Sassy does it - a knitting blog

I know I sound like a WEBS commercial lately – but get right out of town, have you seen this?

Yarn.com, now even more addictive

The new overhauled website at yarn.com is the bomb. I didn’t think it was lacking in anything before, but maybe it’s because I spent so much time lurking there that the tricks of the existing navigation had become second nature to me.  I knew right where to find ehhhhvvvverything. 

Closeouts?  Zip zop.  Rowan by brand?  Yepper, over there.  Shazaam.  Got it.

As I’ve shared before, I’ve probably already wasted weeks of my life lingering in indecision over purchases on this one site.  When on a particularly good run of daydreaming about which candidate to choose out of, oh, say, 26 or so shortlisted yarns for a project, I’d just bookmark them all and delay the ridiculously difficult decision until another day when I could deal with the stress of it all.

Of course when I came back to my bookmark list later, I’d realize what a nut I’d been to not just cut to the chase and make the decision sooner; it was too hard to sort through all those choices and not really be able to compare them side by side. 

But I’d feel like I’d done too much “work” to start again, and would just roll up my sleeves and push on through that not-so-short list.

I’d end up copying and pasting my choices into a Word document (I’m not joking - it’s sad, isn’t it?) and sending it off to other people to tell me which fiber to buy.

It’s a good thing I only do this a couple times a year.  The buying, not the shopping.  You know.

Kids, it’s not nice to stare at that poor neurotic girl.

Anyhoo. 

Even good websites can get better.  Better at sucking me in.  (Enabler!  I love me some enablers!)

Wishlists on WEBS are now my friend.

As with on Amazon, this is very dangerous.  But I like it.

Throwing the objects of my desire onto the Wishlist just feels so good. No commitment required, but it does feel a lot like putting something into a shopping cart, which feels decisive.  Such an unuuuusual sensation.

The new Wishlist feature:
Isn’t it fun? Fairy Godmother might come along and buy the whole lot for me.

Seriously, though - it’s a lot easier to keep track of my little “I’d like to keep an eye on this” items.  There they are, all splayed out for me with pictures and prices and (new feature!) updated inventories (hourly updates, people).  Thus, my need for a little extra juice to make my next order reach the 25% discount amount is met by a ready and waiting list of alternatives.

You do need an account on WEBS for your wishlist to work - which I thought I had, since I get a load of e-mails, but I guess I was only on the mailing list after having purchased. 

Update: I just stumbled upon the extended list of wonderful improvements, and having an account with WEBS is actually a new feature and wasn’t available before.  So I wasn’t missing out as a mailing list-only person.  Whew, I wondered how I could have missed that one.  (”How did i miss those, baby? Oh, behave!” - Austin Powers, in the opening scene of The Spy Who Shagged Me, with reference to Vanessa’s previously undetected machine-gun jubblies.)

Other observations regarding the sexy new site:

• Sidebar list of recently viewed items provides help for the ADD/scatter-brained among us
• Inventory amounts not only are updated hourly but also, I noticed, are now listed simply as “50+” if over 50 balls in stock (duh), rather than the previously listed exact count (yeah, listing 247 balls of Pure Cashmere clearly a little dig by Kathy to invoke cruel imagery on the rest of us non-WEBS owners - the knowledge that Kathy and her hubby can roll around in, rub up against, and be submerged under mountains of cashmere every night is just too much to bear)
• Customer Review functionality - for those of us who like to blab a lot about our opinions on things (see more below)


Kathy and her hubby Steve
• More pics of Kathy and Steve - at least it seems like it.  I know there were photos before, but somehow they seem more…there.  Maybe it’s the Wishlist-glow talking.  Check Kathy out - how cute is she?  [Full disclosure:  Kathy has commented on my blog a couple of times, so now I'm officially in love with her.]
• Not a new feature, but something eery that I noticed while I was madly clicking around.  The blog post from yesterday mentioned that Kate Jacobs was coming to WEBS in January (wait for it).  Kate Jacobs is the author of The Friday Night Knitting Club, which I’ve had on the shelf for months but started reading…yesterday.  A few hours before that post was posted.  Is that a weird coincidence, or is it just me?  BTW - On My Bookshelf let me know that over at Stephanie’s Written Word they’re giving away a copy of the Friday Night sequel (called Knit Two) - which I obviously don’t need yet, but I will, because I’m already completely loving the first one and it’s only Chapter 2.

There are lots of other new things to play with, but I’ll let you either discover them yourself or read the big list.

I really do like the new Customer Review capability.  Now the reviews are few and far between (which gives me the desire to go through and comment like mad about yarns I love, as if I were to run across a snow-covered field just waiting for footprints and snow angels), but I know before too long it will be well-populated with yarnie opinions.  I do like going to Ravelry to do yarn research, but more onsite help will not go amiss.  Maybe a tie-in with Ravelry (e.g., links to reviews there) could be a future development?

While I’m at it here, I’ll share one other discovery before getting back to the to-do list I’m supposed to be working on right now.

The Twist Collective:  who knew about this?  I didn’t know about this.  It’s fantastic.  This discovery came courtesy of Sknitty, whose blog is quickly becoming one of my top 5 must-reads.

The ladies running Twist Collective web-publish each season with the objective of showcasing promising designers, as either a springboard for further publishing or simply an outlet for their creativity. 

The format is like an online photo-magazine to click through (big arrows on the right or left help the navigation-challenged - although it took me a few minutes to figure it out).  There are no page numbers or hyperlinks, just drool-worthy pics and a few fun articles.  The idea is to stimulate pattern development with fair pay via online pattern download sales (if you see something you like,  just hover over it and the details for download are right there).

However they’re doing it, it’s yummy.  The winter edition just came out last week.  Take a look.  It’s inspiring.

Fun, huh?

Quick WIP update:

Curlicue is now 75% done.  One skein of dreamy Blue Sky cotton left.

Sheer Poncho is now cast on.  Was my first provisional cast on, so I took some time to get it right.  Not that it’s rocket science, but I like to get it right the first time if I can.  Usually.  Sometimes.  I didn’t realize there were so many different ways to cast on, so perusing the options was a learning experience (when I learned to cast on from the Yarn Girls with their Simple Knits, they only told me about one way, so I assumed that was The Way - as you do, right?).

Raindrop Lace Socks - yeah, I’ve rounded a few more rows on this just to keep the pattern fresh in my mind.  I keep thinking that I’m ready to turn the heel, but I’m not going to do it until after I finish the first of my two balls of Happy Feet.  The second will be plenty to finish up the length of my foot - it’s getting chilly out - so I might as well make these as longshanks as possible while I’m at it.

Longshanks - it’s what Sissy B and I say instead of just “long”.  You know, Longshanks, the English king guy that tried to take over Scotland, the one we probably should have known about before Braveheart but in reality did not.  Thus, his name for some reason elicited giggles in us once heard in the movie.  It’s just fun to say - longshanks, longshanks, longshanks.

And you can add “shanks” to other things, just for kicks.  Shortshanks.  Fatshanks.  Coolshanks.  Softshanks.

It doesn’t mean anything.  Which is why it’s so much fun.

OK, no more proscratinating.  I have (other, less fun) things to do.  See you latershanks.

I passed by a concert venue in the city this weekend that was featuring a band called Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. 

At first I thought it might just be the sign guy being funny, but the warm-up band listed was a normal-sounding name, and it seemed like a lot of trouble to put all those letters high up there on that marquee just for a laugh. 

Well, color me pink  - there really is a band with this name (I checked on it later, in between Curlicue rows).  NPSH for short.  If I’m not mistaken, Nat had her head shaved for that V for Vendetta movie, so I’m guessing there may be a link there.  Ya think?

That movie looked scary to me, so I didn’t see it.  I’m a wuss.  I’ve learned not to pretend I can watch scary movies unscathed - doing so ends badly for everyone in the same house with me once the lights get turned out that night.

In less frightening news, I’ve whipped out my cashmere, and life is good.

Isn’t she lovely?

You’ll remember my recent ode to the Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere I bought from WEBS.  I unhanked my first skein and unwound it (by hand), then re-wound it (by hand) into a center pull ball - all 400 yards of it.  (Yes, I’ve been hinting pretty heavily to the fam that a ball winder and swift would make a grrrrrrreat gift at some point, sometime.  Any old time.)

