New and returned to the store

Before we get to the News items of this post, I've been asked to share photos of Jared's lecture:

For more see here. Or here. On the subject of the lecture, well... it was awesome. Jared shared some of his newest designs (not available for sale yet!) which he had just photographed that morning. Honestly, one of the hats is reeaally tempting. Oh, and on the OMG-How-cool-is-that?! news list, I'm very excited to announce that we've worked out a deal with Jared to sell hard copies of his patterns. Probably by the end of the month patrons will be able to buy his patterns in the store. Very exciting, I think. Personally, I'm really looking foward to buying a copy of Girasole and picking out the matching yarn, all in one go.

Anyway, back to Thursday night. I also have a cool (or should I say 'kool'?) shot from after the afterparty.... Adam's Koolhaas:


Made with ShibuiKnits Merino Worsted in Wasabi (just so you can see how poor my photography and photo-correcting skills are). His specs are here. It was much admired.

Over the weekend (skipping Friday, Friday was a bit crazy - did you see the Newsletter?) We had The Long Awaited & Greatly Anticipated Return of Liz:

Which I couldn't really photo-document, as someone kept making faces at the camera or turning away (see above) just as I took a shot. Oy. But, rest assured, she is back and shouldn't be leaving for a while.

And, last but certainly not least, we have a new line of yarns! By the Sheep Shop Yarn Company, these are some quite lovely wool & wool-blend yarns that are kettle-dyed in much the same way as Manos del Uruguay, only in different colors and with a softer base yarn. You can also see the scarf I'm making for a Knit Purl pattern, modeled by Lindsay (who didn't squirm or make faces, it must be said):

So, that's everything that's happened since Thursday. Quite a lot, really. The Sheep Shop should (say that 3 times fast) be up on the web by the end of the week, if you're dying to try it. Until Thursday, knit or crochet happy!

time to play

We're sending out a large newsletter tomorrow, so "distracted" doesn't begin to describe us downstairs folk.

But, for your amusement (and ours), please check out the poll on the right-hand sidebar and vote. I'm very curious to see which entry wins. Maybe we'll even have a finished version of That Gizmo by the end of the poll - anything's possible, right?

Other news? Not much, other than...


We just received a GIANT box of Malabrigo Sock yarn!!

Yummm. I'll admit it now, I just grabbed four skeins. Drop by this evening (Sip'n'Stitch tonight!) or tomorrow to snag some for yourself.

Now I've got to get back to the Newsletter.

Sock-centric

Sock knitting seems to be taking over the world.

Well, the knitting world, anyway. Aside from a truly exceptional "No Mean Feet!" last night (record turnout!), we've just got word of a new limited edition series from Schaefer Yarns, Sock The Vote...

If you're not allergic to mohair, you can get a skein (or two!) of sock yarn dyed for your favorite politician/ politician's wife in the Presidential race. I'm not bitter that it only comes in Anne, no, not at all. Grr.

If we're lucky, this yarn will be in stock soon (it's on order).

But, back to "No Mean Feet!", we got pictures proving that sock knitters are indeed on the rise. We had to enlarge our knitting circle twice last night - welcoming several new visitors:

It was, as always, lots of fun. I wish I could go add more to this post, but a Newsletter went out on Friday and we are just drowning in web orders. Until Thursday, happy knitting!

Ladies & Gents, it's time for another YarNews Flash!

We've got not one, not even three, but FOUR new yarns for your tactile pleasure. All arrived yesterday and were just put up on the New Wall. First off, temping us all greatly here, are the three new Art Yarns lines:

1. Top row: Cashmere Sock Yarn. 65% Cashmere/ 25% Wool/ 8% Nylon. 146m/ 146y per 50g skein with a gauge of 22sts = 10cm/ 4" on 4.5mm/ US 6 needles. Yummy. Can you image how glorious a pair of socks made with this yarn would feel? At the moment we only carry 6 colors (one of which was bought up immediately!), but we might be getting in more if it turns out to be as popular as it should.
2. Bottom row, left: Silk Pearl & Sequins. 100% Silk strung with glass beads and sequins. 71m/ 78u per 50g skein with a gauge of 17sts = 10cm/ 4". Available in 5 colors. Don't get me wrong, I like this yarn, it's very fun and lovely to touch - but it strikes me as the perfect accessory for a European Discotheque. Still, would be a lot of fun to work with.
   
