I gave today...

and a nice, round $284.00 is now in the hands of MSF! Thank you to all who contributed. I am so proud of our little group fundraiser.

Now to answer a comment that was left a while ago under the post about my Mooshie and his yarn-bringing obsession... yes, I am extremely careful not to allow him to chew on yarn. I am very aware of the dangers of yarn twisting around a cat's insides and the thought horrifies me.

Fortunately, both my husband and myself work from home so we can watch him pretty much all the time (we don't go out much), and I don't leave tantalizing bits and bobs of yarn lying around, believe it or not. Moosh pretty much just likes to carry yarn balls around in his mouth, and deposit them in certain places. That seems to be the main thrill. And he does have lots of regular toys other than yarn. In case you wondered.

Awwwww...

Thank you for all the nice comments about the FOs. I am pretty happy about them myself! Today I am getting some sock samples done for the class on Monday. This class will be teaching heels and gussets, so I am doing one sock down to the start of the heel flap, and one sock down to the heel turn.

The yarn is my lovely mediumweight Rare Gem from the lovely folks at Blue Moon Fiber Arts, makers of Socks that Rock and purveyors of the Rockin' Sock Club. If you haven't yet heard about the events that these ladies have been going through for the last couple of weeks, please read about it here and here and here. They have now updated their website and are open and ready for business, so please support them. Their sock yarn is legendary, and they are absolute peaches.

Knitting has happened

And we are pleased.


The beaded brocade sock. In its just finished state. With what was left of the ball of koigu. I was nervous all the way up to the end.

Closeup of beaded pattern.


The Shetland Garden in Nature’s Palette seafoam, she is done.

Giving is getting

The yarn is all spoken for! Thank you, each and every one of you, worthy knitters!

The contribution tally is still being counted as a few packages have yet to be sent, but I am one happy little camper tonight...

And as for proof that giving is getting (as if the good vibes from this weekend's charity event weren't enough!), I went to a benefit this weekend that was actually a sale of yarn and books from a knitting friend who recently and very sadly to me, passed away. One of these books is one that I have been looking for for ages, and thought I would have to pay dearly for, Tudor Roses. Yet there it was, waiting for me as if it was a gift directly from my friend to me. It shall be treasured. Finding that book was enough to keep me sailing along yesterday and today. Small things like that speak big in my world.

Somehow I feel as if the yarn I let go of this weekend "made room" for the universe to bring me this new gift. Makes me want to let go of more and more...

Thanks to you, and you, and you...

Knitting content promised soon.

No Time Like the Present

... to join our charity yarn sale event!

You can get involved by choosing yarn and making a donation to Knitters without Borders, a division of Medicine without Borders. All you have to do is:

1. Email me that you want a particular yarn (with your email address so I can get back to you about your purchase) at the following address: siviaharding AT shaw DOT ca (replace the AT and DOT with symbols).

2. I will email you the cost of shipping your yarn to you, and you ADD your donation cost to this amount.

3. Paypal this amount to the above email address, or tell me the amount and I will send you an invoice. You will need to have a Paypal account already in place for this to happen smoothly.

4. I will be mark the yarn(s) you want as "sold" so make sure you want your choice!

I am offering very nice yarns from my private stash. I am donating the boxes/handling/my time. ALL proceeds will be going to charity. Please be generous in your donations. A report will be posted on this blog, and will be sent to Yarn Harlot, who by the way thinks this is a great idea! Let's prove her right!

Now for the good stuff... please click on photos for full descriptions.


*Gone*


*Spoken for*


* Tencel is spoken for*


*Shimmer is spoken for*


*Noro Shinano is spoken for*


*Gone*


*Gone*


*Gone*


*Big purple skein is spoken for*


*Spoken for*


*Gone*


*Gone*


*Spoken for*


*Gone*


*Merinos Lamé is spoken for*


*Gone*


*Gone*


*Gone*


*Gone*


*Pink vintage yarn is spoken for*


*Gone*


*Spoken for*


*Spoken for*


*Gone*


*Gone*


*Spoken for*


*Gone*


*Spoken for*


*Spoken for*


*Gone*


*Gone*


*Ambrosia is spoken for*


*Spoken for*


*Gone*






*Gone*

The Dreaded ‘O’ Word

Over the past week, I have been *rganizing my yarn stash. Such a simple, innocent concept. But how long-avoided, yea even dreaded, an event. The fear, oh the fear, that once started, never it shall stop. That the closet, with its layer upon layer of forgotten goods, would yield not pleasant founts of newly-found beautifully textured and dyed fiber and yarn, but untold, forgotten horrid messes and half ripped disasters. Good thing fears don't always come about the way we imagine them. Even so, it took a lot of nerve to get to the bottom of my main three yarn depositories, leaving them cleaned and *rganized. I ended up with two rather large piles of stuff for final liberation, one earmarked for my knitting guild and one, dear reader, up for grabs.


