Ravelry meet-up

I was really excited to see that Knitty City (my madtosh connection here in NYC - it is an addiction!) was hosting a Ravelry meet-up tonight from 6-8. Lucky for me, Nick was kind enough to wrangle the girls for dinner and bedtime so i could go. And even luckier for me that it was really cold today, so I could wear my Turn of the Glass without looking like a complete twit.

Everyone was very nice, and I love how there are knitters (and crocheters) there of all variety: age, skill level, pattern interest (you know, some people are obsessed with socks, some love anything in Wollmeise - must ask my sister to get me some while she's in Berlin - and some are into garter stitch). That last one is actually me, working on a possible Knitty submission. We'll see; I had to frog a big chunk of it today but am pretty sure I'm on the right track now. Now, I have to admit here to all of you that I am shy. No, really, I'm kind of a big dork, perhaps especially the past few years. I think my social muscles don't get the same workout these days - I'm home with the kids a lot and most of the grown-ups I hang out with are other moms and dads, so we reflexively talk about them. But, I got over myself tonight and had a good time with people I didn't know.

I'm looking forward to going again next month, since this is now going to be a regular thing. Yay! Between my kids'-school based knitting group that meets joyfully but sporadically and this Ravelry meet-up, perhaps I'll get back in social shape, at least with the knitters.

Knitblogger of the day: Canary Knits

In an effort to start my new blog home off on the proper foot, I've joined CanaryKnits and some other bloggers in blogging every day for the month of March. So, I thought today would be a good day to profile the knitblogger and designer who profiles independent designers. And you're in for a feathery treat if you visit her blog today, since she's featured her new zebra finches.

Teresa not only profiles independent designers every Friday, she is a designer herself. She has self-published the booklet Little Seasonals recently with Hannah Poon and has a pattern - the alluring Milk Maiden - featured in Julie Turjoman's Brave New Knits: 26 Projects and Personalities from the Knitting Blogosphere.

Short and sweet today, since we're hosting a playdate for Isobel. Tomorrow everyone will be at school, so hopefully (after a workout) I'll be able to write a little more, perhaps even post a picture. After I exercise, of course!

Many thanks to yesterday's commenters, some of whom I didn't know before. Remember, you can still comment on yesterday's post until Friday morning, when I will announce the winner and the next giveaway!

Welcome! And a contest.

Today is the day! I've "moved blog" to this address and hope to blog long and often here from now on. To celebrate I'm going to have my first contest (how embarrassing to blog for so long without hosting a contest).

How about we talk about "firsts" and turning over new leaves and such? In addition to moving to the new blog, today I went to the gym. Can you believe it? Generally, I pride myself on my laziness, but it's time to get back in shape. So, I walked and jogged on the track and took a look at all the equipment they have (it's the Columbia gym, so they have a ton of stuff for all those kids). There was a Vinyasa Yoga class going on in one of the studios while I was there, and I may have to see if I can arrange my schedule to take it, though I'd rather do Hatha to start. Anyway, that's my new leaf today.

For the contest, I have an extra copy of the wonderful book The Natural Knitter (link will take you to Amazon; go here to check it out on Ravelry). It's a lovely book (and a shame that Barbara Albright passed away before it even came out), with a nice variety of patterns and lots of interesting information about plant and animal fibers, as well as a little bit on dying and spinning. It looks like Potter Craft may be taking this book out of print.

To enter, leave a comment about what new things you're doing as Spring comes our way on this post before 9am on Friday March 4th. On Friday I will announce the randomly selected winner. And be sure to keep reading for more contests and knitting news.

Thanks and happy knitting!

Moving House/Blog

If you are reading this, it is time to change your feed/bookmark. As of 1 March 2011 I will blog at kathleendames.blogspot.com, so be sure to join me over there. Thanks and happy knitting!

