SometimesSheKnits

Done!

2012-02-13T20:51:00.003-05:00

Week ?/52. I'm useless at this numbering system. Valentine's week!

Another project done for February is for Finishing. Cha-Ching!

Here's my Bird in Hand Mittens - yarn is Shelter, by Brooklyn Tweed in Fossil and Almanac. I used about 0.5 skeins of the white, and just a skosh over 1 skein of the blue. Arghh! Increases project cost by 50% - was not planning on buying 3 skeins of this yarn for mittens! But, I think I have plenty left over for a matching hat, so not a complete loss.

Pattern: Bird in Hand
Designer: Kate Gilbert
Yarn: Brooklyn Tween Shelter
Needles: US1

Try something new: crock pot chicken parmesan. You can find variations of this recipe all over the web, I won't repeat it. Verdict: BIG FAIL! Provided many giggles for my 2nd grader though as she watched me try to fit a large (frozen) oval chicken breast into a small round crockpot this morning. I went with frozen because there are 10 hours between leaving for work and sitting down to dinner, and I needed to add a couple hours on to the usual "6 - 7 hours on low" crockpot instructions. I breaded the breasts last night and froze them, stacked, (big mistake) in a container. Then this morning I could not separate them. And they were too big to fit flat on the bottom of my crockpot so I put them in propped up diagonally. The cheese I layered on the chicken all slid off and fell into the sauce. Oh the mirth!

It tasted okay though - just looked a disaster. One blogger claimed her dish was worthy of serving to company. If you are company at my house and I serve you this hot mess, well, you will know what I think of you.

Weight: Goal + 7.5 lbs. Endurance is up, upper body strength modestly improved. Pants a little loose today!

February is for finishing!

2012-02-08T20:40:00.002-05:00

Week 6/52

So, I held off posting this week until I could honestly say I finished something. My friend Jeanne (check her out at lifeincleveland.blogspot.com) came up with the great idea of using this short, sweet month to clear the dust of some of those WIPs and UFOs and get some stuff DONE! FINI! She's even having some contests to get you motivated - check it out!

My Argus shawlette is done - off the needles. Still needs to be blocked, so I'll wait on the photo until it's ready for its close-up. What else is on my list for February? Well, I guess I'll have to finish up those mittens after all. Then I'll fire up my sewing machine and finish the casserole tote I started, and bind that quilt I made before Audrey was even born. If I still have time, there's a cross-stitch Christmas stocking with my husband's name on it (really. But the sky still needs to be filled in, and there is some outlining detail that needs work.)

Kitty has a name - Luna. She is shaping up to be a very mellow cat. I've never seen a kitten sleep so much. I have a feeling she is going to need the "Less Active" cat food in another year or so.

Weight: up. Phooey. I didn't eat that much this weekend, but I think all the salt I ate on Super Bowl Sunday must have caused all of Lake Erie to cling to my waist.

Try something new: crock pot Buffalo chicken sandwiches. Awesome. Low fat (but high sodium, unfortunately). We used wing sauce from Anchor Bar. Yum - and we have leftovers in the freezer for more sandwiches this weekend!

Happy finishing!

Kitty!

2012-01-31T21:00:00.001-05:00

Week 5/52

I ought to have my head examined!

Got a kitty this weekend! Here she is -

She was born last July, and we got her through Love-A-Stray. Very shy – she loves to be petted, but so far will not approach us. We’ve had to extract her from under the TV cabinet to see her at all. Yet, once in my lap, she makes no effort to leave. And purrs like a motorboat! Her whole body vibrates when she purrs.

Not a complete surprise, we have been promising Audrey we would get a cat for a while now. I just expected we would spend more time looking before picking one. It’s hard though, because at any given time there may be only one or two cats that fit our criteria at the adoption center to look at. Do you pull the trigger, or wait another week? And of course Audrey fell deeply in love with EVERY cat she petted.

Now we have to cat-proof the house. Already one plant has been earmarked to be moved to my office at work. Zoey used to love to chew on it too, but when Zoey was alive, this plant was small enough to put on top of the bookcase. It’s over three feet tall now, and that is not an option anymore. What is it about plants with blade-shaped leaves and cats? I doubt it actually tastes like grass.

