Wow! I love the Patons Soy yarn. I'll have to look for that.

And yeah, gas prices are depressing me too.

YIKES! Well, that would explain their "RECORD PROFITS!!!!" they keep crowing about.

Love the Patons SWS. I knitted alot of Christmas gifts with that this year.

here in pdx, we pay *way* more than the rest of nation; i've seen prices at $3.50. thank goodness i can ride my 100 mpg scooter to work and back.

As a white girl with some crazy curls, my hairdresser told me I should NEVER wash my hair with shampoo. And only to condition. It lasted a week til the Valdez folks came by to check on the grease slick. I only wash every three days or so. But my hair is dry, dry, dry.

And I ramble.

LOVE the yarn. Must pick some up. What a steal!

I've heard good things about the Patons Soy, and it's supposed to felt well too.

It's the opposite from what you suspect, Laurie -- I need the natural oils, and if I wash my hair every day my hair turns dry and crinkly and splits terribly. It needs the oil. It might sound gross but my hair doesn't look dirty or smell dirty. It looks normal, instead of staticy, limp, lifeless, and sticking out in all directions. Conditioner doesn't make up for it, despite the advertising.

One nice thing about an oily scalp is that you will NOT develop so many lines in your face as you get older (like my age). Seriously! I am among the every-other-day hair washing crowd. The best thing I've found to keep my hair from developing those lack lustre strings? Redkin's "Weight Lifter" - its a spray on clear liquid that acts with heat to give you some bounciness in your fine oily hair. It works! I use it on wet hair and then next morning I spritz again, use the curling iron or just finger scruntch if the ends haven't gotten all messy. Without this miracle stuff I'm in the every morning washing crowd.

Hugs to you, Roy, Soba etc. Check Soba's catster mail box will you please? Perry Penelope has sent her a message...

Here in the seattle area, the cheap gas was $3.31 lastnight. $52 to fill our tank, and it's not an SUV.

I've used the shiny red yarn for a pair of 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' Booties

I once bought this Bumble + Buble stuff that was supposed to keep you hair fresh between washes but it made my hair look like it was encrusted with baby powder, it was also all over my bathroom at the end of this disastrous experiment.

I go without washing my hair every single day sometimes on the weekends, but I still have Valdez head at the end of the day. I think it's just another downside to limp straight hair.

I wash my hair every other day in the wintertime (I live in Michigan; indoor heating in winter makes it really, really dry). I wash about 5-6 times a week in the spring/summer, depending on heat, humidity, sweat-age. My scalp has gotten less oily as I've gotten older [I'm 42 tomorrow :) ]

My semi-permanent hair color lasts TEN WEEKS. One gal I work with washes her hair twice a day and her color last four weeks.

“WHAT I want”, wrote Kingsley Amis in 1954, a few weeks before his debut novel “Lucky Jim” made him famous, “is a chance to decide, from personal experience, that a life of cocktail parties, cars, weekending at rich houses, wine, night-clubs and jazz won't bring happiness. I want to prove that money isn't everything, to learn that pleasure cloys.”

I don't think riches and fame will spoil you but I do hope you get that chance to prove it!

Ummm, in the meantime, could you explain how to wind center-pull skeins? Every time I try the center-pull part turns into a blob.

It might be the type of conditioner you use. I've heard it said that people with fine hair ususally use a conditioner that's very heavy to keep their hair "under control" but this tends to over condition your hair and make it grease up quickly. I could be wrong. Your hair dresser might have some better info and good suggestions.

Good luck!

With gas prices this high, maybe this country will get off its collective larger butt and walk some! Couldn't hurt!

Leslie, I'm going to try that product you mentioned!

At the corner of Olympic and Fairfax, gas is going for $3.89, minimum. It is a horror, and I avert my eyes as I drive by.

Just to give you more practice: Congratulations again!

Jill, I will do my best to come up with a picture tutorial of it or something, bevcause to me it's the ultimate yarn zen, especially if you don't have a swift and a ball winder. It works best on smooth yarn like this, too, anything with nubs is trickier. I'll try to work that up for next week.

LOL, thanks Uccellina. I'm sorry we didn't get to visit more last night!

I'm going to ask Aharon about the conditioner thing. But this has always been my hair, so I'm not sure there's really an answer, just thought it was amazing someone could go a whole week! If I went a week without washing my hair I would be disgusting.

How DO YOU DO a center pull ball without a ball winder?!?!? I honestly didn't know it was possible? I've been sheltered by my LYS that lets me use their winder every time I buy a new skien! I'm obviously lacking some useful information!

I wash my hair everyday, well, almost. There are a few occasions when I oversleep and have no option but to run out the door and am lucky if I make it out of my pajamas and into at least some clothes that look professional. Those days are very uncomfortable for me - because I know my hair's pullin' some major nasty tricks up there! It is the curse of the straight limp hair!

I sat one table over from John Cusack (and his friend Jeremy Piven--this was before he became "Ari") a few years back. When I turned to see him, my heart did a flip-flop. Oooh, man, I lurrrve him! But I'm a New Yorker, and fawning is unheard of. So, my friend and I kind of did the smile, "how you doing" thing with Mr. Piven , but Mr. Cusack was mute. So I can't offer much feedback on his level of niceness. Regarding the washing of hair..I also have straight, fine blonde hair, but as of late (since I hit my late 30's) I find I do not have to wash it every day. Prior to that? Forget it! Wash every day unless I wanted to look nasty.

I was in Canada this summer & someone saw gas at $1.19, they were raving about how cheap it was away from the awful American oil companies (it was an Esso aka Exxon, if I remember correctly) until I pointed out that the $1.19 was per liter, not gallon. That works out to about $4.76 per gallon, give or take 50 cents.

ps I have VERY dry hair. I wash it once a week. If I washed it everyday, it would look like a heap of straw.

I bought a ball of Paton's SWS a couple weeks ago and I'll tell ya...it made the cutest roll brim hat. CO 80 stitches on a size 8 circular and the stripes look great! Everyone who has seen it is amazed and wants to know how I did it.

My hair is fine like yours and I have to wash it every morning. If I wash it at night it looks oily again before I even get off work. It's been like that my whole life...no matter what kind of products I use.

I used the Patons SWS on a wine cozy for my aunt. The colors felted really nice

http://jens-crafty.blogspot.com/2007/03/who-are-you-again.html

I have curly hair and my stylist says the same thing, not to wash it more than once a week, but I can't do that. I can go every other day, but that's the limit. It's true most of the hair on my head looks better day 2 but the scalp? Holy disgusting!! And mostly in one spot, I can't figure it out. I'm going to go with small trolls creeping into my bed at night and pouring oil on my head.

Oh and I love the angle photo idea, I've stolen it from you a few times. My double chin says, Thank you.

This is probably a dumb questions, but what is a bracelet bag?

I love seeing my mug on the internets! What can I say? I'm a media-hound! Yes, you really do know all the angles, Ms. Photo!

I have very short hair (as you know). Now that I'm puttin' all this product (gel, mousse, Aqua-Net, etc.) in my locks, I hate to wash it out every morning and waste all that expensive stuff. I wash it every other day. This works for short, spikey hair. For long, straight hair like your's, I think you need to wash it more often for that easy, breezy California surfer girl look that you have achieved.

Directions for winding a center-pull ball by hand are in the "Stitch N Bitch book. Basically: hold your fingers like Dr. Spock on Star Trek (the "V" thing with 1st 2 fingers together & last 2 together) leave a tail, wind yarn in figure 8 for several wraps, fold that over on itself, then wind you a purty ball around that. For a real purty ball, hold your fanger in the hole where your yarn tail is while you wind. (Originally typed without the last "yarn" in that sentence. PORN!)
I, too, have the crazy, oily hair and skin. Must wash everyday. Tried every product in the world, still must was everyday or I get "comb tracks" it's so oily. Oily skin, too. Good thing: not a wrinkle in sight and I'll be 40 in (gulp) 3.5 weeks.

If I wash my hair everyday, it becomes a big, poofy, crinkley, frizzy mess. I wash it about every third day in the cold months and every other day when it's warm. On days I don't wash it, I still rinse it out and use conditioner. I can wash it more often if I'm using B&B's Alojoba shampoo and conditioner, but my salon stopped carrying B&B and I'm too lazy to go to second place to buy it as often as I need.

I love the Patons--such gorgeous colors! I definitely have to look for it at my LYS.

I'm going to have to get me some of that SWS. It looks sooo fun!

I wash my hair once a week except under unusual circumstances. I have very straight hair, I can have oil problems, but it's coarser hair than yours. I don't use shampoo or conditioner, though, I use baking soda in warm water to wash and diluted apple cider vinegar after! When I started with this, I washed 2 to 3 times a week, but my hair and scalp seem to be very happy with my current regimen. I think maybe I was creating my own oil problem by washing too often before!

If you want to try the baking soda thing, and your hair is very fine, you might want to add a tiny bit of oil to the vinegar rinse. The thing I had the most problem getting used to is the fact that there is no lather.

