QueerJoe's Knitting Blog

2012-01-22T15:47:00.001-05:00

Creativity, Productivity and Material Success

In my mind, there aren't many folks that combine all these factors in one. I tend to believe that most folks focus on one or two of the three and considered the third somewhat less important.

The Whole Package

I know a lot of people who are productive and materially successful. The hard-working types who do a lot of work and "get ahead" through determination. These folks typically don't have a lot of creative outlets in their life. I also know a lot of people who are incredibly creative and and could come up with 101 ways to re-use a coffee can that would amaze and astound others with the resulting beauty. Yet often these creative types don't care to exercise that same level of creativity in marketing themselves and leveraging their creativity for material success.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think anyone should feel obliged to meet some standard of success in any of the three areas, but I do think that having some level of balance in all three of these areas has given me a strong sense of accomplishment in my life.

While my aptitude lies more in the area of Productivity and Material Success has come as a result, I honestly wish that I had more innate creativity than I do. Being creative takes a lot of work for me and comes more by trial and error than by inspiration or some in-bred sense of aesthetic taste. I guess most people are inclined to want what they don't have, and it's certainly true for me in this regard.

I look at someone like Kaffe Fasset or Trisha Malcolm and see people who have seemingly taken something about which they are passionate, and parlayed that passionate creativity (along with an incredibly strong work ethic) into something materially successful, and I revere that quality in them.

I will always encourage the risk it takes for a creative person to embark on a path of material success because when it's successful, it can be a truly amazing thing.

New Ventures
In that light, there is an amazingly creative and energetic soul who has been busy promoting the fiber arts, and he's got a new concept going that I think is fantastic. Kyle William has begun a new series entitle Fiberguys (no, it's NOT a new laxative for men!), highlighting and encouraging the creative side of men in the knitting and fiber community. His first interview is with one of my favorite knitter/spinner guys, Aaron Bush. Suffice it to say, I will be following this series closely and will hopefully be able to find the up and coming, new and inspiring creative guys who I can try and help promote.

I'd also like to highlight a new independent yarn dyer in the U.K., Jon Dunn-Ballam, who is doing some amazing work. Franklin has also encouraged this newcomer with good reason, and I would like to try and further expose the creatively beautiful work he's been doing.

Current Knitting
Just so you know, Linen Stitch progresses at a snail's pace...especially when there are more than 500 stitches in each row.

But as you can see, I am progressing on the Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf, and I am loving each and every minute color combination this pattern and yarn are creating.

I also want to note that I have been considering going from the current US4 needle to a US5 or 6 for the second half of the scarf, hoping to get a nice soft ruffle as Barb Brown described in her comments. But I'm terrified that it won't come out how I envision it, and I'll have to rip it out and re-do it. I don't know if I could take the rejection.

2012-01-16T11:15:00.001-05:00

Work Ethic

Throughout my working life, I have often been surprised when someone else's reason for working is different than mine.

Not My Job
One of my least favorite expressions is "Not my job." Saying that to a boss is telling the boss that they're mistaken and you won't be doing what they asked. Saying it to a customer is just downright lazy and bad customer service. Saying it to a co-worker, usually is a way of expressing disdain or disrespect.

Either do what's requested of you, or find some other way of replying;
"Let me find someone that can help you with that."
"I'm not sure I can help you with that, do you mind waiting while I find Nick? He's the expert."
"I'm sorry, the only person that can help you with that is out right now. Can I have them contact you?"
"That role has been re-assigned to Julie, but I'd be glad to help out if she's not around."
"Jason's the person you need to speak to about that. Do you have his number?"

A helpful attitude, even if faked, is always better than "Not my job."

Current Knitting
For those of you who couldn't find me on Pinterest, my current project is going to be a Linen Stitch scarf made with multiple colorways of Koigu KPPPPPPM (you can NEVER have too many P's).

The scarf is knit lengthwise on hundreds and hundreds of stitches, changing colorways any time you feel like it.

I love the way the Linen Stitch blends all the colors in each Koigu colorway, and even in areas where the colors pool a little, they never do it too much to create a blotchy colored fabric. I also love how different sections of the scarf can look so different based on how the colors change in the yarn.

Normally, Koigu takes a US3 (3.25 mm) needle and I've gone up to a US4 (3.5 mm). I kind of wish I had gone up to a US5 (3.75 mm), but I'm not going to rip it all out now.

2012-01-11T15:58:00.000-05:00

2011 Blog Results
There's really on one result last year for my blog.

66 Meager Posts
Yes, in 365 days last year, I was only able to post blog entries on 66 of those days. All the other results are affected by this. Readership, number of other sites linking to mine, google hits, number of comments, etc., etc., etc.

Regardless, the blog results last year were pathetic, and I'm trying to make sure that I put a lot more effort goes into QueerJoe this year.

Even if I only post a short entry (like today's).

Current Knitting
With the completion of the nephew cardigan, I started a new project (instead of going back to works in progress, like the Hexapuff blanket).

Can you guess what it is? If you followed me on Pinterest, you'd know.

Actually, I was knitting in the newly remodeled Courtyard Marriott room, and I just liked all the colors of the little tableau, so I took a photo.

Here's a close up of what I'm making (if it helps).

Stay tuned if you see something promising developing here.

2012-01-09T20:11:00.000-05:00

Social Networking Overload

Okay...I'm on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ravelry, Blogger (duh!), Instagram, Pinterest and Yammer.

Extrovert Much?
I use Facebook to keep up with my family, friends and acquaintances. It's useful to get a sense about what's going on in their lives and to let them know what's going on in mine.

I use Twitter to express myself to a much broader audience of some friends, some acquaintances and some complete strangers. I sometimes feel like I'm just yelling my "tweets" into a large vortex of things that might possible be heard and/or acknowledged, and some that won't.

LinkedIn has proven useful to present myself to the professional world and help me keep networked for work.

Ravelry is a great way of documenting my knitting projects, finding patterns and organizing the annual Men's Knitting Retreat.

Blogger was my first social networking and I've been doing that for seven years and it's still my favorite method of expressing myself.

Instagram has become my iPhone app for updating Facebook, but I guess it's considered a social networking site unto itself.

Pinterest is a pretty/photographic way of storing internet favorites.

And Yammer I was coerced into joining for work and I have no idea what it is, what it does or why the hell I'm on it.

Current Knitting
I finished EVERYTHING on the nephew cardigan. and it will be mailed out Friday when I get home this week.

It came out very well, but I need to get it to him quickly so he can wear it while it's still cold enough and he hasn't outgrown it. I put in the close-up photo to show that I overlaid the thread I used to sew on the buttons with the green colored contrast yarn. I loved the buttons, and while the yarn color is subtle at best, I still was proud of it.

2012-01-05T22:14:00.002-05:00

Male Fiber Bonding

Like many Apple products, I didn't realize how much I needed the company of other male knitters until I found myself in their company.

Fiber Bonding Expedition
Over the New Year's weekend, I was lucky enough to get together with a couple of guys who I got the chance to know through the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat.

First, I must apologize for the photo. I stole it from Kirk's Facebook pages and modified it to remove to other people between them...suffice it to say, Kirk (on the right) does not have a gargantuan hand - that is someone else's completely proportional hand on Matt's shoulder. Second, I must apologize again for not having busted out the camera for a photo opportunity when we got together.

Be that as it may, we had a very nice visit and got the chance to head to my favorite local yarn store, Twist Knitting and Spinning.

I opted to pick up a bit more yarn.

I picked up more than enough Zara to make a striped sweater for me. I also found out my LYS carries Kauni, so I had to have some of that. Finally, I picked up the latest copy of Vogue Knitting so I could have patterns for a couple of things designed by friends in it.

2012-01-03T17:07:00.001-05:00

Christmas Joy

This Christmas and New Year had a lot of fiber-related activity. I can always find joy in that!

Gifts/Purchases
I may have mentioned that my niece taught herself to knit last year, and ended up knitting me a beautiful scarf. While this might seem like bringing coals to Newcastle, it was a very special surprise. She was quite funny about it...it's all garter because she doesn't know how to purl, and she wasn't sure how to weave in ends.

But overall, the scarf is beautiful. I forgot to snap a photo, so I'll post one later. She made it using a beautiful burgundy color Cashmerino (I recognized the yarn just by how it felt), and she had amazing persistence in doing a scarf that's probably 5 feet long.

Her mom (my sister-out-of-law) also surprised me with both a box of knitting books and magazines, but she also donated a sheep on my behalf to Heifer International.

A non-fiber-related gift from my sister was this cool set of hand-painted espresso mugs.

Now I don't have to actually grow a cheesy mustache. They match the Fiestaware dishes we use and I love the idea of a mustache on them! I can just drink espresso and show off whatever style I feel like sporting for the day.

Current Knitting and Spinning
Well, I didn't make either of my end-of-year deadlines.

I still have a bit of spinning to do to get the singles of Merino top finished (hopefully this coming weekend???). I also finished all but the button-hole band on the nephew cardigan.

I honestly forgot how long it takes to sew on buttons and tack down pocket linings. These little things take FOREVER.

2011-12-31T10:38:00.003-05:00

Holiday Cheer

When I first started this blog, I found it a lot of fun to be snarky and critical. As I've aged, I find it much more satisfying to be uplifting and supportive.

Amazing People
Over the years, I've participated in a number of on-line knitting forums, including the original KnitList, Yahoo Groups, Ravelry, MenWhoKnit.com, and now forums on Facebook. I have also been fortunate to have been involved in the creation of the Men's Knitting Retreats, and through it all, I have found some incredible whackos and people with phenomenally bad taste. I know how much fun it can be to point them out, and rag on them.

But I've also found an amazing community of people with creativity, talent and impeccable taste.

Those are the people I've decided to focus my energy on lately.

While I'm sure there are those readers who miss the harsh critiques of bad magazine designs and making fun of the insipid knitters who write ridiculously stupid things in public forums, the truth of the matter is, I find it much more satisfying to support, recognize and enjoy the company of the amazing among us.

Here is someone who's a master at uplifting people, plus I feel incredibly privileged to be on his list.

Current Knitting/Spinning
Looks like I will definitely finish the cardigan by the end of the year, but I'm not so sure about finishing the Optim Merino Top spinning.

Starting with the cardigan:

You'll see that I've finished the pocket sleeves, the pocket edging, sewing in the pocket linings and seaming up one side of the sweater. I've also gotten a few inches done on the button-band. I'm very pleased with how this turns out, and if it just happens to fit my nephew, it will be a huge success.

The spinning:

While this may look close to complete, I still have quite a bit of spinning to do to finish the second bobbin of singles. Hard to believe, right?

I'll keep you updated on both projects and let you know whether I met my deadlines for each project.

2011-12-27T10:20:00.004-05:00

Christmas Gift Fail

Okay...so I decided I needed to focus only on the cardigan for my nephew in the days before Christmas, or I would never get it done. It turned out to be futile.

The Moment of Realization
It occurred to me three days before Christmas, when I still had the rest of the right/front, two sleeves, a small pocket edging and a button-band to finish, that I wouldn't be able to give this cardigan as a Christmas gift while my nephew was here.

But I never stopped trying.

This shows that I've been able to finish the front and I have about 30 more rows on both sleeves before they're finished. I also did add the contrasting color to the pocket edging, which I think looks quite fine. I'm pretty certain I'll finish it before the new year.

During that knitting time, I completely ignored the spinning, so I've made no progress on that.

Oh well, I tried.

2011-12-20T16:55:00.004-05:00

Accustomed To Customs

Traveling between Canada and the United States on a weekly basis gets you used to the scrutiny of TSA and Customs & Immigration for both countries.

What's A Gel?
Did you realize peanut butter is considered a gel or paste, and you can't carry more than 4 ounces of it through TSA security (unless, of course it's digesting whilst you carry it).

Yes, so I find myself lowered to having to be a mule for Kraft Extra Creamy Peanut Butter.

It's a product of Canada, that isn't produced in the United States, and as I've mentioned before, it's far superior to any commercial peanut butter in the states. I ended up checking my suitcase this past trip home so that I could get this product safely home.

Five kilos should last me a few months.

Progress Report - Current Knitting/Spinning
My sister is in receipt of all three items I crochet/knit for her and she's pleased. When you finally see the non-traditional version of the one I finished for her daughter (my niece), please do not blame me. They weren't colors/textures/sequins/yarn I would have chosen (although, truth be told, I did choose a number of the yarns, but only under specific restrictions.

Regardless, she's happy, so I'm happy and I'll have photos after Christmas.

I have made some additional progress on the spinning as well.

You'll note, I only have a few valleys of singles to fill in, and I should be able to accomplish this before the end of the year.

Finally, the cardigan I started this week is moving along swimmingly.

I'm almost to the neck/shoulder shaping (about 22 inches of knitting is shown here). I'm somewhat following a Martin Storey pattern from the book Knitting For Him. Mostly, I'm stealing the idea of a contrasting color between the ribbing color and the main body color, which looks great in Martin's version, even though he uses black as that separating color. I'm usually not a big fan of black as a blending color, but it works on his version.

I also can't imagine why he didn't put the black on the pockets and possibly even on the button band. I'm pretty certain I will modify this on my version.

Think I'll be able to finish this by Christmas? I hope so!

2011-12-18T10:00:00.001-05:00

2011 - A Year of Completion

Well, at least it will be a year of fiber completion for me by the time the end of the year rolls around.

Checking Off The List
With Christmas presents all purchased, and the crochet/knitting project my sister asked me to do for her kids all done. I'm working on finishing up a couple more projects before the end of the year.

It's incredibly satisfying to have mailed off the niece/nephew project (I'll post a photo after the new year), and having finished all the Christmas shopping makes for a much more serene time off from work between now and the New Year. Just a couple more items to check off on the 2011 to-do list, and I will feel quite accomplished for the year.

Knitting/Crocheting/Spinning
The crochet projects are complete (although all of the items were partially crochet, and partially knit), and they are safely in the mail on their way to my sister. Overall, they came out well, although they definitely wouldn't have been projects I would have selected.

I'm also working on trying to finish spinning up the singles for the Optim Merino from Australia.

I should be able to get it all done by the end of the year, and hopefully I'll be able to ply it up as well. While I still have no idea what I'll do with the resulting yarn, I know I will be happy with the result.

The socks project I'm working on with yarn from Skeindelous is moving along well, and I will also try and get that finished before the end of the year, although, there's no urgency on finishing them.

Finally, I started a new project, that I'm hoping to have finished by Christmas, but I'm not sure if it will be.

This is the beginning of a cardigan that will be a kind of surprise gift...I hope. I quite a bit of work to do on it before Christmas, but it's a man's small, so I'm hopeful it will move along pretty quickly. I'm not a fast knitter, but I knit a lot. Wish me luck!

2011-12-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

Spicing Up My Work Life

I like practical jokes, especially when they're particularly clever. And especially when they're played on someone that thinks they're immune to them.

Timing Is Everything
Years ago, I worked with a young woman in New York City, Cindy, and she considered herself quite the sophisticate. She and I worked a lot with a group of expatriate employees that worked for the U.S. offices of the bank, but were working out of one of our overseas offices.

One day, she was being all snooty, so, out of the blue, I asked her if when she sent out a recent memo to her group of expatriates whether she had cc'ed the expatriates' spice. The conversation then went like this:

She said, "Spice?!?!...don't you mean spouses?"
With a sarcastic tone, I replied, "You really think the plural of spouse is 'spouses'?"
"It IS." She responded emphatically.
I laughed derisively at her and as luck would have it, Donna, a really straight-laced coworker of ours was walking by, and I said, "Donna, what's the plural of spouse?"

Without batting an eyelash, Donna says with a rather patronizing tone, as if any child knows this answer..."Spice."

I could have kissed her, because for the next hour, or so, Cindy was aghast that she had mistakenly believed that spouses was the plural of spouse.

When she finally called her father to tell him how bizarre it was that she had it wrong all these years, and he corrected her, she was a lot less snooty. At least for the day.

So, what's your favorite practical joke that either you've played, or someone has played on you?

Current Knitting
I didn't bring any of the current knitting with me to Edmonton, so I only worked a bit on the long-standing sock project.

At least I was able to finally turn the heel. I have a four hour trip today, so I'll try and get some knitting done.

I also got to wear the new cowl a couple of times this past week in Edmonton (it hasn't been REALLY cold yet), and it kept me nice and toasty. I really love how it came out.

2011-11-29T09:28:00.001-05:00

Gift Cards/Certificates

Am I the only one that feels uncomfortable using a gift certificate at a restaurant or coffee house or car wash, etc.?

Advice For Gift Card Recipients
I know I'm probably weird in this way, but I always feel strange whipping out a gift card or gift certificate to pay for some services or product I've just consumed or purchased.

I shouldn't. The person that gave it to me paid good money to the establishment to purchase the gift card, and when businesses sell gift cards, they are well aware that people will cash them in. And we always tip at restaurants on the full amount of the bill. Still yet, I feel uncomfortable using them.

Thaddeus has come up with a way of presenting gift cards to businesses in a way that makes me feel much better about using them. As soon as we walk into the business and are greeted by an employee, he says something like "Thanks...a good friend of ours gave us a $50 gift certificate, so we were excited to try your restaurant/coffee house/car wash, etc."

I don't know why, but presenting it this way, as thought it's been a successful way of promoting their business and at the same time telling them right up front we'll be using a gift card, seems to make it a lot less uncomfortable for me.

Current Knitting/Crocheting/Spinning
Yes, it's been a while, and in that time I've done all three of the above.

Knitting:
I've been able to finish the neck cowl using the three colors of Possum/Merino yarn.

I used two different edgings...the blue edging is a picot hemmed edge, and the green edging is a plain hemmed edging.

I got to use it this morning on my 11 block walk from the hotel to work in 25 degree weather.

All in all, it kept me quite toasty, and it was nice to know I could pull it up over my nose/mouth when it gets even colder up here in Canada.

Crocheting:
xx - content deleted - xx

Spinning:
Finally, there is an end in sight to the Optim Merino top I've been spinning.

A couple more weekends of spinning and I should have a boatload of merino yarn to play with. I'll keep you updated.

2011-11-14T14:41:00.001-05:00

Optical Illusion?

Is it my imagination, or do most opticians suck at their job?

Still Wearing Glasses
Even though I've had laser surgery that has made my vision close enough to perfect that I don't need corrective lenses to drive, I still do need glasses if I want to see well while reading, or doing a lot of computer work. Thaddeus also wears glasses since his laser surgery, so we find ourselves at the opticians about once or twice a year.

But I've been frequenting opticians long before now, when I used to need glasses and contact lenses to be able to see past my own nose.

My overall experience with opticians, is that they're careless, expensive and not very good at making glasses that actually work for people. Some person examples of bad opticians are:

Wrong Prescriptions - I can't tell you how many times I'd take receipt of a pair of glasses, or a box of contact lenses, and the prescription was wrong. Sometimes it was obvious an other times I'd only find out a year or two after wearing the wrong prescription, when an optometrist or other optician would measure the lenses.
Mis-Alignments - I have a pair of progressive lenses (computer glasses) that have the "sweet spot" in the wrong place, requiring me to tilt my head slightly more than I'd care to. Thaddeus had a pair of bifocals made that had the reading portion of the lens way too high.
Stupid Extras - I've had opticians recommend high-density plastic lenses that were completely inappropriate for the prescription and added nothing but cost. I've had crappy coatings to prevent scratches that cost a fortune that just didn't work.

