On the Sixth Day

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, we rested. We’re fine here, and many thanks to those of you who dropped me a line to see if I was one of the 65 000 Ontarians with their power out from the storm. I’m not, and we’ve got no troubles beyond a few downed tree branches. (Just wee ones.) I’m sitting here recovering, since it still feels like there are mere minutes between social engagements, and I’m knitting a scarf (quickly) to give as a gift when we go out tonight. I’m almost done.

Funkscarf301208

That’s two funky yarns from Blue Moon, one row of each. 10mm needles. Whoosh.

Twofunkyarn301208

Thanks for worrying about me, and I won’t point out that emailing me to see if my power is out is a little bit funny.

(Hint. Computers plug in.)

116 thoughts on “On the Sixth Day

  1. Awesome scarf. Glad you have lights. The only thing worse than no electricity is no water.

  2. Glad to hear that you are all okay! You do have a lot of social gatherings! Oh man…I would be going crazy by now. We had 4 and that was plenty for me. Have fun though! Love the scarf!!

  3. Yay i’m the first commenter. ๐Ÿ™‚ i just wanted to say thanks for knitting rules. With your help i finished my first sock and i didn’t even use a pattern. Ok so it didn’t turn out quite perfect but atleast it looks like a sock and almost fits perfectly. I just started the second sock yesterday woohoo. How many 23 year old makes can say that?!

  4. So glad to hear you have power there. I know many in the northeast were hit pretty hard these past couple of weeks.
    Thanks for another year of great stories. I finally decided to try socks this past October and since am on the second sock of my fifth pair. I think I am definitely hooked! And of course my stash has grown as well.
    Have a great new year Stephanie!

  5. Very nice scarf! I heard that things were a bit breezy the other day up there. Having electricity is a good thing. Have fun on this 6th day of Christmas!

  6. Being married to a man who watched television on a Walkman during power outages while my daughter and I played Monopoly by candlelight, I can totally relate to the urge to email to check on whether you have power!

  7. Just catching up after a week away. Thanks for the laughs and heart warming stories. They are exactly what I need after four days of remodeling for a new business. What I wouldn’t give to be just doing a bedroom instead of 2000 sq ft! My hands are so sore from pulling carpet from cement I cannot knit ๐Ÿ™

  8. Hey, that was my thought, too. One row of each? Speak to us, O Fiber Oracle! How is this accomplished? I’ll trade you a Kahlua cream cake for the chance to pick your brain… ๐Ÿ˜‰

  9. Enjoy your night out. Maybe one day, when our children are old enough, we will see the outside of the house after darkness…

  10. I can’t believe how addicted I’ve become to this blog. Three days passed and every day I thought where’s the #&@^%* blog post! Aaahhh, thanks for the fix ๐Ÿ™‚ Happy New Year!!

  11. That scarf is lookin’ good! Glad you’ve got power, whoever said “the only thing worse than no electricity is no water” was right (you don’t really wanna know).
    I’m betting on dpn’s for the 1 row each.
    Have fun!
    Nan

  12. A friend told me on Christmas that she has friends in New Hampshire, whose power was out for over a week. She said she got an email from her friend explaining that they weren’t getting their Christmas cards out before Christmas this year because of the power outage.
    I thought that was pretty funny.

  13. I have to start watching the news and just changing channels every time there’s one of those “baby monkey murdered by marauding bandits on Christmas morning” stories that turn my stomach so because I didn’t even know the power was out. I’ll assume my family is o.k. since calling them would be futile.

  14. Dang! I sure wish the party was at my house because I LOVE that scarf! Of course, if I thought the Harlot was coming here, I’d probably be curled up in a panicky ball ๐Ÿ™‚

  15. That is one seriously happy scarf– I love the colors.
    I think Nan has the answer– dpn’s.
    Enjoy your innumerable parties. I only have three more to go, all in the space of 24 hours (a dinner, a brunch, and an afternoon do).

  16. Glad you didn’t lose power like we did in NH. It’s a real eye-opener to how much we depend upon electricity in our lives. Happy New Year!

