Catching up with TNK

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Gosh, it's been almost a week since I've last blogged. Not an intentional departure, I just had a few extra things on my calendar this week and the blogging got subsequently pushed back to the weekend. But, better late than never, right? Or, have I lost everyone, in my absence? Serves me right, I guess....

And, if you've been eager to keep up with the latest antics of the Tuesday Night Knitters, I'm sure you've already read Jane's or Robin's accounts of the evening. It's brutal when three bloggers attend the same knit night -- we're like knitting paparazzi, pushing each other aside to get the good shots of our celebrity knitters and their glamorous FOs or WIPs. And since Jane and Robin H. have both scooped me, I haven't felt a particular urgency to post my version of the evening. But post it I will, if only for consistency's sake on my own blog.

Speaking of Robin H., who lives two hours away in the bustling metropolis of Buffalo Junction, near Clarksville, (did Virginia ever even have buffalos, and were there really so many that they required a junction?), I met Robin and her son Brian for dinner at our new favorite Richmond restaurant, Bookbinder's Grill, which is conveniently located just across the street from the Barnes & Noble where the group knits.

For dinner I ordered the grilled chicken with garlic & mushrooms (same as last time), and had the clam chowder and wedge salad as appetizers. I love their wedge salad - yum! Robin & Brian were brave enough to try the "world famous" snapping-turtle soup, and Robin let me taste hers. My first, ever, taste of turtle soup -- it's pretty much like a thick beef gravy. I kept expecting to see a little baby turtle paddling in the bowl for dear life. Or perhaps a turtle shell floating in the soup. There was neither, thank God. The waiter does bring a little decanter of sherry, and you pour some in the soup, which gives it a little tang. Different. I probably wouldn't order it on my own. Not bad, just not fantastic, in my opinion. My clam chowder was okay -- again, not fantastic. I'm a soup connoisseur, so all soups are measured against some of the best I've had. And most recently, the best I've had was that she-crab soup at the Lone Cedar, when we were down at the beach. I could live on that stuff.

But this is a knitting blog, not a soup blog, so I will now move on to more topical subjects.

Here's Robin, after we waddled away from the dinner table and on over to Barnes & Noble:

Writing up sales - cha-ching!
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Robin brought her soaps, oils & body butters to fulfill some orders from group members. I'm not much of a fragrance person, as most really bother my allergies, but I do love anything that smells lemony, (why is it impossible to find a lemon-scented air freshener anymore?). I bought some soap, body butter and after-shower spray-on oil/lotion. Verrrrrry lemony, which makes me so happy. I grow lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla) in my garden every year, because it is the lemon-iest smelling herb you'll ever smell. It makes my mouth water, it's so lemony, and I am constantly picking leaves from it and rubbing them and then inhaling the released fragrance as deeply as I possibly can. Robin's lemon-scented products are just as lemony as my lemon verbena, so, yum! But, of course, she sells items with many other fragrances, too. She has a separate website for those items, if you're interested.

Here's the rest of the gang, at knit night:

Paparazzo Jane, Cathy, Sherry Y., and Mary Jane
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Tami, Deb, Norma, Sherry R.
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Susan and Tami
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Here's Mary Jane holding up Renny's completed feather-and-fan bridal shawl for her daughter's wedding, from the book Folk Shawls, (which I own, yee-ha!, thanks to Jane!). Isn't it beautiful?

Renny, one of several professional photographers in our knitting group,
becomes incredibly shy when forced to be in front of the camera.
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Renny is now working on a seed-stitch cardigan. Here's Patsy swooning at the thought of all that seed stitch, as Renny shares her progress:

Jo, Rita, Renny, Patsy
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But will you take a look at this seed stitch? This is a Shaefer mercerized cotton in a hand-painted colorway, and the seed stitch is the perfect vehicle to showcase those colors:

Gorgeous!
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Here's Linda, holding a Fuzzy Feet slipper she knit awhile ago, but brought to show Cathy how they look knitted up:

Warm!
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Deb finished the baby blanket for (?) -- I'm sorry Deb, I forget who you said this was for -- your son and his wife, who are expecting, maybe? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, it's adorable!

