Welcome to 2015

Robert and I have been doing a read-aloud each night of things that we wrote on that date in India. It's reminded me that having this here blog is a wonderful chronicle of our lives, but only if I, you know, use it. So I'm going to try to do that more, even when we aren't living in other countries.

Today was a very mixed bag. On the plus side we had a pretty relaxed day. The sun was shining, Rosie had a nice walk, I made scones and sausage for our New Year's breakfast. Robert and Zion played LOTR Risk, and we Skyped with my parents.

On the minus side, Liel woke up sick (and ended up throwing up a few times), Rosie tore her dew claw about halfway up (and into the quick), but only tore it half off, so it's hanging there. It clearly bothers her some, but no way can we cut it off. She hates having her nails trimmed under the best of circumstances. The internet tells me this isn't a rush to the vet thing, and if her nail breaks the rest of the way off I'll be pretty pleased. If it doesn't, I'll take her to the vet so they can do the honors.

Furthermore, when I went to block the amazingly gorgeous sweater I finished yesterday I was met with the worst smell I've ever experienced while working with wool. NO idea what it was about, but trust me, it was awful. The yarn company was incredibly responsive, but equally confused. I tested yarn from another skein of the same dye lot, and it was fine. Guess I got a bad one?? Anyway, that turned out OK, once I rinsed the crap out of the sweater, so to speak. Now it just smells like a wet sheep.

And the other things will turn out OK too. Liel will be better, and hopefully soon. Rosie's nail will either fall off or the vet will remove it.

After the kids went to bed I decided that what I really needed was some kind of tasty potato snack. So I made a super small amount of potato salad. Robert said he didn't want any, but he ended up eating half of it, since "super small" is apparently relative and I couldn't actually eat it all.

So to sum up: delicious breakfast, sunshine, sick child, mildly injured dog, rescued sweater, potato salad, 2015. 

You know I rock because I'm wearing wool!

I haven't had a give away on the blog in ages and ages-- mainly because I wasn't really using the blog anymore. But India got me back to it, and I'm thinking to try to keep it up for a while. And since we could all use a little more love in our lives, I figured to combine the two and give away some knitting on the blog! Plus, now that summer is here, what better time than to give away something warm, hand knit, super fly, and made of wool?

No better time. Clearly. You'll be preparing for the cold (winter is coming, amiright?), looking cute, and making someone smile. 

Here's what's up for grabs: a pair of fingerless gloves, knit by me from soft, squishy merino wool yarn in a color that's a cross between orange juice and gold-- in other words, these gloves are made of happy. 

They're perfect for cozying up to a mug of coffee or tea!

Or, because they are fingerless, you can write in your brand new, blank journal without fear of cold hands! Also great for reading books, playing video games, posting on Facebook, watching cat videos, or otherwise wasting time on the interwebs. And remember: summer time is overly air-conditioned time! 

Here they are in all their glory, along with my fantastic props.

So now you know what I'm offering. But how, HOW do you get them??

It's simple, really. Leave a comment (by, say, June 2) telling me who you'd like to give these gloves to, and telling me why that person is awesome/needs some love/should be cheered up/is in desperate need of fingerless gloves. Assuming I have more than one comment, I'll probably use a random number generator to choose a winner. And then I will pop them in the mail to that person, and, because you were such an great friend to nominate them for such a nommy prize, I will send you a matching pair. Because I made two pairs :) And because I love you. 

Yarn shopping in Bangalore

Today I bought yarn! Silk yarn. Gorgeous yarn.

My friend B grew up in Mangalore, went to college in Bangalore, and now lives in the US. We met on Ravelry, so we share a love of knitting and yarn! She is in town visiting family, and we arranged to go yarn shopping today. India doesn't produce a lot of natural fiber yarns for resale, and this store is rather special and beloved of knitters for their high quality pure silk yarns.

