camwyn | Dear brain,

Dear brain,

I like you. A lot. You're lots of fun and you're much better than Cats.

So why are you looking at listings for trips to Alaska that put 'self-guided drive', 'Bering land bridge', and 'among the most isolated in North America' all in one sentence and going 'ooooh, fun!'? I thought you were smarter than that...

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Considering the New Jersey-ness, I wasn't even sure the links were needed, but they showed up in my inbox.

But... knitting it yourself? o_O I always felt Aunt Harriot's hand-knitted sweaters were gorgeous but let drafts through awfully.

(And then there's trying to pin the stuff to fit... by yourself.)

Are you at all familiar with the nature of qiviut? Not that I would actually use it, as it's too expensive, but I can assure you that the yarn spun from the underfur of musk-oxen is the single warmest and second softest natural fiber on the face of the planet, gaps or no.

... please get Benton Fraser's voice out of my head. I AM TALKING ABOUT KNITTING HERE THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Okay. Anyway. The thing about knitting is, if I was going to do long underwear, I would set about doing it seriously. There's a technique called double knitting where you do two layers at once; it's terrifically warm since it not only produces an insulative layer but prevents gaps from being a problem. Not to mention that if I used anything with a partial wool component, I'd be throwing it in the washing machine and dryer, and it would fuzz up and full out a bit in the process, making the gaps much much smaller even if they existed.

I could, of course, felt the things. I've made felted slippers before. But felted underwear would be a bit much even for me.

Are you at all familiar with the nature of qiviut?

[points at icon] No way. Had to Google for it.

Not that I would actually use it, as it's too expensive...

I just noticed!! I said to myself, 'She's never gonna be able to afford enough yarn AND the plane ticket!'

There's a technique called double knitting where you do two layers at once...

Ah, see, I've never had any reason to know about that. I did, however, find a way to cool off almost to the point of shivering in mid-afternoon in South Florida which doesn't involve air conditioning....

No way. Had to Google for it.

Ah. I learned about the fiber a few years ago, and bought a skein of it when I visited Alaska. That was the hardest-won yarn I've ever had the pleasure of working with, and some of the loveliest. I'm currently working on a liner for a hat using yarn that's 75 percent qiviut, 25 percent merino- bought it off eBay a while ago. Since I also have a skein of yak yarn, I will probably be using that on the outside of the hat- why use normal fibers when you've got stuff like that on hand...

I said to myself, 'She's never gonna be able to afford enough yarn AND the plane ticket!'

True. If I ever did spend that much on qiviut, it would be because I was moving to the Arctic and planned on using the resultant product to STAY ALIVE. Besides, the patterns I'm most interested in for underwear, while not for long johns, use a very nice silk / wool blend that's significantly cheaper. They'd be found here.

Ah, see, I've never had any reason to know about that. I did, however, find a way to cool off almost to the point of shivering in mid-afternoon in South Florida which doesn't involve air conditioning....

Right, whereas I, being a psychotic in full rejection of her warm-blooded southern Italian heritage, have devoted most of my attention to ways of keeping myself insulated and warm, ever since my third grade classmates got me hooked on Antarctic exploration by giving me a copy of The South Pole Ponies by Theodore K. Mason as a reward for participating in the PS 221 Storytelling Contest.

Now, about this cool-off method. Do tell.

DiefenMittens (http://www.vipfibers.com/knitting-project-ideas.htm)

*sigh*

I came within angstroms of buying a part-husky-fur, part-sheep-wool headband/earwarmer from the Denali Mercantile Exchange before coming home from Alaska. If I could get enough dog-fur yarn to knit something worthwhile, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I am that sad about knitting with unusual fibers.

Heh, if you wanna manage it, I'll collect corgi fluff for you... when I get to the fluff-collecting point again.

You a member of

knit_wits? [/toolazytolook]

I dunno if corgi fluff would do it. The lady I spoke to about spinning seemed to think that double-coated dog breeds were the best bet, because dog hair fibers are a lot shorter and harder to spin up than sheep or goat, so it's best to go with the long haired heavily insulated breeds to begin with. Makes the spinner's life easier and leaves you with a less breakage-prone yarn.

Not on

user, no.

knitting, yeah.

Erm... they ARE double-coated. Just like a German Shepherd's coat. Unless you meant collecting the hard coat AND the undercoat, which'd be pretty hard to separate during the collection process anyway.

You might like

knit_wits -- one of my multitalented Flisties started it, seems pretty busy/popular. :)

They are? I didn't know that. I was told that German Shepherds were about at the bottom end of the desirability spectrum for double coated breeds when it came to yarn, mostly because I asked a spinner about whether I should ask the local animal shelter or groomers for shed. Huh.

I'll have to give the community a look at some point, then.

Well, I doubt adding boxer hair to the mix would improve anything! *giggle* And the elderly mini schnauzer's just too, too greasy. Anything I'd collect would probably need sheep added anyway; kinda appropriate for a herding dog. Unless the spinner'd accept some of mine to blend in....

(Wonder how poodle does for yarn.)

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Dear brain,

Re: Too much <i>Due South</i> exposure, m'self.

Re: Too much <i>Due South</i> exposure, m'self.

Re: Too much <i>Due South</i> exposure, m'self.

Re: Too much <i>Due South</i> exposure, m'self.

Evil thought:

Re: Evil thought:

Re: Evil thought:

Re: Evil thought:

Re: Evil thought:

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Re: Evil thought: