Now Norma Knits

Terrier Tuesday: THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO BE SAVED FROM THE DEVIL QUALIFY FOR PRIZES BY DONATING TO THE RED SCARF FUND

Dear Readers, 

This is serious. This economy is bad, no question about it. (Look at me -- I have a new red scarf.) We have fallen far short of our fundraising goal in the Red Scarf Fund for this year. (Aren't I cute? I have a new red scarf.) We understand, we really do. But if you've been sitting on the fence and have a little spare change to throw our way, while in the process giving to a great cause and qualifying for the great giveaways of all the wonderful prizes that Alpha-Alpha has collected from all her generous friends, listen up:

My Alpha, the alpha of all alphas (she made me say that) has extended the deadline for entering for prizes to tonight at midnight Eastern Time. Get your donations in now! You get one chance at all those lovely prizes for each $5 donation you make through Paypal. 

Buddy, can ya spare a dime? 

And then she says she promises she will shut up, and she won't pimp her poor little grand-Yorkie anymore. Well, at least until she starts harping on you for getting an early start on knitting red scarves for next year. I know, I know, you haven't even sent in yours (or you just barely have) for THIS year yet -- what is she kvetching about next year for, huh? 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  She's difficult.

But I'm impossibly cute, and she knit me this ridiculous red scarf when she really should have been knitting on her mother's Xmas sweater. And she's makin' me wear it and pose like some sort of show dog or something till you cough up some money. And she's the one who feeds me and walks me and teaches me tricks and gets me toys and lets me sleep in her bed, so what'm I gon' do?

Do exactly as she says and turn on the charm and beg, of course.

 

Love, 
Mr. Jefferies

Red Scarves At Mount Vernon

"I will honestly admit I was not prepared to take a college exam."

~ a post written by Sean H., one of the OFA students you are helping by knitting a scarf or sending in a donation to the Red Scarf Fund for Foster Youth.

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Yesterday I had the most delightful day being entertained by Cheryl (you rock the interpretations at Mount Vernon, Cheryl!), chauffeured around by Tracey F. (thank you, Tracey!), and regaled with hilarity as usual by Lynn from the OFA. We all went to Mount Vernon, where Cheryl works, to have a fun tour, a grand luncheon, and take a few photos of red scarves.

It was pretty brisk out there, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. I took responsibility (I have broad shoulders) for bringing the frigid northern temps with me, but the sky was blue and the setting was gorgeous and educational and the company was wonderful. Oh, that Lynn and I, we are a dangerous duo -- and I rather think that our superpowers were enhanced by Cheryl and Tracey -- making us a rather formidable foursome.

Cheryl was strong-armed by one of her fellow interpreters to take over his job in the great Mount Vernon main dining room, so we were privileged to see her deliver a little of her stuff. She is delightful, as was the whole of the tour. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the main house, but we managed to lay out our scarves and shoo people out of the background so we could take photos on the front porch. Cheryl once again saved the day and very diplomatically asked people to move -- blaming it on "that lady" (me) who is "artistic and difficult to work with." What a blast. I had the best day!

Tracey, Lynn (lugging her bag o' scarves), and Cheryl 

Well, It Had To Happen Sometime....and PRIZES!

My first-ever worn-out handknitted sock. These are Fleece Artist socks that I knitted for myself from yarn that was received from a secret swap a few years ago, and they popped a hole when I was walking Mr. Jefferies the other day.

R.I.P. Fleece Artist socks. And now, I suppose the inveterate non-sock-knitter will have to knit another pair of stockinette socks. I lerve my stockinette socks, and my 4X1 rib socks, both of Trekking yarn, the best of all my handknit socks, and I just happen to have a few balls of Trekking "in stock," so one of these days, after I finish my mom's sweater and after I perhaps knit something for our family Yankee swap (or perhaps not), I will get out the Trekking and force myself to knit a damn pair of socks. It'll be character-building, I reckon. 

