yarn tootin'

Hodgepodge

     I've been busy as of late, but I've also been knitting.  I've had too much to do and not enough time and appropriately, my knitting has been a pretty accurate reflection of my life.  I feel disorganized and over committed.  My teaching semester has ended so  I have a little break from small people and their violins, but  Bob and I are in the throes of planning for the dreaded Sequoia (a.k.a. my evil stepchild).  Sequoia begins in just one month and I'm afraid we're not going to be ready.  I know that we'll get it together somehow, but it's always scary and a bit frantic.  The last thing I need to be doing is casting on for new and exciting knitting projects, but I find it calming and it makes me happy, so that's what I'm going to do.

    My latest new project...

This is the beginning of a Baby Surprise Jacket in Heavyweight STR (Saratoga colorway) that I scored on a Ravelry destash.  I resisted this pattern for a long time because it made no sense to me.  I've had EZ's Knitting Workshop for some time, and I bought the DVD a couple of months ago after reading somewhere that it's very helpful.  I know that EZ is a knitting goddess and one to be revered and the BSJ certainly is ingenious, but I think that she could have done a better job with the pattern writing.  A person shouldn't need a DVD to make sense of a simple baby sweater pattern.  Maybe I'm being dense, but without the DVD I'd be lost.  That being said, I love the DVD.  It's full of all kinds of tips and tricks and if I'd had it when I was a new knitter, it would have solved all of my problems.  I know I've said this before, but if you are a pattern writer, keep in mind that more is more.  If you think it might be confusing, it probably is confusing and it's best to explain yourself.

     Also on the needles is Mr. Greenjeans...

Try to ignore the ladder, the big brown garbage can, my crooked left shoulder, and my hair.  My hair really deserves its own post and one of these days, I'll get around to that.  The short version of the story is that growing out curly hair in biggest, hottest Texas is no fun.   Back to the sweater...Mr. Greenjeans is 1.25 sleeves and a button band away from being finished.  I know it looks like it's too small for me, but the good knitters on Ravelry have assured me that the cables block out nicely and that it will fit.   I hope they're right.

    I actually have several more projects on the needles, but this report is going to have to be in two parts.  Bob needs me to help him with a Sequoia mailing project and he's threatening to start Ugly Betty without me so this will have to do for today.

Huapango

     Every night this week, and twice on Saturday, my orchestra is playing a series of free Cinco de Mayo concerts in various high school auditoriums all over town.  For some of these concerts we are joined by high school Mariachi bands and at others there are dancers.  At every concert we play a program of songs and dances of Spanish and Mexican origin.  As you might imagine, this sort of thing is a big hit in San Antonio.  The grand finale of the concert is a piece called Huapango by the Mexican composer Jose Pablo Moncayo.  Over the course of any season, we play Huapango quite a lot.  This season alone, we've played it five times and it will be played at least ten more times before we break in June.  The people of San Antonio love Huapango.  I like Huapango too, but I can't play it without remembering my first experience with the piece.   

     I wasn't always a violist.  Once upon a time, I was a lowly second violinist in the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony (GTCYS, pronounced GIT-sees).  Some of my contemporaries look back on their days in GTCYS with nostalgia and the memories leave them feeling warm and fuzzy.  These were the chosen people.  I however,  look back on my GTCYS experience and I'm amazed that I ended up playing in an orchestra for a living.  Needless to say, my experience was less than fabulous.  Most of this was due to the combination of the evil conductor who seemed to make it his mission to terrify a generation of young musicians in the Twin Cities, my somewhat rebellious attitude, and the fact that I refused to kiss up to said conductor.  This was probably why I wasn't one of the chosen favorites.  It was not because I was a bad violinist, or in later years a bad violist.   

     Back in the day, GTCYS consisted of a complicated hierarchy of orchestras.  You started in the "Little Philharmonia" when you were 8 or 9 and progressed through the "Junior" orchestras with the goal of someday making it to the "Symphony."  My first year in the Symphony was my sophomore year of high school and I spent the most of that season sitting with a girl named Karena on the very last stand of second violins.  In most youth ensembles, sitting on the last stand is not something that's great for a kid's self-esteem, so Karena and I coped by placing a row of Skittles or some other candy on our stand to make the rehearsals a little more bearable.  This may have had something to do with our last stand status, but that didn't occur to us at the time.  That season was also the first time I  played Huapango and I will never forget it.