3. Bottom row, right: Beaded Mohair & Sequins. 80% Silk/ 20% Mohair strung with glass beads and sequins. 104m/ 114y per 50g skein with a gauge of 18 sts = 10cm/ 4". Available in 4 colors. A slightly lighter version of its all-silk sibling, but with a gentle halo. Still sparkly and fun, but probably quite a bit warmer for handknit garments.
   

Fourth on the New Wall is the latest Noro creation:

Noro Yuzen. "Yuzen" is actually a Japanese dyeing technique used to paint kimonos and paper for origami. This line comes in skeins, not balls, and features more subdued tweedy colors. It's absolutely lovely, and if it didn't have mohair in it I'd have bought a bag. In any case, the blend is 56% Wool/ 34% Silk/ 10% Mohair. Each 50g skein has 110m/ 121y with a gauge of 16 - 18 sts = 10cm/ 4". It's a solid worsted-weight that'll be great for winter garments.

And, finally, completely unrelated to YarNews...

A wip photo of my in-progress Seraphim Shawl, the "Manta Ray" as 3M calls it:

Made with Knit Purl's The Natural Collection yarn in a color best described as "Cochineal". Aside from a long-standing desire to make this shawl, I thought it would be appropriate to have it finished in time for Miriam Felton's visit in November. Yes, you heard me right. The designer of the Icarus Shawl and Juno Reginan Stole is coming to Portland to teach to two 1-day workshops at Knit Purl.

I really want to take the Intro to Lace Design class...

Anyway. It seemed a cool way to welcome her (okay, showing off) when she got here and a great reason to use the yarn I had originally stashed for this project in December.

Ahem. This wip might be a reoccuring topic over the next month... But it should be buffered with tons of YarNews, store workings and customer wips/ fos (which we haven't been seeing many of lately, where are you guys?).

slightly stunned, but pleasantly surprised

You remember the devastating news Malabrigo announced at the TNNA Summer Conference? We blogged about it and mentioned it in the July 15th Newsletter, so no one would be shocked that Malabrigo would be out of stock for a loooong time. Well, ha, Malabrigo decided to surprise and amaze us this week. We received not 1, but 5, boxes full of yarn from them:

(I only managed to get 4 in the shot)

Now, we had been told that we might be expecting some yarn from them at some point, but not to get too hopeful. Especially not when it came to the Lace Baby, because that was the line that was damaged most in the fire. Well, imagine our shock when we opened a box and saw these:

Bags upon bags of Lace Baby. Remarkably unscorched, too. And rather earlier than April 2009, the original send-by date we were given. How happy is that?

So, if you've been longing for Malabrigo yarns, for whatever reason, drop by the store (in person or online) and grab some before it's gone. I know I am.

In other news, I finally finally finally got this skein off of my spinning wheel:

4 oz, 320 +/- yards, Chameleon Colorworks Optim singles plied with Habu Textiles Tsumugi Silk. Yummy. The Optim was in the colorway "Briar Rose" and the Tsumugi #34 "Curry". I loves it muchly. Here's a close-up:

Now all I have to do is find a project for it. It's a shame we're out of the Tsumugi in "Curry" (ignore the inventory, it lies), because this would be fun to have 8 oz of. That would be enough for a shawl. Still, 4 oz might be enough for a stole...

Hmmm. Time to use the ravelry advanced pattern browser, methinks.

And, because I managed to clear out 3 bobbins by finishing the lovely above, that means I can get back to the lovelies that Sandy B. and Fearless Leader brought me back from TKGA. 80/20 Alpaca/ Silk dyed by local dyer Abstract Fiber, whose products we're hoping to carry soon. Gorgeous stuff.

Maybe one of the skeins will be done in time for the next post. Along with a bunch of new yarns, books, and kits we've just received. Oh! So much to do, so little time.

Yarn evolution. felting sisters, and a glimpse of Enid

Going in reverse, just because widdershins is so much fun, let's introduce you to our newest employee at the Good Ol' Salt Mines Yarn House of Knit Purl:

Enid. I barely had to corner her or anything. What a refreshing change. Enid says "hi". She spins and knits, so expect to see her getting into mischief with the rest of us around here.

Next on the list (gotta keep this short, 500 million things To Do), the Noni Trunk Show has arrived:

We've got the whole new Fall line and a bunch of accessories for the patterns (handles and clasps for purses, etc) for interested knitters to peruse. An interesting aspect of this season is the sheer number of garments they released, instead of accessories. Most of them still retain the trademark Noni Dr. Suess-ish look, but in a more accessible way.

And, finally, here's something to make most knitters squee:

Optim Evolution.

Chameleon Colorworks has started dyeing Optim yarn for handknitters who don't spin (we also have their Optim roving). This stuff is gorgeous. I immediately bough a skein, in "Indian Wedding". The colors and texture are fantastic. As is the yardage - 154y to 2oz. I'm thinking a hat would be nice with my little happy skein...

Evolution isn't not on the website yet, but is on the New Wall, if you're desperate to try some. And, at $13.25 a skein, it's not an expensive experiment, either.

That's everything for now. More news on Thursday. I'll also bring out my Seraphim Shawl. Miriam Felton is coming to town to teach two workshops for us, and I thought I'd knit a shawl to celebrate. That's my story, anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

Introducing... Leslie!

A day late, sorry. But, hey, I got lots of pictures for you, 3 new yarns and a short introduction to our newest slave employee Leslie:

Who says "Hi", incidentally.

I had to corner her, she wasn't too enthusiastic about being photographed. I guess I've gotten spoiled with having Liz around, who can be badgered into modeling anything. If you see Leslie wandering around the store, it's not because she's a hardcore regular. So, with luck, expect to run into her often when visiting us!

We were lucky to be visited by Jenni & Co. yesterday. I barely managed to snap a very blurry shot of Ayanna "helping" us behind the registers.

The boys, who are older and more wary, managed to elude any photographs. Jenni, distracted by her two-week-old, was relatively easy to catch:

Kandyce also says "Hi" to everyone in Blogland.

"Relatively" directly referring to the way she kept turning away from the camera. Since the camera does not have an X-Ray setting, this made it a little difficult to get a mommy & baby photo that wasn't blurry.

Next, keeping up with store workings/ news, we've got THREE new yarns. Which are totally not up on the web, sorry, but should be soon. Two are on the New Wall, however:

• ShibuiKnits Superwash Merino Worsted. 100% 19 mircon Merino wool, superwash treated, 195y per 100g skein. $19.75, and available in 17 colors. We've been looking forward to the arrival of this yarn for months. So exciting. It's literally the worsted sibling of ShibuiKnits Sock.
  

• Noro Taiyo. 40% cotton, 30% silk, 15% wool, 15% nylon. 200m/ 220y per 100g skein. $18.25 a ball, and available in 6 colors.
  

And one is on the Sock Wall:

• Pagewood Farms' Bluefaced Leicester Sock yarn. 80% Bluefaced Leicester, 20% nylon. 450y per 4oz skein. $25.50 a skein and available in 8 colors.

LOVE this stuff, despite the nylon. I actually helped pick this one out. Pagewood Farms always produces beautifully hand-dyed yarns that have a really nice depth of color. Several skeins of this are so going into my stash. And, since it's a Pagewood yarn, it should be mentioned that this will likely be a limited-run yarn line. When we sell out of their yarns, we usually don't/ can't get them again.