  17. Hi! I am glad to know you have light so you can knit and show us the seriously awesome colors you are crafting together. I was thinking I was the only one who liked to throw together multiple yarns and see what happened – it is nice to have philosophical backup for my latest knitting design frenzy. About ten yarns of various fibers and shapes, all in the blue violet family, knit two at a time, changing one at a time, in a ruana sort of thing. It will be a miracle if I can ever run in all the ends.
    See you next year (I love saying that!).

  18. Yup, computers plug in. Laptops can run on battery, but most networks have a machine that runs from a wall socket.
    I’m glad you are OK, and it is definitely funny to email someone if they are OK in this regard.

  19. It’s like asking someone if they are asleep… you get an answer if they aren’t ๐Ÿ™‚
    Got your 2009 calendar in my Christmas stocking – can’t wait to open it (my family said it is bad luck to open a calendar early)…geez..so it’s still in its cello wrapping ๐Ÿ™
    Forget champagne at midnight tomorrow, I’m opening my calendar! (well, maybe a little champagne…)

  20. Love the scarf! Any chance we could find out more about the yarns you used?
    Happy New Year!

  21. But you could be working on battery power! Or taking refuge at a coffee shop with wifi and electrical outlets! Yeah, I guess it’s a little funny. Happy 6th day.

  22. Heh. My folks lost power (along with ~300,000 others in their state) for six and a half days the week before Christmas. There was a story in their local paper about a guy from a few states over who went to his Home Depot, loaded up on generators, and drove to NH to sell them at a profit… by listing them on Craigslist. Awfully hard to read Craigslist if your electricity and internet are down!

  23. A while back we had a power outage here that covered most of the town for several hours. When the power first went out, my BIL wasn’t phased. Then he tried to turn on the computer and was completely confounded that it didn’t work. “You mean, we don’t even have internet?!?” Duh, no internet. No nothing that plugs in. He’s usually such a smart man.

  24. I don’t know much about computers but doesn’t a lap top with a battery still need to connect to a network which would need electrical power? Anyway – glad you’re not without power & lovely scarf – 10 mm needles – that sounds so big to a sock knitter who spends 95% of her knitting time using size 2.5 mm needles!

  25. One of our tech administrators in my district (teacher) once emailed us all to tell us our email was down.

  26. Heh heh… sounds like when I started my new job and my office, notorious for not being ready for new employees, had not set up my computer.
    My boss asked me, “Did you get my email about such and such?”
    And I responded, “On my Fisher Price Computer? No.”

  27. I’m glad to hear you and the family are okay — though I’m still worried about everyone who doesn’t have power, both in the US and Canada. And we just started winter!
    Meanwhile, thanks for all the wonderful stories in ’08, and looking forward to ’09. Yarnharlot rules! to quote a friend’s son.

  28. Individually, those are nice yarns, but put together they’re quite stunning. I love it when two strands dance so well together like that. (10mm? Wow, that’s like cast on and you’re done!)

  29. Now Rams, be nice, MAYBE she has one of those crank radios, we have two in our hourse since my DH and I sometimes have VERY different lisening taste…and yes, the power goes out here pretty often!

  30. oh, my bad, I just read the post, and you are totally right, superior snickering might be just a little much in this case!

  31. Being one of those people who thought that I could still check email during a power outage and, who was informed by a smart son that “mom, if the power goes out, your wireless connection is also gone since that plugs in”… along with the cordless phones.
    Nice scarf though. Doing last minute knitting is something I would do. Receivers are used to getting wet gifts or unwrapped gifts with the bodkin stuck in it since I was working on it.
    Hopefully your power will remain on for your event tonight.

  32. Swing needles?
    Happy New Year. Yeah, I realised at the last moment that Teh Internets No Go without electrickery. Hee. Fortunately it doesn’t happen often here amazingly! Glad the lights are still on. You sorted that Government of yours out yet?

  33. We have a UPS power supply. I have been able to access the internet and use the laptop.
    It is all where your priorities are…
    Do tell how to do just one row of each yarn, seems like the yarn you need next will always be at the wrong end of the scarf.

