Knit and Plenty

Yarned and Dangerous

Have you seen this woman?

Last scene around 8 p.m. in West Hartford, CT. in the company of five other suspected crazed fiber fanatics leaving the Sit N' Knit after a rampage which left the owner, her husband, a store manager and several innocent by-knitters unharmed but in a state of shock. The incident occurred at 6:30 p.m. when the six entered the store and began wildly pillaging through yarn bins, stuffing bags with everything they could get their hands on. According to one witness, the culprits seemed to be "on something", noting, "They were even fighting among themselves over certain sport weights." At one point, several of the women demanded the owner go to the basement to find errant skeins. The raid lasted for an hour and a half before the suspects left the scene with massive amounts of worsted wools, silks and several valuable notions.

Working with a sketch artist, witnesses described the ringleader as having curly blonde hair and being rather "drawn". Using the alias Purl Needlemeyer, she was last seen wearing a retro black and pink shirt and a carrying two sharp weapons. She is to be considered yarned and dangerous.

The group, now recognized to be The Close Knit Gang, is made up of other known offenders: "The Cashmere Kid," currently wanted in connection with the Shawl Pin caper; "The Boot", "The Double Pointed Accountant", "Two Sticks McGinnity", and "Jenny Bag 'o Wool" also known as "The Bag Seller."

Anyone with information leading to their capture and conviction should contact officials immediately.

Hooray for Yarnold!

Today marks a huge victory -(with our children and our children's children as the winners) - for environmental protection as California's Governator signed into law a bill that will reduce emission of green house gases. Truthfully, Arnie's election was a bit too Hollywood/Reaganesque for my taste- and I was grateful (and hopeful) that he had a strong democratic wife in his corner, in his bed, and in his ear. So, I applaud him for making this bold move. I hope other states will follow suit.

After all, if the temperature of the planet continues to rise, we can forget about knitting sweaters and hats and gloves and scarves and heavy socks.  We'd be doomed to lacy shawls and such, and I'd have to lay down the sticks for good.

The MisFits, a fitting flick.

My KnitFlix Swap partner received the package I sent her, so I thought I'd share it with you, too.

Jennie from Texas told me that she liked Monroe and Gable, Westerns and sprawling epics, strawberry licorice and alpaca yarn.

So, what could be a better fit than The MisFits. (No, I am not talking about all my mis-gauged projects, although that, too, is rather fitting.) The Misfits is a John Houston Western epic with Monroe and Gables. It would be the last film for both Hollywood icons. I also chose a superfine Alpaca in a denim-color called Cowboy Blue - perfect for some cowboy boot-slippers, and since the movie is about wild horses from Nevada being captured to become dogfood, I packed up a number of appropriate treats: strawberry Cowtails, gold mine gum nuggets and chocolate coins, and candy that actually comes looking like dogfood in a dogfood bowl. (Get out!!)

Keep your eye on CraftLilly's blog for her posting of the winner of the KnitFlix contest. She's also asked me to help judge the other entries and I'm contributing a GKT Kit for the winner. These swaps really are a lot of fun.

Maybe I'll knit up some matching cuffs.

Saturday morning, my Close Knit Friends all showed up for a morning of knitting. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be joining them. I was on my way to Stanford, New York - about 2++ hours from my home to spring both Bill and my car from the lock-up. You see, he borrowed my Audi to drive to a baseball weekend with the guys, and although I warned him that the car goes faster than you think, he got pulled over for going 70 in a 55 mph zone. Mind you, it was 6 a.m and there was no one else on the Taconic. No one, that is, except for Bill... and State Trooper Stekl.

"License and registration, please. Please stay in the vehicle."

What happened next is that the kind officer ran Bill's license against the NY database, and it came up that he had (INADVERTENTLY) not paid a ticket from 2000. Well, out came the handcuffs and the drug-sniffing very large German Shepherd to do a once around the car - and off they went to the State Barracks and off my car went on a flat bed to the car pokey. Next events: phone call to me, me in car, tick-tock, 2 hours, pay fine, wait to get the car, tick tock, arrive home. Oh, yes, we did have a lovely little lunch at a place so aptly named The Happy Days Cafe.

Needless to say, a good time was had by all. And it inspired me to start a new sweater:

It's Movie Knit!!

