Bad Woman, Good Woman, Snow Woman!

What's that?
Over there... in the mailbox... do you see it?!
It looks like—why yes, it is:
Another present from Santa!!!

Good Mamma's Bad Woman Wrap

This was a holiday stealth project, so all has been hush. Unfortunately, the lousy weather prevented me from getting it mailed in time for Christmas. The snow on our street finally cleared enough that we were able to leave the house Sunday after 10 days of snowed-in confinement. Whew! So I was finally able to mail the last of my Christmas presents off to their recipients and can gleefully say, "It's in the mail!"


It's for my mom, who doesn't have internet access at her home and only just saw the version I made for myself on my blog about two weeks ago. She's been bugging my sister to get the pattern from me and go buy yarn ever since. Little did she know...


I think she'll like it! I sent my sister yarn and the pattern to make one for herself. I had the best of intentions, but with the new job just couldn't get the second one knit up.

Pattern: Bad Woman Wrap by Lee Burrow (Shop Pattern available at Bad Woman Yarn)
Materials: Berroco Ultra Alpaca, 3 skeins (645 yards), in colorway 6287 Denim Mix (I think—it's either that or 6288 Blueberry mix. I'll edit this when I locate the skein tags.)
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm
Started: August 13, 2008
Completed: December 19, 2008
Previously Blogged Version: Bad Woman Wrap, Helluva Gal, and 2008 LYS Tour

As for the Snow Woman, check this out!


That's a fantabulous Snow Woman and Snow Cat made December 26 by my darling daughter, the Divine Miss Catherine (in a hat my sister sent her for Christmas)...

... and her artistic and ingenious father (in a hat he knit himself last year).

You can guess who did the lion's share of the work.

They're even cute from behind!


I have an amazing family. I am so lucky!

Bad Woman Wrap

My presentation of this FO is long-overdue. I wrapped up work on the Bad Woman Wrap about 6 weeks ago, blocked it, and have even been wearing it around the house. But she lacked a shawl pin and, in a somewhat uncharacteristically modest moment, asked me to wait for a public outing until she could make a proper appearance.

Pattern: Bad Woman Wrap by Lee Burrow (Shop Pattern available at Bad Woman Yarn)
Materials: Berroco Ultra Alpaca, 3 skeins (645 yards), in colorway 6246 Teal
Needles: US 8 / 5.0 mm
Started: May 25, 2008
Completed: June 8, 2008
Previously Blogged: Helluva Gal and 2008 LYS Tour

I absolutely adore this wrap. It's elegant and understated, with great drape and lines evoking a kimono.


For me, the Bad Woman Wrap offers a perfect balance of sure-footed solidity grounding the open, airiness of the YOs. The lighter-than-air fantasy offered by so many of the lace patterns I see people knitting—while often mind-bogglingly stunning—just doesn't suit me for anything approaching daily wear. For dress-up occasions, sure—but as a parent finishing a PhD, my chances of going out for an elegant night on the town are slim-to-none. . . . You're much more likely to find me in a dark corner of the library or hidden away in my office scribbling on the dissertation than engaging Seattle's prodigious nightlife. And besides, until I finish the dissertation, if I actually landed an opportunity to go out one evening, I'd need to direct myself to the office rather than Belltown.

Don't get me wrong! This doesn't mean the Bad Woman Wrap's all name but no naughty. She's definitely up for a night out. It's just that she also fits in very well at my office—housed in a classy Humanities center staffed by a group of women with sophisticated fashion sense—at home in my reading chair, or out walking the dogs. There's more to the Bad Woman than meets the eye. She's my kind of gal!


The Bad Woman's an easy knit: fast and loose. I enjoyed every minute of it and took her with me everywhere I went. Stealing random moments for a quick-but-satisfying rendezvous—even if only for a half row.

The YO section does bias, requiring a good wet-blocking. But I found that with a firm, steady hand, the Bad Woman fell into line.

