As a direct result of the dinner party last night, the dining room table was uncharacteristically clear of Joe’s crap today. It turns out that he’s not an idiot and even he couldn’t get around the fact that the whole family for dinner + no dining room table = an absolutely indefensible position. He cleaned it up.
I know an opportunity when I see one, and who knows how quickly Joe will have it filled back up again, so when I saw the table was still clear this morning…..
I got all of the clean gansey wool carded, even though it was not Tuesday and nobody had bugged me.
Turns out the weight of my own guilt is enough motivation some days. It remains to be seen if this will be enough carded wool to finish the gansey though, but I’m feeling optimistic. I may do one more batch, since I think having too much yarn would be preferable to coming back to this phase again. It’s taken two (three?) years, but I’m starting to be more than ready to see the back end of this project.
Q&A from the comments?
Frances inquires…
“That mitten almost makes me want to wear mittens. How do you knit colorwork so quickly? Seriously? ”
I knit colourwork with two hands, which I think is way faster than any other system I’ve seen, once you get the hang. I carry the main colour in my left and knit continental (picking), and I carry my contrast in my right and knit in my usual odd style (a variation on throwing). Works great, and quickly….and it also helps me to remember what hand I had what colour in. (Colourwork can get wonky looking if you keep swapping out which colour is in which hand.)
Anne asks….
“HOW do you knit so much so quickly? Is it just that you don’t work full time outside your home? I wish I could knit at work …”
It’s partly that I can knit at work, though you would be surprised at how little it helps, considering that I’m a writer and am yet to learn how to knit and type at the same time. It’s a pretty rare day when I can afford myself the luxury of knitting much during work hours… Mostly this job (even though it is at home) is a lot like other jobs. If I don’t put in the hours, I don’t get it done and I’m in trouble. Today I carded when I should have been working, and I’ll have to make it up this evening by writing instead of knitting. Knit and read I can manage…and I probably get a half hour of simple knitting in that way each day. I knit in the evenings…or if I leave the house I often knit while I walk (but not ride my bike, obviously) or on the bus. I knit in queues, I knit on the phone…. I think I get the bulk done in two or three minute increments here and there while I’m waiting for something else to happen. There’s also the fact that I’ve been knitting for 35 years. I’ve got some practice.
Mostly though, I’m the queen of multitasking. All those 5 minute intervals of knitting really add up. In addition, I feel compelled to point out that I neglect the housework. Profoundly. Frees up buckets of time.
Now, I shall excuse myself. I’ve really got to get my carder and crap off the dining room table before Joe comes home and points out that me leaving my crap on the table after sever weeks of complaining about his crap on the table leaves me in a pretty indefensible position.
(If I want the upper hand in these disputes, I have to be careful not to damage the high ground.)
PS. Furnace War update: Ian and I are both still in the running. (Samantha got up this morning and told me that she dreamed I had turned on the heat and the whole family was mad at me.) Last night it dipped down to 1 degree, and the high today is only supposed to be 9 (48F). Tonight may not help either, as the temperature is forecasted to be a repeat of the rather nippy 1 (33F) from last night. Snow is predicted for Tuesday, and nobody has ever taken the Furnace Wars through to the snow time. In my favour… Ian has a cold. That may weaken him enough. I should have never knit him woollen clogs and an afghan. It’s like arming the enemy.
yay first one!!!!! Nice clean dining table! Lveo it!
Crap! I was ALMOST it for the day
Glad things are going well again Chez Blog 🙂
Good for you, taking advantage of the empty table! I fully believe in sneaking in knitting – it’s the only way I get any done anymore! Now if only I could knit and take notes/do homework at the same time…one of these days!
Have a lovely weekend! Good luck at the War! =)
It doesn’t have to be Tuesday for people (read: Rams and Rachel H) to bug you about the gansey. Question – what are they going to rag you about if you finally finish it?
Can’t wait to see the finished gansey!!! How about a deadline of December 31st???? No pressure or anything!!!!
The “How do you knit so quickly” mystery is solved! I’m a little sad that my theory about stunt knitters/knit doubles was wrong.
Over here in Hamilton, we have not yet turned our furnace on! (However I did close our bedroom window, finally, last night!) Keep up the energy saving!
…oh, and Selbuvotter? I called, and Tove is getting me a copy. (I’d rather buy from her than a big store). I know I have some Shelridge somewhere in my stash…
So once again we meet at Rhinebeck, and once again I lose all confidence and can only mutter Hi as I walk thru the lobby of our hotel. You are still awesome and gracious and patient with those of us that suffer chronic shyness…and I forgot to bring down my phone or you would have totally been Kinneared.
Sandra, don’t you worry at all about Rams and I and what we’ll find to rag Stephanie about when the gansey is complete. The pool is deep, and we’re both patient and creative. Dangerous combination, really.
Just thought you’d like to know that you have 9,007 subscribers on Bloglines! I don’t know of any other blog that even comes close!
