Cat in the hat

We are experiencing a baby boomlet in our circle. The first have arrived: Twin boys, whose patronymic involves the word, "apple."

How could I not knit these? (You can find the pattern here.)

Above you'll see a piece I knit for the March issue of Yarn Market News, which is the trade magazine for yarn industry. It accompanies a review of yarns that lend themselves to colorwork.

I thought it would be fun to show the piece all flat and boring in my office and how Karin, Joe, et al, made it all designy and ready for prime time.

Karin keeps threatening to crochet all the swatches I knit for the magazine into an afghan. That's going to be one crazy quilt.

We spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about food here at Nake-id Knits and have recently stumbled on some local products and resources that are quickly becoming regulars.

1. Noosa Yoghurt--This is an Australian-style yoghurt from a Boulder company. The. Best. Yoghurt. We've. Ever. Had. Creamy, with the perfect mix of sweet and sour. Noosa isn't so cheap or low-fat. But, wow. Put it in a bowl and call it dessert.

2. Morning Fresh Dairy Farm--Milk is milk, right? Not so much. This moo juice from Fort Collins tastes like fresh, clean...milk. Even the skim. We're converts.

3. Ranch Foods Direct Beef--Local, hormone-free, anti-biotic free, this pasture-raised, grain-finished meat is a revelation.

4. Tea Dojo--Four words: Coconut Creme White Tea.

Where to buy? The Denver Indoor Farmer's Market, In Season, and other local markets.

Monday I received news that an item I designed for inclusion in an upcoming pattern book had been bumped. Kicked right to the curb.

Disappointments are rampant in publishing, it's the nature of the beast. Twenty years ago I would have cried. Now, given the nature of this design, I found my disappointment...kind of funny. Grown woman pouting over a...I'll tell you later what it is, when the little rejectee comes home from its tour of the Big City.

There is no one to blame here and I suspect the decision will make for a stronger end product. I loved designing it and working with the young author, whose book is going to be a total kick.

And I've figured out how to make lemonade from this little lemon. Once I receive the item-in-question, I'll sell instructions on Ravelry to benefit a related cause.

As I said, guano happens. Let's use it as fertilizer and see what comes up.

Surely there would be less snoring if there were three inches of wool between me and the mattress.

Talk about counting sheep...

Gentle Readers,

I need your help.

Mr. Nake-id is unhappy with his spouse and rightfully so. It's the snoring. Foundation trembling, curtain billowing, log sawing. The man feels like he's sleeping with a 250-lb truck driver, instead of the petite, chic wife he married. 

There is no denial here. My soft palette is like a timpani drum set. And, based on a doctor-prescribed home test, no sleep apnea, either.

What I need from you is a recommendation for a good humidifier. I've used one in the past with some success, but unfortunately have not found one that will properly hold its water and not leak. Your thoughts?

My nose thanks you. And so does Mr. Nake-id.

Tuesday Cheri was over, knitting with the slickest natural suri you're likely to find in the Northern hemisphere. We talked about this year's clip that she's just sent to the mill, 40-plus pounds of fine, lofty alpaca fleece slated to become Goosebump Yarn. (Those of you who have "bumped" into Cheri at Estes Park understand how special this yarn is.)

Given that winter has blanketed Colorado with late season snow, this is a good weekend to hit the Alpaca Extravaganza at the Boulder County Fairgrounds. Cheri will be there with finished goods and the Goosebump Yarn, plus you'll have an opportunity to kiss a few camelids and shop the other vendors. Alpaca is after all warmer than wool.

Don't you find it ironic that while our nation's athletes spin, twirl, jump and hurtle down bobsled runs in what look to be fragile, overgrown Chibis, we're sitting on our spreading backsides knitting and making knowing comments about ice dancing?

Just thought I'd put that out there.

Given the state of the economy--and my knitting--this gift from Lynn, our beloved president of the North Denver Knitting Guild, will come in handy.

(You can get your own here or opt for versions emblazoned with these life-saving messages: "I'm saving for some more valium" or "I'm saving for more therapy.")

It's one thing to write for publication and it's another thing to knit.

I recently completed a colorwork piece for the Yarn Forward column I write for Yarn Market News and when I saw the layout, I found myself fixated not on the copy but on what I perceived as a wonky transition between colors.

"Mr. DeMille, Ms. Nake-id's knitting is not ready for its close up."

In point of fact, the layout looks great. (You'll find it in the upcoming March issue). More a function of Karin and the tasteful team at Soho Publishing than the cat-hair infested samples I send off.

My Olympic knitting, too, has been consumed by a package I'm doing for Knit Simple. Which has me fretting about the knitting's good looks and cat hair. Usually I'm all in a knot over submitting vibrant copy, but when an assignment involves knitting, too, I worry about loose stitches, poor seaming, mistakes--you know the general errata that comes with human fallibility.

I must admit sometimes to thinking, "If you can take 10 pounds off a model in Photoshop..."