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Another victim of the Noro virus, Rita is working on adding the ruffled edge to her Sursa Shawl:

I love the Silk Garden colorway she used here.
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And Issy continues to plug along on her Civil War shawl:

It's now as big as a big shower cap.
I believe she was up to row 68 when this picture was taken.
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Amy is working on her socks knit with the Socks That Rock in "Chanticleer" that she won from my blog contest back in October. Doesn't that yarn stripe wonderfully?:

Here's a closer shot of the sock -- isn't that a pretty pattern? I want to say it's from the Fall or Winter issue of Interweave -- Amy, correct me if I'm wrong.

Love cables!
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A fun time as usual, with my knittin' peeps! Tomorrow, I'll share pictures from another knitting group gathering I attended on Wednesday night. Stay tuned!

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Tuesday Night Knitters play Santa

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Last night was the official hand-off of all of the Tuesday Night Knitters' knitted Christmas gifts for the Barnes & Noble employees that graciously put up with us all year long. I think the final count of hats, scarves and fingerless gloves was something like 25, and Issy & Jane kindly wrapped them, and then put them in two giant Santa bags to give to the B&N manager who will be distributing them to the full-timers. Here she is receiving our good will:


Before Issy & Jane wrapped the gifts, Jane was good enough to photograph almost everything that we knitted up and post them on her blog here and here. I think she got a picture of everything except one last-minute hat that Amy whipped up and brought last night. It was incredibly cute, but, as usual, I fell down on the job and didn't get a picture of it. (Someone needs to fire me!) I'm hoping that maybe in upcoming weeks we'll see various B&N employees wearing knitted items. That would give us all a little thrill, I think.

Here's a few more pictures of last night's knit night:

Issy, Linda, Norma, Jo, Christina & Amy
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Susan, Linda & Issy

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Here's Jo knitting an i-cord edging on a basket she'll be felting:

Love that hot pink!
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She gave us all a little tuturial on how to do that technique, which she'd just learned from Linda. Very cool! Jo should have a finished felted basket to share at an upcoming TNK meeting -- I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Christina & Norma
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Robin C. is knitting a pretty washcloth
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Sherry is knitting herself a Christmas wrap. Pretty yarn!
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Patsy & Joanna share a laugh
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Here's a beautiful sock Patsy finished -- she's currently working on the second:

That's Holly Spring Homespun yarn
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And me? I'm still knitting hats. Hats, hats, hats. Ho-hum. They don't make for exciting blog fodder, but I sure love knitting them. Speaking of which, it's time to get back to it. Later!

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Segues

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Odd weather 'round these parts. Here it is, December 1st, and we've had temperatures in the mid-70's the past few days. It's too warm for my winter preference, and not very conducive to good knitting mojo. It's also fairly humid and feels a little oppressive, so that when the neighbors run their gas-powered leaf blowers for two hours, the noxious exhaust fumes don't dissipate, but instead, stink up the neighborhood for the rest of the day, and make me feel slightly queasy. Bleh.

Got some very cool daytime moon pictures yesterday, though. Here's my favorite:

I love my superzoom!

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And speaking of the moon, as in Blue Moon Fiber Arts, (nice segue, huh?), here's the "Socks That Rock" yarn that I purchased as prizes for my blog contest:

Left to Right:

• 2 hanks, Roctober
• 1 hank, Chanticleer
• 1 hank, Love-in-Idleness (my favorite)

It was tempting to have all that yarny goodness in my possession -- I had a fleeting urge to throw it in a suitcase, buy a disguise, change my name and leave the country, never to be seen again. But I resisted that urge, and the fabulous yarn is now all in the hands of the rightful contest winners.

And speaking of contest winners, (heh! - segue #2), Amy is knitting up her Chanticleer into a very beautiful sock:

Love those stripes!
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That picture was taken this past Tuesday night, at TNK. And speaking of TNK, (segue #3!), I have a few more pictures to share of our lovely evening. We had a larger crowd than last week, and it's always nice to see folks who have been absent for a week or more.

Sheddy finished two, (count 'em -- two!) socks for her husband from some Austerman Step, (the yarn with Aloe Vera & Jojoba Oil):

Two! Two! Two socks, not one!
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If it makes you feel any better, Sheddy, the socks are not identical, so you can still feel like you knit two unique items. I love that they match but aren't perfectly identical, (sorta like Camper Twins). Sheddy says she has enough yarn to knit a third for herself, to add to her drawer of unmatched socks. Wouldn't that be a hoot?!

Sheddy also recently joined the Yarn of the Month club and after receiving her first package, knit these swatches:

swatches of various alpaca yarns

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I should have written down what yarn was used for each swatch, but I didn't. They're all fabulous, though -- it's alpaca, after all. (I've yet to meet an alpaca I didn't like!) I think my favorite swatch is the dark brown one, second from the left, which was Misti Alpaca, if I recall.

Here's Renny with a beautiful sweater she's knitting, (I already forgot the pattern name - doh!), and Issy and Amy:

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Here's a view from the other end of the table:

Patsy, Christina, Rita, Robin C., Sheddy, Renny

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Here's Deb, Judy, Jane, and a fourth knitter (whose name I didn't catch - shame on me!):

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Mary Jane stopped by for a little while. It's always nice when she comes to knit with us because she's such a fun lady and it amazes me that anyone who owns a yarn shop would want to hang out and knit with us after working a full 8-hour day around yarn and knitters. She must really love knitting! Check out the beautiful shawl she's wearing:

One of her shop's instructors knit that for her as a surprise. I believe it's called a Butterfly Shawl, and the back of it has two points, like butterfly wings. Very lovely.

Rita sat next to me and worked on this fun scarf for a friend:


It feels good to knit some bling now and then!

And speaking of knitting, (ha! segue #4!), I think I'll end this post and do a little bit of that....

Later!

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Quiet can be Quite Nice

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I'm not a big fan of the so-called "holiday" that falls on October 31st.

Other than it being the birthday of one of my oldest and dearest friends, I'd rather just ignore that day. I readily embrace the role of the Bah-Humbug All-Hallows-Eve Scrooge.

I dislike the evil imagery associated with the day, but more than that, I'm about fed up with the kids that have shown up at my door the past few years.

I live in the city, in a neighborhood with few children and no sidewalks, so the kids that do ring my doorbell are driven to my block from other 'hoods in a car that idles on the corner -- the parents don't even bother to get out and escort their kids to the door.

And the kids. Egads, the kids. They're teenagers -- too damn old to be doing this. They don't even wear costumes. They don't say "trick-or-treat" -- they ring the doorbell and just stand there with a look of entitlement on their faces. And they definitely don't say "thank you" afterwards. When you offer them your bowl of candy, they try to scoop as much as possible with both hands, or else dig through it looking for hidden treasures you don't have. At least if their parents were standing nearby, there might be hope of better behavior.

The final reason I don't love the trick-or-treaters is that the constantly-ringing doorbell is enough to send my two neurotic, anti-social, stranger-fearing cats completely over the edge. With every ding-dong, they wake up from a dead sleep and race like a bats-out-of-hell (how holiday-appropriate) to my bedroom to hide under the bed or in the closet. After a quiet 20 minutes, they'll tiptoe out, slowly relax, go back to sleep, and then start the mad scramble all over again at the next ding-dong. They even freak when they hear a doorbell on television, so we're not fans of the Domino's Pizza commercials.

I am officially crotchety and old. Soon I'll be standing on my porch waving a shotgun and yelling, "you damn kids get off my property!" I suppose every neighborhood requires a grouchy spinster-lady whom the kids all think is a witch. Ironic, since pointy-hatted, black-magic women are part of that undesirable imagery mentioned earlier.

So, anyway, I was thrilled to have a great reason to be out of the house last night. But then it dawned on me -- I don't usuallly leave for TNK until about 6:45, and kids start showing up at 5:30. So, I still had to go out and buy candy and have it ready on the off-chance that kids might show up. Arggh!