I’m such a wimp. We turned on the heat ages ago and I live in Dallas. Granted it hasn’t actually kicked on too often yet, but I can’t stand to be cold. I blame it on my cockatiels since they can’t get chilled.
Can’t wait to see Joe’s gansey all finished up. It’s such beautiful grey yarn.
I feel like such a sissy…we live in Texas and my husband has already had the furnace on. I tried to explain that if a whole extended family in Canada can do it, then we can. Needless to say, it didn’t go over well. And he calls himself a Chicagoan (our home town).
“I knit colourwork with two hands”
Being the nerd that I am, my first thought on reading this was “um, there’s another way to knit than with two hands?” but then I realized you were talking specifically about the colourwork (which I don’t do) and which hand you hold the colors in. Heh…I’m a little slow sometimes.
Rachel H – may I suggest a the Highland Triangle Shawl? I believe it’s been ignored for a couple of years. Anything I can do to help you and Rams out…
“Go Team McPhee, Go” in the Furnace Wars! One year we made it to Thanksgiving (US – late November) but that was before we had children (and the furnace was in the process of being replaced, so we had little say in the matter). Sure felt virtuous, though.
Here in the greater Boston area there is an unofficial contest every year to see which letter carrier is the last to change uniforms from shorts to long pants. Usually someone makes it well into December. Probably wears lots of wool sweaters and hats.
Can’t wait to see more of the gansey.
Suggest Ian needs to warm up his house before he gets pneumonia.
I remember a few years ago when you and Ian turned on the heat together, at a preset time.
Seems like a civilized solution to me….but I’m betting you won’t do it until that snow falls 😉
I wish people did the heat wars here!
We could send you stash for added insulation. Seriously! You’d probably have a hard time getting around the place though…
I was so relieved to read that you do colourwork with 2 hands because I do it with 2 hands and after hearing from so many people who hold both colours in 1 hand I was starting to think I was doing it wrong. (This didn’t make me want to change, but who needs more insecurity.) Good for you for holding out on the furnace, you are stronger than me!
My husband has been turning on the heat here in Los Angeles in the morning because it sometimes dips into the 50s (F). I turn it off as soon as he’s not looking. And he lived for years in Minneapolis! But a high of 48F? I’d be blasting the heat. You are brave.
you need voice recognition software, then you can “write” and knit at the same time.
I’d meant to try to keep my heat off until you turned yours on. (I figured I live in North Carolina and you live in Toronto, so outlasting you shouldn’t require great sacrifice on my part.)
However, I apparently didn’t turn my thermostat down low enough and the heat kicked on the one night it dipped down to freezing last week. Oops.
Congrats on getting the gansey wool carded up. We know you’ll get it finished!
Love those mittens! And quit givin’ aid to the “enemy,” girl! sheesh Even in Celcius (centigrade?), 1 degree is COLD!
all the best,
Nan
Good thing you don’t live here in Edmonton. We had our first frost in late August and our heat has been on, on and off, since then!
Large blankets and woolly sweaters do keep it set fairly low, mind you.
Oh Harlot- You have to get one of these! Handmade DPN holders- wood- made here in Michigan… I just got mine- they’re lovely!
http://knitzi.com
I blogged a full review.
Nice move clearing off the table… but ummm aren’t you just setting up up for table dominance? I say stand your ground. Crap- the carding is for HIS sweater anyways!
Just think of arming the enemy as a great way to challenge yourself. I think this only works when real military weapons aren’t involved.
OK, I admire you for your determination to survive without turning on the heat. Hope having the whole family there warmed up the dining room last night. And you do have lots of woolly goodies to wrap up in. BUT…what do you do when you bathe? I’m imagining chillblains.
Surely you’ve knit your own nuclear family way more than a pair of felted clogs and an afghan, right? An afghan and clogs still leaves lots of extremities unwoolened – hands, head, shoulders, arse, depending on the size of the afghan.
You can knit and work a the same time if you use the dictation software for your mac. My husband used it to read law school coursework and the computer transcribed it into an editable Word document.
So, you did actually have 16 plates?
I don’t know if it is fair to cheat but can you go over and steal Ian’s socks and warm things?!? It would benefit your family because you can wear Ian’s clothes and will definately stay warm! Also, Coldweather Under Armor clothes are great for cold temperatures. It’s down to the mid 50s at night in Oklahoma and my son wears Coldweather Under Armor at his football games and he swears by them. They make you look slimmer also! Wish we could send you some warmth up your way. Nat Alea
Have you considered stopping by Ian’s & cracking a hidden window open just enough to make life unbearable?
Ah…Steph…you and I had a bet that you would finish the gansey before Rhineback…I am pretty sure it was four years ago…ok, maybe three but definitely not two (it was the computer before this one and the e-mail is somewhere in an archive someplace that doesn’t want to be found at the moment). It was the year after you finished that purple sweater in a hurry to wear to Rhineback…
But who is counting…I lost…never paid the five bucks since I’ve been waiting for you to actually FINISH…and I think enough time has ripened that I will send a few more dollars than five to Knitters without Borders when you do actually finish…who is with me on this? How much dough do you think we can raise if she actually finishes this?
