More Knitting Karma...

Knitting Karma is a strange thing.... just when you think the Gauge Goddesses have graced you with your limit of kindness, more good things happen...

What a surprise to be notified by Stephanie Pearl McPhee with this message: 
"You're the winner of a karmic balancing gift over at the blog.  A pattern book from Fyberspates, and the yarn to make one of the sweaters in it!"

Wahoo! So, after a delightful email conversation with Jeni from Fyberspates, I've chosen "Scrumptious", a silk/merino blend to knit Stonor.  

And then, from Janel Laidman... I was chosen as one of the correct guesses for the hints provided in her Knitterati Sock Club.... surprise prize to come!

Some days it's better to immerse yourself in the knitting world than to face reality beyond the skeins!!

Knitting Karma

It had been in the planning for a year... reviewing the successes and ideas of 2010 and building on those concepts....tossing around new ideas... reviewing the rules.

It became one of the much-anticipated events for my Knit Night colleague and I... where should we go? What will we do? More concrete plans started to develop in the past week, the anxiety and anticipation starting to build....

The challenge: trying to maximize the composition of ten photographs to garner the most points in the Ravelry "Sock Knitters Anonymous" (SKA) scavenger hunt for World-Wide Knit In Public (WWKIP) day!

Saturday, June 16 was the day designated to take my sock "on the road". Our destination: Toronto. The international landmark of the CN Tower proved to be a great place to find signs in multiple languages, people who spoke something other than English as their first language, and definitely the place to be above 100m and able to knit in front of a crowd...all point generating photos for the scavenger hunt.

But the thing that struck me the most is how boundaries melt away when one knits, and is on a quest like WWKIP. It seems a simple sock can act like a sheild against potential embarrassment, shyness or fear.... perhaps it's Knitting Karma.

I introduced myself to at least a dozen people I didn't know, explained what I was doing, and included them in pictures. Every one of them shared a smile... and very few were really reluctant (ie: other than the Metro police officer's initial look of disbelief, for example!)

From the CN Tower we sauntered across Queen Street, and as always, Toronto is not without its own cultural adventures.

 

As part of last year's Ravelry activities, a European participant in the WWKIP scavenger hunt posted a picture of naked cyclists who happened to be "on tour" the same day as WWKIP.  

My friend and I were just recalling that photo when this moment occurred.... the Canadian contingent in Toronto at Queen and Bathurst...

It was a nice surprise to run into the Yarn Harlot (aka Stephanie Pearl McPhee) at the yarn store.... not that it's surprising to find her there, but rather more of a delight!  A few short weeks ago, you may remember we took Stephanie's class in North Bay. Well, this time we had the pleasure of meeting her daughter Sam. Both will be part of a team taking an incredible journey in support of the Toronto People With Aids Foundation, bicycling from Toronto to Montreal. Stephanie was gracious enough to pose for my "celebrity photo" for the scavenger hunt.

So, how did we do? My overall tally stands in the 60s, but has yet to be verified by the judges.... and is up against some fierce competition. In any event, we had a blast! I'm already thinking about ideas for next year!

Startitis... and Yarnxiety

There's nothing like a search for a specific skein of yarn, and not being able to find it, that will set your heart pounding and blood rushing to your ears (...you know.... that overwhelming whooooshing sound that accompanies fibre panic!!?)  Of course, that's what I'm thinking caused the "yarnxiety".... it may also have been the discovery of an overwhelming number of skeins of sock yarn I didn't realize I had... but I'll deny that was the case!!

The past several months (okay, years) have been focused on the pursuit of finally completing my Liberal Arts degree. Having achieved that goal in April, I felt it important to devote some much needed (and long overdue) dedicated time to my yarn stash.  Yes, I had been knitting and studying (and writing essays.... thousands upon thousands of words of essays, but I digress...), and in the interim added several pairs of socks to my collection. The most recently finished pair are the yellow Haystacks -- upon finishing, much to my dismay, I discovered one rogue purl stitch unsuccessfully attempting to hide in amongst the stockinette.  Why are those discoveries made only after the sock is finished, toe decreases done, and the kitchener stitch is complete?  It's now a "design feature" -- that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

So, with the yellow socks off the needles, and a few more ideas floating around in my head, off I go in search of a yummy sherbert mix of summer colours to start a new pair of socks.  The yarn is in my Ravelry stash, so I know it's with my other yarn and therefore should be easy to find. Search the first bin. Nope. Heart beats a bit faster. Has to be in the other bin. (Note the use of the word "other" in this context, suggesting there are two bins.) Search the second bin. Nope. No. Nadda. Whooshing sound starts in my ears.  Go back and search first bin. Did I reach the bottom and look at all the skeins in their plastic bags? Nothing.

Yarnxiety is setting in. Also not seeing some of my favourite Bugga yarns, and quite a few String Theory skeins appear to have gone wayward as well.... and they must be partying with that delightful Casbah Handmaiden skein, 'cuz it's not to be seen either....  Whooshing sound is getting louder. Heart beat is palpable.  Of course, if I had done this in the evening when I wasn't bound by the confines of a work schedule, the pounding/whooshing may not have overtaken any element of reason I possessed. 

Resigned to do a more thorough hunt through the stash when I had more time to conduct a rational search, I walked away. Remember that skein of Casbah? Well, there it was waving to me out of the corner of a third  bin, inviting me to join the party. Yes, the invitees were String Theory and Bugga, and that skein of sherbert coloured yarn that was the object of my search. They were having a great time, totally oblivious to my thoughts of posting wanted pictures on milk cartons.

So, heart rate is normal, whooshing sound is gone.... ready to wind the chosen skein and cast on.  It's Grant Creek Yarns in "Tequila Sunrise".

And why, you ask, is this post called "Startitis"? Because I didn't really need to endure the effects of yarnxiety... I do have five other socks in progress, two which were started this weekend.  I suspect the startitis, like the yarnxiety, will pass in due time...