Today I am off having fun, cavorting with red scarves, maybe learning something, and probably getting fat with Lynn Davis of the OFA, and Cheryl and Tracey and another Lynn. Of course I will tell you all about it later, but this seems like a great time to give out a few prizes in the Red Scarf Fund drive, no?

In the latest impromptu drawing that I made, this is the tally:

1. Melanie has won the elegant Cloisters wrap pattern from Miriam of Mimknits.

2. Susan G. has won two of This Susan's lovely patterns of her choice. 

3. Luise E. has won the wonderful luncheon napkins handmade by Carol.

4. Christine C. has won Thea's excellent Nantucket Red sweater pattern, with vintage buttons.

5. Helen has won the lovely SigNit beads donated by Marcia.  

Thank you to everyone for their generous money and prize donations! And there are plenty more prizes to win. 

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I completed the basketweave scarf just in time to be able to hand-deliver it to the OFA. 

For this pattern in particular, I am very partial to the steam block. What a beautiful and sophisticated fabric this makes! And it's very economical with the yarn. This 6-inch-wide, 60-inch-long scarf took 1.25 skeins of Cascade 220 Heathers. I paid $7.95 a skein. Pretty economical. Downright cheap, actually, and this is soft Merino wool, in just a gorgeous color.

This took three days of not-very-much knitting time. This was maybe 6 inches long when I arrived at AnnaMarie's house the other day. It was probably 12 inches long when I left. A little bit here and a little bit there, and it's DONE! I produced the final 12 inches during the 6:00 news the other night. Who says there isn't time to make a scarf?!

Random Wednesday

1. Oops. Both Mr. Jefferies and I forgot that yesterday was supposed to be terrier day. Here is a pic of the pupsicle taken yesterday, for the Yorkie-deprived -- well, those of you who didn't already see this on Facebook, anyway:

That's his polar fleece jacket over one of his Peace Fleece handknit sweaters, which was very warm and cozy indeed. However, those little pawses must have been awfully cold. Still, he did not want to go back inside, and I must have walked 10 miles with him yesterday, slipping and sliding on the black ice all the way. 

Yes, he does have boots, but they are more trouble than they're worth. He has a devil of a time trying to walk in the black set I got him, and they fall off too easily. The ones his parents got him in New York City, while he can walk in them fairly well, I could get arrested if I put them on him here.

You think I'm kidding.

Straight from the canine transvestite store.

2. I miss the LSAT studying. This could be a manifestation of something pathological, I'm starting to think.

3. In addition to the yogurt-making craze (I just made my fourth batch -- I ruined one batch, though, by, I think, overheating the milk), I've taken up with another back-to-the-'70s craze:

Sprouting. About a month ago, I bought a "Best of the Best of the Best" kit from Sprout People, and ohman, are we enjoying it! Mr. Jefferies gets a small serving of sprouts on his breakfast, too, which makes him very happy (he's a real greens-eatin' dawg). We're grabbing handfuls of sprouts (that one on the right is the French Mix and on the left is Beanie's Awesome Mix) to throw on our sandwiches, on our salads, and using the sprouts alone as their own salad with some vinaigrette. The other day I had a huge plate of broccoli sprouts with a can of salmon and maple balsamic vinaigrette for my lunch. Yum! And last night we had those bean sprouts on the left of the photo in our tomato/roasted-red-pepper soup. Slightly weird, but good. 

Now that the daily veg are not available from the backyard, this works as a handy and economical super-fresh and super-nutritious substitute. I know I qualify as slightly crazy in the food department, and this might not be for everyone, but I love the Madison Market Mix (nuts and seeds) sprouted and added to my morning yogurt, drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon, for breakfast. Sprout People's dehulling video was (you know, without trying to be toooo dramatic) sort of life-changing. I'd tried sprouting many times before, but hated the hulls, didn't know how to deal with them, and just gave up. Now that I know how to manage them, and I found a mini-salad spinner for just $19 at my health food store, I'm all about the sprouts.

