Spin Soft

I took a look through the summer issue of Spin Off yesterday, and I was pretty impressed with it!  Two articles stood out - the first was an excellent article about making boucle yarns by Jacey Boggs.  If you're familiar with Jacey Boggs, you might expect felted eyeballs in every yarn she makes.  But all that talent makes gorgeous boucle, too!  Sadly, at my skill level, her yarns are just eye candy. (sorry)

The other, "Light and Smooth Yarns from Worsted Preparations," was a goldmine for me!  Reading that worsted spinning (the inchworm technique, my favorite) is supposed to create dense and heavy yarn has always saddened me.  Isn't there a happy medium where I can get smoothness and durability but keep it light?  This article has the answer and it led to this:

BFL in Petroglyph by Lisa Souza

Well, the difference is mainly in the feel.  You have to trust me on this.

The yarn is for this project, a design-on-the-fly shawl I will eventually finish.  (It helps that I've finished all the spinning for it!)

All the same colorway, honest!  The top section and two balls are merino, the rest is BFL.

And the new skein compared to the others?  Much lighter, with a very pleasant squish.
~~~
I "attended" a webinar on how to build the perfect Yelp business listing.  If you're not familiar with Yelp, it's review site that I use to find new restaurants, stores, doctors, everything.  I actually didn't change anything on our profile, though - what do you think?

Llama Llama Knit on Yelp

We're always striving to improve. :)

New Book Love!

(photo from STC/Melanie Falick Gallery)

So Knitting 24/7 (gallery link) is my new favorite book:

-30 patterns, all of which look interesting to knit, and most of which I would actually wear

-5 lace scarf/wrap pieces and and 5 sock patterns (you know, the only two things I knit anymore)

-I love the detail on each pattern.  The cover socks, for example, are a nice but not exceptional lace pattern, BUT they also have a garter heel and toe. Sweeeeet.

-These are supposed to be on-the-go patterns, so most, while having the detail I mentioned above, have some degree of simplicity built in.  The lace patterns are short repeats, the fitted garments are one piece types, and the colorwork is only two... colors.  Well.  Some didn't seem to hit the "portable" mark for me, but everyone's different!

-The photos!  Everybody appreciates nice photos in a pattern book, but these seem to be especially stylish (I mean, the knee socks are worn with those trendy gladiator booties) with a hint of vintage (which you know I love.)  Also, there's a touch of reality in the photos that gives me an impression of actual wearability.  The lace stole isn't hanging out somewhere casual; it's dressed up for a night out.  The slippers are worn with cut-offs and the prop is a vacuum.  Because that's how you'd wear them.

In short, I love it.  Come get one.  :)

Conspiracy Theory

Disco C here again with another riveting tale of knitting trials and triumphs. Remember that last post? The one about all that adventuresome learning and excitement of new and challenging goals? F*#@ that post.

Somewhere, in a smoke-filled, dimly-lit conference room, the Lace Czars converge around a slick, rectangular tangle covered with a fantastic lace table-cover. The are examining a pattern, squinting through the smoke and spectacles. "Surely no one will try this pattern without experience." One says, frowning. "No, surely not. No one would dare be so brazen as to attempt an Estonian lace shawl for their first shawl!" Laughter erupts at the very idea. Chortling hur hur hur's fill the room and a stamp comes down upon the pattern: APPROVED FOR CIRCULATION.

Alas, these mysterious shadowy figures had no idea what they were unleashing upon the world or that a simple lace-novice such as myself might innocently stumble upon this pattern and, in my naivete, attempt to posses and conquer it. What no one realized was that this pattern would instead attempt to conquer me. And, in the transition chart, row 9, I had thought it had done just that. But, thanks to the tireless efforts of my compatriot Marie, it would not be that day. Oh, no indeed. Hours of labor later (and with a new lifeline installed) I would go on, I would persevere, I would triumph. The thing about knitting is that you have to accept that there will be mistakes, and even the most seasoned veterans will tell you that it is nearly impossible to complete a project without having to fix at least a couple errors along the way. What separates the truly skilled from the amateurs is not perfect technique or flawless execution, but instead it is the acceptance of making mistakes and the will to overcome them. In many ways being able to fix mistakes is the true mark of an expert, rather than the lack of mistakes in general.

So, while I still strongly advocate knitting from the heart and taking on the world, the moral of my tale and the Quorum of Knitting Czars is to use lifelines whenever you are facing overwhelming odds. They don't call them "lifelines" for nothing.

Until next time, my fellow adventurers!

-Disco C (catch my knitting adventures on my Ravelry page!)