And it doesn't seem to matter if the place is one of those cheapo chains, or a very expensive "boutique". Overall, the one thing I have found, is that most opticians places do get right, is they are helpful in picking out frames that work for me, and they are usually good at adjusting them so they fit my face well.

Is it just me?

Current Knitting/Spinning
I did some additional spinning of singles this weekend to try and finish the Optim Merino top I've been working on and I made some great progress.

But of course, there's still this dangling from the spinning wheel that is still left to do.

After all this spinning, I feel like Rumplestiltskin and the result should be pure gold!

I also started a new project that was borne of necessity. With so much of my time spent up in Edmonton, I realized I needed more than just a warm coat...I needed something to keep my neck and lower face warm sometimes...and it had to be easy to travel with (not bulky!).

I decided a nice warm possum around my neck would fit the bill perfectly.

Well, actually a neck-warmer made of merino and possum fur (Australian possum which is much softer and warmer than the rat-like American possum).

This is the New Zealand yarn I got from James (J.O.Y - Joy of Yarn) - even with shipping at the time, it was a good deal. I don't see it on his site any more, but he does have a DK possum yarn available. The possum gives this yarn a fuzz-halo that is incredibly soft and warm...maybe this cross-cut photo shows it a bit better.

I'm really just going to do a loose tube with a finished edge and wear it as a scarf that won't fall off. We'll see if the design works.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Karo writes, "I have a question about the hexapuff do you cast on 24 stitches total or 24 stitches on each needle?..."

I cast on a total of 24 stitches to start and end up with a total of 24 stitches (6 sts on each of 4 needles).

2011-11-07T16:02:00.001-05:00

Blogiversary!

Believe it or not, this Friday (11/11/11) will be my 9th Blogiversary.

Who Would Have Believed?
I honestly never expected I'd be able to keep a blog going for nine years. I guess I never realized what a gas-bag I am. I'm sure Thaddeus could have told you.

Each year, I typically miss the anniversary date when I first starting blogging as QueerJoe, so hopefully this Friday, I can provide a teary walk through the nine years that has been QueerJoe.

We'll see how that goes.

Current Knitting/Spinning
First of all, I got a lot of spinning done this past weekend on the Optim Merino from Australia.

It still seems endless, but I will definitely persevere, as the resulting yarn will be well worth the effort.

I also did some additional work on the hexa-puff blanket and even did a bit of knitting on the latest sock project.

I don't have photos of any of it to prove I've been working, but I did put together a video tutorial for how I'm making the hexa-puff blanket.

I hope it's coherent, and I also realized I misspoke in the video...I mentioned that I'm using US 2 needles, which I thought were 2.5mm, but I'm actually using 2.75mm needles.

2011-11-04T01:40:00.002-04:00

Moustaches!

One of the best thing I like about November is a great little event, renaming the month as Movember, encouraging men to grow a moustache for the month to help raise money and spread the word about prostate cancer. Mostly, I just like guys with moustaches.

Movember Men
I haven't heard much about it this year, but in prior years, many of the men who knit, let their razors sit idly by while their facial hair grew. Some set up fundraisers for their effort (?...lack of effort?), others just showed off their manly achievement.

Feel free to contact the Movember movement and make a contribution to prostate cancer research if you're so inclined.

Current Knitting
While I would love to be able to grow a moustache that would make me look something like this:

In all likelihood, any moustache attempt on my part would be pretty cheesy looking:

So this Movember, I opted for a knitted solution so I could participate in this activity.

I found the pattern on Ravelry and it's called "Dwarven Battle Bonnet" by Sally Pointer/Wicked Woollens.

I do have to say, the hat is incredibly warm, and I might just find a use for it on my cold morning walks to work in Edmonton.

Readers' Questions/Comments
Sandra asks, "Where did you get the pattern for the honeycomb blanket, I love it!" I also got another question from a reader about whether I somehow restrict the polyfill to each hexapuff, or whether it can move freely throughout each length of hexapuffs.

Actually, I don't have a pattern for this...I saw a video of a woman making something like this, and I just designed it on the fly. I basically do a standard toe-up, figure-eight cast-on of 24 stitches and increase like I would for a sock toe (four increases every other round) until I have finished the knit-plain round with 56 stitches. Then I start decreasing four stitches every other row until I'm back down to 24 stitches.

I do restrict the polyfill to only one hexapuff by starting the next hexapuff by putting half the stitches on each of two needles, and holding them parallel and together, I start my new yarn by using two double-pointed needles knitting the first stitch from the front needle onto the new front needle, and purling the first stitch from the back needle onto the new back needle (holding both new needles parallel while I do it.

I would be much easier to show you...I may try doing a video if anyone is interested.

2011-10-24T17:17:00.000-04:00

Go Tea Party!

Who would have ever believed I would be routing for the tea party and agreeing with them on so much?

Being Co-opted
The Tea Party started with some great ideas about getting government out of our personal affairs and getting rid of the corruption that is rampant in Washington.

Shortly thereafter, they had nut-cases like Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin tagging on their crazy agendas and soon, I found there was little or nothing in common I had with the whole movement.

Now, with the Occupy Wall Street movement promoting some of their most cherished ideas again, I'm starting to see commonalities again.

My biggest concern is that with the power of the almighty dollar, the movement will be taken over again, and big banks will rule the agenda. I'm hopeful that with a more condensed and powerful message, the Occupy Wall Street people has more likeliehood of success.

We shall see.

Rhinebeck 2011
I spent a few short hours at the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival last weekend.

Mostly, I wanted to try and see some of my friends there, and I also ended up buying a book and some yarn.

I met up mostly with some of the guys from the Men's Spring Knitting Retreats. Good friend Jeff and I bounced around the fairground checking out fiber and meeting up with some of the other guys.

As part of that, I also got a chance to purchase Alasdair's "Extreme Double-Knitting" book and have him sign it.

That's Jeff on the right and some other Alasdair fanatic between us. I don't usually do this, but I read Alasdair's book from cover to cover. He is so adept at this technique and his book is the most comprehensive resource on any specific resource that I've ever read. I will plan on designing a double-knitting project of my own.

The yarn I bought was irresistible...

This is a wool/mohair blend, so the base yarn is soft and beautiful to begin with, but the irresistible part was the dyeing that this dyer does. It's Persimmon Tree Farm yarns, and her work is spectacular. While I'm not sure what I'll do with this fantastic yarn, I am sure that I will be ordering more of this yarn (if I can figure out how to order yarn from her).

Current Knitting
I mostly worked on the honeycomb blanket this past weekend. I've finished over two rows of hexagons so far, but I don't have a photo to post.

In anticipation of a cold Winter in Edmonton, I have also started working on a fun little balaclava-like hat

2011-10-19T17:38:00.003-04:00

Occupy My Mind

With all the problems I see with our society today I often wonder if I was naive or ignorant when I was younger, or whether the current situation with government and finances is just a lot more dire than it used to be.

Occupy Wall Street
I love this movement. I'm thrilled to see that people are pissed off enough to camp out and protest and make clever signs.

The organizers of the movement have done an excellent job of distilling a very complex issue down to it's basic concepts...simply that corporate greed and government corruption are ruining this country and it won't be tolerated any more.

There was a recent GAO audit of the Federal Reserve, which clearly states that there is massive conflict of interest (if not outright corruption) within the ranks of the board members of the Fed.

Read this - GAO Finds Serious Conflicts at the Fed - Newsroom: Bernie Sanders - U.S. Senator for Vermont - and tell me it doesn't make your blood boil.

And with Republicans insisting we need LESS restrictions on banking and corporations, I'm surprised there aren't pitchfork-wielding citizens storming the House of Representatives.

I did send my congressman a terse, but well-phrased e-mail.

Current Knitting/Spinning
I've been working on a couple of things.I've done a bit more spinning of the Ultima Merino, because I can't wait to see how the resulting yarn turns out. The fiber is unlike anything I've ever spun before and I'm hopeful the yarn will be amazing.

I've also knit at least three stitches on my current sock project - I know...but in my defense, lately, when I'm not working, I'm sleeping or eating...even on my flights.

Finally, I have been enjoying some leisurely knitting of the honeycomb blanket when I'm home.

As you can see, I am doing continuous rows of hexagons instead of creating each one separately. This allows me to not have to keep doing figure-8 cast-ons and Kitchener stitch grafting at the top.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Thanks to everyone who either commented about missing my posts or sent me personal e-mails. Work has been brutal, but it seems to be getting better and I think I'll be able to both knit a bit more and blog more too.

2011-09-22T23:51:00.003-04:00

Rare Finds

Both fibery and fungal.

Odd Couple Interests
Many of you know that Thaddeus likes to forage for wild mushrooms and has a handful of different edible mushrooms he can identify without question as to their non-poisonous qualities.

I, on the other hand, am usually not a big fan of mushrooms.

There are, however a couple of mushrooms he finds that I do like. In the Spring he gets morels and in the late Summer, he finds my favorite mushroom of all.

Known as "Hen of the Woods", or "Rams Head", or maitake by the Japanese, the Latin name for this mushroom is Grifola Frondosa.

The flavor of this delicacy is a subtle woody flavor and it has a firmer texture than most mushrooms, and even when cooked for a while, it still maintains a snap to it. So far, Thaddeus has made a very rich beef stew with them and sauteed them in with some breakfast potatoes. Both of them were incredible dishes.

The Other Rare Find
There are some very talented independent yarn dyers that I've run into in my years of knitting, but I've absolutely fallen in love with John (Dye Guy) from the Fibre Garden's dye jobs.

I met up with John and his sister and niece in Edmonton a couple of weeks ago to pick up my latest acquisition from him.

The top one is Paca Toes sock yarn in the colourway "Coal and Ash". The middle one is probably my favorite, it's Lace Time in the colourway "Black Pine" and the bottom one is more Lace Time yarn in the colourway "Chameleon.They feel as luscious as they look.So two rare finds in my recent past.

Current Knitting
None...not even on my travel sock. Work has been a bit nuts.

2011-09-20T12:33:00.000-04:00

Am I a Ridiculous Cliche?

Don't you think it's necessary to ask yourself this question every once in a while? Unless of course you're okay with being a ridiculous cliche.

Am I the Carrie Bradshaw of Knit Bloggers?
I was sitting next to a young woman on the plane yesterday and was watching her type on her iPad what appeared to be a personal journal or a blog entry or dog forbid, an article for publication.

First of all, I know I shouldn't have been reading this private writing, but it really was like a train wreck that I couldn't take my eyes off of.

She started out ruminating about how she always knew she wanted a family and a house, but in her mind, the dream was to have all the husband and picket fence-like items too. She also wrote how she had destroyed that dream by having to raise her now 3 year old son by herself and she had another one on the way with no apparent husband.

I'm assuming it was some sort of immaculate conception.

She also wrote about how she love her son and he was the greatest thing that ever happened to her, and she couldn't imagine how she would be able to love the in-the-womb-daughter-to-be in anywhere near the same way. She also noted how her son drove her crazy sometimes.

She wrote in an incredibly sophomoric, idealistic way about all this, reminding me very much of the voice-over of Sarah Jessica Parker's character, Carrie Bradshaw as she typed her supposed articles of personal interest for her employer.Just like the Carrie Bradshaw articles, I found this young woman's journal/blog/article to be way too precious and contrived and pretentious and twee and self-centered and...well, you get the idea.

And then I thought perhaps some of my blog entries had many of the same qualities.

To be clear, I am not okay with being a ridiculous cliche, so I worked really hard on writing this blog entry.

Current Knitting/Spinning
Lots going on in my knitting world, although you'd never know if from my frequency of blogging lately.

First, I've done some additional work on the lace baby blanket from Heirloom Knitting, using Ted's handspun lace yarn.

I've never done a project like this where you knit the outer sections first, and pick up stitches on each side as you knit up the center panel. The subtle color variations in Ted's handspun is looking quite nice...almost like orange sherbet.

I've also started working on a funky fringe-like scarf.

I'm not sure I'll like the result, but it's enjoyable to knit, and if it turns out like I hope, I'll post particulars on how I made it in case others are interested.

I also started another project based on the viral YouTube video of a women obsessed with puffy hexagons that she's putting together in a blanket. I think it's called the beehive blanket...I refuse to post the video, but I actually liked the idea of what she was making, so I've started my own. I don't know how she's making hers, but I've come up with my own way. I'll post photos and an explanation of how I make mine once I've got enough hexagons knit up and put together to make it look like something.

Finally, I also got a bit of spinning done this past weekend.

I still have a long way to go on the second bobbin of singles, but I'm really looking forward to plying and using this yarn. I'm considering whether to try dyeing it myself or perhaps paying one of the amazing independent dyers I know to do it for me.

2011-09-05T11:31:00.000-04:00

Sky Clubs

With all the flying I do, I never thought I'd ever care to purchase a membership in any of the sky clubs.

Until Irene
Fortunately Irene turned out to be a minor inconvenience for me and most of the people I know. A postponed flight and some road detours (quite a few road detours in addition to the ones that were already in place), but that's about it.

However, Delta Airlines seemed to have taken Irene as an opportunity to take a three day weekend, because even though my Monday morning flight was cancelled and I was rescheduled on a flight the following day and bit later, Delta still couldn't get it together quickly enough to get our flight out in time for me to make my connecting flight in Minneapolis. I ended up arriving around noon, and the only flight I could take to Edmonton was at 10:00 pm. Delta gave me apologies and a $10 food voucher that I could spend at any food vendor in Minneapolis airport. Seemed kind of stingy for a 10 hour delay, so I asked them for a free day-pass to the Delta Sky Lounge.

Denied.

So, as I sat in an uncomfortable plastic molded seat next to a highly-prized electric outlet, using the for-pay wireless internet to try and get some work done, I debated where to spend my $10 food voucher.

I got two e-mails from co-workers. The first one suggested I find a nearby hotel room and work there for the day. The second one suggested I pay $50 for a day-pass in the Delta Sky Club.

I liked both ideas, but when I realized I could buy a whole year's worth of club membership for 70,000 frequent flier miles, I opted to do that. I figured I usually spend 1-2 hours each week in the Minneapolis airport, so now I'd get free internet, a clean bathroom and coffee/snacks if I wanted them. Plus, there were comfortable seats and plenty of electrical outlets.

It turned out to be a good decision, even if I only used it for the 10 hour delay. Then, as luck would have it, I got an e-mail the day I was flying home last week, announcing a brand spanking new Delta Sky Club in the Seattle aiport (where I spend about 3 hours each week). Looks like I'll get a lot of use out of this year's membership.

I'm typing this blog entry in a comfortable chair, drinking a free latte and using free internet.

Current Knitting/Spinning
I finished the final side-panel of the heirloom baby blanket and I've completed two repeats of the center section of the lace blanket. I have about 18 more to go. I'll try to get a decent photo that will show the pattern, but I don't hold out much hope until it's blocked.

I also finished the first bobbin of singles using the Optim Merino from Australia.

Clearly, I've also started the second bobbin. Given how long the first one took, I wanted to at least get something done on the second so I can get to knit something with this fiber in my lifetime.

2011-08-30T12:23:00.000-04:00

Earthquake, Hurricane, Tornado...

...what's next, pestilence?

Ahead of Schedule
I thought we had until 2012 before the end of the World.

Actually, I always thought that was an odd expression, "end of the world." It will more likely be the end of humanity, or perhaps end of the World as we know it. It's likely that long after we've made ourselves extinct, the World will go on for a good long time.

Humans are more like acne to the Earth, and it won't be long till the global version of Proativ takes us all out.

All in all, I've hardly been personally affected by the latest geological events on the East Coast. I was in Edmonton for the earthquake, and it didn't shake anything loose in my house while I was gone (although Thaddeus did notice it at work). Hurricane Irene had us without internet for a few hours and required us to reset clocks a couple of times when power went out for 5 seconds.
It also caused me to reschedule travel this week.

Other than a few minor inconveniences, the QueerJoe state of affairs is just fine.

Current Knitting/Spinning
I was hoping to be able to display lots of knitting and spinning on the blog today, but nothing is quite in a state where I can proudly display it.

I am just shy of finishing the fourth side-panel of the Heirloom baby blanket using Ted's handspun.

I've got about 10 more rows on the final side-panel and then I work the center panel. It's looking very nice, but like most lace, it isn't overly photogenic. Looks like I left an interesting rag or something on the chair and photographed it.

I am also just a bit shy of finishing the first bobbin of the Optim Merino from Australia.

I've done a lot of spinning the past few days, and I kept looking down, expecting to be at the end of the first bump, and I always seem to have more left to go than should be possible. It's also amazing to me that I'll be able to fit half a pound of singles on one bobbin. I mean, look at the comparison of processed fiber to the size of the bobbin.

And it's not like the fiber isn't pretty dense. Kind of amazing.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Someone asked what yarn/color I used in my Transatlantic Shawl (by Stephen West).

I honestly forget what purple yarn I used...I should look it up...I'm sure I documented it in Ravelry...oops...never added that project. It doesn't matter much anyway, the blue yarn was handspun and hand-dyed at last year's West Coast Men's Knitting Retreat when we go to dip our yarn in an indidgo bath, so it's not like it could be easily replicated...sorry.

2011-08-18T23:40:00.000-04:00

It's a Heel!

Despite having a week to accomplish something in my knitting world since the last time I blogged, I have been able to turn a heel, and just start ribbing.

Andersson Heel
Knitman Colin a while ago designed and described a heel for a toe-up sock that I find to be one of the most elegant ways of forming a heel that combines the best of a short-row heel, with the fit of a Dutch heel.

I've made some modifications, mostly in terms of how I make the increases so that they look very smooth (see the close up photo below). But overall, I love how easy this heel is to make and how good it looks and feels when I wear the sock.

Current Knitting
So here is a week's worth of work.

While the heel might look a little bunchy, it fits very well on most feet. It also requires no picking up of stitches along the side of the gusset. Even with this yarn which is a blend of Superwash Merino and Bamboo (which shows a lot of inconsistencies), the increases and the decreases/short rows look very uniform and neat.

2011-08-11T09:41:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to My Little Sister!

It's unfathomable that Andie (Andrea), the youngest sibling in my family has just turned 45.

She's As Amazing As She Looks
Mother of 3, wife of 1, the woman has got it all. She's also known as the favorite child of my mom's, but my mom denies it. We all know better.

She's a Reiki master, so feel free to send her some if you know how.

My favorite story about Andie from her childhood took place when she was about five.

Andie was the last of seven children, and while the rest of us were all born within a year or two of each other, Andie was born five years after her next older brother. When she was five, some of the older boys were teasing her and telling her she was an accident because she was born so late. We got her in a bit of a frenzy, so she finally went crying to my mom and asked her if she was an accident. My mom turned to all of us and said, "What do you mean...you were all accidents."

Nothing but honesty from a good Irish Catholic woman, and for some reason, the honest answer seemed to appease Andie (and the rest of us).