B's brother lives in the complete opposite side of Bangalore from me, but luckily for me the yarn store is on my side of town. I felt a bit badly that she had to travel all the way to me though, because it's a long way! It took her nearly 90 minutes to get here. Eeeep. It only took us 10 minutes in an auto rickshaw to get to the yarn store though. It was my first auto ride! Thank goodness B was there though, as the store proved rather difficult to find, requiring 3 phone calls (one between the owner and the driver) and, once we got close, a moped escort. I was very grateful to have a native Kannada speaker with me, let me tell you. I think there's about a zero percent chance I'd have gotten to the place on my own.

Silkindian is a family business, and they mainly sell wholesale for export. They don't have a proper shop, but if you arrange with them you can come in their office in a residential apartment building, and buy from whatever stock they have on hand (they'll also custom dye yarn for you, but you have to buy a kilo of the same color to make it cost effective for them). It was so much fun! My only regret was that a majority of their stock was multi-colored yarn, which isn't great for lace knitting as it obscures the pattern. Since I had three custom shawl orders I was buying for I needed solid color yarn! Luckily I was able to get everything I needed- a teal color for Mel, dark blue for Julie, and purple for Becka. They didn't actually have the purple out, but when I asked they found some for me (and bonus: it was already wound!). Phew! I couldn't bear to disappoint Becka. We've been friends our entire lives, and she really appreciates hand made items (and does amazing sewing work herself!). Of course, she's about the easiest person to please in terms of color that I know, so I'm sure I could have found something that suited her, but I was really glad I could get her first choice. She is going to look stunning in this shade of purple!

I also got a gorgeous peridot green skein of yarn with no particular purpose in mind (I just couldn't leave it behind!) and at the last minute two skeins of multicolored yarn. They are dark blue, light blue, and teal and I'd been trying to figure out what I could possibly make with them. It occurred to me I could make a gorgeous lightweight pullover with them, but I wasn't sure I was up to handwashing a silk sweater, so I finally put them down with regret. Then we found out that that particular base (which I loved- super soft and not slippery!) was actually cheaper than the others. "Oh", said B. "Well, at that price how can you say no??". What could I do? I was a sitting duck! I fell for her logic immediately (it was, after all, impeccable) and bought that yarn too.

After that B and I took an auto back to campus, and met Robert and the kids for lunch. I was sad I didn't get more time to hang out with her, but it was an excellent day and an immensely satisfying yarn shopping experience!

Now I'm super eager to get started on some of these custom shawls!

Snack lunch and a green shawl

Happy New Years! I hope your New Years Eve was all that you hoped, and that 2013 is beautiful for all of us.

The Center for Contemporary Studies hosted a New Years "snack lunch" today. We weren't sure what that meant, but guessed it was probably a light lunch, which proved to be correct. There were two cakes, a kind of sweet that is apparently famous in Karnataka (but which I did not catch the name of), pongal (a kind of savory rice porridge), samosas, a few chutneys and a salad. I was really sad we couldn't eat the salad! We're a month in and salad is pretty much at the top of my "foods I miss" list. But I digress.

I got to meet a lot of people at the Center, and everyone was so incredibly kind and friendly! There were even a couple of other kids there-- a 14 year old boy and an 8 year old girl. They came into Robert's office while Zion and Liel were in there taking turns spinning on the chair. Liel hid under the desk and wouldn't come out until Zion came to tell me about it and I came in. At that point she'd been under there a while; Zion told me the kids had come in twice and one of their mothers had come to take pictures. Nice. So Liel and I had a talk about how her shyness (which is almost exclusively an excuse at this point) does not extend to being rude or making other people feel badly. I was totally mortified to think that she HID when other kids came in! That kind of behavior is one thing for a 2 or 3 year old, but something else entirely at her age. At any rate, she came out and we went and she introduced herself to the other girl. They didn't end up playing together, but the girl and Zion raced around the library for a bit, trying not to be seen. Zion said this was difficult because he was wearing a blue shirt and the girl had on an orange dress and orange bangles so they were both bright and loud. Who they were trying not be seen by remained an open question, but I hadn't seen them at it so I was able to tell them they'd been successful.

