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February 08, 2006
Reader Q & A ... or "Do you think this Email thing will catch on?"
In honor of finally being able to open my email, and also that I am going to tell you right now I am fully incapable of wading through 1500 pieces of email, some of it apparently from a guy who really wants me to enlarge a part of the body I do not even have, I decided to do some reader mail Q & A. In here you will find one knitted roadkill, two adorable cats, a dog, a lawsuit, several interesting knitting dilemmas and much overusage of commas. ( I do love to make a comma splice!)
It's Wednesday! Humpday! Hump wisely and well.
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Laurie,
I have been working on knitting dog sweaters that are fast and easy. My Yorkie is my current model (see photo.) Once happy with the prototype, I can do them up in fun and fab yarns and donate to the Tucson Humane Society fundraiser. It gives me a chance to polish my pattern-making skills and help others. Everybody wins.
Anyhoo, I have a pattern from a book that is easy to make but it requires making two separate pieces and then seaming them together.
I would prefer to do it all in one piece -- much faster. I have a template sweater in the works on circular needles. The only part that stumps me is making ample room for the dog's front legs. It is no problem to bind off several stitches in a row to create an opening for each of the legs (lengthwise)... but I also want the leg openings to span several rows for some height. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!
Thanks,
Pickette
Naples, Florida
Dear Pickette,
Hi! That dog is so darn cute you just want to eat him up!! I have no idea how to solve your knitting problem, but I know someone on these innernets will know. Ya'll help a Florida girl out, and I just want to dognap that puppy... too cute!!
xo,
laurie
Pickette's Puppy! [click on the picture for a bigger view]
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Rachel asks, "When you go to Paris will you take pictures of some strange French food for us?"
Dear Rachel,
HELL YEAH! I plan to show ya'll some snails crawling across a plate if I can figure out the video settings on my camera. Oooh la la!
xo,
Laurie
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Hello,
My name is Amanda and I have just started browsing through your blog in the past few weeks. I took up knitting around that time and somehow found your site. OH MY GOD, this shit is addicting!!! It is so fun. I actually prefer crocheting to regular knitting but I just bought a Knifty Knitter loom set and thought before I spent hours going through your site to see if you have ever used one, that I would just email you directly. I figured seeing that you know a fair amount about this addicting sport ( :) ) that you might have some info or know someone who has tried these things. I was looking for patterns online but sometimes it is nicer to just ask people directly. Also, if you know some really good sites for free patterns for stuff, I'd be interested in checking them out. It would be greatly appreciated.
Amanda
Hi Amanda!!
Thanks for your patience and for re-sending the email. I really have technological issues, ya'll, also I am such a hermit and I really do have a hard time with correspondence. I will put that on my never-ending list of things to change about myself. Anyway! Less about my neuroses, more about your email!
I have not used a Knifty Knitter, but it sounds cool. If anyone here can help Amanda out, that would be awesome. And I agree, knitting is addictive!
xo,
laurie
REVISED TO ADD: Shannon from TechyGeekGirl Knits has used the Knifty Knitter and has pictures of her finished pieces on her website! Check it out here: http://techygeekgirlknits.blogspot.com/
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Reader Laura, who is temporarily webpage-less but is an amazing crocheter, made a kitty pi using crochet instead of knitting. No, I have no idea how she did it, but maybe if she is reading today she will post the pattern in the comments. But! Look how cute! She added some flower details on the side, and frankly the kitty pi filling is as cute as can be, thanks, Laura, for these pics!
Reader Laura's kitty pi PRE-FELTING:
Laura's kitty pi AFTER-FELTING:
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Reader David, who also did not leave me a webpage link (ya'll! help a girl out!) sent me possibly the most disturbing link ever. Normal humans would not foist this upon their friends, but by now you have given up any notion of my normalcy.
http://www.yumlum.com/galleries/knitwear/knitwear_art.htm
Well, David. That is a whole new way to use yarn. Also, may I mention that I do love a surprise hello email, and am so pleased that I was the first person who crossed your mind when you saw that link. Heh.
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Laurie,
I still read the L.A. Daily News just to keep up with MY SFV. I was just checking out Dennis McCarthy and read this article:
http://www.dailynews.com/dennismccarthy/ci_3482016
This sounds like a great program doesn’t it? And what a positive image for us knitters!
M.A.,
Arkansas
Dear M.A.
I loved it! I used to work at the Daily News a hunnerd years ago, and I emailed Dennis to tell him that he has some new knitter fans now. He has not responded, presumably because being stalked by a newly-divorced woman with four cats is not high on his list? Anyway! I loved the article, too, thanks, M.A.!
xo,
Laurie
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Reader Mona from Minneapolis sent me a link to the L.A. Times story that talks about the West Hollywood Stitch 'n Bitch group. Thanks Mona! The story features our very own Miss Kendra quoted prominently!