  34. And I have to point out that usually the wireless server plugs into something too….
    But really I must comment because I shared the posting of poor Joe stuck in a truck with my car obsessed 4.5 year old son. Since then, he has been daily re-enacting the event with his matchbox cars. teehee. Joe is infamous in the under 5 boy demographic here in Boston.
    Peace and joy for the new year to you and your loved ones.

  35. Please, what is the name for the colorway on the left, the one with the oranges?
    Happy New Year!

  36. Wow! I love that combination of contrasting yarns! And the colors are so awesome! I’m a newbie knitter and just stumbled upon this blog. It’s very inspiring!

  37. I live in Scarborough, my 50 ft pine tree blew over with the wind on Sunday afternoon and we still don’t have our hydro restored. However, my fantastic neighbours were out in full force with chainsaws and pots of coffee.
    We are fortunate in that we have a wood burning stove so our pipes don’t freeze and my neighbour let me run an extension cord over so I could plug in my freezer! Knitting by candlelight has been an adventure and I laughed myself silly when I saw all of the mistakes I made!
    To all of you without power, keep your chin up! We’re all in this together!

  38. Just an idea: You could always knit up a few extra scarves to have on hand in case you need a quick gift. You can just grab from the stash and go. I know, it sounds terribly funny to you, but I swear by this method.

  39. I must thank you for a couple of very entertaining days … I have spent my Christmas holidays reading my copies of Yarn Harlot and Free-Range Knitter [that you were kind enough to autograph at the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival] … The next time I am in the same place as you when you are signing books, I must have you re-autograph the Yarn Harlot on the page in the Archaeology article where you mention Lego bins … it has a special significance, given my parenting history … I nearly fell off the couch laughing. But now it is back to fiberish stuff: I have a cross-stitch sampler to finish by January 4 and a throw to knit by January 26.

  40. We were up at my parents in Bancroft when the power went out–one of the hardest hit areas (I heard it was more like 120 000 customers lost power). The computer is hooked to a back up battery (permanent installation), and it was the only thing to entertain us during the power outage! And of course, if you have a lap top, you would have some battery life, wouldn’t you?
    Very pretty scarf.

  41. Re: the computer needing power thing, here in the midwest US, we were without power for several days, listening to a radio via battery power, and they kept suggesting that people go online to check for the latest news on the outages and to find out where the local shelters are. (it was in the negative degrees that weekend, just absolutely freezing) Long story short, someone had to call in and inform the DJ of the impossibility of people without power being able to turn on their computers, let alone get internet. This guy, who’s known to be a bit of an idiot tries to cover his butt, makes a joke about how what he really meant was that he could get online for all of us to let us know that we didn’t have power!

  42. When my mom’s power went out from ice storms recently, I asked if she had any space heaters to use to keep warm……and she said sure, but she’d need the power to be on for them to work!!! DOH!!
    I blame it on Christmas brain.

  43. Sure, the laptop has a battery, but what about the router?
    We lost our power for 4 hours the other night, between 3 and 7 a.m. But we had our cell phones, so we called the power company to report it! Phones have browsers, too, yay.
    Happy new year! It surprises me that we’re already at the sixth day of Christmas, but that’s probably because we just had Christmas dinner on Sunday, day before yesterday. Snow delay.

  44. I lurv the scarf :O It’s gorgeous! Excuse my ignorance but is it in the round or something? How are you avoiding a ton of woven ends with only one row of each type? Sorry if there’s a very obvious answer to that question…I just got home and am beat!

  45. I’m still wondering if my apartment in Ann Arbor has power. I’m off visiting my parents, and have no clue what’s going on at my complex :0

  46. Glad to hear you’re all right. Just finished my very first sock, made from your basic sock recipe! Thanks!

  47. “One row of each? Speak to us, O Fiber Oracle! How is this accomplished? I’ll trade you a Kahlua cream cake for the chance to pick your brain… ;)”
    I’ll raise ya a GRAN MARNIER TRUFFLE….Oooppss, just ate it! YUMMERS!
    Very colourful scarf!

