Onto The Next...

Now that my first collection design is out of the way.. I decided to pick up this swatch again from a few months back. This will be collection design #2.

Apparently at the time all of these numbers and scribbles made a lot of sense to me. 

I didn't take very good notes because I was absolutely POSITIVE that I would remember what I was doing..

But now.. a few months and one fuzzy pregnancy brain later.. I have simply no idea.

I've been swatching this poor idea to death over the past few days and I hope to make sense of it all soon.

I'm desperately hoping that this gorgeous yarn from Pigeonroof Studios will work for this design. 

I must use it on something.. its just too pretty.

On a side note..  Season 6 of the Never Not Knitting podcast is starting tomorrow! 

Join me then for episode 51!

Successful Blogathon

When I first decided to participate in the WordCount Blogathon, I thought it would be pretty easy to blog every day in May.  It wasn't quite so easy as I had imagined.

Surprising Interference
I guess I figured, how hard could it be to slap together a blog post 31 days in row, especially when two weeks of that time I was slated to be on vacation.  But it's amazing what comes up during a month...both physically and emotionally that prevented me from making my 31 day goal.

First of all, the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat was the biggest reason for missing posts.  Again, I thought I'd have plenty of opportunity to take beautiful photos and wax poetic about men knitting in rural settings.  What I didn't count on was what little importance my computer would have when choosing between it and 41 guys knitting and chatting and socializing.

Knitter-guys were MUCH more compelling.

Emotionally, I kept assuring myself I would get  back to my room before midnight during the retreat and get a post published...but I knew on some of those nights I was lying to myself.

Once I missed one post, it became even harder to keep up the daily pace, and in short order I missed two more days of posting.

But I got back into it and finished with a solid 28 blog posts for the month of May.

Thank you to all the readers that kept up with me...it was encouraging to see the number of blog hits go back up and also great to see the comments start to take on a life of their own.

Current Knitting/Crochet
I was able to complete a little less than half of the boarder for the blanket.

I like the color choice I made, and I'm also making the border wider on the shorter sides of the rectangle to make it even less square when it's finished.  I will also put a 3 stitch border around the entire thing using the same orange yarn (Trekking XXL in case anyone wondered).

The Good 'ole Days

Remember when blogs could allow you to write anything, no matter how controversial or personal?

Gone Are The Days...
When I first started writing QueerJoe, I was a very different person and had quite a few very different priorities.

I often wrote blistering critiques of magazine and book designs (or designers in general) and I had no qualms about taking on ignorant viewpoints about politics, queer issues or personal pet-peeves.

I was also a lot more anonymous back then. People really didn't know who I was in real life, so I could afford to express my opinions, even when they were offensive.

A number of different factors have taken away some of that anonymity (Facebook, organizing the Men's Knitting Retreat, Rhinebeck, etc.), and more and more people actually know who I am, and might care a LOT about when I say something offensive. In recent months, I even met someone on my current project who knew about my blog.

I have to say, that when family, co-workers, friends, donors for the Men's Knitting Retreats, designers who I know personally, etc. are comprising the group of people who read this blog, it has definitely affected the things I write.

I thought I would hate feeling restricted in this way, but I'm finding it more satisfying to know that I can write a blog to such a complex audience.

Current Knitting
I finished weaving in all the ends in the Asherton Baby Blanket, and now I just need to wash it and block it. I think I'll wash and block both baby blankets at the same time and get them packed up and ready to send off to the expecting parents.

I also went back to an old sock project for this week's travels.

Remember these? I frogged the top of the first finished sock and re-finished it (so I could use up as much yarn as possible and get the longest cuff), and now I just have to finish up the other one.

I also like the Skacel sock yarns so much, it's practically all I knit socks with anymore. If I finish up my current socks, I'll start work on this new yarn, Skacel's Austermann Step sock yarn.

I LOVE this colorway, and I just noticed that one of the vendors who donated this year to the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat...Woolbearers in Mt. Holly, NJ, carries the Austermann Step yarn, although they don't have it in their on-line store. I may have to call them to see what colors they carry!

Readers' Comments/Questions
Leslie Sharr writes, "Pulling something like the Retreats off is very hard work, Joe. Do you think you'll do it again or will you request more assistance or hand it off to someone?"

Actually, coordinating the retreats has become relatively easy. Once we organized the first one, we could re-use a lot of the forms and web pages and ideas for subsequent ones. And honestly, these retreats are a lot easier than others, in that the guys who come to them are all fully committed to making them a success, as opposed to some similar events I've been to where attendees are more expecting to have things done to them or for them...if that makes sense.

All that being said, I am trying to set up the structure and the organization of the events in such a way that someone else could take it on if they wanted to, but I will definitely be organizing next year's event.