That's pretty much everything that's new or new-ish. There are only 19 spaces left in the Sock Club, so we're very excited about that. And, with the SKIF KAL kick-off coming up, we're madly preparing for more SKIF-related fun.

an unnamed Kauni sweater, yet more YarNews, and introductions

I am sorry to say that the blog has been backsliding because of my recent illness. I'm fine now, but had to take a week off of work (blech!) and alas couldn't update the blog from home because I had no pictures. Clearly, we need to work on our communication methods at the store.

In the past week, we were visited by Duffy (aka FiberQat) and her unnamed Kauni pullover:

Specs? (on ravelry)

• Yarn: Kauni W-EQ, approximately 750g
• Pattern: original

Clearly Duffy decided to really challenge herself for the Ravelympics this go-round. Something to admire, definitely. Possible from a distance, because one has to wonder if that kind of crazy is contagious or not. I've already got immunity issues...

Next on the list of things I've missed - a new worsted wool yarn. And a good 'un at that. It's so luscious I have to keep myself from cuddling it at my desk (I have a skein here for, ah, 'inspiration'). Admittedly, the name of this new yarn could use some work, as Shepherd's Wool is a little vague and understated. Milled in Michigan, with locally-grown wool, this brand answers our need for quality yarns that are American-made. Maybe the best way to view this new line is as a stealth luxury yarn.

With a fiber content of 100% fine Merino wool, the skein I'm fondling petting easily qualifies for "luxury" status. At $9.75 a 4oz skein (250y) and in a variety of colors, this new line is going to be fantastic for a variety of projects this fall. Especially if you don't mind hand-washing baby garments, it would be perfect for all sorts of little knits.

Which leads perfectly into our latest and greatest news... the baby pictures have landed!

Long-time readers (and local patrons) will already know that Jenni has been visibly pregnant for some time and went in for a c-section on August 18th. As we announced to knitters the world-over, Kandyce is very healthy and weighed in at 6lbs 9oz. And, after some nagging and finagling, we have the super-cute baby photos we were promised to share.

Sandy Kay took the footsie photo to the left (who can resist baby feet?), but the other photos were taken by Jenni & Co (likely by her husband, Marcus).

(From left to right: Malik, Ayanna, DeAndre and little Kandyce).

(Ayanna with Mommy and baby).

Those of you who join us for Sip'N'Stitch every week (6-9pm on Thursdays) got to see Kandyce yesterday (lucky ducks!), but I'm told Jenni & Co. might be dropping by again next week. If we're lucky, maybe we'll get some cute in-store photos. I don't think we've passed the needles to Kandyce yet either. It's an old Irish tradition (I think), and will ensure that Kandyce is a great knitter when she grows up.

Definitely something to look forward to.

a rockstar, updates, and an extremely late YarNews Flash

Have I got a Rockstar for all y'all. Today we were visited by Paula (no blog and not on ravelry, :sad:), who was eager to show off her finished "Joy" from Rowan Vintage Knits:

She used Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4-ply, which is now discontinued, and about 3 million beads (I'd guess). The finished sweater was beyond beautiful. Maybe we should be happy she's not on ravelry, it's hard not to feel like an underachiever by comparison, isn't it? Still, she definitely deserves Rockstar status.

As for updates... In the past week, LOTS has happened. Let's see...

1. Jenni, our beloved inventory specialist, had a baby girl yesterday who weighed in at 6lbs 9oz. I believe the name chosen is Kandyce. No photo yet, but maybe soon...
   
2. The August 15 Newsletter went out, woe unto me as the web orders person. (well, not really) And let me just tell you, if you want one of those Japanese books (like me :sigh:), there's going to be a little wait - we sold out in almost record time.
   
3. We received our special Koigu for the Sock Club and it is gorgeous. Simply beautiful. The gals at "No Mean Feet!" admitted to being awed last night. And the pattern to go with it? Exquisite, really. I can't wait to knit it for myself!
4. At a rapid pace, open space is diminishing in the Club. We're filling up spots so quickly, I can barely keep up with enrollment.
5. And last, but not least, I spoke with SOAK today and they are sending along not only our Sock Club goodies but a bunch of surprise treats for us to give away to participants.
   