Guess I'll quit complaining about $3.03 a gallon.

Thick, kinky, dry hair in the desert can go a few days without washing but not much more than that. The natural oils help the hair feel soft but then it starts to smell like my dog.

One of these days I'm gonna try that felting thing.

I wash ever day...but then I have a hormonal condition that causes my body to produce more oil on my face and hair than any one human should be capable of so you know...

A girl I work with washes once a week (she should wash more if you ask me...to quote you "I'm just sayin"...) and she convinced me to go one day without washing my hair. Convinced me it'd be better for my hair.

When she saw me that morning we agreed that I probably should never ever EVER skip a wash again and we bought some shampoo at lunch and she helped me wash it in the sink in the toilet.

My hair is very fine...and straight...and there is A LOT of it...I don't know if that makes it better or worse for every day washing but yeah. I do. Every day. Or else I'm even grosser than I am normally. :)

Laurie, I wash my hair once a week.

People ask me how I keep my hair so thick and shinny....

how funny! We just had the hair washing discussion in my office last week. I was shocked to find out that 3 of the women I work with wash their hair every 3 or 4 days. I have fine hair. There is no way I could ever go more than 2 days and that would only be on the weekend! Besides, I love hair products. How could I manage to go a day without yummy smelling shampoo and some sort of mysterious elixir that is guaranteed to make my hair look like Jennifer Aniston's?

I have the same issue with my hair. It's fine and I have to wash it by the third day because I'm a blondie and the greaziness really shows on my hair.
But miracle of miracles! I've found that I can cheat one more day out of a shampoo by using a big makeup brush to sweep plain ordinary translucent face powder along my hairline and wherever there may be a greasy part on the top(the same stuff I use to keep the greaziness at bay on my face). Then I pull it into a ponytail and head out to start my day. It might not work that well on dark hair, but I've found that it's not all weird looking like when you do it with baby or talc powders - maybe because the face powder has some color in it?

And darn it all if I now have to go buy some of that SWS. I've been tempted to already - have you seen it used for entrelac? Divine!

Arianne just reminded me, last night on NPR's "Marketplace," the announcer said, "I'm just sayin'..." in the course of a story. I don't know where HE picked up the phrase, but I got it here.

It totally depends on your hair type. My mom and I both have the kind of hair where you can wash it once a week and not even notice that it hasn't been washed in that long. I know from going camping for a week in october (like hell I am getting in the water), my mom knows because she only washes her hair every week (she goes and gets it washed & styled once a week).

Infact, the longer I don't wash my hair the nicer it looks because it stops being big and puffy and out of control and starts to hang down straight and nice. The first day after I wash my hair is always terrible.

Congrats on the book! I can't wait!

I rock the super fine hair, too, and wear it pretty short. It took me a while to figure out that EVERY single hair article written in any magazine was NOT written for me. A lot of hairdressers have a tough time figuring out how we work, too.

But think about the money we save in hair products! I can't use most stuff on my rabbit fur head. I love my 99 cent squeaky suave shampoo, though. Fuzzy heads unite!

I'm a once-a-week washer. Sometimes can go 10 days, even. (Quit that gasping!) I've heard (but it may be myth) that the oftener you wash, the higher the oil production. Or maybe it's just aging. My hair always looks fabulous. Except for it's propensity for making a pie-plate on my head over night.

Anybody remember that spray (called Pssssst, wasn't it?) that was supposed to be "as good as washing"? It was like baby powder and turned your hair grey. But we all tried it.

Heading out to Michael's to get me some of that soy! And an E on wheels.

I do not have fine hair or straight hair, and I have to wash it every day, in the morning before work. If I wash it at night, I start looking greasy by then end of the next day. But- I am the only one of my friends who does this. Nice to know I'm not alone any more! My other favorite thing about my newly short hair is that it literally stands on end in the morning (from being smashed against the pillows)- if I didn't wash it I'd frighten the neighbors.

I TOLD you the Patons SWS was nice yarn! And you bought my favorite colorway! I looooove Natural Earth!

Shanda

P.S. Stay away from the blue colorway, because it's just...well...blue.

I TOLD you the Patons SWS was nice yarn! And you bought my favorite colorway! I looooove Natural Earth!

Shanda

P.S. Stay away from the denim colorway, because it's just...well...blue.

I have the same "shine" issue & my hair requires daily (in the morning) washing... I have been told that that should change after MENOPAUSE - gee thanks, that should happen in a full 20+ more years from now...

Wow - this hair washing thing is all so surprising to me. I went to a hairdresser a couple of years ago who asked how often I washed my hair. When I told him every day he asked, "is there any particular reason you wash it every day?" Uh...cause that's how it's always been? Ever since I haven't washed it every day but I didn't know that no one did!!!

Is it right to assume those who wash their hair once a week aren't working up a sweat regularly? Giving the hair a break sounds great, but no wash after workout would mean I'd need a hat.

I am with you on the hair washing. If I don't wash it every day it UG-LY! Oily and flat, not a good combo.
I have been dying to get me some of that Soy yarn at Michaels. It's beautiful!

I have super thick, super curly hair. It HAS to be wet, and i mean dripping wet, in order to be styled in any way shape or form, and then once its covered in mousse/gel/glaze/whatever, i CANNOT comb it the rest of the day. I wash it every day

I recently wore it straight for a year./ With Straight hair, if I got it wet, i had to blowdry it, then run a flat iron thru it to look presentable, so i was only washing 2x a week max.

I am personally much happier washing daily.

I have salt-and-pepper hair, as thick and straight and coarse as a horse's mane, and if I don't wash it every day I look like a witch.

I can =sometimes= skip a day in the winter if it's dry.

So, being in Louisiana, that's like 5 days a year.

To Jill of the 7 cats ... "I'm just sayin'" is an exceedingly Southern thing.

Just sayin.'

We were up to $3.53 a few days ago here in Seattle for regular unleaded, but I'm sure it's gone up since then. I can't really bring myself to look. And I have been one of those folks where I have to wash my hair every day if I actually plan on seeing people. If I work at home (90% of the time now), I can let it go for three days w/out feeling like I'm going to jump out of my skin, but I'm happiest with a wash every day.

I wash my hair every day because when I don't it looks like it's wet and it smells like scalp. Yuck. And my hair isn't particularly fine. It's just oily.

Goodness, that Patons soy yarn is lovely. And I'm a big fan of the Patons Brilliant yarn (the shiny red yarn). Love the idea of stranding it with another yarn. Thanks for the inspiration. I have to go to Michael's now, dang it! ;)

I guess I'm the only one who hates SWS? Something about the texture freaks me out. I just can't knit with it. Plus, it splits like crazy, and I love me some pointy needles. The two don't mix.

I wash my hair at least every other day. I just feel cuter if my hair is clean.

CAP, do you take your camera with you everywhere?

I recently found the Patons SWS (in red-pink-tan-purple) and I've been awed by how beautifully it knitted up into a bracelet bag. I was told it would felt, but I've been afraid to try because the soy aspect had me worried. I'm glad to hear it will be as lovely as I've been hoping. With red bracelets and some red knitted flowers, it's going to be perfect for my teen-aged niece. I can't wait to finish it now!

I wash my hair every single day, sometimes twice if I take a second shower because I'm going someplace nice for dinner or if I've cleaned out the garage and am feeling particularly grubby. I have baby fine somewhat curly hair but cannot stand to go a single day without shampooing. I've tried the rinse-only thing too, but don't you feel like you can almost *smell* your scalp? EW! No thanks! I'd rather have dry-ish hair and be springtime fresh.

I just paid 3.59 for the lowest grade gas.... I looked up after 3.5 gallons and nearly fell over knowing that I had nine more gallons to go. And I drive a Toyota! Gotta stop driving. Gotta. Wish there was better RT here.

Also, I have fine wavy hair. Must be washed, re-oiled, and dominated daily. Can't do the every other day thing. Can't. Bedhead Bad.

Valdez is very metro. And very New York.

oops didn't mean to be anonymous...sorry.

They should install an oil derrick on my scalp, for all the crude it produces. I'm so jealous of folks who are able to go days or even a week without washing, and their hair doesn't look oily-dirty.

You are going to have to give us all a little lesson on how to make your round center-pull balls, because I only know how to make round outside-pull balls, unless I'm using a ball winder.

Living on the east coast, we don't see too many celebs, but my sister loves to tell the story of when a Hollywood power couple (tv producers) had an issue with a house they were renting down on the Outer Banks (my sis worked for the real estate company). They told my sister, "do you know WHO WE ARE? We will tell all our Hollywood friends NEVER to come here!", to which my sister replied, "PLEASE DO!"

My stylist and I just had this conversation about hair washing on Wednesday. She has fine hair and swears she only washes every 2 or three days. But I work out every night after work, so I don't see how I can't wash every day. Because let me tell you, I'm a sweat-er. My grandma said that men sweat, women perspire and ladies glow.... well, I sweat. Like dripping off my ponytail at the end of the hour yuckiness.