Every year I vacillate on what type of candy to buy. Do I buy candy I love, (anything dark chocolate, perhaps with a minty, gooey caramel or cookie center), and therefore reap the rewards of the leftovers? Or do I buy candy I hate, so that I don't eat all the leftovers? This was a candy-I-hate year -- Strawberry Twizzlers. Yuck. So I'm now the proud owner of boatload of leftover Twizzlers stinking up the house. That artificial strawberry smell is downright nauseating.

At 6:15 I got a group of four kids who were just as bad as previous years. I couldn't wait for them to get off my porch and back into that idling car on the corner. And after they left, I decided I'd had enough of the rude little brats, grabbed my knitting and left early for TNK.

But enough of the Halloween-hating rant and on to more pleasant topics.

There were just five of us at TNK last night -- myself, Deb, Sheddy, Rita, and Norma.

Deb, Sheddy, Rita
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I was not fast enough on my feet (when am I ever?) to capture Norma photographically before she left to have coffee with a friend, (but that doesn't mean I don't love you, Norma!) It was good to see her -- she had been absent from our last couple of knit nights.

Although our numbers were small, it was really a nice, comfortable, intimate group and I enjoyed our quiet time together. Sheddy shared pictures of her granddaughter modeling the snowman hat Sheddy knit for her -- so cute! She felted the "carrot" nose a little, which I think is a brilliant way to get it to stay pointy and not be droopy. I want to knit one of these hats! The pattern is Jane's design, and there's an action shot of Jane wearing it here.

Jane would like to make that pattern free and available on her blog, but isn't quite sure how to do so. Any TypePad users know if one can upload to and host MS Word or pdf files on TypePad? If so, please leave her a comment with instructions. The real question might be - where is there a good, free file-hosting website that's not likely to disappear in six months? This site looks somewhat promising, but after Googling "free file hosting", there appear to be dozens of others, so, who really knows?

We missed Jane and everyone else who stayed home last night, but it was good Jane didn't come, as her hubby had quite a scare and needed her close to home. So glad he wasn't hurt!

Sheddy gave me a printed photo of the Think Pink scarf she knit while out of town, so I scanned it for everyone's benefit:

The paper got a little rumpled in my knitting bag - sorry Sheddy!
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And speaking of Think Pink scarves, Norma requested that I show pictures of some of the other contestants' entries. I didn't get a digital image from everyone, but a few of the folks did put them on their blogs, so I will link to them, (or to pictures on my own blog):

• Amy Kane
• Zonda Belmont
• Anne Margaret White
  
• Deb Abresch
• Gina Davis
  
• Katie
• Robin Hasty
• Susan Chang

Hey -- look what Sheddy brought me, just 'cuz:

Oh, goody -- a surprise!
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And look what was inside:

Fizzy Bath Bomb from Soak, inside a Sheddy-knit washcloth
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Thanks so much, Sheddy! I love it! Love the cinnamon-y smell of the bath bomb, and I especially love the hand-knit washcloth! This may be the first hand-knit item I've ever received. (My grandma crocheted me things, but I can't remember if she ever gave me hand-knits). I really love washcloths, so, Yippee!, and thank you!

And speaking of surprises, I just found out I won Robin F.'s blog contest in honor of her 1-year blogiversary. Whoo hoo! I love surprises! Thanks, Robin!

Once again proving my point that life is made better through knitting... :-)

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Think Pink Contest Winners!

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Thanks, once again, to everyone who got involved with the Think Pink Challenge, and to those who responded to my blog contest in support of it.

The challenge goes on, but the contest is over. I have drawn names and winners have been identified.

The contest winners are as follows:

First Place:

• Allison Gonzalez
• Amy Kane
• Margo Lynn
• Sheddy Reese
• Zonda Belmont

Each first place winner wins one skein of their choice of Blue Moon Fiber Arts' "Socks That Rock", or another comparably-priced yarn of their choice.

I also felt like there ought to be an additional winner's category for those whose names weren't drawn to win the yarn, but who still made the effort to contribute to this cause. Therefore, I give you the following runner-up winners:


Honorable Mention:

• Anne Margaret White
  
• Deb Abresch
• Gina Davis
  
• Katie (Mary Jane's knitting friend)
• Patsy Barr
• Robin Hasty
• Susan Chang

Each honorable mention winnner wins one pattern of their choice from Morehouse Merino.


