A curly haired knitter speaks from NYC
There's nothing like a little retail therapy and pampering to cheer a curly haired girl up!! So, for the past week or so I have engaged in a little bit of both!! Last week I paid a visit to Yarn Connection, my neighborhood LYS, with the intention of browsing only, and this hank of Shaefer Yarn cried out for me to take it home:
Could any kind hearted knitter let such a lovely hand painted orange and pink yarn remain orphaned? Nope. Not me. In the blink of an eye, "Anne," had a new home at House of CurlsandPurlsNYC. I see a shawl in Anne's future. And, thanks to Emma and Lori from LA, I have several other shawl and scarf projects in my future!
It was a beautiful day here in NYC....despite some heavy rain last night, today was dry and comfortably warm and sunny. A most unusual day. Why? Well, because my curls got cut today, and it usually rains whenever I get my curls cut. And rain, is never good when a curly girl gets her hair cut. Can you say frizz? (Without fail, it also rains whenever I start a trial!!) Today, however, was different. I hope this is the sign of good things to come, hair, knitting and otherwise.
On the weekends I am not the Birkenstock type, but Dansko clogs, now, they are another story!
I got a package from the Royal Mail this weekend!! ( I love saying that, "the Royal Mail", so fabulously and deliciously British!!) Now, in my experience, packages from the Royal Mail are ALWAYS good! Letters from dear friends in the UK!! Yarn from Colourway or Liberty!! Chocolate and tea from London and Preston near Lancashire!! And this package, dear readers, was no exception, for it contained my gift from the Rowanette Extremeties Exchange!! WOOOO HOOOO!!
My exchange gift comes from the Lovely Kathleen in Glasgow, Scotland and it is a gift I truly love!! SOCKS, made just for ME!! ( I love that!! Made just for me!!) As you can see from the picture above, they fit perfectly and are in a wonderful, cheerful colourway!! Have a better look here. In a lovely note, Kathleen writes:
"I used Regia shade 5047, which was fantastic to knit with, and 2.5 mm needles, much finer than I usually work with, but I love the way the socks turned out. I liked the idea of solid colour heels and toes and I had to break the yarn to keep the colour right..."
I absolutely LOVE these socks....they are beautiful, in both colour and craftmanship. And, as someone who has yet to tackle sock knitting (yes, my own Reggia sock is still languishing on superfine needles!!) I am doubly bowled over to receive such lovely knitting gift!! Kathleen also tucked some other gifts into the package that she sent to me!! She sent this yarn, Patons Loopy, a curly mohair, that bears a strong resemblance, no joke, to MY curly hair!! See? That is, if my hair were MAGENTA!! ( Ok, ok, I admit it!! Once, in the 80's my hair WAS magenta, but only for a day, ok!!) Kathleen also sent these shell buttons that she purchased in New Zealand.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Kathleen!! Well done!! And good luck with the opening of your very own yarn shop, which, rumour has it can be found soon at www.farkle.co.uk. Farkle? Hmmmm...that name might need some explaining, although I have some ideas!!
HOMEOPATHIC MUSIC!! I'm listening to the smart lyrics of Elvis Costello and Liz Phair for inspiration.
Never judge a book by its cover and NEVER judge a yarn store by its AWNING! Say hello to "P & S Fabric, " or as I have lovingly renamed it, "Ye Olde Cheapo Yarne Shoppe." Whatever name you choose to call it, this store is a mecca for low budget yarn and knitting accoutrements on lower Broadway in Manhattan. I go to P & S just to rummage through bins and bins of yarn and other knitting goodies. For example, there is no better place to get Patons Grace, a fabulous mercerized cotton that is the perfect substitute for Rowan Cotton Glace. You can also get Patons Up Country, the perfect yarn to knit up a quickie baby sweater or Patons Twister if you are hankering for a hank of inexpensive novelty yarn! When you tire of looking at yarn, you can saunter over to the fabric section, or look for buttons, or a zipper, or thread, or embroidery floss, or a knitting needles...or any other notion you might be in need of. Did I mention that I LOVE this store, albeit void of Rowan or any other high end yarn? If you pay P & S a visit, say "Hi" to Mark, one of the owners, and tell him his best friend sent you. He'll know who you mean!
...that Kim Hargreaves has left the Order of the Church of Rowan International!! I am crushed!! Now, to those of you who are new to this blog, to know this curly haired knitter is to know that I style myself a Rowan Knitter, that is a Rowan Knitter who primarily knits patterns designed by Kim Hargreaves!! Remember Elfin!!?? (How could anyone forget Elfin, for it inspired a knit-a-long that lead to world wide whining!!) Creamsicle the Sweater!! ?? Grace!!?? (Check out Trunk Show in the right side bar if you don't!!) And don't forget my latest WIP, Cinnamon, a fabulous cardi designed for the delightful summer yarn, Rowan Summer Tweed. These patterns were all designed by Dame Kim Hargraeves! OY VAY!! What will I do? In the face of Dame Hargreaves departure, should I even bother to renew my Rowan International membership? I repeat --OY VAY!! What will I do?
Well, for starters, I am going to finish up Cinnamon!! I finished up the second sleeve this past weekend and have entered the final sewing up/finishing home stretch! Have a look:
Lovely, n'est pas?
Fortunately, I have a healthy collection of Rowan Magazines...so, after I finish Cinnamon, I still have many other Kim Hargreaves patterns to seek out and knit. Now, come on all you Rowanettes, what's the skinny on Ms. Hargreaves? This curly haired knitter needs to know!! Consider this post a Wednesday Whine!!
