Purl 'n Hurl Blog

What a turnout we had last night! There were 7 of us in attendance last night, and the drinks flowed freely. Here's a shot of Bea helping her friend Caroline, a new PnH'er.

Not sure what Caroline was working on (it's possible that I'd had a few cocktails before I got around to that end of the table), but Bea had both a completed version in navy of the Odessa Beaded Hat by Grumperina on Magknits from last week, and a newly cast on version in Rowan Tapestry. Both are beautiful, with a lovely spiral decrease pattern on the crowns.

Lots of crocheting was going on, too. Judy, another new participant invited by super-server Verena, was working on the beautiful crochet Flower Poncho pattern by Nancy Brown for the Crochet Guild of America shown here. Velma was flabergasted that anyone could work such a large piece using sock yarn without going insane clown posse on everyone.

Judy came with other talents, too. She and Velma had a long discussion about preparing, dyeing, and spinning silk. Judy promised to bring Velma some of her fiber books from her library next week, making Velma positively vibrate with excitement at the prospect.

When Velma let her talk to other people, Judy headed over to Melissa's side of the table, where more fast-and-furious crocheting action was going on. Melissa is using Knit Picks yarn (looks like Velma's notetaking was spotty this week, as there's no record of which yarn), to crochet a scarf. That's the two of them with their heads together over the pattern book, 101 Crochet Stitches for Afghans. That's an afghan-as-in-blanket; she's not actually crocheting a dude from Afghanistan or anything.

Who else was there? Eileen, working on her Noro Turtleneck, which is looking fuzzy and beautiful. And Velma, obviously, working on yet another hat, this one a watchcap in Manos del Uruguay. There's been enough pictures of them for awhile, so if you want to see them, you'll have to check out the Purl 'n Hurl photoset.

Last but certainly not least, Jay finally graced us with his presence! Our token dude-knitter, although we welcome more, he didn't have any actual knitting with him but, as always, he entertained. That margarita in his hand may have something to do with his entertainment value. Welcome back, Jay!

Hope everyone has a wonderful pre-Halloween weekend, and we'd love to see you at next week's Purl 'n Hurl, which will be Thursday, November 2, 6:30pm at Plaza Grill in Arcata. Happy Knitting!

Better late than never is today's motto. The computer's been in the shop, so couldn't post about the 19th 'til today. Since it's just about time for another update, I'll make this a quickie (everyone loves a quickie).

We had a good turnout, with regulars Tamara, Cheri, Eileen, Bea, and Velma, plus new attendee Sherie and a drop-in visit from Natalie. Mostly folks were plugging away on previously-blogged about WIPs, with lots of progress by all.

Here's Eileen giving Velma stinkeye for interrupting her concentration while re-reading her pattern (left). Velma's excuse is that she can't help herself; Eileen is so sexy in those specs!

And Sherie was quite clever (right, on right); although you can't see it in this photo of her and Bea (photography isn't Velma's strongest suit), she is actually knitting back-and-forth on DPNs because she didn't have any straights in the right size handy. Way to improvise!

That's it for now. There are a couple more gratuitous Knitting in Public shots on Flickr HERE. If you read this in time, hope to see you tonight at Plaza Grill for more.

HIYA, peeps! Check out the fiber madness last night at Plaza Grill! You can see by the photo evidence that at the very least, Cheri had a great time! We always knew she had balls, but what we didn't know is that they are made of yarn. Guess this is her way of keeping wayward materials from rolling under the table. This is definitely my favorite shot of the night!

Cheri continued to work on her Rollneck Raglan in Noro Silk Garden, from the Debbie Bliss Noro Collection book. She's a little worried that the body is too short, and her frustration (+ a coupla cosmos) sent her to work on another hat.

Did you notice her cool knitting-themed T-shirt? Me too! The photo is fuzzy, so I can't read it, and can't remember what it says (I may have had a coupla cosmos, too), but I'll call her and ask and try to post a link to purchase one. While trying to find one online, I came across these other knitting tees that you might like.