Having just seen that video of you knitting, I have to say, it’s not just the five minutes here and there–you are just a machine, lady! I’ve bnever seen anyone’s hands work so quickly. I’ve been looking for info on Irish Cottage knitting ever since–any resources you can recommend would be welcome.
I like your flowers!
One of the (very few) benefits of living in an apartment appears to be that when everyone else has their heaters on, my house gets warm too. We do use the heat in the bathroom, though, because that’s where the socks hang to dry
I would simply like to point out that I’m a weenie because I live in San Francisco and even _I_’ve turned the heat on once or twice. But only enough to get the house up to a reasonable temp, then it goes back off until the next time it dips below 60F in the house.
Sigh…Californians are so week. BUT HORRAY FOR THE WALK AND KNIT!
I love the Furnace Wars updates. I was on the opposite side of the Lake from you on Monday and there was no way we could have spent the night w/o the baseboard heat. The difference? 1. we were in a summer home that is not insulated in any way, shape or form (including wool stash), 2. After eight years living in Los Angeles, I’m an admitted wimp, but I hope to be back on track next winter!
Wouldn’t it be funny to find out that Ian had his heat on the whole time? I guess it wouldn’t be, really. I’ve never seen a carder before, am wondering how it works? The yarn looks so snuggly and warm!
Maybe you can get Joe to set up shop in my hubby’s new office. We have a dig rig and other sound distortion related stuff, (whatever i know NOTHING about it) that Joe could play with too.
Come on down and you better win.
Hold steady in the furnace war! Every time my heat kicks on, I think about you and Ian duking it out in this final round, while wishing mine could have stayed off for a little while longer 🙁
I am suffering from brain rot.
That would be DJ rig. The dig rig would be the tractor. lol
I love that the kids are in on it with you…you always knew giving them wool to wear would pay off sometimes…
(I’m constantly giving my husband the high ground…he gets lonely there and lets me share:-)
My grandma once told me about ladies she’d seen in China who carried their knitting around in baskets which hung from the handlebars of their bikes. Then, at stop lights they could pick up the needles for a row or two before pedaling off when the light turned green. 🙂
As for typing while knitting.. they do make a program where all you need to do is dictate and the computer does the typing for you. All you have to do is teach it your voice patterns 🙂 happy knitting.
Dude, there was a table under all that? Cool. We are all so proud of you for carding in your “free” time. And not even on a scheduled day. I also follow the “knit when I can in 5 minute intervals here and there” school. I have entire bags of what I call my “car knitting”. That way I can get lots done when I’m waiting to pick up my son at school, or at the dentist or doctor. Recently I caught myself in a LONG line at the grocery store and was mentally kicking myself for not bringing in a sock or something in my purse to work on.
I’m with you on the “neglecting the housework in order to have time to knit” thing! The way I figure it is cleaning requires the same movements whether it’s been a week or a month; of course, when my carpet gets so hairy that I have to shave it [3 cats, 3 dogs {one of whom is a Siberian Husky}, 2 birds], I figure it’s time to break out the vacuum and see what colour my carpet actually is! We won’t discuss the dusting…
I’m with Betsy (at 4:32pm), I’ll donate $5 (minimum) as well to Knitters Without Borders when The Harlot gets the gansey done [can’t wait to see it, everything she knits is gorgeous and yummy!]
Yeah, your knitting speed is a thing I totally envy. That and the snow you are about to get. Our lack of snow really cramps my X-C style. So, the big question is: What is the temp INSIDE your house? Personally, I get a little edgy once it drops below 66 inside. This is probably wimpy by Canadian standards but we all do what we can.
I’m never brave enough to knit while waiting in a line. I’ve just gotten up the nerve to bring my knitting to the movies. I think if I start taking the train to work in January, that’ll give me an extra hour of knitting time a day!
On the furnace front: You know sometimes, a cold makes you hot so that the cool air feels good. I’m rooting for you!!!
Its not arming the enemy; its leveling the playing field to make the battle more interesting.
Steph, I have to say, I do most of my knitting while reading on-line or riding the bus, My main ‘job’ involves a few meetings a year and some reading/analysis/decision making every three or four months, I don’t have kids, my husband cooks, and I pay someone else to clean my house. You still manage to finish more and more complex projects than I do. You must be one h*ll of a multitasker.
Maybe if I knit for 19 more years I’ll be that efficient, but by them I expect my eyesight and my already-complaining joints will slow me down as I’m over a decade ahead of you in overall experience.
I’m not trying to be a pain or anything, but…
From the picture of your dining room table it can seat 6. 2 on each long side and 1 on each end. That leaves 10 people without a seat. I’m not sure Joe should have cleaned it off. Now 10 people think you prefer 6 people because they got a seat at the table.
Just sayin’
Correction – make that if I knit for 29 more years, which I really, really hope to actually do.
