Caps to the Capitol

Save the Children, an excellent not-for-profit organization, has organized an advocacy campaign called "Caps to the Capitol" to focus attention -- and hopefully government funding -- on programs and simple, low-cost practices (such as putting a hat on a baby) that could save newborn lives. According to Save the Children's website, "Four million newborns die each year within the first month of life — half within the first 24 hours of life. The United States can lead the way in saving these young lives by increasing funding for critical health programs for mothers and newborns."

Save the Children volunteers were all over the NYC Knit Out on Sunday, passing out action kits and encouraging knitters to participate in the program.


I was a little concerned that the caps were going to be sent to President Bush, and end up being thrown away, but I was assured that only petitions were being sent to POTUS, and that the caps themselves were to be mailed to Save the Children's offices and distributed from there.

So, I'll be knitting some newborn hats this month. Won't you join me?

NYC Knit Out

NYC knitters were out in force yesterday in Union Square for the Knit Out. The weather was glorious -- sunny and warm but not too hot (a good thing when one is modeling knitwear), with nary a cloud in the blue, blue sky. I got lots of smiles and nods for the skull-and-crossed-knitting-needles T!

The highlight of my day? I MET THE YARN HARLOT!!!!! Not only did I meet her, I got my picture taken with her, and the sock! She was even kind enough to try and block the sun from my eyes.

Barnes & Noble even got into the Knit Out spirit, with an entire front window dedicated to knitting books, as well as a table of knitting books right inside the door.

I was seduced by volume 1 of Vogue's Stitchionary (loved the bamboo stitch), as well as Tracey Ullman's new book (the herringbone handbag is fab). Now I just need to finish my project backlog so that I can get started on some new things!

P.S. I had lots of photos to post, but Blogger is not cooperating and won't upload anymore, despite nearly a dozen attempts. I'll try again tomorrow.

Wastin' away again in Margaritaville

In my ongoing effort to hold on to summer for as long as I possibly can, I went to see Jimmy Buffett in concert tonight. What a fun show!!! They were even selling frozen margaritas at the concession stand. Those Parrotheads sure know how to party! I regret to say that I was one of the few people in attendance not wearing a Hawaiian shirt/lei /parrothead hat/cheeseburger hat/shark hat or some combination thereof.

I decided after the second song that I definitely want Jimmy Buffett's job. He came on stage barefoot, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and played and sang to a completely sold-out Madison Square Garden, to an audience that sang all the words to every song and were loudly and happily sharing their love of the music. Beats sitting at a desk all day, that's for sure!

Souls on Fire

Someone once gave me a book titled "Souls on Fire" and that's all I could think about tonight as I stood out by the river and looked at the Tribute in Light as it disappeared into the clouds above Manhattan -- the souls of the 2749 people who were killed on September 11th at the World Trade Center, traveling along those beams of light and burning into, then through, the clouds.

I also thought of all the innocent people in Afghanistan and Iraq who have been killed in the name of those 2749 people, as well as the 184 who were killed at the Pentagon and the 40 on Flight 93 in Shanksville. I can't believe the victims of one horribly violent act would want others to be senselessly killed in their memory. Please pray for peace.

Bootie call

The charming Colton isn't the only baby to receive booties and a hat from me this summer. Meet the lovely Paige, pictured here at just 4 weeks.

Three of my colleagues have had babies this year, and a 4th just entered her third trimester, so I've been in baby clothes production mode. It's actually been great summer knitting -- lovely, cool cotton in a summery pale green, and small projects that I can tuck into any bag and take with me on my various travels.

These are from a Debbie Bliss baby book, using a Jaeger DK weight cotton (of which I have two full bags!). The cotton has a lovely sheen, which doesn't really come across in these photos.

My only complaint is that the Debbie Bliss pattern really falls down when it comes to finishing the booties -- as written, the rear seaming is totally ugly/unworkable, which has led to some experimentation on my part. I'm still not completely satisfied with the results, but it's better than the original pattern IMHO.

