I’m a homebody, and the busier I get, the more I like to just stay in my house. When I’m writing (which is what I’m doing all the time anyway) I am even more intrigued with the idea of staying home, and if I’m on a deadline (which I am all the time now) the closer I get to the deadline the harder it is to convince me that the outside world is a compelling place to be. If I’m feeling swamped (which I am all the time now) I want my home, my knitting, my laptop and my time, and it has got to be something really compelling to get me to leave. Last night I got two offers I couldn’t refuse.
Jen brought her new baby to Knitnight. This darling little sweetpea completes the triumvirate of babies who will now rule Knitnight with their superpowers of cuteness.
Jen knows what she’s doing too..since she dressed little lady Fenner in a Debbie Bliss knitted bear suit, and this combination of baby and bearsuit was such an incredible superpower that it was like kryptonite to me and all I could do, me… who is never, ever at a loss for words and even makes my living bandying them about…all I could do was snuggle the wee darling and exclaim “Oh Jen! She’s dressed like widdle BEAR!” I am always helpless in the grip people who weigh less than 10 pounds, but this was embarrassing.
I had to tear myself away from the dominion of the wee ones, to go meet Joe and continue my mission to confuse as many celebrities as possible by asking them to publicly hold a sock without properly explaining why.
(Explaining ruins at least part of the fun. If they ask “But…why?” too many times I just think it spoils it.)
Over at Hugh’s Room, another Triumvirate had congregated, and since Joe produced their first record, we were on the door. (That album is out of stock there…and everywhere really. It’s that good. You can listen to clips of the tracks here. My favourite is “Precious love” (despite the rather twee name) and I highly recommend this album too. (For Joe’s fans, he also produced an album of Lester’s – listen to clips here. I think that “Broken Heart” is my favourite there, because the production convinced me Joe is a genius, and that’s a good feeling to get now and again when you’re doing a lot of a man’s laundry.)
The sock and I give you Madagascar Slim, Bill Bourne (who appears to be aging in reverse) and Lester Quitzau, who together are the Juno Award winning trio Tri-Continental. I think they did fine holding the sock. (Lester is wearing a merino hat made by his wife, May Moore, so I think he might have had an advantage. Their album together -which, at the risk of appearing overly smitten, I also recommend, has yarn on the cover. Good sign.) They appear mildly confused, muddled and pleased, which I think speaks well of them. (You know my theory. You can tell a lot about a person by how they react to a handknit sock in progress.)
To round out my evening, I got a piece of very good chocolate cake, on account of it was Linda’s birthday.
Linda reads the blog, and it was her day, so she’s holding the sock. (There are rules for this.)
The astute among you will not that they are not holding the travelling sock (due to a tactical error on my part, the travelling sock was in my other knitting bag) but my current sock in progress.
(Feather and Fan sock from Socks,socks,socks, knit in the yarn you were all guessing the other day, which is STR Rocktober) Loving it.
Today, I’m back in the house, and considering that yesterday was about as tempting as you can make a day….babies, good live music and cake…
I think I’m staying in.
PS. I agreed to do a podcast thingie for YarnCraft, and to make it a little more interesting they’ve come up with the idea of you all asking questions that I’ll answer. Details are here…but be warned. I’m ignoring anybody who asks about a gansey.
Ha ha, that’s ok I’m not speaking of my Icarus that’s sooooo close to being done. BTW I’m making socks out of Rocktober too… and they look COMPLETELY different. Like, there’s a lot less purple. Weird…
I love those feather and fan socks!
And you shouldn’t feel too bad about the baby weakness….there aren’t many who can resist a cutie in a bear outfit!
The triumvirate of cuteness is nearly killing me! I want to say things like smoochysmoochy and pinch their little cheeks right through the screen.
Not fair to show such beautiful babies all together at once. My ovaries have begun to ache…
What about questions about the Highland Triangle (circa September 2005)?
You knit ganseys?
!!!!
Babies and musicians are all well and good, but those sock! I’m gonna have to push my eyeballs back into their sockets.
Babies are more dangerous than kittens! Their cuteness is just too much. Especially when they are grouped. *nods wisely*
“socks”
Wheras I am largely immune to the little blighters until they can talk — and just shamed my wizened raisin of a heart by the involuntary sharp intake of breath I gave as that first picture scrolled up. I don’t expect to be able to produce a hard consonant for an hour affer wooking at dat iddle snuzzlebunny…(SLAP!)