4. The basketweave scarf is now a smokin' 48 inches long. I steam-blocked it for this photo, and I am in love. With a scarf. I know. Shut up.

 

Extras in the Scarf Packages: Your Questions Answered

Several people have asked about what else to send with their completed scarves. First off, attach a small tag or a wrapper such as Melissa's wrappers, available here, saying "Knitted/Crocheted for you by (your first name)." You can add your city or state if you wish. And attach a small tag with washing instructions. There are care tags in Melissa's blog, as well, or you can just write it on a small hang-tag.

If you want to be thanked or have your scarf acknowledged by the OFA (you won't be thanked by the recipient, because you will not be identified to the recipient other than by first name and/or city/state, as mentioned above), please include a stamped self-addressed envelope, which will help the volunteers tremendously. 

It's not absolutely necessary to include anything else, but it is encouraged and will be very much appreciated. The anything else can include a check to the OFA to be added to the Red Scarf Fund, or a gift card to any national chain. Appropriate cards are to department stores, discount stores, food chains, music cards, bookstores, office supply stores, drug store chains, stamps -- you name it.  

Way back when I met the first two OFA students I ever met (the ones in the photo with me the other day), they told me things that opened my eyes to all the good deeds that the OFA does -- things like one of the girls once had a flat tire on her way to school, and the OFA helped her out. Things like, "I didn't have enough money to pay to get my glasses fixed. I called my caseworker at the OFA and she made sure I had it." 

Not long ago, through a rather funny chain of events regarding the starting up of a new Red Scarf Group in Ravelry, I became quite well acquainted with Angie, one of the OFA employees who started that group not realizing that we knitters had already started a group with the same name and with the same mission. She works in a different office of the OFA than the one I am connected with (in a different state), and much to my surprise, she had no idea about us! She started the group as a part of her work efforts to increase exposure for the OFA on the web, and was stunned when she found out that our other group was 400-odd members strong, and asked Lynn, "How do all these people know about us?"

Anyway, Angie explained to me that she never dreamed anyone else even knew about them, and so when the Ravelry prompt came up, "Check to see if there is another group with the same name," she didn't click it. She talked about that 5th-grade assignment (for me it was in 9th grade, but I'm old) where the first instruction is to read the entire test before proceeding. Then the final words on the page are something to the effect of, "Only do questions 1 and 2 of the test and then put down your pencil," and yes, Angie said, SHE was the one who, in that instance, got it right (as was I), but here she was starting up a group in Ravelry and didn't read the full instructions. We had a good laugh about it.  

So explains why there are two groups with the same name and same mission in Ravelry, but in the meantime she told me a bit of her story, and has given me permission to print it here. I think this is helpful in giving you ideas about what sorts of gift cards or items to include with the scarves if you are so inclined and able:

I’m a former foster kid myself, a former OFA student in fact. I love it when people are protective of me! ….. the Red Scarf Fund is a huge part of why I want to expand our efforts! Before I was the program analyst for OFA, I was the ETV coordinator for two of our states, meaning I worked directly with our students. There were so many situations my students experienced that we could not give funding for. It was absolutely heart wrenching!!! But being able to go to our other staff and ask for gift cards to help a student get diapers for their kid, get groceries, replace stolen books, buy a new tire for their car, get gas to make it to classes…it all helped so much, just having one more option! My kids got through some very tough financial times because of those gift cards. It allowed them to make it to finals, pay their gas bill and not worry about how they were going to get diapers, buy a nice outfit for their first job interview, get a cavity taken care of, etc. It made a huge difference in their lives and my own!…because of the kindness of these knitters, we were able to make dismal situations manageable for so many. I was able to give another option instead of just chatting with them about budgeting better next time. And even more important, each and every student who we were able to help with those gift cards felt supported by us, supported in a way they often hadn’t experienced before. And tears of frustration and hopelessness turned into tears of relief and joy.

