Katydid Knits » SAFF

SAFF Fail. :(

katydidknits — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:31:59 +0000

Yeah… I’m not going to make it down to SAFF this year. I really, really wanted to go, but things were just not lining up. Amanda‘s been travelling so much for work and stuff that she wasn’t going to be able to go with me (and I don’t fault her for that), I just can’t make the 7+ hour drive by myself, and the other people I tried to get to go can’t make it either, so… no SAFF for me this year. I’m really bummed, because there are some FABULOUS people that I’m not going to get to see. Part of the problem is that it’s the weekend between Rhinebeck and Halloween, AND rehearsals will just be getting in full swing for “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”, which I am helping my friend Mary with. I can’t afford to get sick again like I did last year by over-extending myself.

So, all my girls, have a blast, take tons of pictures, and pet the purty yarn for me, ok? I’ll do what I can to be there next year, I promise.

I Blame Cristi and Aimee

katydidknits — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:21:47 +0000

Yes, this is all their fault. See, Cristi took me to Charlotte Yarns while I was visiting her for SAFF. And Charlotte Yarns has beautiful stuff, like the Alpaca and Silk I showed you last week.

Also, like this.

Fleece Artist Scotian Silk (64 wool-35 silk) in (I think) “Madder”.

It’s gorgeous. It’s soft, and springy, and works up beautifully.

Why do I know this? That would be the part that is Aimee’s fault. See, she was telling me about how she was making Sursa (from the Noro Yarn Cornelia Tuttle Hamiltion Book 2), and that she was using some Scotian Silk for it. So, when I decided that I wanted a mindless project for my usual Thursday meetup and that I might even be able to work on it backstage a little… I cast on.

So, yeah. TOTALLY their fault.

Limbo Pr0n!

katydidknits — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 04:06:44 +0000

Why limbo? Because I’m sneaking in just under the wire, of course.

Just one quick pic today – some Blue Sky Alpaca and Silk that I bought at the totally lovely Charlotte Yarn while visiting Cristi and Aimee and May and all the other kickass Charlotte knitters for SAFF.

It’s going to be a Clementine Shawlette at some point. Fairly soon, I hope – it may be what’s up after I finish Jeanie.
Oh, and if you have a chance, go check out the announcement of my plans for 2008 for the Hats for Alex project. BIG thanks to Bezzie and Weezalana for inspiring me!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Brooks Farm…. Squishy!!!

katydidknits — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:00:08 +0000

Brooks Farm Solana, purchased at Rhinebeck to make Cherie Amour.

And, as promised, the pictures of my SAFF acquisitions.

On Thursday before SAFF, Aimee (AKA the Evil Enabler) took me to The Yarn Shop by Rainy Day Creations. I picked up the Cascade 220 to make these cute cabled gloves that she’s making, and probably a hat to go with them. The Opal is earmarked to become Kelp! Knits’ Ironwork Socks.

Friday, Cristi and I ran over to Charlotte Yarn, where a ridiculous amount of stuff jumped into my arms. I picked up the Malabrigo Chunky I used in the Passin’ the Dress Code, some Malabrigo Laceweight in “Applewood”, Blue Sky Alpaca & Silk in a lovely peacock blue for a Clementine Shawlette, and that big ball of squishy goodness in the back is some Fleece Artist Scotian Silk. No clue what it’s going to be, but damn is it soft. And pretty.

Saturday morning at SAFF, we tracked down Jana from White Oak Studio to get some of her TV Yarn. I was thrilled to find that she did have some “Doctor Who”, which I snapped up for Kris (on that, we finally got our season 3 dvd’s and watched the infamous “Blink” episode. I’ve been hearing about it for months, and OHMYGOD now I know why. SO GOOD!), along with “The English Patient” and “Sesame Street” for me.

