The Knitting Experience Café

Our family received very sad news on Friday.  My grandmother - known to all of us grandchildren as Mimi - passed away. She was 86 and, more importantly, deeply loved. 

So that Becka and I can attend the services, the shop will not open until 1pm on Monday and Tuesday. At that time, the incredible Amanda will be there to help you with all your fibery, knitting needs.  We will be back to regular hours on Wednesday.

Mimi was a very special lady and very dear to us.  How can I best describe her?  

She always wore dresses or skirts, never pants.  I'm not sure why.  Perhaps she didn't like them.  I always liked to think that she felt they weren't ladylike.
She made the best pie crust I have ever tasted.  And her 'Oh Henry bars?  Heaven.  Pure heaven.
Her cookie jar was always full.
She tried to feed you until you exploded - and then it was time for dessert.  No protesting that you were full, or that was enough.  She knew best, and you needed to eat.
She drank tea from china cups.
She loved roses.
She wrote the most lovely notes, telling you how much she and Grampy loved you.

She was filled beyond the bursting point -often erupting into tears - with pride for us all, no matter how small or big our achievements.  As my brother Dan said last night, she was proud of us beyond any actual measure of our true accomplishment.  And it was nice. Nice to have someone so solidly in your corner.

If we were hurting, she was in utter distress. You almost didn't want to tell her if something was wrong.

We didn't always agree. Politics, religion, and gender roles were touchy subjects. I remember telling her once when I was in middle school that I wanted to be a US senator when I grew up.  Oh, Chessie, she said.  Just marry one instead.

She had a enviable sense of humor.  Her stories and comments were colorful and full of life. We all have memories of classic Mimi-isms.

My friends adored her, always saying that she was exactly what a grandmother should be like, and she was. Because regardless of anything else, she loved us with all her heart.

I shall carry her love, her humor, and her pie crust recipe with me always.  I will think of her as I drink from my china tea cups and cut my roses. And one day, if I am lucky enough to have grandchildren of my own, I will love them fiercely and the cookie jar will always be full.

Prep work for the Battle of the Soxes II is well underway.  I have lots of Excel spreadsheet time in my future as I get the info ready for Peter's magic sorting. The latest count is on another computer - yes, I have an organization problem - but last I checked we were around 30 players.  Are you ready?  Are you playing?  Of course, I can't play and run the game at the same time, but I will be knitting along with you.  Just like last year, I'll be knitting a pair of the battle socks for the winner.  

Oh, I'm guessing you might like a little guidance on yarn.  Hmmm... what should I tell you... . I think I've already revealed that the fabulous Amy has designed the pattern in multiple weights.  Did I say that a colorful yarn might be a good idea?  

While you ponder that, let's take a look at what people are knitting now or perhaps have just finished. 

First up, is what I think must be the most incredible knit I've seen in quite some time.  Check out Mary Ellen's stunning Susie Hoodie:

I need to get a close up pic of the cable, as well as the detailing on the back.  It is beautiful!

Donna is working on a a KAL with Penny.  They are knitting the same Noro sweater and making deadlines for each other to stay on track.

Sarah has joined the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret craze and cast on for one out of Malabrigo.

I'm working away on a bunch of things.  Just finished the shopping tunic from Twinkle knits during the last KAN.  I still need to weave in the ends.  Perhaps I'll wear it to KAN this week.  I am zipping along on my Lopi vest.  It makes me very happy.  The Cascade feel so soft and yet solidly wooly in my hands.  Definitely a comfort knit. 

I hope that where ever you are, whatever you may be doing today, that you are able to take a moment and share in this amazing day.  I'll be listening to NPR or watching history play out on TV as I go about my work.  If you stop by the shop, we'll have NPR on and CNN streaming on the computer. 

The past few days have been a flurry of knitting. I'm having a little problem focusing on one project - there are just so many I want to be knitting right now. 

There is Amused for out current knit along. 

I'm now well past the sleeves and the cabled V-neck.  I decided to stop the cable where the designer instructed.  However, a number of people who are knitting along with us are thinking of carrying the cable down to the bottom rib.  I am very curious to see how that turns out.  I've noticed that stopping such a bulky cable halfway down does leave extra folds in the fabric below the cable.  Since I am using pure alpaca, it should drape well and not be a problem.

The pure alpaca raises a design question for me.  Alpaca is notorious for stretching. I knew this when I picked it, and actually that was one of the reasons I picked it.  Alpaca may stretch, but it also drapes like silk and is body skimming without hugging.  So, if I know it might stretch a bit, how long do I make it?  I'm thinking to go with the designer's length, so that I ultimately end up with a slightly longer sweater.  

Along with Amused, I've been playing with a vest that Amy of Spunky Eclectic is letting me test knit for her. She designed it for her hand dyed chunky yarn - the Biggie Yarn.  The vest is called One Sided, and will provide directions for both men's and women's versions.

Here it is so far.  I just need to add the rib around the neck and arms.  

It fits perfectly!!!!!!  And it is wicked cute on me.  Hee hee.  Amy will be offering it as a free pattern with her yarn once I get all the test info to her. 

I have also started the Magnum sweater from Twinkle - no pics, that project is waiting for me at the shop.  AND I've pulled yarn for a worsted weight sleeveless Lopi design. Details on that later. 

It's not all sweaters.  Yesterday, I cast on for a pair of socks using this:

That would be Spunky Eclectic Skinny Socks in Sea Glass. I'm teaching a class on knitting socks on Saturday and needed to get going on a pair to illustrate what we'll be doing.  How beautiful is this colorway????  I  don't know how I missed it before.  Unfortunately, we sold out of Sea Glass immediately and I need to order more ASAP.  But, when Amy dropped off Sea Glass, she also brought all of this:

Yummy.  Her colors are amazing. 