I live in the desert. If I don't wash it every day it feels nasty.

I'm with you in the minority, I guess, Laurie. I wash my hair every day and have fine, thick brunette hair. My hair is oily by the end of the day even with washing. There is no way I could imagine not washing it every day.

Yes, I think the thickness has a lot to do with the hair washing schedule and they dry/oily thing.

I have hair for three people (no, literally, I have had more than one hairdresser say that in a sad voice when they were trying to blow it dry) and it is very dry. Very, very dry! If I try to wash it every day, even with the uber conditioners, it breaks off. So I have to do a 3 day schedule and that is even with the leave-in conditioner. Nothing like the ginormous frizzy head to startle people.

Doesn't help that my hair is red and I'm 6'.

I wash every 2-3 days, and I'm a runner - so I'm sweating, definitely. However, I actually do wash my body - just not my hair. I'm gonna have to try that REdken stuff, though. (I have long hair and lots and lots of it.)

$3.52/gallon in PDX last time I filled up....fortunately, I only drive once a week.

I am from Chicago, where John Cusack spends much of his time, and several of my friends have run into him. They all said he was incredibly charming. Jeremy Piven, however... I have heard some horror stories.

I don't shampoo my hair every day, but I do wash it, with conditioner. What? You don't understand? Well, think about the secret of how to get a dried up oil stain out of clothes...you have to reactivate the oil, by putting more oil on it and then washing it. Voila, oil stain gone. Same thing with your hair...I scrub my scalp every day with conditioner, which gets the old stuff out.

And yeah, I do work up a sweat, regularly. I ride my bicycle a lot, at least 50 miles a week.

I just finished a scarf with the Patons Soy Wool Stripes. I had 3/4 of it done in stockinette stitch, but as ya' know, it rolls. Ended up froggin' the whole thing and knitted it with garter stitch instead. Doesn't show the varigation of the colors as well, but still looks nice. It was a tactile dream to work with, so soft and lovely.

As for hair washing drama, I wash every other day. Of course, I've got horribly thick, coarse hair (imagine wearing a wool cap all the time) and with washing every day, no matter how many tons of conditioner I use, it still dries out. *Rrrrgh.

A good friend of mine has the fine, limp hair issue and she only conditions the ends. Gets a nasty case of Valdez otherwise. She also uses that facial astringent, Sea Breeze, on her scalp (smell dissipates quickly) so that she's able to wash her hair every other day. Seems to work for her.

Hey, that's weird. Y'all have cheaper gas than us. We're in Washington state and ours is $3.60 for the cheap stuff. Y'all always have higher gas prices.... what's the world comin' to?

LAURIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

You *DO* rock the center-pull balls. (I can only do them with toilet-paper rolls!) But if you do a center-pull ball, you know you DON'T have to split the yarn into two balls, right?! You could use the center yarn and the outside yarn, and knit double with them!

I'm sorry I've been missing you and everyone last nite; I hope to be back in the swing of things in the next week or two. In the meantime, CONGRATS, again, on your literary success!!!

You've probably been told this already but that Paton's soy wool felts up awesome. It looks so cool!

I have fine, straight blonde hair and if I don't wash it daily it looks darker, not to mention the greasies. (and I don't use conditioner every day, either)

I am going to continue to believe that John Cusack is a nice guy in real life, because he's so damned cute. That is all.

Whoo, sorry about those gas prices. It's $3.19 for the cheap stuff here in my part of Ohio, so I'm feeling something very close to your pain. :)

The Patons SWS is gorgeous! Must find some of that!

Sylvia - I work out and I rinse my hair but I don't scrub it with shampoo every day anymore. Also, sometimes I try to time my work outs to my hair washings. OK - controlling enough - maybe???????

When I 1st started reading your blog - sometimes there were be an abreviation of certain words and after reading - you would just figure it out. But Where is PDX? Just wondering?

Laurie, you are beautiful - no fake camera work required. Belive it sister!

obviously I can't type either ... there would be an abreviation!! Now - where / what is PDX

Oh, that Paton's SWS is so beautiful! I love those colors together!

And here's a stupid question. I know I've mentioned more than once that I haven't started to knit yet although I have bought me some supplies recently to get started. Now my question, why do you have to rewind a ball of yarn? You mean you can't knit with it just the way you bought it? And why can't the yarn be manufactured to be ready to knit from? I don't get it!

I'm one who has to wash my hair everyday, too. It's baby fine and oily. If it's cold and dry in the winter (it's not all the time, I'm in Texas) then I go a day without washing here and there or else my scalp is too dry. I've tried those powders on my scalp too. I've read articles in beauty magazines from hairdressers who say don't wash your hair more than once a week or even longer. I can't do that, it's nasty greazy!

Paton's SWS is perfect for entrelac too. Doing a shawl with it right now. When Michael's puts a 50% off coupon in the Sunday paper, I buy my next ball for all of $3. LOL.

I forgot to mention, I filled up my Honda this morning and paid 2.96 a gallon. (Denver area).

Oh, yeah, I filled up yesterday in Dallas for $2.87.

Another "fine limp hair gotta wash it every day" person here! On the other hand, as someone said earlier, oily skin means fewer wrinkles...I had two grandmothers (well, duh, that's obvious), one with dry skin and one with oily skin, and oily-skin gramma looked YEARS younger than the other one.

Leeny -- yes, yes of course definitely do not follow my lead on this one LOL. With most normal skeins of yarn (not hanks of yarn, those have to be wound up) you just knit right off the skein.

Now, me? I was looking for the other end of the red paton's skein (because I wanted to knit from both ends, and have a double-thickness of thread for felting) but then I couldn't easily find the inside smooshed-in end. So I just started winding and making two balls. I like winding because sometimes I have a hard time concentrating on knitting while also talking (stitch 'n bitch!)

The reason I put the patons SWS in a ball was because I was also searching for the other end, tucked inside, so I could double the yarn and knit with both ends. But that did not work out either, and anyway it looks better knit with a single strand. I love that patons SWS yarn, it's beautiful, and I can't wait to felt it.

Hi everyone :) yes I do take my camera everywhere LOL. And the bracelet bag is here:
http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2006/03/easy_knitted_fe.php

MonkeyGurrl ... hi, missed you at snb!

I not only have the must-wash-everyday fine and oily hair, I also have half board-straight, half wavy hair. Letting it air dry is not an option....it looks like I only permed certain sections of my head!

We here in Nashville love to talk about whether certain country music stars are actually nice or full of themselves (I won't spoil the illusion on certain ones for any of you that might listen to country!) I have been disappointed more than once by meeting a favorite celebrity only to find that they aren't as nice as I thought....

gasp! That Patons is gorgeous! And soy wool? I'm going to Michael's right now!

P.S. I also have fine straight oily hair that I have to wash every day. I can not stand to not wash it.

Aveda Reviving Mist is the secret to making dirty hair look great. Dirty hair looks better than clean hair on most people anyway - not funky, smelly hair, just day-or-two past washing and a little product. Holds the style better too.

At least, ya'll have the chance of running into A-List people down there. Up here in the Sacramento burbs, I only run into Timothy Busfield at the grocery store and it's not pretty. o.0

Love that SWS. It does felt well, Auntie. I made a bag with it last summer. May I ask why you didn't just use both ends and leave the skein as is? That's what I do when I need to double the yarn. Or am I missing something? :?

Happy Friday!

I too am hair-challenged and wishing I could use scalp oil in my gas tank. And you know how people have hair all the same length? How do they DO that? I've got wisp city over here. I suppose if I got a buzz cut... that's lovely yarn.

Have you tried the No-Poo method? It is supposed to be a good way to avoid some of the chemicals in shampoo...

Cookie, I couldn't find the other end! LOL

sue, My friend Davo lives in Portland, Oregon which he swears is PDX. (It was new to me too)

Laurie, I have super-fine straight hair and over the past couple years have gone down to every-other-day washings. A stylist told me a while back that we have to retrain our hair, that when we wash every day, the scalp produces more oil to accomodate for the drying effect of shampoo.

So, if you start washing every other day, at first it is an oily nightmare. But, after a few weeks and a lot of pony-tails or other grease-hiding styles, it really does get better. Or maybe I just got used to having an oil slick on my head.

I've also found that if I have more product in my hair, I can go even longer without washing it. I have this "Pureology" hairspray that if I spray it on the day of the wash (after styling), it kinda coats my hair and seems to be less oily. Sometimes I can even go two days without washing! Oh joy! the extra sleep I get in the morning is pure bliss!

Also, when I condition, I try to keep the conditioner more towards the ends of my hair.

Another added bonus to dirty hair - it can hold hairstyles better (curls, etc.).

Can you tell that I am hair obsessed? :)

There it is again - PDX! What IS it? Someone up yonder wondered, too.

Thanks, Laurie, that puts me at ease now about not having to rewind the yarn, hee hee.

Also, thanks for the link. I am saving your various project instructions.

