I received this letter from a friend in my email box a few days ago. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

“Last night (probably a whole 1/2 hour ago) I had a dream about you.  In the dream, I was in a supermarket. You and Josh appeared, having come to visit me (well, Josh appeared first and then you about 1 second later) and you brought me a birthday present.  Neither of you looked quite like yourselves, as sometimes happens in dreams; Josh was skinny (and taller?) and you were blonde with blue or green eyes (same hairstyle, though!).  The present you gave me was in a white box, tied with a strand of sherbet-colored variegated yarn (slightly lighter than sport weight); the yarn had a sheen as though it were bamboo or polished cotton.  (And now, you can start to see why this was a dream about you, not a dream about you and Josh…)  The box was like a rectangular prism, about 4″ square on one end and about 6″ long.  (Now we all know what was in the box, not that you hadn’t guessed…) In the box was (not a shock) a skein of yarn.  But! The yarn was slightly fuzzy, not in the mohair sense of “fuzzy” but in in the nylon sense of “fuzzy,” round rather than ribbon, with a mildly glitzy strand sewn through it so that one could only see the sparkle at the right angle and such.  So it felt not particularly nice.  It was also slightly lighter than sport weight and variegated, but in dark magentas and purples and blues and reds.   My conscious mind, in the dream, said to me, “Why is she giving me this weirdly yucky yarn?  This is so not a yarn she would be attracted to…”

But the crowning glory of this dream was the ball band!  I couldn’t guess from the feel or look of the yarn what kind it was, and I had to ask you because the ball band didn’t say—it did have the logo for the Gap on it, and fiber content.  You didn’t remember the name of the yarn.  And the fiber content?  98% some-word-that-isn’t-elastane-or-any-fiber-word-we-know-but-ended-in-ane, 6% something else, and, then I stopped reading the ball band for the (hopefully) obvious reason, and woke up and started laughing.”

For the 2008 World Wide Knit in Public Day, a few members of the Salem Area Ravelers (Salem, OR) [r] went down to the seasonal farmers’ market and knit in public. We picked up a new knitter, Eric. And we spoke with four or more. Pretty good for a group of 3 that met at 9 a.m.

We may knit more at the farmers’ market this summer. It’s quite pleasant. Look for us by the food court.

I also put all the buttons on the 2nd Baby Surprise. The word was that the mother was in labor on Monday. The buttons are from the Button Emporium in Portland. It’s a great shop, although I recommend making sure they are open before going because they keep unconventional shop hours. For example, their hours on Saturdays are 11-3.

In the photograph of the Salem Area Ravelers, I am knitting Baby Surprise #3, although apparently its for mommy #2. Ia was born on June 11th at 7:15 p.m. She is a beautiful child and I’m sure both mommies are very proud. I am using the Blue Moon I Heavyweight that I bought over the weekend. It’s actually nearly done and it will mark the sixth completed project in three weeks.

In case you have been on Jupiter, the Black Sheep Gathering is in Eugene this weekend. I’ll be there on Saturday, so say hi! Don’t be shy. I’ll buy the fifth new person I meet who says, “I read your blog” a drink.

I have started on a market bag of sorts. I’m making up the pattern as I go. I used a circular cast-on, although I’m debating the strength of it. I guess I will reinforce the cast-on when I weave in the end. The pattern for the base is a simple open-work pattern. (Knit odd row # of stitches, yo, knit a row.) I am planning to use a piece of cardboard wrapped in cloth in the base. The bottom three inches of the bag will be some sort of lacy pattern and then I will use a very open stitch on larger needles for the remainder of the bag. I decided that this Debbie Bliss Cathay, a silk/cotton blend, has been in my stash for too many years. So to hell with practicality! It’s teal.

Stillpoint Farm is a u-pick berry farm in Veneta. They also sell their berries at Veneta’s Downtown Farmers’ Market. Due to a shortage of pickers, the market ran out of their strawberries very quickly. So I headed off to their farm to pick my own strawberries on Friday afternoon. And returned without my wallet. They kindly returned it and I got it on Tuesday morning when I came back to work.  In the ensuing panic, I came to realize that had I had a market bag on my person, I might not have left my wallet on the ground next to the picked strawberries. (I later forgot I had my wallet with me at all and left it in the field.)

I am having a destashing sale on Ravelry [r]. Please take a look. I am planning to concentrate some of my electronics into a single itouch.

I am also trying to learn Irish Cottage Knitting. I find that my the knuckle in my index finger wants to get in the way. Grrr.

