Gidget Casts On

Psychotic Reactions

Today's post will be somewhat episodic; I've been reading a newly-released Lester Bangs compendium, and am thinking in very short chapters.

THE QUEEN OF DENIAL

So you say you don't have the time/space/patience for the blocking your knitwear so desperately needs?

Here at the House of Gidget, we are currently practicing what I like to call The Mental Block.

Based on an ancient principle taught in Hebrew school that merely THINKING about doing a good deed gives you the same heavenly credit as actually doing it, The Mental Block imparts a more pleasing form to your knitting with a minimum of physical exertion. Simply take the finished item, fold it into a small rectangle and put it at the bottom of your sweater drawer (the presence of finished sweaters will encourage it to conform to the desired shape.) Leave it there for no less than three days, and try to spend several minutes each day WILLING your item to mold itself to the proper dimensions. When you take it out, you'll notice a remarkable improvement in fit, drape, and texture. If not, replace in drawer and repeat until desired result is achieved.

URGENT - SAVE THIS DOG

If you live in the San Diego area and own a tan and white cocker spaniel (or know someone who does), read this NOW and help someone rescue a dog stranded in Mexico.

METAL MELTDOWN

Sorry to let you down, Em, I had to give up on the 'Rock' emblem on my Frida. Intarsia in the round was whupping my ass, and unless I can figure out a way to do this that doesn't involve carrying the yarn across the back (creating a hideous, lumpy mass) or weaving in approximately 30 ends, I'm going to have to hold off until the next time I knit something on straights.

LOVING LINDA...LESS

I'm feeling considerably less warm and fuzzy toward Ms. Ronstadt despite her recent outspoken support of Michael Moore and '9/11' after my husband reminded me that she accepted half a million dollars to play Sun City in 1983 (as reported by Rolling Stone.) I know that many of us made ill-advised decisions during the '80's, but unfortunate haircuts and misguided fashion choices beat the hell out of supporting Apartheid.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Never again will I leave home without my digital camera. I keep kicking myself over and over again for the countless missed photo opps, all because I forgot to grab the weighs-next-to-nothing little point 'n' shoot Fuji that I bought SPECIFICALLY for its portability and idiot-proof-ness. This past week was no exception, as I missed photographing what might have been the high point of yarn shopping for this decade, unless I manage to drag my ass back up to Massachusetts.

And boy, is that ever a distinct possibility.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. We arrived in Amherst on Thursday, unloaded the equipment and figured out the first few shots for the next day. By 4:00 we were checked in at the motel, and I knew I had to try to squeeze in a visit to Webs, which I'd heard was a yarny mecca, a can't-miss destination for fiber addicts passing through that part of MA. It took some finding, but find it we did:

(Photo courtesy of the much-more-prepared animator.)

Folks, for those of you who have never been to this place, all I have to say is...

Wow. Oh, wow.

The store itself is impressive enough, with shelves and shelves and SHELVES of every fiber imaginable, every texture and color represented; I think there were several spontaneous 'happy dances' performed, especially after I discovered a veritable nest of Koigu.

Here I am getting acquainted with some saucy Cotton Fleece:

But there's more. Behind the store area is the warehouse, and there the madness begins. Remember the storage room where the Ark of the Covenant lands at the end of 'Raiders?' Well it was like that. Except with yarn.

Cones upon cones upon cones, miles of cones of rayon and mohair and shetland and cotton and...

I was running up and down the aisles trying to touch everything at once. Completely lost track of time - when I finally emerged, one of the guys had left and another had fallen asleep. Did I care? Ho, no; I dove right back in for a second pass.

And here's the REALLY scary part - Webs is (gulp)EXPANDING. For someone used to the wee cubes on NYC LYS real estate, it's almost obscene. But in a good way.

So here's the haul. I meant to only bring out one of the cones, but these colors were just begging to stay together, so how could I say no?

Some Victorian Pink Cotton Fleece for a shrug:

And some yarn I've never seen before but grabbed immediately; Stirling Mohair from Valley Yarns, because I'm a sucker for anything that knits up to look like poodle:

And so I left, sated but happy. Until we hit the end of the block, and the sidewalk sale in front of Northampton Wools. It's a great little store, with a lovely selection of wools, novelty yarns...oh heck, I'm not even going to pretend that I put up any resistance whatsoever. Plus the owner was really nice.