Craft Imitates Obsession

Have you ever noticed that when you focus a lot of attention into one thing, then you start to see everything in terms of that thing?

Spinning/Drafting Teaches Me a Lesson
One of the areas I struggle with all the time is balancing between healthy self-esteem and arrogance.

It seems that no sooner do I get my self-esteem up to a certain level of acceptance, and then BAM!...I overplay my hand and the universe knocks me down to self-loathing.

As I was spindling the other day, I realized I need to get more attuned to peoples' reactions to me and then get faster to adapting to how people react to me.  If you've ever drafted yarn onto a spinning wheel or drop-spindle, you know that there is a constant balancing between keeping the spun fiber from being so under-twisted that the drop spindle falls to the ground and letting it become too over twisted.  This requires a constant feel for the fiber drafting through my fingers and adapting to how it feels in such a way that I get the balanced twist that I'm looking for.

Okay...maybe you don't spin and have no idea how this analogy works...but perhaps you could substitute drafting fiber with knitting without looking at your work...you can just feel when the stitch is twisted, or if you have two stitches instead of one, of if you've hit a purl stitch unexpected.  You're constantly adapting based on the feel of the stitches and yarn.

I figure if I can adapt this quickly in my fiber-related pursuits I can certainly be as adept in my self-esteem/arrogance balancing.


Current Project
I'm still working on the spiral squares blanket...I should have a completed photo by tomorrow maybe???

But my latest pursuit is a SEWING project!!!  I know...shocking, right?

I had the chance to visit Liza Prior-Lucy the co-auther of Kaffe's quilting books and the person that turns Kaffe's color brilliance into reality.  In addition to getting a copy of Kaffe's latest quilt book:

Kaffe Fassett's Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts is truly spectacular.  It's made me want to bathe in fabrics again.

While I might not make a king-size quilt again...I did get some fabric to make a man's tie as a gift.

Can you imagine the striped fabric as a man's tie with the goldenrod color as the lining?

Tax Woes

I've decided I need to get tax advice from Mitt Romney...I'm paying WAY more than he is and making a helluva lot less.

Additional Assessment
A few months ago I got an additional assessment for 2010 Federal Taxes that said I owed about $25,000.

It may seem shocking, but I wasn't too concerned since I knew I didn't really owe that...but my company did have to re-prepare my entire 2010 Federal tax return and I did have to pay a small additional amount of taxes.

Was I annoyed at having to pay more...no, not really.  Was I annoyed at having to print off 91 pages of documentation and send it along with my check?  You bet I was.

What an annoyance.

We really do have to go to a simple system with no loop holes.  A straight percent of income, like they do for Pennsylvania state taxes.  The complexity of filing federal taxes in this country is ridiculous.

Current Knitting/Crochet
Turns out I don't have quite enough of the Poem yarn to do a full round of blanket.  So once I finish the third side, I think I'll just make it a rectangular blanket and extend the edges with some other sock yarn.

Secret Sweater In Progress

I'm still working on that sweater-coat design I mentioned previously. Only now it is far less cabled. I had to make a tough decision to edit my design and rip out an entire huge section which was painful for me to say the least. Even though I hated to do it, I feel like the sweater is much more refined and elegant now and I like it so much more than I did previously. It was worth it in the end.

All I have left to figure out is the hood, which I am excited and nervous about. I have never put a hood on one of my sweaters before! 

Although this sweater-coat is a bit plain looking from the front, it has a little "secret something" about it that I think you will love. Stay tuned to find out what it is. This sweater pattern will be appearing in 

Botanical Knits Volume 2!

Pinterest Inspires Again

Someone pinned this photo on Pinterest (it linked to a store selling these "slippers" knitted by Lithuanian knitters):

I Can Do That!

With all the design work I've been doing on socks, I figured I could bang out a pair of these in no time.

Worsted weight yarn, US7 (4.5mm) needles, toe-up sock construction on 40 stitches until about 1/4" before the top of the instep, and then knit garter stitch flat.  A bit of kitchener stitch at the back of the heel, and Bob's-Your-Uncle, a simple pair of slippers (I also liked the contrasting crochet edge, so I added that).

I also modified the design a little by adding four stitches at the beginning of the two first garter stitch rows, and came up with these:

Totally pleased with how they came out, and I can knit up a pair in one evening in front of the television!

Playful Stripes In Grey

I always enjoy seeing my patterns done up in different yarns and colorways.

A while back an Icelandic magazine published my Playful Stripes pattern and photographed it in this combination of colors.

I would have never thought that grey would ever work with peach or green... but it totally does! I loved this combination so much that I asked my wonderful Ravelry friend, Yaena, to knit up another Playful Stripes sample for me using these colors together.