In the YarNews section of this post, it's a bit embarrassing, but... We've had Noro Silk Garden sock in the store and in stock for a while now and it's still not on the web (it will be soon, if I have anything to say about it). Should you want a ball or two (or the new colors of Kureyon sock), drop by the store:

We got ya covered.

Shown above is also a Clapotis made with 1 skein of the Silk Garden sock in #269.

The final tidbit on my list of updates? My Skif #2, a Habu-happy Zena:

If you want to know all the yarns, well, check out my ravelry notebook or click on the picture and see the notes on the original image. The thought of linking all the yarns I'm using just makes me a little faint, honestly.

Noro Kureyon sock yarn!

... we interrupt your normal blogging for an important YarNews Flash:

Knit/ Purl now has Noro Kureyon sock yarn in stock!

Yes, you read correctly, Noro Kureyon sock yarn.

Much like our familiar friend Kureyon, this new sock yarn is single-ply, thick-and-thin, and features loooong, vibrant color repeats.

Unlike the traditional Kureyon, this is 30% nylon for durability and knits up at 7.5 sts/ inch on 3mm DPNs.

For more information, check out our 7 new colorways or drop by the store :)

A Rock Star and the News

Where to begin... there is just so much news on the yarnfront... Mind you it's not good news. Tragic news is the best word to describe it actually. The best way to take the sting out a bit is to sandwich the news between some happy news.

Happy news: we have a rockstar in our midst and her name is Esther Hynes. Since Esther lives in California we do not have a current photo of her. I imagine she looks like this. Here is a picture of her with her sister.

As you know, rockin' is a tough job. You're traveling to the next gig, eating food on the road, and you need to make sure you look hot for the next show. You just wore the black lacy outfit at the last show and you'd like to bring out something colorful for that very special groupie you've had your eye on. Something like this:









The "Butterfly Poncho" from Knits from a Painter's Palette. It can be worn in two different ways making the costume changes between sets easy.

















You would really like to wear the "Kimono Jacket" that Maie Landra designed in the Vogue Anniverary issue, but you've been knitting for one year and you are only 25% done:


It uses a crazy amount of Koigu, but the color change keeps you entertained and the blues and greens really makes the color of your eyes pop. Perhaps you can finish on the way to your next gig in Portland. Yeah, 'cuz you're a Barracuda.

------------------


Now for somber news: in May the Malabrigo factory had a fire.

(Told you the news was tragic.) We will take the sharp inhalation of breath as a response similar to our own. We are sick. Pit-of-the-stomach-stabbing-pain sick.

The good news is the mill is still running, but because they are in Uruguay and have to deal with Uruguian bureaucracy, they haven't even been given the okay (as yet) to return to rebuild the warehouse, or start dyeing again.



The delay means any Malibrigo yarn available in the store right now is all we can get. All of it. I want Lace Baby in "Amoroso" for my next SKIF project, but it's not gonna happen. We would love to get more to you but we can't. Because they can't. Because of Uraguian beaurocracy, the space-time continuum, and the Ides of March. No more.

At least, no more for awhile. The rumor mill has the first Lace Baby being available sometime in April 2009. So there you go.

------------------

Now even more somber news (anyone need a therapist yet?): In keeping with the theme of rumors, or fires, or Pit-of-the-stomach-stabbing-pain we are loathe to announce...

You might need to sit down for this...

Our good buddy Lars (good ol' Lars), of Unicorn Book Publishing, told us the news...

We are loathe to announce: the warehouse fire that destroyed the master copies of Poetry in Stitches.

Yeah that's gonna sting for a bit. Try some aloe or some antibiotic ointment.


Can you even believe it? It seems getting a copy of this book is like trying to kill a windmill. So, the first editions that those smart knitters have (The Blogger is not one of them) is like gold, wrapped in platinum and coated in diamonds.


Eventually there will be more. For everyone who signed up on our list (all those names we painstakingly recorded) do not worry. We plan on making big announcements when we hear more about the return of the book. Just keep us updated on your shipping address if we are to mail your copy to you.

