Poppets, I’m pretty tired. The weekend was chock full, and I feel like I may never recover from staying up most of the night for The Rocky Horror Picture Show Fundraiser. This morning I was so exhausted that my coffee cup seemed heavy, and that’s a truly bad sign.  Today I’m actually not feeling so hot, and I don’t know if it’s the start of a cold or just the logical consequences of burning the candle at both ends, but I do know that this close to the rally, with a lot on my plate, I’m listening to what my body’s telling me, and it says stop, rest and knit, so with an eye to living to fight another day, I’m taking today off.

I did find the time to knit a little over the weekend, and in a formidable show of restraint, I finished not the socks (pox on the earth, I’m so sick of them) but instead my Emperor’s New Scarf.  The last dastardly bit of crochet came together quite quickly – I don’t know why I was putting it off, now that I’ve actually got the hang, and yesterday afternoon I gave it a bath, and laid it out on the backyard table to dry.  It was such a beautiful day, and I thought there couldn’t be a better spot.

That may very well have been true, had I remembered it was out there sometime before it rained in the night.  It was under an umbrella, so it didn’t get directly rained on, but the humidity and mist did something interesting, and this morning this is what I found.

A fine layer of droplets, suspended in the halo of the angora.

Pretty as anything I’ve ever seen – and the darker spot here is where I touched it – wondering if it was soaked through, but it wasn’t. It was dry-ish underneath, and the layer of water clinging to the halo sunk in the minute I touched it, moving into the scarf and away from it’s precarious place.

I don’t know why I loved it so much, but don’t you?

Happy Friday world, and Happy Birthday America. I’m gearing up for a busy weekend here (The Rocky Horror Fundraiser at the Fox Theatre is tomorrow night at midnight – is anybody coming? I have to rest up if I’m going to pull off anything fun at that hour) so today I’ve got some knitting planned. I’ve been so tired this week, and a good go at knitting will be just the thing to set me to rights.  I have so many projects right now, many of them really close to finished, and yesterday I found myself longingly eying the stash and thinking up big plans.  I remember this feeling from last July, It’s such a ridiculously busy month, and all I hold onto is the idea that I am going to knit the hell out of August. For today though, I’d be happy to finish a pair of socks.

These ones are pretty – but holy cats am I sick to death of them being on my needles. I don’t know what’s wrong with them that they’re taking so long, but man, do they ever have hang time. If I can’t finish them today, I’m putting them in time-out for being boring.

In the meantime, you know what’s not boring? PRESENTS.  Hang on kids, because here’s today’s round.

Hey, what’s this? A beautiful skein of Helen’s Lace, that’s what, courtesy of Beth at Lorna’s Laces. (Good people, them.)

It will be making it’s merry way to live with Leianne S!

On a totally unrelated note, how about these two skeins of yarn from Mrs Crosby?

Nice, right?  Ruth Ann F will be giving  two skeins of  Satchel, in the rather gorgeous colourway “Toucan” a great new home.

My friend Kate Atherley (who is good at a great many things, but is an exceptional tech editor) has digital copies of her books to give away.

Knit Accessories (I love this book) is going out to Bev W.

and Beyond Knit and Purl (which is great for knitters of all stages) is off to Kate K, and I don’t have to wonder at all if they’ll enjoy them.

Next up, the lovely Karen S has a little stash that needs a new home.  These two skeins of Alpaca With a Twist will be going to live with Ginger J,

and these two beauties (Valley Yarn’s Berkshire) will make their merry way to Melissa K!

Shannon Okey, over at Cooperative Press has a great gift to share.  Ingrid L will be choosing any three Cooperative Press books (good luck choosing) and also recieves a year long subscription to Knit Edge magazine!

The enchanting knitter Randi has a great gift from her stash,  12 (Yup! TWELVE) skeins of Patons Classic DK superwash to go to Teresa F.

That, not surprisingly is one of my favourite colours.  I’m a little jealous of the sweater that could come of it.

Melissa has another sweater quantity, this one’s a rather fabulous lot of 12 skeins of Plymouth Baby Alpaca DK (Yum) in a solid black. Winter is coming, and in the name of all alpacas,  Colleen H will be warm.

More! Look at this, it’s a pretty JulepB kit, donated by Helle.  It’s a pattern for Cora, yarn to do it with, and a pretty bag to carry the whole thing in.  Cheers Hannah M, it’s for you!

Kara wrote me about this pretty Shibui sock yarn that she’s letting go of.

I think it looks just like stargazer lilies, and I hope that Marcie R loves it, because it’s on it’s way to her needles.