From a fellow PDX-er (who's also feeling the gas pain), we're all in Portland, Oregon. Where it happens to NOT be hailing right this second. (The weather's been NUTS this week...) ;)

I, too, rock the longish, stick-straight, SUPER fine hair. I SWEAR by Davines products -- they may be a wee bit expensive, but I get compliments on my mane pretty much daily. My secret to getting by with 3-day-old dirty hair, is styling it differently every day. Day 1, I wear it straight; Day 2: I curl it into cute curly ribbons and fluff it out; Day 3: Goes up for a sweet casual updo. Versatility rocks and dirty hair styles so much easier/better anyway.

I can do every other day, but any more than that I'm like a scratching monkey.
Isn't the SWS great? I made some beautiful things with it this winter. It is the nicest yarn the big M carries!
gas in Detroit- $3.19. We feel your pain.

Actually, when I get my hair blown out, I can go four or five days before washing it. I just freshen it with a quick blow dry. When I haven't had it styled (um, 99.9% of the time), I can go a week or more without shampooing. I just rinse it in the shower. Of course, as evidenced by the blow out reference, I have curly hair, and less washing keeps my curls under control. I read that tip in a book somewhere, and I thought the lady was crazy, but it really does work!

Laurie, SO sorry for hijacking your comments today!

Thanks, darcidoodle! Y'all all PDX-ers are all in Portland, Oregon. But what IS a PDX? Do the letters stand for something? Is it a person, place or thing?

*hoping the answer isn't so obvious that Leeny looks like a dumb a--*

Yes, I do have gas, thank you. (I ate some of the forbidden cheese - lactose!).

I thought I was through with Michael's for the month, but now -- SWS on my list for tomorrow.

If I get lazy or rushed and DON'T wash my hair every morning, I usually have to get up around midnight and do it. Can't sleep with my head sliding off the pillow.

I have almost waist length, naturally curly, color treated hair. I wash my hair twice a week at most. So far, I have had the best results ever with products from Ouidad salon that specializes in curly hair. All of the styling products are water based so they can easily be rinsed out without shampoo. And I rarely, if ever, blow dry my hair. When it gets unruly, I beat it down with water and sometimes a leave in conditioner. Or Jonathon Product freshen up spray.

I have always said my hair is my original abusive relationship. I used to treat it poorly, and it would get its revenge by being a big, frizzy mess all of the time. (My mom called it the rat's nest.)

The only time oil has been a problem was recently during my unemployment. I only washed my hair every 10 days or so, and it was alittle oily on the scalp. But my face! Oh, it was like I was soaked in oil when I stopped the birth control pills.

I too wonder if the oil would eventually dry up a bit if you kept to less frequent shampooing. Or maybe it's not a "hair" issue, but something that can be tweaked in a holistic sense with good nutrition, drinking water, soy products, yadda yadda.

And you have the MOST BEAUTIFUL smile.

You're not dumb, Leeny. It's a good question that other CAP fans had, too. ;)

Our airport -- Portland International Airport -- is called "PDX" for short. Kind of like "LAX" for Los Angeles International Airport. So we take on PDX-ers as a little shorthand moniker.

I am an every-other-day washer. I used to be able to go longer, but I went and donated my hair last summer and am now rockin' the short-short 'do. (which, of course, involves lots more styling products y'all!)

My girlfriend is a 1x/week hairwasher. (more extreme than I've ever managed to be) And you would NEVER know it from looking at her. (She must be genetically blessed!)

The secret is in the "training" You can't just jump straight from the "every-day-shampoo" routine to the "earthy-one-or-two-times-per-week" routine. You have to slowly "train" your hair to get used to being washed less and less.

Because you aren't drying your scalp out with the shampoo everyday, you slowly start producing less oil on your scalp. Eventually you can go a few days and not look oily at all.

Have a great weekend! I can't wait to see what you make with that beautiful soy wool yarn!

shoo! your gas is high.

OMG! I remember that awful spray stuff. It made your hair really powdery ans nasty.

We haven't hit $3.00 per gallon in Houston yet. But it's climbing.

Love the Patons - felts like a complete dream.

Have a good weekend, Laurie & cats.

So ... PDX - is just the Portland, Oregon area???

I have curly hair and according to the book "Curly Girl," which I had to read to figure out how the heck to take care of the frizzy mess on top of my head, you should only shampoo curly hair about once a week. You can rinse it more frequently than that. They're not saying you should only shower once a week :) Curly hair tends to suck up moisture and conditioner, so shampooing it tends to traumatize it.

I hereby swear to stop complaining about paying $2.96/gallon yesterday afternoon.
I do not swear, however, to stop washing my hair everyday - you're right it must be a thin/straight thing because whoo boy would that get ugly. (I even wash while camping because I am that vain)

You got it, Sue!

We're at $3.52, btw. That's just for the reg. gas.

I have lots of long, thin, fine hair, and I must wash every day or things get ugly- but I have lots of friends (especially those with curly hair who straightened) who wash every 2-3 days or so. I can't do it- whenever I go home on an early flight to LA from NC I take a shower and wash the night before. You should see my hair the next moring- flat and nasty- and banished to a ponytail under my pink Bass Pro World Cap.

My boyfriend looks SO MUCH like John Cusack - it's eerie, but also awesome! And, frankly, that's why I gave him my number when I met him.

I have straight, fine hair too, and past the middle of my back, too. I HAVE to wash it every day otherwise it turns.. well, unpleasant. Basically, it becomes disgusting. I envy those that have wonderful hair and don't need to wash it every day.

I heard on the news that the gas in LA might reach $4 a gallon at some point in the near future. Insane..

All of you with curly hair should check out naturallycurly.com, and Lorraine Massey's book, Curly Girl! Excellent, excellent information and tips.

You TOTALLY ROCK the center pull ball!!!! I definitely have not acquired that skill. Thank god for my trusty ball winder or I'd be in tangles all the time.

Hi Laurie. Coming out of lurkdom (finally) to say two things. (1) I have the same type of hair (can not go for more than one/two days without washing or it is oil city) and (B) (hehe) Love that Patons SWS!

Here is a link to our local SnB (SnG actually, lol)...most of us are knitters as well.
http://crochet.meetup.com/409/

/hugs
Angie A.

Yeah, I always laugh at American gas prices. Here it costs like 11-12 SEK, which is $1.75 or so, per liter. Which is at least six dollars a gallon. Closer to seven, actually.

Gas in Norway: 2 US dollars per liter.

(Still, it's not that long ago that our gas was 4 times as expensive as it was in the US)

Okay- I know there are like 1001 comments here, but I have to put in my two cents about the hair washing. I also have straight, fine hair. And I too used to wash everyday - even twice a day if spent more than 10 minutes on the treadmill.

After being chastised by my hairstylist for the 50th time, I finally tried washing my hair less frequently. I failed at my first attempt. It was just too greasy.

I persevered. I now wash my hair every other day and it is so shiny and bouncy and pretty!!! Big difference. Here's the secret: you have to rinse everyday and use a small amount of conditioner in, starting at the ends. I think the oil in the conditioner keeps your scalp from having to overcompensate. TRY IT! Your life will be forever changed. Mine was.

Ah HA! Miss darcidoodle to the rescue! Thanks, girl, er, PDX-er!

I'm going to have to try what some have suggested concerning fine, oily hair. I will give it a try and wash only every other day. Maybe eventually it will help to control the oil slick!

I am also among the shiny-hair-must-wash-every-day crowd. I'm slightly jealous of those who don't have to.
Also, I think we readers are in need of a demonstration of the center-pull ball. I only tried it once, and I wound too tight and the yarn wouldn't come out. Sigh.

For those with PDX questions - that is most definitely Portland, Oregon. "PDX" happens to be the 3-letter airport abbreviation for Portland.

Well, lots of people have chimed in on this but here's my two cents. As far as I know, and in my own experience, the less you wash your hair, the less you have to wash it. I have dreadlocks, so it's pretty easy for me to pull it off (in fact, I can't wash my hair too often or it could get moldy, and that's way grosser than oily), but lots of people wash their hair once a week or less with great results. It also helps to stop using shampoo and start using baking soda rinses and vinegar rinses and stuff like that. I've seen a lot of people say the texture of their hair is much nicer once they've stopped using shampoo and stopped washing daily. Basically, once you adjust to it, your scalp produce less oil. When you wash daily, you're stripping your hair and scalp of the oil, so you head goes into overdrive to produce more, which is why people that wash often get greasy hair. Or at least part of the reason.

I've always been a daily morning washer. The problem is the top of my head is oily and from the ear down is regular. Sometimes I try to just wash on top and not the bottom. Or only condition the bottom and not the top. There is a lady at my job, I know she gets up at 430am and doesn't shower cause regularly her hair is oily and I think she doesn't think it looks bad, but it does. I just think curly hair can get away with not washing everyday but with straight hair it's a little different.

You think those prices are bad....come to Oregon where it is $3.50 a gallon.

