And She Knits Too!

And the winner is...

According to the judges we have a problem...

The clear winner was Trance with 19 votes. But I'm getting rather partial to Jelly, the last place finisher with a mere 9 votes.  Sure it's an obnoxious chartreuse, but it happens to be a colour I rather like.  In fact, I just bought a new laptop bag that would match nicely.

It's even brighter in real life.  So Jelly it is.  If there's a next time for Kidsilk Haze, it'll definitely be Trance (though that Kidsilk Spray looks yummy too).  I'm thinking a Birch like Stephanie's would be nice.  But mostly I just wanted to pad out the envelope when I order Mermaid 5 (there is now a picture of it).  I received yarn samples from my pal Joy and I find the blue less bright than the photos on the Falkenberg site:

I wish I had more to say knitting wise <cough>Eris<cough> but I spent last night picking out my movies for the Toronto International Film Festival.  And, I have a paper I want to finish TODAY.  It never should have taken this long. September's here and it's time to get back to work. 

Indecisive

I can resist no longer.  Despite my dislike of things fuzzy, the lure of Kidsilk Haze has taken over.  I want some.  But what colour? 

LATER: Tell me in my comments.  The online poll doesn't work (and if you have a reliable poll thingie let me know that too).

LATER STILL: Oops I forgot to leave in the choices.  I really suck at this.

• Dewberry   
• Trance
• Jelly

See the choices here.

Blocking Rules!

I finally got down to business and finished Eris last night.  I tried her on, and man, did I need to block this sweater.  I know the Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran DK Tweed I used grew a bit, because I actually washed and blocked my swatch.  This is one of those sweaters where gauge and blocking really matter.

The sleeves aren't as short as they look, I had to fold them over to fit on my handy dandy blocking board.  It's a piece of 3/4" insulating board from the Home Depot, cut in half.  They're 24"X96" and cost about 2o bucks.  I just lay the wet pieces on the board and pin away.  The last pieces survived about 2 years (and would have lasted longer if I kids weren't compelled to stick pencils and other pointy objects in them).  If only I could find some with nice inch by inch squares marked off.

And I just have to say it because it makes me feel good: I got into the basement the weekend and organized the hell out of it.  Now we can see our stuff, and nothing falls on you, and most of it is unpacked.  I have a few boxes to go and a large "garage sale" pile to get rid of (anyone need a Pliko stroller?) and then it's done.  In the process I found the rest of my stash.  I love finding yarn I haven't seen in a while, so many possibilities.

Yarn shops, bullshit, gossip and chocolate

1. Eris is almost done.  Ends must be woven in, cuffs and underarms need to be grafted, and the whole thing needs a wash and a block.  It seems to have become shorter for some reason...row gauge foils me again.

2. Went to Lettuce Knit today (my LYS) and was instantly recognized by the staffperson, who I have never met in my life.  It was one of those weird, I blog and my life is an open book to all strangers moments.  I did buy some super short Brittany Birch sock needles and this pattern, but resisted yarn.  I have a big stash of stuff I want to start right now as it is.

3. Ran into Katherine at LK.  I haven't seen her in ages so it was nice to chit-chat.  Katherine is witty, well-read, a movie buff and a great knitter--my kind of woman.  She bought roving.  I am not going to spin no matter how cool that roving is.

4. Read Heidigger today, aloud, with my BAT (Beer and Theory) group.  We forgot the beer though.  I got to hum the Bruces' Philosopher's Song all day.

5. Turns out you can make your own Bullshit Deflectors.  Gotta love that.

6. Rachael is spreading the news on her blog.  That girl, she's really in the know.  Who knew the knitting world was so full of intrigue and passion?

7. I must cast on the sleeve for Sophie tonight.  I have only complicated lace (Madil's Shawl) or fair isle (Colourwork Classic) on the needles and I need some dipshit knitting (a term I learned from Lolly).  Is it totally vain to link to your own knitting?

8. I have a caramilk bar stashed away for an evening exactly like this one.  Not sure if I'll eat it with a cup of tea and Harry Potter or in front of the tv with some knitting.

Socks'n'stuff

I finished my Brainylady Socks last night.  I love them.  Too bad they don't fit me.  They fit my mother-in-law though and she loves my handknit socks.  It just means I have to make another pair.  Maybe I'll use koigu.  Yummy.

I'm almost finished Eris.  I'm working on the last cuff.  It really needs a good blocking so I need to hit the Home Depot for another sheet of insulation board.  This is the first thing I've had to block since I moved here--and I've been here 5 months.  My knitting output has decreased a tad.  I'm dreaming of what to start next, except that I should be a good girl and finish Sophie so I can wear her a bit this Fall.  The weather is perfect for a cotton cardi right now.

Being in an almost total news blackout because of the CBC lockout (this is a good link from a blogger in the CBC), I decided to turn on CTV NewsNet.  Apparently there is nothing going on the in the world except to play "where the hell is Karla Homolka?" and "how much is gasoline today?"  I'm glad I'm not missing anything.  Grrr.

