tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74588192007-02-11T15:26:20.808-08:00MarnieBlogger2651tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1134079987494691992005-12-08T14:11:00.000-08:002005-12-08T14:41:10.896-08:00

Hey, I'm dumping Blogger and moving to Moveable Type. My feed is now in a new location. Get your new feed here: http://www.marniemaclean.com/words/atom.xml

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1133789324130682482005-12-05T05:10:00.000-08:002005-12-07T08:07:29.716-08:00

Yup, that's right, more yarn. I might as well just admit it. I bought more yarn. Do you know who's at fault? Well, I won't name any names, but it starts with "J" and ends in "ulia". Really, though, I don't mind. I got a pretty good deal on it. Yesterday, we went to Michael Levine in downtown LA. It's right in the middle of the fashion district, which, in LA, is not nearly as cool and trendy as

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1133567329472594222005-12-02T15:35:00.000-08:002005-12-03T11:46:38.300-08:00

I finally finished writing the pattern for Deciduous and it's off to be edited. I'm really excited to offer this pattern and look forward to the feedback I'll be getting from my testers. I've actually modified the pattern slightly from that shown here. There are now a couple rows of garter at the top of the garment and the recommended fit is a bit tighter, but it's otherwise basically the same.

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1133440364865624082005-12-01T04:23:00.000-08:002005-12-01T05:03:52.633-08:00

Commuting to work with Leo is great, but the change in my morning "system" is taking some getting used to. I didn't think I had a system, I thought I just did whatever and then headed off to work, but apparently, I'm fairly structured, unbeknownst to the only person it ever effected: me. It used to be that I got up at 4am, brush the teeth, pee, pet Miss Panda, water for tea, feed Miss Panda, sit

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1133111722135175712005-11-27T08:56:00.000-08:002005-11-28T04:20:35.946-08:00

As if a 4 day weekend were not enough, this has been a weekend of favorite things for me. To start with, it was Leo's and my 5th anniversary this weekend. We went out for a great dinner of steak and wine. There was, of course, dessert. That chocolate cake was every bit as good as it looks. I also upgraded my phone after 4 years with the same one. On the left we have my pretty new high tech

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1132750355732422492005-11-23T04:47:00.000-08:002005-11-23T05:26:51.543-08:00

Yesterday, MJ asked me Beautiful colors in the roving! Are you spinning this from the fold or lengthwise in narrow bits?As much as this shocked me, I knew what she was talking about AND had given both methods a try. Yah, me! The, you know, new spinner. I feel so grown up. For those who aren't familiar with that term, I'll explain, poorly, then send you to a proper video where it'll all make

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1132664610866701962005-11-22T04:45:00.000-08:002005-11-22T05:08:45.916-08:00

I've been reknitting Deciduous before I finish up the pattern. Here is the front and back. For photographing purposes, white would probably have been a better choice, but for something I'd actually wear, I do so love me some purple. I think this piece is the perfect example of why some things look best modeled. I think it's rather uninteresting in this form, but worn, well that's another story.

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1132549973780492582005-11-20T20:58:00.000-08:002005-11-20T21:34:17.600-08:00

Leo recently accepted a 6 month contract at a job that is 7 blocks from where I work. So we're bussing it together these days. And despite the fact that Leo hates getting up in the moring, for any reason, I think we both enjoy starting and ending our days this way. On Friday, we decided to celebrate, so we stayed in town after work and went out for dinner and drinks. I believe Leo is saying "Oh

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1132331134043741872005-11-18T08:20:00.000-08:002005-11-18T08:38:25.473-08:00

My mom surprised me with these: They are Golding Ring Spindles. The one on the left is 0.9 ozs and the one on the right is 0.3 ozs and they are amazing. I love my first spindle, it's been serving me well, but these, well, they are nearly magical. You just give them a little twist and they spin forever. I'm smitten. They came in the mail last night and I stayed up late to give them both a test

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1132057864263781032005-11-15T04:09:00.000-08:002005-11-15T04:36:41.476-08:00

I had my Barbara Walker books out, I was knitting swatches and I thought I was on to something. I was going to make a simple little scarf to wear under my beige jackets. But, the pattern stitch pulled me other places and now I have a pair of these. Obviously, hand spun yarn is encouraging me to keep parts of my hands warm. It's pretty rare for me to stay entirely faithful to my original vision

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1131904196135250152005-11-13T09:17:00.000-08:002005-11-13T09:49:56.223-08:00

That would be 40 grams of spun roving, of course. I've been spinning like crazy with my super yummy merino/silk blend that Julia gave me. I decided to check my WPI and I got 16 so I guess this is about a fingering weight. It's really starting to look like proper yarn. But the bar is very high. I really aspire to spin yarn like Lee Ann does. Look at how delicate and perfect her yarn is. And since

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1131726795383063932005-11-11T08:21:00.000-08:002005-11-11T08:33:15.393-08:00

I just had to knit up some of my merino in the vineyard colorway. I had 22 grams and it's mostly worsted weight which means I wouldn't get much out of it. So I decided to make some cuffs. The shot is lame because I had to contort to keep my jammies and my face out of the shot. I'm just not camera ready yet. I wore them to walk Panda last night and they are blissfully warming. I think you'd have

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1131628354986665272005-11-10T04:17:00.000-08:002005-11-10T05:12:35.046-08:00

I've been trying to portion out my crafting. In the morning and during the day, I've been cranking out a mystery project for a book. If I told you more, I'd have to kill you. I save my evenings for spinning. Remember my new roving? It's 100% merino in a colorway called Vineyard. Well, I decided to take it for a little spin. When I pre-draft, I actually pull off a section that runs the entire

