Twisted Knitter is my knitting blog handle; my real name is Janet and I live in a SE Texas suburb between Conroe and Houston. I've been a blogger for years but now I blog mostly about knitting-related things . . . occasionally I sneak in something unrelated to knitting.

You can also find me on Ravelry and Flickr (where I've been posting photos since August 2004).

I've been knitting since 2003 and my passion for it increased with each successful finished project. From over a dozen felted bags and many socks, it never occurred to me that you couldn't knit with wool in Texas. (Did you know that's the first thing people assume about Texas knitters - that it's too hot here to knit?) Houston has a large and accomplished knitting population and I've been fortunate enough to attend workshops taught by Beth Brown-Reinsel and Nancy Bush.

I'm not much of a garment knitter; I knit mostly for tactile and visual reasons. I'm taken in by yarn that's "my" color or a fiber that feels luxurious. I quickly abandon a knitting project that isn't satisfying or fun. I knit first for enjoyment and second to master a skill -- I will knit a pattern repeatedly until I feel I have mastered it. Recently I shared some of what brought me to knitting in the first place and the fact that my blog is something that I do for myself. This is the space in which I am generous to myself and others and I try to be kind even when I share strong opinions.

My hope (and continued goal) is that I demonstrate that I am interested in my readers and fellow knitting bloggers. I enjoy getting to know you through your blogs and your Flickr photostreams. I'm grateful that so many of you have continued to blog about what is going on in your lives and not JUST the knitting projects you're working on! Recently, I decided to post more up-to-date photos of myself, because many of you already do -- and this helps if I ever run into you while I'm working or attending a fiber-related event. If you're meeting me for the first time, I'm really shy (though I seem standoffish) and I guarantee I will figure out a way to say something goofy even when I am consciously trying NOT to. Susan is the first fellow knitter I met in the flesh and I'm delighted that she and I are still knitting more than dishcloths after all this time. (I am *so* not opposed to knitting dishcloths - and I still knit them proudly!)

I have three sisters; Jayne is in banking, Joan is an attorney and JL works in the entertainment industry. I'm married to Paul and have three kids - a daughter and two sons. My sons prefer that I not blog about them; however, I'm pretty sure my daughter doesn't mind. Prior to my choosing to be a stay-at-home mom, I worked as a database administrator -- first for a building products manufacturer in Oklahoma City and later for Marathon Oil Company.

Thanks for reading!

I need your opinions.

Do you read the "About" pages on blogs? I read them when I am new to a blog but beyond that initial read to get to know the blogger better, I don't read them again.

Do you find it helpful when a blogger provides contact information beyond the comments section? Again, for me it's rare that I use the "contact" option (outside of leaving a comment) but I can see that it might be useful to some of my readers who want to ask me a question but not necessarily leave me a comment.

If you are reading this at my blog (and not through a feed reader) you can see that I'm preparing to decide whether I want to include these additional options - but right now, it's not linked to anything. I'm also working to make sure my avatar is the same throughout the places I frequent online.

On the knitting front, I'm going to frog the triangular shawl today because I think I need to go down a needle size. I committed to experimenting with the book, the yarn and the concept but didn't officially make it a project. So I don't feel guilty about starting over. I do love the yarn and the color.

And among other things on my needle right now, I felt like casting on a sock:

It's NORO Silk Garden Lite, a DK-weight version of Silk Garden. I've got mixed feelings about it so far, but I love how quickly a DK-weight yarn becomes a sock!

I started a shawl from Knitting Lace Triangles, by Evelyn Clark. The yarn is Mama Llama Silken Cash, which should be enough for a small shoulder shawl. I'm really enjoying the book and the straightforward approach to starting and knitting a triangular shawl. As is typical for me, I've started and re-started a few times and unless I can figure out where I lost two stitches, I'll probably frog again tomorrow (and the yarn is holding up well to all the frogging).

There are a few other things that are going to need my attention and some action. And it's possibly I'll have some non-vacation travel coming up. No escapism allowed, but the knitting does find its way into the spare moments here and there. I also make time to check in on blogs and websites to see what everybody's working on. There's absolutely no shortage of inspiration either:

Knit happy!

I'm back in business. I got a new MacBook last week but had a family emergency and wasn't able to fully engage myself in learning this new and different operating system. But the little I've been able to play with it since then? Awesome.

Some of you wanted to see the nearly-complete Lizard Ridge blanket for which I knit two of the squares:

Details: This is a group project -- a knit=along of sorts -- for a gift. I surprised myself by completely changing my mind about the Lizard Ridge by the time I finished the first square. Had I not HAD to do my part for this gift by knitting two squares, I would have given up. However, I adore this pattern now and I'm looking forward to making another one.