I have to wash every morning too or I have the Valdez problem too.

I wash my hair on Monday night & Thursday night and I workout 5 or 6 days a week. I have very thick and course hair that is a major pain to dry. It is always a problem when I have something else I want to do on those nights.....

I am 2 months shy of 43 and have an oily scalp with very dry ends. I also have pimples AND wrinkles! I have teenagers who act like they're babies and a dog who's as neurotic as a cat.

I must have been a very bad person in my previous life!! ;o)

Have an awesome weekend, sweetie!!

I wash my hair once a week - every Sunday afteroon. I wash it, put some conditioner on it and then put it up in old fashioned curlers. After a few hours, I sit under one of those hooded hair dryers. I have natural curly, thick hair and if I do it more than once a week, it goes whacky!

I'm making a scarf right now in the Patons Soy Silk - the Natural Plums color. I'm doing the moss stitch and it looks so nice. This yarn knits up so much softer than you think it might.

Linda in VA

I wash my hair every day and when I skip a day I only regret it!! I've decided to make up for it by using about half the amount of shampoo I normally do so hopefully Al Gore won't hunt me down and yell at me while the glaciers melt.

If I've had it blown out at the salon, then I don't wash it for about 2 days so I can get my money's worth ;)

I bought the SWS at Michael's during their hectic day-after-TGiving sale with my 50% off everything coupon. It's the prettiest dirt cheap yarn I've used. Yeah, it splits with pointy needles but you just have to pay a little more attention. I did a lovely cabled scarf in -- eh, I've forgetten the colorway name. I have a few balls of the bright red SWS in my stash that I'm trying to figure out what to make; a bracelet bag may be just the thing!

I'm a daily washer. I have fine straight or wavy hair, depending on its mood that day. It's a flat oily mess if it's not squeaky clean.

I just paid $3.68/gallon to fill up my tank in the Bay Area. Every day I look it goes up.

Our gas here [north of Indy] just hit $3.19 a gallon. *heavy sigh*

I can do 4 days without washing my hair before it starts to look greasy. But I'm also over 50, and then there's that menopause thing, but I don't have wrinkles, either.

Well, not where they show.

Yarn made out of soy???? Is it edible?

As someone once said, "Wot a country!"

I wash my hair every day, but I go to the gym (and have baby fine, stick straight hair). I'd probably wash it twice a day if I didn't dye it. Without dye my hair is that dirty dishwater blonde color that only looks good right after it dries from a wash. With dye, it is a glorious red.

You gotta be kidding me about the gas prices... sorry that I'm sarcastic about this, but the prices here in Germany are twice as much as in your photo. Gas companies raise the prices just before weekends, or just before school holidays start. They justify this with high crude oil prices, or - like last year - with a gas shortage in the US which is why they had to cart more gas into America, resulting in a shortage (including increased prices) in Europe.

I have thick straight hair and I live in the tropics. If I don't wash my hair every day I end up with nasty hair and and an incredibly itchy scalp. I can get away with washing it every other day, but it get incredibly uncomfortable. Nobody likes to see someone scratching their scalp like a hyper monkey!

I wash every two-three days, unless I hit the gym somewhere in between. My hair is pretty thick and it looks fine until the end of the third day.

I once tried the dry shampoo stuff and it was a horrible, horrible mistake.

Hi Laurie! I really love that Paton's SWS! Gorgeousness. I must go out and try to find some (cause I don't have anywhere NEAR enough yarn) *rolls eyes dramatically*

I only wash my hair about every third day. Partially because with my Lupus, I'm often too fatigued to stand in the shower and wash my hair, but also because mine too, becomes crazy-dry when I wash it too much.

As for gas prices - I guess I'm supposed to be "lucky" living in Texas and all, but I still think the gas prices here are insane. I believe that the last time I filled up my gas tank it was about $3.35/gallon. And that was WITH my SAM's Club $.0.05 discount! Yowza...

gas in mass (ha, gas in mass) is hovering in the 3.00/gallon range. pisses me off, especially if those oil companies rake in the record profits again this year. that's all i'm saying ....

as for the hair. i'm also an every 3rd day shampooer. my hair is longer, thick and wavy-ish and i color it -- yes i have a couple of grays -- but mostly because it's naturally dark brown and i like it just a little lighter. and then of course, once you start coloring it it's the slippery slope ... anyway, the first day my hair is a big poof ball, out of control. second day -- perfection. third day -- borderline -- although still better than being a poof ball. in the summer though i'll probably need to shampoo more.

also, i'm old. when i was younger i was a veritable grease ball.

I wash my hair everyday. Sometimes at the weekend I try to give my hair a break and don't wash it and I always end up feeling dirty! My face starts to feel really greasy! People seem freaked out that I wash it daily.

Just try to remember that gas in the UK is about $6 a gallon, even w/ the bad exchange rate.

I LOVE Patons SWS, as well! My only complaint is how unevenly it is spun on occasion. At one point in one of my skeins, it went from normal to super chunky to lace weight. But it is soft and has gorgeous colors and with my lack of a LYS, it's definitely the nicest stuff I can get locally. Right now I'm doing matching scarf, hat and mittens for my 3 year old and myself in natural gardenia. The colors are lovely.

Love the blog! This and others inspired me to start one myself. Just started yesterday!

Cheapest gas price in my part of Sweden: 6.67 USD per gallon. So you could have it worse :). We pay a lot of taxes on gas.

Hair is always so complicated. My hair looks best if washed often, at least every other day. On the other hand, if I take a shower every day, I get a lot of skin irritation. So it's a balance for me. Ugly hair or itchy, blotchy skin. Yay.

Ms. Laurie,

I, too, have the straight fine hair. For many years I washed my hair once a day.. sometimes even twice! And maybe rinsed some vinegar through to make it shiny without the weight of conditioner.

It has changed a bit as I've grown older. Now I wash it about every other day, condition it frequently, and it still looks like a haystack. (or is that from the frequently coloring?)

Anyway, enjoy the simple hair car while you can.
(but no haiku horrorscopes?? I shall be patient, but I expect we crabby cancer types to get one for our birthdays atleast!!)

I have very thick curly hair - and I dye it - but I have to wash it every day or it is beyond disgusting. I use conditioner, though, so that tames any fly-aways and I was absolutely in love with a leave-in conditioner - KMS's "Silker" in the gray bottle, but they appear to have discontinued it. It had a wonderful cherry-almond smell.

I'm 42 - NO wrinkles - but then again, I've never smoked or sun-tanned. Smoking will do a number on your face...

I'm still a packin' and a movin. God, I miss knitting. I haven't picked up my needles in weeks. I get my fix reading CAP.

Just FYI: next time, instead of winding 2 center-pull balls from a ball of Patons Classic Merino, you can just work with the inside and outside ends simultaneously--you know, dig around inside the skein to find the inside (center-pull) end, and then find the outside end, and work them at the same time. It twists up a bit, but that's really easy to solve--just dangle your knitting from the ball, and it will un-twist itself.

I have been harboring a big exciting secret for nearly 2 months now. . . and I can let the cat out of the bag to the whole wide world in 2 weeks. I am bracing myself for the "congratulations!," followed by six months in which all of my conversations will revolve around this wonderful, scary secret. I don't know HOW you managed to keep this giant secret for an entire year--damn you're good.

I love Patons SWS, too--pretty colors, soft lustre, wonderful hand and drape. . . but I found that it's a bit scratchy for a scarf. Oh well, it's pretty!

Oh, and I forgot to mention: I have ridiculously thick, frizzy, coarse, wavy hair. I normally wash it every other day, but it really does look good the third day. . . but it feels kind of gross to me, plus it smells dirty, which I can't abide. My hair is usually nicest on the 2nd day, when it's had a chance to calm down a bit from its washing and collect some oils/product to keep it under control.

Comment #3 in a row! Crazy blog stalker. Anyway, I'm a PDXer, too! Yay Portland! We rock.

More practice: Congratulations again!
Cannot wait to get the book!

Must have some of the Patons Soy! Yummy!

I've never understood how anyone can go days without washing, but I've seen evidence of people who have beautiful hair and they say they only wash every 3 days. My scalp begins to hurt and feel horrid, especially in the crown. Also, by the end of the second day it looks like limp fluff. My hair is thick, curly and 50 years old; looks like I could go a day or so at my age. Ha.

HELEN!!
Now I am dying to know your secret!! I at least had the good grace not to say, 'I have a secret..." LOL. That is just torture for people like me! Now you have to tell!

I think Helen is preggers.