And on this New Years Day I got to wear the emerald green shawl I completed a couple of days ago. I adore this color so, so much. Sadly, I don't think I can ever get more! Wollmeise calls experimental shades, or shades that are accidents "guinea pigs" and this skein was a guinea pig green. It makes me very happy...and calm. Even winding this yarn was a joy, and to be honest, yarn winding isn't usually my favorite. But I was happy just to watch this color pass through my hands as I wound it into a ball.

This first picture shows the pattern best, but the other show the color better :)

A few food norms

A few nights ago at dinner I commented that I never feel more American than when I'm traveling out of the country. I'm sure this feeling is not unique to me-- there's nothing like being immersed in difference to make you aware of your own cultural practices and beliefs, even (especially?) the ones you've never noticed or thought about before.

For instance, I've noticed that there are rules governing when certain foods are eaten, and therefore when they are available to buy, in India. Of course this is true in the US as well, but unless I were at a diner it wouldn't even occur to me to try to order breakfast at dinner time, and I certainly wouldn't expect to see eggnog in July. Which foods are eaten at which times isn't even something I have to think about when I'm at home. It also helps that for the most part in the US restaurants have different menus for different times, or mark their menus ("Breakfast items only available until 11am" or what have you).

Here in India I don't really know which foods go with which times, and the menus do not guide me. Every restaurant we've been in has a single menu, with no indication of time on it. As a result, we find ourselves regularly trying to order things that aren't available. And the language barrier means that we're often in the dark as to why a particular item might not be available right then (are they out? is it a breakfast food? do they only serve it on Sundays?). Instead the Indian waiters and staff just look at us, shake their heads, and say, "No dosa/Indian food/poori/kesari bath".

None of this is a particular problem, of course. If we can't order one thing we try something else! It's just a small daily reminder that I do not understand this place (yet? I don't know...I might never!).

Anyway, I made some socks out of leftover yarn :)

First Indian FO

This FO (finished object) was started and completed here in Bangalore. I'd had the yarn for ages, and I knew I wanted to use the two colors together, but couldn't quite figure out how. Then, shortly before I left New York, it hit me. The yarn wanted-- no needed-- to become nerd chic video game sweater! So I put the yarn in the "must bring" pile, and lugged it along across the oceans. Luckily for me, the fabulous lisseut on Ravelry had already charted out the Space Invaders aliens, so all I had to do was build a sweater around them. Colorwork (using two or more colors to create pictures in your knitting, for the non-knitters out there) is not my strong suit. I've only ever completed two colorwork projects before this, and they were both really small. I've learned a few tricks along the way for dealing with things like long floats, but it's slow going, and kind of hard on my brain. Which is really a longish way of saying: this project was challenging for me! Be impressed! I'm growing as a knitter!

So, without further ado, I present you with my latest creation. The pictures were taken by Robert, on our teeny little balcony :)

The colors in the close-up are not accurate, but you can see the cute little aliens a bit better in it :) I'd say our old skool inherited iPhone camera is performing pretty admirably, wouldn't you? Oh and I don't have a close-up of it, but can you see the dot matrix-y color transition on the sleeves??

So there you have it my first Indian FO. After I finished it I spent most of a day trying to decide what to knit next. Limited yarn supply = limited options! Eventually I settled on a shawl (I won't say more about it right now, so you can coo over it when it is done), and set about winding the yarn. I was pretty stressed when I started winding, but just winding the yarn, becoming absorbed by the beauty of the color and the feel of the wool in my hands, helped me to feel more peaceful. Of course, most of the credit has to go to Robert, who listened to me talk while I wound yarn, gave his own opinions, and was generally the best EVER (as usual), but still. Yarn has magical healing properties, I know it.

Finally, Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate, and a happy what would be 104th (ish) birthday to my great-grandfather!

Packing, part 1

I'm not sure how many parts will be in this series, but I'm sure I'll need to post about packing more than once before we leave!

I finally started packing today. I haven't been avoiding it, it's just that we use the things we're going to take with us...and so we can't pack them. But today I started bringing things downstairs. I have extra conditioner and gel, because even though I understand that I can buy hair care products in Bangalore, I also understand that my curly hair is picky as hell and that I'm vain enough to want to give it what it likes. Plus I won't be bringing those things back home, so more suitcase space/weight then! Clearly a win.

