Dear Ann,
Big weekend for me: a long drive to Ohio to see The Firstborn in her new habitat. If only I had some freshly finished knitwear for her to model! Must. Knit. Faster. I do hope to enjoy enough passenger time to get my Monomania pretty close to finished. I just started Stripe 6. Guess what begins on Stripe 6: armhole shaping. The drama!
Before I throw the sack of Trader Joe’s snacks in the trunk and head west on I-80, a few tidbits.
Blue Hand Group
In case you missed it, Rowan has reintroduced the classic version of Rowan Denim yarn, in the dark indigo shade (“Nashville”) only. (After a decades-long run, Rowan had discontinued Denim back in 2013. Dark days.) Lots of knitters have emailed and tweeted me the good news. (Thank you!) Others have worried that during my KonMari mania, I might have gotten rid of my personal archive of Rowan Denim.
THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. I will never go so far in the march to minimalism as to have less than 6 bags of Rowan Denim on hand at all times. If stockpiling 120 balls of denim yarn makes me some kind of fanatic survivalist, so be it. Come the apocalypse, you guys will be unraveling sweaters off your children’s backs to salvage the yarn, while I’ll be cracking the seal on crispy fresh bags of Rowan Denim and knitting ganseys until the spinning mills get back on line.
For benighted souls who are unfamiliar with the wonders of Rowan Denim, I wrote a fairly concise review of the yarn for Knitter’s Review a while back. And there’s a two-part tome of tips I posted on the blog on July 8 and July 10, 2008. I think I covered the frequently asked questions, the infrequently asked questions, and the never-asked questions. I may have more answers than people have questions.
Doily Bride
Check out this stunning crochet wedding dress. (And if you’re on Instagram, the #dailybride hashtag. All brides observed in the wild. I started the hashtag, but now there are snapshot brides from all over. I do not mean to give the men short shrift; it’s just that those white dresses are what catch my eye as I wander the streets and parks.)
Teeny Weenie
Brilliant Chawne Kimber (whose blog is Completely Cauchy) has been taking her patchwork tinier and tinier for months now. It’s mesmerizing. At some point, the pieces she is joining will only be a few threads in either direction. How would that even work? A puzzle only Chawne could attempt. (While you’re there, don’t miss the knitting.)
Happy weekend, everybody.
Love,
Kay
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Thank you so much for the wonderful inspiration! How did I live without you?
I love Rowan Denim and have some ageing in my cupboard from 2010. The medium blue..
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The Trader Joe’s image made me laugh. The last time I was at TJs, someone called my name as I was lugging my lumpy canvas totes back out to my car. It was a friend I hadn’t seen in months! We opened our bags of snackyloot and had a tailgate picnic on the spot. 🙂
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Monomania is looking lovely. I have been rummaging my stash to see whether I have a nice enough combination to make one.
Love that central cable in the denim!
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I was reading your review of the Rowan denim yarn. I was wondering, for the particularly math-challanged, if one could hank up the yarn and wash it to get all the shrinking out of the way before knitting?
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Kay,
Wishing you a great trip and a lot of fun visiting your college girl.
LoveDiane
How did you guess I was just about to post a picture of my blue fingers on Instagram? I broke into ancient stash and a precious bag of Elann.com’s version of the cotton denim a couple of days ago. My own swatch experiments (soak in near-boiling water, then machine-dry) have confirmed that shrinkage occurs only lengthwise. Blue fingers unite!
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Well, my period of mourning the demise of MDN was premature – alleluia have and welcome back, ladies. You’ve been much missed… Elizabeth
Please notify me of new posts by email.
(And to think my LYS once carried Rowan Denim, and because it wasn’t wool, I didn’t buy any…)
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Great post – I think that’s about 3 days worth of blogging all in one day! Love the sweater – just put it in my queue in Ravelry.
Enquiring minds want to know…did you really truss a chicken with Rowan natural? Thanksgiving is coming up, ya know.
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Can’t bbelieve i returned 5 skeins of medium, 5 years ago. Lately i’ve been dyeing my own indigo yarn instead. But not quite the same. I care for the blanket much like my Levi’s of yore.
If you’re coming anywhere near Cincinnati, Fiber Optics yarns retail store is in Milford. Also, what’s with all the names of commentators with the word ‘comment’ and nothing else?
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Love your take on all things. So glad you are back!
I need to do a deep dive into the stash to see if I have any classic Rowan Denim left. I think I last used it in 2006, to make a pair of those cute baby jeans for my cousin’s then-infant son.
Passenger seat knitting is the best. Have a wonderful trip to Ohio. xox
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If you’re headed toward Cleveland, check out the museum of art. Monet to Matisse exhibit is there through Jan 5 (I think.). Enjoy the road trip!
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Aw, smooches! I experienced the “MDK bump” (much like the “Colbert bump,” but better) and had no idea. Thanks for the shoutout! The big news is that i just got permission to use an electron microscope for some new wackiness. Things are gonna get smaller smaller smaller. xo
And I hope the trip to Ohio goes swimmingly. Parent’s weekend? I hope she’s enjoying things there.
Also? is there some sort of black market in this blue yarn-crack? Just an anthropological query. I’m feeling like I missed an awesome era, though I’m okay with trying to dye my own.
So if your daughter is at OSU, you were a mere 30 minutes from me. I know we don’t know each other, but the prospect of meeting you is so tempting. If your daughter is at Ohio University, OSU, Denison, Otterbein, Capital, or Franklin, you’re in my neck of the woods every time you visit. I’d love to meet you & treat you to a cup of tea sometime. Just sayin’.
Hope your trip to OH was a good one. We went the opposite direction & traveled to MD to visit DH’s bestest bud and his family. Our toddler followed 2 big kids (boys, ages 8 & 11) everywhere they went for 2 solid days. She was heard to ask, “Where are my guys?” when she couldn’t locate them in her immediate vicinity. LOL.
Enjoying your blog.
Missed you guys! Glad you’re back!
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Yay!
طراحی هودی به گونه ای است که می توان آن
را با هر سبک پوشش و استایلی ست
و هماهنگ کرد. یکی از دلایل مهمی که لباس هودی پسرانه تا این حد مورد محبوبیت قرار گرفته کیفیت جنس و تنوع طرح در آن است.
رویهی داخی این هودی زنانه نیز پنبه است که باعث میشود با
پوشیدن آن حس نرم و لطیفی منتقل
شود.