FO: Emily 2 shawl

I knit this shawl up over Christmas break and finally got around to photographing it (playing around with my camera remote and tripod). This is Emily 2 by Kieran Foley, and I knit it with some beautiful Madeline Tosh lace in the Baltic colorway and a bunch of seed beads that matched perfectly, which is probably why you can't see them in the picture. This was my first time working with beads, and it was a little bit of an adventure, what with the kids and cats in my life. It turned out nicely, and I don't think I lost too many beads in the process. I didn't block it severely, so it's not nearly as open as Kieran's. I may re-block at some point.

This version of Emily is knit from the top-center down, like many triangular shawls. The other version of Emily is knit from the bottom up and starts with a jillion stitches, so when I saw that Kieran had come up with a top-down version in December, I snatched up a copy. The beads kept my attention from wandering too much - this is a garter stitch shawl after all, and the only serious lace action comes at the end.

In other news I've decided to move the blog. I've been working on a redesign of my other blog and will abandon good ol' Purly here on March 1st. There will be a redirect post here, then, but you can go check it out now at kathleendames.blogspot.com. I have to figure out what to do with the Purly content but will probably just leave it here, as is, and continue on from March 1st at the "new" place. I'm thinking about a little contest and giveaway, too, since I've never done that before. I will, of course, keep you posted. More FO's and patterns to come, too!

Identity

So, I have this dilemma. I blog here (sporadically) as "Purly", which is my Ravelry ID. But the blog is "Purly-Gloucester", and I no longer live in Gloucester (with all the pluses and minuses that go along with that). I also have a blog under my (new-ish - it has been over two years since we got married) name, Kathleen Dames, where I post my pattern pages, as well as samples of my graphic design work.

I've been working to consolidate my identity in the "real world", especially after losing my driver's license some time between passing through security at O'Hare after Thanksgiving and leaving for the airport for Christmas break. It's probably somewhere in the house, batted by cats under something like the refrigerator or piano, but that didn't help me, nor did my expired passport, which I managed to travel on anyway because the security folk could see that I was a harried mother of three, not someone intent on doing something horrible on a plane. Anyway, I renewed my passport and was even able to change my name there in the process. Now, it's just Social Security and then figuring out what to do about the DMV (I should be able to get a copy of my driver's license from Massachusetts, otherwise I guess I'll have to take the test here in New York).

But it's such a hassle, isn't it? Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to be Kathleen Dames. Thrilled! But it's a pain getting things all consolidated. And it's freaky when you suddenly realize that you don't have your driver's license. It's one of those things that only comes out of my wallet at an airport. Then I had a really hard time giving up my (expired) passport, since it was the only form of government-issued ID I possessed. But now I've got a shiny new one with my proper name and a whizzy security chip and everything.

So, is it time to get all shiny blog-wise, too? I'm thinking it's time to consolidate over on Kathleen Dames and be done. Except that I now have new readers arriving here from Knitty (yay!). I guess there is never really a good time to make the switch. I will keep you posted!

FO: Pipit for Isobel

At some point recently it became embarassing that Isobel didn't have a sweater knit by mom. Mittens, hat, cowl, her own little In the Shallows (in bubble gum pink, no less), but no sweater. So, some time on Ravelry, a stash dive, a few skeins of bulky yarn reclaimed from a never-finished shrug, and a trip to M&J Trimming yielded this Pipit. She'll only get the rest of the winter/spring out of it, but then Penelope should have a long ride with it. As you can see, the model/recipient loves it (and the camera). She's worn it for at least part of the last four days. Ravelry details here.

There are more FOs that haven't been photographed yet, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, did you hear that cry of anguish Sunday afternoon followed by a blue streak of swearing? George (my little, orange terrorist cat) got his paws on my Perseid Shower Pi Shawl that I'd finally decided to work the edging on. The little stinker then dragged it across the room with me swearing up a storm behind him. I've spent far too much time untangling the yarn:



Hopefully, I'll get back on track tonight and finish this shawl up soon. My refusal to cut out the snarl is testament to my grandmother's stubbornness - this is the shawl that I didn't get to finish for her last summer.