And oo looks pwetty bwissed-out, too, Hahwot.
I agree with the temptation to not leave the house. I was just getting my coat on to go get groceries and then noticed it was pouring rain. That means…stay home and work on the basket stitch scarf!
But really, this is the rainy season in Seattle! I must get used to it!
As an aside, in a job I had once I dubbed music by Lester Quitzau!
How about squirrel questions? Will you answer those?
Hi abby.
Send nuts. Many fleeces to wash.
Love the sock yarn and just seeing the babies makes me yearn for grandkids. Knit on, rocker chick harlot.
Darned Feeds — they post way behind you, Steph. I’m never going to get a shot at being first through them. Must be muggles.
Nice sock-about-town shots. Wish I were there to co-snuggle the Wee Ones. Just precious!
Three sweet adorable babies – AWWWWWWWW! Just want to snuggle them and kiss them and pinch their cheeks – and then the best part – give them back to their mothers!
I can say with all love and sincerity that ONE baby is enough for me. Especially as said baby is almost eight. And regularly talks me into buying her ‘just one ball of yarn’ …
Awwww! Does that mean my “little guy” would not have had any power over you? (he was 11 5oz at birth) ha ha ha. . . More cute babies–the gals up north really know how to grow ’em.
Oh, that baby!
My friend and her twins (the ones for whom I knit my first-ever sweaters) are currently far away, and it breaks my heart* to see that picture. I miss them!
*But in a good way. You lucky thing, you!
While I totally love babies and miss the days when mine were small now that they’re actual grownups, I do love the snuggling and then giving back of other people’s babies. Three in one LYS might make it hard to get any knitting done, tho. The trio of musicians’ cool almost measures up to the trio of babies. Almost. Nice socks.
I would do anything for a baby. Fortunately my next door neighbour has twin girls (I have two boys) so I can indulge my need for baby cuddles pretty much whenever I want. Good thing, or I’d be prowling the street looking for someone to knock me up. (That’s TMI, isn’t it?) Ovaries are a powerful force.
I am a professional nanny and the big sister to baby Julia (she’s 11 months old and I’m 23), so I’m around babies all the time – and I can say with authority that little Bearsuit Baby is quite cute. So there.
You know, it’s good to know that the baby lure never really goes away… or that it at least comes back when your own are growing up.
Remember the wee one that I brought on the big TO yarn tour? She’s 25 pounds and walking. sigh. It goes too fast.
Thank goodness yarn never really changes.
I forgot my question!
Given your disdain for housework over the numerous other rewarding pastimes you could be spending your time on, how do you decide when you have reached you limit and need to clean the dried peas and sticky syrup and other bits of food off the kitchen floor so when another piece of unknown crap sticks to your sock you don’t LOSE YOUR MIND???
Is that valid or does it have to be knitting related? Probably lion brand will veto it.
Your spell checker “corrected” the spelling of Mae Moore’s name.
She knits? *g* I’m a fan of hers. I had no idea she was married or that her husband was famous too. I love her music.
Wow, isn’t it just amazing how every mother reading this knows exactly the weight and warmth of that sleeping baby on your shoulder. If I close my eyes, I can smell that baby’s head, too. Who was it who said that “babies are such a nice way to start people?”
I really like that sock, too.
I don’t know how my managed to tear yourself away from those cute little babies. My nickname is “The baby hog” because anytime I can manage to hold a baby I never give it back. The mom or some other person can hint all they want but until someone actually comes and physically removed the baby from my death grip it’s mine, mine, mine.
Darn, I missed you at Hugh’s Room by a few days!! (I was there Sunday night to see David Francey perform)
As a question, can we ask if you are starting to feel “IT” yet? (Given that Christmas is fast approaching…) I’m starting to panic that I won’t get everything knit–which is probably realiztic in that I have a couple of projects that I don’t even have on the needles yet!! EEK!
I will be totally unable to come up with an intelligent question to ask you. (Given my track record, this may not surprise you.)
Do you suppose there’s a Vast Worldwide Baby Conspiracy? Because the WoolyBabe, who, as befits her, wears handknits pretty much all the time, has my instantly mushified brain in her tiny hands as well.
The Rocktober sock looks stunning. Babies, chocolate, and yarn socks – who could ask for more?
O.M.G.!!! HOW CUTE ARE THEY!
Babies have a power that ought to be in the House on Commons on stupid days. It would shut them all up and make them get along a bit better.