I have met quite a few celebrities and I'm not afraid to say who was nice and who was not:
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith-very nice.
Gary Ritchrath of REO Speedwagon-very nice
Ron and Russel Mael of Sparks-very nice
David Lee Roth (when he was still with Van Halen) was a total $^%t head.
George Clooney-charming and nice
Juliana Marguilles- rude
Noah Wiley-nice and unassuming
Steven Spielberg-above it all, not very nice.
Chris Burke(Autistic actor from "Life Goes On) very nice.
Patti LuPone- diva. Not nice.
David Hasselhoff-nice
Jason Mamoa (Baywatch Hawaii) extrordinarly nice
Brandy Broadrick - very nice
Tom Arnold-very nice
Corbin Bernson-$&(* head
Daisy Fuentes-ruddest wannabe diva ever
Chad Lowe- very nice
Kelly Martin- very nice
Anson Williams (Potsie from Happy Days) very nice
Elton John-nice but a bit above it all
Jackson Browne- nicest person in the world.
Michael Bergin - very nice
Brooke Burns- nice
Stacy Kamano- very nice
Yazmine Bleeth- nice
Jason Brooks - very nice
Bruce Campbell- very nice
McLean Stevenson- ultra-nasty #*@& head
Anthony Edwards- very nice

I LOVE living in LA!

Brisbane Australia is $1.28 per litre at the moment. I ride a 50cc scooter during the week and try to only drive the car on the weekend - and only when I have to carry either another person or gear.

If my hair is showing major roots then I can only go 2 days before washing. If the bleach has done it's work then I can go 3 days before washing. With waist length hair it's not so much the washing but the drying is the hardest bit.

I paid 3.81 coming into San Diego today. I threw up a little in my mouth. And don't worry - I won't stalk CAP.

I've got fine, straight, light hair - gotta wash it EVERY morning. It seems to flatten within two hours. And with conditioner only on the ends. It's just a genetic roll of the dice, I got the smooth fine straight from Dad. My sister got the coarse thick wavy from Mom, and only washes it twice a week.

Hello, my name is Fianna, I am a John Cusack - aholic. I love love love Lloyd Dobbler. He will always be Lloyd to me! Say Anything is my favorite movie ever!! And In Your Eyes makes me cry still.....He has to be nice, he's Lloyd Dobbler!

I made a Booga Bag from Patons SWS in the pink/cream/green/tan-ish colorway. It is gorgeous. The only felted bag I've been more in love with is the one a friend made with an obscene amount of Malabrigo. The only bad thing is that my local purveyor of the soy-stripe goodness seems to store it next to the cinnamon scented pinecones. Which make me sneeze. Oy.

On the hair washing issue, I used to have to wash it every day, but the last couple of years my scalp dries out horribly if I do. Second day hair is my best and if I use "surf hair" paste (ewww) on day two (for that tousled don't care look) I can also do a day three. But I have to wash it before I go to bed that night. I hate it when my hair/head feels ick. As long as your scalp is healthy and your hair isn't splitting or breaking you shouldn't need to change a thing!

Well I feel lucky - we've got gasoline here (southern Virginia) at several stations for $2.79 today. Of course, we have the highest unemployment rate in the state, and I cannot find a decent-paying job...

Being a NYer, there's lots of oppurtunties of celeb sightings. I blogged about one (with a knitting angle):

http://snitnknit.blogspot.com/2007/04/one-degree-of-kevin-bacons-scarf.html

I have the sort of hair that looks better dirty! When somebody compliments how nice my hair looks, I know it's time for a washing.

Your "Thank you" to my offer of congratulations was not at all stiff! You were very gracious.

Some are born to greatness, others have it thrust upon them. Consider yourself thrust upon...(did that sound dirty???)

the keyboard and the yarn. it sounds like the children's storybook which is my marriage. lol!!

The soy silk is gorgeous! Wow--I'm going to have to find some of that.

Regarding the hair thing... I've got hair that's very oily. Plus if it is really hot my scalp sweats. Yes, not only do I have the face sweating thing you've had to deal with, but my scalp too. UGH! On the other hand, I've got a friend whose hair is so dry that she washes it every third day, but conditions it every day. I think it's just hormones, genetics, environment and all that stuff.

I think you need to give directions on how to wind a center pull ball of yarn (as you are, of course, the queen of it all). I just don't knit with 2 balls of yarn. I have enough trouble keeping the children and cat out of the one ball of yarn I have going but I am in the throes of making many many many felted bags right now (and a felted bowl for my ungrateful in-laws) and I very much NEED TO KNOW HOW TO WIND THAT BALL!

Thanks!

First, congratulations to Helen about the baby.

I am cracking up about all the hair washing comments.

I am like so many other stalkers- my hair looks better the third day after I wash it. It gets sleeker, shinier, straighter. BUT! I CANNOT go that long unless I am sick or camping. I have to wash my hair every day and in the summer twice a day. I can't wake up and be functional in the morning if I don't get my head wet. And I can't go to bed sweaty, so that makes twice a day every summer day.

My hair is curly, but it's thin and very fine (I have to wear it in a barrette when I go outside or the wind lifts it and it all ends up in my face). I have to wash it every day. If I don't, the second day it looks fine in the morning, but by mid-afternoon it just looks dirty, and all the body is gone.

This really has nothing to do with your post...but as a woman living alone with many cats, I have to know "how is your keyboard so clean?"

Why is mine only a few months old, and even though I dump it out and vacuum it weekly,it's covered with food leavin's and cat hair.

Don't you eat at your keyboard , with cats laying all around it?

Ah! now i feel like such a freak. :)

1) I am sooo with you on the hair thing. Not washing it daily is NOT an option.
2) Here in San Francisco, they showed a station on the news this AM which was charging $4.33 for regular. Where's my bus pass??

I used to wash my hair everyday - I'd ocassionaly skip a day and it was gross. Then I read about going "no shampoo" in the mothering.com forums and gave it a try. Instead of shampoo I use baking soda with an apple cider vinegar rinse. There's a breaking in period where you have to mess with the quantities of each to get it right for your hair but I've been doing it for nearly three years now and only wash my hair on Sunday and Wednesday nights. It looks much better because I'll take the time to bother to dry it properly since I don't have to do it every day. It's also in much better condition. I'm growing my hair and have had 4 haircuts in the last three years but have had practically no split ends. I've used shampoo about 3 times since going "no shampoo" (during 3 of those haircuts) and noticed the negative effects immediately - my hair gets greasy after a day. The detergent is so drying that the scalp over produces like crazy. Send me an email if you'd like any more information.

I don't want you to think I'm crazy, but I saw Up Country on the Smiley's website in their internet sale....this is my last try at connecting you with the yarn of your dreams.

Good luck!

http://www.smileysyarns.com/

Meryl Streep once went three weeks without washing her hair. She regularly goes for long stretches, but that was her record. I stopped washing daily after my cousin told me she went to every-other-day and her stylist wanted to know what she was using to make her hair so wonderful. I can go three or four days, and I live in a subtropical climate. I had to work up to that, though -- at first is was just every two days. Now I can even exercise (indoors, A/C) and not wash that day. The next day, though, I have to.

Maybe if everyone starts skipping days we can affect oil prices: greater supply (on our scalps) and less demand (not so many plastic bottles gettin' used up) *should* equal lower prices, right? Right? Hmm... methinks you're not convinced.

Patons SWS is one of my MOST favorite yarns! I've made the most amazing wristwarmers with them The stitch definition is awesome.

It does felt really well too (and fast!!). I've made two booga bags with it :D

I'm staying in Afghanistan until gas prices come down...se ya'll in 2025...

ok I want to know how to wind a center pull strand ball.. I want to know NOW!!

Hummm.. My hair color only lasts about 4 weeks before the Grey shows through.. maybe I should was less.. like a LOT less... oh well. Gas isn't up to 3.00 yet here in Colorado

This gal has some good pictures and instructions on the center pull ball. Scroll down until you get to the pictures.

http://allisonmariecat.blogspot.com/2006/05/hard-way.html

Or here: http://tinyurl.com/ysl63y

I got your gas price beat. Live in Santa Barbara where the super premium is $3.99!!

Keep up the cheerfulness.. you're an inspiration.

Marika

That is Patons Brilliant! I'm knitting a shiny light purple scarf right now in the oh-so-difficult GARTER stitch!! Very exciting. Let us know what's going to come of the 2 red yarns.

Maybe oil prices would all go down if more people didn't wash their hair everyday. When things are abundant, surely they'll cost less??

And, quit yer belly-achin' about the gas prices. If my math is right, our prices here in France tend to hover around 4.50 euros per gallon. We won't even get into the current exchange rate. Let's just say now's not the time for you to take a driving vacation in France. The only nice thing about the prices being that high is that it's mostly due to taxes, and they don't tend to fluctuate like they do in the US, because they are stabilized by the government.

We got cheap gas in Luxembourg this week for 1.18 per litre. We were excited! The usual price in Holland is upwards of about 1.37 per litre. That in Euros, not dollars.

I hate, hate, hate washing my hair everyday. But it is fine and straight and looks absolutely nasty if I don't do the every day wash. AND, if I don't use conditioner, I can't comb it out and I have a big rats nest at the back of my head.

A cautionary note about the beautiful Paton's SWS: It felts a LOT! And FAST! I made a large Lucy bag with that gorgeous brown-and-pink colorway and it's now child-sized. Knit big!

