we need a new name

Posted on Posted in designing, projects, spinning and fiber

(look MC, it bloomed!)
after chatting a bit with mary-catherine about columbine plants, and despairing that mine would ever thrive, the anemic speciman in my garden opened out the loveliest of flowers today. i’m going to look for more of these pretties, with their gorgeous backsides—prettier than the frontal view i think (and, as it should be, once in a while). not that the face of it is shabby by any means

we’ve had a ton of much-needed rain this week, which left everything sparkling and vividly colored. the sage has deepened to a juicy purple

and squashlets that were barely peeking out of the ground on monday

(sorry for the blur . . i didn’t get one nice picture of them that day)

are now up on their legs in full toddler stage

i still have a few more things to get in the ground, but it’s very wet—i dunno if i’ll get to it today either. but while they are still in the trays, they make a good backdrop for some yarn i plied in class this past weekend.

i had a big bobbin of singles that i spun up months ago . . . it had no active twist and i didn’t really have a spinning sample, so i winged it on the plying. and it came out really good considering that . . . once it was washed it made a beautiful skein that is neither under- or over-plied. i had a hard time getting a good photo though . . the browns are so rich, but the sheen from the light on it is flattening the nice depth it has.

we are having such a great spinning class—everyone is making yarn and enjoying it. four new spinners are quickly coming to maturity, soon to be released into the wilds of fiber festival season.

and i have FOs.
the diamond socks are done but i need to get photos and change the name before i can post the pattern (tomorrow). judi (in comments) kindly let me know that there is another sock on knitty with the name diamante. so i’m thinking . . . what should it be? diamond jacks, jack diamante (i like this one cuz it sounds SO brooklyn)—those are a couple of things that come to mind. any ideas?

anyway, i thought you’d be interested in a final look at the stitch pattern differences at the toe, which is the one spot i do like the first version of the pattern better.

not that i don’t like the toe of sock two—i just like the purl ridge of sock one a little better. or you know what? maybe i don’t—i’m not really sure. heh.

i also knit up the second leaflet mitt in michelle’s sweet socks yarn from my new and improved pattern and this time it worked fine

i’ve passed it around at a few classes now and everyone is lovin’ the fit and feel of these mitts—both versions. i’m always happy to hear that something feels really good. now the pattern is in the hands of the test knitters and we are off to the races.

in the meantime, i got back to work on the scarf i started in catherine’s classic merino worsted to match the heavier mitts i knit.

(boy, that stack of spare tomato cages sure is handy for displaying WIPs)

mmmm, it’s cushy-soft and squishy . . i love this yarn. and her sport and classic sock feel the same way, yum.

tomorrow i’m heading off to TNNA in columbus, OH—just a couple of hours away. my first knitting trade show (though i have done fabric, button, and accessory shows in the past, for work—the button shows are amazing). i’m a little apprehensive, actually . . . i’m not really sure what to expect and being a very shy person, i get nervous about big, overwhelming crowd situations. i suppose if i think of it like the 5th avenue of yarn (5th avenue, especially late at night, being one of my very favorite NYC walking haunts), i’ll be fine.

i’m going to try to post before i leave, and at the very least, there will be a sock pattern up.
i’ll be staying over friday and maybe saturday, and really looking forward to seeing publishers, friends, bloggers, colleagues, and retailers i work with. oh yeah—and yarn.

i’m going to bunk with stephanie from spritely goods, who i haven’t met in person but is awesome in email, so i’m looking forward to it.
i’ll be bringing the laptop, but checking in pretty sparingly, so please be patient if i don’t get right back to you on something.

now, cameras are not allowed on the market floor, but i’m bringing mine in the hopes that there will be plenty else to photograph, including celebrity knitter sitings, interesting food, and of course, knits in their natural habitat. i can’t promise i will always remember to use it, but i’ll try.

ok, enough professional chatter, now it’s time to photograph david’s feet.