After reading this and remembering the things I was told by the two young women I met early on in New Hampshire, and the several students I met in Georgetown two summers ago, some things that I'd never thought of became evident. For example, having that Subway sandwich card for his lunch or dinner might allow a young man to have a few dollars to buy a tie to wear to an interview, or being able to buy printer paper at Staples with a gift card that one of us sent might free up the funds for a student to get a new pair of gloves or replace a bra that just got ripped in the washing machine, or maybe even to buy yarn to be able to knit or crochet herself a hat to go with her new scarf.  

Excuse me. I need to go get a hanky.

The red brick heather basketweave scarf in progress is now 21 inches long. I love this thing.

Red Scarf No. 5....and No. 6

UPDATE RE SUPER-DUPER SERIOUS DEADLINE RE RED SCARF MAILINGS:

Several people have asked when is the drop-dead deadline, and I have got the word from Lynn this morning:  Please try to mail your scarves by the 15th of December. But if you can't, or you're not quite finished or if it means that you might be able to send one or two more in, if you mail them the first week of January, there will still be time for the volunteers to process them before they have to mail them out in the beginning of February. It would just be difficult if everyone waited till then, so keep that in mind. We are all so excited to see everyone's wonderful high-quality scarves in all the photos. I'm going down to Virginia later this week, so I will be able to see some of the scarves with my own eyes.  EXCITED!

This scarf is a stash-busting lengthwise striped scarf and is composed of bits of Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Fired Brick and Allspice, Mission Falls 1824 in Denim, and Plymouth Encore Worsted (I think -- the label was missing) in bright red. I cast on 251 stitches and knit it on US 9 needles. I love the look of lengthwise-striped scarves, and it made the knitting of the seed stitch quite productive, since you could just keep on keepin' on for so long without stopping to turn the scarf so often. But the cast-on and bind-off are endurance sports, for sure, and you have to make darn sure that you cast off loosely. I've learned that the hard way from past experience with these. If you don't cast off far more loosely than you think you need to, the cast-off side is more rigid and inelastic than the cast-on side and the rest of the scarf. It feels funny and doesn't hang nicely. I cast off this one in purl, and found that was much easier for me to keep it loose. I think this is a fun-looking scarf, very soft, and it's machine washable (that is not a requirement for this project, but it could be considered a plus).

And...

I really should be knitting on my mother's sweater, but while watching some Spanish hotties playing soccer and then Robin Williams' special on HBO, I grabbed the brownish-red Cascade 220 Heathers and cast on for yet another Red Scarf -- this time in a basketweave pattern. I've been admiring the several basketweave scarves being done in the Knitspot knitalong, so I just had to do one too. I cast on 30 stitches to result in a 6-inch-wide scarf. Seven inches done already.

It Bears Repeating

Between knitting my own scarves, trying to make a living, trying to raise a granddog Yorkie into the wonderdog I know he can become, monitoring the Red Scarf Fund donations and prizes, monitoring and cheerleading in the many blog spaces and Ravelry spaces with regard to the Red Scarves, answering the many questions that all those things generate, trying to hang onto my good health, and getting ready to take the LSAT (just for the hell of it) on Saturday, I will admit to this: I'm feeling just a bit overwhelmed. I feel like I must sound like a broken record, droning on and on about it all, and because I've written so much about this project over the years, I feel like there can't be yet one more thing I have not said or one more lingering question.

I realize that's because I'm hideously self-centered and I figure that each and every one of you has read, digested, memorized and clung to every word I've ever written in my blog for six years. 

I am reminded daily (hourly!) that to many folks this is an entirely new project, and I am a blogger that they've never heard of as well. Gone are the halcyon days when there were, oh, maybe 100 bloggers, and *I* was one of the newbies, and everyone knew everyone. Now there are 200 million bloggers and 65 and a half trillion people on Ravelry, many of whom have never even heard of a blog, or if they have heard of them, they have negative-2-on-a-scale-of-1-to-10 interest in them. In other words, WE'RE DINOSAURS. I'm reminded of a memory that is a source of repeated belly laughs for me and my friend Leigh, with whom I have attended every New York Sheep & Wool (and a couple of Marylands) for the past six years. 