It’s gorgeo.  Really, so soft and delicate.

A little too delicate, at first, for my unaccustomed-to-such-fineries man-hands.

I thought I was winding it loosely enough, but once the ball was completed, the first few yards I pulled back out were tougher than I expected.  After breaking the thin fiber a couple of times inadvertently (eeeek! eeeeeeek!), my fingers took the hint and handled it more gently.

Sheer Poncho
by Amy Arifin

Now the center pull is playing nice and I have a pleasing on-gauge swatch on which to base my work for the Sheer Poncho.  Remember this?  Yippee!  So happy to think I can cast this on any day.

The Jade Sapphire (2 ply) label provides guidance for a 6-8 stitches/inch gauge on US 1-3; the Sheer Poncho pattern calls for stitches that are “loose and open” with a 6 stitch/inch gauge.  The pattern as written by Amy Arifin (and featured in MagKnits, Warm 2004) features Jagger Spun Zephyr Lace Weight knit on US 5.

I was curious to see how the fabric of my cashmere pick would knit up on US 2, so I tried that first, just for kicks.  I came in at 8+ stitches/inch, and the stitch definition was nice and even; a smooth, solid look.  You can see this tighter gauge knit in the first four rows of my (small, lazy) swatch at the left.

However.  It’s a good thing that the stitches are meant to be more open for this garment, because I’d go buggy knitting on US 2s for the entire duration of something like this (all stockinette, all the time).

I finished my swatch with US 5, and the stitches are airy and sheer as prescribed.  Gauge is 6-7 stitches/inch:  close enough. 

I’ll knit on the bigger side, and the fabric will be a bit stretchy - I think we’re going to be OK here.

As the WIP turns:  Boy, the Curlicue is flying along.  The tininess of the US 3s is a red herring when it comes to progress because the Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton is such a nice full fiber that the fabric feels like it knits itself. 

Done with my second of four skeins, so we’re now at 50% length - well over 16 inches.  (See my quarters next to the blanket?  You know, for reference?  Thought you’d like that.)

Amy = Happy.

Happy with knitting, happy with the state of things in the country at large.  All is well.  Hallelujah.

While I’m waiting on the edge of every seat I’m sitting in today to hear a-n-y breath of the first election results, I might as well confess a sin.

It wasn’t premeditated, I swear.

I was downtown Saturday night and while walking back to my car, I passed Walgreens.  The devil on my shoulder said, “Hey, you know, I betcha (*wink*) they’re selling half-off Halloween candy in there.”

Did I summon the angel supposedly keeping watch on the other shoulder?  The better angels of my nature, maybe?  My common sense?  No way, Jose.

I stepped inside, and with purpose.

I took my time perusing the wall of 50%-off candy, knowing out the gate that the Reese’s cups were coming home with me.  Bidie likes the Peanut M&Ms (I’ll have a wee lookie at those, too, if forced), so I added those to the pile in my arms - two bags’ worth, to “stock up”.   As if this is something we stock up on, like canned goods on sale. 

And oh, the candy corn - who can leave that out, right?  It’s tradition.

Needless to say, this candy then became my dinner.  Yeeeeaaaaah.

The next day I could almost see the empty calories dripping from my thighs.

I ate half of the candy corn bag that first night, and I’ve made pretty good progress on the second half since then.  What am I eating?  A delicious mix of wax and high fructose corn syrup combined with a melange of artificial flavors - awesome.

[scurries away to eat another handful of candy corn]

In other news, Curlicue is coming along.  Oh, girls, I’m so excited (girls = girls, boys, women, or men) because it’s looking and feeling so nice.  Still happy with my bright pink choice, and the Blue Sky Alpacas cotton is soft and dreamy to knit with.

Pattern is easy, although I did struggle for a little while because reading the pattern literally (usually a good place to start) led me astray.  There’s one bit I needed to figure out, and then everything was fine. 

