Knittymuggins

Thinning The Nest: Thursday Number 4

knittymuggins — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:12:57 +0000

Week 4: A Big Down Comforter!

This week was simple. There were no massive emotional fireworks, no sentimental mooning around, no digging deep in order to find the courage to purge. It was all about simplicity.

Several years ago, when my Father-in-Law worked for Tempur-Pedic, we were able to get a fantastic deal on a California King sized adjustable Tempur-Pedic bed. We call it our “old people” bed because we have a remote that adjusts the head and feet up and down to whatever setting you desire; just like that bed on TV that allows the “old people” to get in and out more easily. I should be embarrassed to have an “old person” bed. Except that it kicks ass. And I can say I have a remote for my bed. Conjures up all kinds of crazy images, huh? It does have a massage feature…..

Anyway, the thing about Tempur-Pedic beds is that they run hot. I figured that would be a blessing considering my feet never seem to thaw out all winter long and I have been known to wear sweatshirts on a 70 degree summer afternoon. In a word, I’m cold all the time. That first winter we had it we put on the big down comforter and snuggled up underneath the covers, only to find it really did run hot and we were sweltering. Being too hot at night is nearly as miserable as being too cold. So we bought a new comforter that was a bit lighter and pretty soon I slept like Goldilocks – just right. But I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of the old comforter. Maybe we’d have a crushing winter hurricane and need to huddle under it for warmth someday. You never know. But after several years of never once needing that other, heavier, down comforter, I knew it was over. This week we gifted it to my Mother-in-Law and her husband. Things have been a bit tight for them this winter and I know they are keeping the thermostat low to save on energy bills. They were thrilled to get it and we were thrilled to help out. Now everyone is snuggly warm at night! If only every week could be this easy……

Little Red Bicycle Mini-Skein Club - December 2011

Here’s a little eye-candy just to remind you that yes, this is still primarily (supposed to be) a knitting blog. I know there’s been a scarcity on that subject here lately and I feel pretty bad about that. I’m still finding it really difficult to blog even the once a week I promised to do at this point, so Thinning The Nest seems to get all the focus. But I hope that can change sometime in the coming months. I’ve been knitting, really I have! I just need to find some time to talk about it. Don’t give up on me yet! I’ll get there, I know I will :)

Thinning The Nest: Thursday Number 3

knittymuggins — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:18:00 +0000

Week 3: A bunch of random crap!

The last week has been amazingly, stressfully busy. We decided to re-finance our home and that means some dude has to come through here, take a bunch of photos, peer through the mess of toddler toys, paraphernalia of half a dozen hobbies, wear and tear of 12 years and 2.5 dogs, and ultimately decide if we just lost our pants on a $550 appraisal or if we will be saving ourselves $200 a month. Can you say panic attack? This is probably a non-issue for normal people. You know, people with style, no yarn hoarder in residence, and a housekeeper. But man, I cannot wait until this is over and done with! Tequila is ready and waiting. Wait, I’d better have one of those right now….

With all that in mind, I’m afraid this week’s Thinning The Nest is a bit weak. Yes we did throw out about 30 lbs. of recyclables (hooray for trash day coinciding with the clean out!), and about 6 huge garbage bags of stuff, but I don’t feel right counting that since it was mostly R. Darling’s stuff. Though we are partners in crime in getting our act together this year, I know that I need to make more of an effort than I have so far and my goal in getting rid of one thing each week was to force myself to come to terms with my own piles of crap.

So this week I did get rid of a couple small things. I chucked out a spent glass candle holder from Bath & Body Works that I was ridiculously planning to repurpose into either a pencil cup or a nifty vase. It was super cute; orange with white etched out dots. I have a thing for stuff with dots on it. But when you used the candle up 3 years ago and the stupid candle holder is still waiting around to be cleaned out and put to a good use, you start to think it’s probably never going to happen. I grew up in a family that never threw anything out. “I can use that for (insert super useful household item here)”, was our motto. Most of the time that never happened. So I’m giving it up, even if it’s like pulling teeth to throw something out that’s useful. I doubt I’ll even miss it. I just had to go through the exercise of telling myself that, and really believing it, before I could let go.

I also tossed out my trusty BedBug. I bought this at a ~~Crap~~ Craft Fair in Pullman when I used to live there. It kept my toes toasty on many a cold, snowy night, with R. Darling 385 miles away. I thought at one point that I’d sew oodles of these and make lots of money and live in my pajamas in a house on the beach for the rest of my life. Or at least pay my bills. And then the Jack Russell met the BedBug. And they did not mix. The Jack (unsurprisingly) won the tussle and poor BedBug has some pretty deep teeth marks to show for the encounter. I admit. It was hard to let go. I absolutely do not know why. Maybe it just reminded me of my life in Pullman? This must be where those psychologists they always employ on “Hoarders” come in to tell me that I am certifiably nutso. Whatever the reason I couldn’t let go, it is now on its way to the garbage can. Any minute now. No really. Right.Now.

Another one of my (many) issues with stashing things is that I absolutely cannot bring myself to use things that are “too nice”. This includes yarn, beauty products, clothing, sometimes even food. I don’t know what I’m waiting for. I’m not getting any younger. I could die tomorrow. And then that something that’s “too nice” for every day would just be wasted. I need to remind myself that if I really love something, chances are I can buy more of it if I really want to. But I’ll never know how nice (or not nice – I’ve been sadly surprised on this before) something is if I never use it. Some things definitely have an expiration.