Last June, I started a sock on my birthday and four days after I started the sock, I got my Ravelry invite. Since I always have a couple of socks going at once (and feel absolutely no shame about that), I spent several hours that day and the next exploring Ravelry and adding projects and stash. I couldn't help but notice something incredibly interesting -- although I know MANY knitters who have not knit this sock pattern, it's the second most popular pattern on Ravelry (second only to the Fetching Fingerless Mitts -- which I haven't knit).

I don't know why it was such a compelling idea for me to finish this sock last week (I was SO close to finishing when I tossed them aside several months ago), I just decided to do it. I've already cast on for the second sock and the cuff that I wasn't overly fond of initially (lots of k1 tbl) is kind of charming to me now - and not at all as fiddly as it seemed in June.

Details below:

Pattern: Monkey from Knitty (Winter 2006)
Sock Yarn: Mama Llama Sock Yarn in Twisted Yarns Colorway
Needles: Lantern Moon Sox Stix, Ebony, Size 1 (2.25mm)

For the next week or so, I'll be working on a secret (knitting) project and I'll be kind of scarce. It involves NORO, so I'm sure I'll be fine.

I have no new knitting to show; we've been planting, painting, and cleaning. It must be a spring thing. It's also heralded by the annual arrival of ants in my kitchen. I know that if it rains a lot (steadily) and the next day is sunny and warm, a colony will have formed somewhere and they'll begin invading. Oddly, it's also about the same time I start to think about baking cookies. I believe I'll wait until I get rid of the ants* to get out the brown sugar.

I've swatched several things this past week and so far, nothing is as promising as I thought it would be. I decided this was a sign to step away from the knitting (that is, knitting-as-blog-fodder) for a brief pause, so I've been listening to the Yarn Harlot's audiobook version of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting. I highly recommend it. It's entertaining without being too cutesy or cheesy. (And, yes, I know I'm one book behind and she has a new one out now . . . at this pace, I'll probably get to that one next year).

And smack dab in the middle of this blog entry, I want to share Laurie's blog entry today. One thing jumped out at me:

I'd wasted all that energy on one thing that was past and something new that hadn't even happened yet.

I've been there -- I've wasted energy and THOUGHTS on things that were completely unfruitful. And I've wasted precious brainpower having imaginary conversations with people I was angry with at the time. I'm now 100% sure that the other person involved didn't give a second thought to maintaining that same conversation in his or her head. Obsessive thoughts like that are very close to the classic definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I wanted to bring this to my blog because it relates to why I began knitting. About four years ago, I was getting and staying so angry about perceived slights and injustices that totally didn't concern me; often I was angry or incredulous about something that was happening to a friend or family member. One night I left the house in a huff over something I had been reading online and I ended up falling in the garage and requiring a trip to the ER for stitches and a tetanus shot. Less than a month later, a friend of mine mentioned trying knitting and I was tired enough of myself that I decided it was time for a new hobby. Knitting helped me gain some emotional equilibrium and has kept me out of the ER (I learned that I am really accident-prone when I'm angry). And this is why I still knit. These days, if I feel that I'm starting to be competitive (with anybody other than myself) over knitting or anything knitting-related, I step back -- and maybe away -- for a while. Ironically, if I don't step away on my own, then some external force will exert itself -- computer problems much?

If you're stewing, perhaps step away and ask yourself why your expectations are so high or . . . radical thought . . . maybe you should dig even deeper -- why are you a knitter? For me, it's a meaningful and productive way to engage my hands and my mind so that I remain emotionally balanced and stay out of trouble. The huge bonus has been my gaining some great lifelong friendships in the process.

* Products to help eliminate the ants

I love scarves. I love living in a place where our winters require lightweight accessories and no bulky outerwear. And most of you already know that I adore green. So when I saw this color of Malabrigo merino laceweight on Spritely Goods, I had to have it. Although several knits distracted me from finishing this scarf as quickly as I would have liked, I devoted myself to it completely in the last week and finished it the day of my root canal.

In the past, I've started several other BIG lace projects only to make mistakes and get frustrated. This leaf pattern was something I could manage while watching television or when sneaking in some early morning knitting time.

And then there's dreamy red laceweight yarn:

While it seems this soft red yarn could easily distract me (once again), I've instead rescued another lace project from hibernation. So to satisfy some tactile desires, I did nothing more than wind the red yarn and swatch with it. Now it will sit for a while until I find the perfect pattern.