Current Knitting
I've had very little opportunity to knit since the weekend. Work is beyond hectic and I'm struggling just to get in enough time for sleeping and eating.

I did however begin a new sock project using some of the amazing sock yarn designed and dyed by a Colorado indie dyer, who goes by the pseudonym Skeindalous. This yarn was designed based on a photo I had on my blog of the Colorado Rockies back when I first signed up for the Rocky Mountain Retreat. She actually named it after me using the color name Rocky Mountain Joe (or something like that).

Her colors are truly amazing and the yarn is quite wonderful to work with. I will definitely be ordering more from her.

2011-08-08T15:12:00.001-04:00

Excuse me, are those real?

In a day and age when you can pretty much buy anything if you have enough money, technology has become extremely adept at synthesizing things that look very much like the real thing.

Merino Optim
When I first got a kilo of merino top from a friend of a friend in Australia, she specifically noted that I should check out more information on the Optimum Merino. I went to the web site to read up on it, but didn't see much information, so I just figured "Optimum" was just the grade of wool, and given how silky and luster-y this fiber was, I figured it was very high quality.

Then friend Ted (knitterguy Ted), who makes it his business to know a lot about spinning and fiber, told me I should read up more on "Optim" merino.

What I then found out, was that there is a process that makes this merino top so silky and light.

They actually take an already very fine fiber (and I mean fine gauge fiber - about 19 microns) and stretch it even finer (to about 16 microns) to give it the softness and luster of silk (or better). The gauge of the individual fiber actual makes it comparable to cashmere.

I'm very excited now to see how my plied Optimum Merino will turn out.

Current Knitting/Spinning
I focused more on spinning this weekend than knitting, although I did a bit of both.

The merino top is spinning up pretty finely, so it takes a bit of time to get the singles spun up.

This is probably about 5 ounces of fiber spun up, with about 12 more ounces to go. I'm glad to say, I'm enjoying every moment I get to work with this fiber.

I also did a bit of work on the Heirloom lace baby blanket, using Ted's hand-spindled yarn.

I don't have a photo, but I have finished three sides of the edging so far, and just minimally started the fourth (and last edge).

I'm looking forward to getting to the center (and final) section.

2011-08-01T09:45:00.000-04:00

Back To Work

I hate noting that I'm going on vacation in my blog, because it generates an enormous amount of comment-spam.

Vacation
Can you imagine someone has actually programmed some application that searches for the word vacation in blogs and posts advertisements in the comments? I guess they figure that you won't be home to delete them or mark them as spam.

Anyway, after the Men's Rocky Mountain Retreat, Thaddeus and I headed up to Martha's Vineyard to spend a week with his sister, brother-in-law and niece. It was a perfect vacation of resting and eating in a perfect location.

This view from their porch never gets old for me.

Suffice it to say, I felt very relaxed.

I also wanted to post some additional photos from the Men's Rocky Mountain Knitting Retreat...specifically the tour we got to go on of the Schacht Spindle factory. It was very nice and cool to watch how these complex machines get made.

Current Knitting
I decided I didn't want to bring something as complex as lace up to the beach, so I opted instead to do the Transatlantic neck scarf by Stephen West. I ended up finishing it this weekend.

This is a great pattern and can be ordered on Ravelry as a single pattern or part of WestKnits 2. I love a lot of his patterns in WestKnits 2, so I bought the book.

2011-07-28T09:01:00.000-04:00

Too Much To Write About!

Often times I stare at a blank blog posting page thinking about what to write about, but today, I have so much I'm overwhelmed! I guess it has been a while since I posted.

Start With...
I guess I'll start with the Men's Rocky Mountain Knitting Retreat.

The weekend before last, 20 guys gathered at the Sunshine Mountain Lodge on Thursday afternoon (actually, due to a cancelled flight, I arrived at about 7:00 pm) to share in the fraternity of knitting. It never ceases to amaze me how magical these retreats can be, and Frank and Brady did an amazing job of organizing this one. They were also overwhelmed by the generosity of fiber vendors who help sponsor these events. Companies like Skacel and The Stitchin' Den were generous enough to even help sponsor a few guys to attend the retreat. Here's a sense of the swag that we had the chance to win.

The lodge was beautiful (Jeff and I actually saw a bear on our drive to the lodge!), the cabins were very comfortable, the food was exceptional and the hosts were delightful.

The guys that are compelled to attend these events are never anything short of amazing. With the one common factor of a love for knitting/crocheting/spinning/weaving (is that one common factor?), the group comes together in a way that I've never seen in any other group gathering. The rest of this blog post are photos of the guys who attended.

Next post will be about a visit we made to the Schacht spindle factory...I'll post soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

2011-07-13T16:04:00.001-04:00

Suburban Life

I've never really been a city person. Even though I've worked in New York and Philadelphia and various other large cities, I never really found the pace and the "buzz" of a city very appealing.

City Benefits
Cities do offer somethings that I wish I had more access to. Ethnic restaurants, art-house theaters, public transportation, museums, etc. But for me, the offerings of a city environment don't offset the negatives (dirt, crime, homelessness, stress, etc.)

But rural life isn't for me either.

I couldn't imagine being 30 minutes away from a grocery store, or an hour from a movie theater where all I could see would be the latest blockbusters.

So, I choose suburbia. Living close enough to those things I consider enriching to my life while enjoying the serenity of a more rural area seems to be a good middle ground for me.

Rural Farm/Yarn Store Visit
John, one of the Canadian participants who attended the last Men's Spring Knitting Retreat, and also owns The Fibre Garden in Jordan Ontario (and is also an incredible dyer) was visiting family in Edmonton, and asked if I'd like to accompany him and his niece Heather to a tiny little town with an amazing fibre store and sheep farm.

I couldn't resist.

Here's the yarn store (Celeigh Wool):

And here's the owner Marg with John and sheepdog Tia:

And here are some of the sheep who also reside there:

And finally, my purchases:

Gorgeous BFL/Silk blend...heavenly!

A sweater's worth of natural colored Shetland wool from Celeigh Wools sheep.

And finally...a hand-loomed Alberta wool blanket that sells for such a cheap price, I couldn't pass it by!

Current Knitting
I've started on the ribbing of the Austermann Step sock and I'm still hopeful to get it finished in time for show & tell at the Men's Rocky Mountain Knitting Retreat.

We'll see.

2011-07-11T15:50:00.001-04:00

Time of The Monkey/Night of The Iguana

Have you ever had the experience with people find you more attractive than usual? You know, you're walking down the street, or checking out at the grocery store, and folks just give you that look that says, "Damn, you're looking fine!"

Proper Terminology
During this time of unusually strong attractiveness to others, there's usually one brief period of less than a day, where your attractiveness peaks, and people look at you with impure thoughts on their mind and you could clearly get laid with no problem whatsoever.

A friend of mine has told me about his gay friend's term for these cycles in life:

"Time of the Monkey" - The period of time, usually lasting 1-3 days when folks find you more attractive than usual, but wouldn't go out of their way to jump your bones unless you initiated it.

"Night of the Iguana" - A shorter period (usually a few hours) sometime during the Time of the Monkey, where people find you significantly more appealing, and clearly see you as a desirable sex partner.

I only mention this because I'm clearly now in the Time of the Monkey myself.

Current Knitting/Shopping
We're in a very busy period of work at the moment, requiring me to work through this past weekend, so knitting time has been rare. I'm still working on the Austermann Step sock, but have no photos to present to you.

I did however get the opportunity to visit a local Edmonton yarn store, Urban Knitters.

The store is located on Gateway Boulevard in Edmonton, Alberta, and I've seen the store each time I take a taxi from the airport into the officer downtown. I was glad to finally get there.

Owner Valerie, could not have been nicer, telling me the general philosophy of the store (natural fibres, high-end designs by both her and professional designers) and telling me about her background in textile design. It shows in her designs and store aesthetic. I meant to take a photo of it, but she has this great window display, a long, extremely large gauge, garter stitch fabric on huge needles hanging from the ceiling...in a subtle highlighter yellow color.

I ended up purchasing some Kureyon Sock, and some other very nice yarn, but I forget what I bought a the moment.

2011-07-04T11:08:00.000-04:00

An iPhone Post

Wanted to see if I could successfully post a blog entry using my iPhone.

At Least I'll Probably Be Less Verbose
Using the screen keypad on this thing can be painful. It does guess my words as I type, but with the fattest thumbs on the planet, it's still not easy to type.

Plus, I've never tried uploading photos using Blogger on my iPhone.

What an adventurous day!

Current Knitting/Spinning
I got to put in some weekend knitting time on the Heirloom lace baby blanket.

In addition to finishing up the second edge section, I'm about halfway through the third edge section. Once I finish the four edge sections, the main section should be pretty quick to knit.

I also couldn't hold myself back from working on the Optimum Merino from Australia.

I'm trying to make the best use of the fibre by doing a quasi worsted draw that keeps the individual fibers in line. The result so far is a beautiful, soft, even and smooth single. What a joy to spin.

Post Script
It turns out I couldn't attach a photo using the iPhone and I decided to just go on my computer to publish. Crappy iPhone!

2011-06-30T17:21:00.000-04:00

Hateful Greed

I can be self-serving sometimes, to the point of mild greed, but I will never understand the ridiculous amount of greed there is among the people running our largest companies.

Blatant Piggishness
Having worked in Human Resources all my career, I have seen decisions made by CEO's (and the boards they chair) that were so blatantly self-serving, that it was embarrassing beyond words.

Is it any wonder that CEO's, who can practically approve their own salaries and bonuses, have such bloated salaries that are so out of proportion with employee salaries that they should be ashamed of themselves? And that's just salaries and bonuses. I can't tell you how many times I had to help write descriptions of benefit plans that would increase overall compensation to executives through lower medical deductibles, or reducing taxes, or overriding government limits on benefits, etc., etc., etc. Or the CEO I worked for who relocated the entire administrative offices to a location 10 minutes drive from his house (and took relocation benefits for being transferred). To provide one example of the huge difference in how executives are treated compared to their employees, if the minimum wage in the U.S., which was $3.80 an hour in 1990, had grown at the same rate as CEO pay over the decade, it would now be $25.50 an hour, rather than the current $5.15 an hour.

I often wonder what would have happened if I had been more ambitious and aggressive in my career, and had attained an executive level position.

Would I have been caught up in the power-hungry greed, or would I have been more even-handed in the compensation and benefits shared among the employees that make the company function?

It's impossible to tell, but I could only hope that I would have had friends who would have given me an abrupt wake-up call.

Current Spinning
Okay...so I didn't have anything on the wheel for a little while, and then I got a note from Australian knitter, Kerry. He had a friend who had an extra kilo or so of incredibly fine merino top, and would Ted and I be interested in splitting it?

Uh...is that a trick question?

His friend Libby sent me two bumps of some of the nicest spinning fiber (I guess it's fibre, since it's Australian) I have ever seen or touched. Actually she sent me four bumps, but two of them were for Ted, and with the postal strike in Canada, she asked if I'd forward it on to him since I could bring it with me in my travels and post it from Canada.

This stuff is gorgeous. It has a luster like silk, and the individual fibres are so fine and light, they practically float.

Suffice it to say, I couldn't hold myself back from spinning the miraculous fibre, so I dropped all knitting projects this past weekend, and spun up about a half a spool of singles.

When double-plied, it will probably make some of the nicest fingering weight yarn I have ever produced (click on the photo to see that I've been able to find the "sweet spot" as far as the gauge of the single this fibre produces).

2011-06-28T15:44:00.000-04:00

Hello Readers...It's Your Mother

I hate to be a nag, but have you been to your dentist lately? Are you flossing regularly? Do you use a Sonicare toothbrush?

A Cautionary Tale
I used to floss irregularly (maybe once a week or in spurts for short periods). I brushed my teeth regularly. In the past few year, I've used a Sonicare toothbrush both at home and when I traveled. I used to go to the dentist about once a year for a cleaning. Each year I'd go, they'd tell me my teeth were in perfect shape.

Then, my dentist's practice was bought by one of those warehouse dentist chains that set up huge office spaces with cubicles instead of treatment offices. I went once, but hated the experience. Especially when I realized they were only interested in bilking my insurance company for as much money as they could by treating me for things I didn't need.

I stopped going to the dentist for a few years after that, until Thaddeus found an excellent dentist. And even though she wasn't accepting new patients, she was willing to take both Thaddeus and I on as new patients.

Coincidentally, I also started having a problem with one of my back molars. Timing seemed perfect.

Perhaps if I had gotten to see her six months previously, the timing would have been perfect.

As it turns out, I had quite a few dental problems which went completely undetected, requiring me to have the problem molar extracted.

Now, why do I write this?

Mostly, it's to alert folks (who don't already know) that there are some things I wish I had been doing about my dental care that I wasn't.

Here is my list of "motherly" dental tips:

1. See your dentist or periodontist at least once a year. It's important.
2. Learn how to brush your teeth correctly. I'm amazed that I didn't learn until I was over 50 years old.
3. Minimally floss every day.
4. Ideally, use inter-dental brushes

5. Gum disease (even rather serious gum disease) can be occurring without you know it at all, until it's too late to save a tooth.

I know most of you have heard at least some of this for years, but for some reason I didn't pay much heed to it, and I wish now that I had.

Current Knitting/Spinning
First off, I worked on both my Austermann Step project and my Heirloom Lace baby blanket project since my last blog entry.

I only have a photo of the sock project this week.

You'll note I finished the first sock, and started the second, and they will be relatively close to matching.

I don't have a lace photo because I didn't really get enough done since last blog entry to merit a photograph.

That's because I started a new spinning project over the weekend.

Stay tuned for more details on what I'm currently spinning.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Carol writes, "I have recurring dreams about losing my purse/wallet, too -- do you have similar ones?

I don't. Honestly I might, but I don't remember my dreams. Even when I wake up in the middle of one, the content fades from memory faster than I can take a mid-sleep gerontological pee (in the loo, not in Depends or anything).

2011-06-22T16:22:00.000-04:00

Pockets and Purses

Most guys I know store their necessities in pockets, and most women store them in purses. And some men, rely on their spouses or girlfriends to hold things too big for their pockets in the purse.

Murses
I can't imagine how guys get by without the concept of a purse. Where do they put things like aspirin, or band-aids, or hand moisturizer, or calculators.

While I can jam a bunch of things in my pocket, wallet, cell phone, money, gum, receipts, plane tickets, pens, etc., there are lots of things I have to rely on my laptop bag to carry. Knitting projects being one of the major components of that content.

What other options do guys have when it comes to schlepping all their immediately needed items?

Current Knitting
I switched from the Austermann Step sock to the Heirloom lace project and made some progress on the second side of the blanket.

The interesting and subtle color changes in this handspun lace yarn is make for some very interesting knitted fabric that I'm liking a lot. I will be very interested to see this full blanket all knitted up and see how all the color patterning works (or doesn't).

2011-06-20T03:44:00.005-04:00

Blog Tour: Knitting Knee-Highs, by Barb Brown
A few months ago, I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of long-time Blog Reader, Barb Brown. Here is the basic data about Barb's book:

Title: Knitting Knee-Highs: Sock Styles from Contemporary to Classic
Publisher: F&W Media
Retail Cost: US$22.99
Latest Amazon Price (at least for me): US$15.63 (32% savings)

{QueerJoe} Congratulations Barb! You are the first author to have a Blog Book Tour on QueerJoe!

{Crazy Lady Barb} Thanks for having me. Yours is one of the first blogs I followed, so it made sense to ask if you would take part.

{QueerJoe} First question: Why Knee Highs?

{Crazy Lady Barb} When I started designing, it was for small publications, with no yarn support. Socks were projects that didn’t involve a huge financial outlay, so I sort of started churning out sock designs. Bonnie Franz used a number of them in her newsletter Stranded. One day my husband said I should do my own book on socks.
It seemed to me there were a lot of books out there on the subject, and I needed a “hook” if a publisher was going to be interested in working with a relatively unknown designer.
Then, my DIL asked for a pair of knee-highs, and I went looking for a pattern book (the perfect excuse to buy a book!). There really wasn’t one, and the idea was born.

{QueerJoe} First impression is that I was particularly pleased with the production quality of your book. The photos, the layout the print quality, etc. Like a good knitting design, it all came together in a great looking book. Who do you blame for this?

{Crazy Lady Barb} The samples have to fit the models. If they don’t, get another model (the one thing I didn’t think of there was the height of many models. Their legs are much longer than “average”!)
The pictures must be about the socks
No cutesy wootsy poses
And they did the rest. I’ve had a lot of compliments on the lovely job they did, and I regularly forward them on to Jenn to pass to the right people. I sent them all Cadbury’s chocolate, too.

{QueerJoe} One of the only less-than-rave reviews I saw for your book had a critique that the models were dressed in an alluring way, with short skirts and low tops. Was this done purposefully to try and get adolescent straight boys knitting knee-highs (that's my one hard-hitting question!) or was there some other subversive reason for this?

{Crazy Lady Barb} Don’t you think that’s a little bit sexist, Joe? I wasn’t just thinking of straight boys… there are girls out there who think the pictures are a tad stimulating too.
And age discrimintory too. My husband, aka The Old Fart, says “the models set the socks off very nicely” and has his favourites that he keeps looking at. A couple of his buddies even bought the book.
That’s two other totally untapped markets.
Seriously though, I do wonder just how deep in the closet this woman is. It’s rather sad, really.

{QueerJoe} I often find that when I delve into a very specific topic on something, I learn unexpected things about that topic. What did you learn about knitting knee-highs that was most surprising?

{Crazy Lady Barb} I was surprised how much fun they are to design. I love designing socks because they are perfect for a new or slightly complex technique, and the accountant who lives deep inside me is very satisfied with the balance of the design from top to middle to bottom. The shaping in knee-highs adds a whole new dimension to this. There are so many ways to shape them. And so many decisions to make… have the shaping stand out, be hidden, front, sides, back, make it the focal point.
I was also surprised that I fall short of the “average leg length” by an inch or more. I did a number of surveys to get accurate numbers for today’s averages, and I was right there at the bottom. My picture of myself includes a height of around 6 foot, so it was shock to find out how short my legs are.

{QueerJoe} Finally, if you had to choose the most complex project in your book, which would it be?

{Crazy Lady Barb} I think it would be Flora. The carries or floats in this design are quite long, and require a bit of fiddling. But they are also my favourite design. I toyed with changing my original concept, but I liked them so much as they are, I decided not to.

I would like to mention my philosophy when it comes to designing though. If there is a hard way and an easy way, and the results are very similar, I’ll go with the easy way. I like my patterns to be user friendly, and achievable by anyone who can knit and purl. Most of the patterns in the book require basic skills and a bit of patience.

Thanks Barb...it gives your book even more depth to read your response to questions about it.

2011-06-16T08:10:00.000-04:00

You Will Be Aspinnerated!

Two new words came out of the most recent retreat (although I'm sure other groups have used them before us):

Aspinnerated - To become a spinner despite protestation of not wanting to ever spin (the combination of assimilated and spinner)

Lambkin - A first-time attendee of the retreats

Phil Meets Both Those Criteria
On of our members this year was both a newbie to the retreats and was aspinnerated as well.