One of the things I loved about the Hazel Knits Sock Club was the fantastic swag Wendee always included in her packages. A couple years back she included this Bee Bar from Honey House Naturals. It has been sitting in my nightstand for a really long time now and I just couldn’t bring myself to use it. I’m not much of a lotion person when it comes to my hands. I hate that goopy greasy feeling and I wash my hands about a billion and one times a day so it seems sort of pointless. But wintertime always wreaks havoc on my hands and I find myself needing to at least apply it before bed to stave off real damage. This week that hasn’t been enough. So I brought the Bee Bar into the kitchen and every once in a while, would put a little across my rough, cracked knuckles. It wasn’t greasy and smelled fantastic. Knittymunchkin kept holding his knuckles out for some too – it was super cute :) I’m happy I’m finally using this! It’s a great product, it’s helping me, and I’m using it up. Win, Win, Win!

Oh and the yarn? That was a superbly generous, wonderfully kind gifty from my ever-thoughtful friend Amy! She heard I was working on The Beekeeper’s Quilt and offered to send me some scraps. Only these aren’t scraps, these are like quarter skeins or more! Thanks so much Amy! I can’t wait to use them :) And a huge thank you to Betty too for so kindly sending me some lovely yarn to add to my blanket (whole, new skeins!)! I am so excited to have little reminders of each of you to add to my project. And once again, I am blessed to belong to a community of knitters. You are all the best!

Thinning The Nest: Thursday Number 2

knittymuggins — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 04:59:15 +0000

This week’s Thinning The Nest is sponsored by: Knittymunchkin!

I found out last summer that one of my former co-workers is expecting a little boy in March (almost exactly 2 years after Knittymunchkin’s original due date – if he wasn’t in such a hurry to arrive 5 weeks early!). We were given three HUGE rubbermaid totes full of baby clothes by one of R. Darling’s co-workers when Knittymunchkin was born, and I remember how amazingly helpful that was for us and how grateful we were to receive it. Though R. Darling does well with his job, money always seems to be tight with a newborn in the house. So I thought, what better way to pay some of that good karma forward, than to do this for someone else. Many of the things that Knittymunchkin has worn have been through several kids, lots of spills, and assorted newborn/toddler antics. So there isn’t a whole lot that’s still in good shape. But once I started collecting things I was happily surprised to see the pile of stuff I was able to get together for her. Four giant bags of things, and more to come! Technically these aren’t out of the house as of this Thursday, but they will be by tomorrow, so I’m counting this as my week’s accomplishment.

Because nothing says "Welcome Baby!" like stuff in a Harley bag!

Week 2: Four big bags of baby things! Done!

I read an article in Better Homes & Gardens last year about this family that tried to see how little garbage they could produce in one year. At the end of one year they had perhaps a small handful of detritus to show for themselves. Impressed, I read the article wondering how they could possibly do this. There were some interesting tips in there, and a lot of things that I didn’t really think I could feasibly do myself without a lot of inconvenience. I know that sounds crappy, but there it is. Sometimes convenience just trumps saving the planet (if only for a moment or two). But one of the things that really struck a chord with me was their suggestion to take photos of sentimental items instead of actually saving those things and having them take up space. Most especially when you just store the objects rather than using them frequently. One of my biggest problems with clutter is that I am too damn sentimental. I want to keep everything. And I mean everything. I have letters that I received from pen pals in middle school for crap’s sake! So I like this idea. And I think it would work for most things.

Knittymunchkin at 20 months

I thought it would work here. I mean, there’s the photo. I don’t need the sweatshirt, right? But when it came to this face, and my memory of this day, I had a moment of weakness. That photo can’t show me just how tiny this little bit of fleece was when I look back at it 20 years from now, when my son is 6’4″ like his daddy and this day is a distant memory. So I’m afraid to say that little sweatshirt was rescued from today’s Thinning The Nest stash. Let’s face it. I’m weak. But I’ve still got some time to let go. If I can :)

Thinning The Nest: Thursday Number 1

knittymuggins — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:09:33 +0000

Happy New Year!!

I spent the final evening of 2011 watching a Dirty Harry movie with my sweetie (one of the items on my 101 in 1001 Days/Day Zero Project list). Midnight found us still awake, a rare occurrence on a New Year’s Eve in a household with a toddler and two sticks-in-the-mud in residence. We watched the fireworks at the Space Needle on TV, kissed, and went to sleep. A sweet, but ordinary way to end 2011. I felt a bit glad that the old year was going to bed too.

The start of a new year does not typically inspire me to make a bunch of resolutions. I know myself too well. I mean, how many years has it been now that I told myself I was going to knit with what I already own and do my best to avoid adding to the SABLE¹ stash that’s been slowly, insidiously, spreading from room to room? Instead, I make token attempts to better myself by phrasing my plans in vocabulary that makes it impossible to fail. I say things like, “I’ll work out more”, instead of “I’ll work out 30 minutes every day”. Something I read once said this technique is the best way to get those resolutions to stick and I’ve done it ever since. No, I save those big, specific, life changing plans for my birthday in September. That’s the real beginning of my year.