Before I close, I also wanted to share this cute little accessory bag from Splityarn:

It's adorable and functional. I'm using it to carry stitch markers:

Almost four years ago, I knit this tote bag with my Noro Kureyon leftovers -- I'd knit three Booga Bags and had a smallish amount of leftover Kureyon and then scored a bargain on a couple more skeins. I had this idea to knit a tote in order to have a good project to take to Tuesday night Sit & Knits. When I finally finished knitting the bag, I felted it and had plans to sew handles on it and use it as a knitting bag. I purchased an inexpensive handle but ending up feeling indifferent and uninspired about it -- I was not at all excited about attaching it the bag, so I kept it in a pile of finished knits in my closet. A few months ago, Twisted Yarns received a shipment of Grayson E handbag accessories and leather handles in assorted sizes and colors. The 25" handles were exactly what I wanted, so I bought them. They have pre-punched holes and handles were easily attached to the bag by backstitching a double strand of DMC Perle Cotton (Col 9038) and now I love this bag! There are some great Grayson E handbag patterns available now also.

UPDATE: I've added the pattern to my blog sidebar: "Felted Tote with Kureyon."

There were these little tasks -- knitting i-cord, sewing on leather straps, washing and blocking some finished knits, evaluating unfinished objects -- those tasks are now complete and updated in Ravelry. The last time you saw the soft drawstring pouch I knit with Malabrigo Silky Merino, it was unwashed and had a brown silk ribbon woven through and tied in a bow. Although I love the ribbon and will use it to wrap the final package, I really wanted to use the remaining blue-green silky merino yarn to knit a thick i-cord drawstring - so I did. I just love the color and the softness. The recipient can certainly have both along with a choice of which one to use. It had a nice Soak "Citrus" bath and a few rinses before I blocked and dried it overnight. It is amazingly soft now and still Tiffany Blue.

The silver heart necklace was a Valentine's Day gift from a family member. It made me smile to see the "Ankara Green" Silky Merino next to the signature Tiffany box. What a perfect color.

I had this long diatribe planned in my head while I was on vacation about why I don't rely on luck to take me where I want to go -- it's so much more satisfying to work hard for my achievements. However, to the casual observer or the drive-by reader of this blog, I'd be hard-pressed to convince you that I'm not "lucky." In short: I'm blessed. I'm prepared. I'm well-informed. I'm a voracious blog reader. I'm well-connected in a small but tight network of knitters. I'm willing to invest in others. I'm aware that genetics (and orthodontia) has played a huge role in my physical appearance . . . but I refuse to credit luck. Please know that I don't dismiss any compliment - I'm grateful for all of them; but I'm not lucky.

It's easy to be dismissive of people who appear to do things effortlessly (although internally I do not count myself among those who experience life effortlessly), and it's so easy to form a wrong impression based on what little I share here. Do I shamelessly stash? Am I showing off? Am I boasting? Am I a spendthrift? You know, the bottom line is that I can't be responsible for what others think, so I fully enjoy the freedom I have here to express whatever I want to express -- and that is part of what I was alluding to in an earlier post. What prompted this? I've just been observing from a distance the tendency that some seem to have (expressed in forum postings, offhand and under-the-breath comments, message boards) to be unkind and presumptive. I value frugality, minimalism and austerity, but I also want to share the things I discover along this path I'm traveling.

I'm blessed.

We're back from vacation and I'm easing back into my familiar and much-missed routines. I had a bit of a dental emergency that threw me off the planned drawing for the Manos Silk Blend -- results of the drawing are at the end of the post.

If you visit my Flickr you already know that I scored a skein of the Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn in Vincent's Apron. It's the coveted and hard-to-find semi-solid yellow. I considered buying a skein of the Elephant's Dream as well, but I'm glad I didn't -- it's now in stock at Twisted Yarns. Is it just me, or are other sock knitters looking for deeply-saturated solid colored sock yarn?

So the one yarn shop open on a Monday was The Black Sheep in Encinitas, California. It was a great little shop, with the largest stock of Colinette I've ever seen under one roof:

Okay, I have to admit that I'm a little freaked out by some unfinished business (not just knitting) in my life right now. I plan to take care of (that is, FINISH) at least one thing today before I go to bed. It's not often that I feel this overwhelmed by the undone, but I kept putting things off while I prepared for our trip to California. So, I'm declaring it a "no excuses" day for myself. I'll be scarce today.

