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Stash Sunday – Mountain Colors Mountain Goat

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Mountain Colors is a yarn company which which I have a strong and passionate love.  The colors they create are georgous, and when I talk about the company, my passion comes through.  Often, I will walk into a new store, and the first yarn I approach, without even seeing the ball band, will be Mountain Colors.  I was Beyond Thrilled when The Yarn Spot started carrying this yarn, because I love it.  Whoever plans the colorways at Mountain Colors must have the very same color sense as I do, because their colors speak to me in a way I can’t describe.  Other companies I love the colors because they are “OOO, SHINY!”  Mountain Colors I love because the colors say to me, “home.”  They fill the warm place in me that yearns for peace.

Needless to say, I’ve had a fair amount of their yarn over the years, though most of it isn’t documented in Ravelry.

Mountain Goat I love in particular for it’s hand.  It’s solid.

The Deets:

Yarn weight

Worsted / 10 ply (9 wpi)
Amount stashed

3 skeins = 690.0 yards (630.9 m)
Purchased at

Charlotte Yarn in Charlotte, North Carolina
Dye lot

Colorway

Sweet Pea

Birthday!

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Last week was my birthday and it has now launched me into my
26th year… that is, I’ve completed 25 years of my life.

My sister Rosemary called on the morning of my birthday to
wish me a happy day.  In the course of
our conversation she pointed out to me that I’ve lived a quarter of a
century.  “You know, you’re old,” she
told me from her vantage point of 17 years of age.  “And if you are really unlucky, you’ve now
lived about half of your life.”
“Thanks,” I told her. 
One of the lovely things about being the oldest is my three younger
siblings.  They just love telling me how
old I am.
Later, I went to work at the Yarn Spot, where I got wished
happy birthday again.  There, everyone in
the store was telling me how young I was, “a practical baby.”  It’s amazing the range of reactions turning
25 gets.
I guess I expected 25 to come through with more of a flair,
but I feel like 24 was actually a bigger birthday, in some ways for me.  More was starting or beginning a year ago,
now I’m in a rythmn, and 25 just represents another year turning, a
continuation of the story instead of a new book or new chapter.  This is not a bad thing, as beginning over
and over again can be exhausting.  That
re-forming and re-defining of yourself and your surroundings is tiring.
The weekend following Michael and I had a small birthday
party.  It was supposed to be bigger, but
many people had to step out at the last moment. 
Ellie made me a lovely rainbow confection again, this time a cake
instead of cupcakes.  Any more of this
and it will start becoming a tradition. 
It was delicious, and Michael and I were eating the leftovers several
days afterward.
My friends at the Yarn Spot got me some lovely yarn they
know I have been eyeing.  Bobbi acquired
a really neat puzzle from Interweave that I’m looking forward to putting
together.  My family also showered me
with cards and love.
How do you celebrate birthdays?  Do you make a big deal about it?  What was your 25th birthday like
(if you’ve had it), or what do you imagine it being like if you haven’t?  I’d like to know.
PS: Also, I called my mother on my birthday and thanked her
for birthing me.  I suggest that you do
that for your mother too.  And as my
mother said this year when I thanked her, she laughed and said “Oh, I remember that like it was
yesterday.”  I don’t think she was
talking about the joyfulness of the occasion.

Stash Sunday – Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light

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This was given to me as a gift from Bobbi, of Covers and Soles.  It’s got a nice hand, and it’s Berroco, which is a solid company.  She said it was too bright for her, and while I admit it is bright, it’s perfect for me.  I like bright colors.  The only detractor is I had a hard time getting a picture that did the color justice.  So you’ll just have to bear with me.  I think this is intended to be a spring-weight pullover.  Something light with a fair amount of drape, but some shape to counteract alpaca’s tendencies.  I must do some swatching before I start.

The Deets:

Yarn weight

Sport / 5 ply (12 wpi)
Amount stashed

7 skeins = 1008.0 yards (921.7 m)
Purchased at

Dye lot

0701
Colorway

4233

Crafting Spaces

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UntitledInspired by a few people who where talking about their knitting nooks and where they work on the Three Irish Girls forum, and also a post or two that I cam across in the last week (which I now can’t find the source… oh well).  I thought I would share some pictures the new place Michael and I have moved into.

By new place, I mean we’ve been here for more than two months, but before now, it hasn’t really quite felt like home, just the place we crashed.  I’m starting to feel proprietary toward the place, which tells me that it’s starting to feel like home.

UntitledSo, my time is divided by two places.  Most of my blogging and pattern writing happens at the computer desk that I share with Michael.  However, since I spend more time there, I have my bookshelf right next to the desk space.  I do have to try my best to keep the desk space clean, because Michael also uses it, but now, after a few years of sharing a desk, he’s become quite tolerant of my mess.

When I’m just working on a project or a sample, swatching or doing other things, I’ll put a show I don’t have to watch on my computer (or put a book on tape on) and work at the couch.  I’ve got an ottoman where things get thrown into when I’m not working on them, so Michael doesn’t sit on them and they don’t get tangled or ruined.

UntitledStuff that needs to be blocked or needs to be spread out is put on the kitchen table.  I can add two leaves to it, and then stick my mats on it to block something big out.