Julia has $7 burning a hole in her pocket, and a very sweet idea.  She’s donating any ravelry pattern that Michelle K would like. Michelle chooses a pattern for $7 or less, and Julia picks up the tab.  Thanks Julia!

One last one? You bet.  Kat owns The Thankful Ewe yarn shop in Minster, Ohio, and also runs Paper and Yarn, and etsy shop that has some very pretty yarn…

and some very funny stitch markers.

Kat’s donating a $25 gift certificate to her etsy shop, and I really hope that Katie V gets those markers.

There! Fourteen gifts, and a happy Independence day to my American friends.

Thank you so very much to everyone who’s helping with this cause.  Knitters are amazing.

Yesterday I spent some real time knitting and I am reassured of three things.

1.The only thing keeping me from prison is knitting.

2. The reason I wasn’t making any progress is because I wasn’t knitting anywhere other than in my mind.

3. Progress in my knitting makes me feel like I have progress in all things. This is inaccurate, but lovely.

As soon as I sat down to knit, this literally jumped off the needles.

It’s my Oatmeal Stout cowl. (The “extra cozy” version)  I designed it, and the mittens and infinity scarf that go with it for Clara Yarns.

Do you know about that? Clara Parkes, who’s the longtime genius behind Knitter’s Review and The Knitter’s Book of Yarn and The Knitter’s Book of Wool, has started making yarn.  With a resume like that, I don’t think anyone thought the yarn would be bad, and it isn’t – it’s actually fantastic, and she’s making it in a really unusual way.  Clara Yarn is born when the lady finds some great wool, a small batch, and has it produced exactly the way she wants it. It’s small amounts, not repeatable, and as each batch has been finished, she puts it up for sale, and when it’s gone, it’s gone, and she sets about making a new kind.  I love the idea – commercial, repeatable yarn is cool, important and I wouldn’t give it up, but this kind of simply curated yarn that’s the fruit of someone’s experience and brain? LOVE IT.  She sent me some of her most recent batch, an outstanding CVM/Romeldale in three natural colours, and I designed this set, and then I launched the pattern and she launched the yarn, and then the yarn was all gone before I could even tell you about it. (When I say small batches, I am not kidding.)

I know it seems unfair, telling you about the thing when it’s all over but the crying, but you could still knit this if you wanted to – there’s a couple of other yarns I’d suggest if you wanted the same look, like Green Mountain Spinnery’s Weekend Wool  or KnitSpot’s Confection.

There’s others too – what you’re really looking for is a worsted weight yarn that’s soft, deliciously bouncy, and would feel like a million bucks on a blustery cold winter day. Something with lots of air and cush to trap air and insulate you against the forces that conspire to make you cold.

I had three skeins of Clara Yarn, each about 270m per skein, and I was able to make the mittens, the infinity scarf and the cowl – the extra cozy version.  (The cowl and scarf have two versions each.  The cowl shown here is extra cozy, the scarf, regular cozy.)

I loved this project, and despite how long it took me to cross the finish line, it’s a very quick knit, and easier than it looks. There’s only one colour used per row, thanks to simple, but fancy looking slipped stitches, one of my favourite tricks for doing colourwork without… well, any real colourwork skills.  There’s no stranding or floats to catch, none of that. It’s simple enough for a beginner, I think.  I like it so much in the natural colours, but I can’t wait until someone (that might be me) does it in some colours. Oh, the possibilities.

The funniest part of this project is that the whole time I was knitting, I thought I was getting ahead on a Christmas present, but now that I”m done?

I’m keeping it. (And yeah, that’s a particularly bad selfie.  Sue me.)

———–

PS.  I haven’t forgotten that I promised you prizes today, and I had them all queued up and ready to go when something went very wrong with my mail client.  I’m receiving mail, but can’t send any. Ken’s working on it, and we’ve tried everything, but it remains a hunk of inert crap at the moment, which means gifts have to wait.  Cross your needles for tomorrow.  My apologies.  I assure you, both Ken and I are using enough expletives that it should be fixed soon.

1. Back-to-backs are done, and in some sort of amazing miracle,  it didn’t rain on us one little bit. Aside from a quick thunderstorm at the start of the day (we waited it out) the day was sunny. Really sunny – and hot. Like, the surface of Venus kind of hot.  We drank a million, thousand litres of water, and the heat was really a challenge, but we got it done.

2. I love that picture. If you knew all of us, you would think that was totally us. All of us.  Amanda, smiling and happy, Ken – prepared, cheerful and calm,  Pato- eager and raring to go, Jen – well, she doesn’t usually look that manic, but she’s always up for anything, and that enthusiasm is surely typical, and then me, who looks crazed. As usual. Sam wasn’t feeling great and took the day off. We missed her. We’re not sure she missed us, considering the difficulty factor.

