Of Festivals, Knitting and Migraines

October 21, 2012 | Verónica

Here is a pictorial view of an otherwise wonderful weekend. It started off with yarn purchases. Now how can that not put a smile on anyone’s face? There are a couple of hand warmer requests in my knitting queue – one pair is for the husband. I tried the yarn stash first but didn’t have any masculine colors. I wanted a nice dark gray/charcoal color. Then I found this black-gray-white multi-ply in the gauge I needed. It’s Heritage Quatro by Cascade Yarns and I should be able to make two pairs of hand warmers from this hank. As I was searching in bin after bin of yarn, I found this luscious Squishy by Anzula in Teal and knew it was meant for me. The explosion of miniature roses came from the husband. Of course, I will knit him a pair of hand warmers.

On Sunday, we all took off to the annual Fall Fiesta put on by our church and school. My son attended this wonderful school up through 8th grade. It’s amazing to see all those little boys and girls my son went to elementary school with becoming young men and women. My son and his friend each devoured a humongous turkey leg, while my husband and I stood in line for the funnel cakes. There were fajitas with pico de gallo, empanadas, and meatball subs. There was live music, pony rides for the little ones, and all sorts of carnival rides and games. The smaller kids love buying cartons of cascarones and popping them on each other’s heads. There was confetti everywhere!

My favorite festival booth is Vintage Values. It’s basically a huge garage sale. You never know what treasures one will find. I found this cute little silver sugar bowl. Engraved on the bottom is a crown with the numbers 18 and 83 on each side. I looked it up and learned it was produced by the F.B. Rogers Silver Co. which was established in Massachusetts in 1883. I also picked up a $1 bag of wooden nutcracker Christmas ornaments and this little tea towel with a sheep decked out for the holidays.

I gave the sugar bowl a quick polish at home. It still needs a little more elbow grease but I like it.

Despite a lovely weekend, I had a migraine on Saturday that kept me up half the night. I’ve had migraines since I was a teenager. I can be in a room without windows and can tell you if the day is overcast and whether it’s going to rain with startling accuracy. I usually work my way through the migraine but sometimes they do get the best of me. Last night, after tossing in bed from the pain, I made my way to the living room and started knitting. I had gone through all my tried-and-true home remedies and had even succumbed to medication, but still it persisted. Something about the soothing rhythm of the needles made me forget about the pain. I knit several rows of a blanket I am making in garter stitch, which those who knit know is a somewhat boring endeavor. But it’s just what I needed at 1:33 in the morning. After a while, I looked up and realized the headache was gone. I slipped into bed and fell asleep.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone.

Autumn

October 17, 2012October 17, 2012 | Verónica

After the humid heat of summer, autumn ushers in cooler days and bursts of color.

Just in time for the cool weather, I made up this chunky cabled hat from the Wooli yarn in my stash using this pattern (sans pompom).

Here it is in progress. The top two photos taken with my phone are fuzzier than I would like but I had to show the circular work in progress. I chuckled as I thought of Obey Crochet and hook’s smug comment about how many needles it takes to make a circle.

A close-up.

Here are some gratuitous pictures of mums and the last gardenias blooming in the garden. Those oranges, yellows and ochres brighten up our doorstep.

Aaah, autumn.

Nangellini’s in Philadelphia

October 7, 2012April 18, 2014 | Verónica

As many knitters do, I like to buy yarn from places I visit. More than a postcard, it helps me remember a certain place. When possible, I buy local – fibers from local farms, hand-spun, locally-dyed yarns. In a short Sunday afternoon, I made a beeline to Nangellini’s on the hip and quirky South Street in Philly. These are my souvenirs.

Super Something Hand Spun, by Nancy’s Custom Spinning (that would be Nancy, the owner). Made from strands of Merino and a Merino, Mohair, Silk combo plied together; 90 yards, 146 grams, 5.14 ounces. Nancy has a special bartering arrangement with a local dyer. Nancy spins, the dyer dyes and they each keep half of the fiber.

Nangellini’s Best.Batts.Ever are made from fine fibers including Merino, Mohair and Silk with a little Firestar for that hint of sparkle.

This is Nancy, owner, spinner, knitter and overall cool person. She explained that “Nangellini” was a childhood endearment her father used for her. When I asked if I could snap a photo, she agreed and grabbed that skein of hand-spun, hand-dyed yarn for the occasion. (I almost bought that skein). If I lived in Philly, my needles and I would hang out at Nangellini’s.

My memories of Philadelphia will include Independence Hall where the Constitution of the United States was signed, the Liberty Bell with its famous crack, workshops on leadership at the Wharton School at UPenn, a visit to Gettysburg, and yarn from Nangellini’s.

The Happy Hooker

September 17, 2012 | Verónica

I love it when someone can take a simple object like a crochet hook and make it come to life bursting with personality. That’s what Stephanie of Obey Crochet does with her irreverent and oh-so-funny hook humor.

She doesn’t mean to incite a battle between crocheters and knitters, but it is too funny to resist.

Even though I am mostly a knitter and only an occasional crocheter, I can’t help but crack a smile at her hook humor. Then I come to discover that she’s a fellow Texan! Go grab some more laughs at Obey Crochet. I will close with one more drawing that all hookers and sticksters can surely agree on.

{All images in this post belong to Obey Crochet.}

Wooli – Bespoke Yarn from New Zealand

September 12, 2012April 18, 2014 | Verónica

This package crossed an ocean to reach me. As you can note by the postmark, this has been sitting in my queue for some time.

This thick yarn is designed by Nikki Gabriel and produced from recycled fabric remnants. The fiber contents include wool, alpaca, silk, cashmere and possum. The raw fibers produce this color which she calls Greige. Other dyed colors are also available.

Then there are these sturdy needles handmade from recycled Rimu wood, which is a tree native to New Zealand.

I like the concept of naming them “construction” tools.

I even got this nice thank you note from Nikki Gabriel herself.

In addition to creating yarn and needles, she is also a knitwear designer. She designed these beautiful flowing costumes for a performance of The Australian Ballet.