Lmbonnell's Weblog

Hello world!

lmbonnell — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:27:56 +0000

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Dishrag Tag

lmbonnell — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 19:22:00 +0000

Cecily, our Disparate Knitters Team Captain, has been tagged, so she has the “box.” If you have no idea what I’m referring to, then you have missed out on some fun this summer. I’m not much of a dishrag knitter, but when Emily announced her summertime scheme, I had to participate. Since joining in June, I have been flexing my dishrag muscles and I think I’m ready!

I made Alan’s mum two dishrags, but neglected to photograph them before they flew the Atlantic. Alan wanted a bath mitt and facecloth, so I made them for him in Peaches ‘n’ Creme Faded Denim.

But now my team’s potential glory or downfall is at stake! You can track the Disparate Knitters’ progress in the new graphic on the right.

[[Ed: there are teams who are already on their second person! How'd they do that??]]

Outlet Shopping in New Jersey

lmbonnell — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:37:00 +0000

Growing up in the shadow of Giants Stadium, I’ve learned a bit about Noo Joisey over the years. At one point I had a (short-lived) job there working concessions for soccer games. That’s how I got to see Soccer legend Pele make his magic. But before there was a Giants Stadium, there were the outlets.

These really were your Grandma’s outlets: the manufacturers opened up primitive retail shops right there in the front office, or even on the factory floor itself. Now those were the days! My mother raised me as a shopper, and she knew how and where to hunt for quality and bargains. The first factory outlet I can remember shopping in was Crazy Horse in Paterson. The name is of course politically incorrect, and the brand as I remember it doesn’t seem to exist anymore, having been apparently co-opted by Liz Claiborne and JC Penney.

Outlets nowadays have morphed well beyond their humble factory origins. Given that there is virtually no more clothing manufacturing happening in the Garden State, it would be a misnomer to call the clothing outlets here factory outlets. While warehouse outlets exist, most of the so-called outlets in Secaucus and Flemington are of a different ilk. Tarted-up strip malls with junky merchandise masquerading as a bargain are more likely what the shopper will see. I have no experience with Woodbury Commons in New York state, and so can offer no opinion about the stores there.

But for the working woman, and especially the working woman who knits, there is a beacon in Secaucus! Eileen Fisher is a fabulous line of women’s clothing, very comfortable, wearable, classic, and perfect for the office. Her clothing is monochromatic and is a perfect companion to a handknit piece. The thing to do at Eileen Fisher Secaucus is to sign up for their mailing list. Twice a year, the store holds a blowout sale, and last weekend I dragged Alan to a shopping orgy. He’s great to have as my personal shopper: he is very tall and has long arms, so he can hold lots of merchandise and reach everything. He was quite willing to hunt around for sizes, and was a great sport about the whole day. When he wasn’t at my beck and call, he was playing musical chairs with the other men who had accompanied women to EFS that day. There were only four chairs, and they were coveted by every man in the store! Alan held his own, as you can imagine.

To thank him for a job well done, I treated him to a steak dinner at Steve’s Sizzling Steaks. If you live or work in the Rutherford area and you haven’t tried Steve’s, what are you waiting for? It’s a place not to be missed by a steak lover!

These are the times that try men’s souls

lmbonnell — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 19:55:00 +0000

Happy Independence Day

Ain’t love the sweetest thing?

lmbonnell — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 14:33:00 +0000

When I visited Alan in March, he had a surprise for me. He had asked his mum to teach him to knit! After listening to me going on and on and on about knitting, he decided to give it a go. This is a garter stitch two-color scarf that he had begun. His mum knits English style, so we knit differently, which was fun to see. His scarf has the requisite beginner’s unintended buttonholes, increases, and decreases, but to me it is a work of art. Since March, I don’t think he’s knitted more than a stitch or two, just to shock my daughters, but it was still a lovely thing to do.