Brava! You should see our dining table. It’s our horizontal filing system. Does Joe make house calls (I mean to someone else’s house)?
Woolen clogs and an afghan??!! What the #@$! were you thinking? He’ll hold out ’til the snow is flying. Good grief Steph, sisterly love has got to have some boundaries! Whatever you do, don’t make him any socks! Or a hat! If you must knit for him, go for fingerless gloves!
Hold the high ground! Definitely.
That was a very gracious reponse to Anne. Her comment sounds an awful lot like, “A writer? Really? I wish I could quit my job and do nothing but write all day. . .”
Stephanie, you need to get a pierzyna for each bed in your house. My parents (who emigrated from Poland and Germany after World War II) swore by them and now my husband is a convert. A pierzyna is a Polish feather bed/comforter filled with goose down.(I still have not turned on the heat, although I said I would by Nov. 1st, but that dang global warming it’s like a sauna here in the midwest!) You would totally win the contest, especially if you put flannel sheets on the bed and then a pierzyna on top. So warm and cozy you never want to leave your bed (unless it’s the fourth of July…then dang is it hot under there)!
Steph! I found your new book on Amazon and pre-ordered it!!!
I can’t wait, though it does seem like it’s going to be a few months.
At least I know the title, which I won’t devulge here!(g)
A little hint for the others of the “Blog” who are curious.
Hurahh for you on all counts. Clean table, carding, entertaining, and still with no heat . Snuggle up tonight its going to be a cool one. Good Luck
Snow? Snow???!!! Argh – who said it was going to snow in Toronto (and the GTA)? I’m barely coping with the fact I had to scrape the car windows this morning.
“I feel compelled to point out that I neglect the housework. Profoundly. Frees up buckets of time.”
You are SO my hero 🙂
I dropped my knitting bag in the car and everything dumped out. I put everything back quickly and noticed I was missing one thing: one dpn. Just one. Thought of you. (I did find it, after crawling around in the car for a few minutes)
Hi RachelH. Hi Abby too
Oh yeah hi steph.
Ah, the wonder of a cleared and pretty dining table. How quickly they pass (in my house for sure).
I get lots of knitting done on the phone too!! And in the car-obviously when I am not driving. We went to Drummond Island, Mi. to a retreat a few weeks ago-I made a pair of baby socks on the way home!!
Here in Michigan, once you break the seal on the furnace thermostat you are dead in the water. So far the fireplace has taken the chill out… but it won’t be long. Sigh. Although, I do prefer cold to hot. Too many years in a cold climate I guess.
Maybe a clean dining room table is the sign of a misguided life-clutter it up and enjoy.
I used to take care of a lady with ALS who couldn’t move her hands at all. She got some crazy software for her computer that allowed her to type via voice recognition. If you could get it, you could have your hands free and still manage to put words on the screen.
Have your publisher buy it for you. Tell her what a good investment it would be.
I have a few Furnace Wars questions, if you have time:
1. Do you worry about pipes freezing? At what temperature? I hear this can be very expensive, and have been told that when it gets down to 10 degrees in the living areas, it can be freezing where the pipes are. Opinions?
2. What do you do about bread rising when it’s cool in the house? Do you use the oven?
Furnace Wars! I told my BF that if people in Canada can survive 30 degree evenings without the heater we can deal with 66 degrees without cranking the heat! I’m saving the energy money for the summer when it’s 115 degrees…gotta love us Los Angeles natives…we’re just so sensitive about the weather.
I dunno, I’m sitting here thinking so how to keep warm at night, and I got a picture in my head of a great big duvet like thing, with the two fabric layers sewn into big squares. If you cut slots into the top layer (and a tie to close it, natch), you could stuff the pocket like openings full of yarn, and sleep under it for the duration of the challenge.
Of course the plus side is way more room for yarn stash. You could hang it on the wall in the hotter months and call it art?!!?
Do you think you could do a Yarn Harlot style knitting demo thingy? I saw (from a distance) your variation on throwing technique, and I’ve seen that video that’s floating around, but I’m still intrigued and puzzled. I think that I do a variation of throwing, but I still have to have my hands on both needles, and I can’t seem to purl as fast. I remember you saying in Wichita that you knit and purl in more or less the same motion or that you can move the yarn front and back in such a quick motion that it’s basically the same effort either way. It’s my number one goal in life to be able to transition from knit and purl the most efficient way possible. Well, number one but probably tied with “get married” and “have kids” and stuff like that. But, seeing as how I’m too selfish for husband and kids right now, I’d really love a up close and personal view of your knitting style.
I’ll be happy to exchange some of my 80F for your 1C. That would leave us at 50 and 11 respectively? I’m a Math Atheist, so that’s a guess.
Is it too early to think about holiday giving? I was thinking of another round for MSF? Do you think we can hit 500k?
i just want to tell you again how much i love the sunlight in your house
I’ve been inspired once again by you – we are still furnace free. No kids whining yet and actually little man is still comfortable running around all natural (we are attempting potty training). I find it hard to believe that it is November 2nd and it is still pretty warm here in NY.
