nessie knits

makeover and obsession

2008-10-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

1. I changed the layout of the blog. Surely you've noticed. Nice, eh?

2. I'm seriously obsessed with socks right now. Two examples, and I've got a third pair drying on blockers and a fourth pair on the needles:

Pattern: Primavera Socks by Natalja (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot, 1 skein

Needles: size 1 dpn

Mods: knit these longer, as my dear friend and recipient of these socks wears boots a lot and needs tall socks. I also used a different heel.

Pattern: Nutkin Socks by Beth LaPensee

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Stripe, about 1.5 skeins

Needles: size 1 dpn

Mods: none!
Soon to be Country Socks from Nancy Bush's Folk Socks, knit in absolutely BEAUTIFUL hand painted yarn by Gaslight Dyeworks.

More to come...

to tie you over until regularly scheduled yarn posts return

2008-09-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

My trip was fabulous.

Boston, MA (Paul Revere's house, to be specific)

Cincinnati, OH

Fort Thomas, KY

Louisville, KY

And my 25th birthday with my favorite bearded guy...

i know, i know

2008-09-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

The shop is empty. But I have good reasons! I've been busy! I've been cooking! I've been cleaning! I've been reading! I've been working!

Actually, I have 3 skeins on the drying rack in my living room, waiting patiently for a photo shoot and some attention. I'd love to give them and the shop my attention, but things have been absolutely crazy lately. And honestly, as much as I would love to make buckets of cash selling my handspun woolies, that just isn't my thing. Well, not that money isn't my thing, I really wouldn't complain about having more money.

My point is, I really love spinning. I love choosing delicious colors and textures, selecting them either with a particular combination in mind or a spin-as-I-go mentality, supporting other etsy artists who hand dye, paint and/or card their wool, watching movies and laughing with my husband as I spin, stopping for some tea or a snack, reading or doing laundry in between, thinking of dreamy run-on sentences, etc. etc. Opening my etsy shop was more about making connections with other artists/crafters and participating in that wonderful world. I'm not cranking out yarn left and right to make a profit. In fact, in the months that I do anything more than break even, I promptly spend my surplus on vintage dishware or cool prints. Or a "Beards not Bombs" t-shirt for my husband.

If I spun just to make money from it, I doubt I would enjoy it as much as I do. But I work full time in a field that I'm passionate about, and man, sometimes I'm dog tired when I get home. And then there's French classes, the gym, yoga, a half-assed social life (I don't do well with crowds), and a marriage to spent my time with. So spinning is a relaxing, meditative and creative activity for me. And every yarn I produce is special to me, even more so because I get to share them with other crafters.

For instance, I spun Anne-Marie while watching Poirot with M and giggling at the TV as we tried to guess who had committed the crimes and why. Good thing I made it from an incredibly smooth merino/bamboo blend, because I hardly had to pay attention to what was passing through my fingers. And I wonder what the real Anne-Marie's mother will be watching/listening to/thinking about while she knits something out of it for her daughter.

Goldfinger was spun into singles while watching Stargate Atlantis episodes with M, TV marathon style. I plied the 2 singles together while watching even more Atlantis, on a Sunday morning when I couldn't open my hands completely. The wool slid through my poor arthritic fingers, gently coaxing them with soft movements and warmth until I could eventually pedal at full speed and control the forming yarn. I felt content, cozy in my spinning corner and wearing my pajamas, with Mr. Y watching from one side and M from the other. Ok, Mr. Y was really asleep and M was watching Atlantis, but it was still really nice.

I spun Carmen late at night drinking hot water with lemon and honey, listening to Norah Jones and daydreaming about being the queen of a far off land. During my reign as an absolute monarch, I have instituted with little opposition many policies in favor of positive and progressive social change, including a reformed universal healthcare system, free higher education for all, and have made childcare a women's rights issue that has been solved through full employer subsidies and flexible working schedules. I am also setting up a democratic government so I may step down as ruler in order to spend the rest of my life adopting children with my hunky, quiet but intelligent and witty head bodyguard who looks astonishingly similar to Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock. This is a recurring daydream. Possibly more than you wanted to know about me.

Basically, knitting with a handspun yarn is like infusing a snapshot your life in with a snapshot of someone else's. And that's why I do what I do, when I do it.

new spins with spice

2008-08-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

New yarns in the shop! Named after Andrea and Anne-Marie, my boss and friend/co-worker, respectively.