This guy needs to get a life.  One that doesn't involve his perceived total ownership of his wife's vagina.  I won't replicate the excellent post here (read the comments too) but all I can say is that you pee with your penis, and we heterosexual women seem to deal with that dual function just fine you fucking pansy.  And, it's much scarier knowing what YOUR OWN BODY DOES after giving birth, thank you very much.

However, this guy rocks.  I see a new fashion trend starting.  I would like to see one with reactive paper that would change colours as the level of bullshit rises.  But when Bush is talking it would be at red alert the entire time.

More Mermaid

Once again, my pal Joy comes to my rescue.  Always a woman of good taste, she already has Mermaid in colour 5 in her possession.  She snapped me a photo of the yarn and she's sending me some snippets in the mail.

She says the yarn appears brighter in the photo.  So, I'm 99% sure I want this sweater. 

Where to get it?  I suggest you Google.  It comes in a kit only.  I'm comparison shopping at Sommerfuglen, Kangaroo and Cucumberpatch.  I'm trying to find the best price/shipping combo and a retailer willing to help me deke past customs with their piddly $20 CDN import restrictions.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Anyone seen a picture of Hanne Falkenberg's Mermaid in colourway 5?  All I've found is some not-so-great pictures of colour cards.  Anyone have this particular kit in their possession?  I want to see before I buy contemplate.  I like number 4 a lot too, but it seems very bright--I'm pretty neutral in my clothing palette.

I'm a bit surprised that I like this sweater, but I see it as a good "work" garment.  And I bet it's an interesting knit.  So is this one in colourway 1. 

Must leave computer now, my credit card is getting nervous.

***

Later (Weird I know, I wrote this a few hours before I posted it).  I've seen pictures--Joy has the kit.  It's purty.  But I'll see more if you have them.

In praise of uppity women

I admit that I haven't been following the Cindy Sheehan protest very closely, but I have been reading about it on the blog circuit.  Ms Sheehan is a grieving mother, but she's not grieving in the way she should be--at least in the media's conception of how mothers should grieve sons who die in war. 

In Canada we have something called a Silver Cross Mother; she is a mother who lost a child due to war or military action (like Peace Keeping) who is given a medal to acknowledge her sacrifice.  This woman lays the first wreath at the war memorial on Remembrance Day.  The Silver Cross Mother is the societally-acceptable form of proper feminine/motherly grieving.  She is stoic and dignified, matronly and most importantly apolitical.  She recognizes her child's sacrifice (I use the gender neutral though I suspect there hasn't been a Silver Cross Mother to a dead daughter) as being for the betterment of humanity--even if she thinks that's a crock of bullshit.

Cindy Sheehan is the mother who says "this is bullshit" and by doing so troubles that image of the grieving mother by being loud, political and very public.  Her defiance of cultural notions of motherhood makes those in power really nervous.  Women like Sheehan have always existed from Lysistrata to the modern age of anti-nuke women at Greenham Common.  What's different today is modern uppity women can benefit from 24 hour news services, the internet and other forms of rapid communication to have their message heard.  But they are also subject to these media forms which are used to spread rumor and defile those who challenge the patriarchal/corporate/colonial war machine.  Sheehan's personal fight might not be as big as that, but by choosing to grieve in a public political way, she's telling the world another story about the war in Iraq that isn't being heard.  She's using her motherhood and femininity in ways not sanctioned by societal norms to challenge the oldest "gentlemen's club" there is.  She has every right to do what she's doing and I'm tired of hearing that she's a bad mother/wife/American/woman for doing so.

Scarves and Modular Knitting

I have a lot of work to do.  Papers to write, a syllabus to construct, data to code, articles to read and a big house to clean.  So instead I've been searching for new stuff to knit (makes sense right?).

Modular knitting is currently piquing my interest.  You would think after the entrelac debacle/fiasco/endurance test I would be done with it, but there's something about twisting handpainted yarns in multiple directions that catches my knitting fancy.

It started with this skirt in Vogue Knitting. 

I don't want a knit skirt, but I like the idea of the hexagons and the wide vertical stripes.  It would make a great scarf or wrap, and it's in koigu, so what's not to like.

Then I found this ArtYarns pattern through Hope and took an instant liking to it. 

Finding that pattern led me to the Modular Knits book.  When I'm up for another bout of procrastinating, I think I'll pop over to Lettuce Knit and see if they have the book, looks like there's all kinds of nifty projects in there. 

Still black

So the blackout continues.  Not from the internet and not intentionally.  CBC has locked out it's employees represented by the Canadian Media Guild.  So right now all they're playing on the radio is crappy music, repeat broadcasts and some of the BBC world service.  It's been two days and I'm starting to feel it.

I listen to CBC Radio One almost constantly.  I wake up to the morning show, listen to The Current while reading blogs and having my morning caffeine, listen to the news during the day, have it on while cooking dinner, knit to Ideas in the evening.  It keeps me informed and away from the tv.  I miss it.  I want my CBC (with apologies to Dire Straits).

I feel disconnected from the world.  I might have to buy a paper or turn on the TV (though I hate most other newscasts).  Can anyone recommend a radio substitute on the web?