Bea shows off her FO Dready Hat and Tamara works on her Poodle Scarf. Conversation was centered in large part around wedding plans last night, as both Bea and Tam are engaged (although, not to each other). Tamara and Michael are to wed Oct. 2007, but Bea and Eli have yet to set a date (heavy negotiations are unerway). Bea is also working on an Odessa Beaded Hat by Grumperina,via MagKnits.


After much photographer needling, Eileen smiles while she works on her Turtleneck in Noro Transitions which she is convinced is wide enough to cover two PnH'ers. Heather rolls up her 3-Year Scarf as she prepares to head home.

Velma completely forgot to get any photos of her, her knitting, or her show-and-tell items. Dork! She finished the scarf she worked on last week, and was working on a new project: a Monster Hat from Insubordiknit. She brought along the new Vogue Knitting and her newest handspun, Bug Balls, a Halloween-themed artyarn (her first) made from the raw materials sent to her by YarnWench as part of the Buggin' Out fiber swap organized by YarnPunk. Velma wrote about the process here and here if you are so bored you don't know what to do with yourself.

Happy Friday the 13th! 'Til next week, Happy Knitting!

Last night was a quickie, because with only one exception, everyone in attendance had somewhere to be at 7:30. So most of us decided to forego dinner and stuck solely to cocktails, which suits us just fine, thankyouverymuch. Eileen was kind enough to grace us with her presence, despite the fact that it was her 4th wedding anniversary. Since she and hubby-bubby Audi were headed to La Trattoria for dinner, the restaurant owned by our friends Patricia and Jim, we got the special treat of Audi in our midst. This is him graciously modeling wifey's Branching Out scarf, completely complete except for blocking. Eileen is considering blocking it using the Fiber Fantasy Blocking Wire Kit suggested by Velma (scroll down). Knit Picks also offers their own Lace Blocking Wires, and for the DIYers out there, they offer this tutorial on using them; you might be able to fashion your own using this as a guide. In the meantime, I hear Audi is available to model your lacework. (P.S. Happy Anniversary, you two).

Meanwhile, we had a new addition to the group. Let me introduce: Bea, who is a fish biologist for Cal Fish & Wildlife in Fortuna. She's working on a baby beanie from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. Joelle is the owner of Velma's favorite online yarn store, Purl, which recently added Purl Patchwork, a quilting/sewing collection to their yarn offerings. They also have an online journal, The Purl Bee, a place where both knitters and sewers alike can find inspiration. Check out their tutorials (e.g. Elizabeth Zimmerman's I-cord and Sawtooth Star Quilting) and patterns (e.g. Knit Bamboo Nightdress and Carolina Quilt). A little something for the absent Cheri, who was missed. A big welcome to Bea, who suggested a PnH field trip to the Knit Night at Handmade Memories tomorrow; Eileen and Velma will be joining her there, you should too!

Speaking of Velma, here she is working on yet another new project (she's such an addict), this one a scarf made of this handspun yarn purchased from Jenny Neutron Star. She's sporting a hat she made from Midnight and Lulu handspun last year. She also brought along an almost-FO, the watchcap she started last week for her friend Jeff, in Manos del Uruguay. Velma is all excited to go to the Natural Fiber Fair in Redway this weekend; anyone want to go? There will be workshops (natural dyeing, needle felting, drafting/knitting from silk cocoons, etc.), demonstrations (all-day spinning demos, netmaking, fiber-blending, etc.), and fiber vendors. Admission is only 5 bones, so no excuses not to go. Runs Saturday and Sunday from 10-5.

Tamara and Sacha were there last night too, but neither brought a project to work on (shame on you!); it was still good to see them.

As always, there are more pictures to be seen here, and we all hope to see you at next week's gathering. Happy Knitting!