Ravelry Rocks!

If you don't know, you should know about Ravelry. Google it or go to ravelry.com to find out more! I received 3 skeins of yarn, l-o-n-g discontinued that I needed to complete a sweater that I'm knitting for my grandsons birthday. First of all, I thank God for having found the one remaining tattered ball band with all of the identifying info on it. (It was wadded up in the bottom of a plastic bag filled with trash in my creative area waiting to be thrown away, God only knows why I was compelled to go through the trash, I had given up on finding this ball band!) I then went online and googled the yarn, nothing. Ebay - nothing. I searched Ravelry for yarns listed in members' stash and there it was. I then located the 3 skeins of the yarn in the right color, owned by someone that was willing to sell or trade it. I messaged her, she responded and today, my DH brought it in and presented it to me. It couldn't have come at a better time. I was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, and was wishing I could move to Australia, where it is summer now. I was hating the DMV in California, I was having a having-to-deal-with-my-ex-husband-so-I-can-see-my-grandson-that-I-haven't-seen-in-two-years-crisis, I have a case of the I'm-tired-of-the-snow-and-cold-cabin-fever-recovering-from-knee-replacement-surgery-blues, and....enough already! The yarn worked! D.D.

Cashmere Cookie's

I love knitting, I love cashmere and I love socks so needless to say, I love knitting cashmere socks! There is something luxurious about having hand knitted cashmere coddled feet. As a member of Ravelry, I was recently introduced to the knit designer Cookie A. who it seems is best known for her exquisite sock designs. I googled her and found several of her patterns on the internet for free! I coveted those socks and realized that I just had to have some, preferably in cashmere. So, I've joined a KAL (Knit Along) to make myself a pair of hot-pink, feminine, lacy, cashmere Cookie A. socks. (Actually, I'll be making all of the socks in her soon to be released book Sock Innovation: Knitting Techniques & Patterns for One-of-a-Kind Socks with this KAL.)


I went to the stash and pulled out some hot pink cashmere sock yarn, printed out Cookie A's "Baudelaire" pattern, and cast on my first of what I have no doubt will be many Cashmere Cookies. These cashmere confections are knit from the toe up, beginning with what is known as a figure eight cast on. Now, I have been knitting since I was twelve years old when Mrs. Wilson, who lived across the street and smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day, taught me how. It would take several washings to get the smoke stench out of my project, my hair, my clothes and my nostrils but it was worth every eye-watering moment, every lung-searing breath I took to learn how. I teach knitting, I have subscribed to various knitting magazines over the years, and I even have June Hiatt's Principles of Knitting that I paid way too much for several years ago, and I had never heard of a figure eight cast on. Fortunately, there was a tutorial at the www.knitty.com website. After I got past the frustration that sometimes comes when I'm learning a new technique in an area that I consider myself to be somewhat expert at, I actually saw the benefit of this cast on - no grafting at the toe which will make for an extremely comfortable seamless fit! Love it!

The idea that a couple of hundred knitters from diverse backgrounds, many nations, all ages, and both sexes are celebrating connectedness, comfort, and Cookie A.'s creativity appeals to me. I will wear these socks and remember that I am not alone in my love for fiber, beauty, and the art of well crafted handmade socks!

Be Blessed, Cookie A. and bless my little cashmere socks!

D.D.

EZ's ASJ

I'm knitting Elizabeth Zimmermann's Adult Surprise Jacket for myself with some really fabulous yarn that I've had since Methuselah was a baby. (Okay, I'm exaggerating I've probably only had the yarn in my stash for 10 years.) But the Lane Borgosesia "Bijou" yarn is discontinued and it's one of the first not cheap acrylic yarns that I bought. I probably hadn't knitted anything with it because my perfectionism got in the way, I didn't want to make a mistake in my choice of projects for this really good yarn, nor did I want to risk knitting something that didn't fit, would become dated, _______ fill in the blank with any number of other great perfectionist reasons for not starting a project.

Anyway, I'll be casting on today, after I finish making my calculations. I started an ASJ group on Ravelry yesterday for very selfish reasons: I need the support and I need the accountablity factor that having a group engenders. The number of people joining the group over the last 24 hours really surprised me. I have since, in response to various posts, gone through my knitting magazine piles and actually gotten some really great information that I'm finding useful and that I'm delighted to be able to share with others.

I found some directions for creating a hood on the BSJ which I think I'll adapt to the ASJ (Knitter's Magazine Winter 1999). I found a pattern that actually provides directions for the ASJ for sizes small through xxlarge, complete with yarn amounts, needle sizes, gauge, and a color changes chart (Knitter's Magazine Fall 2000) and I also unearthed the ASJ pattern I bought from Schoolhouse Press several years ago after reading through EZ's book "Knitting Workshop" which I retrieved from my bookshelf and dusted off. My penchant for pattern books and magazines is definitely paying off!

I also am going to use some other stashed yarn, "Toskana" by GGH, to make the ASJ. This yarn was in a close-out bin at a LYS that went out of business a couple of years ago. The colors compliment the "Bijou" really well and I like the spongy almost terrycloth like texture of the "Toskana". I'm praying that someone will have 3 or 4 balls of the "Toskana"color number 3, sort of a ruby read that they're willing to sell or trade. I'll post y request on Ravelry and see what happens!

That's all for now. Be Blessed.
D.D.