3. Yesterday I got back from the training ride at 7:30pm, threw myself in and out of the bath just long enough to get most of the dirt and sweat off me, got onto my city bike, and headed over to Lou’s house for a Canada Day BBQ.  It was fun, but the whole time I was there I was trying to figure out how I could sleep over at their house so that I didn’t have to ride up the hill to my house at the end.

4. I did ride that hill.  It was hard.  I’ve never felt more 46 years old than I did right then. I think if I have to ride my bike today I am going to cry.

5. I have today divided into 20 minute chunks of productivity, and several of those chunks are for knitting, because if I don’t get some real knitting time soon, I am going to be a danger to myself and others.

6. In particular, I want to finish this:

and the infernal socks, which are now weighing as heavily on me as my sore arse.

… and yeah.  I know the picture’s sort of blurry. So am I.  Frankly the last few weeks have really knocked the stuffing out of me.

7. Presents tomorrow? You bet.  Bumper crop.

8. I realized what it was I wanted to tell you about Canada on it’s birthday, and then looked around and saw that the rather fabulous Commander Chris Hadfield and his brother had already done it. Here you go.

In Canada

Enjoy.

I’m drinking coffee, knitting a little (very little) on a sock, and watching a storm roll in. The sky is grey, the wind is blowing, and there’s a warning that severe storms are approaching the GTA.  (That’s the Greater Toronto Area.) It’s also incredibly hot. It’s only 8am and it’s already 32 degrees outside with the humidex, and it’s only going to get hotter.  All of this would just be interesting if I wasn’t sitting here knitting a sock and drinking coffee with my riding shoes on, because I’m about to leave on the second 100km ride of my back-to-backs.

Back-to-backs are a training requirement of the rally. Sometime before this Sunday, everyone has to do two 100m rides, on two consecutive days.  This seems reasonable to me, considering that the rally itself is six 100km consecutive rides, and proving you can do two seems totally legitimate – or it least it did until Jen and I realized that due to responsibilities related to being grownups, yesterday and today are the only days that we can do them – and do them we must, regardless of the weather.  (It is taking every shred of maturity I have not to fake appendicitis right now.)  We got it done yesterday, despite a flat, and the fact that it was so hot out that it was like riding through Satan’s armpit for five hours.  If I cop out today then yesterday was for nothing, and by wool, yesterday cannot be for nothing.  It was just too hard not to count.

So, Canada Day on the road it is, and you’ll have to wait for a missive about my lovely country this year, although if you like, you can go back and read what I’ve said in the past.  I swear they’re fun.  2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. 2013.

Wish me luck.

Just a quick one today, since Jen and I are off to ride the first day of our back to back centuries.  (The weather is ominous. We’re trying to be cheerful.) We just wanted to take a minute to tell you about something super fun. Our team is having a fundraiser this Saturday night at the Fox Theatre in Toronto.  (We’re so sorry if you live to far away, it’s going to be kind of a blast.) We’re showing The Rocky Horror Picture show at (when else?) midnight!

We’ll have beer and stuff, and a ticket is $25, and gets you in the door (where you can buy the beer) and a shot at some cool door prizes.

If you would like to come, email us at psyclopaths@gmail.com to reserve a ticket(s) and if you know someone you think would love this, let them know, will ya?

There’s this thing that happens when I travel a lot.  I lose control of things.  I am not naturally an organized person.  I put things in baskets and file them away and keep my life tidy because if I take my eyes off the prize for even one minute, then it all goes to hell in a hand-basket with me standing there screaming inwardly as another pile of paperwork hits critical mass and cascades over the dining room table – where, let me add, there are not supposed to be any papers at all.  If I get too busy, or travel too much, then everything starts to slip, and I mean everything.  I got home late last night, and didn’t even unpack.  I just looked around at all the chaos (what the hell has Joe done to the fridge?) and then went to bed. This morning I slept in (hallelujah) and got up to a full pot of coffee, and started making a list of everything I need to sort out and restore order to. I started with the obvious, like “unpack suitcase” and “sort mail” and moved on to “groceries” and “laundry” and “control inbox” and “tidy stash” and “make table less sticky”.

