FiberTribe

Jet-Lagged Puppy

Goooood Morning, UUUUUUU. S. A.!!!
I'm back, I'm raggedy, and I can't be held accountable for any babble published today...Just wanted to let you know that I made it back safe and sound, if jet-lagged as hell. Bhutan (and Hong Kong) were so completely, utterly, fantastically wonderful and amazing that it beggars the imagination and leaves my addled mind bereft of words. So if you'll be patient, I'll regale you with pictures. I'll put them up in the blog as I recover higher mental functions and if I can figure out how to post a photo gallery, will do that.
I filled two 256k memory cards in the digital camera. Not to worry, I'll edit.
And yes, StaceyJoy, they DO have silk (and cotton) yarn in Bhutan!!! But those yarns are for weaving. Wool is about all that is used for knitting. I found the yarn in a tiny, dark shop out of the Middle Ages in Wangdi Town. And I found (and bought!) 500 grams (11 skeins) of a lovely tweedy teal wool yarn for US$4.28!! When I asked and was granted permission to take pictures of the wall of thread and yarn, the proprietress, after seeing the images in the digital camera view screen, got her husband into the act and her daughter and daughter's friends and all 4 of us on the tour ended up taking photos of the entire family and were given their addresses to send prints later. And of course all this became the village entertainment. Villagers crowded around outside the store to see what was up. It was a lot of fun. Much cgood will all around. The Bhutanese are a lovely, funny, hospitable people. More on that later. Am telling you, though, that culture's got a lot of steps on ours, fer shure...
Oh, I did try to get a pic of an actual knitted item, but the one baby sporting a shocking pink and deep electric blue striped and then ruffled baby hat declined my request to take a picture. And I did honor that. But I will recreate tha hat and post it here later in October. It was an unlikely color combo but it worked much like Amish quilts "work" even though you or I might not put those colors together.
Anyway, I really am babbling so will sign off. Bear with me, it may be the weekend before I can get fully back into the swing. Oh, and Thank You, Thank You to Secret Pal 2!! I received your package this morning as I walked in the door. Of course I dropped my suitcases and ran for scissors to immediately open the box. Love the yarn and can't wait to open the box of films, chica! will post the goodies later, too. And SP III, yes, thank you, I did get your bon voyage ecard just before I left, thank you! Things were kinda hectic so there was no time to respond then. And not to worry, if there were clues I was oblivious in my packing frenzy...
Hugs to all and send light to Miami, again, please. This time that Kerry will do sooooo well in the debates that all will see the best choice and save us from more Bushie destruction.

Namaste From Thailand

Hi, Ya'll...I'm writing this from the Royal Orchid (Thai Airlines) Biz Class lounge in Bangkok. I just love this, yes? I have a 2 hour layover here on the way to Calcutta. Then on to Nepal and Bhutan tomorrow. And get this, every few metres on the concourses of Bangkok Airport are Thai massage places..! No, not THAT kind of massage, get your mind out of the gutter... There's even traditional Thai and Thai foot massage offered within the Royal Orchid lounge. How cool is that? And massage chairs that massage you head to calf while you laze about. And the lounge staff are clad in the most exquisite Thai silk ensembles you can imagine. Am just too tired to go shopping for Thai silk but maybe on the way back...
Anyway, hope you're keeping the light on in the USA for me...will be back soon (the 29th). Love to you all.
P.S. Hong Kong is totally wonderful and amazing. This afternoon I was sitting in the lounge waiting for the flight to Bangkok, watching the sunset over the South China sea and typing an email to Bethany...did I mention that I just love this??

Bhutan Ho

In both senses of the word, heh. I leave for Bhutan at after work today. I decided to take along a simple Berocco ribby, sleeveless, lace-up-the-front top from one of their Summer 2004 crop of beginner knit mini-mags. It's in a yummy variegated reds light wool (don't remember it's name just now. I was gonna take Frolic but realized late last night that it was on metal Addis, a no-no. And I don't have those skinny sized circulars in bamboo, so new project here I come. And just to be ornery with myself, I took along the freebie Rowan 4-ply wool pack that came with my last renewal. It will become a scarf, hopefully. It was originally for the Bright version of the tumbling blocks pillow. I think it will work out fine and will match my new red ski jacket. When I get back I can pick up some Koigu and do ruffles like Jillian's Latifa scarf in last winter's Knitty. Yum. Bhutan AND and excuse to buy more Koigu? How cool is that?
I'll be back on Sept. 29th and jet-lagged as hell, so will slowly come back onto the blog around Oct. 1. Stay well and keep the Blogiverse warm for me!