Phil had some initial reservations about what the retreats were about, and we exchanged a few e-mails where he was satisfied that the retreat was something he would enjoy doing. Once there, he jumped into the community with passion, and helped make the event as amazing as it was.

He also got bit by the spinning bug. Just a few lessons and a door prize from Mindy at Puff The Magic Rabbit, and he was off. In fact, he's been in correspondence with Mindy, and she is sending him a photo of the goat that donated the prize he won (well, technically Mindy donated the prize...but the goat grew it!).

Mindy has always been a strong supporter of the retreats, both emotionally supportive as well as through her donations of fiber to the retreat. Her fiber is enough to aspinnerate anyone who's even considering taking up spinning.

Place an order for some of her Buttercup Meadow fiber or Fluff's Pumpkin Pie roving.

Ask Phil...you'll never be the same after.

Plus, the thing I love about ordering from people like Mindy, is that in addition to supporting an incredibly talented independent fiber vendor, you also help support the retreats.

Current Knitting

Well, I've never been exceedingly fast at knitting ribbing, and that's what I've been working on during the few minutes each night I have to knit before passing out.

Hopefully I'll get a bit more done on my flights home tonight.

2011-06-13T05:29:00.000-04:00

Being Connected

Whether trying to find a job, or vying for the nicer fleeces from a herd of sheep, it's always good to be well-connected.

How Connected Are You?
Overall, I don't consider myself very well networked in many areas of my life.

If I had to do a job search, for instance, I would have to scramble a bit to reach out to folks I have worked with in the past to see if they knew of anything available. Using standard channels of job search, such as Monster don't seem to be overly effective when searching for a very specific position such as the type of job I would normally look for.

All that being said, I was incredibly surprised when a knitting friend contacted me to let me know that he had over a pound of fine merino top that he thought I might be able to use. It was also unexpected when an old neighbor from my grade school days contacted me to see if I was interested in getting his mom's knitting stash, since he heard that I was a knitter. And then, someone at my local flea market let me know that he had a couple of needlepoint books he thought I might be interested in (I wasn't, but I appreciated that he was looking out for me).

Suffice it to say, I was extremely glad to feel connected in a knitting kind of way.

Current Knitting
I mentioned in my radio post on Friday (did you listen to the interview?...I thought it was very good) that I had made progress on both my two current knitting projects.

On the Austermann Step sock, I did finish turning the heel on the first sock (using a short-row heel), and I'm made my way up to the ribbing on the ankle.

I also wound off the ball of yarn and counted the total number of stripes in this 100 gram ball of yarn. I figured I could be precise as possible with using exactly half of the yarn on the first sock by knitting half the stripes..

I also finished the first side of the square Heirloom Knitting baby blanket and started the second side.

It's difficult to imagine that the second side (the knitting at the top of the photo) is 13 rows of knitting. I find this kind of knitting the most interesting of almost anything else I knit, and given the number of stitches I knit on this kind of project, it goes faster than most.

2011-06-09T16:30:00.000-04:00

My First Green Room Experience

Who would have believed that a college radio station in Troy, New York would have had a green room, where Ted, Wondermike and I waited nervously for our live radio interview.

The Last 2011 Retreat Entry
Yes, we were interviewed by Harry Faddis, co-host with my friend Stephen Sims on The Quest of Life.

Harry Faddis and Stephen Sims - Hosts of Quest of Life on WRPI Radio

Listen in, to hear the interview...I have to do the same, since I hardly heard a word I said since I was a bit nervous. It was live after all, and you know what a potty mouth I can be!

Current Knitting
I finished the first of four sides of the lace baby blanket from Heirloom Knitting, and I haven't quite gotten to the heel on the Austermann Step socks I'm knitting.

I'll update later with photos of both. Go listen!

2011-06-06T13:54:00.000-04:00

Latest Gems I Didn't Know About

I have recently come upon two amazing knitting books, that I either didn't know existed, or didn't realized how chock-full of great stuff they had.

Simply Socks and Weekend Knitting
Do you ever get to a point in your knitting where you just think "There couldn't possibly be anything more I care to learn about this craft?"

Yeah, me too...and then two amazing knit designers/authors blow my mind with information or patterns that I can't imagine I could have missed in my 25 or so years of knitting.

Why didn't anyone tell me?

Simple Socks: Plain and Fancy by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts is one of the most thoroughly researched documents on sock design and is one of those books every knitter should have in their library. With other books, like Knitting In The Old Way, I should have figured this book would be equally as important for a knitter, but it somehow escaped me.

The other book, Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick I guess isn't quite so much a "must have" in a knitter's library as it is a surprise. I was quite pleased to see a number of designs that I would actually make, including soft-boiled egg cozies...now I don't each soft-boiled eggs, but I may actually start given that I know I can make cute little sweaters for them! I also need to find myself a nice set of hard-boiled egg holders too I guess.

This last book, I found for a US$1 at my local flea market (in hardback), and it was well worth the price.

Current Knitting
I wove in all the ends of the last pair of socks, made progress on the new pair of socks and also started a new lace project!

Yes, quite a busy knitting weekend.

The new socks, if you'll remember, I hadn't even finished the toe of the first toe-up knit sock. Here's where I am now.

I love how this yarn looks like someone spattered dyes by accident on the various stripes...it gives the knitted fabric a really cool look.

I also started the Baby Blanket from Heirloom Knitting.

This is just one side of a mitered outer section of the blanket. If I've scanned the pattern correctly, I think I make four of these and then do the center panel and then the edging. I'm loving working with this color too...it's slightly mottled, but not enough to interrupt the stitch/lace patterning.

2011-06-02T10:17:00.000-04:00

Sock Accomplis!

Given how long it takes for me to do ribbing...especially 1x1 ribbing...I wasn't sure I'd finish the Skacel socks in time for a blog before I headed home for the week.

I Almost Wore Them Today!
After trying them on for the blog photos, I considered wearing them to work.

A couple things interfered with that plan. Mainly, I have quite a few ends to weave in and I wanted to make sure some of my temporary joins didn't loosen up more than I wanted. Plus, the yarn ends inside the sock might have gotten irritating, especially since I end up wearing them for about 23 hours on travel days (yes, I put on clothes at about 7:00 am Mountain time and take them off the following morning at about 7:30 am Eastern time.

Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to wearing the socks...I just love how they look and feel.

Current Knitting
I had to immediately cast on with my latest Skacel yarn, the Austermann Step in this great blue, red, green colorway.

If it's not obvious from the mini-photo, I'm doing another pair of toe-up socks. I started with the figure-8 cast-on, and I have to say that tightening up those initial stitches was incredibly easy. I'm not sure if it's the yarn, or that I'm just getting better at figuring out which leg of a stitch to pull to snug up the stitches.

2011-05-31T13:46:00.000-04:00

The Good 'ole Days

Remember when blogs could allow you to write anything, no matter how controversial or personal?

Gone Are The Days...
When I first started writing QueerJoe, I was a very different person and had quite a few very different priorities.

I often wrote blistering critiques of magazine and book designs (or designers in general) and I had no qualms about taking on ignorant viewpoints about politics, queer issues or personal pet-peeves.

I was also a lot more anonymous back then. People really didn't know who I was in real life, so I could afford to express my opinions, even when they were offensive.

A number of different factors have taken away some of that anonymity (Facebook, organizing the Men's Knitting Retreat, Rhinebeck, etc.), and more and more people actually know who I am, and might care a LOT about when I say something offensive. In recent months, I even met someone on my current project who knew about my blog.

I have to say, that when family, co-workers, friends, donors for the Men's Knitting Retreats, designers who I know personally, etc. are comprising the group of people who read this blog, it has definitely affected the things I write.

I thought I would hate feeling restricted in this way, but I'm finding it more satisfying to know that I can write a blog to such a complex audience.

Current Knitting
I finished weaving in all the ends in the Asherton Baby Blanket, and now I just need to wash it and block it. I think I'll wash and block both baby blankets at the same time and get them packed up and ready to send off to the expecting parents.

I also went back to an old sock project for this week's travels.

Remember these? I frogged the top of the first finished sock and re-finished it (so I could use up as much yarn as possible and get the longest cuff), and now I just have to finish up the other one.

I also like the Skacel sock yarns so much, it's practically all I knit socks with anymore. If I finish up my current socks, I'll start work on this new yarn, Skacel's Austermann Step sock yarn.

I LOVE this colorway, and I just noticed that one of the vendors who donated this year to the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat...Woolbearers in Mt. Holly, NJ, carries the Austermann Step yarn, although they don't have it in their on-line store. I may have to call them to see what colors they carry!

Readers' Comments/Questions
Leslie Sharr writes, "Pulling something like the Retreats off is very hard work, Joe. Do you think you'll do it again or will you request more assistance or hand it off to someone?"

Actually, coordinating the retreats has become relatively easy. Once we organized the first one, we could re-use a lot of the forms and web pages and ideas for subsequent ones. And honestly, these retreats are a lot easier than others, in that the guys who come to them are all fully committed to making them a success, as opposed to some similar events I've been to where attendees are more expecting to have things done to them or for them...if that makes sense.

All that being said, I am trying to set up the structure and the organization of the events in such a way that someone else could take it on if they wanted to, but I will definitely be organizing next year's event.

2011-05-25T16:00:00.000-04:00

What Actually Happens At a Men's Knitting Retreat?

In preparing for the radio interview about Men's Knitting Retreats, I was asked the question, "What actually happens at the retreat?"

Two Answers
I found it difficult to answer this question.

While I could certainly describe the logistics and the agenda, I honestly feel that what really happens at the retreat is that we establish relatively immediate community...and a close community at that.

But first the logistics/agenda description:

There is registration at Easton's front desk and then we hang out in a couple of areas in the main lodge, knitting, saying hi to old friends, introducing ourselves to new ones, etc.
Dinner and then the official kick-off where we meet in the main retreat room and talk about ground rules, give-away bags and contents, the door-prizes, the general philosophy of the retreat, and then do a little get-to-know-you exercise (very little this year). Then more informal knitting/socializing.
Sleep/breakfast and then the Friday morning workshops. Lunch, and then the Friday afternoon road trip to a sheep farm or a workshop.
Dinner and then the "Show & Tell" time where everyone gets to show off completed projects to both the retreaters and the volunteers/staff members who care to watch and/or participate (we had one staffer show off a crochet poncho he had made).
Sleep, breakfast and then Saturday morning workshops. Lunch, afternoon workshops.
Dinner and awarding of door prizes and then the slumber party/movie night where pajamas and other night wear is encouraged while we sit in the main retreat room and project a movie on sort-of-screen. We watched Hairspray (the original) and Waiting For Guffman this year.
Sleep, breakfast and then awarding "Best In Show" prize and announce a lottery winner this year. Then we have a feedback/planning session for the next year.
Lunch/check out and depart (so sad)

In between all this, there is lots of informal knitting, chatting and lots of laughing. There's a big hammock for relaxing, a hot tub, massage therapist appointments, a nightly wood-burning sauna and plenty of places to hike.

But as I started with, most of the guys don't really care about the particulars of the retreat...they really care about how incredibly loving and supportive the other guys are and how welcome they feel as a member of their own people. That part is MUCH more powerful than any workshop or massage.

Here are a bunch of photos that will help demonstrate that (hopefully it's obvious!).

Current Knitting
I have finished all the knitting on the second baby blanket and now I have about a dozen ends to weave in and blocking to be done.

I have no idea what I'll be working on next, but minimally, I will probably start a pair of socks.

2011-05-23T09:38:00.000-04:00

QueerJoe Loves Men

Specifically, QueerJoe loves the knitting men that show up each year to enjoy the Men's Knitting Retreats.

Another Magical Retreat
Each year, for the last four years, an unlikely group of guys has shown up at the Easton Mountain Retreat Center, quickly bonding over the commonality of love for all things fiber.

The magic happened again this year, and even though we had a lot of guys that had never been to the retreat, the exuberance was almost immediate.

Here are just a few photos from the retreat...I'll post some additional photos of the guys sometime later this week.

Current Knitting
As anyone who's ever been with me at a retreat, they'll know that I rarely knit while I'm there.

I know, I know, it seems antithetical, but I honestly don't go to the retreat so I can knit...I go so I can hang out with the guys.

So, I'm still working on finishing the second baby blanket...hopefully I'll have the completed photo next blog entry, but I'm not promising anything.

Readers' Comments/Questions
oh kiki writes, "I think the blanket is turning out beautifully. Great choice of yarn - it suits the pattern well. One question: did you put extra stitches when you changed colors? "

No, not really. The scarf pattern has two stitches of garter on each side, and I actually used some garter on the inside stitches, but not for color changing. I could have easily not used them at all except on the outside.

2011-05-11T22:41:00.000-04:00

Effects of eReaders

A number of people who ask me how I like my eReader (Nook from Barnes & Noble), feel compelled to tell me that they prefer the feel of holding a book and turning pages.

Do I Sound Like A Salesperson?
I always feel as if I'm expected to defend eReading, and that my apprehensive "customer" is expecting me to do the hard sell on it.

I don't feel the need to do so. If you want to know what I like about my Nook, I can tell you (it's convenient for travel, I can buy a book the moment I hear about it, ebooks in general are cheaper to purchase, I can lend books to friends, it saves my place automatically, and overall, I read a lot more). But if you don't like the idea of an eReader, I am perfectly okay with you not getting one.

I'd be interested to find out if other eReader owners experience this same kind of phenomenon.

Suffice it to say, I have read a few books lately that I absolutely LOVED. I will name three, in case folks are looking for a book recommendation from someone with my aesthetic taste:

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese

Breakfast With Buddha by Roland Merullo

Until I Find You by John Irving

Current Knitting
So I got some of the top and bottom edging done on the Asherton Baby Blanket, which makes me love it even more.

Since I didn't really feel like measuring the blanket on the airplane, so I could figure out how many stitches I wanted on the side edgings, I opted to just work on weaving in ends. I'll work more on the edgings for the remainder of the week.

2011-05-09T16:48:00.000-04:00

Live Radio

Can they really trust what will come out of my mouth during a live interview about knitting?

Listen In!
Well, it turns out that the Radio Show, "Quest of Life" will be doing a live interview with me, Ted and WonderMike about the men's knitting retreat, knitting and other related topics.

"Quest of Life" is a radio show broadcast each Friday at noon on RPI radio station in Troy, New York. The show is co-hosted by Harry Faddis and a good friend of mine, Stephen Sims. Harry is part of the staff of Easton Mountain, where we host the annual Men's Spring Knitting Retreat. And Stephen is a friend I met while I was working up in the Albany, NY area for a number of years. Harry handles the interviews, and Stephen handles the music.

The show is streamed live each week, and also recorded and stored as a downloadable podcast, so even if you live in New Zealand, you can still get to hear three of the men's knitting retreat coordinators talk about the retreat, knitting and life in general.

Current Knitting
With all the preparations for the upcoming retreat and the craziness at work, I haven't had a lot of time to knit. Even my plane time is used for mostly catching up on sleep!

I have however almost completed the main body of the Asherton Baby Blanket.

Once I finish up the last row of blocks, I'll knit a simple garter stitch border, using different colors of yarn.

The blanket so far has turned out soft, warm, beautiful, machine washable, and reversible. I couldn't think of anything else I'd want built in to a baby blanket.

Readers' Comments/Questions

Thanks everyone for their comments on the crochet baby blanket edging.

I've decided that Thaddeus is right (hard to type those words again!), and I will use the plain/non-shell edging on the blanket. For the most part, that just means ripping out what I did, weaving in ends and washing/blocking the blanket.

I should be able to get it done in time for show & tell at the Men's Knitting Retreat next week.

2011-05-01T15:51:00.000-04:00

Knitting or Blogging

With my current work schedule and all the stuff with putting together this year's Men's Spring Knitting Retreat (which is going to be AWESOME!), I felt that I could either knit, or blog about no knitting.

I Chose To Knit
It appears that Ted, Wondermike and I will be doing a live radio interview on the Friday of the retreat. Once it's fully confirmed, I'll provide all the details (because you'll be able to stream the show/interview live if you care to listen), but in preparation for the interview, we had to really delve into what is the purpose of the men's knitting retreats.

I was reminded again about the odd ways that men are perceived when they knit in publish whilst knitting on the plane this past week (see baby blanket below). I had one of three typical reactions:

1. Completely Ignored - Folks would pretend I wasn't doing anything more interesting than reading the in-flight magazine.
2. Disdained - My seat mate was a somewhat redneck sort of guy who actually grunted a bit in disgust when he realized what I was doing right next to him (is knitting contagious?)
3. Fawned over - One of the flight attendants went on and on about how amazing it was that I knit (and I wasn't doing it with any other appendage than my hands, despite the fact that I'm male).

Being with 45 guys in a few weeks, just enjoying knitting without any other energy spent on dealing with the fallout of knitting in public will be a complete joy.

I can't wait to feel normal(ish).

Current Knitting/Crocheting
First of all, I still haven't finished the crochet baby blanket...or maybe I have...I need help in deciding.

I completed a rather plain, wide border, using varying width of random striping of the colors in the blanket, and then I started to do a simple 5 double-crochet shell edging. When I was about halfway through with the final edging, Thaddeus asked me why I was putting such an old-fashion border on such a contemporary looking baby blanket. I value is aesthetic eye in these matters, but I still thought I'd ask readers which they prefer...a plain, squared off border, or a shell border.

Leave a comment as to which you prefer (by the way, the color of the blank is much more like the first photo than the second).

I also got some additional work done on the knitted baby blanket, using the Asherton Scarf pattern as the stitch pattern.

I love this blanket...love the colors, love the fabric and love that it's reversible.

Finally, I needed a quick, but elegant second birthday gift for a friend who's birthday was this past week. I was able to knit up a beautiful Neck Warmer (Crafty Andy's Urbanite Neck Warmer pattern).

I also got to use some of Regina's Nature Buttons. The light-weight ceramic she uses was perfect on this alpaca fabric and her glaze colors are incredibly rich and perfect on knitted items.

My friend tried it on, and she looked MUCH better than I do in it and she loved it.

2011-04-22T00:49:00.000-04:00

Please Rise...

...and welcome the President of the United States, Donald John Trump.

He's Got Everything You Need
Instead of allowing the cream to rise to the top, the U.S. presidential election process allows for some of the dregs to rise up as well.

It's virtually impossible to get elected the President of the United States without two important components...a huge ego and a way of readily raising millions and millions of dollars.

The ego part is obvious...the job sucks the life out of its incumbents and requires them and their families to live under the constant protection of the secret services. I can't imagine it's such a great lifestyle. Anyone that's willing to go through all the mudslinging and vitriol it takes to become president, has to really believe that they can leave a legacy that will allow them to live on in history.

The dollars part is rather obvious.

Since Donald Trump has both those characteristics, I say he's a perfect candidate for president.

Plus it would put some level of finality on the thoughts lately that our country has been exposed to way too much lead paint or pesticides in the last century, and we've created an entire population of dimwits.

Current Crocheting
It doesn't look like it, but I've actually gotten quite a bit of additional border done on the crochet baby blanket.

Plus, I've been able to take a couple of decent photos of the project to give you a sense about what it really looks like.

I'm just going to do a couple more rounds and then a simple shell border in the orange color.

