Chickenlips Knitting

Thanks for the suggestions! I like the caption contest idea, but right now I'm too addled to find a really good, dorky knitting photo that we could have fun with. Soooo, we're gonna do haiku. Here are the guidelines, as underwritten by my accounting firm, Dewey, Cheatem & Howe:

1. Your haiku must follow the correct, 5-7-5 form for Japanese Haiku poetry, or the entry will be disqualified. Sorry, but I hold a B.A. in Japanese Studies, so I'm going to be anal about it.

2. Your haiku must be about some aspect of knitting. (Feel free to suck up--I'll award the prize to the best overall poem, I promise, but I can never get enough ego strokes.)

3. You may submit your haiku in the comments section, or email it to me at: sharonfs AT comcast DOT net.

4. Deadline is Wednesday, September 6th. I'll post the winner and runners-up.

That's it--bring the haiku!

Finished, washed, blocked, worn to the office, & washed again: my take on the Lace Blouson from Summer '04 Interweave Knits. Warts and all, it's one of the more satisfying projects I've completed. I, for one, tire very quickly of endless blog photos of a WIP, and I realize I've done that with this project...so, a thousand pardons. Just wanted to share the project completion high.

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby




Looking like a skirt, this...but it's actually the Chic-Kami from Chicknits. Let me just go on record as saying that I Heart Bonne Marie! Her patterns are simple, attractive and sized for gals like moi, but the deal clincher for me is the built-in finishing that makes the garment truly lovely. I promise not to bore y'all with any more in-progress shots...you won't see this baby again until it's done. The yarn is Rowan Calmer, and I don't care if some knitters think that's a goofy name. It makes perfect sense to me! I just put the yarn ball to my cheek and I somehow feel, um, calmer. Yeah, that's it.

Anniversary Gift



What every addict needs.

My friends, you're looking at 24 balls of Debbie Bliss' Cashmerino Astrakhan, which are slated to be made into the Log Cabin Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting. I know you can't wait for the backstory, so here 'tis:

Yesterday, DH and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. I presented him with new dress slacks, dress shirt and tie, and he splurged on this indulgent gift for me. It came from Boersma's Knitting Basket in McMinnville, which is where we spent our special day. Now why did we drive the 40-odd miles out to that college town, when the same product (and maybe even the same colors/quantities) could be found 5 miles from here? Well, it so happens that I was temporarily, to use the tired old saw, "bitten by the acting bug." A theater out that way was auditioning for Steel Magnolias...and even though I have no stage experience other than being a stage mother and doing the odd skits in English and Japanese classes at Pacific, (the ones in Japanese were way more fun, BTW,) I got the mother of all wild hairs and decided to try out for a part in that great, Southern-fried, rarely-staged play. I thought I was pretty hot stuff when I went in there...then quickly realized I was completely outclassed and was swimming with the sharks. Needless to say, I didn't get cast...along with 19 other hopefuls. 26 women auditioned for 6 parts...so I've got plenty of company. And for the record, actresses, paid or not, really are egomaniacs! I had surprisingly bruised feelings about losing, even considering how willing I was to face facts. What finally pulled me out of the doldrums was the realization that I would rather kiss a dead woodchuck's behind than hang out with those stuck-up, condescending harridans for the next three months! (Me, a sore loser?! Perish the thought.)

Now, this inundation of fabulous new yarn has given me a destashing dilemma. Which brings me to....

Contest Time

I've got so much frickin' yarn that I'm going to put these two lovely skeins of Koigu on the block! That's right, I've decided to hold a contest...but what kind of contest? Well, that's where you come in! Absolutely! I need your suggestions, recommendations, whatever. This one is gonna beat the Rocky Horror Picture Show for "AP" (audience participation)! C'mon, you know you want it. The power of Koigu compels you.

Wheooo...haven't updated this mother in a while!

It's becoming prayer/healing/comfort shawl-knitting time again, and having given away a dark-green shawl without photographing it, I got right on the stick and picked up 5 hanks of this tasty burger from Noro:



This is "Transitions", which changes fiber as it changes color! It's wool with silk, angora, alpaca, cashmere, camel, & mohair. Probably something else too, but I'm too lazy to get up and go get the label. It's bulky & works up quick:




Should be a pretty sweet shawl when done. Warm, that's for sure, but without much weight, and ya gotta like that. Oh, and I failed to mention that I bought those 5 hanks at a 45% discount...which means, seeing as how I never seem to buy enough yarn to finish anything, I'll have to run back to the LYS on the weekend!


The Sock That Almost Wasn't

Sock story time.



This is 1/2 of the "Realy (sic) Cool Socks" from the Knitlist. These socks aren't for me; I haven't quite decided who will end up with 'em, although I've got an idea. The pattern photos have the color striping going down the instep until the toe decreases begin, but I figured a) all that slipstitching negates the elasticity and would change the texture--why mess with Baby Cashmerino in smooth stockinette? and b) life is just too frickin' short. So even though it's taking a small eternity to complete these fairly straightforward sox, I was chugging away on the mate when I needed to leave the pups alone for a long day while I took Michelle to see the man himself in concert at Clark Co. Fair...none other than Alice Cooper, that is! Great show--Alice is still rockin' at 58, the kid had a blast in the mosh pit and I got to pretend I was 17 and seeing my favorite rock act again (the only difference being that my true self is content and 51, not clinically depressed and adolescent.) But I digress. Because of our long absence, the metamorphosing sock and its 1.5 Brittany dpn's did not survive the jaws, and determination, of 12-week-old Jimmy. Fortunately, my LYS stocks both 1.5 Crystal Palace Bamboo dpns and a proprietor of infinite patience who helped me salvage the project, so I'm pleased to say that the second sock is well on its way to completion.

(Whispery, Eric Idle-like British accent) And that's all for tonight, kiddies...