But 2012 is here and there is just something about it that I can’t put my finger on. I want to make changes. I want to do the right thing this year. The prospect of 2012 is making me incredibly optimistic. Maybe it’s because there’s a 12 in it (my favorite number), maybe it’s just because I am finally mentally ready. Whatever the case, I’m going to put my best effort forth and see where it gets me.

Thinning The Nest: Thursday Number 1

I’m sure you’ve heard of people “feathering” their “nest”. There are whole industries that capitalize on our need to make our homes more homey. The problem with my nest is that there is just too much crap in it. It’s starting to feel a lot less homey and a lot more like a storage unit with cartoonish piles of things falling over on themselves. So, I am resolving to make a change. Every week I plan to throw out, donate, gift, use up, or sell at least one thing. I imagine that these will sometimes be fibery things :) Each Thursday will be my “Thinning The Nest” day and I will do my best to post about my pledge every week. It doesn’t sound like much, but that would end up being at least 52 things by the end of the year. As long as I can resist bringing 52 more things in, then I will be making progress. It’s worth a try! I imagine some weeks will be better than others. But you have to start somewhere and this is my somewhere.

As I mentioned last time, I received an iPad for Christmas (because I’m spoiled like that!). This means that my Martha Stewart Living and Everyday Food magazines have free apps for subscribers that allow me to download onto my iPad the last 4 or 5 issues of each. So this week I passed on about 10 magazines to my friend John who is very straight (his pronouncement, not mine!), very much loves Martha Stewart, and very much loves being in his kitchen. One of my major problems with clutter has always been cooking and craft magazines. There is always something I want to cook or make in each of them, but I just don’t have the time. So they sit there, piled in the way, moving from room to room as I clean one spot or another, never really going away and never really getting used. It felt good to give these away and know that someone else was going to get to enjoy them. And I get the benefit of retaining the info I want to keep in a slim little package the size of a book, rather than a messy stack of magazines that I’ll never have the time to get to anyway.

Week One: Magazines! Done!

Oh and the yarn? It’s Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in “Strawberry Lemonade”. I joined another swap for mini-skeins on Ravelry. Technically this doesn’t count as destashing because, even though I’m using yarn from stash and not purchasing, I’m going to be getting the equivalent in yarn back (only in mini form). It’s kind of a cheap form of entertainment. I’m getting new (to me) yarn without having to pay anything but shipping and the amount of time it takes me to make minis. Totally worth it if you ask me!

Hope your New Year is off to a great start & that your resolutions (if you made any) are well under way! Wishing all of you much success, joy, and peace this upcoming year :)

——–

¹ SABLE: Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy; for those of you not in the know, i.e. those of you who have even a modicum of self control :)

iSpoiled

knittymuggins — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 04:36:18 +0000

There was some major spoilage at Chez Knittymuggins for Christmas this year. As in, my sweetest of sweet husbands bought me an iPad! I was not expecting this and didn’t think I could possibly need one until I opened it up and started using it. Call me deluded, but I somehow feel like this little hunk of metal is going to organize and simplify my life in about eleventy-billion ways. And I barely even know how to turn it on yet. I’ll keep you posted.

But despite all that material goodness, there was much love all around. I mean, how could there NOT be, with this little face to embrace?

There is nothing like having a child in your home for Christmas. It reminds you of all that is hopeful, joyful, pure and innocent. I hope all your holidays were as wonderful as could be and wish each and every one of you the happiest of New Years!

Love….

knittymuggins — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:57:53 +0000

Love, thy name is Hexipuff.

Hexipuffs!

Ever since my lovely friend Jess bought me the The Beekeeper’s Quilt pattern and we agreed to knit it together for “however long”, I have been undeniably enamored with this charming little project. Hexipuffs are smooshy, and squooshy, sweet and cute. And each one is a little mini FO that you can pat and poke and imagine occupying its future spot in your darling little quilt.

At first I thought I wouldn’t dare touch my enormous sock yarn stash. I mean, that’s for socks, right? So being short on sock yarn scraps, I scoured etsy, and found someone selling minis. Then I scoured Ravelry and found another. A few bucks later and I was in business! Then I joined a swap at the Sanguine Gryphon Group on Ravelry. Lucky for me, there was one for newbies that didn’t fill up about 2 seconds after it was posted. I swear those SG people are fanatics (me included, mwah-ha-ha!). It’s hard to get in on a destash or a swap because things disappear before you can say “flapjack”. Sadly, The Sanguine Gryphon is no more in a few short days. But that’s a big boo hoo for another day :( I’d say my bank account would breathe a ginormous sigh of relief if it weren’t for the fact that they are dissolving into two new dye studios and I’m afraid that means twice the amount of temptation!

I also discovered that the very talented Didi (creator of Little Red Bicycle; whom I got to meet at Sock Summit 2011 for the first time after “knowing” her for a few years online) had a mini-skein club going. What better way to support a friend, and a mini-skein habit, than by signing up? I’ve already received October and November, am waiting on December, and have signed up for another 3 months of January – March 2012. Everything I’ve received so far has been gorgeous! I can’t wait to make puffs out of them, and I am just stunned by her beautiful sense of color.

October 2011 Mini-skein Club from Little Red Bicycle

November 2011 Mini-Skein Club from Little Red Bicycle

Finally, after a little contemplation of my stash, I decided there were definitely some fingering weight sock yarns that I could (and should) part with. I had a few smaller skeins that weren’t enough for a full pair of socks anyway and I didn’t have immediate plans for them. Nor was I sure they’d look good on a larger scale. That’s the nice thing about the Hexipuffs. You can use some of your loudest or even – dare I say it – ugliest yarns, and they don’t look so bad on a small scale.

