2008 August « cosymakes

Archive for August, 2008

yarn everywhere

August 7, 2008

here’s a yarnspace in the bedroom

and this box managed to escape the bookshelf

is it just me, or is it really hard to keep a 6X8 room clean when you have so much stuff in it? my plan for the next week is, indeed, once again trying to get a viable yarn organization system of the yarn room. what’s this spurred by? i need to find stuff to donate to fiber arts camp at our local art center and it’s a month before any more craft fairs and after that i plan to be thoroughly ensconced in my favorite craft fairs – fall and winter!! so now or never, baby.

speaking of craft fairs. i’ve been short-listed for crafty bastards. apparently it’s a really short shortlist, so if anyone drops, there’s a good chance i’ll get in. keeping my fingers crossed!! we have some good friends in dc we’d like to visit and this would be the perfect opportunity.

otherwise, today i mailed in a check to be a part of the pittsburgh knit and crochet festival! now that’s a big obligation… but klotho and another friend will be there with me so it should be good. january, i will be spinning. a lot. this is a huge event for our area and i’m hoping it will be a success for us. it’s a bit scary since it’s a big commitment and a kind of show i’ve never done before.

lastly, all of the book knits and i will be at the grand opening of Knit One North – i’ll be signing my book and doing a spinning demo from 1-3 on Saturday. If you’re in the area, you should stop by! it will be yarn-filled and festive.

Posted in cosyknitsliterally, craftfairs | 4 Comments »

word-along – grow hat

August 5, 2008

i finished my first hat for the word-along last night. if you’re interested in joining in the fun, check out the thread in the knit one, embellish too group on ravelry.

ingredients:
my hand dyed recycled sweater wool seen here
lamb’s pride worsted
thrifted 1970′s pull skein wool

size:
18 mo.-4 yr.

honestly, i can’t tell you how much time it took me to embroider the word! embroidering on knitting is interesting anyhow, then two letters with round shapes and weird color-choice issues? ugh. and maybe i wasn’t giving it my full attention either ;)

quick, change your word now to have less circular letters.

tee hee. knit most of this one while camping while around the fire and it smells like it. i’m finding it very inspirational to have new hand dyeds in the stash. while i was sewing in the ends last night, the vision of the inside of the hat kept growing on me. this happens a lot when i turn things inside out, BUT it usually does not result in my un-sewing in the ends and turning the hat the other way out. usually i ask ben if he likes the inside or the outside better and we often go with the outside, even on hats where while i’m knitting i think the inside will win out.

i haven’t decided yet what my next word will be… but i’m almost done with the hat to put it on, so i better get deciding.

Posted in cosyknitsliterally, hats, knitting | 3 Comments »

vacation

August 4, 2008

my benjamin, the king of silly photos of real life (as opposed to my silly photos of wool), finally uploaded his photos from this summer to the computer, so i thought i’d share a bit from the last month or so. first there was katie’s first trip to pgh and after she left and the roommates went on vacation, there was dyeing of woolie things. then we went camping… i ate a lot of these and we picked blueberries, thanks to the forest service. and lastly, the above photo -visiting julie for a day before we came back to town. there was eating, thrifting, chatting, and walking and frankly, a good time was had by all, but especially the dogs ;)

now, it’s time to get back to work – ahem. answering all of those emails that i have been remiss on during the summery chaos.

Posted in community, the fam | 1 Comment »

PCC

August 3, 2008

not quite the same as BSJ… but all things can’t be that ingenious ;)

i’ve had some crafty plottings and plannings going on behind the scenes lately. this afternoon was spent out on the porch working on PCC with two of my favorite crafty friends- emily and carrie.

and now we’d like to invite all of you (if you’re in the pittsburgh area or care about or wish to be a part of the pittsburgh craft scene) to join the Pittsburgh Craft Collective forums. us and several other crafty types have some big plans for this little collective and i’ll keep you updated as things come along.

just in case i’m seeming too official – here’s a slightly more normal photo for this blog and a slightly more scary photo of me.

Posted in community | 5 Comments »

bernat diamond sock pak

August 2, 2008

we’re back from our mini-vacation, and although i’m not full functioning yet, i have something i needed to show you all right away.

reads: Bernat diamond sock pak in wonderful meadowspun yarn
smaller print: the easiest, most popular pattern of all… in the short length men like

google-ing brought up nothing except maybe some of these on ebay at one point or another. i found this historical gem in a lovely little antique store in clarion, pa. they sold it to me for a dollar. i think they were happy that the right person found it :) i was ecstatic.

Anne L Macdonald, in No Idle Hands says that in the 50′s, “Argylers were still in full cry, elaborating on the ‘traditional’ Scottish patterns by knitting diamonds within diamonds and combining diamonds with plaids and stripes. Argyles were so popular for high school cheerleaders that the going rate was $20 a pair for handknit ones.” that quote totally reminds me of my interview with Sue and her answer to how she stared knitting… i must remember to ask her if they were argyles…

reads on both sides: 12 DIFFERENT COLOR COMBINATIONS TO CHOOSE FROM – see other side…
this side: This pak contains 2 1/8 ounces of yarn… sufficient to make one pair of short length diamond pattern men’s or boys’ socks in any size up to and including size 12. Easy-to-knit instructions inside.
the other side: This is meadowspun… the yarn with the cashmere-like feel… 50% virgin wool for softness and warmth… 50% Dupont Nylon for lasting strength and easy washability… anti-shrink, anti-stretch.

in her chapter on the 1950′s, Macdonald mentions just such kits as these. i wonder if the kits continued to exist after the craze was over? i have at least one sock booklet from the late 60s or early 70s with argyles in it… but did the kits still exist? i know they weren’t as wildly popular as the 40s and 50s. anyone?

if this kit does happen to date back to the 1950′s, this next quote from Anne L. Macdonald is apt. the yarn inside is 50% wool/50% dupont nylon. (click here for more history of nylon).

“Argyle-knitting teenagers were humored by one authoress’s jaunty introduction: ‘You all know what I’m doing! Knitting. And I love it… knitting all the time. Right now I’m turning the heel of a pair of argyles-they’re gray, red and navy. I’m sure he’ll like these…. Socks, socks and more socks! He just can’t get enough of them. Socks prove that a little goes a long way. Probably he clings to the precious wool, but maybe he’s taken up nylon, and if that’s his liking, nylon’s your meat. It’s a great advertisement, too, with socks so easy to carry around, and knit.’

She never clarified what was being advertise, but with nylon as the ‘meat,’ someone’s trap was baited!”

in the 1940′s, nylon was only used for re-inforceing by most. by the time of these, it was better respected and not only did it make it into the yarn, but ended up being 50% of it!! this kit is, of course, never to be knit – but is destined to ride out its time as a precious piece of knitting history.

Posted in history, knitting, thrifty | 9 Comments »