------------------

After all that gut-wrenching pain, I leave you with a bit-o-pretty:

Zena.
Isn't she just divine?












I sprinkled some Catherine Lowe Alpaca in the mix and now I must have more. See the pretty plum color (as opposed to the chocolate or blueberry color)?


Knitting it in was akin to heaven.


My yarn diet is collapsing in a big way.

Welcome to the casbah, baby

... we interrupt your normal blogging for an important YarNews Flash:

A giant box of Fleece Artist Casbah sock yarn has landed!

(wow, that sounds like CIA code, doesn't it?)

Casbah, one of our fastest selling sock yarns, is back in stock. And, to reward us for our custom, Handmaiden & Fleece Artist have included 10 free copies of their sock pattern "Little Square Socks", designed specifically for Casbah yarn. Sooo... the first 10 knitters in to buy a skein of Casbah will get a free pattern with their purchase :)

No Rest for the Weary...

..or is it the wicked?

My great-grandmother, "Grand Mutter", had a nasty habit of mumbling idioms and now I can always remember the spirit of this scary bad-ass east Texas woman every time I think of one.
Remember "Stupid is as stupid does"? How about "Whistling girls and crowing hens always come to some bad end"? Betcha never heard "Beatcha like my ugly red-headed step child" or "Snatch ya ball-headed".
Yeah, that was Grand Mutter and boy was she the life of the party.
The trouble is because I hear them so infrequently nowadays, they've managed to swim around in my head and copulate and I'm left befuddled with: "Idle hands are the Devil's..." What?
It's particularly trying on my sanity because they always seem to come to mind during bouts of insomnia.

1 am:
Idle hands are the Devil's campground.
No don't do this. Go to sleep. Try some chamomile.

1:40 am:
Idle hands are the Devil's toolbox.
Stop it. Sleep already crazy person. Try some music. Maybe jazz.

1:52 am:
Chet Baker or Leonard Cohen not Charlie Parker. Sleep making music you moron!
Don't call us a moron.
We can call us a moron if we want. Whatcha gonna do about it?
Idle hands are the Devil's FourRunner... or is it Fore Runner?
Fine. We are goin' for the big guns now: rooibos with the valerian root paired with the dulcet tones of Francoise Hardy and Claudine Longet. That'll fix it.

3:29 am:
Idle hands are the Devil's...
Blog! Work on the blog and how we can't sleep and...
Do you want people to think we're meshuge?
We're sure they've figured it out all ready.
You know, we could always just use the Google-fu and look it...
No! we'll remember all on our own, or we'll forget about it.

4:07 am:
Idle hands are the Devil's playstation.
It's not playstation... Playstation. Hmm, solitaire or maybe Brick Breaker?
Idle hands are the Devil's Brick Breaker?
No idiot. Maybe we should play a video game.
Don't call us idiot. Play Brick Breaker.
No, if we are going to play something it should be yarn. Still have that True Plies experience to blog about.

(Habu's Fique. McLovin' it!)


















We could also tease those that read the blog with the new new new news of the "Catherine Lowe event spectacular"
Yeah she's cool but she totally deserves her own post...
...devoid of the Blogger's sleepless mad rantings. Yeah, we're right.
There's always the lace design work for the spring Gratis Knits to work on. Oooh!


We can totally bust out the Swiss Mountain lovely-goodness and the beads and play yarn à la Ruth Sørenson.












It's reeaallly late. We should just try to get some rest.

4:49 am:
Idle hands...
Fine we'll look it up.

The find

Well it could be anything. Most importantly though, we don't care anymore. So there. Nanner, nanner, nanner. Sleep is ours at last!
Is it wicked or weary?
Huh?
No rest for the...

Kill me.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Today's post is of an amazing tale. An account of desperation, betrayal, and the fragility of life. Please heed my words and spread them to all in every corner of the planet.

However, in yesterdays post I promised to explain to those who wanted to know about the upcoming fiber arts festival in Madrona. So, I'll begin with a bit of news about the show then launch into my story.