Two years ago, when Ravelry was in its relative infancy, but it had grown exponentially over the year previous, Sandy, Leigh and I were walking the grounds of Rhinebeck wearing our Ravelry ID badges. People would see the Ravelry buttons and rush up to other people to read their names, "Who are you? Who are you?" "Norma."  "Hm," one person said, looking me in the eye, squinting a bit. "Never heard of you." My friends and I laughed and really rather loved it, because this was an almost 180-degree turnaround to what might have happened to us just the year before. Then it would be, "Oh, Norma! Leigh! Sandy!" 

We had our moment in the sun, and it was eclipsed. We had become passé in just a year or two. It was kind of nice, actually. Much more relaxing a way to spend one's festival. 

But worse (or better?) than the "I've never heard of you" comment was the one that was addressed to Leigh, a little bit later that same day: "Are you someone important?" asked the questioner who had rushed over not to really see Leigh, but to see her nametag and find out if, yes indeed, she was someone IMPORTANT. 

Hello?  

Anyhoo. We can't stop laughing. Let me just share with you: Leigh has a design or two on Knitty. She has a blog that's been around longer than my blog, and has a much bigger subscriber list than mine. The thing is, her life's gotten so busy that she's not updating her blog much anymore. She's moved on. Me, I'm still clinging to it. But yes, indeed, she is important. 

And so are these folks:

 Photo used with permission of Gale Zucker -- Well, at least the first time I used it in a blog post she gave me her permission. I'm quite sure she will this time, too.

If you are new to my blog or new to this project, you might want to read this post. Or if you have been around all along and have digested, memorized and clung to my every word, you might just want to read it again.

And if you have questions about the guidelines, and why there are guidelines or whatnot that are not answered on the Orphan Foundation website, please peruse my Red Scarf blog or my Red Scarf Project category for reams and reams of clear and concise explanations. And the occasional rant. 

That's Gale and me in New Hampshire, on the day we first met, in January of 2007. It was the coldest day of the year (I swear!) and we met two delightful OFA students at one of their colleges, heard their stories, and photographed red scarves. 

 

In internet time, that is approximately 149 years ago. But Gale and I are both still here, plugging the Red Scarf goodness.

Be Sure To Have Your Seatbelt Fastened

We have a couple of new el primo prizes to add to the prize pool for the Red Scarf Fund fundraiser, and there is a new winner.

As Seen In Vogue Knitting, S. Kate has made us a set of these stunning copper and sterling silver stitch markers.  

SpindleCat Studio Handmade Copper and Sterling Stitch Marker Set
As seen on pp.10-11 in Vogue Knitting magazine - Fall 2009

6 - Copper 5-lobed Swirls, US8
6 - Copper rings, US8
6 - Sterling Silver rings, US8
6 - Copper rings, US6
6 - Sterling Silver rings, US6
4 - US4/US6 Rosy Hammered Copper Dual Duty
7 - US4/US6 Bright Copper Dual Duty

41 markers total, all corralled on a handmade hammered copper pin keeper. 

I am breathless at their intricate beauty, and so thrilled that Kate has donated these to our cause. And a bit of trivia re: the level of “handmadeness” of Kate's work – even the cord on her marker tag is her own handspun hand dyed silk.

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And Alisha is making me cry. This is so gorgeous I almost can't stand it. I can't win this, but one of you lucky, lucky people will:

Harvest Chocolate is mostly a brown that tends toward orange and red. Chocolate in the sunset, wheat in moonlight, crusty bread and a well-loved Teddy bear come to mind looking at this yarn.

