skittermagoo!

maryland, Maryland, MARYLAND SHEEP AND WOOL!

We're now less than two weeks away from the fun and mayhem of MSWF, and I'm absolutely GIDDY with anticipation!

I hadn't seen anything about a knitblogger meetup, so I asked Cara, who organized it last year. She told me that Gryphon has started organizing one! Woot! Check it out and spread the word, y'all!

So, Saturday at 1pm by the Pavillion (here's a fairgrounds map) . . . sounds great!! Who else is in??

And if anyone is up for drinks that night, I have a couple possible venues recommended to me by a good friend who lives out there . . . details to come soon.

Ooooh, so much to show and tell!

I'm really very upset about what happened at Virginia Tech the other day . . . so much so that I can't even put words to it. So I am following the advice of Elizabeth Zimmermann and will "Knit On"

So I was all ready the other day to post some pictures of my current "big project" on the needles, but then I got distracted knitting and had to finish it! What? I didn't tell you I'd started another non-sock thing? Ah, mea culpa. But this project just went too darn fast!

Let me first say that Kate Gilbert is a genius. Genius, I tellya! I'd already knit Clapotis once, and gave it to my mom as a gift (though originally I was knitting it for myself). The first time around, it took me forEVER, and I really didn't think I'd knit another one -- those straight repeats in the center just killed me last time. Little did I know that I was about to fall in love again with the pattern.

Then I went to MSWF last year and saw for myself why Brooks Farm yarn is such a big deal. I bought three hanks of Four Play (50% wool, 50% silk) to make another Clapotis -- even though I never thought I'd knit it again, this yarn seemed perfect for it. The poor yarn marinated in my stash, and then marinated some more. Well. In March when it looked like Samus was coming to an end, I opened my yarn closet in search of my next thing, and the bag with the Brooks Farm yarn in it fell on my head. I put it back, and it fell on my head again! I think it was trying to tell me something. I'm glad it did, too, because y'all, this is seriously the best yarn I've ever knit with. No, I'm serious! If I had to choose one yarn to knit with for the rest of my knitting life, this yarn would likely be it.

So . . . without further fanfare, here it is! (Unblocked. I couldn't wait.)

mine, all mine, bwahahahaha!

Wanna see a closeup? Sure you do!

Yep, the yarn really is that sheeny and delicious!

Best. Yarn. Ever. You can bet your booty that I'm going to be stalking the Brooks Farm booth at this year's MSWF! (Yep, looks like I'm going this year! Anyone else going?) If I could afford it, I would knit an entire afghan out of this yarn, and I don't knit afghans (they're too freaking big!).

Specs:
Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: Brooks Farm Four Play (50% wool, 50% silk), color SW 4P (?)
Cast on: 18 March 2007
Cast off: 17 April 2007

(less than one month, people! That's a record for me.)

OH! And I can't forget to show y'all what's growing in my garden . . . we planted a ton of stuff in that poor bare flowerbed in front of the house, and most of it is blooming. Here's a sampling . . .

Verbena

Salvia

Moss Rose -- I think this is also known as Portulaca

and of course, a Texas Bluebonnet

I planted the snapdragons last spring, and they survived winter and look a ton better this year!

We've also got some plant life going on in the backyard! Some of the new baby seedlings were lost to our freak late freeze/frost a couple weeks ago, but some stuff survived.

Hub's trying to grow a Venus Flytrap, and it's about to flower (I had no idea they grew flowers):

AND, we have our first ever bean flower . . . I don't think I've ever seen a flower on a bean plant, and they really are pretty! Hope we have some beans soon.

To sum up: Kate Gilbert + Brooks Farm = very fast knitting. Flowers are pretty. Bean plants and weird insect-eating plants have flowers! Maryland! Maryland! Maryland Sheep and Wool!

Sigh.

I heard on my way to work this morning that Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. died yesterday.

It is a sad day in the world of modern American literature . . .

Growing things, and finished knitted things!

note: for those of you who came only for the knitting content, scroll down, it's there!

Well! Spring has most definitely sprung here in North Texas . . . and with it comes itchy gardening fingers! The last few weekends have been filled with digging in the dirt, setting up raised beds for veggies, planting flowers, and liberal application of the nail brush to get the mud out from under my nails (will I ever learn to wear gloves while I dig? probably not). Also, I've been trying to get into the habit of a daily walk-through to see what's blooming, what's getting eaten by bugs, and what weeds need pulling.

Today, I found this -- our first rose of the year!

And there's another one ready to bloom right behind it (literally)

I have no idea what kind of rose this is -- it was here when we moved in -- but it smells lovely. I've been watching for the first bloom, and today when I walked outside, I could smell it all the way across the yard! Today's count was 22 buds at different stages of development.

We're also growing veggies 'round here, and look what I saw today on one of our zucchini plants!

It may be hard to see, but there's a tiny flower bud getting started! I wonder how long before we get some zucchinis . . .

We can't forget the hosta (he has generated a lot of interest; more than I ever expected) . . .

Hosta Watch 2007 -- it's getting bigger and bigger!

Hub and I also planted a bunch of wee veggie seedlings in a raised bed on Sunday (we mixed the dirt ourselves from compost and peat and vermiculite!), but they are tiny and sad looking right now, so I'll wait to show them off. If you must, imagine a box of dirt with some tiny green spots here and there. I'm really hoping they survive and grow.

Now for the knitting

I've also been hard at work with something else lately . . . finishing Samus! Yep, you read that right . . . after a year (or more?), Samus is finally done. WOOT!

the color is waaay off -- it's not really this bright; think more pumpkiny

I didn't realize until I was cropping the picture how wonky it looks . . . but if you squint your eyes, it almost looks like it's dancing.

Specs:
Pattern: Samus
Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes (Color: Pumpkin) -- I'll have to figure out how many skeins
Needles: Denise Interchangeable size US6
Modifications: none! this pattern is really well-written and easy to follow.
Comments: when I gave it a bath, the color bled quite a bit -- enough to stain my blocking towels. If I were to do a multi-color item in this yarn, I would probably wash a striped swatch to make sure the colors didn't bleed into each other. Also, I was a little worried that the yarn would knit up scratchy, but once it was washed, it got pretty darn soft! AND, I'm still not entirely happy with the way the sleeves are seamed to the armholes, but I completely think it's due to Knitter Error. And after 7 tries to set in the first sleeve, I'm really just happy they are attached.

I brought Samus to lunch with my grrlz on Saturday and showed it off pre-block; they oohed and aahed appropriately -- it fits really well, I think! I'm seriously considering not putting a zipper in it, since I will probably wear it open most of the time anyway (Hello, I live in Texas!?). But I will sew in a ribbon band on the backside of the front opening to stabilize it.

Next up: my second "big" project for 2007, in which a genius designer and the nicest yarn in the world collide.