Why is muñequita crying?

It’s all Bárbara’s fault.

500

¡A partir de hoy he tenido quinientas visitas!

As of today I have had five hundred visits!

For My Secret Pal/Para Mi Amiga Secreta

Some days ago I sent off a package to Mae, my secret pal from the Intercambio Arácnido. It contains the following:

Hace unos días le envié el regalo a Mae, mi amiga secreta del Intercambio Arácnido. Contiene lo siguiente:



a felted bag (see the tutorial below) - bolso afieltrado
a CD of music in Arabic – disco compacto de música árabe
a spider stitch bookmark – marcapáginas en punto de araña
freesia perfume (her favorite) – perfume de freesia (su favorito)
a letter – una carta
yarn – lana
jellybeans – dulces
a crochet hook – un ganchillo de crochet
a crochet magazine (with plenty of charts & diagrams) – una revista de crochet (con bastantes gráficos y diagramas)

I am so excited now that it’s in the hands of the USPS. I’m a little worried that the perfume will spill and that the candy will melt or that she won’t like the color (or style) of the felted bag. Well, there’s nothing I can do now that it’s on its way to Chile. I enjoyed putting it together and hope she likes it. This was my first felted bag and I’m pleased with the end result. Might make another one for myself. We both enjoy listening to Arabic music, so I was happy to send her a compact disc. Check out her blog even if you can’t read Spanish. You can look at photos of her projects, especially her incredible amigurumis.

Estoy muy emocionada ahora que el regalo está en manos del correo. Me preocupa que se derrame el perfume o que se derritan los dulces o que no le guste el color (o el estilo) del bolso. Bueno, no se puede hacer nada ya que está en ruta a Chile. Me dio mucho gusto preparar los diferentes elementos del regalo. Espero que le agrade. Este es el primer bolso afieltrado que he hecho. Me gustó como salió y pienso hacerme uno. A las dos nos fascina escuchar música árabe, así que con gusto le envié el disco compacto. Visite su blog para que vea los trabajos que hace, especialmente sus amigurumis increíbles.

Felted Bag Tutorial/Tutorial Para el Bolso Afieltrado

When Giving Knitted Gifts to Non-knitters...

Canadian knitting celebrity Stephanie Pearl-McPhee said in one of her interviews that when she gives someone a knitted gift she often includes a card saying approximately how many stitches the gift contains. That way people will have a better idea of how much work went into the sock/hat/scarf/et cetera and will appreciate it more. I might borrow that idea. Of course, this need not be done when one is giving a gift to a fellow crafter.

Furry Caterpillar Invasion/Invación de Gusanos Peludos

Some weeks ago I began seeing this on many area trees. I call it a caterpillar house because dozens, if not hundreds of them crawling around it. There’s a correct term for it, I’m sure, but I don’t know it. I wouldn’t mind them except that several of them are in the trees close to my balcony. I’m okay with sharing this earth with caterpillars and other insects, however, I wouldn’t be happy if they walked through the balcony door and decided to share my apartment too. Some weeks ago I began seeing this on many area trees. I call it a caterpillar house because dozens, if not hundreds of them crawling around it. There’s a correct term for it, I’m sure, but I don’t know it. I wouldn’t mind them except that several of them are in the trees close to my balcony. I’m okay with sharing this earth with caterpillars and other insects, however, I wouldn’t be happy if they walked through the balcony door and decided to share my apartment too.


Desde hace unas semanas he notado esto en muchos de los árboles de la zona. Lo llamo casa de orugas porque decenas, si no cientas de ellas viven dentro. La cuestión es que hay varias de estas “casas” en los árboles que estan cerca de mi balcón. Aunque no me molesta compartir el planeta con las orugas y otros insectos, no me gusta para nada la idea de que entren por la puerta del balcón y decidan compartir mi apartamento.

A Few Random Festival Photos and the Ride Home

As I said before, the weather was gorgeous, so here are some shots taken through Whisker’s windshield on the way home.

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Handmade brooms for sale, a good day to wear a kilt and an impromptu jam session.

Goats and More Sheep

I was upset with the Wensleydales because they stole my hairstyle. Some nerve!

Auction of the Shawls

These shawls were produced during the Sheep-to-Shawl competition in which each of eight teams must shear its sheep, hand card and comb the fleece, spin and then weave it into a shawl of predetermined dimensions within three hours. It’s great fun to watch. Although it is a timed event, the team members never seem nervous or anxious. There is $1000 in prize money at stake. Next year I’ll take photos of the teams working on the shawls. No just anybody (meaning me) can participate. This contest is serious business.


In previous years the shawls have been auctioned off for a lot of money, but this year they went for a paltry $100-200. Jane, the woman who used to run the auction, was a lively old auctioneer who could really get people to keep bidding higher (and was entertaining, to boot), but she died last year. People blamed her lackluster replacement for the low bidding and thought is was a real shame that such high quality shawls were sold for so little. I overheard one woman say, “She won’t be running the auction next year, I can assure you of that!”


Of course, those who were in the market for a hand-woven shawl (for Mother's Day next week) were thrilled at the rock-bottom prices.