Aren't these colors surprisingly beautiful?

If you'd like to knit up a sweater just like this you will need

Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in these following colors.

[MC] Medium Grey #9

[CC1] Baby Green #3

[CC2] Soft Peach #5

[CC3] Off White #101

[CC4] Lilac #10

The pattern will specify how many you need of each skein for the size you want to make. The pattern can be found here.

I will be using this sample for a second trunk show display.

My first trunk show of samples is booked so far in advance now that I'm having another

set of samples knit up so that I can have 2 trunk shows traveling simultaneously.

This is a fun excuse for me to have my patterns knit up in different colorways to show some variety.

I think that one of the most fun things about this Playful Stripes pattern is picking out the colors.

Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino has such a great variety of beautiful colors to choose from. The possibilities are endless!

Another color combination that recently caught my attention was found on ravelry.com.

Click here to see. When I knit this sweater again, Id like to try these colors next. So cute!

You know what else is cute?

After the photo shoot, I caught Playful Stripes cuddling with Elijah the knitted elephant.

I quick snapped a picture while they weren't looking. :)

Brief, Colorful Summary

Ever try describing this blog to anyone else?   Here's a succinct graphic to summarize for the more visually oriented (link to the original to see it more clearly).

  

Memorial Day
Three things I'd like to keep in mind today (and share with readers at the same time).

1. My dad who was a veteran of the Korean War.  While he died many years after his service, I still like to make sure I use today to remember a veteran I knew personally.
2. All of the soldiers who served in Viet Nam.  This was the war that I remember most.  While none of my brothers or I were drafted for this war, it was a time of great anxiety and sorrow.  Even though the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were more recent, there wasn't a constant threat that you or someone you loved was going to be called up at a moment's notice.  We also treated our returning Viet Nam veterans worse than any others in history, and any way I can help to remedy that, I try.
3. All the gay and lesbian soldiers that were required to lie about their lives to serve our country.  Particularly the soldiers that died at the hands of their fellow members, the soldiers kicked out for refusing to live a lie and the brave soldiers that fought for what's right all along.

Current Knitting/Crochet
 As promised, I finished the latest round of the spiral square blanket.

 As it turns out, I think I have at least enough yarn for another round, so one I crochet.

Already Looking Forward to May 2011

I'm fortunate enough to be able to work on various task all year associated with the next retreat...so it's often in the forefront of my mind.

Constant Memories
Yes, when I negotiate the contract for the next retreat, or answer an e-mail question from someone who wants to be notified of upcoming events, or search on-line for the next new thing to put into the guys' give-away bags, it never fails to bring back incredibly fond memories of the guys and the retreat.

I'm very lucky indeed.

Show & Tell
One of the few traditions that I think is common with all the Men's Knitting Retreats and we have now done for the last 3 years, is to let the guys get up in front of the group and show off their creativity and skills.

I have to admit, that this year's Show & Tell pieces were exceptional, even if my photography doesn't show it too well.  And the photos go on and on and on...if I didn't post  your Show & Tell, it was only because I either didn't get a photo of it, or my photography made you look awful!

Alan's oops...John's Lace

Chad's Herbivore

Chad's WIP

Chris' Pullover

Chuck's Henry and Doubleknit Scarves

Chuck's Zippered Cardigan

Craig's Mitered Scarf

Craig's Cardigan

Craig's Fair Isle hat

Dave's Hoodie - Uncovered

Dave's Hoodie - Covered

Dave's Blocked Lace Wrap

Dave's Ass...uh Lace

Jon's Sweater sleeve (color cable)

Jon's Dog Sweater

John's Pullover

Kenny's Fair Isle Vest

Kenny's Fair Isle Vest - Reverse

Kenny's Sample Lace Stole

Kirk's Pullover

Kirk's Baby Surprise

Kyle's Noro Pullover

Kyle's Noro Pullover cleverly stolen by John B.

MMario's Lace Designs!!!

Matthew's Fair Isle Cardigan

Matthew's Lace

Michael's Pullover

Ray's 3 sweaters on professional models :)

Kenny, Kyle, Chuck and John's "Socks Appeal" strip tease!

Ted's Hand-Spindled-Knitted Shawl (looks INCREDIBLE in person)

Todd's current WIP

Todd's Pullover

Vince's Scarf

Current Knitting
I got some additional work done on the Newland socks by Marlowe Crawford.

I've opted to complete the cuffs on both socks before turning the heels and finishing the foot of the socks. Mostly, since the pattern was fresh in my mind, I figured it would be easier to bang out the second cuff before taking on the heel and foot and toe.

I'm enjoying the knitting and the look of the socks quite a bit so far.