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1131456138424700622005-11-08T04:58:00.000-08:002005-11-08T05:22:18.473-08:00

Since my close encounter of the spinning wheel kind, I've been binging on spinning. I don't think I have a problem, it's ok that I hide roving around the house and spin by myself, sometimes before work, right? That's not bad is it? Anyway, this is what I did this weekend. I spun up some of the mystery roving I got from the kind folks at Greenwich Yarns. I don't know what's in it, definitely a

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1131369376114293892005-11-07T04:47:00.000-08:002005-11-07T05:16:16.966-08:00

Saturday, I went down to La Jolla* for Kristi Porter's book signing. Panda was asked to model one of the designs and we were happy to oblige. The signing was at Knitting in La Jolla. The staff there were really delightful. This is where it all took place, faux pup and all. The puppies abounded. I didn't get all their names, but I did pet a lot of fuzzy heads. Here's Missy. She's a big pile of

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1131367634890868402005-11-07T04:25:00.000-08:002005-11-07T04:47:16.430-08:00

Three people recently sent me pictures of their beautiful fished items created from my patterns and I just have to share. Unfortunately, I don't have bloggy links for two of the three. These are Bernadette's Hooray For Me Gloves. I simply love the yarn she used. The subtle variegations are delightful. The end result is still fun but with a more refined flair. Great work. And here are Beth's

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1131024979849890362005-11-03T04:34:00.000-08:002005-11-03T10:29:17.420-08:00

Not too long ago, my mom gave me 8 gorgeous skeins of purple Kid Silk Haze. It's been calling to me from my stash awaiting the right project. Vogue Knitting arrived at my door and I decided that I wanted to make this: Pretty huh? I think worn with slacks and a nice shirt, it would be great for work and keep me snuggly warm in the cold office. So at lunch on Monday, I cast on for a swatch. It

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1130937917081679922005-11-02T04:48:00.000-08:002005-11-02T09:35:06.916-08:00

Jody tagged me for the Knitting Meme, so here goes What is your all time favorite yarn to knit with?? Hmm, I don't really have a favorite per se. I like different yarns for different reasons. I do not feel emotionally drawn to one more than any other. I can pick a few top choices, though Karabella 8 (I'd like to try the finer gauge Karabella 4 at some point) Koigu KPM Calmer Your favorite

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1130774385508977262005-10-31T05:13:00.000-08:002005-10-31T10:24:52.173-08:00

A new free hat pattern is available. I call it Carlsbad and it's basically a combination of the Pismo hat and the guy's version of the Nautilus hat. Who would have thought there'd be so many slight variations on the same theme? In the end, it's all about creating a hat Leo will wear. He's quite picky about these things. Why is it called Carlsbad? Because that was where the hat had its maiden

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1130524453171926112005-10-28T11:33:00.000-07:002005-10-28T11:34:41.540-07:00

So I've been knitting a few things here and there. Right now, I'm trying to whip out another quick hat for Mr. Leo He picked out the colors and has provided a template hat to work from. This is an even finer gauge than the Pismo Hat, being worked on size US #1 needles, and is mostly stockinette, instead of all ribbing. You may or may not be able to tell that there's a fine green stripe near

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1130241244379756352005-10-25T04:16:00.000-07:002005-10-25T05:42:24.936-07:00

I've been knitting for KG and, yarn companies and family and such and as always, I love it, but sometimes I want something that I don't have to design that is just for me. I had a skein of Lorna's Laces Superwash Worsted just aching to be something. It was an easy decision, I decided to make a One Skein Wonder. The pattern calls for between 125 and 175 yards of yarn, and I had 225. I decided to

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1130096350023760462005-10-23T12:30:00.000-07:002005-10-23T21:19:45.286-07:00

Yesterday, I had the great fortune to be able to take Annie Modesitt's Love Your Lace class at the Knit Cafe. While the class was briefly disrupted when a very sweet member of the class had an unfortunate fall on her way to feed the parking meter, overall, the class was great. I'll spare the woman the embarrassment of having her name mentioned, but if she happens to swing by my blog, I'm sending

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1129809791109660652005-10-20T04:38:00.000-07:002005-10-20T05:56:45.816-07:00

My episode, that is. The weeks leading up to my Knitty Gritty shoot were frantic and there were points when I wasn't too sure it was all going to work out, but it did and I had a great time. It was my third time at the set this year, having done and episode with Shannon the week before and having dropped by for a rehearsal and to see Amy the day before. Unfortunately, the shows shooting before

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1129561216746137792005-10-18T08:00:00.000-07:002005-10-19T06:18:13.246-07:00

After the KG shoot last week, Leo, Panda and I jetted down to San Diego to spend some time with parents who were vacationing there. I thought my step dad was looking pretty happy. It must have been all the R&R. The best part of the trip was Kayaking with Ben, Leo and Panda. It was a two hour paddle around a gorgeous lagoon. I don't have any pictures but there's video to come. I think Leo and I

Marnietag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458819.post-1129551748890745812005-10-17T04:22:00.000-07:002005-10-17T08:16:11.690-07:00

It seems like I've been non-stop since Thursday. I took a half day from work so I could make myself girly enough for TV.Got my nails and brows done. I feel so Hollywood. The conversation regarding the later went something like this, "Who does your eyebrows, you?" "Um, yah." "Don't do that. I'll do your brows, you make a mess of them. Look at how uneven they are." She did a good job. Though it

Marnie