A letter from a very articulate nine-month-old

Dear Ms. Carolyn,

Thank you very much for my hat and booties - I LOVE them. My mom took the first few of these pictures to show you how good they look on me, and then I added a couple more so that you could see I wore the hat and booties a lot! I've also worn them fly fishing and on my first camping trip! (Mom can't get those photos from where we are on vacation right now...) I hope you like these photos and I can't wait to thank you in person for the hat and booties with a baci and wave - two of my newest tricks!

lots of love,
Colton

A Family Affair

This is my nine-year-old niece, Sara.



She was in NYC visiting me for a few days, and came along with me to LICKnit. My fellow knitters were very welcoming of Sara, and she wowed us all with the speed at which she knit this hat. The yarn is a lovely blue merino that she and I picked out last fall at the Union Square Green market, on her last visit to NYC; she used a round knitting loom that I also gave her, thinking that it would be a little easier on her then-8-year-old hands than using straight needles (true).

Sara cast on the hat in the afternoon, did most of the knitting at LICKnit, and had it all finished and waiting to be bound off when I woke up the next morning! She was so in the groove, in fact, that she knit two more hats, using the next smaller loom, for her American Girl doll. Well done, Sara!


It's really exciting to share my love of knitting with Sara. I learned to knit and crochet and sew from my grandmothers and my mother, and I love the feeling of knowledge passing along the generations of our family.

sulu-design

I've already introduced you to Melissa, an incredibly talented knitwear designer who is part of the Long Island City knitting group to which I belong. Now, meet Susan -- or more, precisely, sulu-design, her handcrafted jewelry business. Susan is an occasional knitter and makes FABULOUS earrings and necklaces, and I'm so pleased that she's finally set up a blog and started selling her work on etsy. I love her earrings, and have given some to friends as very well-received gifts.

WWKIP Day -- Documentation

I finally remembered to post the photo of myself knitting in public on World Wide Knit in Public Day, back in June. This photo was taken by a very friendly Delta flight attendant on my flight from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico back to NYC. I was also knitting in the Puerto Vallarta airport, but it was a rather crazy scene and I decided not to ask anyone to take my photo there for fear of being trampled during a crazed rush to the gate (the airport not being designed for orderly boarding or queuing).

I like knitting in public -- people generally make nice comments, and I've gotten into some great conversations with fellow knitters about their latest projects, or with people who have fond memories of mothers or grandmothers who used to knit.

Olive's cardigan

The cardigan for my niece Olive, age 3 1/2, is nearly finished. The sleeves are actually a good bit longer now than when this photo was taken nearly two months ago. The cuffs will be in the purple yarn, in seed stitch. The yarn is Rowan cotton tape, and I must say I really, really like the color combination. The plan is to have a faux button band, with a ribbon lining and large snaps; not sure about the buttons -- I think I've bought 5 or 6 different sets and still can't decide which I like best.

I lost steam on finishing this when my plans to travel to the UK where I would see Olive this month were canceled, but as it's probably much too large for her at the moment anyway, I think it will end up being a Fall cardie that will easily take her through next year as well. Finishing this project will be one of my goals for my August holidays.

Renegade Craft Fair

I checked out the Renegade Craft Fair on Saturday afternoon with a friend, and met up with two of my fellow LIC stich-n-bitchers, too. To summarize the afternoon, and the Fair: tote bags, t-shirts, hot sun. Yes, it seems that every crafty person in the NYC area has decided that the humble tote bag is their preferred medium, with printed t-shirts running a close second. It got a little ... dare I say ... boring?

The one t-shirt that I did fall for was from Magpie, and I can't wait to wear it. Do you think I'll strike fear into the hearts of non-knitters? I hope so!

The careful blog reader will note that I've been using other people's photos for a few weeks, rather than images of my own knitting. Never fear, I have been knitting, but I can't find the cable that connects my camera to my computer, so I haven't been able to upload any photos. I'm sure it's buried in a pile on the floor of my closet, I just haven't been able to muster the energy to dig it out. I'll try soon, I promise. I've finished a pair of booties for my friend Erin's son and plan to cast on a matching hat tonight, and am almost finished the cardigan for my niece Olive as well. And I have a photo of me knitting on the plane from Mexico to NYC on WWKIP Day, too!