Fling Silk Fingering is 100% silk, but it isn't oil-slick shiny. Instead, it is lustrous, the colors shift and shimmer, and it feels good wrapped around your body. Each skein weighs 3.5 ounces and is 400+ yards of yummy, rich color.

I'm sort of hitting myself over the head over this. Alisha made the offer for me to choose something from her shop for the prize pool, and instead of being smart and just buying this molten chocolate gorgeousness, I said I'd like this to be in the prize pool. STUPIDMESTUPIDMESTUPIDME 

If you haven't already donated, please do so today:  

It's been sooo heartening to see all the bloggers helping to spread the word and encourage people to knit scarves. The knitalong in the Knitspot Ravelry group has been especially enthusiastic and productive in a short time (Join today! She has prizes, too!). I'm constantly reading in the forum in there that people are surprised at how quickly their scarves are progressing and how much they can actually accomplish when they put their minds to it, and/or how they are realizing how quickly a few rows here and there -- while waiting for the tea kettle to boil, while waiting for something to upload on the computer, while waiting at a red light, while waiting in the doctor's office waiting room, while waiting for the pasta to cook -- can really add up. 

To wit, in my case, for example:

My number five scarf is now half done. I have come to love the colors. I wish I had done a straight knit row where it joins from saffron to blue, so that line would be smoother, but then I kind of like those gold seeds popping up in the blue field. I guess it's all good.

Also, please think about joining the (two overlapping, in a funny turn of events) Red Scarf Groups in Ravelry. And if you can't do a scarf now, please think about it the next time you are purchasing yarn or see yarn on sale, or need to fill up your online shopping cart in order to qualify for free shipping. Throw in a few skeins of DK red (or other unisex color) yarn with next year's Red Scarf Project in mind, and when you need a mindless project, cast on and knit a simple unisex scarf and hold onto it, so that next year when the time comes, you'll have scarves ready to go.

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And now, drum roll, please.......

LUCIA is the lucky winner of one of the two spectacularly beautiful bison lace yarn kits generously donated from our friends in Prince Edward Island, Fibre-Isle Fine Yarns. Congratulations Lucia, and thank you Jacques and Sylvie, for donating these beautiful kits. There is still one more left to win.

Uncle!

When it came time to write a blog post tonight, I did something I have almost never done before, but that some others write that they do all the time: I sat and stared at the screen trying to think of something to write. So I'm crying uncle and slapping up this photo of the scarf in progress, and going to bed. 

I've separated the red and the blue seed stitch with a couple of gold garter ridges. I hope it's a pleasing combo in the end. Right now I'm not so sure I like it. The scarf will be about 2/3 blue, with just a touch of gold and a red stripe down one side. Could be interesting and great, or could be weird. I hope it's not the latter. I'm too tired, sore (from a killer workout at the gym) and wrung out to make a decision about it right now.

(Morning-after addition: The yarns are Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Fired Brick and Saffron, and Mission Falls 1824 in Denim.  I cast on 293 stitches, using a US 9 needle, which I hope will result in a scarf approximately 60 inches long. In the morning light, I really do like the color combo.)

One Finished, One Begun

Red Scarf No. 4 - Seed Stitch

Cascade 220, Color No. 9404

(Most of 2 skeins used)

US 7 needles, 29 stitches wide

Finished dimensions after blocking: 6.25 inches by 68 inches

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And after I completed it last night, I cast on another:

As you can see, I am not yet tired of the seed stitch, and it goes really fast for me. I had a little bit of Knit Picks Swish worsted in Fired Brick left, but not enough for an entire scarf. I decided to maximize its impact in a stash-busting lengthwise-striped seed stitch scarf. After I finished the Cascade 220 one while watching a movie and some basketball yesterday, I went ahead and cast on 293 stitches on a long-cabled needle and started knitting more seeds. I've completed over an inch in width. That's a sixth (or a fifth if I stop at 5 inches wide, which is a possibility) of the way completed. Already. 

Who says there isn't time for a scarf before December 15th?