Finally, if I’m just crocheting for fun I’ll settle into the comfy chair, but the comfy chair is only really for work that isn’t under a deadline, because most times when I’m in this chair?  I end up drifting off or falling asleep.  Also, this chair is comfy, but not so much when you are trying to get real work done… it doesn’t provide much back support.
Untitled
 So now that I’ve shared my work space, what does yours look like?  Tell me about it, or post some pictures and link back.  I love to look at where other people work.

Stash Sunday – Anzula Sebastian Seacell/Merino

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Anzula is one of the companies I think should get more love, and isn’t.  The colors they produce, all solids or semi-solids, are of a lovely drape, quality, and intensity.  To of my projects that I’m currently working on are done in Anzula Sebastian.  The brightness of their colors is really sweet.

The Deets:
Yarn weight: Fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi)

Amount stashed

2 skeins = 750.0 yards (685.8 m)
Dye lot

72011
Colorway

Arizona
Color family

Orange
Stored in

Trunk

Interview question

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Michael and I were talking the other night and he shared with me his new favorite interview question. “You are being mummified but only have one canonic jar. What organ would you take to the afterlife?”

“My spleen.” I said.

 “that’s what I said too.”

 Both of us, in tandem “-because it would be fun to say.”

 “And,” Michael pointed out, “How great would it be in the afterlife to be wandering around with your spleen in a jar?”

 I have to admit I agree with him. That would be cool.

So I will turn the interview question on you… What organ would you bring to the afterlife?

Acrylic Hotpads… not a good idea. Let this be a warning.

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This was my fault, really.  Michael and I inherited some really ugly hotpads from a friend a couple of moves ago.  They were the ones that make me wince – acrylic, with plastic in-between to hold it stiff.  Done is some ugly colors.

Now I’ve known from an early age that hotpads should never be acrylic, for the same reason acrylic isn’t good for anything that might be exposed to heat.  It melts, and actually can catch fire, and when that plastic gets on skin, it sticks, and melts into you.  I once actually got rather badly burned on my leg because I got a piece of burning plastic stuck to me.  It took a long time to heal.

This once was a hotpad.

So I’ve always kept these “hotpads” away from the ones that you use to get things out of the oven, and in fact, had always stashed them away where someone wouldn’t get themselves into trouble using them.  I really couldn’t bear to throw them away… after all, they represented somebody’s hard work, but I really didn’t want to use them either.  However, in the last move Michael was the one unpacking, and he, unbeknownst to me, put them with the other hot pads.

You can see where this was going.
Melted. Use wool, people!
Last night, he used one to put beneath a hot tray.  It melted to the tray and stuck, and Michael didn’t notice.  He put the tray, with the hotpad still stuck to it, back into the oven.

This is what happened.

So, let this be a warning.  Acrylic.  It’s plastic.  It catches fire, and has a relatively low melting point.  This is why you don’t want to use acrylic for hot-pads.  Or why you don’t want to use it for anyone or anything that might get exposed to extreme heat.  Or for people who might accidentally catch fire.

Use wool.  It is fire-retardant (why wool blankets are thrown over burning people), burns at a higher temperature, and if it does catch fire, stops burning as soon as the source of heat is removed.  Or use plant fibers, which will burn once the heat is removed, but at least char, and don’t actually melt into you.

Finally, it’s a really bad idea to throw an acrylic blanket over a person who is on fire.  Just sayin’.

Why I don’t Recomend Adults to take Knit/Crochet Lessons with their Children

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Children behave better when their parents aren’t there.  I’m sorry, but in my experience, it’s true.  Children listen to me better when the parents aren’t there dividing their attention.

Adults are dividing their attention between their children and learning themselves.  It’s just gotta be said.  Knitting and Crochet aren’t easy.  You gotta concentrate on what you are doing.

And the final reason?

Adults get frustrated when their children learn faster than them.  And typically?  Children learn much faster than adults.  Children are hardwired to learn, and they do it well.  It’s hard for adults, who are used to teaching their children, to be the ones that are struggling beside their younger classmates.

And I know, there are exceptions to this rule, but… it happens often enough it bears saying.

Stash Sunday

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Yarn Organization 025Today’s yarn is another handspun… I seem to be on a bit of a handspun kick here.  It actually makes sense, since I’m trying to get all my handspun labeled and organized.

I think I might call this one Fairy Wings.  Like Forest Path, it’s a by-product of overloading my carder so it was hard to spin.  Plus, the wool in this one seemed to want to felt just from the moisture on my skin.  It’s going to be a trick not to have this accidentally felt on me the first time I wash it after it’s knit up.

Deets: 160 yrds, 4.2 oz.  Merino and Glitz.

Chimney Corners Camp

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I’ve talked a little bit before about Chimney Corners Camp, which is located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.  I started going to the camp in 1995, when I was eight years old.  I continued to go until 2008, which was my last year.  I worked as the Assistant Waterfront Director.

CCC, as the camp is known to insiders, has been a place of incredible growth throughout my life.  It’s where I learned to get along with others, how to be a leader and a follower.  I learned that you can love a place without it being perfect.  CCC has been my home when my family moved several times.  It’s where my childhood friends are, and where most of my formative experiences have almost all taken place.

I’ve been thinking about doing a design series to talk about my process, from sketching, swatching, grading, the whole gammut.

My question is, what would you like to see?  If you wanted to know more about a designer, the process, etc, what would you like to know about, and what would you find most interesting?

Let me know in the comments.

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