All of the even rows, 2-12, have a variation of knits and yarn-overs that end the same way:

Written as…
Row 2:  k2tog, * knit 5, yarn over, knit 1, yarn over, knit 2, sk2p *   last repeat is finished off with a ssk.

Added clarification that saved me…
Row 2:  k2tog, * knit 5, yarn over, knit 1, yarn over, knit 2, sk2p *   last repeat is finished off with a ssk WHICH REPLACES the final sk2p.

Yeah, I spent a lot of minutes trying to find out how to unearth three more stitches to combine into one for the sk2p double decrease (the one that was supposed to precede the final ssk single decrease).  And even if I found those three stitches I’d end up with one stitch too many in the end.

After racking my brain and actually charting out the stitches in Excel [insert joke about math geek here], I realized that the last ssk doesn’t simply follow the last sk2p, but rather replaces it.

Got it now.

You’ll find the whole pattern as written by Skruddevutt here, but FYI if you want to make this blanket, keep the above clarification in mind.

The only other deviation from the pattern I’ve made is to add a 3-stitch garter border on each side along the length of the blanket because I think it ties together with the garter border as written for the top and bottom, plus I think it finishes it off nicely and thwarts any rogue attempts of stitches to curl under.

Oh, and I did down-size the needle size on this again before I cast on - I just didn’t feel it was tight enough gauge with the US 5, so now it’s at a US 3.  I know the stitches will blossom upon the first wash, but I just wanted a more substantial look, and thought I’d make any other adjustments to dimensions via blocking in the end.

As it stands, I’ve used 1 of my 4 skeins, so the finished length should pan out around 32 inches.  It’s 26 inches wide right now, just as planned (funny how gauge can be your friend in this way, huh?).

Now I’m cranking along on it and it’s fun and easy.  I worked on it during my plane ride to Kentucky yesterday and I was chirpy the whole time.  It’s a very lovable pattern.

What was that about Kentucky?  Yes, Kentucky.  I didn’t realize for a while that this work trip fell on Election Day, but yaaaaaiiiiis, it sure did.  So the election parties (or depression-filled gatherings) around here might be a little one-sided tonight - if there are any gatherings at all.  But, as Lish texted me today from Texas (that’s where her job planted her today), there’s no reason we can’t find a little place on our own later to raise a glass of bubbly from our position in the minority (as determined by our current surroundings).  Oh heavens, I’m so hoping there is something wonderful to celebrate!

We shall soon see.

FYI, just polished off that bag of candy corn.  I know I’m bad, but man, that’s some tasty fructose.

Yippity ding dong, my WEBS yarn arrived!

Isn’t it glorious?

Here, let me get you acquainted.

Jade Sapphire
Mongolian Cashmere
Colorway 50, Driftwood

On the left we have the amazing Mongolian Cashmere, made by Jade Sapphire, in colorway 50, Driftwood. 

Oh yes, we’re feeling very posh with this splurge for a friend’s b-day gift - it’s a big birthday, so she’s going to get 100% cashmere.  And at a 25% discount for me, thank you very much, Kathy and Co! 

The project of my desire, about which I will blog once I’ve cast on, is the Sheer Poncho. This is a design that I initially drooled over here after having found it on Ravelry here.

Cascade Fixation
Color 3919, Maroon

Next we move into the Cascade Fixation portion of my stash-building order.  There was a closeout on Maroon (color 3919) so I decided to dive in.  I’ve not knitted before with Fixation, but I hear it’s quite unique in its springiness.  I’d like to try some socks with it, so I ordered just a bit…OK, in a second color, too - Yankee Red (color 3628).  Yankers was not on sale - but what the hey - in for a penny, in for a pound.

Cascade Fixation
Color 3628, Yankee Red

The Yankee Red is a bit on the Fire Engine side for me, but I’m thinking it might be really nice for Maizy, who is a Fire Engine Red kind of girl.  The Maroon I really like, because I like…things that are maroon.

Maroon.  Marooooon.  Another word that gets funny if you say or spell it a lot.  Maroooooon. 

It’s been a long day.