An hour later this was revealed as the incredibly bad plan that it is.  Everything is on the list. I could have saved myself time by just writing “fix it all” at the top of a piece of paper and going back to bed.  I’ve spent months not being home long enough to really keep things sorted, and now that I’m home for a while, it’s going to take more than a single day to put everything back the way it needs to be.  There’s not a single thing in this house that’s working right, and I don’t mean that it’s not up to my standards, because I assure you, they are quite low.  I mean that a bag of couscous somehow tipped over in the cupboard a while ago (who knows when) and is now glued down with a bottle of agave syrup that leaked when it got knocked over by an (open) bag of almonds.  I mean that there is a pile of paperwork on my desk so high that I am going to need an oxygen mask when I scale it, and I don’t even want to talk about the yarn situation.  Everything that has come into this house is out, everything I thought about knitting is out, everything I moved while sprinting between projects on a 3 day layover in my home is out.  The house looks like a giant took a sifter full of yarn and just sprinkled it over every surface. There is yarn in the bathroom.  (There’s also a stitch dictionary in the bathroom, so at least if I knitter was in there, they could see that it was a plan.)

Remember the finished pair of socks every 27 days thing? Yeah, well – WHOOSH. That was the sound of the deadline blowing by me two days ago while I was running the retreat.

Now those socks are eating into the time I have to knit the next pair, and that wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t need a urine sample from the cat, and knew what the green sludge in the bottom of the crisper used to be.  (Asparagus? Maybe. Maybe it doesn’t matter now that it’s sludge.)  I decided I’d finish the socks today, then scanned the list and put the crisper in the sink to soak while I tried to chip fossilized couscous out of the cupboard.

There’s so much to do, and that doesn’t include the (many) training rides scheduled over the next few days, the way I really need to connect with my kids – or the way that Joe has a look about his that tells me he wouldn’t mind having dinner or a conversation with someone who isn’t the aforementioned cat.  After a few hours of struggle, I’ve decided to try and relax into it. It doesn’t all need doing today (although that would feel great) and I’ve gone back over the list and re-written part of it. “Do Laundry” is now “do two loads of laundry” and I’ve broken everything else on the list down a little smaller so that the world doesn’t go all black around the edges when I look at it.  For now, it’s one thing at a time, whatever’s next on the list, slowly and deliberately, without freaking the heck out.

Next on the list? Blog. (Almost done) and Karmic Balancing Gifts.  The list is long and wondrous, and there’s a ton to get through.  That list is going to see a lot of action over the next few days. The rally is in four weeks and two days (inhale-exhale) and there’s a lot of fundraising ground go make up.  (Last year the rally raised 1.2 million dollars. This year it sits at just over $420 000, and I can’t help but try and redouble my efforts.)  So, gifts, to thank those of you who’re making that number possible.  You’re amazing. (By the way, if you’ve emailed me about giving a gift, I’m not ignoring you, I’m just working down the list. Give me a little time.)

Ready?

Alica had a good look ’round her stash and has decided to pass along this beautiful combo. It’s two skeins of Lorna’s laces Shepherd sock, and beautiful skein of Jaggerspun wool/silk.  She thinks they’d make a lovely co-coordinating sock/scarf combo, and I think she’s spot on.  I hope Charlene M agrees, because they’re on the way to her house.

Next up, Fiona and Amanda over at Knit Social have a copy of their awesome book Cascadia for the cause.  It’s a fab book (I have one – you can see all the patterns on Rav here) that celebrates not just knitting, but the coastal region of British Columbia. (It’s beautiful there. Hard not to be inspired by it.)  It’s going out to Linda R, and I bet she casts on something right away.

In another category of beautiful fibre arts, Beth over at Dancing Dog Studio has a gorgeous handwoven beaded bracelet that’s going out into the world. (Take a look at that shop. Pretty, pretty, pretty.)

She’ll be sending it to Kara C.

Faith has a cute idea… she’s donating two copies of her Flourish pattern.

One’s going out to Sarah H, and one’s going out to someone that Sarah chooses, just to keep the good times rolling!

Jana over at Colorful Yarn has a great present.  One lucky knitter will be choosing from amongst some of the wonders in her shop. She’s donating either two skeins of her hand-dyed fingering or worsted: fingering is 120 g, 400 yards; worsted is 100 g, 250 yards. Both are  super wash merino tightly spun in Pennsylvania. These can be dyed the same or different colors – knitters choice.

OR

One skein of lace weight, either a 70% alpaca, 20% silk and 10% cashmere or 80% merino and 20% silk. Both are 100g and 1,300 yards. (Jana knits with this doubled for a heavy lace weight.) Again… knitters choice of colour.  Julie S is going to have a hard time choosing!

Oh, lovely thing here.  Carol has somehow decided to be without this beauty.

The picture doesn’t do it justice, but it’s a gorgeous skein of Wollmeise Lace-Garn in Zimptafel.  (1590 metres!) It will make the most beautiful thing, and I can’t wait to see what Ruth Ann H will make!