     There is a section of Huapango near the beginning where the second violins have to strum a series of chords guitar style in a rhythm that's not particularly difficult, but it was probably new and different to a group of teen-aged Minnesotans.  The first time we rehearsed it, most of the second violins couldn't play the passage at all and we got yelled at by the evil conductor.  The following week, the passage was still sounding terrible, so the evil conductor decided to "go down the line" and make everyone play it one by one.  After the first two or three people failed miserably, the evil conductor delivered a monologue on how horrible we were and how we should all be able to play Huapango.  He then crossed his arms, gave us his scariest and most threatening glare, and asked if anyone else wanted to give it a try.  I had looked at the part and I knew I could play it flawlessly, but for some reason I couldn't raise my hand and volunteer even though I desperately wanted to.  I have always regretted that I didn't stand up and play that passage of Huapango and to this day, I can't play the piece without remembering the incident. 

     In case you're unfamiliar with Huapango, here is a video of the Berlin Philarhmonic playing it.  I know that Berlin is a great orchestra, but I'm afraid that when it comes to Huapango, they just don't get it.  You can almost hear them counting every eighth note and their rendition is just a little bit wooden.  The San Antonio Symphony on the other hand, does a rockin' Huapango, second violins and all.

Stash and Destash

     I've been naughty this week.  I had the day off on Tuesday, so I went up to Austin to get two of my bows rehaired, or as I like to say, I went to Austin to get new horses.  It takes a few hours to rehair a couple of bows, so I decided to make a day of it and visit my favorite Austin yarn haunts and have lunch with my old friend Amanda.  As luck would have it, Fiddlestick Bow Shop is conveniently located less than a mile from Hill Country Weavers.  I think that HCW might be one of my favorite yarn stores, period.  The selection can't be beat and for the most part, the ladies are friendly and helpful and they don't follow you around too much.  On this trip I bought a skein of Helen's Lace in Black Purl...

     I bought this with a specific project in mind.  One of these days, I intend to knit Juno Regina.  I realize that it would probably look better in a solid color, but I also realize that it's unlikely that I will finish this type of project in a solid color so I compromised and got what I'm calling a multi/neutral.  I was honestly more drawn to this yarn in Pilsen, but I'm pretty sure that Juno will look better and be more wearable in Black Purl, so there you have it.

     I couldn't walk out with just one skein, so I also picked up some souvenir Koigu...

This colorway begins with the letter P and ends with three numbers.  If you must know the specifics, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.  For the moment, I'm too lazy to go to the yarn room to find out.  It would be much easier (and more fun) if the good people at Koigu would name the colorways.  How many times have you bought yarn because of the name of the colorway?   I can tell you that I have done this several times.  Just this afternoon I was tempted by a Sundara sock yarn called "Electric Viola," but I managed to control my purchasing impulse and it's gone now.

     Because it's conveniently located on my way home from Austin (and because I had to pee), I made a pit stop at The Knitting Nest.  Even though I don't give a hoot about the Longhorns themselves or football in general, I was able to indulge my love of longhorn orange with this pretty skein...

Hill Country Yarns Instant Gratification Sock Yarn in Hook 'em Horns.

     As far as I can tell, the only problem with my yarn collection is where to put it.  In an effort to get rid of some stuff, I've made use of the destash feature on on Ravelry.  I continue to marvel at the sheer awesomeness that is Ravelry and the destash pages are no exception (if you're on Ravelry, you can visit mine here ).  Within minutes of posting my yarns for sale or trade, two skeins sold and I've had several inquiries on others.  If you aren't on Ravelry yet, you can view my wares on Flickr.  Email me or leave a comment if there is something that strikes your fancy. 

     It's Fiesta 2008 in San Antonio this week, so aside from teaching, I've had the week off.  With all of my free time, I think I've managed to knit too much and now I have a very sore wrist.  Typing isn't helping so I'm calling it a night.  Y'all have a festive weekend!