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Speaking of Stitching and Bitching, Readers Nikola and Sonia wanted to know where to find the WeHo S'nB. Well! Glad you asked! Thursday evenings at the Farmer's Market at the Grove... you know The Grove, right, the shopping mall? Well, they have a cute Farmer's Market out at the side, on the corner of 3rd and Fairfax. You park in the open lots outside the Farmer's Market, walk in and you'll see all the food vendors and little open-air shops. They also have places to buy booze, whoo hoo! Then look for the stairs (by the Argentine meat place) that lead up to the second-floor seating area. Folks meet up there starting around 7 p.m.-ish and going strong until at least 9 p.m. You gotta join in! I haven't been in a while, but I plan to return haunting them soon. Consider yourselves warned!
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Oh, and while we are on the subject of stitchin' and bitchin' ... got this from reader Jackie:
Dear Crazy Aunt Purl,
I am a regular reader of your blog, and I love it. I don't know how much you know about it, but Sew Fast, Sew Easy, a sewing company in New York, is trying to use legal bullying tactics to shut down Stitch & Bitch Groups. They claim they own the trademark for the term 'Stitch & Bitch' (which they don't, they are one applicant for the trademark for the term, Debbie Stoller is the applicant also for the TM on Stitch & Bitch), they also claim that they invented the term Stitch & Bitch in 1997. They are doing their best to get people not affiliated with Sew Fast Sew Easy to not be able to use the term. This situation has a lot of knitters very angry and upset.
You can read a lot about this at:
http://Craftster.org (on the knitting forum)
http://www.girlfromauntie.com/journal/index.php
http://www.freetostitchfreetobitch.org/
http://www.cafepress.com/saynotosfse
I was wondering if you could post about this on your blog and it would help get the word out about the boycott.
The funniest thing about this is that 99% of the knitters I've chatted with about this had never heard about the Sew Fast Sew Easy company before they send infringement notices to the yahoo groups.
Thanks!
Jackie D.
Dear Jackie,
I am so glad you sent me this! I had heard a little about this, but had no idea it was a big legal stink. Good Lord, people. The earth is warming, people are getting poorer, we're at war, and some company is out making people who want to knit and crochet flee from the law? PEOPLE. Time to come to Jesus, as my Uncle Truman would say. Good grief.
Thanks Jackie!
xo,
Laurie
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This is getting long... I'm sorry I am so behind in my techmology. Also, apologize that I call it "the techmology." But I love the email and especially the cute pet pictures!!
Speaking of cute pet pictures...
Posted by laurie at February 8, 2006 01:39 PM
Comments
Glad your email is up and running!!
Posted by: Pink Rocket at February 8, 2006 01:52 PM
It would suck to be without e-mail! I would totally die. Love the cat pic.
Posted by: Melissa at February 8, 2006 01:56 PM
Woo hoo! You're back!
Don't worry about the techmology. It gets us all. It's equal opportunity.
Posted by: taral at February 8, 2006 01:56 PM
Hey! You said something about eating strange food when you go to Paris. Check out the Oeuf en Gelee @ Chocolateandzucchini.com.
Posted by: lourdes at February 8, 2006 01:57 PM
Lourdes!! That is the exact recipe that Rachel sent to me! lOL
Melissa... I have actually missed entire MONTHS of email -- just about all of November and a lot of December are gone forever. Anything pre-Dec28th or so is basically gone. My whole inbox was corrupted. All that mail... gone. So sad!
I think it's fixed now. They really helped me with my spam issues, too. I was getting like 500 spams a day ... now we're down to a manageable 50 or so (bleh).
Enough of that. I have email! I'll try to get caught up by the end of the week :)
Posted by: laurie at February 8, 2006 02:00 PM
I have used the Knifty Knitter & I love it. I have pix of stuff I made on my blog. Also, you can look up patterns under Knifty Knitter under Provo Craft (the maker) or look under "loom knitting" for patterns...Hats are soooo easy on it and are soooo cute!
Posted by: Shannon at February 8, 2006 02:01 PM
No email for months?? Gaaah! That's like having no yarn for months.
Posted by: Nancy R. at February 8, 2006 02:02 PM
Shannon, thanks, I added that in!!
Nancy... it has worked on and off. It's cool. I'm old school, I prefer smoke signals LOL.
Posted by: laurie at February 8, 2006 02:05 PM
That website with the bloody knitting is sick and wrong, sick and wrong. So of course I am forwarding it to everyone I know.
Posted by: Tina at February 8, 2006 02:09 PM
I agree with Tina on the knitted/crocheted bloody knitting. Gross! Cool! And it is in a gallery somewhere! Wish I'd thought of it.
