Rhinebeck

New york sheep and wool festival 2008

the harlot kept mentioning this 'rhinebeck' at the reading and in the q&a and i had heard the term thrown around the ravelry. i knew i had already researched a time a go and it was logical that i just was not going to be able to attend so i had put it out of my mind. now this yarnyharlot goes and puts it back into my head. i have to go! how will i maneuver this with the mischievous powers- of-the-evil-job?....

The Yarnharlot Writes Again!

October

i have attended only two "book readings" prior. (at least to my memo

ry this is so as they were attended both purposely and enthusiastically. my prior employment with borders group may have exposed me to other events which i was not and currently am not aware of. i digress...)

and knitting related of course. the first, in brooklyn for the launch of stitch 'n bitch nation by debbie stoller some years ago, and the second, my first encounter with the yarnharlot in

columbus circle last year. both enlightening and entertaining experiences. I had not been a reader of yarnharlot.ca for very long. it wasn't until i joined ravelry that i was aware of very much anything in the world. some raveler in some post in some thread in some group must have made me click on some link that had me lmao at the muggles. So i became aware. i read this post after the fact and was afrown that i was not able to attend. i am always the last to know!

i miss lots of stuff. i found out about stitches east shortly after the 2007 event was over. I was like, a year late to ravelry. and i only just read Twilight. okay, i read the entire saga. in absolutely no time. and i am reading it again. because i can't deal with the empty hole in my life since i finished. so i am not letting it end. i will just keep reading in this continuous loop of the space/time continuum so that Bella and Edward are always...

yea i know.

i miss alot of things.

i didn't see an episode of My so-called-life until after it was cancelled. i wasn't hip to nirvana until after Kurt shot himself. and i am sure there is something phenomenal going on right now that i am totally unaware of.

so, when the harlot said she was gonna be in bklyn at the B&N on tuesday oct 14th i marked my calender. me, second to last on the left in the third pic down.

the harlot wonders why i didn't bring any knitting.

me and the harlot telepathically making plans to take over the world, one sock at a time.

It Ends or the frogging of the sweater

yea, i dunno what i am doing so i am ripping this thing out and i will start fresh after a break.

it begins...

i have casted on! with some hand-holding from Ravelers and a lot of reading i have begun my sweater adventure. i am (mostly ) using the incredible custom-fit raglan sweater . there will be alot of fudging though. i guess i was supposed to use my row gauge to calculate the angle of the v in the neckline and decide how deep i wanted it and all that. most standard seems to be to increase only ever fourth row or so. for a crew/round neck you increase on every right side row and that is how i have started. if you just keep going past the point where you are supposed to join the round for a round neck and join later, then you have a v-neck. i think i will go with that. it's probably best to have a more shallow neck line for modesty anyhow. and it leaves one less thing to do at the same time as the short rows. i think short rowing across the front (in the round) will be easier than short rowing at the ends of every row and then connecting later. plus i have to try this sucker on constantly. jeez, i can't wait to finish this one and start a new one already! 

the challenge

 i want to knit a sweater darn it! i want my very own cozy  soft and comforting sweater to warm my bones. handmade by me. but that's not all. i want it to fit. and there in lies the trouble- nay, the challenge!

there are some knitting guilds that don't let you in until you knit a sweater. it's like a requirement. well, what if you don't wanna make a boomin' sweater?

does it mean you have naught the skill of an excellent knitter? no, but i guess the sweater is the most basic of garments that tests all necessary skills at once. with all the techniques used to knit a sweater you can make then, anything. 

casting on and of course, increases and decreases (shaping), seaming and weaving in ends. all these things plus the demonstration of patientience, commitment to a project and consistancy in gauge. to fancy it up one could cable, a bit of lace colorwork- extra credit if you will.

i am slowly but steadily working my way through. i have read and researched and forum posted and i now am armed with a better knowledge for my journey. the shaping and the darting and the modificationing of the pattern- that is where my tangle lies. i can't just take a pattern and some ayrn and twirl away. because when finishd it wouldn't fit me . instead it would make a fine fit for some mannequin in some factory. 

which pattern to use?

which fiber to use?

what color to make it?

...

who says you can't eat yarn?

i just received my Paume order.

O. M. G. these yarns are de-licious.

fluffy balls of cotton yumminess.

they will become my pets....

(runs to take some pics)

my etsy

my first order came in the mails to-day! yay!

i am a busy-ness entrepreneur. scary. my goshness the threads from japan are uber kyuuto! i just can't take it. they are like little baby yarns next to american jumbo skeins. pics coming soon. for now, a color chart.

etceteraetc.etsy.com