There are bags of vitamins and probiotics, a small bag of nail polish for me and Liel, a gifts for people in Bangalore, and a stack of extra pillowcases. We decided to bring our own pillows, since a good pillow can really make or break a night's sleep. I'm bringing two cases for each pillow, so that we can have one to put on while the other is in the wash. I'm going to let each kid bring one of their lightweight blankets too, mostly as a comfort item. They both love curling up in their blankets on the couch, and I think it will please them to have them in India.

It occurred to me a couple of days ago that tile floors + no heat + temps in the high 50s at night = cold feet. I had knitted and felted Zion a pair of slippers a couple months ago, so I just made one for Liel too. Haven't felted them yet, I'm hoping to knock out a pair for me as well. My Ugg boots will be too bulky. So that's still on the to-do list. I also need to pack some colored pencils and crayons and markers for Liel, just to hold her over until I can buy more there. I put a couple of free travel books (narratives, not guides) on my kindle, still need to find a few more for each kid.

Then I spent an hour or more staring at my yarn, my Ravelry queue and back at my yarn. I can't bring it all, and it's really hard figuring out what I might want to knit in the future! Yarn selection in India will be limited, though I bet I can beg some friends to mail me things if I get really desperate.

And finally there's shoes. Shoes will be difficult for me to find in India, what with my big American feet! And unlike yarn, they're heavy. So I need to make sure that I bring shoes that are cute, comfortable, and wearable in at least two different seasons. I've decided to wear my beloved Birkenstock Bostons on the plane, as they're ridiculously comfortable, will keep my feet warm, and are easy to take on/off. I've had these shoes for 14 years, have resoled them at least twice and the cork is finally starting to crumble. So sad. In the meantime, I found a pair of Birkenstock Gizeh sandals on crazy sale and after much hemming and hawing over color finally ordered these:

They should arrive on Tuesday. Hopefully they will be as excellent for tromping around the world as my Bostons have been! And more suited to the weather in South India too ;)

So it begins

I started packing today. Not in suitcases (it's too early for that yet), but my yarn and knitted items. I've been fretting about the ones I'm leaving at home (mostly knitted items as I cut my yarn stash way down in preparation for this move), worrying that they would get munched by bugs in my absence. So I decided to put everything in ziploc bags, in the hopes that this would minimize or avoid this problem. I may even put the ziplocs in some plastic tubs, but I'm not sure that'll actually help.

At any rate, Robert bought me a bunch of huge ziploc bags today, and I packed all of my knitted items that I'm not planning to bring to India or wear in the 17 days remaining to us here in New York. And I put all of my yarn in bags, other than the stuff I'm currently knitting with. It was oddly satisfying to seal everything up! And I felt productive, like I was actually making progress towards being prepared, so that was nice too.

Less nice was trying to decide which shawls to bring with me. I expect I'll get more use from shawls than from sweaters, but I also don't expect I'll wear a lot of wool shawls, even very lightweight ones. But I love them so! I really wanted to bring 5 or 6, but I'm limiting myself to 2-3. Sigh. Probably 2. I must be practical! And I am bringing yarn to knit more while I'm there, though I'm not sure how (or if) I'll be able to block them.

Zion and I are both still sick- snot, coughing, asthma, the works. So glad we're not driving to Chicago tomorrow, even if I do get sad about not seeing everyone there when I think about it. I've been making and taking a tonic with apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, honey, and hot water, which I really think has done wonders for my throat. When I got sick I lost my voice pretty much right away, and my throat hurt like crazy, even drinking water made me wince. A day on vinegar tonic and my sore throat was gone and my voice started coming back. Two days and my voice is totally back to normal.

I haz socks!

I finished my first pair of socks today. I never had any interest in knitting socks- sock yarn can be quite pricey, and the stitches are so tiny (usually around 8 to an inch) that measurable progress is slow. And frankly, I like my progress quick!

But then one day, as I was innocently browsing yarns on Ravelry I came across this gorgeous Chewy Spaghetti sock yarn for sale in someone's stash. I mean, isn't it just beautiful??