In knitting: done with Chart B of my Argus Shawl. Just one chart left – yay! I think I’ve pretty much abandoned the goal of finishing the thumbs on the mittens right away. I mean, it’s going to be in the mid-50’s today. I don’t think I am going to need warm mittens this winter. Next year, for sure.

In exercise/weight loss. Moved to Workout 2 of the 30-Day Shred. More ouchies. Some interesting new exercises I have not done before – plank jumping jacks? So you do jumping jacks with your legs while your body is in plank position and you try not to fall forward on your face while wondering if the neighbors can see that your shirt is slipping up around your shoulders through the curtains you forgot to close. Exercises legs, abs, arms, and mind! Weight: Goal + 8 lbs. Not budging. Love handles not disappearing either, but pants feel a smidge looser. Legs are feeling rock hard, between these exercises and the ice skating.

Successful recipe – not really a recipe, but a method. Nothing new and innovative either, just a first for me: tender pork chops. Thick cut pork chops (about 1”), sprinkled with dry rub (salt and spice only, no sugars). Preheat iron pan on front left burner, dial #7.5, spray with Grilling Pam. Sear both sides of chops, insert thermometer and put in 400F oven until reads 155F. Total time ~30 minutes. Yay me! Even Audrey ate her portion.

Vellamino!

2012-01-24T21:03:00.002-05:00

Week 4/52

Winter? Well, we’ve had plenty of snow. And rain (which melted the snow). And wind (which removed a 4 ft. section of gutter from our house). Crazy weather! It just hasn’t gotten cold enough to motivate me to put the thumbs on the Bird in Hand mittens I started last year. They are thick and dense and probably wind-proof as well, but they are going to be crazy warm and best suited for going to the sledding hill. Which is just a rain-soaked, mud-covered grassy hill at this point.

Finally got my Winter 2011 issue of Interweave Knits! They said they mailed it November 21^st. After a month, when everybody else on Rav said they had gotten theirs, I emailed and asked them to send it again. Another 20 business days go by, it comes in a manila envelope. Yay! Then a couple days later, the original shows up. WTF? Really post office? 2 months? According to the Interweave site, they are mailing the Spring 2012 issue today. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Work in Progress: the Argus Shawl, in alpaca laceweight. DH gave me this yarn for our 13^th anniversary (traditional gift: lace – I asked for the DIY kit!). It’s lovely, but quite slippery. Still, I’m on chart C and getting about 3-4 rows done every night.

Work finished: Vellamo socks.

Pattern: Vellamo

Designer: Taina Anttila

Yarn: Cascade Heritage sock yarn

Needles: US 1

Modifications: I wish I'd gone up a needle size in the colorwork areas. Also, made the stripes 5 R MC/3 R CC due to having much more of the brown available than the red.

Trying something new: Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred program. I’m on Workout 1, easy modifications. Oh my aching muscles! Holy crap this is tough. My goal is to finish all 30 days in under 5 weeks – so far I have only missed 2 days – day 2 because I couldn’t flipping move my arms and legs when I woke up, and Sunday because I was too darned busy with other things. I’ll probably miss Tuesday too because I’ve got a skating lesson, but I’m not sure if I should count that. It is still a good workout (thighs, calves) although not quite as cardio as it could be.

Weight: goal + 8 lbs. Was briefly goal + 7 lbs, but splurged too much over the weekend.

Finally Winter!

2012-01-15T21:04:00.002-05:00

Week 3/52

Can't believe it's the third week of January and I'm finally saying that, but we have snow! Enough to bring our plow guy out here three times since Friday! And the drifts on the deck are probably knee deep, so I guess that counts. Of course, tomorrow is supposed to be 45F; it will all melt. Then snow again on Wednesday. Of course.

Weight: Goal + 8 lbs. As of this morning. After the slab of chocolate cake my Mom bought after dinner, probably not so much any more.

Knitting: finished a couple of projects! Photography lagging behind (surprised?) but this week - I bring you Vitamin D!