Here’s a photo of what I’m busy with in my professional life. The market started last week and went well despite the weather. This Friday ought to be great though (including the weather). I’m planning to buy some more baked goods, strawberries and grass-fed pork. But also, I’m going to get some tomato plants. I bought some seeds earlier this year and lost them. Then I finally planted some others that I bought (from a much less interesting place, a.k.a. Loewe’s) and they are about 2 centimeters tall. So is the basil.

Having finished three projects last week and what with the mid-year sneaking up on us, I shall now tell you how many yards I’ve knit (in terms of completed projects). The idea was to knit in a way that only sustains and shrinks the stash. I’m allowed to buy up to 9,578 yards unless I’ve knit more than that.

I’ve knit 3,461 yards. I’ve bought 15,783 yards. Some of it came from the Earth Day Yarn Swap and I’d bought 300 yards and received 800 yards in return. So we can call it 15,283 yards right? And I gave away two skeins of Regia and a skein of JKnits last week. So that’s minus another 856 yards, bringing me down to 14,427. 360 yards was a gifty for being Earth Day Swap hostess. So that’s 14,067 right?

Then, I sold 137 yards of Craft because some poor sod needed it to finish a project. I know what that’s like! And I sold my Yorkshire Tweed to a collector (360 yards). That leaves me at 8, 153 yards for 2008 or more than twice I knit this spring.

Erp. Of course, it’s also true that the Pearl Buck Cardigan is unfairly stalled by the lack of adequate yarn and worth 1233 yards. And I’m working steadily away on the Katherine Hepburn Cardigan that is 1575 yards. (I can’t really call the right front a swatch anymore because I started on the armhole and neck shaping.

I started a pair of the Child’s French Socks by Nancy Bush (360 yards).

I should finish the mitered mittens. That’s 218 yards of credit for another 3hrs of work. Whee! This photo is a little out of date. I’ve finished the body of the mitten (and they are close enough in size for me to consider that part done). But now I have to cut into the mitten and put in the after thought thumb. I’m a little frightened that I won’t do it right, so I’m going to have my knitting group witness my efforts tomorrow night at knitting.

I’ve also bought more yarn, but I should save that for another day. I will point out though that it is for two more baby surprises. No more pregnant mathematicians or their spouses! I can’t believe I’m knitting four of these in one year. Everyone else gets something different.

Last week I finished three projects in a row, but totally failed to post about the third. They are my 2nd pair of Pomatomus socks and they are lovely.

Pattern: Pomatomus by Cookie A.
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Blue Parrot
Purchased at: Seaport Yarns in New York City
Needle Size: Size 1 Clover Takumi Bamboo Double Point Needles
Cost to Knit: Approximately $19.50 + NY State Tax
Start Date: July 2007
Finish Date: May 29, 2008
Ravelry Link: [r]

In March I finished my Beach Zombie Socks for Sock Madness and I’d wondered what I was going to do with a pair of Size 7 socks. Then fate intervened. All I did was admire my friend’s beautiful pair of plain, variegated, koigu red socks. And they were offered to me as a swap. I agreed to swap yarn or socks for these lovely socks, which are now being knit for my feet.

Whilst looking around for the yarn, I remembered the Beach Zombies and thought she should try them on. She saw them and seemed to like the yarn, so I urged her to try them on. When she did, an instant spread of delight fell over her face. You see, the Beach Zombies look much much better on the foot. Like Cinderella, if the sock fits, it’s meant to be.

As usual this year, I am behind in posting. I got out my Pearl Buck Cardigan and set about determinedly to finish the sleeves. I was forced to face facts. I am in desperate need of one or two skeins of Jaegger Extra Fine Merino Double Knitting in Elderberry, Dyelot #0100. I may just give in and buy a different dyelot. It hasn’t been in season in a while, so its hard to find the yarn, never mind the dyelot.

The Simply Socks Yarn Company is holding a contest. They want to know what your favorite sock yarn is and why. Here are some of my favorites. The deadline is June

1. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight (Bouncy yarn, pleasurable to knit with, gorgeous colorways and locally dyed).
2. Colinette Jitterbug (Bouncy yarn. Very full feeling. Pleasurable to knit with.)
3. I can’t believe I didn’t tell them Koigu. What the heck was I thinking? It’s KOIGU.
4. And I forgot about Shibui. (Also locally dyed and a lot like Koigu and Louet).
   
5. Lorna’s Laces (Gorgeous dyes, hard wearing)
6. Louet (great stand bye)
7. Scout’s Swag. Yummy colors. Some day I will finish a pair of socks with this.

Anyway, knock yourself out!