Posted by: Mary at February 8, 2006 02:14 PM
That LA Times article is great because it makes the woman behind the sew fast sew easy lawsuit sound like a complete cow.
I don't mean to offend any cows.
Posted by: mimsie at February 8, 2006 02:15 PM
I think my favorite disturbing knitted item picture is the unicorn with the dead teddy bear on its horn. And yes, Mimsie offended cows. That woman from sew fast/sew sleazy is a nutjob.
Posted by: ms. pea at February 8, 2006 02:20 PM
1) What mimsie said
2) No e-mail for months? No wonder you were sick!
and
3) Regarding feline royalty pic--the faux fur "chaise" and the red curtain background! OMG! How delightfully perfect! A perfect photograph!
Posted by: Shelly at February 8, 2006 02:24 PM
Amanda....must be honest...I hated the knifty knitter. It was given to me in a very sweet gesture by a wonderful friend who was feeling sorry for me because my arm was broken and I could not knit. Now, maybe if I had never knitted before using needles, I would have warmed up to this little circular device, but I instead saw it as the enemy. I did attempt to use it once or twice, but even that, with only one usable hand, was difficult. I just found it all horribly annoying and am very glad that I am now all healed up and I can use my needles in all their knitty goodness. But best of luck if you venture into knifty knitting!
Posted by: Kim at February 8, 2006 02:36 PM
please tell me that you will actually try snails and other strange foods and not run to the nearest macdonald's. please?
snails are good by the way -- smothered in garlic, parsley and butter. dip the bread in the buttery goodness.
Posted by: maryse at February 8, 2006 02:42 PM
Mmmmm escargot. Yummy!
Congrats on the email being up and running and for the record, I get bombarded with spam from individuals who have no idea that I don't have the body part that they want me to enlarge either.
Thank you for posting the Sew Fast Sew Easy information. I was obliviously ignorant to this nonsense. I will spread the word to my ever increasing circle of fellow knitters.
Remember: there is a fine line between hobbies and insanity.
Posted by: Miss Wendy at February 8, 2006 02:47 PM
And where is that line, pray tell?
As soon as I finish the 17,000 other projects I've committed to I'm making a kitty pi. Maybe knitted AND crocheted. I'm an equal-opportunity stitcher. And, er, kvetcher. (Stitch and kvetch? Nah, just doesn't quite do it.)
Posted by: Lucia at February 8, 2006 03:09 PM
the la times article is starring ME!!!!
*dances*
Posted by: miss kendra at February 8, 2006 03:12 PM
Chaos congratulates Soba on her toilet paper shredding. Can world domination be far behind?
Posted by: Chris at February 8, 2006 03:38 PM
That was Frankie who shredded the t.p., right? Soba is still trying to finish her meownifesto, she doesn't have time for that kind of kittenish stuff...
Posted by: clarelight at February 8, 2006 04:01 PM
That is one gorgeous cat!!
Posted by: Cheryl at February 8, 2006 04:01 PM
Oh, yeah. Pickette? If I were knitting those dog sweaters (way cute dog, btw) I would bind off/cast on the stitches for the leg holes, then pick up and knit around those holes for as many rows as you wanted the legs to be long. Hope that helps, and that you know how to use dpns!
Posted by: clarelight at February 8, 2006 04:05 PM
Man, that Frankie. And I thought Laura's kitty was cute! I think Laura's kitty pi is gorgeous - I think I liked it better pre-felting, where you could see all the stitches and stuff. But that's just me.
Glad you and your email are feeling better.
Posted by: MonkeyGurrrrl at February 8, 2006 04:22 PM
That column about the kids knitting in school was so cool. Thanks for sharing it! Hope to see you back at stitch-n-bitch soon. (I plan to use the full term as much as possible, in hopes that SFSE will try to have me arrested. ;) )
Posted by: Gwen at February 8, 2006 04:32 PM
Considering that my Mom was in a Stitch 'n Bitch group oh, like, 25 years ago, I HIGHLY doubt those jerks in New York invented the term in 1997. Get over yourselves, people. Sew Fast, Sew Easy, you're officially on notice. Shut down SnB groups and you are dead to me.
Posted by: Erin at February 8, 2006 05:39 PM
Pickette - ok momy tried to do my sweater in the round too - you can keepit on the roud needles at the legs but you need another ball of yarn to work the tummy section for the few rows. Mommy always steals from the other end of the ball of yarn. Once you have the opening long enough you can go back to the 'round' does it make anysense? The patons dog sweaters - although not in the round - do this method at the legs... I hope I am making sense...