I had to have it. So I bought it and vowed to make socks. Or something. And here they are! Aren't they spiffy? Comfortable, too. I didn't time it exactly, but I figure they took me around 12 hours total to complete. You can see why there's not a big business in hand knit socks, despite their awesome awesomeness!







I even have enough yarn leftover to make a matching pair for Liel. I don't have the sock knitting bug (yet?), but I like it well enough. Which is good, since I've somehow managed to by several more skeins of sock yarn. No, really, they just fell into my cart! And they were on sale! And they looked up at me with these big weepy eyes! "Don't put us back tonight, Jovi! Hold us a little longer, Jovi!" What was I supposed to do??

Yarn dying and blue shawl

Here it is! My second completed shawl. This one is done in a fingering weight merino wool- very light and drapey. And, I must say, very beautiful.



Also, here are some pics from my yarn dying experiment. Over dying, really. Dad's yarn had too much of a "pink" look to the lighter parts, so I packed up the kids and headed to Shop Rite for some Kool Aid. I wanted Black Cherry flavor, but they didn't have it so I bought a bunch of Cherry and Grape, hoping to get something close, colorwise. Unsweetened, in case you weren't sure.

So I bopped 3 packets into some water and added my wet yarn. Then I heated it to nearly boiling, put the lid on and turned off the heat. About 15 minutes later the water was clear and the yarn had absorbed all the dye. Sooo cool! And the finished product is color safe, too. Neat-o. Probably best not to think about what parts of you may have absorbed some of that lovely Kool Aid dye...



Here's the finished product, held up next to an un-over-dyed skein. No pink, right?



I'm pretty pleased, and hope it'll work for dad's vision when it's all knit up. I've started the sweater vest he wants and I gotta tell you, this yarn is amazing. It makes the most incredible fabric, so smooth and soft and squishy. Really quality (which is a damn good thing as the skeins took me forever to ball they were so twisted and knotted in on themselves. I thought I was going to go insane, but oh, its worth it!). Heh. Look at me go with the over use of italics!

Good mail days

Yesterday was a good mail day for the kids. Skye found some kids books on the NPR give away shelf, and very sweetly mailed them to Zion and Liel, who were delighted to have new stories! Last night while Robert and I were cleaning up dinner they actually went and "read" all by themselves. Super cool, thank you Skye!!



Today was a good mail day for me (and Liel, heh). I ordered some yarn in a co-op about a month ago, and it arrived today! Lovely, squishy stuff. I'd be downright thrilled if it weren't for the fact that the skeins I ordered to make a vest for my dad are much more "semi" than "solid". Sigh! I knew it was a possibility (hand dyed yarn variation and all) but I'd hoped it would go more my way. I sent him pics this morning, so hopefully I won't be in suspense about whether or not it will work for him too much longer!

I also bought some yarn on Ravelry a few days ago, as I mentioned in an earlier post. It arrived today, too! So Liel and I frolicked in the yarn. I think she was a more enthusiastic squisher than I was, amazingly.

Here's what it all looks like on my couch (as I typed this Liel lunged at a bag of yarn and threw herself onto it squealing, "Yarn! Yarnyarn!").



I am a happy, happy girl.

Don't wanna end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard

Happy Monday! Zion has the week off of school, but Robert has late meetings all week. Sigh! Rather poor timing for it, no?

Kids and I aren't doing much today. I just got Zion to fall asleep 15 minutes ago, and I'm hoping he'll sleep a good hour and not be grumpy when he wakes up. It's so precious to watch him sleeping next to me while I type. Ooops, there's Liel, awake from her nap! No rest for the weary (or wicked) it would seem.

Quickly- I'm trying to justify buying a bunch of handspun yarn. It's lovely, and there are 20 skeins in 10 different shades of brown and cream. But I have no idea what to do with it! So if you think you'd like a hat, scarf, shrug, or even stripped sweater in shades of brown, now's your chance to let me know.

Also, Trufflehound's is delicious, and Robert is, as always, totally rockstar. That is all.