stitch marker

industrial PSA post

This post includes the complete "conference" version of the meathead hat pattern (just click continue below). Please note, this is not the same as the wearable version of the hat pattern that I sell in kits. This pattern makes a much looser hat on very big needles, and is intended to be used by people who have already signed up for the meathead knitup and have received yarn from me.

For everyone else, feel free to use the pattern if you wish! It's a kind of loose pointy hat.

Yay hats! Yay kneading! (When Squeek does this, it always reminds me of that old comedy routine that we thought was such a hoot when we were kids. It was a song that went "I can't stop my leg." Does anyone else remember that? Was it Chevy Chase?)

tomato world

A new Adirondack chair that Martin built and stained, a wild mess of cherry tomatoes, and a new giant afghan square in the sun. I like this Wool Ease Thick & Quick a lot more than I thought I would. I'm de-snobbing on this project.

sheepy butt

Here is some of the yarn for the meatheads. I've got breathing problems I never knew about. My swift is literally bending under the weight of these things. And I am about 2/3 of the way finished with making and mailing kits. This is very good. They take a long time, and my little dream sweatshop never materialized yesterday because my 2 volunteers had to leave early. I stayed up until 2 am, astonishing and impressing the hell out of myself since I'm getting too old for that kind of thing.

I was surprised the yarn is so spun, since it is called 1/1 roving by Webs, and it looks fuzzier in their small picture. I really like it. It seems like it would be (will be) a good yarn for "My First Dyeing"-type experiments. It's actually a delightful little bulky yarn that is identical to the noodles in Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup. As I'm winding I keep thinking "mmmmm... noodles...."

Here is a close-up of the yarn, modeled by my new measuring tape - a gift from the talented and generous Emily! This is so cool. I think she made this, which impresses me even more than my staying up til 2 am winding yarn balls.

I really needed a tape measure, and I think it's pretty funny because I call my dog "Sheepy Butt" all the time. (She's the one on the left).

With all the hats, the scrapalong has become a neglected little sister. So today is devoted to scraps.

I saw this gorgeous scrap shawl on one of the hat knitters' blogs. I thought it might inspire us here at scrapalong hq, and Enchanting Juno gave me permission to swipe the picture. Here is a shot of the whole piece, which appears to be knitted sideways. How beautiful! I know it has inspired me with new scrap ideas.

The more I think about my languishing scrap sweater, the more I think it ought to be something smaller like a shrug or shawl. Marie's squishy scarf has made me feel even more this way. I guess I'll know more after the meatheads are finished. But in the meantime, I hope some of you scrapalongers are having fun.

100 hats

Wow! As the color commentator says in Dodgeball, "I feel shocked."  We have knitters committed for all 100 hats. I have a big update email that will go out to all of you today with news about the project. And I am a day or two behind on mail, so I'm moving the "back to me" date to September 25th.

If you are in Portland, I'll send you a special email to hopefully meet up at Mabel's and get materials.

Thank you so much! This is amazingly fun.

math fun

Charlotte is white and pretty and so not what I usually knit. I love it. Martin thinks it's making me crazy because he sees me with various spreadsheets and pencils in my hair, counting a lot, and snapping "I can't look at Lauryn Williams' cool cornrows NOW." But those of you who've knitted a Charlotte's Web know that this is all fun.

Can any of you tell me who the blogger was who calculated what percentage of the Charlotte you've finished at each row? I'm at row 68, if that means anything to you.

Update: Thank you to Andrea for pointing out the stats at Uli's site.

p.s. More meathead updates tomorrow! Hi Francine - I'm so glad to hear from you. I miss you. (Fran is my friend from college whom I haven't seen in years and who is going to knit meatheads in Chicago).

cleaning out, casting on

Yesterday was a hard day, very emotional for several reasons. What's a knitter to do? Start something new, right?