Pattern: Vitamin D
Designer: Heidi Kirmaier
Yarn: Briar Rose Fibers Polwarth, handspun

This sweater has been a long time coming. I won a "stage" of the 2010 Tour de Fleece, and chose a shop credit at Briar Rose Fibers as my prize. I added some extra and ended up with 9.5 oz. of beautiful dyed Polwarth fiber, which I spun up on my Golding spindle to 1310 yds. of laceweight/light fingering 2-ply. That took about 6 months, then I set it aside until last Fall. Started knitting last October, and finally seamed it up just after New Years. Phew!

Will I spindle-spin an entire sweater again? I don't know. But it was a major accomplishment and I'm glad to have tackled it once.

Cooking: nothing too fancy this week - it was a busy week with two skating lessons, a swimming lesson and a Brownie meeting. Made a nice Asian vegetable/tofu stir fry with noodles instead of rice, and an awesome pot roast with mushrooms and balsamic vinegar on Saturday once my folks got here.

2012-01-08T20:12:00.002-05:00

Week 2/52: January 8th

Weight: Goal + 8.5 lbs
Knitting: the Vitamin D sweater is done and blocking! One Vellamo sock is done, the other is up to the gusset.

Cooking: the Moroccan Lentil Soup last week - delicious! I'll make that ohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifne again, for sure.

Something new: back crossovers. I'm taking ice skating lessons. I've been skating since ...I don't know... kindergarten? I remember my Dad taking me to a frozen pond on double runner skates. After that we went as a family to the RIT rink, later they would drop me off with my friends on a weekend afternoon. But I never had lessons. Over the years, I've taught myself how to skate forwards and backwards, front crossovers and to turn around while moving. I want to learn more though, and also how to do things "properly". This session, the Rocky River rec center is offering adult lessons, so there I am!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T17:09:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year! Well, another year over, another year begun.

Goals for 2012: blog more often. Try more new things. Plan ahead to avoid last minute scrambles. Lose 10 pounds. Eat more vegetables.

Week 1/52: January 1.
Weight: Goal + 10 pounds
Projects in progress: Bird in Hand mittens (just need thumbs).
Vitamin D sweater (just needs sleeve seams).
Argus Shawlette
about half done.
Vellamo socks about half done.

Something new I'm trying this week: Moroccan Lentil Soup. Recipe scaled for 6 servings makes six ~8 oz containers + one 1 pint container. Per recommendation of co-worker: make a healthy soup at the beginning of the week. When you get home from work, have a bowl of soup to prevent you from inhaling a box of Triscuits as you make dinner. The experiment starts tonight.

Knitting progress this week so far: a sleeve seam on Vitamin D! Only one more to go, then I can block it. I hope the drape is good on this sweater - my handspun seems pretty bouncy, less drapey. Also, I hope the yarn is sturdy enough to hold up to wear. It came out sort of underspun, and being thin, I can easily snap a single strand with my hands. Does not bode well for durability.

Household organization/improvement: sorted natural fibers out of stash, started new box for cottons/hemps/linens. Ugh! Too much yarn. It is getting away from me.

Inferi

2011-06-04T19:50:00.003-05:00

I have to admit, this was my first thought as I glanced down into the watering can and saw a half-dozen Polly Pockets dolls, some floating with their heads above water, some suspended halfway deep in the water. And for a second, I felt a twinge of fear as I reached my hand into the water to remove them before watering the new perennials.

I'm not sure which part of the Polly Pockets Sports Resort the watering can represented. I'll have to quiz the kidlet tomorrow. Considering she's not old enough yet to have read or seen any of the Harry Potter stories, I'm a little curious.

Last week I went to the Great Lakes Fiber Festival with (most of) the Cleveland Knits West knitting group. We carpooled down to Wooster, OH in a few cars, meeting up at Calla Lily in downtown Wooster before heading over to the fairgrounds. Really nice store! I got a few balls of sock yarn and enough cotton yarn to make a summer sweater for Audrey.

Next popped over to the Hungarian Bakery around the corner (Tulipan Hungarian Pastry, no web page). ZOMG YUMMY! I had a piece of the apricot tea cake. Good thing for my wasteline Wooster is a good 75 minute drive.

