I love watching NASCAR races. I was trying to remember how this came to be, and I think it stems from going with my family to Champ car qualifying days at Portland International Raceway when we could get free passes. My Dad and brother absolutely loved going, and Mom and I would tag along and sit under the makeshift lean-to awning and read – back when they would let you camp out for the day on the grassy banks around the track. There’s something about the sound and the excitement and unpredictability. What I like even better about stock car racing is that they smash into each other and into the walls and yet, many times, THEY STILL KEEP GOING, albeit with sheet metal flapping. Repairs are attempted with baseball bats …

(lovely photos courtesy of Alison – thank you!)
Yarn: Bare Essential (75% superwash merino, 25% nylon)
Dye: Jacquard Acid Dyes Burnt Orange, Burgundy, Chestnut
Needles: 40″ nickel plated fixed circular, size 0
Pattern: my own – toe-up, standard heel flap, slip stitch heel and back ankle, knit until the yarn is gone. I’m working on writing the pattern up for our sock catalog in June/July. Anyone want to test knit for me?
Whew, they’re done! It was so nice to be able to show the finished product to my class. I started the class teaching both the two-socks-on-two-circs method and the magic loop method so the students could choose which way they wanted to knit. They are all very new knitters; most have only done a scarf or two. After a couple weeks of frustration, all the two-circ ladies switched to magic loop, …

If you want to snatch up a skein or two of our brand new Simply Cotton Heathers, but you’re not sure what you’d knit with them, may I suggest a cute and cuddly Cheezombie toy…or three?

Like Stacey, Cheezombie’s quirky IDP toy patterns make my heart go pitter pat, but the idea of dyeing my own organic Simply Cotton or using another yarn did not. So when samples of the new Simply Cotton Heathers showed up in Alison’s office a couple of weeks ago, I knew exactly what I wanted to knit first. Stacey and I were first in line to scoop up a skein or two of the worsted weight and take it for a test run.

Stacey knit another Weiner Dog in Mandarin Heather to add to her growing menagerie. She named him Santa’s Little Helper (any other Simpson’s fans out there?).

Alison …

My Stonington shawl has been one of my Mindless Knitting projects. I usually only have a couple in progress with the rest of my WIPs being more intellectually stimulating.

Well, this weekend I finally finished my other simple project – the Angora Socks! Hurrah!!

I left you in suspense with my last blog entry and the analysis of what I thought was a small mathematical miscalculation.

I had to leave you in suspense because I was left speechless!!

It has taken a couple of days, and a scheduled dinner out with friends tonight, to shake me from my stupor. I have no viable mindless knitting! Yes, I could start something new but the Stonington Shawl “situation”, “mishap”, “disaster” ….. has completely knocked me out of the game. Seriously! It was a simple trapezoid but, NO, that was just too much for my math-challenging little mind. Suddenly …

A couple of weeks ago I spent a day gathering up my far-flung WIPs. I had bags in my library, in my knitting nook, in the living room, in the bedroom and in my office at work! Seeing everything piled up in one place was a bit daunting but, in the perverse attitude of a fiber freak, fantastically energizing.

Using Ravelry and my Knit Buddy iTouch app, I arranged everything into two categories. The ones that I felt I could get to at least once a week became WIPs. The others went into my Queue.

As I became reaquanted with my neglected WIPs, I slammed head first into the one rule that I just can’t seem to retain. Make REAL notes! Cryptic jottings do not qualifiy!!

My Stonington Shawl is a perfect example. Here is a reproduction of the notes I made on the Xerox copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s instructions.

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There are some rules that even the owner of Knit Picks can’t break. In preparation for yarn launches, we always receive boxes in advance for knitting up photo samples for the catalog. These yarns are absolutely sacrosanct since everything has been allocated to sample knitters or the photography department.
Yeah, right! Imagine walking into a room filled with all sort of new yarns and/or new colors and not being able to immediately be able to sweep up an armful and head for the nearest comfortable chair – that is my torture. I like to believe that everyone else has a crutch to lean on because their jobs depend on the “proper” dispensation of the limited yarn supplies. But, I’m supposed to be knitting! That’s my job!
When I was finally able to get my hands on the lace yarns, I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed. …

I finished it. If I wasn’t making it for my mom I would have never finished it. It was great travel knitting. It went with me to Austria, Germany, Italy, Yellowstone for New Years, and lots and lots of meetings at work.
The pattern is the Shoulder Shawl out of Victorian Lace Today. I used Shimmer Lace Weight Yarn in Sherry .
It has several errors. I had to fix no less than 5 dropped stitches once it was done. Luckily the hand dyed color hides errors and Alison helped me block it which really brought out its beauty.
I’m happy I finished it, but I can’t promise you’ll ever see me work with lace weight yarn again. I’m the one that likes to double strand WOTA Bulky. Now where did I leave that Twinkle book and my size 17 needles… …

Actually it arrived on Monday but our office renovation has left me so exhausted at the end of the day that I couldn’t do anything other than read and rest every evening. This morning I not only woke up ready to bond with my new little friend but I was determined to learn how to “Navajo Ply on the Fly”! More about that later.
Let’s start with the comfortable feeling that came back amazingly quickly! Remember that my “crushed” spindle was a Golding Aromatherapy Spindle. I loved it but I decided that I wanted to replace it with a Golding Celtic Sheep spindle. The same size and pretty much the same weight so I shouldn’t have any trouble starting back up with my sock yarn spinning.
Love, love, love Golding Spindles!! And, I am so grateful to Abby Franquemont for my finally truly appreciating the joys of spindling. Look at me!! All …