I liked the pattern of the dark green shawl, but the rainbow-colored one was gorgeous. The earth-toned one can go with almost anything in one’s closet (dressy or casual) and the light green one was very appropriate for the spring season. There was a natural-colored one which I didn’t get to photograph which was quite pretty, but one had to see it up close to appreciate its beauty.

Eek! Naked Sheep!

A festival volunteer does a a sheep shearing demonstration with electric clippers.

Another volunteer shears his Border Leicester with blade shears. This method is more time consuming, but less traumatic for the sheep. He also explained that in past the wool of black sheep* was practically worthless because everyone wanted white wool which could be dyed. Today, however, it is very sought-after by spinners and weavers of natural hues precisely because of its blackness.

*The English idiom ‘black sheep’ originated from the occasional black sheep which are born into a herd of white sheep due to a genetic process of recessive traits. Black sheep were considered commercially undesirable because their wool cannot be dyed as white wool can.

A Girl and her Lamb

This little girl’s family has a farm in Calvert County. Her father explained that, although he did not come to the MDSW Festival with the intention of purchasing any livestock, she had nagged him all day. Her two older siblings each have one, why can’t she have one too? That very logical argument, coupled with the fact that they came across this lamb, which was priced within their budget, made it possible for baby sister to get her wish. She wanted to hold the rope by herself, but the eight-week-old lamb weighs more than she does, so Daddy had to help.

Llamas and Alpacas

They often seem to be smiling.

I couldn't get a good shot of them because they kept moving around. Maybe they were nervous from all the noise and people.

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival!

When Whiskers called to find out if I wanted to go to this year’s MDSW Festival, she seemed understandably hesitant. But there was no need because the day had been reserved for just the two of us like it used to be. The weather was perfect---- blue skies and sunny with a light breeze.
There were 250 vendors of all fiber-related things, food, live music, storytelling, sheepdogs demonstrations, workshops, classes, sheep breed displays, lamb cooking contest, tools and gadgets for knitting, spinning and weaving and raising sheep.

Jess and Casey, founders of Ravelry, were at the Rabbit House to meet and greet all their fans. I’m not a shy person, and, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t have had any problem going up, introducing myself and chatting for a minute or two. However, they were practically being mobbed (I heard yesterday was even worse because it was a much larger crowd), so I kept my distance and chatted with a few of the other crocheters and knitters instead. Mouse was there acting like a desperate groupie, but I didn’t say anything to her for fear that some snarky comment escape my mouth.

Cici & CJ took great photos. Check them out.

Yarn and books galore!

Society of Creative Anachronism

Members of the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA) demonstrated fiber arts from 400 years ago, dressed in attire of the time. Most of these crafts (nalbinging, fingerloop braiding, bobbin lace, sprang and tablet weaving, to name a few) are quite labor intensive, so there is no such thing as instant gratification involved, but the results are almost always beautiful and useful. The people from SCA were very friendly, eager to explain the history behind their arts and, in some cases, allowed us (the public) to try our hand at them.

Premie Cap Jag/Manía de los Gorritos

I gathered up all my leftover acrylic yarn and knitted it up into striped caps for premature babies at local hospitals. The pattern is super simple. They make me feel really productive because they only take an hour, more or less, to make.

Con todos los restos de lana acrílica he estado tejiendo gorritos para bebés prematuros. Pienso regalarselos a dos hospitals locales. Son super-sencillos. Uno se siente bastante productivo, ya que la hechura toma sólo una hora, más o menos.

MDSW Festival: The Prequel

Over the last several years my girlfriend Whiskers and I have made an unofficial tradition of going to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival (MDSW) together. Last year I’d forgotten all about the festival until the last minute. Not only that, Novio, whom I was just getting to know had come to town expecting to spend that Sunday with me. I was really conflicted because I wanted to spend time with both of them and I couldn’t miss the festival. The only solution I could come up with was to take him to the festival. Convincing him to change his plans was easy, the difficult part was telling Whiskers we’d be a threesome (with a non-knitter/crocheter, no less). When I called Whiskers and explained my dilemma, she told me not to worry, that she’d go on her own. Phew! I thought.

Then as the months went by she made half-joking comments at a couple knitting gatherings about how I’d kicked her to the curb and had taken this new guy to MDSW instead. At first I felt bad because that was exactly what I had tried to avoid. It really upsets me when girlfriends ditch me whenever a new man is in their lives*, and hated that I was being accused of doing that very thing. Finally I decided that I couldn’t change how I’d handled that situation, but could certainly do my best to prevent it from happening next May.

Fast forward to Spring 2008. Novio mentions that he’s making plans to come visit on the first weekend of May. But that’s when MDSW takes place, I explain. Exactly, he says. He had such a good time last year that he wanted to do it again this year. Groan… So I had to gently let him know what sort of position he put me in last year, that I wasn’t trying to repeat it and that Whiskers would resume her role as my MDSW companion. Besides, there are other festivals I have never been to, which he and I could explore together. He was rather put out because he truly was looking forward to going again, but eventually he came around to seeing things from my point of view and apologized. So this summer or autumn we’re going to check out a couple smaller festivals on the East Coast and in the Midwest.