Grannie Smith

One of the things I love about my local Stitch-n-Bitch is that my fellow knitters are so much more talented than I am. Truly! I learn so much from them every week. One who I admire in particular is Melissa, who works as a knitwear designer inManhattan and has started her own business -- Neoknits -- in order to have an outlet for her creativity and share her lovely designs with the world.

Melissa designed this beautiful cardigan and knit it with Rowan Kid Silk Haze. If you are as impressed as I am with this garment, then click on over to Melissa's blog and buy a copy of the pattern: http://neoknits.blogspot.com/2006/03/its-ready.html.

Melissa also has a lace tank top pattern -- Lux -- in the newest edition of Magknits.

Saturday June 10 is WWKIP Day!

What fun! For more info, check out this site: http://www.wwkipday.com/.

I'll be doing my knitting-in-public in the Puerto Vallarta airport and on the plane back to NYC that day. If I get in early enough, I'll even try and organize a gathering at our local cafe with some of my fellow LICKnitters.

Do we really need light-up knitting needles???

My Secret Pal is the best!!

I received my final package from my Secret Pal for SP7, and what a package it was! Knitting notecards, three (3!!) dark chocolate dove bars, AND Rowan's Vintage Knits.

I can't wait to make something from this book, perhaps the green pullover pictured on the cover.

Thanks!!!!!!

Camera Found!

Hurrah!!! I found my camera, tucked away in one of my knitting bags that I must have used just before I went away at Christmas. What relief! To celebrate, I made a funky scarf for sale Art-O-Mat, our local artisan gallery. They like really wild novelty yarns -- the Noro scarf and the lovely black handspun scarf I gave them didn't sell at all, but the crazy novelty scarves sell like hotcakes. I call this one Mardi Gras. It's made from skeins of Bernat Boa, with matching ribbon as trim.

Thanks, Secret Pal!!

I'm regretting the loss of my digital camera more and more, especially today as I can't post a photo of the wonderful gifts I received from my SP7. My January package -- blue-themed -- had 4 skeins of KnitPicks yarn (striping sock yarn and coordinating solid yarn); an intarsia pattern book; assorted chocolates; and a knitting diary. The February package -- red-themed -- has wonderful red yarn from Manos; loose tea that smells divine; a retractable tape measure (hurrah!); and a chocolate bar with ancho chile. I gave up sweets for Lent, so that chocolate bar will be tempting me for 40 days! My pal has also been wonderful about posting comments to my blog, sending e-mails, and even a virtual bouquet of flowers.

I love the knitting community, and the generosity and sense of fun that the Secret Pal exchanges demonstrate. :-)

The agony of defeat...

I am offically out of the Knitting Olympics. I knit for an hour on Saturday and my shoulder and arm started to hurt so much, I couldn't believe it. And that was AFTER a massage and a chiropractic adjustment earlier in the day. Sigh. There go my dreams of Olympic glory.

The Michelle Kwan of the Knitting Olympics?

That could be me. My right arm -- from shoulder to wrist -- has been bothering me for the past two weeks, and despite taking several days off from knitting, it's not getting any better. I've stretched it, massaged it, flexed it, even had my chripractor adjust my wrist, and it's still sore.

I've managed to finish the back of my sweater, but don't know about getting the rest of it done in the next week, the way I'm feeling. I feel my dreams of Olympic glory slipping away...

;-(

Inspiration

The new Rowan magazine arrived yesterday, and the pattern that really caught my eye was Minnie, complete with knitted-in wooden beads. It is so gorgeous! I don't know that I'll get to it this year, perhaps not even in this lifetime, but I'd like to.

I seem to have misplaced my digital camera, which is why there have been no photos of my WIPs or FOs lately. But someone from my SnB is bringing her camera to my flat on Friday evening (I'm hosting a Knitting Olympics kick-off party), so there will be an orgy of picture-taking.

Speaking of the Knitting Olypmics, I knitted up my gauge swatches last night and am pleased to report that my gauge is spot on. It's killing me not to start the sweater until Friday night, but I want to honor the rules. Sigh. It's so hard sometimes to be good.