places and no gas stations open, but I made very good time.  It's a love-hate relationship with the GPS. 

Where am I?  Where am I? Oh, Lake George, by George! 

But...NOW where am I?  Where am I? Where am I?  It's kind of cold....  Where am I?  Ahhh, the sign says, "Welcome to Vermont."

  Anyhoooooo:

Good times. 
Great weekend.
Extremely tired.
Sore throat.
Need rest. 

Will write more about Rhinebeck and our fun visit with Jessie later.

Meanwhile, a pretty picture of Margene in Smuggler's Notch.

Wish You Were Here

Helloooooooo!  I don't have a whole lot of time for blogging as I'm busy playing Martha F*ucking St*ewart, as Margene calls me.  I'm not sure if it was the lateness of dinner, the fact that my sweet potato puree was lumpy and I told her she should take it or leave it, or the fact that I forgot to make the guest room bed before they arrived OR if it was when I dropped the first scoop of ice cream on the floor and then picked it up, washed it, and put it on the dessert plate, that tipped her off to my Martha-ness......or lack thereof.  She says I did make up for it with breakfast, though.  Wanna hear the menu?  Of course you do:

Dinner:  Chicken Marbella

Sweet potato-carrot puree (avec lumps)

Fresh broccoli sautee

Cranberry-pear-apple crumble a la mode (a la 5-second rule)

Please note our matching-but-not-really-matching Chamomile sweaters in the above photo.  More evidence of Stewart-ness. 

Breakfast:

Spinach-feta omelets
Fresh fruit
Toast with post-fire plum-apricot jam
Lots of much-needed coffee

Poor Dear Suffering Smith.  He has just about HAD IT with being a blogger widower.  He manages to get a question in edgewise every now and then, such as, "Tell me, what IS Koigu?  Is it an exotic, endangered fish?  What?!!!!  I'm now hearing Koigu in stereo!" 

David helped poor Smith cope.  His advice:  "Don't ask." 

Excellent advice. Just nod and smile.

So, we have an agenda today.  We got places to go and things to do.  I'm kind of rushed, so the writing side of Martha F*ucking S*tewart is.....well..

Anyhooooo, we have a joint Margene-and-Norma contest for you.

Guess what we're doing in the following photo.

Black Arm Bands, Please

We are officially in mourning for the Plain Vanilla. R.I.P., my beloved.