Anne-Marie:

Andrea:

In following my new anti-inflammatory diet (keep in mind I'm a vegetarian to begin with) of no dairy, no wheat or gluten, no corn products, no potatoes, tomatoes, citrus fruits, fruit juices, dried fruits, coffee, caffeinated tea, alcohol, and a few other things that I wasn't eating anyway, I've been forced to cook more and get creative in the kitchen. So here are some apple-cranberry spice muffins I baked up last night. They're vegan, gluten-free and corn-free, and are absolutely delicious.

ohhh seattle

2008-08-25T16:36:00.000-07:00

It's been raining almost without a break for 2 days. When I moved to Seattle for college 7 years ago, some people thought I was crazy. "Don't you know it rains there like, all the time??" But honestly, it doesn't rain all that much. However, it isn't unheard of to go from October to April without seeing more than 15 minutes of sunshine. While that constant overcast sky does occasionally get tiresome, I really don't mind it.

But I seriously love the rain. When it bucketed down yesterday, I actually realized I had missed it. And now it's thundering, and I'm hoping fall comes a little early this year...it is my favorite season.

i'm lost...

2008-08-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

...can someone find me a road map?

How long did you all take to figure out what you want to be when you grow up? If ever?

bon week-end!

2008-08-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

I sold a skein of yarn to my new best friend, Sarah, who promptly got her knit on, whipped up a fabulous chevron cowl with vintage buttons, and posted 3 times about it on her blog. I love her. Here is my before picture:

To see in progress and after, check out her posts in order:

1. order up

2. obsession

3. finale

I'm slowly replenishing the shop, in the midst of a pleasantly hectic week and some unfortunately painful hands and fingers. I've been spinning in tiny spurts not to aggravate things, which is frustrating but still satisfying. Especially knowing that tonight when I get home after visiting with cousins, I'll have a Poirot DVD waiting for me in my mailbox, with no other plans this weekend except to attend yoga class tomorrow morning before it reaches the 90 degree mark as expected (!), and a breakfast date at my fave with my fave.

Goldfinger...

...and Carmen

in the shop

2008-07-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Baikal...

...and Ava!

a change?

2008-07-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm back from vacation and had a blast. It's funny, I always think that I conduct myself in a very low-key way (if not a little weird), and I don't feel that I have a nervous or stressful energy in my daily life. Maybe I'm just fooling myself. But after going out of town, relaxing with family and friends for a week, sleeping in a lot, and seeing this, this, and my absolute favorite, this in Ashland at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, I've received a few comments that I seem more relaxed. Makes me wish we could have 3-day weekends all the time...maybe we'd all be a little more peaceful with a mini-vacation at the end of every week.

Anyway, while I did work on a small knitting project during my time off, I mostly spent it with the people I love. And I read A LOT. I have a very limited amount of free time, and it's usually spent feeling guilty over not washing my hardwood floors and frantically knitting or spinning so I have something to show you on my blog. So, Nessie Knits, you have been most dear to me, but I'm considering a change. Something more indicative of my life. Because while I love love love knitting and do it almost every day, I find myself wishing I could share a broader perspective on my life. Especially when the temperature in my air conditioner-less apartment climbs higher into the 80s and I resort to lying on a yoga mat in the living room with a cool washcloth and a good book. Knitting is the last thing on my mind.

But none of this means a whole lot right now. I'm just thinking, considering, wondering...

bonjour!

2008-06-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Things are rapidly picking up in my life. M just began classes for his Master's program and is still working full time, and last night I began taking a French class! I took 3 years of French in high school, 1 year of Spanish and 1 quarter of Russian in college. And I'm definitely not fluent in anything but English.

Anyway, there are several cool things about this class.

It's really fun! There are only 4 students and I love the teacher!
It turns out that even though my last French class was 8 years ago (damn), I remember quite a lot. I understood everything she said when speaking in French, and was quite pleased.
The language academy is about a block down the street from my gym along the canal. I have just enough time between work and class to do a little cardio or weights. Or walk a block further to Cold Stone Creamery.

More importantly, I am feeling great. My energy is up, I'm feeling crafty and loving this summer weather (finally). And I'm going on vacation next week! I'll be north for half of the week and south for the other half. The blog will be silent until I return, but be sure to check in because I've been spinning a bunch lately and updating with photos soon. So stay tuned for some fresh spins, straight off the bobbin!

À bientôt!

duster and fiber

2008-06-12T09:41:00.001-07:00

my Tilted Duster! Since summer has apparently been postponed in Seattle (although I'm crossing my fingers for nicer weather this weekend), this thing is still wearable.

Pattern: Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan in Interweave Fall 2007

Yarn: Berroco Peruvia

Needles: size 8 straight and circs

Mods: I made a size large enough to accommodate my bust, but sized down for the skirt. I also shortened the skirt and sleeves.