Of course, the real reason for this trip - fiber!!!

I was pretty well restrained - only bought 8 ounces of white roving, 1/2 of mawata (silk hankies), 4 oz of polwarth from Briar Rose, and a bunch of goodies for Audrey (finger puppets and a kid-sized mug for hot cocoa.

A few of my recent fiber purchases to drool on... (not all from last weekend!)

From left to right, top to bottom:
1. Butterfly Girl Designs art batt
2. Silk Hankies
3. Briar Rose polwarth
4. Briar Rose polwarth
5. Butterfly Girl Designs art batt
6. merino
7. (4), after spinning.
8. Butterfly Girl Designs art batt
9. (8), after spinning

Happy fiber dreams!

Well, time to paint the house!

2011-05-25T19:15:00.003-05:00

Stop the rain! And the hail!!!! The storm that pulled through here tonight was actually strong enough that we decided to watch it from the basement TV. TV was showing viewer emails of golf-ball, tennis-ball sized hail, and some guy from my suburb called in with pea-sized hail. They mocked him gently. Afterwards, we oggled at the piles of hail (just pea-sized) on the deck and in front of the living room window.

So the wind and the rain die down, and I go upstairs to run DD's bath. I happened to look out my window, and noticed that my driveway apron was missing the mailbox was standing in water. In fact - our whole tree lawn and sidewalk were covered with water! Our whole corner of the neighborhood was flooding. Looked out the back towards the drainage area - filling up, but not full. Why isn't the street draining? Ice in the drains of course!

Saw an a$$hole neighbor in a red luxury car drive DOWN THE SIDEWALK. Really? You couldn't just leave by the other street that leads out of the neighborhood? That extra 30 seconds really going to cramp your style?

Once the rain let up enough to go wandering around with an umbrella - the damage is surveyed. The hosta beds look like tossed salad. The vegetable plants I just put in ON SUNDAY also look like tossed salad. I was hoping they would be tossed salad later this summer, not tonight. So glad I didn't get around to planting the tomato plants outside yet.

And this year is definitely the year to repaint the shingles on the house. The good news? We should get a discount on the prep work. The painters won't have to spend as much time scraping off the old paint. Much of it is gone already. Good thing we only have wood on one side of the house (the rest is Aluminum siding - came through just fine).

So, knitting. I'm chugging through Henley Perfected (Connie Chang Chinchio). I think it's going to be great when it's done, but shaping the armholes in the lace section is kicking my tushie. It's not charted out in the pattern, you are supposed to kind of figure it out yourself. I'd say this is one of the hardest patterns I've done in a very long time. I have ripped out many rows!

My other project on the needles is the Roxanne Mystery Shawl. It won't be on the needles long - it's headed for the frog pond.

No photos - sorry, too lazy to find the camera!
Hope your night is less exciting than mine!

Unmotivated

2011-03-16T20:37:00.003-05:00

My knitting is going nowhere. I can feel spring coming, and I just can't get enthusiastic about wrenching my hands on worsted weight on US1 colorwork mittens.

And I've got 10 bobbins of laceweight singles spun that need to be plied. Hard to get enthusiastic about that either.

Such as change from last year. 26 projects completed in 2010! I was cranking. This year so far, I finished a pair of socks, and a turtle. See?

Pattern: Wrought Iron Socks

Designer: Wendy Johnson
Yarn: Bamboo and Ewe, purple
Needles: US0
modifications: none

Pattern: Sheldon
Designer: Ruth Hormighaus
Yarn: Knit Picks Shine Sport
Needles: as in pattern
modifications: crocheted shell pieces together instead of applied i-cord

I'm planning on joining a shawl KAL in mid April, but no idea what to do before then. Suggestions?

Edited Thursday - I have no idea why one picture is coming up as a picture and the other as a link. Will work on this later tonight. Wierd.

The Hat Came Back

2011-02-13T17:16:00.002-05:00

Everybody sing now!

The Hat came back,
we thought he was a goner
Oh, the hat came back, the very next day*
The hat came back, we thought he was a goner
He just couldn't stay away, away, away, away, awayyyyy.