Oh heck yeah! Someone else has stated it – neglecting the housework. You can get soo much done…like reading the blog roll in the evenings, and finishing the Xmas product roll out….ie socks.
Yes, everyone is getting socks this year. Well because all of my knitting seems to happen in the car – family trips…and the blessed days when all three munchkins fall asleep from school….I steal the time to knit. My elderly neighbor must think I am nuts. Sitting in the car looking at my lap….. All in the name of sanity. When the rest of the house looks like crap becuase your ‘helpers’ are so good to help…you can look down as see that yes indeed you did accomplish something. Here is proof that you were here, you did something, fondled the yummy wool…..dreamed of days in the future where you might take up more complicated projects. (ie anthing that requires counting!)
Knit on 🙂 Hmm…ever spun lint? Wonder if I have something here…..hmm….maybe I should check under the bed….*wink*
I too am inspired by your Furnace Wars. But I’m in D.C. and haven’t even considered turning on the heat, yet. (My samoyed wouldn’t hear of it. She’s still asking for open windows. Tonight’s low is expected to be 40’s/4 C.)
I don’t do any housework, either!! (Though it’s not always because I’m knitting…) Hooray!
This DC resident is so glad we’re finally experiencing fall weather. I was ready to pull out the sweaters and the flannel pjs. At this rate, we’ll not get any snow this year…
Wait, Joe cleared all of his crap out of the dining room on his BIRTHDAY? I’m torn between asking you what you said to make him do it and mute admiration for such a good guy. Either way, might want to get out the police tape out for the next time you go out of town…
Barb
You have inspired me. Since it never gets colder than it was in Toronto last night where I live, I should be able to leave the heat off all winter. Really. I could save the extra $75 a month for alpaca. That’s plenty warm.
Good work on the gansey on a non-Tuesday. Indeed, nothing like really wanting to not see something in an “in progress” form to get you going, is there?
Re: color knitting: using a circ and worsted weight, I’ve been doing it 2 handed also with no problem. But when I started the selbuvotter with DPNs, I found it hard to do that way, so I’m doing both in left forfinger and picking (I usually pick). Would love to see a video of you doing it–even though I love DPNs for one-color knitting, somehow the nonworking needles kept getting in the way when I tried the 2 handed thing. I do think my tension would be easier to control if I could get the hang of it though.
I used voice recognition software from time to time on my old laptop, but my hard drive imploded three times (first time had to totally wipe it, second time had to replace it, third time had to wipe it again) and I got really tired of reading the first chapter of “Treasure Island” aloud to recalibrate the VR software. It’s a great tale and all, but the first chapter is just a little too familiar now. I actually started doing “voices” and singing the “yo ho ho and a bottle of rum” song, which didn’t seem to ruffle the calibration process at all. (Very sensitive stuff, apparently.)
Oh, and I learned that my dog can talk.
P.S. I’m with you Betsy. Go Harlot! Finish the gansey! I’ll make an extra donation to KWB when it’s done.
Thanks for answering those questions. I’ve been wondering about your super human knitting speed. The rate at which you get such complex stuff done pretty much constitutes a genuine superpower.
I can’t wait to see the gansey all done, AND that will buy you some good will which you can use to take back over the dining room.
I applaud the determination to finish the damned gansey. I probably would have given up by now. XD
A Caution on the Furnace Wars: Do not freeze your waterpipes.. leave a tap slightly dripping if necessary.
Not that i think you’ll let it get quite that cold 😛
“I got all of the clean gansey wool carded, even though it was not Tuesday and nobody had bugged me.”
How about “BECAUSE … nobody had bugged me.” Sorry Joe — I expect Rachel and Presbytera and I and…well, The Blog, may have slowed down yer gansey as much as we’ve facilitated it. Still — a second carded batch would probably not be redundant (see Sunshine Circle Jacket.)
But don’t worry, Sandra — our memories go deep. Ch-lapotis-ough.
And so Denny, what — I’m chopped liver? My furnace is chugging along nicely, too, thank you…
You guys sure are dedicated! I am a native New Englander living in the SF Bay Area now. One might say that I’m being a wuss since I am used to much much colder (have you *been* to Connecticut in January?) but I think my blood has thinned. It’s been getting down into the high 40s (F) at night and it has been dang cold in the apartment in the mornings. Getting out from under the flannel sheets is a struggle. Sometimes I wear a hat to bed. Granted it goes back up into the 60s and 70s during the day. Still, you have an advantage, I think, in that you most certainly have better windows and better insulation. Sometimes I think buildings in mild-ish climates are worst of all – we have NO insulation and flimsy single-paned windows! (Oh, what I wouldn’t do for some nice double paned windows this winter! It does get down to around freezing in these parts, which, in an un- or under-insulated apartment is rather unpleasant…) I haven’t turned my heat on yet, incidentally, and it’s a real victory for me! I wonder if I will be able to outlast you!