It Doesn't Pay to Steal Elections

In case you've gotten lost in the Hurricane parade, Tropical Storm Jeanne

is the latest to show her assets and should be joining the ranks by the time you read this. So what is going on? you may ask. I mean, what are we, a bowling alley for Hurricanes? A lot of us here in paradise have been talking amongst ourselves on this subject and it has been suggested that God, the Universe, the Tao, Whatever, is NOT amused by the Bushie brothers. And that this is some sort of divine retribution for our esteemed governor Jeb, aka Thief of Elections, stealing the presidential election for his bro. Hey, it's a theory...
On the knitting side of the house, the consensus on travel knitting is socks. Alas, I have never knit a sock and seem to be 3D impaired since my eyes cross every time I try to visualize a sock from the written instructions. Not a good thing to happen when you're flying. Melanie has suggested something easy so as not be distracted from clinging to the edges of roads and glaciers. Good point. Well, I'll have to decide tonight since I'm giving myself the deadline to finish packing by bedtime. Pics maybe later if I can stop hyperventilating over all that remains to be done before Friday afternoon.
For your armchair travelling pleasure, here are:
The Bhutanese flag

A Small Bhutanese Person

You Are Here Bhutan

For more on Bhutan go here.

Ivana Get Rid of These Hurricanes...Or Flow With It

I am so over these hurricanes. Ivan is not yet past us and there is one forming off of Guadeloupe. It will be a tropical storm by tomorrow. So my new strategy is to flow with it since I will be outta here by Friday night and what will be, will be. Wish I could say I'm knitting but that isn't really happening either. The focus is on work and preparing for the trip and catching up with belated phone calls and email. Flow with it and all will be accomplished effortlessly and timely. Woot! The passport with spiffy new Indian visa good for six months arrived today, on schedule. Am trusting now that all else will flow, too. Sound airy-fairy? Yup. Does it work. Yup, you betcha. Finestkind. Wicked good, even.
And the best part of all? Picking out what knitting will go along for the trip...I'm thinking Koigu Rowan Frolic for the sheer loveliness of the colors. And the mindlessness of the two-two rib. Ah, but then there are those count-it-down decreases and increases. Hmmm. Maybe something in straight two-two rib and Koigu??? I need something lighter than Carla, fer shure. Ideas, anyone?

Go West, Young Ivan....

All those powerful prayers and light and thoughts seem to be working, peeps. Ivan is so far heading west into the Gulf of Mexico and mercifully missing the peninsula of Florida. I say "so far" because until Ivan passes the western tip of Cuba sometime on Monday, we won't really know the west coast is in the clear.
Ivan swerved to miss a head-on with Jamaica and seems to be swerving to avoid Cuba. Hold the light for further weakening before landfall and maybe everyone will get through this alive. I know I said this wasn't the NOAA website, but hey, we haven't been hit with three hurricanes in a month since 1964. It does tend to rivet the attention.
In knitting news, am slowly working my way through Carla's first sleeve. If you check out the Carla blog (see the sidebar for Carla Along) you'll see that most everyone seems to have speedier fingers than mine. But what the hell, I can legitimately say that there have been plenty of distractions lately. I did receive the two new Phildar books. I can't hold the camera steady to photograph them because my hands start quivering whenever I riffle through the pages. Buy why O why are my favorites in microscopic gauge??? Le Sigh. You know I'll cave eventually.
And in preparation for the trip to Bhutan, I did what has to be the weirdest pre-hurricane shopping ever: While sweltering in 90 degree heat and 100% humidity (almost) I went shopping for a ski jacket and gloves. I finally had given up brushing off the mildew and weather spots on my Toronto-days gear and just threw it out last year. Murphy's Law of outerwear of course meant that I'd need such gear within 12 months. No complaints, though, I snagged an awesome Spyder red and black jacket on sale. And I still have hats, and scarves and turtlenecks and rugged socks, etc. Bought toiletries and must pack tomorrow night to see what has been forgotten and to see if it will fit into the rollabout and still be liftable. Wednesday is the typhoid shot. Does anyone know what side effects, if any, you get from typhoid shots?
Oh. And then there's that funny think called work. Got to go in extra early to unpack all the computers and desktops and move furniture back in place for the second time in as many weeks. Isn't this exciting? And must remember to breathe. Breathing is good. Now I will go plop myself on the couch, ignore the mounds of stuff to be done and knit a bit to unwind for sleep.
May your weekend have been restful and splendid and may the sun shine on us all Monday morning...