I did edit the last few rows of the pattern, for symmetry's sake. The body section needs to end on a YO row. Then for edging, reverse the written instructions so you're knitting row 2 first instead of row 1 and ending with a purl bind-off.

And the shawl pin?

Gorgeous, no?!?!

I picked up this beauty at Bad Woman Yarn which, for my money, has the best selection of shawl pins in the city. This one's made by a Vermont artisan. It's glass—basically a translucent brown with swirls of color and slight opalescence (that was difficult to photograph in Seattle's evening light). I selected this pin for its chameleon-like quality: It looks completely different against other colors and promises to be a versatile addition to my wardrobe.

On an only slightly different subject, if you're in the market for great yarn deals, Bad Woman Yarn is in the middle of its 1-year anniversary sale—a month-long extravaganza featuring new yarn sales each week. Lee, store co-owner and designer of the Bad Woman Wrap, says that by the end of the month, every yarn in the store should be on sale. Even if you're not in Seattle, this might merit a call to the shop to see if that yarn you want for your next project is available.

Heck, what you really need to do is familiarize yourself with the color card for Berroco Ultra Alpaca, contact Bad Woman Yarn to find out what week the Ultra Alpaca will go on sale, and set a reminder to place your order then. Just know that the sale will only be for colors in stock. But if you do this, you'll get the yarn and the pattern for this great wrap. Do make sure you mention that you want the shop pattern to be included in the order! (And no, I don't work there or enjoy a financial relationship other than occasionally handing over my cash in exchange for their goods!)

Helluva Gal

Despite a tenuous start, the Bad Woman Wrap and I are getting along famously!


It seems I was a little more uptight than she preferred when I first cast-on, so after knitting about 8 inches I frogged her (sounds naughty!) and started over again. Second time around I found my loosey-goosey groove casting on over two needles, and she's been a happy gal ever since.

I even took her with me to the Northwest Folklife Festival on Memorial Day. No pictures to corroborate the occasion, but I introduced her (i.e. knit publicly while I listened) to Jim Page (topical and politically astute folksinger and raconteur who changed Seattle's street-performance laws in 1974 and is largely responsible for our robust busking culture) and Artis the Spoonman (if you're not a Seattlite, you know him as the subject of that Soundgarden song). Here's a sampling of what I saw at Folklife — the video's not mine, but it was shot by someone who might as well have been sitting in my spot! And for those interested, here's another recent video of them at the venue where I first encountered them 9 years ago, the sidewalk outside the Original Starbucks at Pike Place Market, where they still busk. You may not always agree with the politics, but you have to admire the spirit, tenacity, and talent!

Also at Folklife, I introduced the Bad Woman Wrap to Ockham's Razor, a young group of truly remarkable musicians playing hard-driving, foot-stompin', beer-drinkin', get-up-on-your-feet-dancing, punk-rockin' contemporary and classic Irish folk music. Simply amazing. (And yes, I included punk-rockin' as one of the descriptors for their Irish music. You should hear them Celt-out The Ramone's "I Wanna Be Sedated"!) Their fiddle player, Katie Corcoran, is astounding. Sorry I don't see any recent, good-quality videos to link to, but their website has a multimedia section where you can check out a studio version of their work—doesn't quite compare to catching them live at Kells but gives you a sense of what they do.

The Bad Woman Wrap likes the musicians, as evidenced by the fact that I completed nearly 30 percent of the project at Folklife. The Ultra Alpaca practically dances off my fingers. I had to switch from nickel-plated to bamboo needles to get more grip.

In other news, I'm preparing to teach a sock class at A New Yarn this summer. I want to teach basic magic loop, toe-up, two-at-once, with heel flap and gusset. Haven't found a good, ready-made generic pattern that gives me absolutely everything I want, so I'm putting together my own. It's what I do when I knit them for myself, I just never bothered to write up formal instructions. I'll post the pattern here eventually!

2008 LYS Tour—Destination: YARN

All year long I've looked forward to Puget Sound's LYS Tour.

The graphic image even looks like me tooling around town on my scooter.

Except that I drive a retro Yamaha Vino, not a Vespa... ...and it's silver not pinkish brown... and I wear a helmet and other smart safety gear rather than looking like a fashion plate... and I'd never leave my yarn and needles sticking out the top of an open bag as I zoomed down the street even if I were keeping my eye on the WIP more than on the road! But I do ride a scooter, and I do wear cool boots on my scooter, and I've got the same haircut as Tour Girl.

Last fall when my sister and I initially talked about the possibility of doing the LYS Tour or the Sea Socks 2008 Cruise and Yarn Expedition (also out of Seattle), I said I couldn't guarantee that I'd be done with my dissertation by May and that if I weren't, I wouldn't be able to take the time away from my dissertation to do either fun fiber thing this year. Of course, in the back of my mind I kept open the what if. Last month I started thinking the tour would do me some good. My sister and I dreamed up schemes for getting her here from New Orleans so we could tour together. That didn't work out. As the date approached... ...I thought maybe I'd go it alone and even considered posting a carpool call for other north-end knitters. Then, about a week before the big event (which started on J's birthday), I flipped back and decided I wouldn't participate at all. Believe it or not, I was actually feeling a little LYS burned out! For a few months now, I've been in one if not two of my favorite's each week, and while I may not be satiated, I wasn't so sure that I cared to hurl myself through the gauntlet of 24 stores around the Puget Sound region in 4 days—with what I imagined would be massive crowds.

Thursday and Friday went by with no pangs of regret. I did enjoy reading all the interesting comments in the LYS Tour Forum on Ravelry, though. Saturday morning, as Seattle experienced a record-setting heat wave, I even felt something akin to a smug justification that I would not be attempting the tour in my freon-challenged Volvo.

See that temp? I took this picture at 10am, and it was already 86 degrees...


... in the shade! See the overhangs?

The day passed in a sweltering, uneventful haze. And then it was time to take C to her Irish Step Dance class. Usually J and I both take her, but this week I went alone while J assembled our new and much-needed lawnmower and grill. I hopped in the car with my Pysanky Spindle and Song for Dalai Lama fiber in-hand, ready for the hour's wait while C twinkled her little toes off.

C's class is located in her dance studio's annex, though, and it doesn't really have anyplace for parents to sit and wait—and it was really, really hot. Often, J and I will use this time to pop over to Acorn Street or Weaving Works because both are nearby [see sidebar for links to my LYS sites]. I wasn't even thinking about the LYS Tour when I started driving. I was thinking, "Mmmmmm... air conditioning!" It was a bit of a surprise to realize I'd air-conditioned myself smack into the middle of the tour.

DIGRESSION: Recognize a pattern here? I did the exact same thing when I spindled my way smack into the middle of Weaving Works' big Mother's Day Sale—which I also had resolved not to attend. Not that I don't want to support the store(s), mind you. I'm just not much of a crowd person. I prefer to take my time in a state of relative ease, luxuriating at the touch of each fiber. And for the smaller amounts of money I usually spend, the 10-20% discounts don't really mean that much.

BACK ON TRACK: C's Step class was the beginning of the end. I knew I wouldn't do the entire tour, so I called it my LYS Light Tour. I hit both Acorn Street and Weaving Works before C's 50-minute class ended. Then today I convinced the family to hit "just two" shops with me after church. Two that turned into four for a total of six nearby shops on my tour. My passport got the appropriate stamps:

Of the six, I had never been to three before: Tricoter, Full Circle Yarn, and Bad Woman Yarn. My LYS Light Tour didn't even include two of my regular area shops: Village Yarn & Tea (which was part of the tour) and A New Yarn (which was not part the tour). I trust they'll forgive me, especially since I see them so frequently.