Peruvia was a bit fickle to work with and seems overly fuzzy, but now that it's finished and blocked, I like it MUCH better.

Also, yesterday was a hugely exciting mail day. I had ordered a bunch of fiber from a few artists on etsy, and they all arrived the same day!

"Epona" lambswool merino top and "Eirene" merino top (both superwash) from Spincerely, "Autumn Sky" superwash merino from squoosh, and "Masquerade 2" merino from kavatar0. I love all these colors, especially together! I can't wait to spin them!

sweet!

2008-06-11T09:43:00.000-07:00

I'm a published designer!! Inverness is on Knitty!

happy monday!

2008-06-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days I....

witnessed Bush and Cheney tour the Madrona neighborhood in the only form of them I would ever want in the White House (check out Bush's skirt):

bought new sheets on sale which were promptly attacked by my ninja cat:

finished my Tilted Duster (spray bottle blocking will occur this evening) and then indulged in the necessary accoutrements for a new project:

body image, and the woolly pile of doom

2008-06-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

I am not a size 2. Or a 4. Or even close. I don't think that's too much of a secret. This has been a maniac year (or two) for my health, and my weight and body shape have fluctuated with every change in prescription, waxing and waning energy levels, pain management strategies, and chocolate snack that has come my way. At the same time, I've become confident enough in my knitting to begin larger and/or more complicated projects-- from colorworking in the round to lace socks to knitting mittens or gloves or simple socks without a pattern and making both in a set look relatively the same. I've also begun sweater knitting and designing.

Here's where you get to meet part of the real me, and perhaps why I've been posting only sporadically lately. I've tried to keep my blog posts upbeat and positive, sometimes superficially so, because it would be more attractive to readers, right? Life isn't always like that though, so right now I'm just going to be honest. And while I won't be too depressing, it might not be entirely pretty.

I'm making a real effort to change the way I think and feel about my own body. I don't dress at all in my personal style because I somewhat-subconsciously believe I don't deserve to, or that putting off wearing a cute dress until I lose 10 lbs will be super motivating (in reality, for me, it isn't). I hold back doing fun social things because I know the entire time I'll be self-conscious about my body. And after months of blood tests and prednisone dosages, I've been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I feel both relieved to have a name for what's happening to my body, but also emotionally defeated, scared for my future, and guilty for burdening select family and friends with my fears. And I feel like my body has betrayed me.

I'm tired of mentally feeling like I'm battling something. It's exhausting to think so negatively about oneself all the time. I'm not a size 2 or 4. I'm curvy and I'm short. I'm uncomfortable or in pain a lot of the time. But I have so many wonderful things in my life, and so many amazing people around me. I have coworkers who knit on Tuesday afternoons in the office with me. I have friends who listen to me anytime I need to talk, or decoupage Obama's face onto light switch plates and reminisce about college until 2am. I can "om" with complete abandon in my yoga class and step into warrior III with no problem. I can even outdrive my husband on the golf course in front of both our dads. And I can knit myself a sweater.

"The woolly pile of doom" is thus a pile of 3.5 unfinished sweaters I've begun and almost completed for myself. I've blindly knit at full speed until I get too far to frog them without cursing like a sailor, but just far enough to see that while the bust and waist will fit properly, the sleeves and torso will be a good 4-5 inches too long. I failed to plan ahead and heed my own measurements before beginning my projects, and as a result I have stubbornly packed them away rather than fixing them to fit me. This weekend I have a goal: to finish one of these sweaters. Here's my almost finished Tilted Duster, sans already-completed-but-4-inches-too-long sleeves, both before and after Mr. Y claimed the space as his territory:

I plan to rip back both sleeves and shorten the torso, because this thing hits mid-thigh and makes me look even shorter. This weekend I will claim my victory over my poor body image and knitted Matterhorn. And when finished, I will proudly model it, aching joints, curves and all!

thursday haiku

2008-05-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

such a sunny day
blue skies, green trees, birds and bees
seen through a window

mittens and a ferry ride

2008-04-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

M had a rare night off on Friday, and was thus in charge of figuring out a really cool date for us. He delivered, and we took a ferry to Bremerton, ate seafood at Anthony's and delicious ice cream at Cold Stone, then sailed back home to Seattle in time to watch Stargate Atlantis episodes with Mr. Y. Also, I made these sweet convertible mittens for one of M's co-coaches as an end-of-the-season gift, and tried them on for a few pictures. They're SO freaking warm. Note the pink fairy nail polish in the photos. My 4 year old cousin accosted me on a recent babysitting night. You should see my toes.

