Tiggywinkle Knits

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2011-10-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Hang onto your hats, this is a pretty disjointed post because I'm trying to catch up to everything that's happened since OFFF. First, the good: I gave a demo of chain plying at OFFF. This is the skein that resulted, which was just skeined and washed up today. If it looks familiar, that's because it's the leftover of The Big Blue Thing. I won't knit more turquoise lace, but I will knit

OFFF 2011

2011-09-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was OFFF. This year, I had demonstrations to do and a workshop to attend, so I handed the cameras over to ToolMan. This is how he sees OFFF. Judy Becker taught her Magic Cast On. Old friends were greeted. People watching was done. Hello Kitty pants for cute toddlers were knitted. Lots of pictures were taken. Trtlgrl had a trtlbirthday, complete with trtlcake. The warm weather

THE Book

2011-09-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

It's official. THE Book is out in public. And so is the Secret Knitting. I am beyond honored to have a pattern in this book.

Much Ado

2011-09-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

ToolMan and I made it to the Pearl District for the Refresh Your Stash sale at Urban Fiber Arts. I was surprised at how much people brought in, and at the low prices! The shop looks so nice with the new slat wall; it shows off the skeined yarn so nicely! I didn't put any stash up for sale, but I did manage to find some lovelies to come home with me. I think all this case from Cindy's

I remember.

2011-09-11T00:15:00.000-07:00

I remember waking up to the telephone ringing; hearing my sister-in-law's voice on the answering machine. "Are you guys awake? You need to see the news." ToolMan and I jumped out of bed and turned on the television to see the reports of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. A few minutes later, the cameras showed the second plane hitting the other Tower. Then the reports from the

The Lottery Ticket Paid Off!

2011-09-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

Seven dollars.

Weekend To Do List

2011-09-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

ToolMan and I are looking forward to the long weekend; we've got lots of things to get done. Here's our To Do List for tomorrow: Shopping at Costco (the $200 dollar store)Groceries at WincoGet the laundry doneVacuum and dust the living roomMake a fruit salad for the family get together on SundayGo to Urban Fiber Arts to deliver shawl pins (and for the Refresh Your Stash Sale)Sew up latest pair

More Heads and Toes and Some Ears

2011-08-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

I used up some of my hand spun odd balls to knit myself a little bag to carry around my mp3 player and while I was at it, I covered my ear buds in I-cord. I thought this would be ideal for listening to audio books from the library, and it would be if my mp3 player was compatible with Windows 7 and hadn't reached its "end of life" according to the manufacturer, who is not providing upgrades or

From Head to Toes

2011-08-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

Remember when I said that I was enchanted with the new Elizabeth Zimmerman book, Knit One Knit All? That link to the book is for Amazon, but if you're going to buy it, please try to buy it from a bookstore; if we want to keep them around, then we have to shop at them. Or get it from your local yarn shop, they'll appreciate it. These are the garter stitch sideways socks from Knit One Knit All.

Secret Knitting Revealed

2011-08-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

Remember a couple years ago, when I knitted ToolMan's Driving Cap? Remember a year or so ago when I was doing Secret Knitting? Remember my friend, Judy Becker? Judy has written her first book, Beyond Toes: Knitting Adventures with Judy's Magic Cast-On, which isn't available yet - it's due to be released in mid-September - but you can pre-order it from Amazon now. In the book, are 23

Re-entry

2011-08-09T20:44:00.000-07:00

As hard as re-entry to the regular world was after the first Sock Summit, it felt harder this time. Maybe it's because I spent so much more time in the market and out amongst the knitters. I know it's not possible, but what I really want to do is live there. I'd be perfectly happy; living in a convention center full of knitters and spinners. I bet I'm not the only one; I bet a you'd jump at

Sock Summit Fleece to Foot

2011-08-01T17:02:00.000-07:00

Aren't these the cutest things? Their names are Instep, Heel Flap, and Gusset. They came from Spinning Ewe Farm in Beavercreek, Oregon. On Sunday morning, they were sheared, a sample of the fleece was spun and divided into six small samples while the remaining fleece was divided into six two-pound bags. Here's a picture of our team, the PDX Puddle Jumpers, before the fleece was handed out

Sock Summit 2011 - What day is it?