22 thoughts on “we need a new name

  1. Love the sock. Not that I am one to turn down diamonds, but I think you should call it “regatta.” Everytime you show a picture of it I see clusters of little sail boats racing to the finish.

  2. Anytime anyone mentions the Jack of Diamonds, I think of the lyric: “Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Diamonds is a hard card to play.” It’s an old folk song, and I have no idea why the card is hard to play, but that’s what I think of when I see your pattern. I do like Regatta or Windjammer!

  3. Love the diamond socks. I definitely see diamonds, but I see *halves* of diamonds too. “Diamonds on the Half-Shell” just keeps running through my brain.
    I like Luxor, too. 🙂
    Have fun in Columbus!

  4. I am such a dork! I was trying to figure out why you wanted to rename your columbine! LOL

    I like Luxor and J o’D. Nice options.

  5. I love your diamond socks and really do prefer sock #2 because of the way that the half diamond moves smoothly and effortlessly away from the toe, almost giving the illusion of another full diamond…toe the bottom, half diamond the top…! Keep the pretty gardening pics coming, too…very soothing!

  6. Maybe for the diamond socks you can call them “half
    carats” since they are 1/2 knit and 1/2 purl! : )

  7. Mmm love the columbine, we don’t have any of those, but our plants are taking their time coming up. It’s been colder than the norm for this year so stuff is late…

  8. Squashlets! I love that! Now I’m going to be saying that to myself all evening. Have you seen your bunny, and is he paying any attention to your squashlets? We have a little bunny living under our deck who pops out once in a while and heads for our vegetable patch. He’s so cute, I don’t think I care if he eats them all.
    Gorgeous spinning; the colours are stupendous. Is it a blend of natural colours?
    I think I like sock one, as well. !t’s like an optical illusion: in sock one the diamonds are so much more prominent to my eye.

  9. Have fun!!!! I hope you come home with a book deal. (It’ll give a chance to catch up on all your other awesome patterns. LOL)

  10. i love that columbine. we don’t seem to have any around this year, i believe they fell victim to the addition.

    have fun in columbus…with all that yarn!

  11. Hi Anne! Well, I’m here, the room is lovely. Looking forward to meeting you 🙂 I too am nervous, perhaps we can prop each other up 😀 As for cameras, I forgot mine. Mostly because I knew no cameras on the show floor…that and lack of space and last minute packing. Maybe you can snap some photos for me to share with you LOL! Drive Safely!

  12. The first thing I thought of when you said “diamond jacks, jack diamante” was Albany’s own old time gangster Jack “Legs” Diamond. (Wikipedia has an article about him, even.) The nickname was just too perfect, hehe. Maybe the next diamond sock! -_^

  13. I’m also in love with “Squashlets”. The little old lady in the house behind ours has planted some and says she’ll share when they are ripe!

  14. Mmmm…. I’m loving that plied yarn! It looks so cozy. What are the knitting plans for it?

    I hope you have an excellent weekend — travel safely 🙂

  15. That yellow bloom is the brightest columbine I’ve ever seen – anemic? ha! I can’t wait to try the leaflet mitts when the pattern comes out.

  16. I *love* your columbine flower. They’re one of my all-time favorites. And they don’t grow here. I know. Sad. That yellow one of yours is glorious!

  17. Anne darling… while I found your blog for the knitting, and the prolific nature of it has always won my respect… I find myself so very fascinated by your *garden*, in the summer months. I have my own for the first time, this summer, and the experience has made me even more interested in the inevitably prolific success of yours (maybe knitting is directly proportional to garden produce?) I would really enjoy a post, from you, describing how you go about prepping the soil and caring for the plants, as well as a list of all your vegetable plants, including type and numbers of each.

    The peanut gallery has spoken 🙂

  18. I see what you mean about the difference between the toes of the two different versions of those socks. The toe on sock one is more clearly defined, but on the second version, one could always add a purl ridge at the bottom of the last pyramides before starting the toe. I think it would be a way to get the best of both.

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