Flush with so many choices, I am working steadily on this project. I know it will take me years to make enough to fill out a quilt, but each time I finish one I get a tiny spark of satisfaction. They are the perfect little fillers for when Knittymunchkin is in his high chair eating a snack, or when he is playing independently (however briefly) and I have a spare moment without him clinging to my leg. They are simple, elegant, and can be put down at a moment’s notice without losing your place. In case you didn’t already guess…. I love Hexipuffs!

Because I’ll be working on this for the rest of my natural life (most likely) I think it would be fun to do a little gallery each month of the puffs that I’ve knit. I’ve been keeping count and I knit anywhere from 10 – 25 of these in any given month. So a little retrospective might be fun. January is just days away (how did that happen?) so I think I’ll start after I’ve knit January’s puffs.

Until then, Happy Holidays! May your days be merry & bright :)

Where To Begin?

knittymuggins — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:28:07 +0000

Where to begin when you haven’t begun in so many beginnings you may have forgotten how to begin at all?

It’s been a long time. There have been things to share, and then the moment has passed and it seems like such old news that there is no point in writing about it at all. When did I start feeling so overwhelmed that I began to let these opportunities slip away from me? Did it happen on my birthday in September when I cooked my own birthday dinner and ate my celebration cake all alone? Or maybe it was a few weeks later when Knittymunchkin decided naps were for suckas and a three week pitched battle between mama and little one ensued. I’m sure you can guess who the victor was. I’ll give you a hint: not me. When did time become something so elusive? When did I lose the ability to indulge in the things I love and how do I get it back? I don’t have any answers. I wish I did. But I will just have to take one day at a time. Because this is worth it. Writing is worth it. Connecting with all of you is worth it.

The biggest event I may have failed to mention was my five year blogging anniversary on October 14, 2011. Five years! It’s a bittersweet accomplishment because the milestone is not without some significance to me, yet I know I haven’t been maintaining things here well enough to consider it a five years worth acknowledging. I had planned festivities, but perhaps we will save those for the New Year. A kind of new start which, as many of you know, I typically celebrate on my birthday in September. But since that date has come and gone I will shoot this year for January 1, 2012. After all, 12 is my favorite number.

Though it would seem likely I haven’t been knitting much, what with the lack of content here and a toddler boycotting naps, I’ve actually been knitting quite a lot. Knittymunchkin rewards me with moments each day during which he is content to play quietly by himself, and we have recently reverted back to at least 45 minutes of naptime most days. On top of that, R. Darling has a temporary promotion at work that has him working different hours which means that I have a few hours to myself each evening before bed now. Though I dearly miss our couple time, I have been thrilled to have a few more quiet moments to myself each day. They’ve seemed few and far between the past 2 years. And, as if I needed another distraction from my knitting, I’ve started working out again. But it’s good. It’s all good.

I’ll leave you with a picture of Knittymunchkin from a hot August afternoon this summer…..

You’ll be happy to see that I’m starting him off early :)

Hope all your holidays are off to a joyful start!

Sock Summit 2011 Day 3: July 30, 2011 – Far Afield

knittymuggins — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:30:39 +0000

Back to our regularly scheduled Sock Summit Update (warning – picture heavy)….

Saturday morning found us a little more leisurely than usual. That’s not to say we slept in, but Jess didn’t have class at all that day and Troy and I didn’t have class until 1:30 PM so there was no rush to get out the door immediately. We had decided this would be the perfect morning to do a little exploring and we thought the Farmer’s Market would be the perfect thing to do. Jess was amazing and pretty much figured out exactly where we needed to go and which TriMet route we’d need to take to get there. Luckily, we were in the free zone for where we wanted to go, so it was super easy. All I can say is, kudos to Portland for their public transportation! If only we had something this nice where I live. Of course, it’s not hard to get around in my town, but there are times where I’d like to not have to worry about driving or parking.

Skidmore Fountain

We hopped the Trimet to the Skidmore Fountain stop which was a quick 5 minutes or less from the Convention Center block. At our stop, I was initially put off by the group of scruffy looking loiterers shouting obscenities at each other over their shopping cart, but we just walked the other way and I put it out of my mind. What caught my eye first was the historic architecture surrounding us; buildings with flourishes, and the historic colonnade housing a portion of the market. I never cease to be fascinated by old structures and their histories. The stories are there, buried, waiting for me to discover them. I wonder about the people who lived and worked here. What was life like for them? Were they happy, sad, indifferent? As I soaked it in I snapped a few photos for posterity.

Architectural Details of The Colonnade

The Saturday Market - Portland, OR

We wandered, we looked, we soaked it in. I found a lot of inspiration at the market, seeing all kinds of items that had been re-created from vintage or cast off things; upcycling being the buzz word I presume. This has always been an interest of mine and seeing examples of this in the marketplace gave me all sorts of ideas for future projects. I bought a couple of leather cuffs made from old belts. Because I needed to “toughen up my image” I told Troy. Couldn’t hurt. Before long we were getting hungry and we decided we’d all divide up and get the food that sounded best to each of us. Troy and Jess convinced me I’d love pierogies, which I had never before tried, so I bought my lunch at a cute little cart just across the street from the Portland Saturday Market sign up above. Mmmmm…. Potato and cheese filling with onions and bacon on top. I have to say, my first experience with pierogies was a blissful one! Troy, who was holding a table for us, had to have the same after I came back with mine.