  48. I’m so glad to hear you have power! At least one can still knit even if the power is out … haha with lots of candles!
    And the scarf is to die for… i love the vibrant colors, simply lovely colorway.

  49. Love the scarf!!!! We here in Washington state have had TONS of snow, which we aren’t used to…. Luckily I haven’t been without power. Yea!!

  50. And if your power DID go out, you could always cross-current those VIBRANT ELECTRIC COLORS to your generator as a power source! (I love vibrant electric colors–I’m totally in love!)

  51. “Oh yes, I have to leave for a party in an hour, and I need a hostess gift; I’ll just whip something up.” Sure, easy… *for you* ๐Ÿ™‚ Happy New Year!

  52. Means of accessing internet… also plug in?
    Maybe just in my slightly-behind-the-times world.

  53. Laptops have batteries. And there is this new thing called a “dongle” that you can put into the USB port that will connect you to a wireless network. Or you can connect through a mobile phone that has internet connection and use it as a modem. Some ways to connect without using the a router that plugs in to the wall! (I live with a techy geek supreme)
    That scarf is yummeh!

  54. Beautiful scarf! But I’m on a stashbust! Not till tomorrow tho’! Does it count if you order the yarn now, before New Year, even if it doesn’t come til 2009?! Hmmmmmmmmmm. Off to Google Blue Moon.

  55. You don’t understand. If someone emails you to check on you and you email back, then they know you’re ok. (Even if you get a chuckle out of it.) If you don’t email back then they can start to worry. While it’s true that computers need power, there are a whole bunch of devices like some cell phones, PDA’s etc., that you can use to check and send email. Most run on batteries and quite a few of them don’t need a router. My DH is always checking his email when I run into a store or something. It cracks me up. As long as he can get a cell phone signal he’s good to go. Then they have those new things (Brain fart! I forgot what they’re called. My Uber-geek husband is going to crack up)that you plug into your laptop and can send email anywhere that you can get a cell phone signal. I emailed a friend who lives in Louisiana right after Hurricane Katrina. I figured if she had a phone that still worked she would be inundated with family calls and some of them might be emergencies, so I stayed off the phone. When she emailed me right back I knew she was ok and I didn’t have to worry. Glad to hear that you have power and all. Cool scarf! That will be the day that I can whip one up in a matter of hours LOL! Happy New Year!

  56. Surely knitting 1 row of each colour you would need 2 balls of each yarn, one for each end.
    Happy New Year to everyone

  57. After the ice storm we just had (in the US- Northeast)- I was fine but some of my neighbors were out for a week or more- I am researching and investing in a generator.
    I have the same Blue Moon yarn colorway, but it isn’t Blue Moon. It is Rio de la Plata, color M56 (with a seductive name like that….) and is way fun to knit. Which is good, because I bought enough for a blanket. Blanket still in progress.
    I call it the eternal afghan. I have several of these. Learing curve? not so much.

  58. I was dismayed during the last ice storm when all the radio stations we checked for school closings told us to check their web site. Half of our town was without power. We had no internet or TV. If you can’t depend on the radio for information, does that mean we all need to go out and buy IPhones?

  59. Actually, the emailing thing sounds fine to me. If you don’t have a generator, you won’t respond. If you do have power (or a generator) you will respond. Information gathered either way.
    We lost power during the ice storm here a couple weeks ago in Vermont, but we weren’t hit nearly so bad as NH. DH and I have a generator, so we were fine, and our very kind neighbors who have a spring well gave us water. Showering was the only trouble we had. So — we’re going to get a bigger generator and a transfer switch to run the pump, the water heater, the fridge and a few outlets. Hurray for back-ups!
    Best wishes. I did not finish all of my gifts (was two days over on a scarf), but I wasn’t the only one in the family, so the recipient was very understanding.
    Happy New Year!

  60. Well, you could use public Internet access… Most libraries have that these days, don’t they? Or you could be staying with a friend or relative. Or even traveling and accessing your email from the hotel. ๐Ÿ™‚
    See? Not as silly as you thought, eh, Miss Smarty Pants? ๐Ÿ˜›
    Lovely scarf, by the way.