What exactly is Madrona?

Madrona = lots of fiber packed fun.

From February 14th through the17th at the Hotel Murano (formerly the Sheraton), in Tacoma Washington, thousands of fiber-hungry knitters will gather to buy and sell yarn and learn new knitting techniques from the biggest names in knitting/crocheting/spinning/hand dyeing in an annual fiber arts festival.

Wanna take a class? The big names teaching classes include: Nancy Bush, Judith MacKenzie McCuin, Lucy Neatby, Evelyn Clark, Paula Schull, Ruth Sorenson, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (also known as Fiber-ho' to her friends), Blah Blah-blah, and Yadda Yadda-yadda. Too late to register though because all the classes are full. (What? You think no one else wants to take classes from cool teachers?)

There will be a mash of vendors proffering their wares and Knit Purl is one of them. We'll have Kauni (fifteen colors!), Hanne Kits, and all sorts of goodies.

If you need some more fiber in your diet, uh... stash, I recommend that you go.

Now for my story. Last night, while studying with friends at one of my favorite watering holes, the most mind-blowing thing happened...

Just as a butterfly struggles to free itself from a chrysalis, I witnessed a transformation of epic proportions. The procedure was brutal and not one for the faint of heart.

My companions' astonishment matched my own as they too stood dumbfounded at the end of it all. Frankly, I'm still shaking from the adrenaline rush. Excuse me for a moment. I feel I might need to lay quietly in a dark room for a few minutes until I regain my composure.

---------

Prepare yourself for shocking news. This is your last chance to turn back and I encourage you to do so because your life as you know it will change with this knowledge. Last night at approximately 9pm Pacific standard time, Knathan, a honest and diligent assisant to new knitter Jen (not seen at left), attempted to end it all.










I know, I know. I'm struggling right now as I type these words. How could Knathan do such a thing? Shock had poor Jen reeling and all anyone could say to her at the end of it was "It'll all work out", "We'll help you through this ordeal", and "Stay strong". Pitiful words of support considering the ramifications of Knathan's terrifying actions. We understand now that Knathan, a Crystal Palace US size 10 needle, unhappy with its role in the knitting world, decided to end life by plunging tip first into a candle flame rather than to face another stitch. As you can see on the left, I managed to get in a few grainy shots with my camera phone. The first shot shows the candle and the second was taken moments after the "episode". The bottom photo is of the note Knathan left behind for Jen. It says: "Now I'm a pencil". Doesn't it just break your heart?

If we had only known of the pain, we could have offered words of advice or encouragement. Someone would have beamed light in the darkness along the path to professional help. Jen was in the middle of a Peruvian Tweed scarf in checkerboard stitch when it happened. So startling was the event, at one point I found myself pointing and screaming "No! NOOOOO! DON"T DOOOO ITTTT!!!!" as I watched Knathan dive with four and a half feet of scarf trailing behind. I'm seriously going to double down on my anti-anxiety meds today.

Amazingly, Jen had the wherewithal to pull Knathan back from the fire but Knathan will forever show the scars of the episode. For those of you worried about the knitting, no injuries were sustained and the yarn ball, 117, wants everyone to know of its gratitude. I saw Jen and 117 this morning and in simple eloquent words the Peruvian tearfully stated, "I thank my lucky stitches for those who aided in my escape from certain doom. I will forever be in their debt. They are my guardian angels."

Don't worry I sobbed as well. Let us all take a few moments to think about the fragility of life while those of us with more tender souls compose themselves in their happy places.

-----

The world is a cruel place to those who seem different, to those who just don't fit into society's idea of "beauty". We learned Knathan has always felt like a pencil trapped in a knitting needle's body and wanted to undergo reassignment surgery but couldn't face peers and didn't know how to break the news to Jen. Confused and alone, drastic measures seemed like the only recourse.