2011-04-18T09:31:00.000-04:00

Have You Been Saved?

Does "faith" preclude questioning? Can the truly faithful examine their faith, or is that too doubtful to a be a true follower? Can someone be more Christian/Jewish/Muslim/Atheist/Buddhist than someone else?

What is Faith?
I guess faith comes down to putting a stake in the ground and saying "This is what I believe." I honestly don't think anyone has ever fully accepted any faith without some conscious decision, although I do think there are a lot of blind followers of various faiths that once they've made a decision, now accept an enormous amount of belief based on what their minister/Mullah/rabbi/congregation tell them.

I was sitting in front of two men on a plane a week or two ago, and the conversation went something like this:

Pasty White Guy 1: "What are you reading?"
Pastier White Guy 2: "I'll tell you more about it in a week or two when I've been able to get past the first chapter."
Pasty White Guy 1: "What's the name of the book?"
Pastier White Guy 2: "It's Christian literature...do you know what that is?"
Pasty White Guy 1: "Sure, I read it often."
Pastier White Guy 2: "So, you consider yourself a Christian?"
Pasty White Guy 1: "Yes."
Pastier White Guy 2: "For how long?"
Pasty White Guy 1: "Since January 14, 1983. My wife brought me to Christ and our son has since been saved as well, but our daughter is still pretty troubled."
Pastier White Guy 2: "Both my children have accepted Jesus."

The conversation went on to delve into which denomination and quizzing each other on the meaning of various bible passages. As with many manly conversations, it became one with more than a little bit of competition as to who was a better christian.

Overall, I thought the conversation was rather odd, but it got me to thinking about how some folks think about their faith, and how the possibility of examining faith has become almost unthinkable for some.

Suffice it to say, I think about it often.

Current Crocheting
I think I can confidently say that the crochet baby blanket has been "saved".

You may not realize it from my crappy iPhone photograph, but the overall blanket is starting to look quite fine. It really only needed a bit more size and Katheryn's comment was spot-on, in that starting the border with the orangey color seemed to work quite well.

2011-04-12T21:23:00.000-04:00

Both Sides Now

I've always related to the Joni Mitchell song...I'm either indecisive or I'm open-minded...I could go either way on it.

Being a Chameleon...Phony or Adaptive?
I've always had a talent for fitting into my environment, and I often start taking on characteristics of the way I perceive the locals to be.

Is this being a phony or is it a skill that should be applauded?

Often times, I think it's a bit of both.

I certainly have a desire to fit in and be liked. I would never compromise certain core beliefs to do so, but I would definitely go out of my way to make others comfortable around me by trying to be more like them in certain ways.

For instance, if someone I worked with on a project acted in a way that was ignorant about my sexual orientation, but didn't intend to be hurtful, I could easily ignore it, joke about it or try to be educational, depending on what I thought the person might be open to. However, if a person said something that I considered to be hateful our hurtful about the same topic, I would definitely make an issue out of it, even if it possibly meant damaging any chance of getting along later.

Whishy-washy is a way of being that I might not recommend highly, but it seems to work for me.

Current Knitting/Crocheting
In almost a week since the last photos of the Asherton Baby Blanket, I haven't made a whole lot of progress.

I'm almost finished with the second row of color-blocks, and I was going to wait until I had started the third before blogging, but I had to get a post out there this week.

I also brought the crochet baby blanket with me to see if I could possibly make this into something I like.

You can see the blue edging I started at the bottom...it's just not working. You can also get a sense of the size of the blanket based on the Canadian $5 bill (see, I adapt so quickly!) so I'll try out some other options and see whether I can salvage this project.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Leslie writes, "What I love about the baby blanket pattern is that it is reversible...what yarn are you using. I love the colors, soft but not pastel!"

It's Debbie Bliss Cashmerino...that's what I liked about the colors too...vibrant, but still child-like.

2011-04-06T09:37:00.000-04:00

Canada...No Longer The Safe Haven

You can't imagine the number of times I've said, "If "such and such" happens, I'll move to Canada."

The Gun Lobby Is Insidious
Now that the gun lobby has scared U.S. politicians into avoiding gun control in the U.S. at all costs, it's trying to do the same thing in Canada. The Canadian Prime Minister, Harper, has vowed to get rid of their country's gun registry if the next election gives him enough conservative support in Parliament. In the interim, he's ignoring the law for anyone that hasn't complied with it, by extending an amnesty for people who haven't registered their long guns.

Why in the name of all that's sacred, would Canadians want the gun situation in their country to be like it is here in the states? Why is it so objectionable to have to register your long guns?

Selling out his country's safe record on gun control, and the safety of it's citizens so he can try and garner conservative votes is nothing short of reprehensible.

The people that support guns in the U.S. basically say the honest people need guns to defend themselves from the dishonest people who have them.

If Canada can keep their dishonest citizens from getting guns to begin with, they'll be WAY ahead of the states in keeping their countrymen safe.

Besides, where the hell will I move if they ever elect Sarah Palin as president in this country?

Current Knitting
I think I've done a total of 4 rows of knitting since the last blog entry, but here's a photograph anyway.

For folks who have asked about the pattern for this blanket, it's actually a pattern for a scarf that I've modified because I thought it would make a great baby blanket. The pattern is free on Ravelry, and it's called the Asherton Scarf on SMARIEK Knits Blog.

2011-04-04T10:07:00.000-04:00

A Special Year

Does anyone know why this should be a special birthday and year for me?

QueerJoe Trivia
I can't imagine anyone would actually remember this little OCD tidbit factoid about me. But a while ago, in an obscure bloge entry, I wrote about numerology, and how I consider the numerological 7 to be a good omen for me.

For those of you who don't know anything about numerology, you basically take any number, or date...or in this case age, and add up all the digits. If the resulting sum is more than one digit, you add up all those digits, and continue to do that until the sum is a one digit number. So, for instance, if you take my birthday, it would result in a numerological 5:

04/04/1959 - 0+4+0+4+1+9+5+9 = 32 and 3+2=5

Most numerologists (are there such people?) would say that numerological 5's should be more lucky for me, but I've always felt luckier with 7's.

Since today I'm 52 years old, I consider this to be a lucky year.

Crazy I know, but I guess it's no crazier than some of the religious mysticism that I grew up with.

So, I celebrate my birthday so far by having a quad-shot, grande, soy latte in the Minneapolis airport, halfway en route back up to Edmonton today.

We'll see what else the day brings.

Current Crochet/Knitting
So, I finished the crocheted main section of the blue, green and red baby blanket, and I've tried three different edgings on it so far, and I hate them all. In fact, I don't really like the blanket very much at all.

I need to either come up with an edging that makes the blanket a decent size and makes it look interesting, or I may just rip it out and do something completely different.

I did pick up the other knitted baby blanket and did some additional work on that.

I'm liking this blanket quite a bit, but find that working on three colors on a plane can be cumbersome. Two weeks ago, I dropped a ball of yarn at the end of the moving walkway in the Minneapolis airport and it dragged behind me for about 10 feet before somone got my attention to pick it up.

Readers' Comments/Questions
NC Knitter Beaer writes, "Well, I liked the previous blanket. And I like this one. Which does Nico prefer?"

He's indifferent to both...and he hasn't weighed in too strongly on the knit one either. Fickle cat...we sometimes call him Nicolas and when he gets like this, we call him Fickolas.

2011-03-30T11:27:00.000-04:00

Does Anyone Really Like Drinking Water?

Every once in a while, after exercising or being out on a hot day, a sip or two of water seems satisfying, but other than those times, I have to FORCE myself to drink the recommended amount of water each day.

Recommended Water Intake
The amount of water you should drink each day varies based on a lot of factors, such as how big you are, how active you are, the climate where you live, etc. But for all intents and purposes, most sources agree you should drink about 64 ounces of fluid each day...EACH DAY!

I'm lucky if I can gag down 8 ounces a day.

I do try and get my water in ways I find less distasteful. I will drink seltzer water or fresh brewed iced tea, but even supplementing my water intake with those methods, I'm shocked I'm not completely dehydrated based on the medical recommendations.

Current Crocheting
I am past the halfway point, and each row is getting faster and faster. I mentioned in the video how the color changes make it easier to progress through a project, but I mispoke...I said it made me want to get to the next stitch, but I meant get to the next color section.

Now I'm moving right along, and should have the blanket finished this weekend. I've gotten a lot of mixed reviews of people liking this blanket better and others disappointed that I ripped out a much nicer blanket.

Oh well, as long as the recipient likes it, that's all I care about.

2011-03-28T09:58:00.000-04:00

Big Dreams

When Knitterguy Ted first came up with the idea of a men's knitting retreat, the vision was simple...bring guys together in a beautiful place where they could knit, crochet, spin, teach, etc.

Expanding Dreams
Never in our most vivid imagination did Ted or I think that this little dream would be anything exceptional, and yet, the way that these retreats have taken off has been nothing short of amazing.

As we prepare for the fourth Men's Spring Knitting Retreat in upstate New York, the men's retreats have expanded and taken off into other areas of the World including San Francisco, Michigan, Seattle, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The latest new venue for one of these incredible retreats is the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

And I am more than thrilled to be able to take part in this newest retreat.

Frank and Brady have organized this latest retreat, slated for July of this year in Sunshine Mountain Lodge in Allenspark, CO (South of Estes Park for any of you familiar with the area.)

I can't imagine a nicer place to be with a bunch of great guys glorying in all things fiber.

I've never been to the Rocky Mountains before and I am stoked about going there for this event.

For registration information or to register for the event, Brady is taking e-mails at mrmkr2011@gmail.com. Brady will send out a PayPal invoice to secure your spot. There is a limited number of spaces (32 max!) and they've already filled about half the spots.

Current Crocheting/Knitting
As many of you witnessed via video, I did end up ripping out the crochet baby blanket, and started it anew (almost anew...a little bit of a-old was left after ripping out most of it).

Two things that I'm happy about with the latest effort...I MUCH prefer the aesthetic of this blanket better than the first attempt...at least for a baby. Second, I had made a minor, hard-to-detect error in the blanket that is now gone!

I haven't done any more work on the other baby blanket, but I will (I have two babies to make blankets for).

Readers' Comments/Questions,
Beverly from NJ writes, "Loved the video! Have you lost weight since Rhinebeck? You look great!"

Actually, I have lost a few pounds, but not many. I think I just hit one of those weights where it shows in my face a bit. Thanks for noticing!

Stashhaus writes, "Thanks for the video. Can we now have the chicken and mashed potatoes recipes? Looks de-lish!"

lol...it was quite good. I'd give you the "recipe" for both, but honestly I think frying chicken requires a certain gene or something...Thaddeus can make ANYTHING that requires frying and make it taste great. I know that for the chicken, he uses Kosher chicken or brined chicken, always thighs with bone-in. He just heats up a big skillet with a half an inch of oil in it (medium heat which heats it up pretty hot, but not smoking), puts some regular flour and some flavoring (Goya Adobo or McCormack's chicken seasoning) in a zip-loc bag, and pats the chicken with a paper towel and shakes the chicken in the flour/seasoning. He fries the flour-coated chicken (skin-side up) at a pretty high temperature for the first few minutes and then turns it down to medium-low and let's it cook for about 15 minutes, turns it and cooks it for about another 10 minutes.

2011-03-25T17:12:00.002-04:00

First Ever QueerJoe Video Blog

Today, I've prepared a completely off-the-cuff video blog. While it's a bit more work than writing one, I thought QueerJoe followers who have never met me in person could get a better sense about who I am.

Blog Links

Lara's Podcsast - http://www.journalgazette.net/section/BLOGS26

Tosh Sock Yarn - http://madelinetosh.com/yarns-tosh-sock.html

Asherton Scarf Pattern on Ravelry - http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/asherton-reversible-scarf

Photo of Lunch -

2011-03-22T20:57:00.000-04:00

Out Of The Loop

Lately, when I'm not working, I seem to be sleeping, eating or flying.

No News Isn't Necessarily Good News

So, reading or watching or listening to the news has largely fallen by the wayside. While I get to miss most of the craziness about Charlie Sheen, I was also taken quite by surprise when I heard the latest news about Libya.

This is another task I can use my iPhone to help with. Anyone use any useful apps for keeping abreast of the news?

Current Crochet/Knitting

I've almost completed the main section of the crochet baby blanket.

I liked the idea of one of the commenters last week, but I'm not sure I executed it quite well enough.

There's a possibility I may still have to rip this back...I just need to put it down for a week before I decide.

I've also started a second baby blanket in much more traditional baby colors. I'll post photos when I can

Reader' Comments/Questions

Thank you for all your suggestions on book recommendation engines. I've already used LibraryThing for tracking my knitting books, but I didn't realize it had a wizard for recommending books...I will definitely check it out.

It never ceases to amaze me how many librarians knit.

2011-03-18T11:18:00.000-04:00

How Do You Find Good Books?

I'm ever so grateful that Thaddeus picks out most of the movies we see, because I wouldn't have a clue as to where to find such amazing movies, and he has incredible taste in movies...or at least taste that I usually agree with.

But Books...Not So Much
Thaddeus doesn't read much, so I'm left to my own devices to come up with good reading material.

One source for good books has been Thaddeus' sister...she's recommended some excellent choices, like "Breakfast With Buddha"

This was a great read for anyone that hasn't read it and thinks they might like the same kinds of books I do. She also recommended "Cutting For Stone"

By far, one of my favorite books I've read recently.

I also have a good friend up in Albany who works at Barnes & Noble, and he sometimes sends a good recommendation my way.

Recently finished one of his recommendations, "Tinkers".

I thought this was just a brilliant book.

But I thought their must be some web site that will recommend books based on what others have similarly liked. I mean even movies has which asks you to rate a dozen or so movies that you've seen and then it recommends others that people with similar ratings to yours have also liked.

Current Knitting/Spinning
Most of you know that my work has been keeping me incredibly busy lately, but I was able to get a bit more done on the crochet baby blanket. I've decided to see how far I get with the purple yarn, and then possibly take a suggestion from one of the commenters in the last post.

I also finished spinning up the yarn from Carol's Corriedale Roving called SweetTart.

I'm quite please with how the yarn came out...I've never spun anything quite like this color-wise. Now I just have to come up with something to do with it, or send it off to Seanna Lee as a gift.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Silhouette169 writes, "Have you thought to just reverse the proportions now that you are at the halfway point (little past, but better than ripping the whole dar thing) so that the purple stripes are thinner and the other is thicker?"

Yes, I did consider that, but I didn't think I'd like the look. I think I'd prefer to do something much more random than that.

Sarah T. chastises me for chastising Medicare recipients who need Hoverounds but can't get them approved.

This is just another case of lazy reading on Sarah T.'s part...I never chastised the people who bought Hoverounds (or tried to)...I chastised the companies marketing them in such a defrauding way.

2011-03-14T15:41:00.000-04:00

Get a Free Hoveround!!!

Well, not exactly free...and neither is that new fancy blood sugar meter to monitor your diabetes.

There is No Free Lunch
I can't stand the television advertisements that sell shit which bilks the public for millions of their Medicare dollars.

Each and every person that gets approved for a "free" Hoveround costs their children and grandchildren about $2,000 of dollars in shared Medicare premiums. If it really was free, no one would need to pay for it, including Medicare, but we all pay for them while the manufacturers get rich.

Being an intelligent healthcare consumer is critical in this day and age. During a time when the bankruptcy of Medicare is imminent, people really need to see the effect of unnecessary purchases and not be enticed by a smiling grandmother gliding through the park with her grandchildren.

Current Crocheting
I've gotten a bit more done on crochet baby blanket.

I seriously fear that I won't have enough of the purple/blue yarn to finish this blanket. I'm thinking I'll need to add a third color to the design and re-start this blanket from the beginning. I'll know for certain soon enough!

2011-03-09T12:04:00.000-05:00

We've Been Applified!

Yes, not AMPLIFIED...but Applified.

More Converts To iPhone, iMac and MacBook Pro
In a matter of months, our household has gone from an all PC environment to an almost all Apple environment.

It all started with my iPhone in January.

Then, it became obvious that a 12 year old personal computer has its limitations, so we ended up buying Thaddeus his beautiful new iMac.

Honestly, I fell in love with the beauty of his new computer...the keyboard, the monitor, the mouse...it was very compelling.

Then we realized that with all our household finances and personal computing on a work laptop, I really should get a personal laptop as well. And my theory on buying a new computer is that you should really buy as good a computer as you can afford, so that it lasts as long as possible.

So, this past weekend, we went to our local Apple Specialist, and bought a new Mac Book Pro.

I think it will take me a little while to get fast with the new interface and non-Windows environment, especially since I need to switch over to my work PC during the week, but honestly, I already love my new machine, and I've even used it to create something I think is quite cool for the upcoming Men's Spring Knitting Retreat!

Current Crocheting
I've made a lot of progress on the crochet baby blanket in royal colors.

Of course, since the blanket is crocheted diagonally, the rows get successively longer as I get toward the center of the blanket.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Brady writes, "Joe... What is the pattern on the baby blanket. I love it! I want to make something with that stitch."

It's normally used as an afghan stitch, and it's called "corner to corner." I'm actually using a slightly different stitch pattern, but I couldn't find the one I printed when I did a google search. If you find one that chains 5 at the beginning of a new row, that's the one I'm using. I'm also using sock weight yarn and I'm not sure what hook size.

2011-03-07T17:05:00.000-05:00

Hear Me, Feel Me

For those of you who know me primarily by my writing, Lara at Math4Knitters has provided you with an entertaining way to get to hear me in a very casual and conversational way on he poscast.

Easy-Going Style
Lara has a great way of interviewing people that allows them to just talk to her as if she's a long-time friend. Now that I have an I-phone, it's nice to be able to use it in another useful and entertainig way. Especially when it has to do with knitting.

I'd highly suggest subscribing to her podcast. It's always enjoyable.

Current Knitting/Crocheting/Spinning
I have practically finished the Skacel socks I have on the needles. I wanted to maximize the yarn I had, so I will need to undo a bit of knitting on the first sock. As soon as I do, I'll post photos.

I also also started a new project...a crochet baby blanket.

I saw a version of this on a baby in Chicago airport, and loved how this afghan stitch looked on a smaller gauge, so I decided to do it in a couple of interesting colors. It's for my younger brother and sister-in-law's baby-to-be. She's an artist and appreciates interesting colorways.

Finally, I also got to use my new Lazy Kate from the sister-out-of-law.

I'm double-plying the Black Bunny Fiber Corrieadale, and the splotches of dyed roving are blending quite beautifully.

I honestly don't know how I got by without a Lazy Kate prior to this. The number of tangles when singles spun back on themselves, and then caught the other single...ugh...this is like a dream comparatively.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Seanna Lea writes, "I'm definitely liking your spinning there. What are your plans for the yarn?"

I honestly have no idea right now. The color isn't me, and I'll probably end up with about 900 yards of spun yarn. Any ideas?

2011-03-01T10:26:00.000-05:00

Time To Take My Vitamins

Work is consuming ridiculous amounts of my time lately, requiring me to sleep on planes instead of knitting and getting virtually no knitting done in my hotel.