On the right you’ll see the nice pile o’ yarn that will be known in the future as Little K’s baby blanket à la Curlicue.  The to-die-for Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton is organically grown and truly luscious, certainly in the vibrance of its color (617, Lotus) but also in the feels-like-your-fingers-are-sinking-into-it plushness.  It’s uber-fabulous, all of it.

I swatched a bit in preparation for Curlicue cast-on; not that a swatch is absolutely necessary for a baby blanket, but I’m a little picky about baby blanket dimensions (I like ‘em intentionally generously-sized and not accidentally teddy-bear sized).

Top third stitched with US 5,
Middle third with US 6,
Bottom third with US 7

The yarn label says US 7-9 will yield 4-5 stitches/inch.  I’m wanting to stitches a bit on the tighter side so that my lace pattern is sure to pop.  I started with a 7 and came in at about 4.5 st/in.  Decided to tighten it up and gave it a shot with a 6, then with a 5.  Although the tension looks more pleasing to my eye with the smaller needle, the fabric didn’t change much in actual gauge; it’s still in the 4.5-4.75 st/in range.

So, I’ll probably go with the US 5.  I’ll run a few inches of the pattern on my swatch and then stick a fork in that decision (I dilly-dally around a lot, don’t I?).

The design calls for a repeating 11+1 pattern, so rather than the 100 stitches called for, I’ll up it to 122 and yield a blanket right around 26-27 inches wide.  Then block it heavily if it’s not big enough in the end to feed my fatty blanket beast.

One more set of yarn introductions will round out my lot this time, all from Valley Yarns.  It’s the sock-weight Huntington, in three hues.  Red (4150), grey (0605), and chocolate (B118): these were the short-sock color possibilities suggested by Squeezer, if I were to knit, say, a gift or three for her. 

Valley Yarns Huntington
Color 4150, Red

I have to say I’m in love with this red.  Really in love with it.  I’d call it a deep red, but not an earthy one.  I’m no color expert, but to my eye it’s got less of the orangey undertone and more of the blue. 

Sidenote:  I probably wouldn’t have said anything about blue undertones if I hadn’t had accidentally and briefly met someone who apparently knows more about undertones that I do, which thereby empowered me with an “eye for color” I don’t really have.  Backstory:  I have an Ann Taylor sweater in this shade that has been a staple in my winter wardrobe for a couple of seasons, and once in an elevator in Boston a woman randomly complimented the color and said, “Oh, honey, the blue undertones in that red really suit your complexion.”  Which was a really nice thing to say.  And this shade of red reminds me of that sweater.

Anyloo-hoo - this is my last planned yarn purchase this year.  I’ve really gotta cool it until next year as I’ve got a nice stash to bust between here and there.

[sigh]

I guess I better get knitting so I don’t get distracted by another yarn sale.

In the spirit of basking in fall goodness (and in Halloween preparation mode, in Squeezer’s case), we ventured out recently to get ourselves a spiffy pumpkin.  We’d previously picked up some smaller pumpkins for baking, but we were in need of a bit of ceremony, and thus journeyed out to a neighboring town with wider open spaces and plenty of pumpkin patches.

Immediately upon return back home, Squeezer wielded the knife and gave our new friend a toothy grin.

Boy howdy, that girl doesn’t waste a minute in getting projects like this started (and finished) - she’s my hero.  The pumpkin was carved and propped on our front porch within 20 minutes.

The crisp fall air inspired me inpsired to whip up some pumpkin-based dinner that evening. 

I removed a couple of cups’ worth of pumpkin pieces (as previously frozen from the cut-up baking pumpkins we’d bought a few weeks earlier) and altered a favorite go-to recipe from Mediterrasian.com (a fan-freaking-tastic site) to create the following:

Pumpkin Curry Soup
1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil
1 onion—chopped
3 cloves garlic—chopped
2 teaspoons red curry paste
2 cups of fresh pumpkin —peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup red lentils (or yellow split peas)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup coconut milk (less if desired)
1 heaping teaspoon each of ground cumin and coriander
pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
fresh cilantro

Lightly brown the garlic, then add the onion; cook for a few minutes.  Add red curry paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.   Add the pumpkin, red lentils, stock, coconut milk, spices, and brown sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes.  Puree the soup in food processor until smooth, then add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.   Add a few tablespoons of fresh cilantro and serve.  Serve with a dollop of nonfat natural yogurt and garnish of cilantro and freshly ground black pepper. 

