World Wide Knit In Public Day!

Yes, Saturday June 14 was World Wide Knit In Public Day. Now, as far as I am concerned, every day is knit (or spin) in public day, but this was a world-wide concerted effort. So I registered and organized a little soiree for the local kniteratti. (I just made that word up, and I really like it. Use it--let's make it a "thing".)

We gathered in our usual spot--Coco Jo Coffee House--but this time the manager gave us a space to put up a display and a door prize draw. I got the spousal unit to print up a big banner with the official logo of WWKIP Day and scattered some knitting and fibre information around, which drew a lot of interest from bus drivers.There were a lot of the usual faces, but there haven't been so many of us in one spot at the same time for quite a while. We also got another knitter out, another poor soul who thought she was alone in a world of people who actually buy socks and mittens. She has found her tribe and was happy to join in. Then we got a few converts...

like Amy, who crochets, but had her first taste of knitting. Continental knitting made a lot of sense to her. And since Amy was knitting...

...Darlene decided to give it a shot. A total non-knitter proudly showing off her first swatch of garter stitch. Another one lured into the fold.

Hard-core knitters like Lynn and Maria found lots to chat about, and Lynn donated our amazing door prizes from her business Lynn's Knitting Studio.

We had a fastest knitter race, in which Maria totally smoked the competition.

Then some trouble-makers showed up and decided that they were going to make knitting a contact sport. What is it about men and pointy things? (Thank goodness no one had Addis there--have you ever read the safety warning on the package for those?) And both of these guys knew better--they have both benefitted frequently from the proper administration of pointy sticks to string.

I somehow managed to come home with one of the door prizes--a shawl kit featuring Pakucho Organic cotton in a natural brown. Karen took home a fabulous silk lace kit, which we are all looking forward to seeing knit up soon!

I rolled straight from those festivities to good-bye party for my good friend Bill (the knitting combatant on the right) who is moving to White Rock at the end of the month. There was a very diverse crowd there--he's made some interesting friends in his 30+ years in the community--including a whack of knitters. So I spent a huge chunk of the evening chatting about knitting. And there was food, too! Heaven!

Back down to earth today, though. Prepping a pamphlet for spindle kits, sorting fibres, washing fleece. No more party. For a day or two....

Tired as a Dog

I wish this were me right now...


Asleep. Dreaming. Totally relaxed. If only...

Instead, I'm just tired as a dog. And getting cranky. I need a nap, and it's only 9 a.m. Grrr....

Go Big or Go Home!

So after all my whining about my skinny spinning and the slow production rate that comes with it, I decided to do something about it. So I spun a big, fat yarn from a Corriedale top that I had kicking around. Then I had to finish it. That's where today's adventure begins.

The yarn is a thick single, semi-worsted. Lovely and cushy and lustrous, but not very stable and prone to fuzzing and pilling, so I needed to wet finish it-the shock and awe approach, basically felting the yarn. Hot water, cold water, and agitation. Hot water, no problem, except that the skeins were so big, I needed to put them into the bathtub...

...cold water, same drill. Now for a little agitation. Out came the sink plunger, but that became really awkward really fast. So what to do, but borrow a page from I Love Lucy. I jumped into the tub and walked on the yarn...

...with images of Lucy and Ethel stomping grapes in my head the whole time. I stomped in the hot water, then the cold, then back in the hot. Miss Julia came home from school as this process was going on and announced that I had really lost my mind this time. Hey, whatever works!

Then I got really fierce...

...and whacked that yarn on the fence until it cried for mercy.

And now it's big and fat and cushy and has a nice smooth finish and ready to go. I probably should have dyed and finished it at the same time, but that never occurred to me as I pranced around ankle-deep in hot, soapy water. So today, there will be dying...

Then what do I do with it? I have 5 skeins of 4 wpi single yarn, each skein about 50 yards, but weighing almost 150g each. I'm thinking a big padded vest-like thingie. Hmmm....

And, of course, I couldn't abandon the skinny yarns! The second multi-colored 3-ply came off the bobbins yesterday...
...and is looking mighty fine itself. Roughly the same as the last skein in the same colorway, except that this one was spun with shorter drifts of color and plied in the classic manner, as opposed to the Navajo ply on the last skein. The color separations are less defined, but still very effective--I even stuck to the same repeat pattern as the first yarn, so we shall see the differences when I knit them up. Here they are, side by side.

Otherwise, the knitting on the Phoenix sweater continues. I'm halfway up the front now and feeling a little nervous about having enough yarn left for sleeves. Perhaps a short sleeve will be necessary, but I would prefer a full-length. I have my fingers crossed as I knit (which really makes things awkward!) that there will be enough. I found another skein under a heap of crap in the studio, so there is hope!

Preparations for the summer workshops continues, as well. Things were sort of slowed down by a minor summer cold, which wasn't serious enough to make me really sick (the spousal unit got nailed hard, though!), just enough to make me sluggish and even crankier than usual. I spent a lot of time thinking about spinning or knitting, but drinking tea and staring instead. There was really nothing much else to do anyway, because I was waiting for materials to arrive and emails to be replied to. Sort of the same state as I am in right now....just sort of coasting.

Oh, there's stuff to do--don't get me wrong. That fat yarn needs dying, I have a 14th century-style dress to build, and those handouts won't type themselves. Not to mention the laundry, dishes and gardening all awaiting my undivided atttention...no rest for the wicked, indeed!