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It feels good to blog again!
Where I last left off, I was preparing for a business trip to San Francisco, making lists of sights to see, restaurants at which to eat, shops that I couldn't possibly pass up.
Bilan of my list: I made it to two yarn shops and a Mexican restaurant. Not a very good track record.
But I reconfirmed my love for San Francisco when I saw a public transportation ad on television (perhaps MUNI or maybe BART, I can't remember) that encouraged Friscoans to take public transportation by giving them a list of things they could do during their commute that they would not be able to do in their cars, one of which was to knit. Priceless!
I may have packed my suitcase just hours before leaving for the airport, but I made sure to print out maps from the hotel to Artfibers and Imagiknit.
Speaking of the airport, I suffered a minor setback when my addi turbos were confiscated by the wildly erratic and irrational Paris airport security claiming that they were an objet tranchant. Right, just about as sharp as a ballpoint pen. Imagine a 12 hour flight with no knitting. I was beside myself and it was only 7am!
The solution was to run straight to Artfibers as soon as I checked into my hotel. Lucky for me, it was a mere 3 blocks away. Jetlagged but jubilant, I hopped, skipped and jumped up the stairs to the second floor and was greeted with this: glory to the yarn world. Color, texture and touch bursting at the seams.
I browsed, I touched, I yawned (I'd been awake for over 24 hours), I repeatedly told the shopkeeper that we just don't have yarn like this in France...
and then I bought...
330 yards of Golden Chai (100% golden tussah silk) in color 10
This yarn reminds me of Tilli Thomas pure & simple, but with more beautiful colors and less expensive. I chose this color because it matches my eyes...
250 yards of Alfabeto (70% silk, 19% superfine kid mohair, 5% wool) in color 7
I bought this in view of making a small swallowtail shawl for my future mother-in-law
lots of yards of Andromeda (30% angora, 70% silk) in colors 6 (left) and 5 (right)
Do you see a theme -- I have gone crazy for pure silk and silk blend yarns. What I loved most about Artfibers are their fibers -- matières nobles -- as they say in French. Luxurious fibers at reasonable prices. Can't go wrong with that, and they ship to Europe, don't worry, I asked.
One last shot of Andromeda (color 5) and Alfabeto
Lest you think that my pocketbook had exploded after this yarn extravaganza, the following day, in-between two meetings, I hoped on the F-line street car to the Castro to pay a visit to Imagiknit.
Looked promising peeking through the window...
and in the end, la pêche était bonne. See for yourselves:
Koigu...enough said.
The only disappointment was that the store did not have the Charolotte's Web shawl pattern that I would like to make out of this painter's palette selection and it seems to be impossible to find...any one have any suggestions?
Lexicon:
bilan (m): literally, in accounting, a balance sheet. It is also used more informally as "progress report" or "results"
objet tranchant (m): sharp object, as in knitting needles :)
matières nobles: fine materials
la pêche était bonne: literally, the fishing was good or the result was fruitful
As I said in my previous post, the last three projects I have completed have been for others in my life. My Aunt Sal is one of those people. An avid knitter and active member of her community, she has recently taken on knitting chemo caps from her stash. She taught me to knit, purl, cast on and off several years ago and is probably still in disbelief of the knitting monster/master stasher that she has created. In honor of her 75th birthday several weeks ago and as a big thank you for teaching me how to knit, I decided to make her something extra special to highlight what I have learned so far and in a fiber fit for a queen.
The result: a shawl that is simple but elegant and in a modern design befitting a progressive 75-year old (she was the one who recommend "Clerks" as a must-see movie), knit with a rich jewel-toned burnt sienna pure silk.
___________________________________________________
Pattern: Little Arrowhead Shawl from Sweet Somethings, Staff Projects, Interweave Knits Summer '06
Yarn: one skein (with 1 yard remaining) of Tilli Thomas pure and simple in burnt orange
Needles: 4.5 mm addi circs (really becoming the needle size of choice)
Notes: This yarn is heavenly -- rich jewel tones with a slight variegation that almost looks like a jeu de lumière (an effect of the light). The silk is smooth and easy to knit with, and really develops with a quick dunk in cold water. The only downside -- I was disappointed to find a knot in this $ 28 skein. Originally I was going to knit this in dusty pink but when I finally received it (after the first shipment got lost in the mail -- vive la France!) I decided that a deeper color was necessary and went through the whole hand-wringing process for a new package to arrive from the US. It couldn't have turned out more perfectly, the present was ready just in time for her 75th birthday, and I got to celebrate with her in person.
A latecomer to the stash, this Handmaiden yarn showed up in my boîte aux lettres on Tuesday afternoon. I had ordered it from Red Bird Knits last December and requested that it be delivered to my sister in Boston so that she could bring it to me on her visit to Paris over winter break, and I could save some money on shipping. As luck wouldn't have it :), the package was delivered the day after she left, and when she returned three weeks later was no longer at the post office. Two months later it showed up in Toronto, its point of origin and I had Robyn ship it to my on the slow boat to France.
Specs: 600 meters of super soft wool with bits of viscose. The purple, green, pink, blue colorway is called English Garden. The skein underneath it is called Origin.
I have not enhanced the colors, they are really that rich. HandMaiden takes handpainted wool to a higher level. Since I do not own a ball winder I wound the 600 meter English Garden skein (blues, pinks, greens..perfect for spring blossoms) by hand. It took me nearly half and hour to wind my center-pull ball but it was such a pleasure to see the colors mix together.