*a subject for an all-together separate post

Anansi Bookmark

This bookmark was inspired by one I saw in the book Joanne Yordanou’s Twelve Months of Knitting. I wanted to make it for my secret pal in the Intercambio Aracnido. But later on, while leafing through A Treasury of Knitting Patterns I came across the spider stitch. Immediately I decided that I would make the bookmark, but in the spider stitch in keeping with the spider theme.

The bookmark took about 90 minutes total to make, however, it took me three days of frustration to get it done. I made the mathematical calculations, translated the pattern to a chart, made several swatches, tried three different yarns, needles, and numbers of repeats. The pattern is a 12-row repeat and rows 8 and 12 were just not coming out right. Could Barbara Walker have made a mistake on it or was there something I just wasn’t getting?

I love the mathematical side of knitting, so I don’t mind problem-solving. It’s just that I was stressed out because the deadline to send the package had already passed and I had a lot of other things to do at the same time.

The photo with the green background is the practice piece (worsted weight acrylic yarn, size 7US/4.5 mm needles). The one with the red background is the one that will be part of the exchange gift (lace weight mohair, size 0US/2 mm needles).

I’ve named this bookmark after the main character of a series of West African folk tales who is a mischievous spider.

Seeing Red (Heart)

So I went to a Ravelversary (Ravelry anniversary) party at a local café. There were fewer attendees than expected because it had rained all day and some people were scared away by the weather (must be relatives of the Wicked Witch of the West). Among the planned activities were: a yarn swap, charity scarf and preemie hat drop off, games and show and tell.

The last person to arrive (whom we’ll call Dolphin) brought with her two garbage bags full of yarn to donate for charity. While she went to order something to eat, the meet-up’s organizer, we’ll call her Mouse, stuck her nose in one of the bags and said, “Let’s hope it’s not all Red Heart.” Then withdrew and ascertained disdainfully that, yes, it was Red Heart. When Dolphin returned we got to talking and it turned out that all of her yarn was 100 percent wool. The thing was that it was from the 80s, so most of it was in fluorescent colors. Don’t you feel stupid, Mouse? Come here, let me slap you with a dead fish.

Red Heart is not synonymous with acrylic. Red Heart is not the only (or first) company that sells acrylic yarn. For many decades Red Heart exclusively sold wool yarn and only began offering acrylic and acrylic blends in the 60s. Even today they still offer good quality wool yarn.

So irritating when people who have only recently gotten into knitting/crocheting (because it’s trendy, you know) run around acting like little experts. Worse yet, the ones who are obnoxiously vocal about their disdain of acrylic for no reason other than to show to the world that they are yarn connoisseurs so that we may be impressed by their discerning tastes. The effect they have on me is quite the opposite.

And no, I do not own stock in the company (is it even publicly traded?).

Lost and Found

When someone mentioned on Whip-up blog that she was desperately seeking some of the discontinued Noro Large Tubu yarn, I offered the seven skeins I had. There was no response for two months. Then Stepho from Canada e-mailed me saying that although she was not the poster of the original request, she was interested in purchasing the yarn if it was still available. After exchanging several e-mails we agreed on the details of the transaction. After receiving her postal money order, I packed the yarn into a box and took it on the bus to work with me. The plan was to take it to the post office during my lunch period. Imagine my horror when I transferred to a second bus and realize that I had left the box on the first bus. I dreaded having to send the money order back and, worse, to send the e-mail saying that I had carelessly lost the yarn. I fretted that someone would take the box and then discard it when he or she realized that it was "only" yarn. Yeah, only $250 worth.

When I arrived at work I called the bus company and told them about my package. The woman who answered the phone assured me that the driver would drop off the box at the lost and found at the end of his shift. After work I went to this out of the way place I'd never been to where the bus company has its Lost and Found. I climbed the stairs and breathlessly waited at the window to be attended. I told the one-armed man on duty why I was there. He rummaged around in the back while I waited hopefully. Finally he returned to the window holding my box! I almost didn't want to believe it. I signed the release form and held the box tightly. The box had been opened, but its contents were intact. What a relief!

Attack of the Killer Acrylic Yarn

I had two skeins of an unidentified blue yarn in my stash. It looked like wool, but felt like something else. In order to ascertain what fiber it was, I decided to administer the burn test.* One is supposed to do the burn test over a sink. Did I do that? No. So when I lit one end of a strand of the yarn and it flared up, I tried to shake out the flame. The lit end curled up and stuck to the side of my index finger. A few minutes a painful little blister appeared.

Lessons learned from the burn test are: 1) the mystery yarn is most likely synthetic, 2) said yarn gets amazingly hot when burned, 3) next time definitely take proper precautions when administering the burn test.

Since I didn’t like the feel of this yarn (it also looks like it will pill easily), it will find a new home via the thrift store. Should have photographed it before I donated it.

*Different fibers react differently to fire, therefore one can figure out the fiber content of a yarn by burning it. Some knitting books contain a chart detailing these differences.