Too bad I didn’t take a picture to share with you.  It was so pretty.  And so delicious and warm and cozy.

Other reminders of cozy fall goodness include the wooly comfort of The Big Project (Bidie-In has now shortened his name for this sweater to just TBP), with which I’ve made the opposite of progress.

Yeah, I frogged my Fisherman’s Sweater, like, entirely.

It was just getting a little too baggy.  And by a little I mean a lot. 

Even after the first few inches of stockinette I knew it was on the big side for Bidie, but I hoped it would be within the margin of error for “big, cozy, hot-toddy-by-the-fire” sweaters. 

Then I held up my in-progress front and back pieces to the actual width of Bidie this weekend.  Ah…no.  

The wool I’m using has a bit more give than the acrylic blend from which my seaworthy-sweater-model was knit.  This makes “a little baggy” more like the way-too-droopy clothes on the kid version of Tom Hanks in Big after the Zoltar wish machine brings him back when he’s done being an adult.

This problem is exacerbated a *teensy* bit by the fact that I screwed up with the gauge at the very beginning. 

I know, I was shocked too, because usually the smoking gun of improper sizing doesn’t simply lead back to the fact that the dimensions of the starter swatch were completely ignored.

Bit too quick to green-light the gauge for Rowan Plaid on US 11s. 

Hello!  Look at this picture! 

In spite of the photographic evidence shown here that clearly illustrates how NOT close the size of the brown stitches is to that of the off-white stitches, I think I just thought my swatch was close enough to the existing knit gauge to base my design roughly on the number of stitches of the prototype pattern rather than the actual measurements. 

[boo, hiss]

I know.

Argh, rookie mistake!  I should have either tried a smaller needle or adjusted my first swipe at the design, or both.  Which is what I’ve now done.

Frogging it isn’t that big of a catastrophe, though, really.  Don’t feel sorry for me.  The yarn knits up at about 3 stitches/inch, even on a size 10½ needle, so it’ll knit up fast all over again.  And the yarn wears/frogs well, so it’ll look fine the second time around.  I hope. 

Right.  Done with the ripping out part, starting with the re-doing part.  Yes!

Swatching now on US 10½, I can see the fabric holds its shape a bit more to my liking.  And my design notes are headed in the right direction, too.  I’m using a bit more actual math, boys and girls, in converting the real gauge (not a pretend one) into a number of stitches based on the desired finished dimensions.  Capital idea.

In other news, my 2-at-a-time Practice Socks are off the 40-inch Addi Turbo Lace needles (still sexy, as previously reported).  The Raindrop Lace Socks, bless their wee hearts, are on.  Really and truly.

Although it was touch and go during my first hour or four of learning the 2-at-a-time method, I’m happy to report that once I hit my activation energy I was off and running, with fairly infrequent consternation.  Perseverance led me through the initial (heavy) cursing at tangled yarn to a happy harmony of satisfying, quicker-paced sock knitting.

At the heel flap

At the heel turn

Best tip I’ve garnered so far from Melissa Morgan-Oakes, other than the actual technique of keeping both socks on the needles at all times, was to put the ball of yarn in a Ziploc and pull two ends of yarn from the ball (one center-pull and one from the outside) and poke a little hole in each bottom corner of the bag, such that one end of yarn comes out each side.  Then any (short) length of yarn that is stretching from the bag to the needles doesn’t get tangled.  Smart.

These two little guys would need blocking before gifting (due to my beginner’s inconsistency), but we’ll see if I end up gifting them at all.  I don’t think I have enough of the green sock yarn to do another, even small, one.   Maybe I’ll whip up a second tiny beige one on its own.  We’ll see.

More soon.  Cannot wait to show you my new yarn coming from WEBS - yes, Allison, I went for the bonus yarn and told the boys in Massachusetts to throw another few logs on the fire with my order (boys = boys or girls, logs = skeins, fire = pile of yarn).

Two words: Cash. Mere.

Cannot. Wait.