No Knitting, No Blogging
Blogging doesn't take that much of my time, so I can usually find time to fit in a blog entry every once in a while even when I'm busy. But I always feel like it's not a real blog entry unless it has some knitting to show. Today's blog entry will be another minimalist knitting blog entry.

Current Knitting
I did end up doing a small single crochet border around the neck warmer, but I still have to sew on the buttons and weave in a couple of ends and block it. I should get that done this week and I'll ask the recipient to pose for a photo.

I got a little bit more done on the second Skacel yarn sock, and I will hopefully be able to stay away long enough on my flight home Thursday night to at least come close to finishing.

I also started a new project...a fingering weight baby blanket in a bright purple. I'm not sure I'm liking it very much, even though I've only finished about 15 centimeters.

Current Spinning
This past weekend I got a bit more spinning done on the Black Bunny Fibers Corriedale in the SweetTarts colorway.

I finished the first bobbin of singles and got a bit done on the second bobbin. I am VERY excited to be able to use my new Lazy Kate from Gil at Robin Wheels.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Just a quick thank you to those of you who ordered Barb Brown's new book "Knitting Knee-Highs"...it is very heartwarming when blog readers support other long-time blog readers, especially when her book is so easy to promote.

2011-02-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

Knitting Friends

It's always most gratifying when my my friends have successes in their lives, so I'm thrilled to write today's blog entry.

Barb Brown's New Book is AMAZING!

I don't know how my friend Carol of "Go Knit In Your Hat" does her "No Bull Book Reviews." I used to be able to critique books or magazines or designers with great fervor, especially when I could point out something particularly garish. But having met a number of these designers, and stepped into their shoes by designing a little bit myself, I can't seem to do that anymore...minimally, I see the incredible effort that went into their work.

Fortunately, I don't have to struggle with coming up with accolades on this latest review, especially since the author has been a long-time reader of this blog.

Knitting Knee Highs by Barb Brown is going to quickly become the go-to book for anyone who enjoys knitting socks, or wants to start.

If you never wanted to knit socks ever...don't buy this book...you will be sorely tempted.

For newcomers to the sock knitting world, she provides a very straightforward recipe for knee high socks and then describes in a simple, but clear way how to adapt the basic structure to all types of other socks or leg-warmers.

For the experienced sock-knitter, this book is abundant with inspiration. I will definitely be using color designs such as the sole of the Both Sides Now Knee High.

I will also be definitely making some version of Barb's Birdwalk Legwarmers and Celeigh Socks.

The book is very well written, and Barb shows off her talent for mixing colors in a very appealing way. The photographs in this book are just beautiful as well.

This book will quickly become the classic sock-knitting book.

My sincere thanks to Barb for publishing a book that was so easy to rave about.

Current Knitting
I finished the knitting portion of the buttoned neck-warmer (kind of).

I'm thinking I will do a crochet edging around the entire rectangle to give the neck-warmer a bit more structure.

I also did finish turning the heel on the latest pair or socks, and I'm less than an inch into the ribbing for the cuff. I'll provide photos in the next blog entry.

2011-02-18T18:29:00.000-05:00

Airport Blogging

I've Twittered and Facebooked from both an airport and a plane, but I've never blogged from either before. I sit in Minneapolis airport typing this blog entry as a QueerJoe first.

Terrifying Options
With wireless internet access available in so many places, using lace of access as an excuse for not working is getting more and more difficult.

Now the Electronic Leash (aka, BlackBerry, iPhone, etc.) has become more like one of those electric dog fences...invisible, but allowing employers to demand more and more of you.

Add to that the ability to make calls over the internet, and next thing you know, folks will be having phone conversations right next to you on a plane.

Absolutely terrifying.

Current Knitting
Long work days have put a big dent in my knitting time, and the first leg of my flight today that brought me to Minneapolis, I frittered away good knitting time having a fascinating conversation with the equivalent of a District Attorney from Edmonton. The conversation was worth paying close attention to.

However, I am almost finished with the buttoned neck warmer I'm knitting.

The Malabrigo shows off the fisherman's rib stitch pattern very well, and the back of the fabric is incredibly soft, so it will be a comfortable wear as well.

A few more hours, and I'll be home, and hopefully I'll have finished turning the heel on my latest sock project.

2011-02-13T22:44:00.000-05:00

QueerJoe's Valentine Message

Pastor Tim (aka teejtc) wrote by far, one of my favorite comments ever on my blog the other day. Unfortunately, it wasn't on the current blog entry, so I fear some readers may have missed it, and it had one of the most intuitive and positive commentaries about relationships.

What Tim Wrote

I imagine the gaydar "breakdown" might just be a natural result of age and stability of relationship. I'm not gay nor 50, but have found that the longer I'm married and the older I get the less I notice other "potential relationships." It's hard for me to imagine that it isn't the same for gay men....

For anyone who's ever been in a relationship for about 10 years or or longer, they'll probably find Tim's words quite accurate and wise.

Years ago (about 24 years ago now), I was at the three-year mark with Thaddeus, and the white-hot passion of new love was starting to wane. Based on much of what I knew of love and relationships (mostly from friends, family, television and movies) this meant that the relationship wasn't going to be lasting much longer.

I was extremely fortunate to have a friend/co-worker who had been married for over 20 years, and she had hinted that there had been challenges over the years in her relationship.

I asked her how long-term couples got past the part of a relationship where it wasn't as euphoric as at the beginning.

I could only wish that everyone had a friend like Marylou (or Tim) to get advice from on relationships.

She basically told me that if I could make it past the part where love wasn't as intense and passionate, I would eventually come to have a relationship that was stable, comforting and dependable. That getting to the part where you know practically everything there is to know about your partner can be an incredibly intimate and rewarding and loving experience. She was right.

So, what I love about Tim's comment, is that, like Marylou's response to me, he saw my commentary about "broken gaydar" as an opportunity to acknowledge an exceptionally positive aspect of a long-term, loving relationship, and encourage it by his words.

In addition, he was exactly right, in that being able to trust the strength of my current relationship, allows me to stop looking for potential others, and so, in essence, turns off the out-going signal of my gaydar.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all.

Current Knitting
None

Readers' Comments/Questions
About the scarf/neckwarmer, Cat 16 wrote, "Not sure I agree with your button choice. Why blue with that yarn? I'd think brown might be better."

I think you may be right...the button is actually teal colored, and I thought it would work well as a high contrast to the orangey red color of the yarn. Personally, I think brown would be dreadful, unless it was some big funky button made from a coconut shell, but if it was just a brown colored button, it would remind me too much of the bad crafting colors of the sixties.

2011-02-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

Scholarship Winners

It was incredibly thrilling that you all sent in a total of 15 nominations for the 2011 Men's Spring Knitting Retreat scholarship. And the caliber of guys nominated was quite impressive, so the competition was fierce.

2011 Scholarship Winners
Kinda hard to do a drum-roll on a blog entry, but the judges have voted, and I'm thrilled to be able to announce that the winners are:

Bill Jones (Bill on MenWhoknit.com and BillJones on Ravelry) and Michael Wade (WonderMike to many of us).

Both of these guys have made an amazing contribution to the community of men who knit and will be a great addition to the group of guys already scheduled to attend. The decision was very difficult for all four judges...it would have been easy to pick two completely different winners given the great group of guys we had to choose from. I'm honestly sorry I couldn't have offered scholarships to all 15 guys.

Thanks to all who took the time to write nominations...I was glad to find out about a lot of these guys, many of who also have impressive contributions to the community and lurk a bit more under the surface.

Current Knitting
I made some great progress on the buttoned neck-warmer, although I still have work to do on it.

I've established a very efficient way of doing the fisherman's rib stitch. Since it requires a K1, SL1, I just do both in one movement by knitting into the first stitch without taking it off the needle and inserting the needle as if to purl into the second stitch and taking them both off at once. It's not a huge time-saver, but with thousands of stitches to do, it adds up. I'm also not to sure about the buttons...the look better in person than in the photo, but I'll look around to see if I have anything better.

I also finished the first of the two Skacel-yarn socks...at least I finished the knitting part of it...I still need to do the sewn bind-off.

You'll notice I added a couple of accent color stripes toward the top of the cuff, and I'll be binding the sock off using the contrasting orange-y color.

2011-02-03T12:20:00.000-05:00

365 Ways To Make a Liberal Crazy

As someone who is progressive in his thinking, I often like to watch Fox News and read literature from the folks with opinions that differ from mine. It seems that trying to make liberals crazy has become a goal of theirs.

Ratings, Notoriety, Ego...
I've come to believe that much of what Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, Coulter and the rest of their ilk are about is saying and/or doing anything that will increase their own personal fame and their associated bank accounts.

Why would you want to have a goal of making your opponent crazy?

Wouldn't it be more pragmatic (albeit less financially rewarding) to promote a country that functions better, helps it's people and looks to make itself better?

I guess if conservatives truly believe that their ways are better, that they can make the country better by making their opponents as undesirable as possible and increase their chances of having conservatives elected.

It just seems that they've gone a bit off-purpose and are now focusing more on hurting their opponents rather than bettering the country.

Current Knitting
A coworker has asked me to try and knit a prototype of a neck-warmer that she purchased at a local craft fair (high-end crafts). She actually bought two of these neck-warmers and both wrap around her neck and are held together in front by a large, interesting button. Similar to this one I found randomly out on the web.

I picked out some nice Malabrigo yarn, and US9 needles and started this prototype right away.

I thought using a fisherman's rib would make it lay flat (mostly) and would look nice. Overall width will probably end up being about 10 inches, and I'm not sure yet how long I'll need to make it.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Linda W. writes, "I love knitting toe-up socks. Have you tried Judy's Magic Cast on?"

Yes, I tried it once, and thought it was about the same level of effort as the figure-8 cast-one when all was said and done. And since I had to start this sock on an airplane, and I knew how to do the figure-8 and didn't remember how to do Judy's, I opted for the one I knew.

2011-01-31T11:03:00.000-05:00

Broken Gaydar

I've found that since I reached the age of 50 that my gaydar no longer functions.

Transitioning to "Aged Homosexual"
I've realized that gaydar is mostly just sending out a furtive glance to someone you think/hope might be gay, and if the glance bounces back off the target in a specific way (a returned furtive glance, perhaps slightly magnified), then the gaydar starts bleeping.

But I've realized now that I've gotten older, that the power of a furtive glance from me, has a lot less chance of being bounced back with similar interest anymore.

I've always known that youth and looks are important in much of gay culture, so it's no surprise that I'm transitioning into the mature, settled time of a gay man's life, where I recognize the wild, raucous times are over (a fact I'm quite happy about), and I'm settling into a much more comfortable and relaxed period of my gayness.

Current Knitting
Despite the lack of frenetic activity associated with age-progression in the gay world, my work world has been ridiculously crazy lately, including very little time at home on the "weekends". As such, I've accomplished very little progress on my current knitting project.

And of course I'm at the point on the sock that I like the least...ribbing.

I also did get some spinning done this weekend (about as much spinning as knitting), but I didn't a photo would be necessary.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Crystal writes, "Those socks are looking yummy already. Are you working from a pattern?"

No...it's a combination of techniques, but not a pattern. I used the figure-eight cast-on for a toe-up sock, and I used a modified version of the Andersson heel. Both of these techniques can be googled. That's what I like about knitting socks...once you understand the basic structure of a knitted socks, you can mix and match techniques to get a sock you like best.

Brad Fallon writes, "I really like knitting too but it seems I cannot follow the pattern very well. I'm not really satisfied with my finish work. Can you give me tips on how it is properly done? I can see you have done a good job with yours. Maybe I just need more practice and knit more often."

Most folks realize early on that there is very little to learn about actual knitting...casting on, knitting, purling, casting off...with varying combinations of each. But it takes a while to be able to understand pattern instructions and also how to best finish a garment. I highly recommend joining some kind of knitting community. While you can google any of your knitting questions and get videos of how to do almost anything, it still helps to have someone show you.

That's the best advice I can give.

2011-01-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

Political Opinion - Ignore at Will

The Republicans did very well during the last U.S. elections in November, mainly because the U.S. electorate thought they could do things that would help the economy and generate jobs.

Ignore the Will of the People
So, instead of working on stimulus packages, or bills that will reduce spending, what do the Republicans deem important?

Repealing the recently passed health care bill. Passing bills that will restrict American's access to abortion. Demanding a review of same-sex marriage laws in the District of Columbia.

For the life of me, I can't understand how these efforts will do anything to elevate our economy or create jobs.

Now, perhaps I should be happy that the Republicans are focusing on their personal agendas rather than the economy, since they seem to screw up the economy more by their methods for helping the rich get richer, but I'm amazed again at on simple thing...

Yo, Tea Party...where's the outrage now?

Current Knitting
Having pretty much finished the zippered cardigan, I decided I needed to pick up something to start knitting, and I didn't have much time this past weekend to plan anything complex to start taking with me on work travel.

I opted to start a sock...perfectly portable, and requires little forethought and planning.

I'm using two Skacel yarns, Trekking XXL (the orange-y toe) and Jojoba (the main green color yarn).

I did a figure-8 cast-on during take-off this past Sunday, and the women next to me was fascinated. I pretended not to notice that she was staring at me casting on and knitting, but I could see that she couldn't take her eyes off it out of the corner of my eye.

She did finally ask what I was making and we chatted a bit about her trying knitting, but just never was very good at it.

2011-01-24T10:16:00.000-05:00

We Have WINNERS!!!

Yes, eight winners to be exact. And within a couple of weeks because of what each of you donated to the lottery (plus donations from others...thanks!), there will be two big winners...of scholarships to the May Men's Knitting Retreat.

Contest Results
Overall, there were a total of 571 entries for prizes (which equates to $572 in scholarship funds!...actually it was more than that...some folks generously donated to the fund without entering for any prizes).

Of the eight prizes, the following is the breakdown of entries for each prize:

Wooden Swift - 96
Vintage Books - 10
Malabrigo Silky Merino - 62
Trekking XXL Sock Yarn - 51
Brooks Farm Duet Yarn - 102
Ty Dy Sock Yarn - 39
Lavold Silky Wool - 174
MSKR 2010 Retreat Bag - 37

So clearly, the Lavold Silky Wool was the desired favorite for most entrants.

And the winners are:

Wooden Swift - Michael T.
Vintage Books - Elizabeth M.
Malabrigo Silky Merino - Elizabeth M.
Trekking XXL Sock Yarn - Elayne H.
Brooks Farm Duet Yarn - Tom B.
Ty Dy Sock Yarn - Leslie B.
Lavold Silky Wool - Ray C.
MSKR 2010 Retreat Bag - Sheri F.

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who participated. I'll have sent e-mails to all the folks listed above to confirm mailing addresses, so if you don't have an e-mail from me, please check your SPAM folders.

Current Knitting/Spinning
I finally finished up the endless collar on the zippered cardigan.

While I still have to weave in a few ends, I've overall, quite happy with how this garment turned out. And if anyone is ever unsure as to whether the Rowan Felted Tweed yarn is worth it, I would definitely say it is.

I also am desperately wanting to try out my new AWESOME lazy-kate, so I started a new spinning project. I was also quite curious to see how this roving:

...would turn out when actually spun into singles. Here's my result so far.

The roving is Black Bunny Fiber-dyed corriedale...cleverly named SweetTart by Carol. It's spinning up quite nicely.

2011-01-20T16:48:00.000-05:00

Earbud Envy

As a recent convert to my first Apple product (see below), for years, I envied the cool-ass people I'd see sporting those bright white earbuds.

Such a Disappointment!
I got a brandy-new iPhone 4 last week, and I quite like it. But the biggest disappointment was when I finally plugged in ever-famous white earbuds, and put them in my ears.

I guess I just figured that since iPhones and iPods were such cool little gadgets, that the earphones that came with them had to be equally as cool. Especially when all the cool people wore them...right?

I was so wrong.

The "bud" part seems WAY too big for my ear-hole and hurt my ear when I wear them. The sound isn't great. And the damn-blasted things keep falling out!

I ended up buying a rather expensive set of non-Apple earphones (Jamz earphones) that work MUCH better.

Current Knitting
I was thrilled to be able to get to test knit Kyle's latest hat pattern - "Cause".

It's a great little hat (I love the top shaping) with stranded-knitting ribbons around the circumference of the hat. Plus he's donating part of the proceeds of the sale of the pattern to cancer research.

Support Kyle if you can...he's an amazingly creative guy who will most definitely become a shining start in the knit-design world soon.

2011-01-17T07:09:00.000-05:00

Most Thoughtful Christmas Gift Award...

...goes to...the out-of-laws! Yes, Thaddeus' sister and brother-in-law came up with by far, the most thoughtful (and generous) gift this year for a Christmas gift.

Way Better Than What I Had
My sister-out-of-law went out of her way to make sure this Christmas was very special for me.

First of all, she read the blog enough to know that when I ply yarn, my version of a lazy-kate is this:

Yes...it's an Allen Edmonds shoe box!

Then she researched the spinning wheel I own and found out that it's a Robin wheel. She did some further research and ended up getting in contact with the Gil (the guy who actually makes Robin wheels) and embarrassingly told him that I use a shoe-box as a lazy-kate.

Gil was able to locate the same wood he used to make my original wheel, and then make another masterpiece in wood.

The new lazy-kate arrived this past weekend and I couldn't be more pleased. Here are a few more photos.

I can't wait to get back to spinning so that I can see what it's like to ply yarn with a proper lazy-kate!

Current Knitting
I have done precious little knitting since my last blog post...or at least knitting that I can show on the blog.

I probably got about five rows of knitting done on the collar of the zippered cardigan, and I'm currently sitting in Philadelphia airport, realizing that I completely forgot to put ANY knitting in with my packing this week.

I was able to finish test-knitting a great little pattern for friend Kyle...at one point I'll be able to post a photo when he publishes his pattern.

Men's Spring Knitting Retreat Scholarship
Wednesday is the last day I will accept any entries for the 2011 Men's Knitting Retreat lottery.

Thanks again to all who participated...there will be two lucky guys who will benefit significantly from your generosity.

Nominations are still being accepted...see instructions in last blog entry.

Make sure you get any nominations in to me at queerjoe@comcast.net by the deadline of January 28th.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Kyle (aka kylewilliam) writes, "Did you knit the double sole for the slippers? The two times I made them I didn't read the directions fully and didn't knit the second sole..."

I did. The first time I ever knit this pattern, I was fortunate to have had a friend in my LYS who had made them before me, else I might have missed that instruction as well.

2011-01-11T16:50:00.001-05:00

Nominations Being Sought!
Due to the generosity of a couple of anonymous donors and the results (so far) of the Men's Knitting Retreat auction, it looks like we'll be able to offer two full scholarships with a travel stipend.

I couldn't be more excited...while we may not make up the entire amount by the end of the auction, it's close enough where I can guarantee the two scholarships.

Calling For Nominations
This upcoming May, the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat will be held again in Upstate New York at Easton Mountain Retreat Center from Thursday, May 19 to Sunday, May 22, 2011.

We still have regular paid slots available and registration is available by calling Easton Mountain at 800-553-8235.

However, we are very excited to announce a two full scholarships to the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat, provided by the generosity of two of the guys who have participated in the past and by all the generous folks who have participated in the auction.