  61. I did check email during the NH power outage… booted up my laptop, and plugged in the modem. We never lost phone service, even though power was down. And now I’m a bit sorry I didn’t try plugging directly in to the broadband cable- the wireless router goes down when there’s no power, but I don’t know if the cable connection was live or not. Had the power been out for longer, I’d have headed down to the library for a network connection.
    Some areas had it much worse though- a lot of cell towers went down, along with regular phone and cable connections. So- it’s not a given that a power outage = loss of internet, but it certainly can.

  62. Sounds like your party schedule is like your book tour schedule but with family and friends, less public speaking and the opportunity to sleep in your own bed. So really your crazy tour schedules are sort of like pre-season holiday training, right? ๐Ÿ™‚
    Hope your social engagements are filled with fun and warmth.

  63. Love the colours in the yarn and of course you’ll have it done–whoooshe as you say. I wish you and all your dear ones a healthy, blessed and prosperpus New year and many more good books to entertain us all. Thank you very much for your books and this blog. Have an enjoyable 2009.

  64. Glad you didn’t lose your power. Sometimes it doesn’t hit us how MANY things use power. Last time we lost ours, a couple of weeks ago, my DH and I found out how easy it is to forget! Our coal stove needs electricity to run. So, we decided that since it was out anyway, we should take the opportunity to vacuum out the excess ash inside the stove. After debating between using my good one or the cheap crap one that we inherited with the house, we decided to use the cheap one. We unearthed the vacuum and got it back downstairs. Just as we were about to plug it in we both started laughing as we realized that, DUH!, we didn’t have any power… ๐Ÿ™‚

  65. Dear Ms. Harlot,
    Thanks for the year of wit, wisdom, and humanity. Happy Holidays to you and yours!
    I am a librarian, and am teaching a knitting class for our Winter Reading Festival. May I use pictures of this beautiful scarf as part of my presentation? I will attribute, and push your blog. I will also display your books we own, but I am doing that anyway! All library programs are free and open to all! The library friends are buying needles and yarn for the participants to keep, so we are excited about this opportunity to indoctri–I mean, introduce newbies to the fine art of creating something of your own!
    Thanks,
    Melody

  66. So glad you didn’t have to go without electricity. That’s never fun. I was so glad when I checked the blog this morning. (See what a dedicated fan I am? Checking the blog on my birthday!) Hope the rest of your parties are fun.

  67. Glad you and yours are ok and you’re enjoying your holiday. I have to go make Pita and hummus and other dips for the party, here, tonight. Happy New Year!

  68. C’mon: Divulge the BMFA colorway of the funky scarf (Jewel of the Nile?), please ?. It is so pretty.
    PS. I love seeing photos of Hank on your blog. He looks great in the sweater.

  69. Stephanie if there is anyone and I mean anyone who could get there computer working during a power outage it would be you ๐Ÿ™‚
    Happy New Year

  70. Thanks for the laugh Stephanie. Even if you were on battery power, the router needs electricity. ๐Ÿ™‚ Oh, and I KNEW that was Blue Moon from the first picture. Tina truly is amazing!
    Happy New Year!

  71. Hee hee…. thats like when the power goes out and I say to my husband, “thats ok, we’ll sit and have a nice quiet night watching a movie…oh, I mean, listening to music…oh, I mean…nevermind!” I’m glad you didn’t have the hassle though…beautiful scarf!

  72. Are you doing that thing where you carry the yarn up the sides to the next row that uses that yarn so that there aren’t ends to weave in? If so, would you very kindly tell the blog exactly how that’s done? I’ve tried it, but I always get weird loops on the edges of my stuff.

  73. I”m so going to make myself a scarf like that. One day. Next winter probably by the time I get through what I have now but I will. It’s beautiful.