My First Pierogies

The picture is a bit blurry you see, because I was salivating so hard I could barely hold the camera straight :) I told Jess and Troy that I did believe my blog was starting to turn into a food blog as most of the pictures I took over the weekend seemed to be of food! After eating and looking a bit more, we thought we spotted the mecca of doughnut shops – Voodoo doughnuts – on an adjacent corner, and had to have a look for ourselves. As we got closer, we asked a few people what the situation was and they told us that the line was at least an hour long. An hour long! And it was mid-morning, not even breakfast hour anymore. Of course, there is no bad time for a doughnut. But none of us was down with waiting an hour just to say we’d been there. We satisfied ourselves with snapping a picture of the sign and Jess even got a guy sitting outside at a table, about to bite into a doughnut the size of his head, to agree to having his photo taken. I’m pretty sure one of his friends had one of those specialty maple doughnuts with bacon on top. Oy.

All Hail Voodoo Doughnuts!

After that, we wandered around a little longer to see what we could see. We thought maybe there’d be a fun little shopping district or some such somewhere near all this other goodness, but no such luck. We did see this, which explained a lot:

Keep Portland Weird!

Coming up on Chinatown, we thought perhaps there would be something fun to explore here too, but it was all but dead. I did find the entrance enchanting though, and thought a rather funny sign deserved preservation on film. Do you think they realized what they were advertising? Or did they think it was funny too?

Entrance To Chinatown

Hung Far Low

Perhaps this was old Chinatown and there is a new and bustling Chinatown somewhere else in Portland. By then in our travels, it was getting close to time to head back. So we boarded the TriMet and were on our way back to the Convention Center. I’d had a raging headache all day and it wasn’t getting any better. I think we got some coffee before our class and maybe poked around the Marketplace again and at 1:30 PM Troy and I headed to our Perfect Rib Class with Cookie A. I have to admit, I wasn’t feeling 100% by the time we got to class, and there was a lot to cram into this one-hour wonder. Despite Cookie A. being a friendly, knowledgeable, and all around excellent instructor, my brain was at maximum capacity and most definitely not firing on all cylinders. So I didn’t get much out of it, unfortunately. Through no one’s fault but my own, of course. There were lengthy handouts that I brought home and I imagine I will study them later, the next time I get around to trying to design my own sock. I loved the idea that you can incorporate ribbing into the pattern itself (the main idea of this class) and I think that is perhaps why Cookie A.’s designs are among the most beautiful of all sock patterns. Her ribs never look just stuck on, in fact, everything flows seamlessly together into a harmonious design. I know accomplishing this myself with my own pattern, will make much more sense when I can sit down and study it later with my brain in a more receptive state.

Cookie A.!

After class, we met up with Jess again and decided it was time for another field trip. We piled into Troy’s car this time (I think yesterday’s trek had taught us that it would be much more relaxing to drive just in case we got lost again) and headed to the nearest LYS, Portland’s Twisted. What a sweet little shop! They had all sorts of yarns my LYS doesn’t carry and a lot of local indie dyed stuff that was really fun to see. The Twisted booth at the Marketplace at Sock Summit had been handing out 10% off coupons for the brick and mortar shop, so of course we had to take advantage. I bought some beautiful Madelinetosh Tosh Merino in “Grasshopper” for a slouchy hat. I love slouch hats, but don’t know if they love me back. I’m thinking this is a bit like shawls. They look funny on you only if you feel funny in them. You have to work it and just know you are cool and then, in turn, you will be cool. It’s my new experiment.

Twisted Yarn Shop - Portland, OR

Jess asked the gals in the shop for a restaurant recommendation and they gave us a few. Jess and I were thinking sushi, but after driving back and forth a bunch, with no sushi place materializing, we settled for the one place they recommended that we could actually find: Cha! Cha! Cha! Taqueria. It was cool inside and inviting. Most of the clientele were seated outside, so it was nice to have the place to ourselves. The food was billed to be authentic and locally sourced which is apparently a condition for every restaurant in Portland. But you know, I do believe it makes a difference! Our meal was delicious. Troy and Jess got something called Molcajete that Jess says is served at one of her favorite restaurants back home. All I know is it arrives in a ginormous sizzling bowl of goodness and smells heavenly! I got poblano chile and cheese tamales and we all got the requisite frosty adult beverage necessary to complete a summer meal such as this.

Jess & Troy

Mmmm... Tamales & a Margarita!

After dinner was consumed, we headed back to the convention center for a “special kind of baby shower” in honor of Ravelry founders Casey and Jess’ new baby Eloise. Each of us had knitted a hat to donate to the cause and it was astounding to arrive there and see the sheer number of sweet knitted things that people had made. There were several gift bags on the tables and I was a little confused as to what that was all about until Tina Newton and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee started looking into one of them and exclaiming over the huge amounts of tiny socks nestled inside. I guess that one knitter had gone sock wild and knit dozens upon dozens of socks for donation. Kind of made me feel a little subpar with my one measly hat :( But I guess every little bit helps!