If you read through a feed reader, here's the new header:

I can honestly say that after having had a few blogs, this is the one I am happiest with. After agonizing over previous blogs, I knew when I began this one, it would have to be something I did for myself. I like that it's not all of me, but honest parts of some of me -- mostly the parts of my life related to knitting. The family history and glimpses in to my ancestry have crept in and I am keeping them here for now.

In reading Annie Dillard today, this one small bit of phrasing struck me:

"The obverse of this freedom, of course, is that your work is so meaningless, so fully for yourself alone, and so worthless to the world, that no one except you cares whether you do it well, or ever."

Even in its negativity, her statement is incredibly positive. To write and create for yourself alone is also freedom. Freedom is what I finally feel with this blog.

I'll draw names on March 21, 2008. There may be more than one winner, but only one lucky knitter will get this gorgeous skein of Manos Silk Blend.

My husband has to travel a lot for his job and I stay here and run things. Somebody asked me once if I was envious of his business travel and I'm really not -- traveling WITH my family is a lot more appealing to me than traveling without them. I know my husband was sincere when he said that he wished I could have been at the Waldorf Astoria when Martha Stewart was being honored at the "Go Red for Women" luncheon. And while I do have a list of yarn shops I would have visited if I'd been in NYC, it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if I'd been alone.

That's not to say that I don't have travel in my future. I'm making a list of places I would like to go and hope to update our passports soon.

These past few weeks, I've really felt the loss of my laptop but I've deferred the purchase of its replacement for a few more months. Meanwhile, I'd love to hear from other knitters about Macs vs. PCs. If you used the one and are now using the other, I'm curious to hear your thoughts. I'm most concerned with portability, battery life, ease of wireless connection and your experiences using a Mac with Flickr and Ravelry (i.e. the browser). I won't be using Photoshop or graphics software -- I'll be using it for long-term writing projects, blogging, Flickr and Ravelry. I like to knit while I read blogs and obviously prefer something very lightweight.

I've been working on some gift knitting and am almost finished with the simple knitted shell with the RYC Cashcotton DK (Ravelry link here, but no updated project info yet). On Thursday, I got to meet up with another local knitter at Starbucks and knit for a while on my take-along sock. Earlier in the week, I stopped by Twisted Yarns and bought the leather straps for the Noro bag. I chose the longer (large, rolled 25") leather straps in dark brown. I might have also bought another skein of Online Supersocke 100.

I've continued to work on some of the genealogy research I started a few weeks ago. One of my aunts has helped fill in a lot of missing information and another aunt and a cousin have gotten in touch with me after my not having talked to them in over 34 years. This time last year, Sallie found most of my American family's ancestry information and I wouldn't have had such a good start without her. Lisa and one of her good friends has been helping me with the Japanese side. Of course, I now wish I had learned to speak and write Japanese (and no, it's not too late) as that would have helped immensely!

Here's another photo of my sisters and me that I don't think I ever saw before last week:

It was taken the same day as this one.

There's been knitting, but nothing much to show yet (it's a shop sample) - lots of stockinette in the round and you saw a preview a few entries ago. The knitting sets the stage for the thoughts that are the true undercurrent of my writing and blogging here. Knitting helps me think -- it's mind- and heart-expanding. I couldn't write if I didn't knit.

I'm still organizing all the data regarding my family ancestry -- both the Japanese side and the Irish/Scottish/German side. I have two stacks on my desk and they're separated: the "H" side (my maiden name) and the "F" side (my mother's maiden name). I work best from stacks rather than files, so I'm doing what works for me, but if you were to visit right now, I'm sure it would look like clutter to you.

The most overwhelming part was sensing all the stories that want to be told -- I can pick something out of either stack and tell a compelling story based on what I know or what I've learned - hence, that off-course feeling. To get back on course is to focus on my OWN story. I'm the only one who can tell it. I'm the only one who can share my own experiences - the people I've met, the places I 've visited and loved. We four sisters grew up with very different experiences due to our age differences and having lived all over the world. My younger sister and I are only 22 months apart so some of our memories are shared, but we don't often share the same point of view. I don't think that's uncommon, but it's part of what made me realize that I need to focus on my own unique perspective.

The Patons Merino hat that I blogged about last week was finished that same day.I used to think it was so odd that others could knit a plain (or fancy!) hat in less than 24 hours, but now I can too. When did that happen? (And oddly enough, it's almost cold enough here today to NEED a hat).

Finally, to wrap up this post, I finally figured out the handles I want to use for the Noro Kureyon Scraps Bag I knit in 2004. (Ravelry link here). I used the leftover Kureyon from the Booga Bags I knit that year plus some additional single skeins I had acquired to knit a large project bag.

So it's back to the knitting for a while.