Knitting

Finished!

When first taken off the needles it looked way way too small. Remember, I shortened the lace section between the Fair Isle band and the crown shaping to about 3 1/2 inches. It was a squnchy little thing that perched atop my head in soft ridges.  Plunge that baby into some lukewarm sweet-smelling soapy water, rinse well, stretch over the nearest 10″ mid-century modern plate, balance over a jug so all surfaces get air and voila! In this heat, an hour later it was dry, and fit nicely like a standard tam. Luckily the heat spell has lessened so I might even consider donning it in the early morning hours.

Don’t Forget! Fiber College Blog Tour: Day One over at knitting legend Beth Brown-Reinsel’s blog.

What better way to introduce you to the talent which is Fiber College than to have a Blog Tour.  Here is the line up:

Monday July 25 Beth Brown-Reinsel  http://knittingtraditions.com/blog/

Tuesday July 26 Mary Jane Mucklestone   http://maryjanemucklestone.com/

Wednesday July 27 Amy Herzog   http://www.amyherzogdesigns.com/blog/

Thursday July 28 Ellen Mason  http://odacier.blogspot.com/

Friday July 29 Gale Zucker   http://ezisus.blogspot.com/

There will be GIVEAWAYS, classes and passes!

Fiber College is held  September 8-11, 2011 the perfect time to visit Maine.

Take a break and go sailing!

Here’s my son, on the cover of the new edition of The Complete Sailor. He’s off in Alaska now fishing.

Book cover photo by Alison Langley, who I once worked for.

There’s lots of sailing here on the Maine Coast, just one more reason to attend Fiber College this Fall. Stay tuned, next week there will be a Fiber College Blog Tour. Details later in the week! Ahhhh wonderful summer!

I had a note from a knitter who was having trouble knitting my Cat’s Eye Tam featured in the summer issue of Interweave Knits, so I decided to revisit it myself, as I need a summer hat.

What did I prove? I proved that when distracted, I forget to read through the pattern first. I make assumptions, race ahead and knit the damn darling thing all wrong. In my case, lounging by the side of the pond, eager for a swim, I followed the pattern to just past the Fair Isle section, and then raced ahead reading ” Work Rnds 1-4 of cat’s eye patt” glancing down and  following what are the directions for the  Crown….neglecting to read the instructions: ” (see Stitch Guide) ” … so yes, designer of the hat or not, I had to rip back and refer to the Stitch Guide, which is presented just after the list of materials, and on second try – got it.

Other tips?

It is wise to pause and carefully consider the directions when you see  (parentheses) and [brackets] which isolate certain bits of instructions, as well as the *‘s which indicate where a repeat begins.

When you get to the crown, I suggest, placing a marker each time you complete the directions after the *, so you will have 6 markers: 1 for the beginning of the round (make it a different color) and 5 others.

If I’d studied my work I would have noticed that I was making lovely little paired decreases, but I was too busy watching this little person

My new tam uses:

Main Color Jamieson & Smith 9097, sadly discontinued,  Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift 524 Poppy is the closest match

Contrast Color 1 Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift  1200 Nutmeg

Contrast Color 2 Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift 172 Yell Sound Blue

ps. Leelee and I found the bird’s nest yesterday just next to the water.

My summer treat is stitching a Rebecca Ringquist sampler I picked up at the Squam Arts Marketplace. It is called Cake, and it only involves following the lines. Kind of a paint-by-numbers approach, only with a lot more personal input, but not enough to tax the brain! You should look at the flicker group of Rebecca’s samplers to see how individual they become. I will definitely take her class next year, fingers crossed she’s there and all fingers and toes crossed that I am too. Since I am impatient and never think just taking one class is enough,  I might sign up for  Linda Scarf’s Stitch at Surface class at Fiber College, here in Maine, this year if it isn’t full yet.

When I was in high school, my best friend Kristin and I embroidered all over our overalls. Boo hoo, mine burned up in the house fire and I’m not sure there are even pictures of them – all the more reason to start stitching again. I wonder if Kri still has hers?

Mary Guterson!!! Lucky recipient of a free pass for the VOGUE KNITTING LIVE LA Marketplace ticket!!!!! Thanks so much to all of you who participated. I really appreciate it and I hope that you come anyway and introduce yourselves to me when you do.

OK…I used the first RANDOM GENERATOR that google found me…and up comes a friend from high school…I think these things have a sixth-sense cheating streak in them because another blogger I read kept getting her sister…I almost thought I should try it again, but that would really be cheating. Besides, is fair to disqualify someone just because you once knew them? I mean, we have not seen each other in a coon’s age…2 or 3 coon’s ages in fact … And then I would’ve had to exclude Jules, who I really really hope will come to LA. I want you all to come to LA, including Irene from Toronto. Two words Irene – Road Trip.

So Mary it is, and it is a perfect time to introduce her, because it is SUMMER and she is author of some of the best beach reading around. Last summer’s Gone to the Dogs had me howling and snorting in merriment. Handy if you’d like the beach to yourself…”don’t go near that crazy lady with the book, child”… which is how I like my beaches, deserted. This summer she’s part of the crew that contributed to Hotel Angeline: A Novel in 36 Voices. I’m running to my Local Bookshop to get that one, and stopping off at my Local Yarn Shop while I’m there, and will probably pop into our new Local Craft Shop, where I’ve rediscovered embroidery thread thanks to Squam.

Oh yes, those socks, or rather that sock.  Inspired by Ms. Stitchy McYarnpants herself and countless crocheted Budweiser hats (which by the way were very popular at the hydroplane races when Mary and I were growing up) I could not stop myself from making my own HOLIDAY CRAFT (capitals a must). My HOLIDAY CRAFT is a  JULY 4TH PICNIC SOCK, recognize the table cloth? and the stripes?

Once again, Congratulations to Mary!!!