When I left the US it was about $1 in OC. In the UK, it's about £1/liter, so no one over here can worked up about the US gas prices.

I used to be a once a day hair washer. Because of my health I have become stupidly chemically sensitive and have had to work out a new routine. I'm currently using a version of no poo (baking soda can lighten hair so I use an all natural shampoo bar instead). My hair looks it's absolute best when I wash it once a week with a apple cider vinegar and herb rinse and a cold water wash to make it shine. It actually is true that the more you wash with harsh detergents, the more oil your scalp produces. It takes some adjusting to be sure.

I'm thinking that the plan is to eventually sell gas here by the ounce, like perfume. Reminder to the nice folks overseas: yes, you pay more for your gas per gallon/litre/eyedropper than we do, but remember, the U.S. is big. Really, really, really big. A lot of folks here have commutes to work that, in terms of distance, would take them from one European country to another, every day. (Pipe down, those of you who do that anyway.) A trip to the grocery store = crossing the border. Seriously. I read an article in the Wall Street Journal (some years back) about unemployment problems in England, which included interviews with inhabitants in various villages. They wanted jobs, but the nearest opening was way too far for them to travel - it was seven miles. I was visiting Berwick (a lovely town, BTW), and we had a local driver. I thought Berwick was gorgeous, but apparently the driver, at least, found it slow, and was grousing about how it was way too far to a bigger and livelier city - it was at least an hour's drive. And I sat there, waiting to hear what the problem was. Apparently the hour's drive was the problem. For a lot of Americans, that's just the beginning of the trip -to anywhere. And you know how a lot of Europeans remark on the size of American butts? That's because, unlike many European cities, you can't get there from here by walking. Unfortunately, most American cities also have virtually nothing to offer in the way of public transportation, either. I live in one that has dreadful public transportation, upon which I am completely reliant. Which is why you hear Americans shrieking about gas prices - there are a lot of folks who don't necessarily make great big bucks who are paying $10 a day in gas or more, and $20 a day in parking, for the privilege of making a living, such as it is.

As for the hair - I have fine black hair (thanks, Clairol!), which I can just about sit on. Since I'm up at 4:00 in the morning, and I don't get home until 9:00 or 10:00 PM, I'm washing it once a week these days. I wear it back in a French braid, and I also bind the braid in those little covered elastics. People have remarked on how nice my hair is, so I'm guessing so far, so good. I don't think I could possibly wear it down, though, and skip the washing. However, I'm not going to have all that hair flapping around loose at work, either, so it's that's not an issue. For the ladies with oily scalps and dry ends, try applying the conditioner to just the middle of the hair down to the ends. You know - wash what's oily (the scalp), and condition just what's dry (the ends).

Oh! And for local gossip: Patti LaBelle, who is a local, apparently keeps a lot of dogs that she treats badly. Word from trainers. She had one dog in her collection that she apparently bought for the status, but never ever touched it. Not once. Not a single pat. That's iconic bad behaviour. Ugh.

I saw $3.65 in Chicago yesterday. I got gas at Costco instead, where it was *only* $3.16. (I never thought I'd say gas was *only* $3.16. Yeesh.)

a 1994 geo prizm

a 1994 geo prizm

a 1994 geo prizm

My hairdresser told me to scrub my scalp with light conditioner every other day. It works,and my color lasts a lot longer. Also, if you brush a little bit of baby powder in, that works for a day.
Have you tried Bumble and Bumble hair tonic? It's good if you work out or walk and get a little "musty." I save so much more on those expensive shampoos now...they last me months.

Have you ever tried dry blowing your hair with a round brush between washings? It works wonders for me!

I am developing a Very Bad Habit here: commenting first, reading other comments later. That will come back to bite me in the butt BUT. In the meantime. I LOVE that Paton stuff, got mine at Michael's too. But now I feel like it's LEGIT if *you* like it (oh I am so shallow). It made a fabulous beautimous long scarf that I wore all winter. Sometimes even with other clothes. And I've said it before and I'll say it again: our Crazy Aunt Purl has one CUTE FACE! Now I have to back and read the hundredty-thousand comments ahead of mine..........

late to the party but I too have the grease bomb head, fine, thin and straight. I try to go everyother day cuz styling is so damaging (esp. after color!) so I use this dry shampoo stuff that works pretty well, check it out online, drustore.com, amazon, sephora, lots of different kinds.... I can't believe our gas her in WI is almost as much as CA! wow.

OH YEAH! Was that gas sign photo-shopped? Please...tell me it was photo-shopped. Although, it's $3.09 here...now let me see, where is that bike? If I build up slowly I should be able make it a whole city block by the end of June....

I am in the wash 1-2 times per week club. I have thick, coarse, wavy hair. The day I wash it is the day I hate it the most. It is poofy, dry, frizzy and horrid. Day two is better and day 3....BLISS! I always have the best hair on day 3. Day 4 is good too and Day 5 is usually good hair, but the scalp is getting questionable, and well, I just start to feel nasty. Today is actually day 5 and I am irritated that I have to wash it because my birthday party is tonight. However, the grossness of not washing it has trumped the desire for better hair.

As for the gas prices, I feel your pain. At 3.49 a gallon, it cost me just shy of $60 to fill my little sedan last night. I wanted to cry. It only cost $28 to fill when I bought it 5 years ago.

John Cusack=Not Nice.

It was nice to meet you, and I wanted to tell you that when you were leaving, but I knew it would make you uncomfortable. Heh! I also have hair of the baby fine and straight variety, so if I want it to look good everyday without drying it out, I just shampoo the scalp. That way my ends have a fighting chance at survival.

That's nothing, we saw a few places up here last night that have it at $3.65! I think I need to look into public transportation a little more seriuosly!

Must.find.Patons.Soy...
Oh, and be thankful you're in the Valley. I paid 3.99 for gas out here in Palm Springs this week. Eep! And mass transit is not an option, bus doesn't run often enough and it's supposed to be over a 100 next week again. Showing up for lawyers looking like you need to bathe just doesn't fly...

hey Laurie here by declare myself an idiot ....but how do you roll a skien into a center pull ball...just incase I want to impress my wife...ps when the book hits the stands I want a signed copy or Im comin to LA to find you!!!!

you can e mail me back if you can or someone can explain it but type slow im not a fast learner

hey Laurie here by declare myself an idiot ....but how do you roll a skien into a center pull ball...just incase I want to impress my wife...ps when the book hits the stands I want a signed copy or Im comin to LA to find you!!!!

you can e mail me back if you can or someone can explain it but type slow im not a fast learner

Posting this again for the latecomers:

This gal has some good pictures and instructions on the center pull ball. Scroll down until you get to the pictures.

http://allisonmariecat.blogspot.com/2006/05/hard-way.html

Or here: http://tinyurl.com/ysl63y

Paton's SWS makes some beautiful entrelac. The colors work very well with the squares. I am making the Lady Eleanor (entrelac stole) from "Scarf Style" with Noro Silk Garden (I got it real cheap) and its kind of hard to work with, lots of sticks and splits. The SWS splits a little and is a "biotch" to frog, but it creates a wonderful fabric. It just wish there were more color choices.

I had very oily hair and used to wash my hair every day (long, fairly course, thick hair). But since I have gotten a little older (40ish) my hair is drying out and its only every other day now.

Oh yeah, I forgot. I love making center pull balls by hand. It is very zen. I just bought a ball winder and its fun, but I don't have that closeness with the yarn that I had before. One advantage is with laceweight yarn with hundreds of yards, now it doesn't actually hurt to wind a ball.

Gas is 3.45 in san diego.

I love SWS as well, but warning, not a joy to rip out, split heavy and itchy on the skin. I don't know why it is itchy it is so soft on the hands, but it makes the back of my neck itchy when i wear my Danica scarf I made from it.

I could never go more than a day without washing my hair...but my mother often uses baby powder to rid herself of that "oily-unwashed" look. She just lightly powders her hair and then brushes it through. This may be a weird souther lady thing...I'm not sure, I've used it once or twice, and it does work - but that was only for emergencies.

I could never go more than a day without washing my hair...but my mother often uses baby powder to rid herself of that "oily-unwashed" look. She just lightly powders her hair and then brushes it through. This may be a weird souther lady thing...I'm not sure, I've used it once or twice, and it does work - but that was only for emergencies.

Gas here (rural Michigan) went from $2.97 at 9am Friday to $3.25 at 10am, huh! We spike every weekend but this was amazing.

Check out gasbuddy.com and you can find the best prices in your local area for gas. It is not a dream... unfortunately. Gas prices are pretty hefty here in MA too.

I've worked with John Cusak, and he is NOT NICE.

Gas should be expensive - after all, oil is an extremely limited and popular commodity. Plus there's that whole 'raping the earth' thing, and the global warming...I like seeing gas prices go up. People won't change: you gotta hit 'em where it hurts.