She also brought a little sample for her Fair Isle and Steeking class.

How adorable it that?  Anyone taking the classes will be knitting this little teddy bear sweater.  Amy was so taken with how the design turned out, she is now working on a full sized version. 

Speaking of Amy, the new Interweave Knitscene arrived yesterday, and Spunky Eclectic was featured in the hot items section.  Congrats Amy!!

Time to get the kids ready for school.  Yesterday they spent the day with me at the shop.

And I got to teach a good friend to knit

She is a natural!!

Can you believe it has been a year since our grand Battle of the Soxes? Last year's event was so much fun -the fear, the creative knitting, the poems, the rogue knitter! - we decided that the Battle of the Soxes would become an annual event. 

(For those of you who missed out on the fun last year, or just want to relive the hilarity, check out the February 2008 blog archives.  The deaths start with THIS entry.)

I'll explain registration and guidelines in a moment, but first a bit of an explanation of what the game is all about and how it is played.

Remember playing assassin in school? We played with water guns.  All players signed up with the person running the game. At the start of the game, each player is given the name of their first target. While they are trying to "kill" their target, another player is on their heels, trying to "kill" them. When you do finally get your target, they are out of the game and must hand over the name of the player they were trying to hunt down.  You now must attempt to assassinate this new target, all while hoping the assassin on your case is not very good at their job.  The last player alive wins. 

Now, we take out the water guns and replace them with knitting needles and a sock pattern. Same concept, but now, you are killing with hand knit socks.  

Again, you sign up with the person running the game (that would be me, and no, I can't play).  Along with your name, you submit your sock size. When the battle begins, each player will be knitting a pair of socks for their assigned target.  As soon as you deliver your socks, your target is dead (but they will have warm feet).  Your target now sends you the name of their target, along with the deadly socks they had been knitting (without the needles - slip them on a scrap bit of yarn).  As soon as you receive the new target information and socks in progress you knit as fast as you can in order to kill your second target. 

On the game goes until one knitter remains - our champion.  There will be prizes for the winner, as well as special contests throughout the game, such as most creative kill. Details to come on that. 

Now for registration and the guidelines.

Any knitter brave enough to take on the challenge is welcome and encouraged to join!

To register, you must email me at battle@theknittingexperience.com.

Include your 

1. Name 

2. Email address to be used for the game

3. Snail mail address - include both US or Canadian Postal Service and UPS or FedEx location

4. Physical address

5. Shoe/sock size

6. Any serious fiber allergies. 

You have until January 31st to register.  After that, Peter and I will make randomly generated target assignments.  Your target and their information will be emailed to you prior to the start date.  We will let you know recommended yarn and needle size in advance.  The actual pattern will not be released until 11:59pm (East Coast time) on Friday, Feb 6th - the beginning of the battle. 

If/when you die, you must inform me via email at battle@theknittingexperience.com of the exact time of your death (when you received your socks). Any fun details of how it happened, along with pictures, will be greatly appreciated.  You must also let me know that you have passed along your socks in progress and target information to your assassin so that the game can continue. 

General guidelines:

The game only works if everyone knits.  

Everyone must knit the pattern announced for the game to the specifications outlined on the pattern.  While you cannot simplify the pattern to save time, you can embellish to express your inner assassin style. 

You are on your knitter's honor to accept your death with grace and to get your socks in progress to the new assassin as soon as possible.

You must inform me of your death as soon as possible.

You must us also tell me when and how you have handed over your socks in progress and target information.

Any questions, suggestions, assassination updates must be sent to battle@theknittingexperience.com.  (This rule is to help preserve my sanity.)

Creativity in knitting and killing is encouraged.

So tell your knitting friends, sign up, and get ready to kill!

I must apologize.  I neglected to tell you how to find the patterns for the cute hats I blogged about last time.

So, by popular demand, here they are! (And I promise to be a better blogger in the future.)

Madeline's hat

is called Coronet and can be found in the winter 2003 issue of knitty.com.

Terri's hat

is called Sarah's Cabled Hat and is a free download on Ravelry.com.

Let's take a moment to talk about Ravelry.  There are still a shocking number of knitting-inclined people out there who have yet to give this website a try.  Trust me, you need it.  Ravelry has completely, utterly transformed my knitting and relationship to the fiber community. While it is hard to describe Ravelry without just saying, "Wow, just try it, you'll see," I'll give it a go.

Ravelry is an online fiber community, database, personal project, needle, and stash tracker.  It is completely free, but in order to join, you must sign up for an invitation. It only takes a couple days before that coveted invite arrives in your email.  Sign in and start playing.  Create your user profile.  Click around on the tabs. Check out the pattern database - where thousands of patterns are listed, complete with hundreds of pictures from knitters and crocheters of their own version of that pattern.  You can see how the Coronet hat looks in green Malabrigo, or white organic cotton.  You can read how Sarah added a repeat, or Allison made it smaller to fit a toddler. AND you can download any of the free patterns directly from that site.

After you are dizzy from perusing the patterns, click on the forums page.  Here's where you can chat with other fiber peeps.  Always wanted to know what skpsso means? Post your question on the techniques board.  You'll have an answer in minutes - if not faster.  Wanna know what is happening over at The Knitting Experience?  Join our board - The Knitting Experience Café Knitters.  We're on there every day, many times a day, talking about the latest knit along, a yarn that just arrived in the shop, the TKE book club that happens only on Ravelry, sharing funny stories, and so much more!

Can't find our group? Just go over to the people tab and search for me. My user name is Chesley.  Send me a message (oh, did I forget to say that there is a whole private message system within ravelry?) and I'll send you an invite to our group. 

What are you waiting for?  Go over to Ravelry and start having fun!