* in some space time continuum where 1 day = about 6 weeks.

Scared the bejeepers out of Mike at Giant Eagle today. I was signing Audrey into the Eagle's Nest and I screamed "Oh!!! The hat!" and pointed at a box underneath the kids coat rack. For there was Audrey's hat. That I have turned the house upside down for, looked in (almost) every lost and found box in Westlake, and nearly given up for good. And I was sad about losing the hat. It's this one - double knit, with snowflakes.

It, and the matching scarf, are the first and last double-knit project I've ever made. I was planning on replacing it next winter anyways, because it won't match her new coat (bought on sale at Christmas in the next size up). But it's one of those knit projects that is actually in really good shape and worth saving for the grandchildren. At least I think so.

And in recent knitting news - a big kudos to Loop, for mailing me a single skein of Shelter on Thursday, and the USPS, for getting me Priority Mail from Philly to Cleveland in the very next day. I bought two skeins of Shelter in November for a pair of Bird in Hand mittens. The pattern calls for 200 yds each of the background and pattern color; Shelter comes at 140 yds/skein. I optimistically thought 140 yds of each color would be enough for a pair of mittens. I was wrong. At only line 67/96 on mitten 1, I am halfway done with the background skein of yarn. So, unless I wanted one blue/white and one white/blue mitten, I need another skein of blue. Different dye lots, but looks close enough that I don't think I'll need to alternate rows.

Of course, today the temps were in the mid 40's, and I don't think I'm going to need windproof wool mittens by the time I finish these, but I swear it was down below 10F when I cast on!

Happy Valentines' Day all - I'm off to roll around in chocolate. Audrey got me a bag of Ghiardelli squares, and Mike got chocolate covered grapes and a box of filled chocolates at Malley's. I got Mike a box of truffles from Lilly's in Tremont. I actually got there, and home again, in the same day, and without calling for help! It should have been a 10 minute detour on my way home from work. Ideally, hop off 1-90, go around the block, buy the chocolates and hop back on the highway. In reality, I misread the map, misread their directions, drove back and forth across the Flats on that bridge with the really cool carved statues on the ends, turned around by the stadium, back over the Flats on I-90, back off again, took a bumpy tour of most of Tremont, got the chocolates, and ended up going back to Westlake via I-71 S to I-480 W, and back up through N. Olmsted. Total travel time 1:15.

Mike suggested I get a GPS. But then I wouldn't get to see new parts of the city - what's the fun in that? I do take his GPS when I'm driving somewhere completely new. Like Detroit last month. I don't want to drive around Detroit (or any other big city) lost. But on the west side of Cleveland, you are eventually going to run into a highway, Detroit or Lorain roads, or Lake Erie and you can feel your way home from there. Also helps that in the city itself, they use numbered roads, numbers increasing as you move away from downtown. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Later!

It was a productive day

2011-01-15T21:29:00.002-05:00

that's about the best I can say about it.
Today I: bought a new battery for my car. It would not start yesterday morning.

Went to the tailor with Mike to drop off some clothes.

Took Audrey to a skating lesson.

Cleaned the other half of the house (the half I did not finish last night).

Took my car to the shop for an oil change and to have the charging system checked (to make sure the dead battery was a result of an old battery, and not a sign of alternator failure). Watched my car go up on the lift, down to the ground, up on the lift, down to the ground. Back out of the garage, back into the garage, up on the lift, back down to the ground. Two hours later they were done. They had accidentally drained my transmission fluid, so they re-filled it. Then realized they had not refilled it "right" (wrong liquid? wrong grade of liquid? They were not clear about what was "wrong".) So they drained it again and refilled it again.

All the while, Mike and Audrey were at Macaroni Grill, where I was supposed to meet them for dinner. Audrey ate, and Mike finally ordered our meals to go, and we met back at the house.