Finally, finally, I've started a Charlotte! It's in Brown Sheep Top of the Lamb, all creme colored. A dangerous color for me and my coffee and wine habits, but it's so gorgeous and soft and very slightly shiny. I love Brown Sheep yarns. And wow, just $13 for more than enough for a Charlotte. I'm up to row 52!

In other big news, I just listed some stash here on ebay. Yeah, I know, alert the Onion. Knitter sells old yarn on eBay.

good morning

I am so excited that so many knitters are signed up to make meatheads for the installation! I am emailing everyone as they sign up, and later in this post I'll show you some pictures of the prototype.

But first, an FO. I finished this right before the massive hat caper started, and I wanted to celebrate some finished knitting before embarking on these hundred balls of roving. So here is the Wild Duck scarf.

And here is a close up of the yarn (from Adrian at hello yarn) and the double seed stitch.

I love it! Fabulous fall, here I come.

Now on to meatheads.

Here is the prototype, knit with roving and a cast-on edge of just 24 stitches. It took me 1 hour to complete. I'll also show you the back so you can see that I'm really not picky about the seams. And so you can see the size of the stitches compared to my fingers.

The kits will go out by Monday to everyone who has signed up. Continue to sign up in the comments if you want to knit a hat for the installation. I am so excited that so many people are doing this with me. The support is remarkably moving, and I love seeing all the blogs that are new to me and meeting all these new knitting friends. See the list at right. I encourage you to click around and see a world of knitting out there. Thank you so much everyone!

a plea for knitters

Ok, this is one big ass ball of yarn.

Or I should say ball of roving. Shown with a jar of 14" long knitting needles for scale. It is here in my living room because I have a problemchallenge. I'm hoping some of you will join me in meeting this challenge, in return for some small prizes and a ton of goodwill and gratitude.

This is the deal. I have an art installation that goes up at the gallery on October 3rd, for which I need to knit 100 hats out of this here roving. That's right, 100 hats. I use the terms "hat" and "knit" loosely, since these hats will require very little of the time, skill, or commitment that knitting usually entails; the roving is about 1.5 inches in diameter and the needles to be used are US size 19.

Can you see where I'm heading?

I came up with this idea too late to knit them all myself, lest I seriously damage my body and mind.

I'm sending out a plea for knitters who will commit to making a hat or 2 or 3 or more in the next four weeks.

How it will work. By next week, I will send out materials and a pattern to anyone who signs up. I will need to get finished hats back by September 20. They should take less than 2 hours to make, perhaps WAY less (I'm making the prototype tomorrow and will know more then; the hats will be knit at a tremendously big gauge, bigger than the hat shown in the button to the right).

What do you get in return, besides gratitude?

* Recognition at the show and on my website - all knitters will be listed and thanked!
* Chances at winning prizes - knitting & food related!
* The option to have one of the hats sent back to you to keep after the installation ends in November.
(They will all get cattle tags applied to them and become part of an installation that I'm tentatively calling "Conference." The piece of art you get back will include a cattle tag and will be a numbered piece of this variable edition).

Please comment below or email me at knitme9 (at) larissabrown (dot) net to let me know if you're willing and able. In your comment or email, please let me know if you want to make one hat or more so I know how much roving to send. I will be forever in your debt if you make one, but even more so if you make more than one.

I've got 3 knitters signed up for this Great Meathead KnitUp, and I'm making a button you can steal and a list of participants.

If anyone wants more info on my art, you can look here or listen here.

Thanks for your consideration. I love you, man. :-)

worth the sorrow

Can someone help me? I'm willing to pay in locally roasted coffee.

I need. No, let me be clear. I NEEEEEEEED this pattern.

It was referenced on this blog. And it apparently comes from the latest Bergere de France catalogue. But alas I never learned French. And when I try to translate this web site using an online translator, it simply tells me that the catalogue is backordered but I should be patient "Because it is worth the sorrow of it!"

Then it directs me to join some kind of club. Yikes! Please help me get this pattern and I will trade you something nice.

Thanks amis!