My Little Hat for Eloise's Charity Baby Shower

We kind of thought that, since it was a baby shower and all, there should have been some cake or something. But no cake. We settled for milkshakes from Burgerville (yum!) and some knitting in Troy’s room instead. I’d all but convinced Troy and Jess to take on the Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL 2011: Earth & Sky with me so we purchased the pattern and discussed color choices while sipping our cool frosty treats. After a while Jess and I bid Troy goodnight and headed back to our room for some shuteye. A thoroughly wonderful, totally exhausting day. And one of the best ever in recent memory! And tomorrow would mean goodbye :(

Be Our Guest!

knittymuggins — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 05:11:04 +0000

The lovely Amy asked me to write a guest post for her blog today! I am so honored :) You can find it here.

More on the final days of Sock Summit 2011 coming soon….

Sock Summit 2011 Day 2: July 29, 2011 – Class & Consumption

knittymuggins — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 22:32:42 +0000

Poor Jess. She was still on her “home time” (2 hours ahead) and I kept her up late talking about yarn and life and me me me. For a shy person I can sure talk about myself too much. Sheesh. She still got up before me and I expected to hear her getting ready for her 9AM class, but instead she left the room. Gulp. Was I so annoying that she had to leave? Did I snore all night? I worry about this stuff. But no, apparently she was up early due to that time difference thing and, polite as she is, she actually did some work (that’s a four letter word, yo!) in the lobby before coming back to get ready for class so as not to disturb me. Too sweet. I was up by then working on my homework for my Saturday afternoon Cookie A. class and it was still only about 7:30 AM. I thought I’d find the time to sleep in once or twice while away, but apparently I’ve got my internal alarm clock set to Knittymunchkin time and it doesn’t reset no matter how many miles away I get.

Jess and I met Troy in the lobby and it was just a mere half hour before Jess’ first class. We’d talked about walking to Voodoo Doughnuts which we thought had to be fairly close due to the frequent passing by of that most glorious of pink boxes containing warm frosted doughnutty deliciousness (or so we presumed, but we’d be schooled later). But with Jess’ class imminent, we just decided to go to Burgerville again. As if it wasn’t enough to have an eco-conscious burger joint nearby, it had to be one that served breakfast too. I have to say, I’m impressed with the place!

Jess headed for class and Troy and I headed for the marketplace. “Let’s just look around” turned into “Whoopee! Let’s go nuts and buy some YARN!” At least for me. We were very curious about the big fuss over Goth Socks. Word on the street was that her stuff was one of the major draws for the massive line snaking around the convention center the night before. Turns out, I think those rumors were right. We headed to her booth first and I asked her about her stock. Apparently they sold out between the night before and this morning. As in everything that she brought was gone except for two measly little hanks of self-striping sock yarn. Wowzers. I ended up buying a super cute project bag there with bees on it (Oh how I ♥ bumblebees!) mainly because, after engaging her in conversation and then planning on walking away empty-handed, I felt kinda bad about wasting her time and figured the least I could do would be to buy something. I am such a sucker. But hey, I’ll use it. It’s already holding my little sock yarn scraps and all my tools to make The Beekeeper’s Quilt. So appropriate :) I heard a lot of talk about The Sanguine Gryphon and The Plucky Knitter being big draws too, and if you gauged that by the sheer amount of people pressed into each booth, not to mention the rapidly disappearing stock, then I’d say it was true. It’s kind of fun wondering who or what the next best thing will be. Personally, I was really interested in Stricken Smitten and Sophie’s Toes and expect to hear more of a fuss about these dyers soon.

Ms. Newton And Her Friend

My first class of the summit was today at 11AM. It was a one-hour lecture about dyeing yarn with Blue Moon Fiber Arts’ Tina Newton (also one of the co-creators of Sock Summit along with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee a.k.a Yarn Harlot). It was entertaining and enlightening, though without prior dyeing experience, I don’t think I came away with much useful information. I did feel inspired but also a little dejected. That part of me that thought it might be a wonderful idea to start dyeing yarn and maybe someday doing something with the yarn I dye, like, oh maybe getting paid for it, has apparently been high on yarn fumes all this time. Dyeing is hard work. And it’s time consuming, and you have to love it. Not to mention, you have to be good at it or people won’t buy it. It’s o.k. to have dreams, but I suppose they have to be achievable. Maybe we’ll just sleep on this one for a while.

After the lecture I didn’t have enough time to go back to the hotel so I went on a huge shopping binge in the marketplace. With no witnesses to stay my hand I powered my way through the booths in a shocking flurry of cash and credit. And I won’t lie. It felt good. It takes a lot of energy to blow through so much money at once, so I needed to refuel before my 1:30 PM class and bought a sandwich at the little lunch counter inside the convention center. It took forever so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you are in dire need like I was. Sandwich finally in hand, I headed for my next 3 hour class: Judy’s Magic Heels.

This class was a revelation. Seriously, I shit you not. A flap heel without picking up any stitches or working any short rows. Sheer genius! Well sheer magic, really. Judy was an excellent teacher. Friendly, knowledgeable, approachable and patient. I highly recommend her class should you ever have the chance at another Sock Summit. I, for one, will be most definitely trying these heels on the next pair of socks I start.