That little yarn posse is Big Net, Sockotta, Fixation and a cute little number called Dragon (it almost does sound like those could be gang names, doesn't it?)

By then we were all feeling a bit giddy, so it was off to dinner and back to the motel. The next day's shooting was uneventful, though the drive back home took an unbelievable 6 hours longer than it should have. It wouldn't have been so bad if someone else had been driving - at least then I could've knit. Yeah, that's the last time I schedule a return trip on a Friday during the height of rush hour. The near-hurricane conditions didn't help much, either.

But a little surprise was awaiting me when I got home:

"Huh?", you may say, but once opened...

The wonderful Erica very kindly sent me some beautifully packaged scraps for my Scrap-along project. Thanks, chica!

I'm running out of steam. Last treat before I pass out into my Yuengling:

I finally made it to the Kinokuniya book/magazine store in Edgewater, which I suspected of stocking Japanese knitting books. Hee hee hee, I was right. I tried to shoot a couple of images from inside to give you an idea of how crazy cute their designs are, but the pages are too damn reflective - I'll have to scan them tomorrow.

Je Reviens

Oh my God, Amherst was beautiful and Webs is heaven on earth. Details (and pix) to follow, as soon as I recover from the drive back; what should have been only three hours blossomed to a whopping nine hours of pure torture, in some of the worst driving conditions I've seen in my entire life.

Scribble, Scribble

So, I made all this neat stuff over the past week, and I can't post pictures of ANY of it because it's all being gifted to one Secret Pal or another and I don't want to blow anyone's surprise. On the other hand, I really want to jump up and down, screaming, "Look what I did!" Secrets are kinda tough for me, always have been. In a way, I suppose all this Secret Exchange stuff will be good, in terms of helping me practice self-restraint. Which I could use more of in general, especially when it comes to stockpiling yarn.

But speaking of restraint, I've actually been averting my eyes from online temptation (made significantly easier by the boys' temporary hiatus) and knitting up some of what I've bought so far this summer. I started the Frida tank from Hello Knitty in Cascade Fixation, and have a new yarn crush - the stuff didn't do much for me until it was knit up, and then I fell in love love LOVE with the fabric. I'm going to throw some metal on the front of this baby and join Alison's awesome Rock-Along Gallery, using Missa's excellent chart.

I'll be away for the next couple of days, shooting in Amherst. I'm hoping I can squeeze in a quick sidetrip to Webs, which many, many kind folk from the KnitList recommended in response to my query posted there this morning. Have I mentioned lately how terrific the online knitting community is? Within an hour after posting, I received a slew of sweet, gracious emails listing local yarn stores (with driving directions, no less), but also mentioning the best places for ice cream, pizza, waffles...

I'll say it again, knitters is nice folks. Thanks to all - see you in a few.

Sing It, Linda

Linda Ronstadt, political firebrand? Yes indeedy; according to CNN. Apparently, Ms. Ronstadt was ejected from the Alladin casino in Las Vegas this weekend, after she dedicated a performance of "Desperado" to Michael Moore and "Farenheit 9/11", urging the audience to see the film. Enraged patrons tore down her posters, spilled their drinks, and walked out in droves. An Alladin representative huffed that she was hired "to entertain the guests of the Aladdin, not to espouse political views."

Now, the Alladin rep may have a point, but the hotel's response to this was to immediately escort her from the premises - she wasn't even allowed to go back to her suite (what'd they do next, I wonder, smudge the rooms with Texas sage?)

I'll let you in on a secret - 'Desperado' is one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasure songs especially this version recorded by a 9 year-old in a school gymnasium on "The Langley Schools Music Project".

Mad For Swaps

Or just plain mad. I just realized that I've signed on for no fewer than three swaps in the last couple of weeks - one at Craftster, one at the Knitty Coffeeshop, and now the second Secret Pals Exchange hosted by Heidi.

Oh, and I'm also in the ongoing Candy Exchange through Erica's (Smiling Tiger) Candy-Along.