Mannequins gone wild!! Indeed! The display designer must have watched the sixties television show "Lost in Space" in reruns to come up with this idea. (As for this curlyhaired knitter, Lost in Space was a rerun favorite! Danger Will Robinson, Danger!!) I was the only person in the sea of pedestrian traffic that flowed in front of the store that housed this dispay who was fascinated enough to stop and stare (or in my case, take pictures). This is not surprising, for after all, this is NYC, and a few free floating psychedelic and partially nude mannequins are NO. BIG. THING.
The headline of this post does not lie!! This curly haired knitter has actually done some knitting in the past few days!! The proof is in this picture!! I am a quarter of the way through the second sleeve of my Cinnamon cardi, a design from the Rowan Summer Tweed Collection. I love the idea of this simple cardi, the perfect accessory for over airconditioned offices and movie theatres. I hope to finish this cardi up in the next ten days or so.
On Saturday, the first Saturday I have had free in several months, I took myself over to Downtown Yarn and bought some new yarn for a new project, my contribution to the Extremities Exchange, a knitting exchange set up by members of Rowan International! (A huge shout out to Polly!! Emma!! Susan!! for organizing this event.) Now, I know that I said that I would only be knitting "out of the box" of yarn I put together to use up some of the yarn in my stash, but I felt that the Rowan Extremities Exchange warranted a splurge of some new yarn. Although I don't know the knitter I am knitting this project for, I do know that the only colours she objected to were black and white. For now, all I will say about this project is this -- it will be snuggly, it will be soft, and, more importantly, it will be a unique shade of melony-orange!! Cantelope Dream! The perfect warm weather project!!
By George She's Got It! Indeed, I have figured out what to knit for the Rowan Extremities Exchange. I am calling it "Cantelope Dream"!!
The expression goes, "in every dark cloud, there is a silver lining." As of late, that expression has become my mantra. As my brothers and I continue to ready our family home for the fast approaching closing date, an often painful task for all of us, we have found so many wonderful things that made the task easier. A box that had been slumbering quite peacefully in the attic for more years than I care to admit, contained my old boxes of crayons and colouring books, favorite dolls, games, books, and random bits and bobbles of my childhood. I had no idea box that my parents had saved so many of the toys and things I loved as a child! I looked through this box with both laughter and tears; my brothers stood beside me waiting to step in with a kiss or hug if needed. They remembered the things that were pulled out of that box, just as I remembered the things that were pulled out of their boxes. My toys and things always managed to find a way into their room or the pockets of their clothing, just as I, their little sister, always found a way to insinuate myself into their daily activities. The task of cleaning out our house has united the three of us again and made us much closer...a result I would unequivocally say is the silver lining of this dark cloud of an experience.
This experience has also made the three of us see our parents in a different light, not just as the people who nutured and raised us, but also as people with interests and experiences separate and apart from us. For example, while I have always been proud of my mother's creative side, I had no idea of the depth and breadth of her creativity. Have a look at an unfinished crochet project that I found tucked away in the attic:
My mother's handiwork here blows me away for her work is flawless. What is so exceptional about this piece is that she used the tiniest crochet needle I have ever seen to work on this project and used cotton fiber that has a weight that is slightly greater than that of a strand of sewing thread. Take a look at her tiny stitches, fibre, and tools here. I would not have appreciated her handiwork had I not taken up knitting and other fiber related activities. Rest assured, I will finish this project and display it appropriately in my home.
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In a sidebar comment, I plaintively moaned that I was having a tough time finding Koigu here in NYC. (My Koigu craving was instigated by Emma, who is knitting the most amazing lace scarf out of Koigu!!) Can you believe that there is a dearth of Koigu here in the city where one can almost always find ANYTHING? Of course, Koigu can be found here, although it is neither present nor plentiful in ANY of the yarn stores I haunt. I am loyal to a select few yarn stores...they treat me well and are always helpful. I also have a lonnngggg memeory, treat me poorly as a customer and I do not come back. Need I say any more? That said, my pal Lori from LA sent me a fabulous package, chock full of Koigu and other goodies that she quite sweetly named my " Koigu Palooza and Summer Knitting Survival Kit!!" Indeed it is! Have a look at the goodies Lori from LA sent me:
Wowzie, wow, wow!!! Koigu galore!! Candy!! A pattern book!! A groovy bag!! A kntting notebook (that Lori made!!)!! Knitted Flip Flops!! This gift brought such joy to my heart! Thank you, thank you, thank you Lori!
And a big shout out and thank you to Polly, who brought me many goodies from the Mothership of All That Is Rowan, Liberty of London during here latest trip to NYC!!!
Without a doubt, knitting has brought many wonderful people into my life!!
It is beautiful here. I hope it is beautiful where you are too!! Enjoy the weekend and think of my brothers and I as we get ready to say goodbye to our family home.
....to our family! Meet, Dylan, my great nephew! What a little mushnick! Whenever I look at this picture, I can do nothing but smile! For the past ten weeks a dark cloud has been hanging over the head of this curly haired knitter and I kid you not when I say I have a lot to whine about. This picture has been one of the few things that has consistently made me smile in the face of the insanity going on around me. So, while I have a lot to whine about, I won't.....I can't while gazing at my nephew's smiling face. Instead, I will coo over his picture and solicit opinions from all of you as to what I should knit this sweet little guy. Any suggestions? Speak up, I know that you are not shy.
The Wednesday Whine, that is...not every week, but fairly regularly. My whine? I need more free time! To knit! To sleep! To be social! To go to the gym or just be slothful! I am about to start the second sleeve of Cinnamon. I wanted to finish both sleeves this weekend, but, I had all of 30-40 minutes to knit. Sigh. Maybe tonight, or tommorrow night, or the weekend....naaah. Not just yet, for there is just no time.