The bright spot of the day was lunch - we went to Zog Dogs for lunch. We've never been there before, because Audrey does not usually want to eat hot dogs, but for some reason today, she was willing. The lady behind the counter asked if it was our first visit, stuck her hand across the counter and introduced herself as B. Zog - the owner. Told us about the hot dogs (Sahlen's, from Buffalo). I asked if she was from Buffalo (she was) and told her I was from Rochester. She reckoned I like Zweigle's dogs (I do) and asked if I like the white hots (also yes).

It always amazes me how many people from Upstate New York I meet all over the country. It's like wherever you go, there's someone there from Rochester or Buffalo, and you swap favorite brands of hot dogs, debate who has the best wings, or commiserate about the Bills.

For the record - Zweigle's, Country Sweet, and hey - what other team has gone to the Super Bowl four years in a row?

The worst thing about Christmas knitting...

2010-12-22T16:45:00.003-05:00

I always wrap it up before I remember to photograph it. Phooey. I'll have to wait until Saturday to snap a picture of the Purl Ridge Scarf I made for my sister.

Well, here at the ranch we're all ready for Christmas. I think. I realized two days ago we still needed another gift for my Mom, but I took care of that this afternoon. And I'd like to get Audrey some extra hair for her Liv doll, but for some reason, wigs for Liv dolls are not in stock these days. Which makes no sense. I can understand a main toy being perpetually out of stock, like the great hamster hunt of 2009 (Zhu-zhu pets, for those without kids), but the accessories? Really? Oh well.

I've been knitting frantically - my new niece was born yesterday afternoon! The blanket was finished a good week ahead of time and mailed in time to arrive a couple days before the baby.
It's my own design, the Knitted Starghan, modified to be mostly stockinette, with a few contrast bands in garter stitch.

Pattern: Knitted Starghan
Designer: Me!
Yarn: Plymouth Dreambaby DK, in white and pastel
Needles: US6
Time to Complete: about 3 weeks

Christmas Cards - Love 'em? Hate 'em?

They both fill my heart with gladness and simultaneously give me panic attacks.
Ever since Audrey was born, I've felt an obligation to send out photo holiday cards to a wagon-load of people I barely know (hubby's relatives) and only talk to at weddings and funerals. I'm up to about 40 cards per year, that need to be signed, dated, stamped, and a little letter written on the back. (If you live in the 440, 216, or 330 area codes and did not get a card from me, do not be offended. I send almost no cards locally.)

A few years ago, I noticed that other people were not sending a note on their cards, only signing them. And then the signers morphed into having their names just printed onto the card. Just stuff it into an envelope and go! So I started doing the same, especially for the people I don't talk to from one year to the next. And I get increasingly annoyed at the whole process.

But there's a new movement out there - the hand crafted card. Two of our more artistically inclined friends have sent ornament cards! With die-cut photos of their kids. OMG this raises holiday cards to another level. Can I cut out the relatives entirely, so as to have more time to craft cards to my friends? Is the 4 x 8" photo card becoming entirely passe? Do I really need to buy a Cricut machine? Ack!!!! The pressure!

But, the tree is trimmed, the stockings hung, the cookies baked. And I think we're ready for Christmas (this year).

Happy Holidays and a Merry New Year everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-23T21:30:00.002-05:00

It is now a mere two days before the annual American holiday in which we eat too much, then watch football. This could actually be any number of calendar days, such as New Year's Day, the Super Bowl, or the Michigan-Ohio State game, but this week, it's Thanksgiving. The Michigan-Ohio State game is on Saturday - that's 4 days from now.

We're spending the day with my in-laws. Just a small gathering - four adults and one child. Should be pleasant! I'm bringing stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer.

Knitting wise - I'm trying to finish up a baby blanket before my sister-in-law finishes up the baby! Baby D. isn't technically due until the end of December, but is likely to arrive at least a couple of weeks early. I'm using my Knitted Starghan pattern again, but modifying it to be mostly stockinette, with a few thin bands of garter done in a speckled print yarn.

I got a late start on the blanket because I was making Audrey a cardigan for the winter. She asked for a zip-front hoodie this year - look what I found on Ravelry!