And yes, I promised myself I wasn’t going to buy any fiber at Rhinebeck or SAFF if I didn’t spin up some of what I already had. Er… I fell down. I picked up some lovely Happy Hippy Optim in “Commune” and some… um… really pretty mystery orange and brown fiber. The bag of Jacob/Angora and the big ball of Lorna’s Laces roving? Yeah – I blame Aimee for those. Like I said – the Evil Enabler. See, Aimee was standing in a booth, oohing at the Lorna’s Laces roving, and I was outside the booth, talking to May. Aimee was yelling colors to us, and I looked at May and said, “As long as they don’t have…” and as the words “Black Purl” were ON MY LIPS, Aimee yells over, “They have Black Purl!” Curse her timing. (The Jacob/Angora was less evil – she showed me some Jacob/Alpaca she bought from a booth, and told me about the angora. I had to check it out.)

I Know, I Know

katydidknits — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:33:39 +0000

It’s Thursday, and I promised handspun pictures for Monday. I didn’t end up getting Kris to take pictures this weekend, because we were busy setting up his new fishtank. He upgraded to a 75-gallon tank. Once it cycles and he gets some more fish in there, I’ll post pictures of that.

And I know, I missed WIP Wednesday, too. So… here we are.

Spanish Dancer from knitty.com, in the “Oregon Red Clover Honey” BMFA Socks That Rock that was my last YPF post. It doesn’t look like much yet, but I do think it’s going to be really pretty. Although, I’m still not looking forward to doing that ruffle (which will go where the crochet cotton is now). Oh, and the box bag in the first picture was a gift from sgeddes to each of us that rode in my car to SAFF. Isn’t she a sweetie?

In other news, I’ve finished up a few things in the last week or two. First, my very first Baby Surprise Jacket – a gift for friends of ours, whose little boy is due… well, technically yesterday. We’re waiting for the phone call at this point.

That is Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Lemongrass Heather and Indigo Heather. I started it just before I went to Charlotte for SAFF, but unfortunately learned that 2 skeins of Swish is NOT enough for a BSJ. So… I ordered another skein. The Lemongrass is backordered until December, so I ordered the Indigo. I’m actually glad it worked out that way – I really like the way it looks with the two colors. I decided to go with the contrast, and did the sleeve seams and an edging on the neckline and sleeves in crochet with the Indigo. It almost looks like I planned it!

I also finished the Twilight Capelet I started after Stitches. I ran into a little issue with that one, too. I was two rows away from finishing it when I ran out of yarn. Needless to say, I was a little cranky. I debated for a bit, but I decided that I really wanted to finish it (and not rip it out and start over on a smaller hook, which was my other option), so I bit the bullet and ordered another hank of the Disco Lights.

I’m glad I did. It’s really pretty. Now I just need to convince Kris to take me somewhere fun so that I can wear it. My final FO for the week is Passin’ the Dress Code – a pattern I first saw on Cristi’s blog, and then on Aimee’s. When I was in Charlotte, I picked up a copy of the pattern, and two hanks of Malabrigo Chunky in “Alpine Pearl” to make it. I started it Tuesday night, finished Wednesday morning, and took a look at it. It seemed a little small, so I checked my gauge. It was off. Gah. So, I ripped the whole thing out and re-did it on larger needles yesterday afternoon. (What can I say, it’s a quick knit!) I still need to find a closure for it – I’m debating the ribbon that was used in the original – and I’m probably going to block it, but isn’t it cute?

And at last – some handspun. This is the first spinning I’ve actually gotten done on Zaphod.

That’s most of one of two braids of Cloverleaf Farms Merino in “Rose Quartz”. I’m pretty happy with how it is coming out so far. It’s pretty even, and bordering on consistent. Yay!

I’ve got some pictures of my SAFF acquisitions, but I think I’ll save those for another post. Maybe even for tomorrow’s YPF post (although the pr0n for tomorrow is from Rhinebeck.)

SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFF

katydidknits — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:26:45 +0000

Home from SAFF. It was awesome. Unfortunately, I woke up yesterday with the unholy mother of all colds (I’m actually worried it might be the flu). It was bad enough that I didn’t think I’d be able to finish the drive home yesterday. I was afraid I’d have to get a hotel room for the night. However, my knight in shining armor (aka hubby) came to my rescue. He took the train down to Richmond and drove the last two hours home with me. I love him.

I’ll catch y’all up as soon as my sinuses start to behave again.