GOOD LUCK!!! And bake a lot. 🙂
We kicked the boiler on here in the Southern Tier of NY because it will take us three months of tweaking to keep the vintage steam radiators from either a)roasting us in our sleep, or b)producing no discernible heat whatsoever. We also have a neighbor who hasn’t figured out that feeling a chill=wear more clothes. He needs training. And maybe some felted clogs.
Sounds like a good decision on doing one more batch of the fleece. Bonus – if you keep saying you’ll do it “in a few more days, Joe”, well…he won’t be able to pile stuff back up on the table, now will he? [veg]
I can see this going on quite a while if you start inviting people over to use your carder…
(Maybe The Blog should all start sending studio-finding vibes to increase the opportunities for Joe. What’s a collective for, anyway?)
(I rarely comment, so I’ll attempt to be brief)
Yea for the clean table – got to take what “wins” you can.
We’ve had frost the last couple of nights here in London, ON. And sn*w on Tuesday? Eek!
just another $5(prob more) promised to MSB when the gansey’s done…
also, having grown up in the cold and snowy state of Michigan, and now livign in “balmy” San Francisco? clammy, foggy, and no-insulation houses make it seem colder here often than i remember november in new england or michigan… heat was on briefly in july, when it was below 50F in the house…
Gotta tell you a story – I once lived in Edmonton and worked with an immigrant from Brunei (Borneo). She was complaining bitterly about the cost of heating her apartment and since it was only September (!) I asked her what temperature she kept the place at. “Normal room temperature” was the reply. I persisted – What number did she set the thermostat at? 78 degrees, she answered, surprised that I should even have to ask.
Further investigation revealed that her hubby and kids wore shorts and Tshirts indoors and they thought less than 78 degrees was criminal/child abuse. Her winter heating bill was over $500 a month and that was in the 80s.
I think my table has never looked that clean, even for photographs. I probably can compete with you in the Ignoring-Housework-Profoundly department. I’m not exactly proud, but neither am I remorseful (unless the inlaws call with 2 hours’ notice in which case I care for the 2 hours).
Knitting is more important than housework. Of course.
On the furnace wars… glad I’m not Canadian in this instance. My ancestors were from Norway, I was born in Minnesota, so I should be grateful to live as far south as Lansing, Michigan. I’m not grateful very often, I’m sorry to say.
I want it to be sunny and nearly sweaty most of the time, personally. Right now I have so many wool items on myself that I don’t feel like counting. Indoors. Even though we have only had frost one night. Thank goodness for Alpaca!!!
Maybe you can “bend” the rules and buy some space-heaters. They might have to call the referees in on it, but I say no guts no glory… 😛
You might want to point out to Joe, at the right moment, that removing his stuff from the table allowed you to use the table to card fleece for HIS gansey. A little ironic, no?
Are you allowed the use of an electric blanket at night?
I lose a lot of potential knitting time as my commute to and from work takes up a couple of hours a day. I wish the light rail went where I need it to go. I’d get so much more done.
Good luck in the furnace wars.
Keep your stick on the ice!
Steph, when you mention your variation on throwing your yarn, I wonder do you “flick” your yarn with your index finger? That’s the way I knit and I thought I was the only one.
I think you’re grand and I realize that writing must be as all consuming as working outside the home, probably more so.
Hope you get the gansey finished soon. Even I wonder about it from time to time!
You’ve probably told us before, but what kind of Carder do you have? I’m looking to get one and yours looks smaller than some of the monsters I’ve seen. I live in a small old house and have run out of space for anything too big.
Good luck in the furnace wars, we’ve had ours on for weeks now, since we got a new one and couldn’t wait to try it out 🙂
be careful your pipes don’t freeze! Once I turned the heat all the way off to save money, and my roommates almost killed me because I didn’t know the danger of the pipes bursting.
Stephanie,
I salute you for getting all that roving done before time. I am a big Joe’s gansey fan and love to see it progressing.
Sharon G.,
I flick, too, and have never seen anyone else do it. I have other knitters stare at me trying to figure out what the heck I am doing. A friend recently showed me how to pick, and I am trying to learn that as an alternative.
So that is what a dining room table looks like? Hmmm, haven’t seen mine in some time. It is currently the staging area for my faboulous wool/yak/silk sweater which I am blending and spinning. All I can say is, CARD MORE WOOL FOR THE GANSEY . It is better to have too much than just a bit too little, then you will be pissed and spin the remainder poorly just to get the damn thing finished and it will mess with your guage. I speak from experience. I call my current project my $5000 sweater because it has and will take me so long….
First time I post a comment to a blog. I too ignore housework, but then I have hired a cleaning lady to take away the guilt of having a really cluttered house. and she’s not allowed in my bedroom which no one but me and DH sees and that’s where all the fiber and crafts are!
I find myself worried that the furnace wars will lead to a frozen/broken pipe. I had one of those once and it cost a lot and made a mess. But you’ve done this before, so presumably you know which pipes are at risk.