  74. I loved the scarf and decided to use some of my stash to try one and it’s knitting up so great-I just love it. Thanks for being such an inspiration to all of us in cyber space knitting.
    Happy New Year.
    Ann

  75. Are you knitting from right to left (normal) with one yarn and purling from left to right (sort of a backwards purl) with the other? (so one yarn is sitting on the right side and the other sitting on the left side)

  76. I’d also like to know how you are making a one row striped scarf because I’m not sure how to carry the alternate yarn. You inspired me to go buy some handspun to mix with a boucle that’s been languishing in my stash. Thanks!

  77. What a woman! I am totally amazed at the things you get accomplished. Since you blog, write books, knit and are such a great Aunt to Hank, when do you sleep? Happy New Year to all.

  78. Reminds me of the time our power was out (and our air conditioning with it). “Oh, well,” I said to my husband. “Looks like we’ll just have to use the fans instead!”
    “You mean,” he asked, “the ones that plug in?”

  79. Yep, it would be hard to check emails with no power and also no wireless routers working to give signal to laptop with battery.
    Hope all continues to be well and you lot have a fantastic New Year!

  80. Dear Stephanie-
    I am on a trip to Montreal from outside of Philadelphia, and I’m reading your new book, Free-range knitter. I am now obsessed to see this famed baby bonnet pattern and from which american knitting book it comes from; could you please share? I feel like I need to see this confection or my knitting life will not be complete.
    I should probably also confess my husband is an OB GYN, so I spend an inordinate amount of time knitting for babies,between those of friends, relatives and collegues of my husband’s.
    Many thanks – the terminally curious-
    Whitney Hoffman

  81. Just a quick reminder to all. Yes computers do run on batteries, but internet connections don’t. You need power to check your mail. What a joke. Also I can’t wait to join KWB when I get money on the 14th. A million may be too little. Do you think you should make it two?
    Melissa

  82. I think a few commenters got it right already about using Double Points and never turning, am I right? Such a clever girl, our Harlot.
    Happy New Year to you and yours, and to all the Blog readers!
    Peace to all. Blessed Be!

  83. Okay, I’m really curious to know – are you really knitting only one row and then switching yarn? Doesn’t that mean you’ve got about a million ends to weave in?
    (Maybe I’m overlooking something very, very obvious. It is late.)

  84. Please never confess how fast projects like that scarf work up. I have a pair of quickie fingerless mitts I do. I prefer to maintain the myth that I am truly on top of my life so much that I have time to create something so wonderful and clearly be so giving of my time. If word gets out to non-knitters, people will know that I have rushed on them so that I could spend time with my animals (Jacobs) or working on my Victorian Lace Today shawl. I like to maintain the charade of being a together person….

  85. Oh, I am so happy! I got the Never Not Knitting page a day calendar and Free Range Knitter for Christmas and have been exercising such restraint not to just sit and devour both in one sitting. I have turned the first page of the calendar, joined the Rockin’ Sock Club, swatched four new yarns and started three new sweaters, two pairs of fingerless mitts and a pair of socks in honor if this new knitting year. See how you inspire me? Happy New Year, Stephanie. Thanks for everything.

  86. In our little town in Michigan the power can be a chaotic thing . Two years ago Husband #1 decided to buy a generator. The kind that is installed and takes no hooking up . When I saw the price I almost died-it was like a lifetime of yarn. But since then it has become my favorite thing !!!
    We have power in seconds-and it runs til the power is restored, then turns itself off. Worth it’s weight in gold. We are warm (or cool) and the food is safe and the tv works and there is light to knit by.
    I have to give him this one-I thought he was nuts but it turns out he was a genius !!! And don’t you just hate it when they are right??!!

  87. I love the scarf! I learned how to knit and crochet over Christmas but right now I am focusing on crochet because it seems easier to me. Now I have to find Blue Moon wool. That’s beautiful!

  88. hmmm, even if your laptop runs on battery I bet the modem that connects you to the internet does not….. My family does the same thing here in the US Midwest. The scarf looks great. I’ve started working with larger yarns and needles to get the quickly done satisfaction. Guess that’s why I don’t do socks. Needles, too many (dpns) and too small.

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