I'm happy to announce Knathan, now Paul Pencil, is doing well and with one more surgery to insert lead, will lead a full and happy life full of lists, letters, and doodles, and maybe one day even drawings. We have all learned from this experience and we are dedicated to promote a more positive support network. I encourage everyone to extend a loving attitude full of acceptance to crochet hooks and knitting needles no matter if they are straight or circular. Finally, to those struggling to find their place in society, I say:

You are so beautiful.

Edited to add: Dame Catherine of the H.I.P.P.Y's has pointed out it was she who braved the fire and rescued Knathan, er Peter, from danger. Dame Catherine risked her life and we should all laud Dame Catherine for her quick thinking and cat like reflexes. So yell it like you mean it boys and girls:

All hail Dame Catherine! Hail! Hail! Hail! We love you even though you have a serious God complex! Hail!

Badgering Works!

It always seemed a shame to me as a child that few people appreciated my "feisty" temperament. As a matter of principle, I corrected adults who tried to win my favor and thought it charming to shorten my name to a familiar nickname. Gentle but firm I would look them squarely in the eye and reply, "Please don't call me that. That is not my name. That's my brother's name and my father's name." Most adults would just stare at me like I spit on the baby, but a few told me my feisty attitude would take me places.

Occasionally, it has.

As a child I explained to Santa if I was to become a ballerina/princess/astronomer, I would need a telescope to start the scientific end of my future career. I got one.
As a sixteen year old, I dressed in my best skirt and blouse and walked inside Trump Tower in New York city to ya know, check the place out. It was nice.
New to Los Angeles, as an adult I landed a dream job in jewelry by calmly explaining (unannounced) to the owner why he would be making a mistake if he didn't hire me. He hired me.

Recently, I discovered women and men who share the same love of geeky order, who don't think me (too) weird for organizing yarn by color, who understand my need for the pretty. They appreciate salty personalities and my insistence that if you just badger someone a bit they will come around to your way of thinking. My co-workers, turned friends, believe badgering works because they are feisty too.

In the world of yarn, Recent evidence that badgering works includes the long awaited reprinting of Solveig Hisdal's stunning Poetry In Stitches book. Several calls to Norway using words like "pretty, pretty, please" and "c'mon you know you wanna" by Fearless Leader and staff produced a rumor that is 95% sure to come true.
Yeah I know, ninety-five percent sure? We believe they will reprint it because badgering them to include copies of the pattern in their kits has proved successful. (Norwegians are so totally unprepared for our brand of systematic haranguing.) Their kits are fabulous, the yarn superb, and the book incredible. They have a product that Americans are blessed to get : old-world, timeless knitwear. We committed to 50 copies of the reprinted Poetry In Stitches so if you want a copy that won't cost you your first born on Ebay, pre-order one here. We have the yarn too, but you can always just get the kit you want to knit because they now include the pattern. That is, until they get the new copies of the book out...



Badgering Malabrigo proved successful as well. They are incredibly busy running a farm and yarn company. As we've encountered in the past, if you call them up (you call Florida and then they patch you through) sometimes you catch them during "lambing season" and your order for all your anxious customers just has to wait. Which is fair. I think anyone, man or beast giving birth has the right to say "Uh, sorry I can't give you any wool right now. I'm a little busy having a baby sheep." People of course wouldn't say that. Just substitute wool for spreadsheet and omit the sheep part. Makes more sense now, doesn't it?

While hounding the very sweet Malabrigo-tonians we discovered our automatic ordering system didn't jive well with their system. They only send out their orders after it is complete and we were sending them orders near weekly. They could never fulfill all the orders at once so they kept holding the yarn from going out.
So we learned something new and they sent us our yarn, all eight-thousand dollars worth.




We have new colors as well:

That's hot, huh?
The shipment is so pretty it begs for rolling around in... homina.

So, the moral of this story is: always make a pest of yourself for yarn.
Perhaps that's a bit obnoxious. How about: The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Yeah, too trite. Take your pick of one of these quotes then:

Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind. -Bulgarian Proverb

Victory belongs to the most persevering. -Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)

By perseverance the snail reached the ark. -Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 - 1892)

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. -Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. -Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)