I had read about Secret Pals and Yarn swaps but I'd never jumped into one, until I read about a cleverly crafted one called KNITFlix, the brainchild of Jen over at CraftLilly. Being a film-o-phile, I couldn't resist the idea of swap partners exchanging information about their taste in films, fiber and food and then each sending the other all the goodies for a special Knit at the Movies. I posted my package to my partner yesterday, so I won't ruin her surprise by posting the picture of what I sent. BUT wait until you see what I received from her. Two patterns, two kinds of yarn,  popcorn AND raisinets. And I'm not sure what in my profile gave away my secret that I have a thing for Little Women, but me and Susan Sarandon, Winona Roder, Kirsten Dunst and Claire Danes are going to have a night and knit to remember. Thanks, Jen.

If you like films and fiber, too, Jen's got another idea brewing: a Knit-along called FiberFlix - knitters sharing thoughts about flicks and what's on the sticks. Looks like fun to me.

Cast on. Tune in.

Only a knitter could get as excited as I am about the Fall TV schedule. Actually, I've gone from giddy to excited to downright anxious about all the stuff I want to watch.

Last year's returning favorites: NIP/TUCK, House, Boston Legal, Top Model, Lost, Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, ER, The Office, Desperate Housewives, Without a Trace. Not to mention lots of L & O and CSI's. Plus I have to finish Runway and Celebrity Duets.

The jury is still out on some of the new shows that interest me:  Studio 60, Standoff, Smith, Shark, Jericho, Kidnapped. Am I missing anything?

And I'm relieved that 24 and Medium don't start until January. And thank goodness I "tivo" everything, so I am spared watching zillions of commercials.

Boy, its  good thing I love to knit, or I'd have to cut off my snacking hands!

Stay tuned!

All the news that knit to print.

I'm so excited to report that the GKT Kit has gotten rave reviews in the latest issue of Yarn Market News, the leading industry publication for retail knitting stores. How cool is that??

I met Karin Strom, the editor, while at the CGOA show in King of Prussia - which was definitely the highlight of the weekend!

While the magazine is only available to retailers, it looks like you can sign up for their great E-newsletter with all the latest scoop that your LYS is privvy to. (Of course, you'll need to call yourself a "professional crafter" but that is what you are, isn't it??)

More Knit and Tell

A few of my Close Knit Friends got together at my house on Saturday morning to engage in a totally knit-share mania. We just can't talk fast enough to share our knitting trials and tribs, show our WIPs and dream of future knitting adventures. Jennifer brought her new collection of Grafton needles. These are incredible works of art; turned and polished from all sorts of amazing composite woods.

Lindsey shared a project that she ordered from Knit Pix. A knitted purse that is made from 8 different colors, in 8 different patterns. The perfect project for those of us that bore easily.

Jo Ann joined us for the first time. She's an incredible knitter. Knowing her passion for knitting, Guess what her boy scout troop bought her as a gift??

Susan was a real trooper and showed up with her right leg in this giant boot, having suffered a pretty serious sprain earlier in the week.  Heal fast, Suz!

Everybody needs a belt now and then.

I needed a small project that i could throw in my purse, and since I haven't taken on sock-knitting (yet), my choice was either another coffee cozy, or a belt. Lindsey made a really nice one from Noro Daria, which is a cool cord-like cotton rayon. The pattern was a simple garter stitch for 5 rows and then a wrapping row which gives you that long loopy effect. I used a whole skein which made it a little too long. I should have stopped to measure. Mine has a "crazy fuscia vintage buckle) fa la la la la - la la la la.

And in related news, we're also glad to hear that Whitney is finally leaving the abusive husband. Nobody needs those kinds of belts.

The 50 Yarn Line

For the many fans of the Gridiron, last Sunday marked the beginning of the 2006-2007 football season, and its hilarious that, as obsessed as I am with a hobby, I can't fathom how anybody can spend so much time with a hobby. Of course, with knitting, you are actually doing something not watching someone else do it, and you end up with something when its all over. But perhaps its time to focus on the similarities. After all, there's nothing like kicking off a new project and tackling a difficult pattern. Frequently, there will be a two point conversion from straight needles to circulars, or even the need to go for the extra point (the cable needle.)  Certainly there have been times that I've made such forward progress that a sweater will go from a half back to a full back, without any clipping. And in the end, if you are rushing and not blocking - you risk ending up with a tight end.

So, maybe the thing for me to do is to picture Steven Jackson running down the field with a free skein of Lobster Pot Cashmere under his arm. Believe me, there'd probably be a little unnecessary roughness.

PS : I guess if we're going to get behind a team, it should be The Rams. Their cheerleaders are even called Embraceable Ewes!