Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

I recently acquired a free skein of yarn and pattern. I could have tossed it in the stash, but I figured a one-skein hat pattern could be knit up almost as fast as I could put it away. And, really, I am trying to keep the stash at a manageable size. As it was, I cast-on one day and finished the hat the next. The pattern is Oh Yum, Bubblegum Slouchy Hat by Eleanor Swogger and the yarn is Kraemer Yarns Perfection Tapas in color 9038 Elderberry. By the way, they do have an adorable commercial featuring a car sweater on YouTube . I'll probably toss the hat in the guild charity pile. I don't typically wear hats all that much. Plus, I have a cloak with hood that I plan to wear a lot whenever the cool weather returns to Atlanta (probably not until October). At this point in the year, we've had 95°F weather for so long I don't remember when it wasn't summer. (I do love that summer is five months long in Atlanta.) I did want ya'all to notice I used a tubula...

I believe I am not the only knitter who likes gadgets. There's something charming and appealing about a trinket that makes a task just a bit easier. I am not only a fan of fiber arts, but I am also a big fan of board games and all things geek. Earlier in the summer I attended Awesome Con in Washington, D.C. Not quite Dragon*Con — what is? — but still very nice. The vendor hall was very, very large. And mixed in amongst that merchant horde was CritSuccess . CritSuccess is a company that makes dice rings. What are dice rings? Dice rings are spinner rings with the spinning part marked off in numbered increments. They can be used in place of regular dice. In fact, one of the advantages of dice rings is they can be manufactured to any number set you desire. Do you need a seven-sider so you can roll days of the week? No problem! Do you need weighted numbers -- a set where some numbers are more likely to come up than others? Again no problem -- some numbers get a larger space than other...

There's a reason I consider Vincent a top-ranked knitter's or spinner's cat. It is not just because he loves crafts. He can put into body language what humans instead put into words. Yes, Vincent, you can haz fleece.

Sometimes I think I might need a Twitter account just for these sorts of tidbits. An envelope arrived in our mail, marked as an "invitation" from Harry & David. This is, of course, the retailer known for glorious baskets of perfect fruit (at a price point reflecting the time and care needed to attain that level of perfection), typically given during the end-of-year holidays. I've sometimes wondered what Harry & David does during the off-season between January and September.  Apparently, they attempt to sell sand to the Saudis . . . or in this case, peaches to people who live in Georgia. -------- experience ------- THE FIRST PEACHES OF THE SEASON I already have. In fact, I regular patronize two different local farmers' markets, plus I live a mile from three groceries stores and a new Sprouts Market opened in Smyrna. We've had peaches for over a month already. Why would I want to ship in peaches from three time zones away when I ...

It has been a busy summer with lots of travel. While I usually don't mind travel, I've done enough at this point that I think I get one victory point for every day in August in which I do not move my car. I am ecstatic to be sleeping in my own bed, working on my own projects, and having time to share my most recent discoveries. One of these discoveries is an interesting maneuver and stitch pattern. It started when I saw my mother wearing a commercial sweater with this pattern: Non-knitters probably don't notice anything about it, but knitters may notice the pattern is symmetrical. Not a big deal, you might think. Think again! There are a number of ways to make a fabric with holes on the half drop. Most of them are not 100% satisfying. In the examples below, odd-numbered rows are always right side. Swatch #1: Multiple of 2 stitches. Row 1: alternate yo, k2tog. Row 2: p all. Row 3. alternate k2tog, yo. Row 4. p all. Repeat these 4 ...