These scholarships include full retreat fees for a bed in a quad room, plus a stipend of $400 for travel expenses.

We want you to nominate any man you think should be able to go to the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat this coming May.

You can nominate a friend, a family member or yourself. The nominee must be a man and over 21 years of age. And please confirm that your guy has agreed to be entered into the nomination process and is available to attend. Two sample nominations would be:

I would like to nominate John O'Hara for the 2011 MSKR Scholarship. John is an Librarian in Northern Arkansas with a great love for reading and knitting. He is always teaching knitting to anyone interested and has taught his wife to knit and has begun to teach his children (who he thinks are too young yet to learn, but he still tries). He lives in a very rural state with no local yarn stores, so John helped start a knitting group at the library where he works and has also worked to increase the number of books on knitting kept within his library network (for which we are all very grateful). John would love to get together with other guys who have a love for knitting, crocheting and spinning and I think he would be an amazing addition to your group of guys.

I would like to nominate myself, John O'Hara, for the 2011 MSKR Scholarship. I have been knitting for 3 years and am completely hooked. As a professional who travels a lot, I take great pride in knitting in public and teaching coworkers how to knit. Unfortunately, since most of my work is done for non-profit organizations and I support a family of five, I have no funding, but would very much appreciate the opportunity of being around other guys that knit. I would appreciate your favorable review of my nomination.

Send nominations to me at queerjoe@comcast.net. Scholarship recipients will be selected from all the nominations by a panel of Men's Knitting Retreat coordinators (Michael Wade, Ted Myatt, Barry & myself). DEADLINE FOR ENTERING IS January 28, 2011. The winner will be officially announced on February 4, 2011.

Current Knitting
Did you think I had forgotten about the zippered cardigan? Well, I'm not a big fan of attaching sleeves, so while I was able to forget this project for a short time, I could never leave it languishing anywhere very long.

As you can see, I did finish knitting the sleeves, and I have even attached them (sorry for the crappy photo...the light in Edmonton during non-working hours isn't great for photography). I'm now working on the collar and will hopefully model this beauty in an upcoming blog post.

I'm also very glad to say I finished the knitting portion of my felted clog slippers.

And yes, that's Nico who had to "help" with the photography.

Now I just have to felt them!

Readers' Comments/Questions
Regarding my woven place mats, Bonnie writes, "Love the colors of your mats. You are working on a frame loom which is very fun to create free form knitting which I love. Have you tried adding different types of fiber, eyelashy or bulky stuff in one project. They make great pillows or bags. Have fun with it whatever you go."

Thanks Bonnie...I haven't tried anything out of the ordinary, except for using a very uneven yarn for the main orangey yarn in the place mats. I have to admit, that I'm not overly enamored with weaving. I think it should really be called warping because I spend FAR more time preparing, untangling, un-knotting and re-knotting the warp threads than I do actually weaving (I'm sure this is no surprise to anyone that has actually warped a loom).

2011-01-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

There Goes My Florida Vacation

Thaddeus and I have not been to Mexico in the last couple of years due to a number of reasons, but we were considering doing a domestic trip to Florida sometime.

Seems We're Not Welcome
The new governor, Rick Scott has already shown his disdain for gays and lesbians by making one of his first acts as governor, signing an executive order that doesn't extend protection against discrimination for sexual orientation (or for handicap or marital status for that matter!).

Many of his comments during the election seemed to indicate he was going to be a homophobic bigot, and now it's clear.

Suffice it to say, I won't be supporting that state with any of my tourism dollars. Perhaps supporting New Orleans would be a better choice.

Current Knitting/Weaving
I did very little of any fiber-related activity this past week. But I did promise photos of existing projects.

Here are the place mats I did finish weaving.

I know they're not perfect, but I kind of like how uneven they are.

Here is a photo of my start on the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs Pattern
.

As many readers know, I've made a lot of pair of these. It's probably the most used pattern of all the knitting patterns I've ever followed, and I follow this one to the letter because it always comes out perfectly.

Men's Knitting Retreat Lottery
Thanks to all of you have have bid on items in the lottery.

I will take bids (aka contributions to the scholarship fund for the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat) until Sunday, January 16th, 2011 and then announce winners later that week.

Start thinking now about who you'd like to nominate to win a full scholarship to this year's event. It's going to be great!

2011-01-04T15:57:00.000-05:00

Not Afraid to Fail

I realized I've been making some personal progress, and it's showing up in my knitting world.

Trying Valiantly
I'm not sure if it's age, self-knowledge, or having some security in my life, but I seem to be much less fearful lately.

Don't get me wrong, I've never been jumpy or fearful of things in an overly compulsive way and other than being somewhat terrified of bats, I've never had too much of an irrational fearful reaction to anything (and I could easily debates that a strong fearful reaction to bats is appropriate). But I have always had fears, doubts and worries that might have stopped me from otherwise doing something. A fear of failure and/or some sense of fearing looking less than perfect.

This past Christmas, I decided to try and get three knitting projects done in time to give as Christmas gifts. I finished the pair of crochet lace spats and the pair of legwarmers got finished just after Christmas.

The third gift was a weaving project that I thought I'd start VERY last-minute. Since I celebrate Christmas with the recipient on January 1st, I had a week to try and use my rigid-heddle loom to make four place mats.

I knew going into the project that there was absolutely no room for error, or they wouldn't be finished in time. I figured we had a perfectly great gift for her anyway, so even if I made a mistake that prevented me from finishing the project on time, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

I got the loom all warped and finished the first place mat on Thursday evening. That gave me Friday and Saturday to prep the loom and weave 3 more. On Saturday morning, I was just starting the fourth one, when I realized the second and third place mates were too short and would need to be re-done. That was the mistake that made me realize I wouldn't make the goal of finishing by Saturday evening.

Oh well, there's always her birthday!

Current Knitting/Weaving
Here are a couple of photos of the weaving in progress.

I do have two completed place mats now and I'll eventually finish two more so that I'll have a gift stored away for my friend.

I also finished the two sleeves for the zippered cardigan and started a pair of felted clog slippers.

I'll have photos of those projects in future blog entries.

Men's Knitting Retreat Auction
There's been quite a bit of activity on the auction.

I just realized it would be possible to win a wooden yarn swift or a full sweater worth of yarn for the price of a dollar. I'm glad the contributions of my yarn and knitting sundries will go to a good cause.

So, please...check it out and see if you might not want to win something that you could get for VERY cheap.

http://mensknittingretreat.com/images/MSKR2011Lottery/MSKR2011Lottery2.html

2011-01-02T21:31:00.000-05:00

Christmas Continues

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at typically reserved for spending time with family, but we celebrate an extended Christmas each year with friends on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Back to Work

This Monday will have me back up in Edmonton and whatever weather they're experiencing up there.

While it will give me a chance to digest all the food I ate over the holiday, and bring me back to some sense of normality, I have to admit, I'm not looking forward to it.

2011 Men's Spring Knitting Retreat - Scholarship Fund Lottery
In the mean time, I thought it was time to have a contest at QueerJoe...it's been YEARS!...so I thought I'd start the year right.

For this year's Men's Spring Knitting Retreat, I wanted to contribute something to help support the men's knitting community, so I've decided to host a lottery of items from my personal stash. All proceeds from the lottery will go towards the cost of the retreat for one or more lucky guys as well as some travel stipend. I'll post more about the scholarship and nominations in a future post.

Have you ever been to one of those auctions where you buy tickets and put tickets into bags or baskets for only those items you want to win? Then they pick one ticket for each item? That's kind of what I'm trying to do in a virtual way.

Tickets are $1 each and you can put as many virtual "tickets" into the drawing for one of eight different prizes.

If this is confusing, read the "How To Play" section on the lottery site and if you still don't understand...send me off an e-mail and I'll try to explain more clearly.

But suffice it to say, for each dollar you contribute to the scholarship fund, you get one more chance of winning one of the eight prizes!

Check out the items here.

2010-12-28T09:34:00.000-05:00

It's Good To Be Known as "The Knitter"

Especially around Christmas when you know a lot of friends and family that go to tag sales, flea markets and garage sales.

It Was A Very Knitty Christmas
I'm not sure where they found all this good stuff, but my sister-out-of-law and her next-door neighbor both came up with some great knitting loot as gifts for me for Christmas.

Then neighbor came up with this amazing set of knitting needles in a hand-made/quilted case.

This set of needles clearly came from someone who was serious about their knitting.

Then from the sister-out-of-law, I got this stack of knitting books (none of which I have in my collection...until now!).

I'm particularly happy to have a copy of "Fancy Feet" by Anna Zilboorg.

She also gave me a complete set of the Boye Knitmaster needles.

The set has ten different pairs of needles from size US5 to US15 and multiple cable sizes with connectors to make them even longer when needed.

Yes, it's good to be known as "the knitter"...especially around Christmas.

Christmas Knitting
I was able to finish a couple of knitted gifts in time for Christmas.

You've already seen the crochet lace spats for my niece Jacqui, but I also finished a pair of socks for another niece, Lily Bee.

Like most six year old children, she's not overly thrilled with the socks, but I hope she enjoys then anyway. I loved how they turned out, and this little girl is one the most delightful kids...personally, I blame the parents.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to finish the last Christmas gift in time to give them (also to Jacqui)...but they're finished now.

Jacqui is a dancer and has been begging me for leg-warmers. I finally came up with what I call "Surprise Leg Warmers."

They look rather plain and like simple ribbed sock cuffs, until you put them on and realize they have a pattern of lacy holes that makes them look kind of cool when worn. Those will go in the mail tomorrow.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Friend Leslie (Bagatelle) writes about the Lily Bee socks, "What is that sock yarn? I love the color combo and have a great shirt to wear them with. Please tell!"

They yarn is from Knit One Crochet Too and it's called Ty-Dy Socks. The colorway is Magenta Moss #1574.

2010-12-21T11:06:00.000-05:00

So Unlike Me!

I've decided to do a couple of last-minute knitted Xmas gifts this year...I don't know what got into me.

Putting On The Xmas Pressure
A couple of my nieces had asked for the crochet lace spats, so I made those (although I still need to mail one pair out to a niece!).

A couple of them also asked for leg warmers, so I though I'd try to get a few pairs of them done...I don't know if I'll even get them started never mind getting three pair done by Saturday!

And I've visiting another niece this year for the first time in a long while, and I thought I'd make her a "quick" pair of socks that are taking me a bit longer than I'd expected.

Suffice it to say, I put a bit more pressure into my knitting than I usually do.

That's why I always love when non-knitter folks say, "You must be so patient," or better yet..."That looks so relaxing!"...yeah right!

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable holiday season.

2010-12-14T20:13:00.001-05:00

Coordination Has Its Benefits

As one of the coordinators of the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat, I am fortunate to get to see the prizes donated for give-aways and door-prizes first.

The Down-Side
Unfortunately, I also exclude myself from receiving any of the door-prizes...BUT...I get to patronize the donors before the men from the retreat order the best stuff!

One of my favorite things that has come in so far is a Priscilla Gibson-Roberts book, Simple Socks, Plain And Fancy

I'm shocked to admit that I didn't know that this book existed, and it's a perfect book for learning how to do basic short-row socks. I at least get to browse this stuff. The Men's Knitting Retreats have been extremely fortunate to have Nomad Press be a friend and sponsor.

Other Types of Retreats
As the web-contact for the Men's Knitting Retreat web site, I get to hear from a lot of related organizations.

I'm not quite sure I could have not known there was business with a refurbished schooner sailing around the coast of Maine, conducting knitting retreats each year. I just heard from the owner, and I knew there would be folks that would love to hear about it. This one is Maine Windjammer, and it looks great (with good food!)

Current Knitting
Still hacking away at trying to finish the sleeves for the zippered cardigan. This picture shows how the patterning looks when I do increases from the center of the sleeve as opposed to at the ends of the rows.

It never ceases to surprise me how long sleeves take to knit (especially when I'm knitting both at the same time). The cuff and lower part of the sleeve move along so quickly, I ALWAYS get lured into thinking that the sleeve will be finished in no time, but I'm ALWAYS disappointed.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Todd writes about the typo in my last blog entry, "224 spools of yarn? A little Freudian slip perhaps? Too funny, at least in my eyes!"

Yes...funny for me too. Thanks for pointing it out and giving me a chuckle.

2010-12-10T17:21:00.000-05:00

Early Prezzies!

Is there anyone on the planet that doesn't like getting presents?...even if you pick it out for yourself?

One From The "Men" and One From Thaddeus
This past retreat, the guys at the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat did an incredibly nice thing for Ted and I...they gave us gift certificates to one of my very favorite yarn vendors, Briar Rose Fibers. I've shown off a lot of Chris Roosien's hand-dyed yarns on my blog before, but with a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket, I asked if she'd custom dye two of her nicest base yarns for me.

And here's what I got!

The first one is "Legend"...approximately 2,800 yards of glorious, dark smokey DK/Sport weight Merino yarn. The second one is "Isabel"...approximately 2,200 yards of unbelievably soft and beautiful lace-weight silk and merino yarn.

I couldn't have been more pleased with what Chris came up with for me. She's a genius at this stuff!

The second present was an incredible find Thaddeus made at the local flea market (I'm so proud of him!).

This happens to e 224 spools of yarn (in neat little plastic boxes with covers) of various brands and multitudinous colors of thread. Suffice it to say I can never use the excuse for not sewing something that I can't find the right color thread!

Current Knitting
I was able to make quite a bit of headway on the sleeves for the zippered cardigan (although the photo doesn't show it very well).

I wasn't planning on doing both sleeves at once, but the increase and pattern stitch made it easier to do this way.

2010-12-07T17:40:00.000-05:00

The Art of Extrapolation

Decades ago, I was telling a co-worker how I had no creativity...and this was specific to my knitting.

Opening Up A Whole New World
She said absolutely enlightening to me in response.

She said, "Of course you do, you can do unbelievably creative things with computer programming and software...you could easily extrapolate your skills in that area to artistic endeavors like your knitting."

First of all, she was exactly right about how creative I was with getting the most out of software or programming languages I worked with at the time. I could make our Human Resources/Payroll systems or Lotus 1-2-3 sing...much to the amazement of my bosses.

Second, by explaining that I could extrapolate those skills into other areas of my life created such a space of possibility...it was unfathomable where this new skill would take me. I have been able to use the tools of yarn and knitting and garment design and color to exhibit a lot of creativity over the last 20 years or so...her one comment was incredibly supportive and freeing more me.

Current Knitting/Crocheting
I've finished the full body of the zippered cardigan, sewn in the zipper and sewn in the center panel sections.

You'll notice a couple of little knitted rags in the left part of the photo...those are the beginning remnants of the sleeves...so I'm moving right along.

I've also completed the crochet part of a pair of the lace spats for my nieces. I've started the second pair and hope to finish both pairs (with bows and snaps) by this coming weekend.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Joe (Knitguyla) commented about his recommended facial care regimen, "...just remember, what's taken years to create will not be corrected in days!"

Oh sure...NOW you tell me. Actually I love the Epicuren product line so far. The cleanser and the enzyme toner are my favorites of the four items...they already have made a difference...I'm hoping the two moisturizing products will start showing somewhat soon.

KyleWilliam writes, "I wish Joe would recommend a facial regimen for me!"

Would this be an appropriate Men's Knitting Retreat workshop?!?!

Finally, Jean Miles asks, "Have you seen the article in the current Interweave Knits about KNITTING in a zipper?"

No...I can't imagine it would be easier or more stable than machine sewing...so even if I knew the technique, I doubt I'd use it.

2010-12-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

Much Excitement in QueerJoe-Land

In addition to loving his current yarn projects, he's also started a new facial-care regimen and is hoping for quick results to make him look 25 again!

A Daily Regimen Only a Gay Man Would Be Excited About
Up until recently, I have been trying to ward off wrinkles and aging spots on my face with as little effort and expense as possible.

Boy, when I say I tend toward extremes...this is a perfect example!

My friend Joe (aka Knitguyla) happens to manage a spa, and I asked him to recommend a facial-care regimen for me. It felt like I was asking a doctor to diagnose a spot on my body, but Joe was quite helpful.

He recommended a line of skin care products by Epicuren.

First he recommended Epicuren Herbal Cleanser as a good basic cleanser for semi-dry skin. Then he recommended Protein Mist Enzyme Toner. For a moisturizer we went with Facial Emulsion and finally Eye Alive
to help with the real problem area.

I just started the regimen today, and overall, I'm quite pleased. I love the toner...it feels great on my skin. But before I started, I took a number of close-up pictures of my face, so I can do before/after comparisons. I may even share the photos with readers.

Current Knitting
I decided that I would re-do the crochet lace spats for my nieces. I thought they needed to be a bit wider and a bit longer. When I have two pairs re-completed with bows and snaps, I'll post photos.

I also am almost completely finished with the body of the zippered cardigan.

You can see I only have the neck shaping left on the right side of the sweater (left side of the photo). I'm not going to sew in the center panels until I've sewn in the zipper.

I'm truly loving this project, mostly because of the yarn. I have also ordered a custom-sized zipper for it already.

2010-11-26T11:53:00.000-05:00

QueerJoe's Koan for Today...

Why is "everything in moderation" the goal, when I gravitate so much to the extremes?

Achievements and Setbacks
It seems that I strive to learn something important in my life, but then when I learn that particular lesson, I usually take it too far?

While knitting is an obviously example (and an example of where moderation ISN'T my goal either), I recently decided I needed to learn how to set boundaries with people...both for work and in my social life. I started out testing out ways of saying no, or not letting someone walk all over me and learned the ways that worked for me. Life was good.

Then I somehow got it in my head that if some boundaries were good, then more must be better!

I found myself this past week running kind of roughshod over some of my co-workers with my newly found "assertiveness."

Fortunately, I didn't do much damage, but I do have some apologies to make.

Current Knitting/Crocheting
I've finished the to front sections of the zippered cardigan I'm working on. I even attached the fronts to the shoulder section of the back.

So far so good. I'm pretty certain that I'll end up with a sweater that I'll actually like, but I'm not yet sure if I'll end up with a sweater I love more than any other. I only wish I knew what that certain "je ne sais quoi" was about the sweaters that turn out just perfectly.

Yes, you noticed the word "crocheting" reappearing in my section title above.

My 20 year old niece found an Etsy seller selling a pair of crochet lace spats, and asked me if I could make her a pair.

Here's a photograph of the one's she saw:

And here's what I've come up with:

I have to decide on what kind of fasteners to use (I'll probably end up doing small snaps) and find some decent ribbon or pre-made bows to apply, but overall, I'm quite happy with what I've created.

2010-11-22T11:56:00.001-05:00

Planning Begins

Well, honestly, planning begins a full year before each retreat...but now it starts to get exciting.

Men's Spring Knitting Retreat - 2011!
Yes, can you believe we're slated to put on the fourth annual retreat in Upstate New York?

The enthusiasm for these events continues to amaze me.

There are currently four Men's Knitting Retreats scheduled:

1. New Zealand Men's Knitting Retreat
2. UK Men's Knitting Retreat
3. Men's Spring Knitting Retreat (mine in Upstate NY)
4. Rocky Mountain Knitting Retreat

Plus, there are plans underway to schedule the first ever Southeastern Men's Knitting Retreat.