Pattern: Flaptop Mittens by Kim Hamlin in Handknit Holidays
Yarn: Rowan Cocoon and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted
Needles: size 1 & 3 dpn
Mods: Flaps were originally way too long, so I frogged halfway and reknit, decreasing much more frequently.

Here's M on the ferry, and then dealing the cards for a ruthless game of gin:

While M spent the rest of the weekend at work, I crafted my brains out to prepare for IHR next Sunday. Here's the tip of the ice berg, harvesting pages from a 1938 Swedish picture book with PVA and more paper in the background:

ihr on may 4!

2008-04-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

I've been knitting in tiny spurts, spinning in long strides, and paper crafting to kingdom come. With precious few photos for you. Here's why:

I Heart Rummage is on Sunday, May 4 from noon to 4:00 and I'll be there! It'll be my first indie art/craft show booth in over a year. I'm excited, nervous, and scrambling like a mad woman to put everything together. I'll be selling mostly my paper goods, but I plan to temporarily remove everything from Nessie Knits and have a big, scrumptous pile of yarn for sale too.

If you're in Seattle, come enjoy the fun!

this guy...

2008-04-17T12:25:00.001-07:00

...made it into graduate school today. Yay!

checking in

2008-04-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to report on the knitting front. I've hit a snag with my Minimalist Cardigan that I'm still working out. The cardigan fits me throughout the bust and body, but the shoulder seams hang way too low and the sleeves hit me at the wrist instead of mid-forearm like they're supposed to. That doesn't sound too bad, but we're talking WAY off....like, 4-5 inches too big. I'm trying to figure out what I should do. Rip out half the sleeves and front pieces and re-knit to my own adjustments? Or set the sleeves in where I need them to be and steek the selvages? I've never done any steeking before so I have to say this terrifies me, but I may just get brave. I basted the left sleeve and seamed it according to my measurements, so I feel like it would just be quicker and easier to seam the second sleeve to match and cut away.

Aside from that, I have a bit of fun on the agenda for this weekend. M is in Oregon coaching another regatta tonight and tomorrow, and will return late Saturday. He owes me a hike on Sunday, and then we're off to Vancouver, BC for 2 days to visit with M's mother who will be in town for a conference. I'm excited to have some time off work...I love weekend getaways that aren't actually on the weekend. That way I still get relaxing time and travel, without the stress of trying to squeeze it all together. While M is gone tonight and tomorrow I have a couple of recipes to try out (vegetarian southwest sweet potato soup for my slow cooker and some vegan cranberry-currant chocolate breakfast bars). On top of that, there will be old movies to watch (Notorious? Seven Brides for Seven Brothers? MacGyver episodes? I'm all about variety here), yoga classes to attend, and a grouchy orange cat to cuddle with.

Also, I'd like to give a shout out to my secret lover (in my head), whose delicious picture you will find below. Thank you, Kira, for sending this to me with happy Friday wishes. And thank you to whoever it was that decided a little more oil on this body was necessary.

good news

2008-04-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

My Minimalist Cardigan will be blocking tonight, and ready to sew together tomorrow. Yay! This is especially exciting because I've been winding balls of Berocco Peruvia in a beautiful green color in preparation to begin knitting Norah Gaughan's Tilted Duster. Both patterns are from Interweave's Fall 2007 issue, so I think next I'll have to make something completely different to shake things up. But I definitely need to work on finishing my Logan River Wrap as well. In the meantime, I've got new yarn in the shop...

Rainbow Trout is 2-ply handspun merino and mohair, nice and sparkly and fishy:

Reykjavik is an icy 2-ply handspun merino and tencel:

Laguna Sunset is single ply heavy worsted/chunky weight made from merino:

h out

2008-03-21T15:59:00.001-07:00

M and I are whisking each other away to Orcas Island (part of the San Juan Islands in Washington) this weekend, to the stay at the inn at which we spent the second half of our honeymoon. This is a view from the front of the inn:

On our honeymoon, we had attempted to camp up the coast of Western Washington beginning from Oysterville, where we had our wedding...

(copyright Sikora Photography, our amazing photographers)

We stayed first in Forks...

then we moved east across the Olympic Peninsula and camped near Port Townsend, where we became lazy campers and slept in every morning until the crows woke us (note that in this photo I hadn't combed my hair since the wedding)...

soon we took a ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island...

and despite terrible weather we decided we would go on an 8-mile hike along the bluffs overlooking Puget Sound, and into this:

Beautiful, yes? I concur. But not when you're completely lost, you've eaten your carefully prepared snacks, are out of fresh water, it's getting dark, and it's started to rain. Hard. Not cool.