In our house we always wait untill Halloween to turn on the heat but this morning we are toasty! Maybe Ian has a cold because he is cold!
Stephanie, I have another question which I have been wanting to ask but it seems rather rude. If you don’t want to answer, please feel free to ignore this. You talk about buying yarn and your YLS and going to Rhinebeck and spending one day shopping and your stash and sometimes going on a yarn diet and not buying yarn all summer to pay for your beautiful stove, and yet, I thought that professional knitters received yarn from yarn companies as a courtesy and that it is complimentary. Sort of like professional and college athletes receive sneakers and clothing so the logo can be seen by all. Like in the hope that you’ll blog about it and then there will be a big run on that yarn (Which, I might add a personal note, happened with the Dream in Color yarn for the Tulip sweater. I had to wait from July to October for that yarn. Now I am making one for myself since I bought a whole skein of each color.)
I do love your blog. And your books.
Beth F.
Perhaps if you had some voice recognition software (I think it runs on the order of $150 US) you might be able to knit and blog at the same time. 🙂
-Robin
I love hearing someone else who neglects housework. Seriously, you’re a bit of a hero in my world right now, just for letting me know this is a lot more normal that anyone around me seems to think.
People ask me “how do you have time to knit, bake, make cheese, have a garden, etc” I reply “Oh, I don’t clean much.” and they look at me like I’m from Mars or I surely must be joking.
No really….If I spend all day (or many) cleaning for a party/family event, two days after it looks pretty much the same as it did before the colosal effort and I’ve just lost two days of hats/sweaters/socks and mittens.
:)k
With one off-hand remark my esteem for you has continued to grow by leaps and bounds! The phrase “I neglect the housework. Profoundly” is like balm to my anguished soul of working-mother-slothful-housekeeper-guilt extravaganza! I have to put this question out there : Is it normal to feel like a failure for not keeping a clean house, even with evidence of success and talent, skill and ability in other equally important areas of life (e.g.; creative endeavours like knitting or in the chosen career of one’s calling)? How can the housework demon be banished from the female psyche? Sisters of the needles I call upon you to solve this riddle!
another post, but not about housework this time. regarding comparison of world-wide heating systems: i have to agree with the people from cold climes now living in warmer climes. it seems places that are usually warm, never think to plan ahead for the brief periods of cold! i was FREEZING during the brief 4 weeks of winter the year i lived in the south of France. those concrete walls with NO insulation of any kind might keep you nice and cool in the days of relentless sun, but they quickly become dreadful little iceboxes in off season!
My heat has been on since September; hubby feels the cold. Honestly it’s almost too hot in here, but I grew up in Nova Scotia in an old house with no insulation at all, and I remember that the pipes only froze in the dead of an exceptionally cold winter. Mind, that was with the furnace on. Everything around the edges of the house would freeze. We would have to take the houseplants out of the windows, move the canned food out of the cabinets, and leave the tap running a little to keep the pipes open. Your pipes should be all right in an insulated house in the late fall. I think, though, that Ian isn’t kidding this time, and tomorrow there will be heat in the House of Harlot.
But if Ian has a cold, he might be too weak to get up and walk to the thermostat. Or if he’s eating tons of hot chicken soup, he might not need it. Don’t let your guard down, not for a minute.
I thought it was bad spinning mojo to start knitting your sweater before you’ve spun all the wool for it. I’m a totally new spinner, just a couple of ounces new, so I’ve been reading spinner articles and researching how to do it rather than sitting in front of a wheel (or in my case, under a spindle). Do you know something I don’t? Or are you just that awesome?
You’re probably just that awesome. Forget I said anything.
I am so relieved to hear I’m not the only one who profoundly neglects housework in favor of knitting. Besides, knitting stays done (usually) while the dishes just get dirty again. Same with the children.
For those unfamiliar with two-handed knitting, there’s a clear, short video on the Philosopher’s Wool website. I learned there. Took a bit of practice, because I knit continnental and that right-hand throw was a challenge at first
So thinking I wasn’t going to be living here this late in the year I had the gas turned off in April (it only runs the furnace). I am so inspired by you living so much further north than I and not using your heat that I haven’t had it turned back on yet. I am going to hold out as long as possible. Now, given that I am a total wuss and that I am a FL girl living in NC where it got into the 30sF this week…well, this says a lot, but I am keeping up with you so far and I find that throwing on some hand knit wooly socks really helps. THANKS!!
Izzy – I knit continental and have always thrown right handed (apparently this is not the norm…)I was taught by a left handed knitter even though I’m not.