Posted by: minou at February 8, 2006 06:02 PM
Hi Laurie! You don't know me but . . .
if you like cute animal pictures, cuteoverload.com has tons! It will make you melt into puddles over the cuteness of everything.
Posted by: Sherry at February 8, 2006 07:45 PM
What is this "overusage of commas" thing of which you speak? You mean we aren't SUPPOSED to put a comma every place we'd take a breath if we were talking out loud? But...but...but... Dayum!
Love, and hugs, and extra commas, commas, commas, and exclamation points!!!!!
GrammarChallengedDebR
Posted by: DebR at February 8, 2006 09:06 PM
You musta missed my email! Oh well, I figured it out anyway, & my loopy scarf rocks almost as much as your (if I say so myself, & I do!!!)
Posted by: Cristina at February 8, 2006 09:19 PM
I looove that kitty pi- esp. after felting! Glad your e-mail is back-
Posted by: demondoll at February 8, 2006 10:40 PM
Yeeps, that picture sent to you by David! Aghast, I showed it to my boyfriend, who said, "Is that a dog toy?" Our dog, I think, would rather have a kitty pi. I will have to see about knitting one (but how to block it? well, he's only a 20 pounder, so perhaps a cat pan would work).
Regarding this ridiculous trademark fuss, I suppose, if we must pay Sew Fast, Sew Easy for every time we say stitch & bitch, or whatever it is they have in mind, we could always switch to knit & talk shit... about Sew Fast, Sew Easy!
Posted by: Colleen at February 8, 2006 11:40 PM
Laurie, I'm just a tiny bit jealous since I'm pretty sure I sent you a picture of my Yorkies... Glad to see you and Roy are feeling better. It was pretty sad hitting the refresh button a hundred times a day with no updates.
Pickette, I agree with Clarelight. If you make the legs like bit buttonholes, it works out perfectly. I just did this recently, and the sweater came out adorable.
Posted by: Kim in CT at February 9, 2006 05:45 AM
Oops, that was "big" buttonholes.
Posted by: Kim in CT at February 9, 2006 05:51 AM
Don't forget to take pictures of strange (any for that matter) Frenchmen while you're there too! Ooo la la!
Posted by: Sandee at February 9, 2006 07:31 AM
That knit art is a little...disturbing. I confess a certain love for the shark, though.
And Frankie is so beautiful. She looks so soft and squeeeeeeezable.
Posted by: Martigny at February 9, 2006 07:59 AM
I have a picture of my GRANDMOM & her Stitch & Bitch group from the 40s hanging around somewhere. Seriously they should stick that in their pipe and smoke it.
It's like Paris whatsherface wanting to TM "That's Hot" or Donald "I have too much money" Trump TMing "You're Fired". What every employer on the planet has to pay him royalties?
Ugh.
Posted by: Carna at February 9, 2006 08:09 AM
Your blog cracks me up, I'm so addicted!!!
I love that crocheted kitty bed.... but I love that girl's couch even more. Seriously, how cute is that?
Posted by: Kelly B. at February 9, 2006 08:11 AM
Yeah! Frankie!
Maybe you could take pictures of french kitties, after the french food and the french men.
Posted by: Kathleen at February 9, 2006 08:17 AM
have to say, that's a ridiculous claim from Sew Fast Sew Easy. My dad used to sell yardsticks marked with the words Stitch & Bitch.... way back in 1972! It's a colloquial expression, people..
Posted by: Alexis at February 9, 2006 09:22 AM
May I suggest the Pink Panther theme for your pink razor? It's available from Cingular. I don't know who you have as your phone company.
I love me some Pink Panther.
Posted by: Laurie Ann at February 9, 2006 01:29 PM
Since you posted about techmology a while back that's what we at our house now call mis-behaving technology - techmology.
Posted by: Jan aka Warrior Knitter at February 9, 2006 06:49 PM
I just got a kitty and would love to crochet a Kitty Pi! Any word on a pattern yet? I've searched the web far-and-wide! Thanks for the great blog!
Posted by: Cathy at February 10, 2006 09:03 AM
Thanks for the compliments on the kitty bed, the kitty, and the sofa! If I'd known Emma was going to be a featured blogfold I would have retaken the second photo with decent lighting.
There's no patten for the bed, but it's about as easy as it can get. I just single crocheted (which I just learned how to do) a circle about 19 inches across then stopped decreasing for six or so inches and went a round with a contrasting color. The blobs were supposed to look like stars. I just stitched them on randomly with the trim color. It took three rounds in the washing machine on hot with dishwashing soap and a couple of pairs of jeans. I wanted it to be about 15 inches across and it came out perfectly. I used the now discontinuted Paton's Up Country and a Q hook. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any other questions, but I warn you that I am not an expert crocheter.
Posted by: Laura at February 10, 2006 10:28 AM