I have my own little Kryptonite-wielder, 9 weeks today. She’s my excuse for my current Debbie Bliss cashmerino addiction.
You look as if you are absolutely in love with that baby.
You did give her back right? Cause you know, those babies are tricky.
Babies, Bill Bourne, chocolate cake and sock knitting all in one night?! You know how to party!
Do these people, like Bill Bourne, ever check out your blog to see what they heck this sock holding business is all about?
Oh goodness. That overwhelming feeling of everything happening at once makes me want to retreat to my fortress of solitude (my condo) with alarming frequency.
This too shall pass and there are plenty of babies to help drag you out when you need a bit of time away.
Oooooohhh, babies….(breathe deeply – no, I do NOT need another one) How perfect when you can cuddle and snuggle and talk baby talk and then send them home. With someone else. No diapers, no spit-up, no colic…just your quiet house and your soft, snuggly, non-pooping-spitting-screaming yarn. Well, unless you have teenagers, in which case your house isn’t quiet, but with dedication and practice you can tune them out well enough to pretend. Ask me how I know. 🙂
They’re all absolutely adorable: the babies, the moms, the musicians.
A question, then: you once mentioned about boiling the wool (notice we are not mentioning the gansey!) to get it clean. Having been told by my spinning teacher that the yolk in a fleece stains it forever, and that the lanolin does over time if you don’t process the whole fleece oh my goodness right the very moment they shear it…ahem…is there a way that a bit of water and excessive heat, then, could de-yellowify the two-year-old fleece crammed in the back of my closet? Does it matter that it’s superfine kid mohair rather than superfine merino?
I know, I know–the question was supposed to go to lionbrand’s line. Sorry about that.
Wait. Twee? As in nauseatingly cute? LOL! Love it. I love the Brit-isms you use. 🙂
Hey! I have that really good out of stock album! It’s in my CD player right now as a matter of fact. When you mentioned the song, I thought, hey, I know a song called that. And when I scrolled down to the picture I thought, hey, I’ve seen those guys play, they’re really good. They came up to the Frostbite music festival in Whitehorse Yukon a few years ago when I still lived there. Awesome concert!
I too am helpless around humans weighing less than 10 lbs!
Whoa…wait a minute…do you not measure weight in kilos? Did you convert just so we wouldn’t get confused?
Regardless…CUTE babies. I hope mine (in the far far future) have such wonderful knitted clothes!
Love the sock as well. Hope you have a lovely evening! =)
That first piccie is beautiful. Nothing on earth is sweeter than a sleeping baby.
Can we ask about the Kauri (?) sweater? What about the Adamas shawl? *ducks and runs*
Had a birthday party for my 7 year old the other day, one of his friend’s mother called and asked if it were ok that she come too because her 7 year old is very shy. I said sure. She said they’d be a little late because she was dropping the baby off at grandparents.
OH! A BABY! BRING BABY!
She did and I got a baby fix.
My 2yo grandson will be here tomorrow for the holiday. I can’t wait.
Lol – okay, no ganseys…but what about Sunrise Circle Jackets??
(on pins and needles here over how it’s turned out)
I think we should be able to ask about ganseys if the podcast is on a Tuesday.
Ooh, that’s a sexy sock!
ok…but can we talk about the SQUIRREL?
Could we ask if you’ve seriously contemplated going ahead and putting your stash in Ravelry now so that you don’t go through what you went through looking for that STR? You know they have a place for you to note the “location” of the yarn in your stash, right? 😉
Gansey? What gansey??
I LOVE other people’s babies. Love them. I was blessed with 2 children, almost all grown up…and I love them…but boy when a baby is on the scene I am a goner.
Congrats to Joe for a job well done. Does that mean no more recording equipment in the house because he is in his own studio…? 🙂
What a combo-babies,yarn,cake,really cute band guys- a perfect night. I would have a baby a year if they would stay babies. unfortuately my experience is that they grow up fast! Oh, but then, they have babies of their own and the cycle starts anew. I have a new grandchild coming in May-can’t wait to find out what it is so the knitting can commence.
Waiting to see the Sunrise Jacket. Patiently.
Wow. The baby pics are making my ovaries twitch. And the sock pic is making my fingers twitch. I love that colorway.
swoon.
the combination of babies and that absolutely incredibly colored sock yarn is just wonderful.
I have myself a yummy 5 month old grand daughter by the name of Katerina. I think her AND cake would cause me to keel over from a wonderfullness od. i’m glad you were able to handle it!
wow! thats one powerful triad…yarn, babies, and chocolate! I would not be able to resist.