Furnace wars – as usual, I am laughing my knitterly behind off. We have had dead balmy weather down here in Virginia for about a month now…lately some nights below 40. We had the fuel tank filled up two weeks ago…since we would never win a furnace war in the land of the not-so-sturdy 😉
I knit little bits and pieces in line, waiting in the car for teenagers of mine to be done with whatever practice they are finishing up and on the sidelines of all of my son’s football games. This has gotten me some flak this year from the football parents. My son, however, is ok with it. Years ago when both of the teenagerpeople played soccer, I was bored senseless by it all and always had my knitting or would crochet beaded onto little socks of the now 16 year old one’s socks. One Saturday had me at my son’s game and unable to be at daughter’s at the same time. Her winning team lost. Her friend Morgan told her mom that they lost because “Miss Melinda was not on the side ‘sewing'” So a superstition was born. My son’s team does better when I pay damn little attention and knit away. I miss things, but oh well… The football parents have now started saying things like “third down…knit faster!!” so there is hope for the non-knitters. (yes, the ‘sewing’ child was corrected…lest she fall under the influence of C.H.O.K.E.)
P.S>
It’s still make Gray, my harlotta! But I guess we should change it to making “gray while the furnace don’t whine” in support of the furnace wars. Rotate that wool and chenille etc. 😉
I do sometimes wish that mittens were the knit of choice for us, rather than the socks, because after all, the mittens are visible, even to the muggles. Socks are more like superman underwear, comforting only the wearer, mostly.
And a duly happy birth day to the Joe. Smooches from us all.
Remember when you said Atlanta had cornered the market on hospitality? Girl, you must have caught a huge dose of it (hospitality, I mean) from that charming man with the lovely smile at your hotel — because you gave Anne a far more gracious answer than I could have managed.
I will never understand why some people think that if you are self-employed, or work from home in any way, or work as a 100% fulltime mommy, that you somehow have hours and hours of spare time on your hands each day.
Home-based workers may have a bit more discretion with how they SCHEDULE their day, and may “gain” about hour a day by not needing to commute, but this does not translate to “gobs of free time.”
Before Katrina, I worked 8-5, ran errands on the way home, cooked dinner, did chores and managed to have about two hours of more-or-less “free time” to knit or spin each night while I watched a movie and did laundry. I actually got a lot of knitting done that way.
After Katrina, I am doing consulting work, which means longer hours, less structure and therefore less “free” time each day. And my house isn’t nearly as clean as it used to be.
When you work from home you’re doing everything at once, every moment that you are both home and awake at the same time.
Now, on the lighter side … did you find 16 chairs? And two more tables? Or did you like my Aunt Mary: parents and grandparents at the big table, and anyone else parked wherever they can find a place to sit?
Stephanie, thank you so much for answering my question! I will have to try the “five minutes here and there” knitting, and carrying some with me. I could knit on the bus and while waiting in lines … I tend to think I need large chunks of uninterrupted time to pull out a project, and I rarely have that luxury. (Does anyone?)
I love your books. Keep up the great work! You inspire me.
Sarah and Dez,
Please read my note to Stephanie, right below Dez’ comment.
I was in no way implying that those who work at home have ‘gobs of free time’ or that Stephanie sits and knits all day, as you seem to have inferred. I was simply asking how she manages to knit so much so quickly. Obviously, one’s work is not going to do itself.
I am a married mother of one, and I work full time outside my home. My job comes with some downtime, during which I wish I could knit, but I don’t think my boss would approve.
That’s all.
Here’s another knitting time tip – get a headset for your home telephone. I’ve had one about a year and it’s great for knitting socks while having long conversations! I”m a single parent who works full time so my primary knitting time is in the evenings after my daughter goes to bed. On a good night I can get in two hours. Then there’s lunch time (I go home for lunch) where I can get about 15-20 minutes in, and in the mornings if I have an extra minute.
I realised the other day, when I foolishly left my knitting at home, that I very, very rarely have any down time at all. My down time is greedily gobbled up and used as leisure time. I hate waiting, and before I knit I always always had a book or my iPod. Now, it’s knitting, and I have something to show for it at the end – plus knitting is actually more interuptable than reading etc – you can look up to see if the bus is coming or whatever.
I am almost never without my knitting, even when I’m almost positive that I wont have any knitting time. You just never know.
I think you think it is a little like cheating when you do these Q&A sessions instead of a “proper” entry, but I have to tell you that this one was a little bit of a miracle to me.
I just started on my first fair isle (a hat) a few weeks ago and was having trouble with the continental method I was employing, the one where you hold both colors in your left hand and pick the color you want. It seemed pretty cool when I read about it, and colorwork was one of the reasons I learned continental to begin with. The tension in my floats was wonky, and I was constantly needing to adjust the two colors in my left hand.
Then I read your entry about picking the main color and throwing the contrast color and it changed everything. It is so fast and my floats look great. I know this method is out there somewhere else, but I didn’t find it when I was looking for how to get started on this hat, not on the web or in any of my books. So thank you and keep on with the Q&A!
(A question I would submit to a Q&A would be: What rules do you have about what knitting you can work on when you are mobile? I am almost done with my first pair of Pomatomous socks and even though I know that pattern very well by now, I still refer to the chart occasionally to make sure I am on track. I wonder if you can take patterned socks on the road with ease and without a chart, or if you just stick to your basic sock recipe.)