Troy met me in the conference room as class ended. He’d had a class himself during the same time frame, in a room just adjacent. We went back to the marketplace and texted Jess back and forth until we caught up with her. We all had tickets to the Sock Hop which would be later in the evening, and decided that maybe we needed to have a little dinner first and that perhaps it was time to explore a bit further afield. What would follow would be an epic struggle to find sustenance in a mysterious concrete labyrinth filled with sketchy-looking locals, firearms dealers, and forlorn shopfronts.

O.K. I’m kidding. Well, a little. I believe Jess actually referred to it as “The Death March”. We were most certainly not prepared for the trek we ended up having to take. Guess we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and got ourselves all turned around somehow. I don’t know about Jess but personally, as a woman, I get nervous walking around places I’m not familiar with. Especially as the more populated areas drop away and you find yourself in something industrial or when you see a sign that is clearly advertising pawn items and firearms. Not to mention, when you are clearly not dressed for hoofing it, are carrying a knitting bag the size of Texas, and look really scared. Which I was trying not to do. Thanks to Jess’ map function on her smartphone, we finally managed to get turned around and happened onto the restaurant she had enjoyed the night before we arrived: The Farm Cafe. It couldn’t have materialized at a better time. We were hot, tired, and ready to end our journey. I felt badly that Jess would be eating here a second time, but she seemed enthusiastic about the food and probably more than ready to eat too. We all had pretty much the same thing. Green Salad (two orders were enough to share between the three of us) and Goat Cheese Ravioli. It was well worth the journey and the wait. This was one of the most delicious meals I have ever had in my life. And from the “mmm’s” and general hush at the table, I think Troy and Jess concurred.

The Farm Cafe's Goat Cheese Ravioli

Perhaps it was the company, or all the energy I burned learning, knitting, shopping, and walking today, but I actually suggested ordering dessert. I never do this. But it felt good to linger in Troy and Jess’ company and having something sweet is almost always one of life’s biggest priorities (in my book). So we each ordered something different and then shared tastes around the table. Jess ordered the Sunken Chocolate Souffle, Troy ordered the Marscapone Cheesecake with Pecans and Dulce De Leche Sauce, and I ordered a seasonal Rhubarb Crisp. Heavenly. All of it! I savored each bite and the simple joy of being among friends sharing a meal and conversation.

Tonight’s final event was the Sock Hop. It was already in full swing when we dropped in after the much shorter walk (going the correct direction this time) back from the restaurant. None of us had costumes, though to give Troy and Jess credit, I believe they had each brought something. Yet again we realized we’d paid for hors d’ oeuvres included in the price of our tickets. But I don’t think a single one of us would take back our meal at The Farm Cafe to eat deli meats and crackers and cheese, no matter how nice those snacks probably were. After a few minutes we decided to ditch the party and go back to the lobby of our hotel for some knitting and drinks. None of us had spent much time knitting yet and it sounded much more appealing at the moment than checking out everyone else’s costumes at the hop, no matter how fun and nostalgic the music was.

We stayed up late, knitting, drinking and just hanging out. It was a wonderful end to a jam packed day!

Sock Summit 2011 Day 1: July 28, 2011 – Goodbye & Hello

knittymuggins — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:32:18 +0000

July 28, 2011 was probably just another Thursday for most people. Instead I awoke exhausted, to find myself both excited and anxious. This would not be just any day for me. At 8 AM my super knitty pal Troy would be picking me up to attend that most glorious of knitterly events: Sock Summit 2011. Today would mark the beginning of four days of intense yarnophoria (yarn + euphoria = yarnophoria!). But it would also mean leaving my nearly 18 month old son for the very first time since he was born. I felt more than a little guilty as I showered, ran around packing last minute things, and remembered final tidbits to tell R. Darling about household stuff.

Before I knew it the doorbell was ringing and it was time to say goodbye. There were no waterworks, but there were lots of hugs and kisses and “just one mores” as we headed out into the cool summer morning. One stop for caffeinated beverages (mine chock full of sugar of course!) and we were on our way. I didn’t knit on the drive down, though I sat with knitting at my feet most of the way. Ever since I was pregnant I get car sick very easily, most especially when I knit. How sad is that? 5 hours in the car and I could have accomplished so much. But getting to know more about Troy and keeping him company was just as important as knitting a few more rows on whatever I’d brought to work on. Not to mention keeping his car a barf-free zone. But Troy is a gentleman and a professional driver, so I’m quite sure he would have gotten me to the side of the road safely, and in time, to blow my chunks somewhere more appropriate should the need have arisen :)

Mid-way, lunch was consumed at the Red Lobster in Kelso, WA and the fuel tank refilled. I was afraid that Troy would be disappointed with his first visit to a Red Lobster (I’d never eaten lunch there before and the menu was different from the dinner one that I am always slobbering over) but at least the biscuits were good and the place was clean enough to impress him thoroughly. We arrived at the Convention Center in Portland, OR sometime around 2PM – 2:30PM, made our way past the construction and into the parking garage. We were to meet Jess for the first time in person at 3PM near the statue outside the convention center.

We, of course, parked about as far as humanly possible from the check-in area for Sock Summit 2011. However, this afforded us the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the attendees of the other major convention being hosted by the Convention Center that weekend: OSCon. Everywhere we were greeted by hordes of computer nerds and signs featuring wildlife (is this a reference to the Safari brower?). Most prominently featured was a little lemur of some sort with big eyes that I kept insisting was slightly creepy, which Troy kindly said he thought was cute. What surprised me most was the complex demographic of the OSCon group. Not just scrawny twenty-somethings in t-shirts with programming jokes, we saw a man in a kilt, a grandma or two, stuffy-looking gents, and regular schmoes. I pretty sure I even saw a hoochie or two. What made us laugh most was the fact that we considered ourselves nerds too, just of a different caliber, and figured we were probably just as mystifying to the computer hackers as they were to us.

