Amy March's Slippers - Day One

Good afternoon everyone! Today is the first day of the Amy March Slippers Knitalong, with your kind and attentive hosts, Bethro and Challoner. I know some people jumped the gun and did their slippers early - and test knitting is always constructive, so good for you.

As for me, things have been busy around here the last 24 hours, so I don't know how quickly I'll get these done, but I have begun precisely on schedule.

I had to buy some chunky weight yarn for these slippers, as it's a weight I don't normally keep in the stash. I was in MichaeI's last week and got these.

The Shetland Chunky is the colour I prefer, but I thought the weight wouldn't be quite right...since I wanted to make more than one pair anyway, I picked up the Wool-Ease. It's got a lower wool content than I normally like but it takes all kinds to make up a stash...or something.

Anyway, I cast on today with my beloved magic loop method, using Meg Swansen's Turkish cast on. I think. I'm never sure what the difference is between the Turkish and the figure 8 cast on.

And here I am modelling the first twelve rounds against the backdrop of my Messy Tuesday post. This is what happens when a puppy prances into the house and you immediately discover the fifteen or twenty things you thought were up high enough but weren't. (And when you have tea twice and forget to put both pots away, and pin out your Cap Shawl and forget to put the pins away, and....and....and....)

More tomorrow.

Plenty of Pretty Things

"I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all."
-Amy March, Little Women

I've been thinking to myself, "What this blog needs is a knitalong."

The Amy March Slippers Knitalong

With your glamorous and intelligent hosts, Bethro and Challoner (erm, that's my alter ego).

Coming soon to Ravelry, My Own Two Cents, and Half Soled Boots. The designer is Stephanie Dosen of tinyowlknits, and she has waved her wand of blessing over this whole enterprise.

Here's what we're going for:



This will be a fast knit, darlings - so all you people who have been longing to try knitting, or knitting socks, or knitting in the round, or a figure-eight cast on, or fiddling with ribbons, Fear Not! For Behold, I bring you a two-evening project.







You'll need some bulky weight yarn with appropriate double-pointed needles (designer says 6mm) and some ribbons. Stephanie has written up the pattern for us, and after a quick test knit by your quirky and magnanimous hosts, we will be starting the knitalong.

Watch this space, or this space, or this space, for more news.

Edit: The Ravelry group is up - you can find it here.

Note: If you are not yet a member of Ravelry I politely, but inexorably, urge you to consider it. It's likely that much of the discussion will centre around the yet-to-be-created Rav group, and you wouldn't want to miss out on any of that. If you have even a slight, desultory interest in hook and needle, you will be very happy you joined.

What, you're still here?

Feast or famine, eh?

I've been busy with a few things. I'd like to say it was all productive, but in reality I've been drying my eyeballs out staring at the Ravelry forums. Fora. I tell you what - people sure do get worked up. I joined the BID - Big Issues Debate forum - and you could just sit there all day watching the hissy fits. Some of the threads are interesting, many are simply virtual Molotov cocktails that get tossed into an already hot crowd.

But it hasn't all been "Are you in favour of same-sex marriage?" and "I feel Creationism should be taught in public school science classes". I've been doing some ACTUAL things as well.

My friend recently opened a gourmet food store, and she is offering a Middle Eastern cooking class this month. She asked me if I would come and dance at it.


Belly dancing. By myself.

At first I figured I'd decline, but I decided life is short and realistically, any kind of bellydancing looks good to people - objectively, I'll probably get more admiration than derision. So I'm going to go for it. (Ack!)

My daughter took a picture of me practicing.




And I got the loveliest surprise the other day. A USPS priority box from a (mostly) non-commenting, non-blogging Reader, CHOCK FULL of beautiful and yummy things. Look!


See how happy it made my daughters. (Though you can only see one of them in this picture.)



Thank you so much, Anna from Chicago - and to your question (and I quote) "Maybe you'd like some Lorna's Laces? They're from Chicago. Let me know!", an extreme "Will you marry me?"

After all - it's legal.

Proud to be a Language Geek.

I have to put up something quick to deflect notice from the book review which garnered some mockery from my smart-ass sister and my erstwhile friend.

YEAH I SAID "ERSTWHILE" YOU COCKROACHES, IT'S CALLED BEING LITERATE: LOOK INTO IT. You should be happy there is still someone out here in the blogoverse who doesn't write crap like "this book is kinda cunfuzing but 2di4, ur gonna luv it lol".

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After the intensive monogamous Christmas knitting, I find myself somewhat at loose ends. I have several things in my Ravelry queue (oh, by the way: I'm on Ravelry! Whoop-de-doo!) but none of them are really pulling on my skirt, you know? I see something I like, but when I open up the pattern and see the bit where it tells me how many stitches to cast on, I just can't dredge up the motivation. I heave a halfhearted sigh and click on.

eeny

I think it's okay to drift rudderless for a bit. I was talking to Karen-of-the-Comments about it, and she said I need a bit of time to come down off my Aran/Print o' the Wave high. I think she's right....and we agreed that, come January 1, I will probably be flooded with inspiration, innovation, anticipation, and determination.

Also, apparently I will be beginning my career as a motivational speaker sometime soon.

meeny

My Ravelry queue includes Saartje's Bootees (so cute!), Odessa (very needful in this weather), a Log Cabin blanket (because I just won a bunch of yarn that I think will be perfect for it), and Clapotis (one of these days). I have some WIPs I need to finish, as well - the Anemoi Mittens, a Sirdar cardy for my first-cousin-once-removed, and the second Geisha sock for my farm-girl friend. I should probably get at least one of those out of the way before I start something new...

miney

I don't know. Maybe I'll let the knitting go for a couple of weeks (unthinkable!). Then I'll find my mojo again and the blog will be more interesting.

Well, less uninteresting.