Almost two years ago, at a Stitch 'n' Bitch at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, our own Jen Small passed around a design that she'd just submitted for publication.
Now, one of the first patterns I ever followed was Jen's bunny hat from Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation
. And this new piece–a child's sweater–was another example of her rare ability to tiptoe along the whimsical boundary waters on the far edge of the Meadow of Cute without pitching headfirst into the Swamp of Sickening.I loved the sweater so much that I've watched for it to show up in print and talked about it to probably forty knitters, none of whom had even asked.
Well, happy news: It's available, as "Pondemonium," from Jimmy Beans Wool. Fair Isle, seamless, sized for babies and toddlers (6, 12, and 18 months). And the real kicker? It's free. Go get it.
Note elbow patches shaped like lily pads. I'm plotzing.
Item the Second: FibreFest North 2007
My Canadian buddy, Ted aka Knitterguy, who knits gorgeous lace and spins gorgeous yarn, bubbling all the while with wisdom and good humor and completely misplaced modesty, is the brains behind FibreFest North,* a knitting weekend being held at the beautiful Waterview Resort near Wiarton, Ontario, September 28-30.
A look at the list of those who are already signed up is enough to make me spit nails, since I won't be of the party. Ted tells me there's still room and time to sign up. Go. Have a good time. Without me. See if I care.
Item the Third: On the Airr with Knitgrrl
Some time ago, Shannon Okey stopped in on her blog tour for Spin to Knit
and Dolores got to her before I could. She has now asked me to appear on her Knitgrrl Show Podcast, but swears her motive is not revenge. We'll be on the air on this Friday at 2 p.m. United States Eastern Standard time, and you don't need an iPod to listen.One unusual feature of this Podcast: listeners can call in and talk with us. No, I don't understand exactly how it works, but apparently it does. Please resist the urge to dial if you're:
- Dolores;
- my mother, thinking it would be fun to tell 2,000 knitters the story of how I got tomato soup on the ceiling of our brand new house; or
- any of my ex-boyfriends.
*A lot of the people on the attendee list are American, so I guess it's okay to go even if you prefer to work with fiber.
The bunny hat was one of the first things I knitted when I got back into knitting (after abandoning it when I was a teenager b/c I was too cool to do something my grandmother had taught me). I love the Pondemonium sweater - it's like Frogger in knitwear.
ReplyDeleteOMG NO WAY I made it to second! That is an adorable sweater! I think I know of a little munchkin I can foist one off onto—er, create lovingly for the child as a gift.
ReplyDeleteTomato soup? On the ceiling? Really? I want to know how! :-)
And really: "frklr" is my verification word?
I'm going to be at FibreFest too, I hope... it seems such a big thing to do from Australia, but I'm going to be in the neghbourhood, so I'm making a detour. Well, it's a big detour, but Vancouver is in the same country as FibreFest, right?
ReplyDeleteTomato soup on the ceiling? My kids have done some pretty amazing things, but soup on the ceiling? My brother and I got baked potato on a wall, but the ceiling? I thought only spaghetti noodles hit the ceiling.
ReplyDeleteThe sweater is very darling, but the baby boy in my life has zoomed past the 18 month size (he turned one last week.)
Good luck on the podcast. Have you hired someone to muzzle Dolores? (I am sure she will NOT like that comment.)
The ceiling, really?
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ReplyDeleteThanks for the plug! Just as a correction, the event is at the Waterview Resort, which is near Wiarton, Ontario .
ReplyDeleteAnd it's not just knitting. We have spinners signed up. And who knows who else will eventually make it: weavers, crocheters, bobbin-lacers...
Wish you and Delores were coming. Oh man: imagine the stories, cartoons and t-shirts from that visit.
That sweater is adorable, and yes, the lily pad elbow patches really make it even more so.
ReplyDeleteMy uncle once got root beer on the kitchen ceiling, and my grandmother herself got an entire pot of butter beans to puree itself onto the kitchen ceiling (it takes a pressure cooker), but tomato soup? hmmm...
Had to laugh. The FibreFest is near Ontario? That doesn't really narrow it down - that's like saying it's near Texas!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Ted's shindig is IN Ontario, though it is near Toronto, sort of (like if you were flying that would be where you would fly to).
ReplyDeleteThat sweater is cute...
Yes, I forgot the word "Wilarton." It was nearly midnight and I'd been up and working since 4 am. It's up there now. Mea culpa.
ReplyDeleteOooh, cute pattern. A definite possibility for the boy who refuses to arrive. I'm still waiting for the lace shawl math post though!
ReplyDeleteNot a huge deal, but that'd be Wiarton Ontario, home of Wiarton Willy, Canada's answer to Punxsatawney Phil.
ReplyDeleteLove the sweater!
My wife has ordered me to knit one for our daughter. And it's clearly a knitted representation of Little White Duck, which I just sang to her (the baby) in lieu of a bedtime story the other night. It's fate!
ReplyDeleteDer. And here I thought "Wiarton" was a typo and was meant to be "Wharton." Ahem, guess I'd better re-Mapquest that one.
ReplyDeleteThat baby sweater looks like the one Diana wore back in the early '80s, with the sheep and clouds and all that stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'll be at Fibrefest North, doing impromptu spinning lessons and a clinic on finishing. Too bad you can't make it. It's going to be a blast.
So let me guess: if Wiarton sees his Willy's shadow, there are six more weeks of winter?
ReplyDeleteIs it just me or did they not publish the chart for that adorable baby sweater.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have a reason to knit that.
My son got chili on the ceiling of our rental house. I just mention it.
ReplyDeleteHeh, are you sure that isn't the Swamp of Snickering? I suppose that's for older kids forced to wear bunny pajamas.
ReplyDeleteI may have to make that sweater for a small girl...maybe make it girly with eyelashes on the frog eyes. Can you threaten Dolores with a shearing?
ReplyDeleteBaby sweater... so cute.. must.. download...
ReplyDeleteI guess I can imagine ways you could have gotten tomato soup on the ceiling, but how did you?
ReplyDeleteOh you simply CANNOT be such a tease, Franklin! Someone has to out the tomato soup story! (Tell me you didn't just slap a can on a burner until it exploded.) ;)
ReplyDelete