Bling

     On Wednesdays I teach a pair of brothers ages 7 and 13 and they are almost always good for a couple of laughs.  The little brother usually has the first lesson and then the big brother comes in for his lesson.  The time in which they are both in my studio is when the good stuff usually happens.  Both brothers are very chatty and they unpack and pack up their violins rather leisurely while telling me their news of the day.  Today the big brother came in and promptly showed me his "bling" which consisted of about six ordinary plastic beads on a piece of string.  The little brother seemed somewhat agitated by this and loudly announced "It is not bling!"
     The little brother then drew me into the mix by asking "Mrs. Courtney, do you think my brother's necklace is bling?"  I really didn't want to get involved, but I had to answer so I said that I thought that all jewelry could be bling if the wearer wanted it that way.  The little brother then informed me that I was wrong and that bling is limited to big gold letters or dollar signs on fat gold chains.  He was also made it clear that beads are not bling.  After that he went into a monologue about sharks.  Did you know that there is a type of shark that can live in freshwater and saltwater?

More Single Socks and Some Croshay

     I've finished a few more single socks...

     BFF Sock in Dream in Color Smooshy (Dusky Aurora), Perambulate Sock in Zen String Lotus Toes (Lufaloo), and plain old 4x1 rib sock in Twisted Fiber Art Kabam (Cordial).  All pattern information can be found on Ravelry.  If you knit or croshay and you have yet to join Ravelry, what are you waiting for?  It's not just a social network (though it can be if you want it that way), it's a fabulous resource.  It's also highly addictive, so if you're the type of person who struggles with that sort of thing, proceed with caution, but for the love of yarn just join already.

     I'm a little under the weather.  I have an annoying sore throat and I feel like I need a nap even though I slept for almost 9 hours last night.  I wish I felt more up to writing a fun and sassy post, but this is not the case.  Hopefully a little time spent with my DVR and the ripple blanket will be just what I need.   After many months in hibernation, I got out the ripple blanket again last night and once again, it has captured my fancy.

     The ripple blanket with three of the new colors of Lion Brand Cotton-Ease.   A little over a month ago, I discovered a few new colors of Cotton-Ease on the Lion Brand website.  As far as I know, the new colors are not yet available at Michael's, but I'm sure they'll get there eventually.  I ordered a few skeins of the new colors (Azalea, Cactus, and Plum) with the idea that they'd contribute nicely to my ripple.  I know this picture isn't great and it's probably hard to tell, but I'm not sure that Azalea and Cactus will make it into the ripple.  The Plum will be fabulous, but I'm not sold on the other colors.  Hopefully, I'll remain interested in this project long enough to find out.

    

Post Audition Celebration Yarn

     After any audition, win or lose, I usually buy myself some sort of reward.  I got this idea years ago from Don Greene, Ph.D..  Dr. Greene is a performance coach, and when I was a fellow at the New World Symphony, all musicians were required to work with him.  I found a lot of what he had to say to be a little bit over the top, but the one thing that stuck with me was his idea that a person should always shop after an audition to reward herself for working hard.  For years I bought shoes after auditions, but these days I head straight to the nearest LYS or my favorite online yarn retailer.  As luck would have it, Blue Moon Fiber Arts launched their new website and put up new colors right before my audition.  After hours of perusing the various yarns and colorways, I chose three skeins of Socks that Rock and one big skein of WooBu, a new yarn I hadn't tried or even seen in person.

STR Lightweight in Dixie Chick and Rockstar.  STR Mediumweight in Tigers Eye.

WooBu in Farmhouse

     Dixie Chick isn't a colorway that I'd normally gravitate towards, but ever since I saw it knit up on the Yarn Harlot's blog , I've coveted a skein of my own.  I chose Rockstar because it seemed appropriate given my audition success and Tigers Eye is one I've wanted for a long time.  I've never knit with anything other than STR and Silkie STR from BMFA, so I thought I'd try one of their other yarns.  I settled on WooBu  because it comes in a massive 620 yard skein and I thought I could make some sort of nice lacy scarf or wrap with just one skein.  In person, WooBu is soft and a little bit shiny and because of the bamboo content, it takes the dye less vividly than STR.  While I really love knitting with brightly colored yarns, I tend to like to wear more muted colors, so I think that I'll really enjoy whatever I end up making with this.  If anyone has any brilliant ideas in this department, let me know.