I'm heading to a tiny village outside of Saumur this afternoon and I plan on taking advantage of my train ride to start the Clapotis I have planned for this yarn. I know the Clapotis is so last year but I figure I'm in France and we're always a little behind in the knitting thing...
An extra special treat arrived in the mailbox on Saturday and cheered me up after a long day spent at the library.
500 meters of silken and seaweed goodness. Yes, seaweed. This HandMaiden yarn is 70% silk and 30% seacell, a fiber made from seaweed which supposedly has health properties for the wearer. I succumbed to the powers of the Vintage colorway, and envision a Jackie Erickson Schweiter Pillared Archways scarf sometime in my future.
More yarn porn to come on April 1. See details on the Second Annual Flash Your Stash site.
Since school was closed for the second week in a row due to the occupation of Paris X-Nanterre (and many other universities across France) by students protesting against the CPE (Contrat Première Embauche -- a new type of labor contract for youth under 26 years of age), I decided to treat myself to an hour of knitting before hitting the books. The Backyard Leaves scarf is progressing at a nice pace:
The Lady has arrived. My Lady Godiva in Mineral arrived on Monday and I am more than pleased. Many thanks to Robyn at Red Bird Knits for a speedy delivery from Toronto. Mineral has subtle shades of gold, bronze, purple-brown and sky blue. This is going to make a beautiful Ella.
But first I must finish the Ribbity Noro striped sweater. I posted the current state of affairs in the current projects album. Last night I finished the back panel. I think I will start on the arms today. I can't bear to knit another 17 straight inches of rib.
Yesterday's national holiday (Toussaint) gave me a good excuse to finish Mlle. D's booties, even though almost all of the stores were open and I could have accomplished the other 10 million things on my to-do list. On Monday night I braved the angry crowds at La Droguerie and stood in line for 15 minutes to purchase 2 buttons. Why I went on Monday night at 6pm remains a mystery to me seeing as how class had been canceled to allow the Professor to take a 4 day weekend and I had all day to go at my leisure? I guess I like to make things difficult. Really, the Droguerie is an intriguing place. You can purchase all manner of beads for making necklaces, thousands of different buttons, patches, fabric flowers, wool by the gram, ribbons etc. but it is perhaps the most unpleasant place in Paris besides the Metro. People push and shove, get angry, old ladies try to cut in front of you in line, you queue up for hours on end only to be told you are in the wrong line, and heaven forbid you don't know exactly what you want when your turn comes, you get angry glares from those behind you in line who have waited patiently (and some not so patiently) for their turn. I think I'll go to my local mercerie on rue de Belleville next time.
Nevertheless, it was worth it because the booties are positively adorable, if I may gloat. 
At the Bon Marché, a department store in the 7th arrondissement in Paris, they have a lovely selection of wool, buttons, sewing supplies and the like. In France, they call this bazaar a mercerie. See, you learned a new word today.
I went to the Bon Marché 10 days ago to buy a pair of circulars for Mr. Ribbit's sweater and of course ended up with a couple of stitch markers, 2 balls of Bouton d'Or (for Mlle. D's bonnet), and a ball of kidsilk haze. They had begun setting up for a sale but being the absent-minded young lady that I am, failed to realize that some of the stuff I was buying would actually be on sale in a few days.
Flash forward...le bruit qui court* on the Paris Tricot listserve is that Rowan and Debbie Bliss are on sale! So today after class I decided to head over to the BM (or the not so bon marché* as it should be called) to buy some Debbie Bliss cashmerino at 20% off, seeing as how I now have to open a layette knits store (friend #2 is expecting end of January!) .
The inventory is as follows:
Bouton d'Or Cérès 50% wool/50% alpaca in "ketchup" --I am tempted to say that I bought this for the name alone, but that would be a lie. Let's just say that someone who-shall-not-be-named is going to receive a pair of stunning ketchup-colored mittens this winter.
Anny Blatt art yarn Vega in mineral and dolerite: normally I don't care for art yarn but this stuff caught my eye and will make a great accent cuff for the ketchup colored mittens. As for the purple/green dolerite color, I have a leftover skein of Rowan biggy print in purple to make another pair of chunky mittens.
Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino 55% merino/33% microfibre/12% cashmere in lavender and chartreuse. This supersoft wool blend was 20% off and is a much nicer, higher quality than the Bouton d'Or baby superwash that I used for the bonnet (but more about that later) and is destined to become part of a layette set for the baby boy who will make his debut in 2006.
Rowan yorkshire tweed dk in Brown (355). I needed a yarn for the ribbed v-neck collar for Mr. Ribbit's sweater. This stuff was on sale (yay!) and should work perfectly.
Rowan kidsilk haze 70% super kid mohair/ 30% silk. I bought this on my first BM trip 10 days ago to make this simple lace scarf because I have never before knit lace. And then I received this in the mail today on my way home:
and now I am really wondering where my brain is? I ordered the scarf kit that came with the Rowan International membership in the same color as the yarn I bought to make the other lace scarf. At least I am consistent, right ?
And this whole lace scarf practice is really in preparation to make Ella by Wendy Wonnacott. I bought the luscious Lady Godiva 50% silk/50% wool in Mineral from a Canadian yarn shop online that ships internationally. Fleece Artist/Handmaiden, the company that makes the yarn is also Canadian.
As if you weren't jealous enough, and to top off my fabulously knitty day, I am munching on a pain au chocolat et banane from our heavenly neighboorhood bakery.
Lexicon:
le bruit qui court : expression - the word on the street
bon marché: cheap
