Moth Heaven

Some Days Are Shorter Than Others

The pattern for PS136 in Poetry in Stitches is about four printed pages long. Two of those pages are charts, and there's a photo of the sweater that also takes up some space. So I should properly say that the pattern for PS136 takes up about one and three quarters pages.

Now, if time and space were fair, and the relationship of one to the other were a reliable indicator, you would think, having knit this sweater and covered the ground of 95% of that part of the pattern, that I would be able to wrap this baby up in a few hours, or even (given the intrusion of such things as sleep, magazine production and uh, children) a week.

But it's been ages since I cast off the second sleeve and started the section of the pattern that Solveig Hisdal quaintly calls "Finishing". Progress is sloooooowwwwww, and steeking, seaming, lashing down the facings, steeking, picking up and knitting of button and neck bands, and the tacking together of button holes has taken me ages.

So three sentences turn out to mean about a month's worth of work. Give or take a winter issue of Twist. But I'm almost there. Almost. Which could mean, given the current time space relationship, about a year.

Hallowe'en 2008: Cretaceous Edition

It's time for my annual Hallowe'en costume post, which is a residual effect of my having once devoted as much time to the sewing machine as I do now to the needles. This year, The Boy requested a dinosaur. And not just any "dinosaur" but a particular species. A Suchomimus.

The Boy tells me the name Suchomimus means "crocodile mimic". He's pretty sure it's latin. It's from the early Cretaceous period for those of you keeping track, 115 MYA. The Boy's absolute favorite dinosaur is T. rex, but he chose Sucho because he feels it's a dinosaur that just doesn't get enough play in the world. So this was his personal public relations campaign to help increase Suchomimus' visibility.

So the blog is put to use to further his goal. It would be cute if it didn't make me wish he had more friends.

This Made My Day

I hope it will make yours. 4 minutes.

Want more? Here's the website.
Peace, out.

Rhinebeck 2008, part the second

Still catching my breath after the fair . . .

The best thing about having knit pals who write books is that every once in a while you can catch them at their signings, like I did during Amy and Jillian's moment of rest at the Carolina Homespun booth.

If ever you doubt that Knitty Amy is not a bundle of fun . . .

Or that she and Jillian don't have a blast hanging out together . . .

Doesn't this just make you want to jump in their luggage?

Scout was there too, but I didn't get a picture. Nor did I photograph Franklin or Sean or Stephen (who swagged me)or Kay and Ann, or Margene or really any one else I saw all too briefly but who you already know was there, and if you are reading this you very well may be one of them. I have few photos to prove I spoke to many people, but such is the whirlwind of Rhinebeck.

I did buy one thing. One. Astonishing I know, but it's true. 2600 yards of this colour of Briar Rose Legend. What it will be? no idea, but it will occupy a prize position in the stash until that is revealed.

Rhinebeck 2008, part the first

Hard on the heels of SOAR, I threw sweaters and boots and knitting back into the trusty hockey duffel and drove west again, this time to Rhinebeck. The drive was the first time in a week I had a chance to gather my thoughts, and I realized somewhere around Danbury CT that I had neglected to pack things like underwear and toothpaste. Lucky for me Target is handy to Highway 84 right about there.

I missed last year's festival, so I was anxious to connect, if only to say hi, to familiar faces, and hug friends. It amuses me greatly that I sometimes have to drive to New York to see the Boston Girls.

Helen had unblocked but still lovely lace with her.

And Sherry, the NETA Roving Reporter, had on a Kauni creation of her own design.

Obligatory Sheep Shot

Obligatory Yarn Porn (at Hope Spinnery)

It's a happy day. In this moment of cultural turmoil, it's nice to see everyone with such enormous smiles. I didn't see a glum face all day, except maybe on a long-suffering toddler or two.
That's what the FUN SLIDE is for though, eh?

And you know that prevailing notion about how people resemble their dogs?