Hmmm...now that I think about it, I've also had a CD swap with Exy, a software/magazine swap with Alison (who I 'met' - along with the lovely Maggie - via Em's Secret Cupid Swap), a mini-yarn swap coming up with Jenn, and most recently, a swap with Kat that brought me a variety of beautifully packaged, teeny-tiny candy, a couple of awesome Japanese knitting magazines:

and some fabric that's so cute it'll make your eyes cross:

Truth is, I love getting things in the mail and I love sending things out; and that's really about all there is to it.

Psst, wanna know the best thing I've gotten out of all the swapping I've done? The network of like-minded knitters and crafty folk that I've hooked up with (sorry) online, one way or another. Doesn't it seem sometimes like we go through periods in our lives where we're just hanging out with the same people we already know, and YEARS can go by that way, without any new faces joining the circle? Well, this past year my circle's gotten a heckuva lot bigger. Some I've actually met, some I've spoken to on the phone or emailed, very many more I hope to meet someday.

And in case you aren't feeling all warm and fuzzy by now:

My Craftster recipient expressed interest in the color orange. She has no idea what she's in for.

KnitLuv

Today I'm taking a cue from Alison, whose post yesterday was a big, fuzzy shout-out to the online knitting community. The past few weeks have been beyond hectic for me, leaving very little time for writing and knitting (the two things I generally rely on to keep me stable and [relatively] sane.) Any time I had a few minutes, though, I'd go make the rounds of knitting blogs, and catching up on everyone's WIPs, FOs and personal updates helped recharge my batteries (thanks, guys!)

And finding a few free patterns didn't hurt either — the very glamorous minisweater by Stefanie is positively boobalicious, and Amy has crafted a terrific summer poncho.

I also picked up a summer poncho pattern on eBay — not free, but awfully cute:

And more good news — The Secret Knitting Pals Exchange is back! Started by the intrepid Sandy, it's now hosted by Heidi. I had a blast with the last exchange, and just signed up for this one (deadline is July 23) - I think over 100 knitter/crocheters have joined so far.

Freak Out!

Boy, did this piece o' knitting turn out more psychedelic than I thought. I mean, Deadheads will be coming up to me in the street and going, "Duuuude, you gotta dial that tank top down a notch or two, cuz it's making my eyelids numb."

How groovy is it, you ask? Dig:

Pattern: ChicKami by Bonne Marie Burns
Yarn: Schachenmayer Aurora Color in Rainbow from Elann, 5 skeins

Mocked By Google

It's a sure sign that I'm stressed out when I start taking EVERYTHING personally. Even my toolbars.

I got royally pissed off this morning when I sat down at the computer, and the Google toolbar greeted me with the (I thought) incredibly smug notation of '5 blocked.' 'Bastard,' thinks I, 'you're obviously making a snide reference to the pile of unblocked items I've got rolled up in shopping bags, aren't you?!? So you've got five blocked; do you have a job? A baby? What else do you have to do with yourself but loll around and block?!? You think popups are tough, have you ever tried pinning Crystal Palace Deco Ribbon to a beach towel?!? Huh?!?"

Thankfully, I came to my senses before things got ugly.

Oops, rendering done, must return to editing grind. Bleh.

Muddled

What with work, some freelance editing, a holiday party and the Martian coming down with a bug, I've had to de-blog for a little while. I've been feeling a little tapped out, and just haven't had the wherewithal to update. Right now I'm encoding 5 DVD tracks, which is nice because I can read, knit, write, and still technically be working. Tomorrow I've got about six hours of editing to look forward to; hopefully I can finish enough of this so that I'll be less anxious about next week's deadline. And will then resume my regular bloggage - again, hopefully - and be considerably more amusing.

I'm sooooo close to finishing the ChicKandy; I've slowed down the way I do when I'm finishing a really great book, because I'm enjoying working on it so much.

I think it's neat how the shaped area has a completely different patterning; it's amazing the difference just a few stitches can make in the way the shades distribute themselves. Looking at it now, it seems psychedelic, almost...the colors...they're moooooving...

OK, rendering's done & I gotta get to bed. 'Night all.