One more? Sure – and actually, it’s two in one! Amazing Laura over at Still life with Knitting and Knitifacts (seriously, she’s doing something great for someone every time I look around) has two wonderful gifts.  First, Lou H will get a nifty sock package… choosing from amongst Laura’s sock patterns and receiving a great package of stitch markers to go with…

and then Maggie S will get a nifty package too, choosing from the Cowl patterns!

Shazam! There we go… another slew of gifts to go out, and another thing off my list, and a lovely day to you all.  I’m going to go work on that couscous, and the laundry. And my email. And those socks.

(PS.  If you haven’t visited in a while, and you don’t know why people are getting presents, to get in on the action, you just donate to someone on our little family team –

Me

Jen

Ken

Samantha

Amanda

Pato

and then send an email to me at Stephanie@yarnharlot.ca with “Enter me” as the subject line, and give me your address, and whether or not you’d like to be in it for spinning gifts, or just knitting. That’s it!)

This is a thing I hate.  When a few very full days go by while I’m doing something intense, and then because it was intense, when I do have time to tell you about it I can’t figure out how to tell you about it because so much happened that I have no idea where to start. This retreat was like that.  I’ve started and trashed this entry about four times, and have finally decided that it’s not going to come together, and instead I’m going to give up, choose some of my favourite pictures, tell you what was happening and let the whole thing just… happen.  Ready?

1. I got to spend the weekend with Cat Bordhi, and that’s just about all you need to know about that.  It was a pleasure to have her with us.

2. The cooking classes looked to have been so much fun, and I was intensely jealous of the retreaters.  Every day they’d make dinner for the group that night, and we had some amazing things.  Amazing. I had no idea that regular people could make food like that.

3. Knitters. Everywhere. The place was literally littered with them.

4. Our goodie bags were outrageously good.

Presents from Knitifacts, Ms. Gusset, Madsen Originals, Stitchmaps, Knit Companion, River City Yarns, 3D-Sweets, Splityarn,  Holiday yarns, Fleur de Fibers  Tuft Woolens... and much more that I’m not remembering right now while I’m rushing in the airport.  It was amazing.

5. On the last night, we had an amazing present from Theresa and Ron at the Buffalo Wool Co.

Every knitter got a yarn course before the food ones started.

A 200m skein of Heaven, right on their plate.  (While it is, indeed, laceweight bison and therefore heaven, in this case that’s the actual appropriate name of the yarn.)

5. The Marketplace was beautiful.

6. It was great.

I’d tell you more, but they’re boarding my flight – forgive any typos, I’m rushing a little.  Tomorrow, let’s talk about knitting.

Again.

The retreat is done, and the paperwork is almost finished, and tomorrow I head home. I’ll tell you all about it.

Thanks for going for a ride with me today.  I know it’s been really hard for you to find the time to train for the Rally, and I know that these distances are still really hard.  (I know that, because after our 80km today, everything on my whole body hurts, and I can’t imagine your body feels any different. I don’t even want to talk about the place on my hind parts where I connect to the bike. Holy. Cow. I didn’t know my sit bones knew language like they’re throwing at me now.)

Thanks too, for being so good about being out with your mum.  I know you’re young and beautiful and hip, and I’m… your mother – and I know that there have to be some feelings about that related to the fact that I’m wearing spandex, and thanks for not saying anything at all about that.

Thanks too, for the complaining.  I know you feel bad about saying that you’re hurting, and that it’s hard, but I don’t care how much you complain, as long as you keep moving –  and by goodness my girl, you do.  Know that I’m complaining too.  I’m just 46, and I keep it inside – but if I were one minute younger (and not your mum) I think there are moments where I would cry on the bike.  Thanks for not taking it that far.

One last thing – thanks for putting up with me.  It turns out that even though you are twenty years old and so capable,  when we are together, I can’t forget you’re my baby.  I appreciate that as I caution you over and over (and over) again about being careful and not getting hit by a car and watching out for that hole and call out to you about the gravel ahead… I appreciate that you take it all in stride, and know that there’s just something wrong with mothers.  It’s not that I think you can’t see these things, and I know you live in the world without me all the time, and that you’re fine. Just fine… it’s simply that I don’t know how to disengage the part of me that sees you, and sees possible danger, and just keeps connecting those things in a way that I feel compelled to warn you about.

You’re a good rider.  Sorry about the gasping. Thanks for going on a ride with me.

You’re a crusher.

Love,

Mum

(PS.  See you in a week after the retreat.  Be a good girl.)

(PPS. I can’t tell you how proud I am that you’re the kind of young lady who would do this for a charity. You have no idea how many people your age wouldn’t spend their holidays this way. You’re awesome.)