Eventually we found a road and ran all the way back to our truck, then drove with the heat on maximum to catch the Anacortes ferry for our next planned campsite. Somewhere along the way we had a desperate telepathic connection and decided to give up our grand backcountry plans, and checked into this gorgeous little place in Eastsound. We had stayed there together before, but this time was so much better. We showered for the first time since our wedding a week earlier, and then ordered fondue and champagne and told everyone who would listen that we were newlyweds. And we stayed dry. Thank goodness.

So I say, Happy Spring to you all, Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, and Happy 6 Months to my divine Mr. M. It's been a wild, crazy ride so far, but I'm counting it as a win.

not a good week...but...

2008-03-20T16:56:00.001-07:00

This has been a pretty exhausting week for me. I had jury duty, a board meeting, M got into a car accident with an uninsured driver who we now can't find (don't worry, M and uninsured-jerkman are both ok), I missed yoga class yesterday because of traffic, and 3 minutes before sneaking into the bathroom to change so I can go running at Lake Washington with a coworker, it has now started to pour. Today has been beautiful, and now my life is filled with rain. Argh.

I made a shop update though, and the spring equinox has to be uplifting, right? Right.

This is Wicked:

Flighty:

Disco Barbie:

and Wellspring:

Ah. That feels a little better.

bad blogger

2008-03-17T18:12:00.001-07:00

I had jury duty Monday and Tuesday, and have spent today catching up with missed work. I'm thus canceling my "hump day" shopping this week since it feels like I'm at the beginning! I am, however, updating the shop before heading to yoga class....

hello wednesday!

2008-03-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

I just finished a HA-UUUUGE project at work, and my brain is completely fried. I'm experiencing feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction, but I'm also exhausted. Just like after humping.

It must be Wednesday!

Here's some cool stuff I love:

1. Cathy Nichols' paintings are so freaking gorgeous. She keeps a blog and has a special Monday deal on her prints. One of my favorites is "Mommy Tree Talking to Baby Tree." My mom once told me that when I was 3 or 4, I asked her (very seriously, because I was a pensive and weird child) if trees talk to each other. She replied that they do through the wind, and I've believed it ever since. Dorky, eh? I was pretty cute when I was little though, and if I showed you pictures of how cute I was, you would forget about the dorkiness that has afflicted me since age 13. Ok, more like 8. Look at the beautiful painting.

Beautiful, yes?

2. I really adore handbags. Especially ones with lots of compartments to hide things like my checkbook that I lost 2 weeks ago and can't find and now I'm panicking because the gas bill is almost due. Moop makes delicious handbags that I'm sure would never swallow a checkbook whole. And if it did, you would hardly care because your handbag would be so amazing and it would solve all the other problems in your life. And in the world. There would be peace in Gaza and a happy home for every foster child and no more slothful bipartisan government or political officials who pay $4,300 a night for prostitutes . You still might have trouble paying your gas bill on time though.

My favorites are the Market Bag:

and the Fraulein Tote (I appreciate this a lot because I'm a good German girl, even if I'm technically not a Fraulein anymore)

I could seriously fit a lot of yarn in here. And if anyone is counting, my half birthday is on Sunday and I do celebrate it. Moop also maintains a very cool blog.

Lastly,

3. I bought this book the other night:

In case you can't read the teensy tiny font, it's entitled The Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia by Piers Vitebsky. Here's a little tidbit about me as a Wednesday bonus: I'm obsessed with Russia. It's such a large country with so much history and mystery (and in Siberia it's blistery cold? What's up with me today?). I'll go into that more some other time. Anyway, I haven't started it yet because I have 2 books ahead of it in my queue and a half a season of MacGyver on DVD that is currently taking up all my free time. But I am excited.

Happy Wednesday night! I'm off to yoga!

crazy miss bates

2008-03-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

...is from, of course, Jane Austen's Emma. I strangely love Miss Bates' character, and she has become the namesake of my latest creation:

Crazy Miss Bates is up in the shop and is spun from merino wool blended with alpaca, bamboo, shetland wool, and freakin' yak. How many people in their lifetime touch yak fiber? It's unbelievably soft and floofy, and I just added it in small chunks. Like oregano.

Also, update on the chocolate bacon pig: it half-melted from being irresponsibly displayed on the kitchen counter right in front of the window (actually, sort of a funny indicator of the fact that we've been through a long winter in Seattle; the concept of sun shining through our home has become a distant memory). In any case, M thoroughly enjoyed it, melty chocolatey bacon and all.