Here are the fun, free patterns I got on my journey:

• Acorn Street: Spring Purse (felted)
• Bad Woman: Knit Buttoned Necklet
• Bad Woman: Crocheted Eyelet Necklet
• Fiber Gallery: Mountain Shokay Baby Sweater
• Full Circle: To Felt Or Not To Felt Double Knit Clutch Bag
• Tricoter: Diamond Lace Scarf w/Ruffle Edge
• Weaving Works: Plain or Fancy Felted Tea Cozy
• Weaving Works: Bamboo Crocheted Hand Towel

Acorn Street gets a prize for nicest presentation of its free pattern, which came in a plastic protection sleeve. Bad Woman gets a prize for most aesthetically pleasing design of its patterns—simple but elegant. Tricoter and Weaving Works both get major snaps for handing out 15% off coupons good for the total order of my next visit (I'm soooo using those!). Full Circle and Fiber Gallery both get heartfelt thanks and kudos for tracking down obscure, non Tour-related patterns for me. They really went above and beyond the call of duty. Full Circle, of the four shops I visited today, gets an especially high mark because the ladies working actually took an interest in C, asking her about her own knitting, talking to her as a participant rather than just as a kid to shuffle off to the play area. (Most of the stores had some kind of play station set up for kids, but none of them came close to the amazing play room at A New Yarn—which will continue to keep that shop at the top of my list locally even though I don't have C with me every time I visit a yarn store.)

Everyone was very friendly, across the board. The most vocal about their friendly factor was Tricoter, which seemed to be aggressively working to live-down the bad rap they've gotten on various internet forums as being a shop that projects aloofness and elitism. Every single Tricoter employee not only spoke to me and eagerly sought to help me but also delivered some variation of the following line, "We are a friendly store with outstanding customer service. We will help you with anything you need." They did the same for J. They may even have done the same for C. Now, she's a bright, self-possessed 8-year-old, but she's not packin' anything in her pocketbook except play money!

What did I buy? I had promised myself that participating in the tour didn't mean I had to buy anything. I have more than enough to work on right now, thank you very much—I just wanted to explore some new shops and check out the tour patterns (since people rave about many of last year's). Actually, I felt really good not buying anything and functioning as tourist rather than consumer. That's directly in line with the premise of the enterprise, if you ask me.

Will it surprise you, then, to learn that I cracked under the pressure? Not a big crack, but a crack, nonetheless. Blame it on the bad woman... bad, Bad Woman Yarn in Wallingford, just up the street from one of my previous homes. Can you imagine the carnage if they'd been open when I lived there?! The shop, which was founded in Oregon in 1999, moved to Seattle about a year ago. This was my first visit. It will not be my last (and I'm not just saying that because they set out chocolates and it's located 50 yards from a scrumptious cupcake shop called Trophy Cupcakes). Lee, one of the owners, was absolutely delightful. The first thing I did when I returned home was look up her and the shop on Ravelry, and I friended her instantly. She may be one of my favorite yarn store ladies ever. She's right up there with Claudia at A New Yarn, although for very different reasons. Bad Woman Yarn was the revelation of my tour. It's a lovely store with a great atmosphere and a nice selection of samples and shop patterns.

What broke me? The Bad Woman Wrap:


Lee designed it. It's elegant and understated. I had to have it. It called to me on that deep, indescribable level of yearning we've all felt at least once. She showed it in two yarns. I went for the Ultra Alpaca version and selected a rich teal. Unfortunately, there's no FO picture on the pattern to show you, I didn't have a camera with me at the store, and it's not up on Ravelry yet. I guess you'll just have to wait until I get mine done to see what it looks like!

Thank you to all the participating shops and tour organizers. It was enlightening to see the unique offerings at each store. Even though I didn't buy much on this year's tour, I will be back in months to come to buy things from each of the stores I visited—and I'm hanging on to my passport so I can visit those I didn't get to. More than that, I will most definitely do the full tour next year. I've already called my sister and requested the honor of her presence so we can enjoy the fun together.