Knowing full well that many of us have taken a sort of pledge not to increase our stashes in 2007 by buying new yarn, I have a suggestion, one I hope some of you will take advantage of. Why not make a contribution to Knitters without Borders, a charity very worthy of your contributions (as Yarn Harlot reminds us), and reclaim some very nice yarn for yourself at the very same time?

Here is how I see it happening: I will post individual pictures of the yarn offerings (all nice stuff, even some vintage yarn, from my stash). You tell me which one(s) you would like to redeem from its current state of limbo. I tell you how much it would take to send said yarn(s) to you, and you add to that amount a donation to Knitters without Borders. All proceeds will go to charity, and you choose how much to donate. Paypal only for these transactions, please. I really want these yarns to fly out of here!

Look for the list Saturday am... I think that's about the earliest I can get this together. Let’s work together for a great cause!

Now for some actual knitting content...

Progress on the Shetland Garden stopped for a couple of days in favor of sample knitting for a sock class that started Monday at Three Bags Full, a local and very wonderful yarn shop. I like to have at least one sock in progress during the class to illustrate the steps of making a basic sock.

This time, I had a great (or perhaps very foolhardy) idea... why not design a new sock that perhaps has some variations on the basic (cuff-down, heel flap) construction for each new class? I could still use the sock for basic sock demonstration, and at the same time satisfy some of my design urges (which have been quite jumpy for attention lately). I find that I work best when it is for a specific project or goal. So, here is what appeared on the needles:


Yarn is koigu P315D, a lovely forest-lichen-y colorway, beads are hex cut metallic gold iris size 8/0 from Earth Faire, pattern is a simple allover twisted-stitch brocade. Actually, this pic is a little old, having taken it yesterday. I have since then turned the heel and have done about one-third of the gusset rounds. It’s looking darned nice, but may be a little too subtle for photographing with clarity. I am thinking of doing another one in a solid color with beads that have a bit more contrast to the yarn. But this one does feel quite nice in its organic simplicity. I really like the tubular cast on and the way the beads complement the pattern too. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

Stay tuned for more edge-of-your-seat sock installments!

The Chase is On

It is time to introduce the yarn gremlin, pictured here with his latest conquest.

Mooshie, as might be expected of an cat who is kept indoors amidst mountains of tempting fiber and yarn, finds his prey where he can get it. He is an excellent yarn catcher too, fast and skilled in the cat guerilla arts. Like many cats, he favors surreptitious moves, mostly at night or when his parents are gone, and can rarely be caught in the act of subjugating yarn to his will - yet the evidence is clearly there, usually left in a place where we cannot miss it, like the middle of the floor.

Lately, his yarn compulsion has taken a rather quirky turn. In our absence, Mooshie has started to bring balls of yarn to rest by the apartment door when we are gone, almost as if this act will bring us home; a play-wish, if you will.

This morning, this sight greeted us in the hallway:
The ball on top, sea silk in the ocean colorway. The bottom ball is Blue Sky alpaca & silk. Sea silk... alpaca & silk... start to see a pattern? Silk is definitely the fiber of choice chez M.

After running some errands this afternoon, these were waiting for us when we returned:
Top ball, leftover ball of Socks that Rock lightweight in mustang sally; bottom ball, the same ball of Blue Sky alpaca & silk from this morning. Notice the slightly bedraggled state of this ball? It is one of M's favorites. I have actually tried to hide this ball from him on occasion, but he always finds it. Mooshie obviously loves this yarn. Perhaps a more persnickety yarn owner would get miffed at this yarn abuse, but I figure, what's a little tangle between friends?

Oh, and yarn isn't the only source of play around here... Mooshie gets really turned on by paper:
May your yarn adventures be playful and full of bliss...