Excuses, Excuses...

If you'll kindly notice off to the right of this post (and all future posts) we have new information available regarding Knit Purl and you, compliments of the dear Fyberduck.

Go on. Take a look see. I'm not going anywhere.

Yeah, I know. PBS is filming this Thursday, November 29th at Sip and Stitch.

Now I could lament:
Mah hair and these ol' rags! Whatevah shall I do? (Sorry that was a very Scarlet O'hara moment)

But in actuality (its sad but true) I'm not so much worried about the Beast. I mean, c'mon, the word is out. Everybody's seen it and due to the presence of cameras it promises to entertain all with its ridiculousness.

I'm not thinking about the clothes either. Even if I were to wake up suddenly as my super-hot alter ego (circa 1996 while she was still touring) and look disgustingly great in a little Vivienne Westwood or Diane von Furstenberg number that, ya know, just happened to be lying around amongst the stash, more than likely I'd have a full cup of tea and a bottle of hot sauce on me before noon. Nothing says slovenly like orange and brown stains.

What I'm actually worried about is what I'll be seen knitting. (ugh, I'm so embarrassed)

I want my project to look intriguing but easy to recognize. I want colorful but not over the top. I'm leaning towards knitting with my Shosenshi Paper Linen yarn because it's definitely intriguing and colorful, but something says on camera it'll just look crazy came for supper.

I also need to knit some Christmas gifts as well. An ear covering (but not hair smooshing) item for mom in Fibre Company is in order...
These are the colors she would look great in,

but these are the colors I want to knit.

I can knit a hat for Dad (such a great excuse to buy some pretty new yarn and I’ve had the Homina's for the Great Big Sea for awhile. Thanks dad!) The color of his eyes would look so good if he was in any of these colors,

but good luck trying to get him to wear it without doing some combo action like this:

I promised a scarf for lil’ bro last year but due to some co-operation issues the yarn and I were having, his scarf couldn’t materialize for the holidays. Some may not know my policy in these matters: the yarn was put into “time-out” so it could think about what it was doing, how it needed to change its attitude, and develop a plan to maintain “correct” behavior. It’s only fair.

My brother the freak, (don’t fret, I typed those letters with love) is 6’, 5” and wanted a “really long”, fingering weight, stockinet, black scarf. Do you know how long “really long” is to a man who blocks out the sun he’s so tall? Just start knitting to the 7 foot mark and he’ll see if it’s long enough.

He has no shame.

Why would you want a plain scarf in black if you could have this deliciousness:

Oh and my girl Martha has a recipe for some fun scarf magic. Check this: one ball of Aslan Trends del Sur and knots spaced with a deck of cards. Sandy Kay made it. She channels Martha's mojo well.

I could also pull out some serious cash for the new beaded Art Yarn (brand new, just came in, back off it's mine).

I just created a new excuse for stash enhancement... I feel so dirty.

The Coolness and the Love!

Okay today's blog theme is the cool things that be.

A number 1 I promised some people the really cool pumpkin soup recipe.

It's cool because it's French and it's easy. Easy like a Sunday Morning.
How do I know it's French? Well, by the ridiculous amount of cream used. The ingredients are as follows:

1 one kilo pumpkin, whole (Kilo is Frenchy talk for a little over 2 pounds)
1 cup of cream*
1 cup of bread crumbs lightly toasted*
1 cup of shredded Gruyère cheese*

Open up the pumpkin and scoop out that stringy nastiness and seeds. Reserve the seeds for toasting. Do not reserve the stringy nastiness.
Pour the other ingredients into the pumpkin hollow. Bake at 175ºC until the pumpkin is soft-ish on the outside and scoop-able on the inside. Again 175ºC is French for 350ºF or thereabouts.
* You will need to increase these ingredients incrementally for larger pumpkins.

The other cool thing about this recipe is it's adaptability. I've used stock when I've been low on cream, added vegetables or meat to change it up a bit, included various fresh herbs or spices, and the reserved toasted seeds as garnish. Bon appétit!

B number 2 Just look at the new pattern from Interweave Knits "Holiday Gifts" issue:

I know! Isn't it cute? The fact that I find it cute says something. I don't do Faire Isle and the Beast doesn't do berets. But still... charming. Made from the Norwegian loveliness called Hifa2 and modeled by the charming Marilyn Deering (we love her so much we just want to fix tea for her all the time). The mags are pulling out all the stops with the approaching holiday and I suppose I will be stashing away lots of ideas for creatively dry times.

C number 3

I went to this place with "Dan" (aka Don, fearless leader's DH) to buy some goodies for the holiday window.



It's a surprise but if you investigate further, you will discover the secret. I also should mention with this effort I hope people know that we love our customers in KP land.
No, really. The love we feel for our peeps is illegal in 32 states.
Feel it. Roll around in the love like a sweaty fat wrestler. Do you feel the love? Do you feel it? Do you?

The love brings me to further coolness:

D number 4

THE HARLOT EMAILED ME BACK!!!!!

Can I just say I'm shocked. Shocked. Mainly due to the fact that I scared the b'jesus out of her when she visited Stumptown last summer. (I was soooo excited. Those who know me know I get a wee bit "slightly-inbred-cocker-spaniel-on uppers" when excited. I think I may have invited her and a cast of thousands out for drinks that evening. If you combine that fact with a very shy person's temperament, well it just ain't good.) I'm also shocked because I was in a fugue state when I er, the Beast wrote the note. The Beast... the beast who "outs" me more often than not was looming large that day when I met her and was my moniker in the note. (I'm sure it was actually the Beast who wrote the note.) Finally, I fearfully report the words "feminine hygiene products" may have been used in the email. (We are unclear on that point. We may be drinking to stay in that realm of unclarity.)

All in all it was a very cool day.

Hat Gone Bad! (a bit like girls gone wild, but with more fabric)

Tick tock.

I'm never gonna make it in time, however it's amazing how well drinking and felting time go together. Observe:


That's right, felted perfectly.

Now observe:
Yeah, a bit too much.
To add to the chaos there was a piece of paper included in the wash. I suppose one of my co-workers thought it kind to include a note with felting tips. Like I said, I'm felting, therefore I'm drinking, so blame is placed entirely on aforementioned co-workers. The paper is not my errant grocery list, or meeting notes, or what have you. It theirs. They are at fault (& I'm not drinking enough because if I was this wouldn't matter).
So, the gorgeous Shibui Merino Kid "Madonna-of-the-Guiltier-period" bra-turned-bag is a little smaller than calculations originally indicated. No matter, it's a bag. An evening bag mind you, not the utilitarian yet highly chic version originally envisioned bag, but a bag of such super-cuteness even handles, the mainstay of all bags, seem oafish and oversize next to such fulled beauty.
Once again, I ask you to observe:

Yeah, I thought so too. It still looks a bit too "Madonna-of-the-Guiltier-period".
Because this was a hat-gone-bad that I was trying to resurrect for someone else, it's a wash.

The good news is felting isn't like surgery, it's more like Frankenstein or "Young Frankenstein". You can resurrect felt from the dead. I highly recommend Malabrigo and Blue-faced Leicester for their depth of color and sheer buttery softness. If you want a color extravaganza Cascade220, Hifa, and Jamieson's are for you. If it's texture and sheen that you like try Lamb's Pride, Merino Kid, or Baby Alpaca DK. I can pick up stitches, add on, throw it in the wash, and create something beautiful. I can also create a larger version of fugly, but I'm attempting optimism right now.

Go forth! De-tribble your stash, Macgyver them together with something fresh and new so you can create your own creature, er bag, uh scarf... whatever, just hurry.