The Goji Concourse inside the Oregon Convention Center

After coffee was procured, we headed outside to meet Jess. I suddenly felt afraid I wouldn’t recognize her were I to see her from afar. Even after all these years, seeing pictures of each other on our blogs, I wasn’t sure I would know her. But then I saw a blonde walking up the steps towards us and I knew it was her without hesitation. I couldn’t help myself – I gave her a hug. Not everyone appreciates a hug I know, and I’m not always a hugger myself, but after all this time a handshake just didn’t seem appropriate :)

Space Age Mushroom Lights Outside The Oregon Convention Center

After introductions, we headed back to the car and off to The Crowne Plaza to check in. Jess had stayed there the night before (she had classes on Thursday as we were driving down) and mentioned that one of the indie dyers (The Grinning Gargoyle) had made a point of leaving samples for Sock Summiters at the main desk, and could we please have a few? I loved mine; a beautiful silvery color which will be added to my most current obsession (The Beekeeper’s Quilt – more on that later!). The lobby was classy and the room was stylish and modern. I felt spoiled! Troy was quite satisfied too, though he’s had the opportunity for much more opulence than I and didn’t swoon quite as hard as I did :)

We packed a few things into our knitting bags and headed back for the early, students-only, opening of the marketplace at 4:30PM. We’d seen people lining up even as we were checking in a couple hours before. By the time we returned, the line had grown out into the convention center, circling into a meeting room and still more were adding themselves to the growing string of slavering shoppers. We chuckled and plunked ourselves at a table to wait our turns. There wasn’t much we could think of that would warrant needing to be first in the doors. So we chatted and knit and soon enough the line was moving. As we entered the marketplace, a warm miasma of sheepy wool smell with a hint of vinegar enveloped us. Only a smell a knitter or fiber-lover would welcome as if it was the finest perfume. I was dying to get to the Sanguine Gryphon booth first thing and Jess and Troy were kind enough to humor my mania.

The Saguine Gryphon Booth at Sock Summit 2011

Oh joy! A giant bin of one-offs and overweight specialty colors! I dove in headfirst and only came up for air after I was satisfied I’d done my best to blow my wad ‘o cash in nearly one swipe. I felt dizzy with the ability to spend freely for once, in a veritable fiber paradise. After all, R. Darling had told me to spend it all! We went from one booth to the next, intent on the ones that interested us most for our first trip through the maze. There was so much to see and not enough time to do it all. It was overwhelming and astonishing and simply fantastic.

After our 2 hour preview was over and the marketplace was closing, we had just enough time to get something to eat and then Troy and I would be attending the opening ceremonies. Jess would head back to our room where I’d meet up with her later. We took the short walk up the street to Burgerville and had a surprisingly delicious fast food meal. Leave it to Oregon to have a fast food place that recycles, composts, and serves up local produce and free-range eggs and meats. A little overboard, even for someone from my crunchy little town, but the positive effect on the flavor of our meals was truly eye-opening.

If we had known that hors d’oeuvres were included in the price of our opening night ceremony tickets, then perhaps we wouldn’t have eaten beforehand, but that’s o.k. Now we know for next time. There were some speeches and some antics, and a lot of it was funny. But I frankly wasn’t really paying attention. I wanted to pet my yarn and call my son and husband and finally fall asleep after a long, fun day. There would be so much more to explore the next few days and I, for one, couldn’t wait!

Sock Summit 2011 Preview

knittymuggins — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:05:55 +0000

And much gluttony was had by all!

Or, at least by me!

Loot!!

Just a little preview of the mad yarnage purchased by my very own sweaty little paws at Sock Summit 2011.

From Top Left to Right:

Limited Edition Dancing Sheep project bag complete with pattern & 1 hank Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in “Jam Session”
Overweight hank of Sanguine Gryphon Codex in unnamed colorway (turquoise)

From Bottom Left to Right:

Project Bag purchased at Goth Socks Booth
MissPurl notions tin
1 hank Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in “Jam Session”
2 overweight hanks of Sanguine Gryphon Eidos in “Monadology” (The Gold Bug equivalent)
1 hank Hazel Knits Divine; a red “Rogue”
3 hanks Sanguine Gryphon Gaia Lace in “Owlets”

So much more to show you and share with you, but that must wait for another day….

Last but not least, Troy, Jess & I jumped on the Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL 2011: Earth & Sky bandwagon while at Sock Summit. Yes, I have fallen down the slippery slope that is shawl knitting. I blame Mr. West for that completely. Sock Summit added fuel to the fire with a new and exciting shawl spotted covering shoulders everywhere you looked. Oh dear. What happens next? Do I start wearing housedresses that zip up the front and putting out bowls of congealed hard candy?

It was a joy to, for once, pick out yarn specifically destined to become a certain pattern. What better place to drop my wad ‘o cash than The Sanguine Gryphon booth? Here she is, Clue #1 all finished and ready to be continued:

Clue #1 - Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL 2011: Earth & Sky

Back soon for more Sock Summit 2011 fun!