2011-07-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

I was at Sock Summit again today, but I can't remember what day it is. Day 3? 4? Is it Saturday? My mind is so boggled, I can hardly remember who I am. I do remember who this lady is; she's Anna Zilboorg. I went to her fantastic lecture, "The Deeper Meaning of Sock Knitting". Fabulous! After Anna's lecture, I got in line for Larissa Brown's new book, "My Grandmother's Knitting". I

Sock Summit 2011 Day 3

2011-07-29T22:16:00.000-07:00

This morning, my first duty was to monitor the Marketplace doors for the morning opening. We checked for badges or stamped tickets. After the biggest part of the rush, Tina asked if the PDX Knit Bloggers and Spinnerati would host the World's Largest Sock for knitting. She told me it was in a box at the Information Booth; it was so big that I needed help carrying it! I unpacked the big sock,

Sock Summit 2011 Day 2

2011-07-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Early morning at Sock Summit 2011. The calm before the storm. Knitters were still getting registered, heading for classes and waiting for the Marketplace to open. I was a teacher's assistant again. This time, I helped Franklin Habit who was teaching Photographing Your Fiber. Although teacher's assistants don't get to participate in the class, I still learned a TON of stuff about

Convention SWAG

2011-07-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today was Registration Day at Sock Summit 2011, so Tami and I rode MAX to the Convention Center this afternoon. Tami was working the Registration Desk and I was going to register and hang out. We got there in plenty of time, but they were running behind so training was delayed, thereby delaying registration. Since we had a little time, Tami and I went into OSCON, which was being held in the

Big Blue Thing Revealed

2011-07-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Another week gone here at the ol' ranch house. Got stuff to show for it this week, though! Here's the finished single that I started last week at Spinnerati. Yes, I know it's a terrible picture. That would be because I waited until after dark to take a picture and I'm too impatient to get something better. I'll get a better one after it's plied and finished. That's when it really counts,

Social Butterfly

2011-07-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Where has the last week gone? It seems to have just flown by. The volunteers met up last Thursday at McTarnahan's Tap Room to get the scoop on Sock Summit 2011. We didn't find out what our assignments are; we got those by email today. We also had the chance to practice a little something for a super secret plan. ToolMan and I went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and bought

Bookworm

2011-07-05T22:23:00.000-07:00

I could talk about my spinning, but showing you a wet skein and talking about it is sort of boring for me and for you it's sort of like waiting for paint to dry. I could talk about my knitting, but I'm still working on the Big Blue Thing, which is still blue and really, really big now but it's not all that interesting for more than about 30 seconds. But I do have some interesting things to talk

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

2011-06-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was Black Sheep Gathering, so ToolMan and I took advantage of the nice weather and drove down to Eugene. These adorable guys were greeting visitors. Right after this picture was when we discovered that BOTH cameras were giving us trouble. First, low battery warnings, despite being fully charged. Take battery out and reinstall, and all OK. Then, it said the memory chips were

My friend, Barbara

2011-06-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is my friend, Barbara. This picture is from OFFF 2008, but we'd been friends for a couple of years by the time this was taken. Barbara loves to come to Oregon because it's cool and green. That's because Barbara lives in Phoenix, but she calls it "HELL". Because she lives in HELL (where it's really, really hot), she has palm trees in her yard. She always has to tell her landscapers

I promised pictures

2011-06-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

and here they are. I'm not sure who took this one of ToolMan, but it's a really good one of him. He hates to have his picture taken and usually frowns. This smile is much more his normal expression. ToolMan snapped this one of me last week at his sister's house. That's the Tangled Yoke sweater; I've worn it several times every week since I finished it in April. Hopefully, summer will be

Ooops! I did it again!

2011-06-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not going all Brittany Spears on you, I'm just referring to my neglect of this poor blog! We've had lots of things going on, most of which I can't blog about. DS has returned from visiting his daughter, gone back there, then back here, and is now back there. Things are still in a bit of a turmoil on that front. Barbara will be coming to visit for Sock Summit II in July, which means

The $.25 Tour

2011-05-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been in the new house 3 weeks and we're mostly unpacked and settled in. The living room is done; a few more pictures and some accessories to be added from the last boxes to be unpacked. The dining room finally came together today. I desperately want to be rid of the mini-blinds; they are beyond ugly. The kitchen is finally organized enough that we can mostly find what we're

At Long Last

2011-04-17T20:19:00.000-07:00

Tangled Yoke is finally done! It got delayed with the packing, moving, and unpacking from one house to another. I found the project bag on Friday and got the last sleeve finished today. DS is in Texas, meeting his newly discovered daugher, so DIL stayed the weekend with us. This afternoon, she helped me dig through the button box to find enough buttons in the right color of green. It's