Alan’s real interests do not include knitting, but rather an eclectic mix of bicycling, hi-fi (whatever that means), tea (like a good Brit; did you know the “right way” to put milk in your tea is to put the milk in the cup before the tea? Try it. It tastes different!), cryptic crossword puzzles, griping about the differences between the US and the UK, etc. You too can learn about repairing one’s turntable by soldering it at the kitchen table! Try Alan’s blog.

Alan peruses the knitting blogs with me sometimes. His favorite, and certainly one of mine, is Brooklyn Tweed. But when I joined dishrag tag, he may have rolled his eyes a little. Just wait until I knit that tea cosy from Knit 2 Together!

I leave you with another pic of Alan’s First (and Perhaps Last) Scarf:

Cables and lace

lmbonnell — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:27:00 +0000

Here’s the back of the Gatsby Girl pullover from the Fall 2006 IK. I find this sweater so visually appealing, with its combination of cables, ribbing, and lovely herringbone lace. The yarn, 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk, is Knitpicks Elegance in Grass. While it is a bit splitty, I enjoy knitting with it very much.

I made a few modifications, which I will share assuming all goes well! The back is now finished, and I’ve started on the front.

Turkish cast-on made simple!

lmbonnell — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:24:00 +0000

I’ve been intrigued by the Turkish cast-on, and despite checking out several blogs that provide tutorials, I never quite got it. That is, until I found this one. I get it now! And it is a fabulous cast-on.

Hello kitty

lmbonnell — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:22:00 +0000

My cats love their cat beds, which are nasty cheapo polyester pads that get beat up pretty quickly, and must then be replaced. Knitter that I am, how could it be that Lucy & Ricky don’t have handknit kitty beds? Whatever the reason, I have remedied the situation.

Lucy now sleeps on a kitty bed knitted from lovely Morehouse merino. Their cat kit is often the free pattern du jour, which means the pattern is free and the yarn is marked down by 15%.

Prefelting, Lucy had already claimed it. Felting was not an easy task, but afterward Lucy enjoys it even more.

I would next like to try kitty pi, but it will have to be a large size, as Ricky is a bit of a porker.

It’s a beautiful day today weatherwise, and I’m off to knit Gatsby Girl in the backyard!

Quite the little joiners, aren’t we?

lmbonnell — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:18:00 +0000

First it was the Cardigan for Arwen KAL. Then it was the Victorian LaceAlong. My Arwen cardie is still progressing, albeit slowly, but my VLT project was frogged many moons ago. That being said, the melon shawl is still on my radar and I will knit it! Eventually.

So what have I gone and done now?
Yes. I have joined dish rag tag! Not only that, but I am on a team. The team has a captain. And I have performance anxiety.

Will my team mates find me a slow pokey knitter? I can be practically snail-worthy. Will my dish rag pass muster? I hope so.

Happy Friday!

Summer Solstice

lmbonnell — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 00:07:00 +0000

Not in the nick of time! Although I’ve been laboring over my STR April sock kit, I haven’t finished them in time for the new kit’s arrival. Here’s a sampling of the Grasshopper pattern in Walking on the Wild Tide, a delicious merino/silk yarn. The pattern calls for lacy yo p2tog stitches, which other sock club members have had trouble with. I would definitely knit with this yarn again, but probably not this pattern. It clashes with the beautiful colorway.

Despite having joined two count ‘em two sock clubs this year, I am not pushing myself on the sox front. I’m enjoying the sock knitting, but I also like to knit other projects. In addition to STR, I’m also participating in the Tsock Tsarina’s sock club. Her patterns are imaginative, with just the right amount of whimsy thrown in. Jennifer’s yarns custom-dyed for the kit are a delight also.

The two socks two circs method has been working well, and just might allay any second sock syndrome that might arise.

I’ve been watching with keen interest as single socks are the order of the day at eleven stitches and elsewhere in knitblogland. This would never work for me! Another sock bandwagon I would love to jump on is Nona’s Sidewinders! They look like they are a fun project.

Are you enjoying your dose of sunlight today?