Daisy Chain My Heart

Look at the lovely swag from my Secret Pal 2! A knitted daisy with yarn chain and a daisy card. the best part is the compilation CD s/he put together for me but that is in my CD player.. more about that later, peeps. I hug you, SP2! Such loveliness and s/he seems to know that I love love love brilliant and deep colors...
This is belated but the best I could do after running around all night doing hurricane prep buying and trying to find what is needed for the trip to Bhutan. Am running out of time and Hurricane Ivan is frankly scaring the shit out of me. It is larger and stronger than Hurricane Andrew at 165 mph sustained winds and up to 195 mph gusts. It will hit somewhere early on Monday morning. I know I ask often but the need has been often... please send light or prayers or whatever you're moved to do. It sure did work last time!

Carla's Front and First Sleeve

The front of Carla went quickly and easily, most all of the kinks are out of my pointed little head re: lace and the infinite ways to screw it up...but since I don't want to jinx myself, I'll hush till it's all done and seamed. Even the Boy said, seeing it all laid out to be photographed, "Oh, it looks just like it's supposed to." We leave the implications of that remark alone for a minute and bask in satisfaction, eh?
And since I haven't yet mastered arranging photos on typepad, you'll see the sleeve either above or below Carla's front...more tomorrow. Sorry, SP2, hope to post pics tomorrow, don't give up on me!!

Knitting up a Storm

Ok, I admit that title is a howler...didn't I tell you that we pun chez FiberTribe? No? silly me...
You would have pictures to peruse except for the fact that I failed to charge the camera battery last night. But pictures you shall have shortly as promised. I was frankly uninspired to knit last night and instead curled up with Miss Josephine Tey's (nee Katharine MacKintosh) good work, Daughter of Time. Set in England, she was a contemporary of Agatha Christie but much more novelesque and MUCH less formulaic, however much I do love Dame Agatha. By all accounts they did not hold each other in high regard and apparently made not so subtle digs at one another via their respective plays and novels. Agatha was known to write characters closely resembling Tey and state that their natural habitat was "...a boarding house in Bournemouth." I think that loosely translates as "trailer trash". Heh.
Don't you love the way the Brits sling insults?

Not NOAA, No How...
All appearances to the contrary, this is not the official website of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration....However, in cyclonic news, yes, Ivan does continue to approach at a blistering 20 to 24 mph, now back up to a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds. Latest tracking forecasts that it will parallel the west coast of Florida and go on up into the Gulf of Mexico. Which means that those poor, hammered-by-Charley folks in Punta Gorda will get blasted again. There are 35 Florida counties still reeling from Frances. Last weekend 6 million people were without power in the state. Guess I don't need to tell you how thrilled we all are by the approaching storm.

Alpaca My Bags Later...
Mountain of stash, what mountain of stash? I closed my eyes to the front room full of yarn and ordered Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk at a great price from WNW Wool Needleworks. I just now tried to find the link but couldn't. One of the blogs I browsed yesterday (can't remember which one) mentioned the sale. I want to say it was US$5.39 per skein. I bought the red and will now have to choose what I'll make from Bliss's recent book. The Lara-Along is looking pretty good.
For actual stash reduction, I'm thinking Annie Modesitt's Sideways Spencer jacket and Stephanie Japel's (Glampyre) Boob Holder...Both lovely and practical for over-air conditioned South Florida and/or mild winters. And have you seen the most recent Knitters? There are a few lovelies in there. Is it just me or does everything in this issue look baggy, oversized and shapeless, however luscious the yarn and colors?
What's up with that? 'Nuff of this rambling and babbling... more later when I have actual knitting pictures to show you.

All Clear

Just a short post to say all is well, chez FiberTribe. All of us in Miami were incredibly lucky. The hurricane hit north of us, Juno Beach and Stuart, FL, and we just got infinite, neverending rain and wind. I was even more blessed (am convinced knitters' prayers and thoughts are of course most powerful!) in that I never even lost power though many of my neighbors did.
Sorry this is so short and no pics, but have spent the better part of the day helping friends clean up and helping a friend prepare his apt. for use by his friend's family. Their brand new house in Stuart is not usable, being damaged and without power or water.
More tomorrow including pics of Secret Pal loot (belated but they'll be here), and pics of Carla's front and a sleeve. Endless hurricane reports ARE good knitting material... heh.