I, too, am cursed with (or blessed with, depending on what's "in" at the moment) fine, straight hair that looks like it's been sprayed with Wesson oil if I don't wash it every day. It doesn't matter if I use a heavy conditioner, light conditioner, or no conditioner, or any other product or trick that's been suggested to me. (Trying to retrain my scalp by skipping shampooing days was not successful and REALLY not pleasant!) That's just the way my DNA intended it, apparently. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one!

My hair also does NOT want to hold a curl, but I realized a few years ago that if I really needed curly hair, I would've been born with it, so I don't worry about that anymore, either. :)

Awe! That's the same price as it is here! Just got back to good ol California yesterday and the gas prices are tempting me to become a hermit this summer, bah.

Here I go again with the very late commenting:

1. Gah! Why do I always miss you at SnB? That makes me sad. :(

2. The gas station at Pico and Barrington in West L.A. has regular unleaded for $3.99. This all makes me VERY glad I bought my Prius!

3. I have fine but wavy hair. I usually blow dry it straight but during the summer I use Bumble + Bumble Surf Spray to coax the waves and get that nice beachy hair look, and all I have to do is stand in front of my fan to dry it. No blow drying! Also, I have to wash my hair every day but on days when I want to preserve the blowout, I use Bumble + Bumble's Hair Powder -- it's a spray powder that absorbs oil and creates lots of volume. I love both products very much! You can get them at any Carlton hair salon, too.

Love Paton's yarns.. all of them (well the 100% acrylic ones i just like)

i made a cute hat out of the natural plum colorway, and have posted instructions to making the same on my blog (look in left hand column for links)

feel free to use it --or to be inspired by it.

(it's a pretty basic hat, knit flat, (on diagonal) in stocking knit and reverse st kt, seamed and gathered.. 90% of it the yarn (i have a fair bit in my stash!)

Bossy hearts angle technology. Also? Blogs add ten pounds.

Checked in looking for a new post and we are still talking about hair and gas. :-)

it occurred to me this moring, my Mom has always been a once-a-week hair washer, using a shower cap in between. Her hair is super-thick and does that wavy Irish-hair ripple thing. At 79 she still has fantastic hair.

P.S. tanked up the VW Golf this morning and y'all are making me feel guilty for having relatively cheap gas. My deisel here in Baton Rouge cost only $2.59/gallon and I can get three round trips to New Orleans (approx. 150 miles RT)and a little around-town driving out of one 13-gallon tank.

Do your wallet and the planet a favor and Lose those SUVs, peeps. :-)

I've heard rumors it's going up to 4 bucks a gallon (*gasp*) nation-wide -- right now it's 3.09 here.

Perhaps the rising gas prices will convince people to buy hybrids, drive less, walk more, and generally stop killing the planet.

Maybe...?

Can you give us one of your really cool tutes with 5 billion photos and little labels pointing out what is really obvious to everyone in the world but me on how to wind a centre-pull ball? Mine either look incredibly messy or don't pull or (usually!) both.

Laurie you have the most amazing beautiful teeth. I've got braces on at the moment, and if mine look half as straight and white as yours at the end of the ride, I'll be so happy!
Got the thin fine straight hair too, I wash it every other day or I look straggly. I wish you could get that bumble and bumble hair powder in Oz that Catherine was mentioning before! Blow waving my hair whilst hanging upside down seems to help with volume. Cheap rush of blood to the head too, hee.

Up here in the Bay Area, I just saw the V-Power going for 3.99 a gallon.

Just to elaborate on what's been said before, it's the harsh chemicals in mainstream shampoos that cause your scalp to overcompensate and produce more oil. I'm not so hardcore to give up shampoo altogether, but I have found a small UK company that makes organic shampoos with no SLS/SLES/parabens that aren't harsh. Now that I'm using that, my scalp has adjusted and I can go a day or two without washing my hair. It's great! Also, the perfect excuse to wear a showercap.

Hey Laurie,

Just to say John Cusack is most DEFINITELY nice in person. Years ago my sister was an extra in a movie filmed on Martha's Vineyard (I think?)--you saw her for about 2 seconds. She said he was the only star who sat with the "regular people" at lunch--he smiled, said hello. Whereas the other actress--who shall be nameless--was just a total snob. So, hopefully time --or fame--hasn't changed him. there ARE nice men in the world.

I wash my hair every other day; I have fine auburn super short greaseball hair. A fellow fine haired girl shared with me the secret. Baby Powder. Yes, baby powder. After you have blown your hair dry (or dryed it in whatever method you use), put about a tbsp or so in palms and clap you hands together. And then run you hands through the roots of your hair. Keep adding the powder until you like the texture. The oil will absorb the powder so you it won't look like it has powder in it. Trust me, it works. Keep a travel size with you and you can touch up at the end of the day if you need to.

2 things:

- Got to try that Soy yarn--I have to see if my local Ben Franklin's has it!

- The only thing that amazed me about your gas prices is that they weren't as high as I expected, given that regular here in central VA is going for $2.81 at the CHEAP stations.

$3.39/gallon? Don't make me laugh! Why, just yesterday in beautiful Bremerton, WA I paid $3.41/gallon. $3.41! In Bremerton! Not San Diego, not LA, not Honolulu - 12 nautical miles west of Seattle for crying out loud. Sheesh. Makes me want to stay home and knit.

London prices for fuel... about 90p a litre, which is £3.40 for a US gallon (£4.10 for a UK gallon - why on earth are they different amounts?) and at the current exchange rate that means our prices are about double! Makes me glad I can get public transport to work...

Another joy of London is the need to wash your hair more often - every two days, as opposed to when I'm elsewhere in the country when I can get away with every three days if I want - not travelling on the tube means you get less grubby generally!

Oh, girl, I thought gas prices in California were higher than that. Not that the prices aren't high enough, they really shouldn't be more than $3. Hell, they shouldn't be anywhere near $2, but they are beyond that.

I love Paton's SWS. It's so beautiful. Who would've thought that soy and wool would make such a soft yarn. I want to know how they dye the yarn to make that colorway so I can do it.

I don't get the not-washing-every-day thing either. Of course I am also of the straight, fine, blond hair persuasion. I wish I could make such nice center-pull balls.

This is my method of a center-pull ball:

Using a large pill bottle, put one yarn end in the bottle and screw on the cap.

Wind the yarn around the bottle.

Remove the bottle lid and pull out the yarn end.

Slide the bottle out of the middle of the yarn ball and watch the yarn bunch up inside. That's all there is to it! The yarn is ready to be pulled from the center.

I can't wait for your book, Laurie. Congrats on becoming famouser.

That Patons Soy Wool Stripes is beautiful!!!!! Awww... you make me wish I had the patience to learn how to knit. Oh well, just add me to the roll-brim hat Christmas list. ;-)

Laurie - There are some expensive products out there you can use to keep your hair from looking like you crashed head first into an oil field - or you could go the inexpensive route and try Johnson's Baby Powder. I am so not kidding. I tried it in a pinch once when I went on a trip without my expensive stuff and it was a-maz-ing.

another fine oily haired gal here (though I have way too much of it - what is the fun of thick hair if your hair is individually so fine its flat as whatever! all my thick hair gives me is problems getting it dry! (and getting it to stay up in a bun in my dancing days as a child - its one reason I gave up long hair in highschool - it was too thick to get to stay in an updo when it was long enough to put up, so if I still couldn't put it up or do anything with it then, what have I lost by cutting it?

Anyway I digress, my comment is really to say I could never go that long without washing my hair without looking filthy - I have to highlight my hair now to get it back to a clean looking color - otherwise when my hair first turned dirty blond - I could wash my hair and it seriously looked oily and dirty 5 min after I finished... Anyway - the highlights help "damage" my hair into something with a bit of body - without it - even flatter than flat

but the point here I was trying to get to - I don't even ever use conditioner on my hair! the only time conditioner ever touches my hair is when I go to the salon...

so while I believe that the every few days thing works for many people - some of us have invincible hair we have to discipline with a heavy hand and a daily shampoo....

"Mostly what I needed to urgently know was if Raydine got drunk on her new motorized wheelchair, could she get a DUI?"

Holy shit Laurie, you crack me up!

And Ha! You are lucky to have such cheap gas. Ours is fully $.20 more per gallon! I have to buy premium for my car, and it costs $3.85!!! I calculated how much I pay to drive my car, and with gas, insurance and payments, $700 a month. Totally absurd.

Hello, dear. I've been meeting to drop you a comment for ages to give you a congrats and a virtual hug on the book goodness. I'm just thrilled for you!

And I also wanted to drop a line to thank you for posting SnB stuff because I sure miss everyone. I'm leaving my comment here because that pic of the Shell station is about 2 blocks from my old house and it just made my heart ache... in a good way.

Thank you for being you. ;-)

Greetings from San Francisco! Two weeks ago, I saw premium at a Shell station downtown (on 5th, I think), for $4.19. Regular was $3.99. If I hadn't been actively driving, I would have taken a picture. As it was, I still can't stop talking about it.

Does it make you feel any better to know I paid $4.36usd a gallon for gas today?

No?

Me either.