Listening to the radio Saturday morning cost me $50 plus taxes. I have a feeling that’s just the beginning. CBC, our public radio station, hosted a special knitting edition of their North by Northwest program, something I listen to most Saturday early mornings. They interviewed knitters ranging from 13 yr old ski racing boy to…

I am so excited. There are four of you readers who are test knitting my Herringbone Rib pattern. Michelle, from New York, has sent me these photos. Isn’t it beautiful? It’s hard to believe it is the same colourway of Manos del Uruguay #113 as mine. Their colours are so unpredictable. So, what do you…

I have a personal popularity contest happening with my knitting patterns. In every pattern with a pattern repeat I find I develop a favourite line. In Charlotte’s web it was the identical 3rd and 4th lines of the pattern repeat. I also develop a dreaded line. In the C’est La Vie wrap it’s the one…

I once had a garage sale and advertised that I was selling every piece of exercise equipment known to woman. There was a thigh master (my second since I wore the first one out), a recumbent exercise bike (the second exercise bike I’ve gotten rid of at a garage sale), a rowing machine, and a…

Give me a Fiddlesticks pattern and some Classic Elite Miracle yarn and I’ll show you a perfect match. Some of it will have to be left to your imagination, though, since black doesn’t photograph well. The pattern: Fiddlesticks C’est La Vie wrap. I’ve said it before, but I can’t emphasize how well written Fiddlesticks patterns…

So much of life is out of our control, but I think I’m a believer that in some cases, suffering is optional. To some extent misery can be a choice. As I look back over my almost year and a half of blogging I’ve found a recurring theme of the quest for comfort (comfort food,…

What’s this? Right before we left Bellingham I was at a yarn shop, not intending to buy a thing. The nice lady asked me if I had seen their ad. What ad? The one that says from 8:00-10:00 a.m. the next morning everything in the store would be 40% off. She said that a number…

About 25 years ago we saw an amazing comedy act, but I can’t remember her name, only that she was a young black woman who was tremendously funny. She did a routine about the odd things that pop into our minds and she closed each thought with the phrase "someone’s got to think about these…

Finally, a finished Manos del Uruguay scarf with my own made up pattern; a variation of a Herringbone Rib stitch. My thoughts: 1. Manos is generally a pleasure to work with although this skein had a fair amount of thin bits compared to its usual thick and thin style. 2. There are huge variations within…

The party’s over, at least until New Year’s and it’s back to reality time. Knitting-wise, blocking is my dreaded reality, but I’ve found a solution. Drop everything and head to your local welding supply to buy 1/16 inch stainless steel welding rods. If you are blocking lace, do it yesterday! What a gift these babies…