Tie One On

All week, I've been doing spring cleaning. Uh. . . no, that's not something that happens yearly at Chez Snit n'Knit. It's spring 1987 spring cleaning that I'm just getting around to.

Weeding the scarves was one thing on the "to do" list. I love how some women effortlessly and elegantly wear a scarf. I'm not one of them.

So, with that in mind, I was ruthless about purging the scarves. However, one made me pause.



This is a scarf (probably rayon) that I found among my Dad's things when we cleaned out my folks' house. My Pop was certainly not an ascot and smoking-jacket wearer and so I doubt he ever wore this scarf. My guess it was a gift from long ago--1940s or '50s.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but the colors in the scarf are picked up in the Jackie sweater. There's also something retro-looking about both. I think I'm going to have to learn how to wear this scarf!

The Way We Were

Was cleaning out dresser drawers today and found this from almost six years ago:



The second scarf I made. YIKES! What was I thinking?

Obviously I didn't know alpaca and cashmere yet. The softness of merino and lightness of mohair were unknown to me. So much was ahead--lacy shawls. socks, hats and booties. But, at that time, a little scarf in a glitzy ladder yarn was all I had in my knitting repertoire.

I hesitated when I saw this scarf. I was ready to toss it. But it's good to remember where I once was and it makes me think how much further I still can go.

Fashion Trend?

Here's a link to a fashion trend that, rightly so, will not catch on. BUT if it does, we knitters will be ready. . . .

Click here.

Amtrak Knitting Circle

Another weekend. Another train ride on Amtrak.



This time, hubster and I went upstate to Albany, NY for a dinner. Since the train follows the Hudson River, this ride is exceptionally scenic. Here's one sight: (Photo was taken through a tinted window on a moving train. It's really much prettier than this.)



On the left side of the photo, notice the island. That's Pollepel Island. If you click on the photo to make larger--you'll see what looks like a ruined castle. That's Bannerman Castle. It was built around 1900 to store munitions.

On our return trip to NYC, there was a couple sitting in front of us. I was knitting my secret project, listening to an audiobook, enjoying the scenery when I saw the woman raise her hand above her head and in her hand was. . . YARN!

I looked at her reflection in the train's window and saw



Do you see what I see? A knitting bag, hands and dpns!

I scrunched over to the side so I could get a better look and the woman was knitting a sock!

I called out to her and held up my knitting. I asked and, yes, she's a member of Ravelry and so suddenly two strangers on a train became knitting buddies! Through the opening between our seats and window we had a fun conversation about yarn, needles, alpacas, NYC and upstate yarn stores, the 2009 NYC Yarn Crawl, Stitches East, Rhinebeck.

She held up her sock so I could take a photo --the yarn is Heritage. Very nice!



The train ride can be bumpy at times and I was quite impressed that the knitter didn't drop a needle or a stitch!

Amtrak being Amtrak, our trip was delayed by an hour. I can't say I welcomed this extra hour of knitting since I really wanted to get home. But knitting helped ease my anxiety about the delay. And, though I didn't ask, I'm sure the other knitter felt the same way. This is something that knitters just know.

Knitting Odds and Ends

Am I still knitting these days? There's a secret project on the needles. Sorry, can't talk about it right now.

I'm also working on the sweater--but not too much. I'm trying to do at least two rows a day. Maybe one morning I'll pull it out and discover I have the entire back finished. Not yet, though.



I'm using a Signature circular needle and love it! The tip is pointy and swivels and the join is perfect. Despite my two rows a day, they make me feel like a speedy knitter.

Signature Needle Arts had some difficulty with the second generation circulars--the joins weren't smooth and that causes the knitting to snag. The secret project is on a set of those. I've read that Signature has excellent customer service and so I may be returning that needle for a third generation needle. It probably wouldn't be bothering me if I didn't have this perfect circular.

The secret project is being knit on a size 7 needle. I swatched it on size 6 and size 8 circlon needles. Unfortunately, I don't have a size 7 circlon. I think for a future knitting project, I'll have to use a circlon--they felt unbelievably good!

And that's all I have to report!

Déjà Vu Stalker

Hubster and I took the train down to Washington, DC on Saturday for the White House Correspondents Dinner.

More Amtrak adventures, more secret knitting, more audiobook listening.



The entertainer at the dinner this year was Jay Leno. The last time he did the dinner, hubster and I also attended. This was in 2004.

At that time, while hubster was checking us into the hotel and I was off to the side with the luggage, Jay Leno walked in the front door. Being a New Yorker, we tend to be blasé about these things. Remember how I turned my back on Kevin Bacon?

This year, once again hubster was checking us into the same hotel and once again I was off to the side with the luggage and--wouldn't you know it-- once again Jay Leno walks into the hotel! As Yogi would say, "It's déjà vu all over again."

However, this time my inner-old-lady-who-speaks-her-mind yelled, "This so weird!" And I beckoned Jay Leno to come over. He did so and I told him how freaky it was that this exact same thing happened a few years ago. We briefly chatted and, with my mind thinking that this would be a good story for the blog, I took his picture.



Leno then goes on his way. Meanwhile, hubster had been at the hotel check-in the whole time. He finished and we went up to the room. But the room wasn't what we had booked and so we returned to the lobby. However, as we get into the elevator, there's Jay Leno. He looked at me and said, "This is weird." Hey, Jay, stop stalking me!

I don't think there will ever be a next time for this scenario to be played again because Leno really stunk at the dinner. Old jokes that weren't funny the first time. I doubt he'll be invited back.