Suffice it to say, that bringing together guys who knit has filled a need that not many even knew existed until a few years ago.

A Call To Vendors!
As in previous years, we're hoping that fiber vendors will be able to donate door-prizes, handout-bag-stuff or give-aways to support the event, and, at the same time put their company's name in front of a group of 50 rabid fiber enthusiasts!

In prior years, yarn and fiber and craft book companies have been very generous, so if you sell knitting, crochet or spinning-related products (or know someone who does and might be interested) and would like to make a donation to the upcoming May retreat, please send me an e-mail at contact@mensknittingretreat.com.

A huge thanks to those who have supported us in the past...we're hoping you can contiue to help again.

Current Knitting
I'm very happy to say that I've finished the back section of the Rowan Felted Tweed zippered cardigan and will soon be finishing the abbreviated front sections as well.

I'm thinking that I'll just do a 10" center panel (5 inches on each side) in a different pattern stitch. This will give me the chest size I was hoping for and also provide what I hope will be an interesting design element.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Regarding being around knitting celebrities, Ted writes, "And add Kenny to your list of 'Famous Knitters I Know'"

There are LOTS of Famous Knitters I Know personally, and Kenny's an excellent choice...I only listed two since they were the most recent I got to run into...if I tried to list all that I know, I would be certain to leave some out by accident and I definitely didn't want to do that.

NC Knitter (aka Tom) writes, "How about a center panel with TWO zippers?!"

OMFG...I think it will be challenging enough to sew in one zipper and I look awful in a the "double-breasted" kind of look anyway!

2010-11-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

Knitting Celebrities

As I've continued to participate in the knitting community (communities??)...it's amazing how many of the people with whom I've become acquainted have made names for themselves.

The Latest Success
My friend Brian (who I met through the West Coast Men's Fall Knitting Retreat, and who works at Skacel and who I got to hang out with while I was in Seattle) has recently had one of his designs published in the latest Vogue publication:

Entrelac - the Essential Guide to Interlace Knitting

And as I type, both Carol Sulcoski and Franklin are attracting crowds at Loop in Philadelphia with classes and beautiful yarns.

It's thrilling to see these friends get their due recognition...they're all incredibly talented and brilliantly creative.

I keep hoping some of their talent will rub off on me.

Current Knitting
I've been able to make extensive progress on the Felted Tweed zippered cardigan in the last couple of days.

I went from about 3 inches to about 12 inches.

A quick confession...while I did a gauge swatch for this design and I'm currently knitting about the same gauge, the sweater is currently way too small for me or Thaddeus (about 10 inches too small in circumference). After knitting the swatch, I did some VERY quick math in my head...incorrect math as it turns out.

But, no worries...I can adjust the chest size by doing something clever and creative with a wide front panel.

Flea Market Find
I found this little gem at the local flea market this morning.

When the vendor told me it was $20, I figured I didn't really need a fourth swift (even though this one would be perfect for my more delicate yarns). He asked me if I knew what it was, so I told him (he had a vague idea already) and when he realized I knew it's value, he dropped the price to $15. I told him I'd think about it, since I already owned 3 similar items. He dropped the price to $12 and I told him that was a good price for this item and that I would consider it while I walked around shopping. He finally lowered the price to $10, and I couldn't resist it.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Thanks all for the resources on sewing zippers into a sweater, but that's not the issue I have. I've sewn a zipper into a sweater before and I don't find it that challenging. My bigger issue is a source for lightweight, separating zippers in lots of different lengths and colors. Duffy's link gave me exactly what I was looking for...excellent source...thanks.

I also realized that when folks embed hypertext links in their comments, Disqus is requiring me to approve the comments...so some of your comments didn't show up right away. Sorry about that.

2010-11-11T09:23:00.000-05:00

And....We're Back!

Back from a training course in Orlando and back to blogging (it's a little easier to do when you have internet access).

Hotel Pickiness
I know I've been whining a lot about travel annoyances...and I really appreciated some of the comments from readers telling me to just let that shit go. I found I had built up my repertoire of pet-peeves to such a degree, that I was finding myself constantly aggravated.

I've decided to stop that.

One part of the travel industry that makes it easy to accumulate annoyances is the constant focus on trying to provide a "perfect stay" with them. Every time they fall short of their goal, it provides me another opportunity to add some other minor annoyance to my growing list.

As a recent example, I was staying at a very large hotel across the street from the Orlando Conference Center this week and their wireless internet access was overloaded by our group of about 1,200 guests trying to connect. Well, they clearly must have had larger groups of tech-savvy users in their hotel before, so this clearly can't be a new issue. Other than that, it was a beautiful hotel, fantastic fitness center and an extremely nice (and relatively competent) staff.

If I hadn't started my new attitude about letting go of irritations, the whole stay could have easily been ruined for me.

Thanks again for the feedback from readers...especially how much of the advice was "suggested" as opposed to critiquing how I do it.

Current Crocheting/Knitting
As I noted yesterday, I did finish the crochet scarf, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

I would make a few changes to the design on future scarfs, such as reducing the solid block sections a bit...I think a 1:1 ratio of open lattice to blocks is a bit boring. I also wouldn't use alpaca the next time...it's a bit heavier in crochet than I would have expected.

I think I will probably do another one of these scarfs and publish the pattern.

If anyone can suggest a good lofty DK/Sport weight yarn that comes in an interesting selections of colors and is also soft enough to wear against the skin, I'd be open to suggestions.

I also started a new project.

This is the start of a zippered cardigan (I think).

The yarn is Rowan Felted Tweed, and in a gorgeous gray/green that is very rich looking...not sure how it shows on your monitor. I'm doing a simple 5x1 broken rib (K5, P1 on right side and Purl all stitches on wrong side).

Another question for readers...especially the ones that sew a lot....what's the easiest way of finding a complimentary colored, lightweight, open-bottom zipper for a garment like this? I'm thinking that I'll need to knit the length of the front so that it matches a standard zipper lenghth...yes?...no?

Readers' Comments/Questions
Regarding letting go of petty annoyances, Kiki writes, "May I suggest (she ducks) yoga?"

I started to dabble a bit in Yoga, and I have to say it's a lot harder than it looks. While aerobically, I'm in decent shape, a 20 minute beginner's Yoga class just about kicked my ass. I will try it a few more times to see if I adjust and start getting the calm of it.

2010-11-10T12:34:00.000-05:00

I'm Still Here

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I am still around and still knitting.

Quick Post Until I'm Home
I was in a training class this week and I was planning on doing a blog post Sunday night, but the hotel's internet access wasn't working.

The class had about 1,200 relatively tech-savvy people in the hotel...you can imagine the frustration of the folks that didn't have aircards.

I was able to finish up the crochet scarf and start a new project...I'll let you know more about it when I get home either later today or tomorrow morning.

Till then, my doodling might give you a sense of where my mind was during the last session.

2010-11-01T18:00:00.000-04:00

Do I Have Too Many Pet Peeves?

It seems that some days I walk around like an annoyance waiting to happen.

Out of My Way Asshole!
I can't walk through airports anymore without becoming completely annoyed.

If it's not the idiot who has to chat with 10 of his best friends right at the end of the jetway or right in the middle of a busy thoroughfare, it's the moron who slows down to a lithium-shuffle as soon as the BlackBerry or IPhone comes out. Or maybe it's the clueless parents and their three little darlings that insist on walking through the airport side-by-side. Or the British-wannabe nimrods who insist on walking on the left side of the walkway with three pieces of bulky roller-luggage. Perhaps as annoying is the crowd of people waiting to board their plane that insists on blocking the entire walkway because they're terrified someone will get on the plane before them. Or the person that stands in the middle of the corridor trying to make sense of the arrival/departure board.

There seems to be no end to the number of irksome people in airports these days, and these are just examples of people getting in my way.

Never mind the loud cellphone talkers, or the people the feel justified sitting in the seats for people with a handicap, or the jerks who think it's not littering if they drop their refuse on the floor next their seat...oh shit...I'm exhausted and annoyed again.

Current Knitting/Crocheting
I finished up the first ball of acrylic yarn on the scarf for a project team member.

She's brought in a few more balls of the yarn, so I will finish the scarf, and I'll also probably have enough yarn left over to make a matching hat. We'll see.

I also did some small amount of work on the crochet scarf, and I swatched for a new sweater design. I'm thinking about doing another zippered jacket using yarn I bought from Green Mountain Spinnery last year at Rhinebeck, but I'm not sure I like the swatch enough.

I'll put of photos if I decide to continue.

Flea Market Finds
One of my favorite flea market vendors had a big box of finished and unfinished crocheted afghans this past weekend, and while the afghans held no appeal at all, I knew there was going to be some crochet hooks somewhere in the mess.

Sorry for the lousy photograph, but this is a "Doily Stretcher" board from Sears & Roebuck, a set of plastic crochet hooks and 4 very fine steel crochet hooks. For five dollars, I had to have them all.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Janeyknitting writes, "Ooohh, that is sooo pretty! The acrylic mohair scarf on the bright red plastic knitting needles.
Care to divulge the pattern?"

On 7.5MM needles, I cast on 19 sts. and work the following 2 rows:

Row 1: Sl1 as if to purl, K2, P1, *K3, P1* rep between * 2 more times, K3
Row 2: Sl1 as if to purl, purl to end

In essence, it's a 3x1 broken rib with a slipped stitch selvage.

2010-10-28T13:31:00.000-04:00

Managing Stress

Over the years, my tolerance for stress has decreased significantly...I used to be able to rally very quickly even when life stayed stressful for months at a time. Those days are gone.

Deny, Defer and Defeat
I honestly think that even when I was young and I thought I had a higher tolerance for stress, it wasn't always true. Stressful times would sometimes build to such a level that I'd have a melt-down.

I've had to learn ways of either avoiding stress, deferring it for a short period of time or letting is dissipate.

Obviously it's not always possible to avoid stress. But I have learned at least a few ways of saying "no" to requests of my time that would add to my stress level. I've also set my life up in ways where big areas of stress like finances, relationship issues and illness don't show up very often. And another way I've found I can avoid stress is to try and make some tasks in my life as routine as possible, so it doesn't require a lot of my attention for the purpose of worrying. An example is my traveling. When I fly (especially to Canada these days), I always keep my passport and boarding pass in the same place, I always park at the same airport parking facility, I try to book the same flights each week, I keep an extra set of toiletries at the hotel in Edmonton, etc., etc., etc.

When I do get stressed, and I don't have the ability to relax and let it dissipate (like when work is crazy and I'm in sleep deficit), I defer it as best I can by doing things that help alleviate stress in the short-run, but aren't long-term solutions. Such as drinking lots of coffee and eating lots of sugar.

Finally, I have found that relaxing, exercising, meditating and getting lots of sleep will help dissipate stress.

Suffice it to say that this week I had to rely WAY too much on caffeine and sugar and ended up being quite irritable with co-workers. I'll relax this weekend.

Current Knitting
I'm honestly not enjoying the crochet scarf project I started. I didn't feel compelled to pick it up even once this week. So I made no progress on it at all. I will finish it, but even my fiber project was irritating this week.

However, a woman at work has asked me to show her how to read knitting patterns. She knows how to cast-on, knit and purl and so I've been giving her lessons in a stitch pattern with yarn-overs, psso's and K2Tog's. She picks it up very quickly.

She also let me borrow some some bright red plastic knitting needles and some crappy acrylic mohair (I call it fauxhair), so I'm making a scarf for her mom with it.

Any Thoughts On This New Book?
Thought some readers might know more about a new knitting book than I do. Anybody heard of Diagonal Knitting: A Different Slant" by Katharine Cobey?

I can always hope that Carol does one of her great "no-bull book reviews" about it.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Regarding theft of political signs, Red853 writes, "It is actually a felony, they are we found out to be the property of the actual political party not the candidate themself. Or so we were told by the state police."

It appears that in most states, it's just a petty crime of trespassing and theft, not a felony, but I still wouldn't do it anyway...Karma and all.

NCKnitter asks about the crochet scarf, "Love the scarf! Your own pattern?"

Yes, although inspired by a Danish scarf with no English translation for the pattern, I thought I might be able to figure it out...mine is very different.

Duffy asks, "Are the socks comfortable? I'm noticing the bunching at the front of the foot where the panel goes up the shin and am wondering if that's comfortable to wear."

I've not worn them with shoes yet, but the fabric is very soft and silky, so I imagine the bunching you noticed won't be too noticeable in the wearing.

2010-10-24T16:43:00.000-04:00

Political Karma

How many of you have ever seen a public street corner filled with political signs, and thought...

...who would know...
...if I drove up one night and surreptitiously removed the signs of the candidates I don't want to see win?

Lately, I have to admit to thinking about doing this often, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I figure, like with many things, if I conduct myself with integrity, the right thing will eventually work out correctly.

So, I guess that would go for re-arranging the signs so that my favorite candidate's signs were in front of the others too?

Current Knitting and Crocheting
I promised photographs of the finished socks using my BBF handspun, so here they are (I did have to graft the last seam, so I did actually do some work on them as well):

I also started a new scarf project, and I'm not sure how I like it so far.

It's coming out exactly as I expected it, although I would do a few things differently next time. I plan on adding about seven more lengthwise rows, with a brighter color in the center row. We'll see how I like it when it's finished.

2010-10-17T20:30:00.000-04:00

By a Show of Hands...

...how many of you have ever flew Delta Airlines here in the States? And how many of you have ever had their Biscoff cookies as your in-flight snack?

Today's Blog is a Real Mixed Bag
I love these stupid little cookies. They're sweet and a little greasy and do they taste like cinnamon?...or nutmeg?...or brown sugar?

Not sure...but if Thaddeus ever asks you for a gift idea, I wuld always appreciated a small box of the Biscoff cookies.

Rhinebeck
Had a few hours to spend at Rhinebeck and I am glad to say, I spent most of the few hours there with friends. I got to see Selma, Kathy, Carol, Laura, Marilyn, Mel & David (and met Mel's parents!), and Duffy. But stupidly, I took no photographs whilst I was there.

In addition, I got to spend time with some of the guys from the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat, which is always energizing...god I love those guys.

In further addition, a number of you stopped me to say "hi" which is always a pleasure. In fact a blog reader sat down right next to me at lunch and tentatively asked me if I was QueerJoe. I also got to meet Kim from IndigoDragonfly in person...it was very nice since she's contributed yarn to the Men's Knitting Retreats in the past.

It was fun for just the people aspect alone.

Plus!!! Duffy schlepped gifts all the way across the country from Portland.

I was honestly quite shocked that she gave me some delicious cheddar cheese made in Oregon (Tillamook), and also some spectacular Polwarth roving in a gorgeous, rich colorway (dyed by Dicentra Designs...I need to check them out more carefully). I can't wait to spin this up.

Duffy is a complete delight, so it was great to finally meet her.

I also purchased some roving...I can't remember where I found it, but I loved the color...it's a longwool blend of fiber and it was very inexpensive...I couldn't pass it up.

Current Knitting
I did end up finishing the second sock using my hand-spun from Black Bunny Fiber roving. Unfortunately, I don't have a darning needle with me to graft the top seam together, so I'll completely finish the sock when I get home.

Flea Market Finds
I saw a little kit of knitting needles, crochet hooks and wrist-holder for yarn balls and it looked like some was made of ivory, some of plastic and perhaps some of balene...but none of it was in very good shape, so I didn't get it.

But I did buy two copies of the same book:

It's the Complete Guide to Modern Knitting and Crochet. I bought the original printing of this book, dated 1942 and a subsequent printing from 1947. Both look pretty much the same, so perhaps I'll have to come up with some clever way of giving the second copy away as a prize.

2010-10-11T16:54:00.000-04:00

Happy National Coming Out Day

And for those Canadian readers, happy Thanksgiving day.

With an on-line moniker of "QueerJoe" it's kind of a moot point, and at my age and the level of comfort I have with being gay, I certainly wouldn't be considered an "at-risk" youth.

I Couldn't Put It Better Myself
Sarah Silverman says it exactly how I want to, so I'll let her.

Maybe, just maybe the Vatican might get this message? Maybe the hateful Christians will see just how unChristian they are being by demeaning gay youth?

Speaking of Which...
Please make sure you vote.

I believe that Obama needs a little more support to get done what we'd truly like to see happen in this country.

He hasn't resorted to nastiness (although I would have a long time ago if I was sitting in his seat)...he just keeps quietly making progress in the right direction, despite being left with massive problems to clean up and empty coffers with which to do it.

Give him a Senate and a House that supports him for just 2 more years...it's important and the country hasn't needed so much help in a long time. Don't weigh him down with naysaying conservatives who are only out for themselves, despite what they say publicly.

Current Knitting
Finally got through the ribbing on the second sock, and turned the heel.

Almost to the the toe, and then the insert. Still quite amazed that I knot only spun this yarn with such a color repeat, but that the repeat is such a close match in each sock.

Readers' Comments/Questions
Barb B. asks, "Do you cut up your food, then eat with your right hand? or cut and eat using the fork in the left?"

I always cut my food and then eat with my right hand...the correct way. Not sure which is the Canadian way.

2010-10-06T10:31:00.000-04:00

I'm Turning Canadian

Yes, it's true...while I don't say "eh?" a lot yet, I have started to do other things that are much more representative of Canadians.

New CanadianQueerJoe
First of all, I've been allowed to let out my sincere nice-guy side. I really love how Western Canadians find the people from Toronto to be rude. I find most Canadians to be much less rude than most places in the U.S.

I've also started saying "sorry" a lot. And it's pronounced "saury" or something like that. It's a much easier identifier of someone from Canada than "eh?"

Finally, I've eaten poutine (and like it...although the curds weren't exactly squeaky fresh) and I've begun to pronounce the words "project" and "process" with a long "o" sound, as in "prototype." However, I still constantly expose myself as a Canadian imposter when I say "zee" instead of "zed" for the last letter of the alphabet. When the alphabet is one of the first academic things a child learns, it's hard to change, eh?

Current Knitting
Mostly boring progress (pronounced with a long "o") on my sock project using yarn spun with Carol's Black Bunny Fiber roving.

I'm kind of amazed that the second sock is a pretty close color match so far to the first, and this is completely by accident and unexpected.

As many of you know, I've never been a huge fan of knitting ribbing. Even though I've learned the continental way of knitting and purling, and I can do it faster than my regular way of knitting and purling, it's not as comfortable, so I constantly switch back and forth.

Current Reading
Most of you know how picky I am about my reading materials. While I've been known to read a Judith Krantz novel, it wouldn't be something I'd normally read unless I was completely bored.

I just finished one of the best books I've read in a long time, so if you really love reading John Irving and you've hated many of Oprah's picks (e.g. "House of Sand and Fog," ect.) then you definitely need to read my latest find.

Probation by Tom Mendicino is exceptional.

The main character is exceptionally self-insightful and the author uses this skill to narrate an incredibly appealing and real-life story.

As one who hates knowing much about a book or movie before reading it or seeing it, I won't say much about this book, except it is a must read, especially for any gay men, or friends thereof (and that should cover a large number of the folks that read this blog).

I would love to hear/read what others think of this book.