I will be contacting each winner to work out the finer details of prize distribution.

Congratulations, everyone!

And once again, thank you!

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Think Pink Contest drawing soon!

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I'd like to extend a heartfelt "Thank You!" to everyone who contributed a knitted, crocheted or woven scarf to the Think Pink Challenge, and especially to those who rose to the last minute challenge of my blog contest. If you still have the urge to knit a pink scarf or turn in one you've only just finished, fear not -- (although they won't qualify for my contest), Sydney is still accepting them and will continue to do so, as she's decided to make this an ongoing project. She's also considering the creation of a 2007 calendar with pictures of some of the scarves sent in for this effort. If you'd be interested in such a calendar, please stop by her Think Pink blog and let her know.

Meanwhile, I am actively communicating with Syd to confirm her receipt of the scarves that will qualify for my contest's drawing. If you have not emailed me before now to indicate your qualifying entry in the contest, please do so, (maryklarson[At]comcast[d0t]net), by noon EST tomorrow, Sunday, October 22nd, as I'll be holding the drawing early next week -- hopefully on Monday.

Stay tuned to find out the winners of free yarn!

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Drink Pink!

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Last night some of our knitting group got together for dinner and drinks at Bottega Bistro, prior to meeting at our usual knitting location, (Barnes & Noble, Huguenot Rd.), to celebrate several occasions. Both Jane and Tammi have sons who work at that restaurant, which is reason enough to go eat there. Additionally, Tammi's son Jonathan had a brainstorm about a month ago and decided to come up with three specialty pink drinks in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) month. (We all then felt compelled to go there and "drink for charity", dontcha know.)... ;-)

This past Sunday was Issy's birthday, also reason enough for a celebration. And last, but not least, a knitting group member who recently had a lumpectomy was told that she does not have breast cancer. Whoo hoo! Let's celebrate!

Here's our group, with pink drinks all around:

Bring on the appetizers!
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Robin H., Issy and Deb
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Nancy, Patsy and Norma
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Deb, Tammi and Jane
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Mothers and Sons -- Tammi & Jonathan; Jane & Charlie
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Happy Birthday, Issy!
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Later, at Barnes & Noble, look at what I spied:

Something in which to carry a pink drink, perhaps?
(These thermos' and other travel mugs can be purchased here.)
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Great minds think alike!
I wonder if they've been talking to Syd?

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And speaking of the Think Pink Challenge, several ladies in my knitting group responded to my call last week and have knit some pink scarves for the cause (and the contest!):

Knit by Mary Jane's friend Katie -- thanks Katie!
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Norma, Tammi and Deb.
Deb finished that pink scarf she's knitting and has already sent it off to Syd.
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And knitter-extraordinaire Amy,

who knit Kate Gilbert's Sunrise Circle Jacket this summer and won a blue ribbon at the State Fair for it, (w00t!), got busy last week working on a pink scarf of her own design:

That's a flying geese stitch pattern -- so cool! It sorta looks like the pink BCA ribbon.
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Here's the finished object:

And look at the fringe detail she came up with:

That's right -- pink BCA ribbons. Amy rocks!
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She actually sewed each and every one of those ribbons together like that. Isn't it amazing?
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Finally, in response to my blog contest I got an email from a woman, Joan Columbini, (I don't even know where she lives), with a picture of a boatload of pink scarves that she and her coworkers knit for the Think Pink Challenge. Isn't this amazing? I was blown away when I saw this:

Hmmm.... I think I like the pink one. ;-)

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Thanks so much, to everyone who has contributed thus far to this cause, or in any way shape or form to cancer treatment, prevention, cure or awareness. Your efforts are gratefully appreciated and humbly acknowledged here.

I lost my Aunt Donna, who was also my godmother, to breast cancer 15 years ago. My sister-in-law's mother has also recently been treated for it, and I have several other friends and coworkers who have dealt with it, so it's a cause that strikes close to home. Here's hoping that all these visions of pink will prompt more women to do their self-exams and get their mammograms.

Ladies -- your loved ones want to keep you around for as long as possible!

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