When my grandson was little, I could not put him down! used to aggravate his mother to death.
sigh.. no more little ones for a while. Grandson is 11 now, is fond of mittens knitted in Cascade, and insists on picking out the color of yarn for his winter duds. The child knows wool!
Carolyn
What a sweet, sweet picture of you with that sleeping cherub. Sleeping babies have such good energy, don’t you think?
Cute babies. Cute rocker dudes. Cute socks. I’m going to have to go brush my teeth for the sweetness of it all.
So, is Joe the Joe of “Joe’s Song” or “Joe’s Six Pack?” I hope not, for your sake. That kind of fame can be pretty hard to live with 😉
LOL – I’m with Rams, but there’s something about a pic of you cuddling a baby that’s insidious. You obviously have The Touch. She looks totally blissed out, and I don’t think it’s just because she’s sleeping! The F&F sock rocks indeed, and I hope the poor traveling sock isn’t terribly jealous that a rival got to experience babies, musicians *and* cake all in one night!
And y’know, I succumbed after reading yesterday’s post and did order some Raven. I’m blaming it on all the crows that live around here. The “ooh, shiny!” must be catching, right? (Can I come up with excuses, or what?) It was either that, or a pre-emptive strike against all the rat bastards we also have, who tend to play games on the roof at night…
Oohh…. just LOVE the colorway of STR, now where can I buy it please??
Tickle the Wee Triumverate and whisper “yarn yarn yarn” to each wee one. Subliminal doncha know!
The baby… all together now, “Awwwwww.” Now that that’s out of the way, that sock is beautiful. I love how the yarn is knitting up.
I know what you mean by the power of babies. My friend brought her baby home from the hospital yesterday… a premie even (he was 4 lbs. 3 oz. at birth 1 1/2 weeks ago). I was absolutely entranced… I’ve never held one so small. That combined with my firm belief that babies are therapy, and I was putty.
Saw Lester Q at the Atlin Music Festival a few summers ago (how does a Rhode Island girl get to Atlin, which is practically the Yukon? Long story…). Absolutely great, and when I wasn’t dancing, I was knitting….
Love the way the Roctober sock is turning! I’ve made that pattern before using some Opal yarn and loved the way it broke the monotony of the stripes.
Ahhhhh, babies they are so adorable. I do love playing with them and returning them when they need a “tune up”.
I love the feather and fan sock! That is really gonna be some sock.
Sherry
I have another question:
Is casting on new projects while still having multiple projects on the needles a sign of some inherent dissatisfaction with the ones already in progress, or just a need to “use new stuff now!”? Or something else? I know you get startitis, but that should be an occasional thing, no?
(I ask because for me it’s the total disenchantment with everthing I start these days and I don’t like it)
Seriously adorable triumvirate. I can’t help but snuggle up with other people’s children. I don’t wish mine were back to that age but I sure like snugglin’ babies (especially ones with adorably knit outfits).
Any question? That you will answer? Sounds like Truth or Dare!
If those babies were any cuter, my teeth would fall out.
My “baby” is 13, taller than either me or my hubby, wears size 13 shoes, and can effortlessly lift our 110-pound dog. I cringe when anyone mentions baby knitting, ’cause for me that means mens’ extra-large
that is really funny…i’m knitting up some socks in the silkie yarn, Rocktober colourway, and my yarn is much more rust/red then yours is! I’m wondering if I’m not confused about my yarn..hmm.
I want to order the sock pattern book from amazon.com and the yarn from Blue Moon. Which of the three weights of sock yarn should I get for the Feather and Fan pattern?
Babies…babies…three babies…words gone…only burbling coming out…babies…
(That and my usual covetousness for that magnificent sock yarn!)
Which of the three weights of yarn is needed for the Feather and Fan pattern? I’ve just ordered the book from amazon.com and wish to order the yarn, but am uncertain as to which weight to get.
The music links don’t want to work. (also if you want to look at yarn hop over to my blog and if you want, poke at the contest) 🙂
Hey! I own a CD with music produced by Joe! How cool!
Congrats on the Sunrise completion! Is it entirely perverse to want to knit the hems in lighter weight goods? Also, must have had similar construction in mind when thinking of making arching increases to dolman-ize the underarm transition on a cuff-to-center project. Knitting encourages spontaneous riffs….
That F&F Sock is lovely. Not crazy about the yarn, but all the more for you, eh?