Pattern: That Weasley Girl

Designer: Jacquelyn Landry
Yarn: Berroco Vintage
Needles: US 7

Such a cute pattern! It's based on the sweater Ginny Weasley was wearing during the World Quidditch Finals in Order of the Phoenix. And get this -as I cast on the sweater, there was a HP movie on TV! Okay, on our cable provider, there is always a HP movie on some station, but it makes a good story, right?

I've got a pair of Wendy Johnson's Wrought Iron Socks on the needles, started just before a business trip - good airplane knitting.

And my best fall project - plain stockinette socks!

I call them Shades of Fall. Handspun yarn! It's dyed Corriedale from Sheepish Creations (I can't remember the colorway, I bought it last year.) It's a three ply, sportweight.

Assuming I finish the blanket and the socks before New Year's Eve - I'm at 24 projects for the year. Phew. I'm tired.

Hats!

2010-10-05T19:43:00.002-05:00

So, July was the Tour de Fleece. August was the Tour de Hats (should that be Tour de Chapeau?) Or Tour de Stash. Better yet, Tour de Hats von Stash! (Notice how I so smoothly blend at least three languages in that last sentence? That edumacation thing is paying off big time for me, I tell you what.)

Hats completed: 5
Stash depleted: 6 skeins

In no particular order - my summer vacation, part two.

Quincy, Jared Flood
Made in Brooklyn
Yarn: Auracania Nature Wool, held double

Brattleboro Hat, Melissa LaBarre
Interweave Knits Fall 2010
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed

Butterfly Hat, Sofiya Cremin
Ravelry
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool

Blackberry Surprise by Thea Colman
Ravelry
Yarn: Auracania Nature Wool, held double

Laurel by Jared Flood
Made in Brooklyn
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca

I also made a cotton cover for my Swiffer wet jet, but that really isn't photo-worthy.

Winding down

2010-08-23T19:42:00.002-05:00

It's nearly over. Summer, that is. Although Labor Day isn't for another two weeks, school starts around here on Wednesday this week. For kids, its the end of summer days.

As if to facilitate the transition, the nights are getting cooler, the Fall rains are slowly creeping in, and I saw a few leaves on the sidewalk on my run yesterday.

All this makes me feel like I need to get back to work myself - starting with the "what I did on my summer vacation" blog post! Cause you all missed me, right? Right? (Cups hand to ear, listens to chirping cricket noises).

Not that I've uploaded any of my August photos yet, so let's start with July, shall we?

July for me is the Tour de Fleece - an internation spinning event coinciding with the Tour de France. They spin their pedals, we spin our fiber! Two days off between July 3 and July 25, just like the riders. Goals are personal though, we don't all have to spin 4 miles of laceweight or anything! My goal - learn to spin low-twist singles, spin entirely from stash, and use up at least 8 oz of fiber.

Heading out to Vermont for a combination camping/hotel/Smores/stuffing face on amazing restaurant food in Burlington week, I brought along this stunning Wensleydale/Teeswater blend dyed by Fleece Artist. I bought this in Toronto in 2007, I think? A truly longwool, the staple was in the 6 - 10 inch range. Despite the very long staple, it was very slippery, and it was quite a challenge to keep the spindle from falling to the ground. In the end though, 393 yds of singles were mine! I washed it quite vigorously to slightly felt the fibers together and give it a little internal structure.

Before leaving Vermont, I made Mike take a little detour to a LYS outside of Burlington (okay, I was driving, but without his GPS, I'd likely not have found it myself). NorthEast Fiber Arts - if you are in the area, you MUST go here! Probably the most spinning fiber (and largest variety) I've seen in one place, not counting festivals. Knitting yarns abounded, floor to ceiling. So much for stash busting, here's the fiber portion of my visit:

Top photo is Frabjous Fibers Merino in the Stained Glass colorway, bottom is Frabjous Fibers BFL in Redwood Forest.

Returning home, I picked out another 4 oz braid from stash - Pagewood Farm Hand-dyed BFL in colorway Harvest, purchased around Easter on our trip to Phoenix. DH drove SIL and I out to Tempe Yarn and Fiber. Another side-trip worthy destination - I also bought an ounce of baby camel down here.

I spun up the first ounce as a low-twist single, then (wisely) decided to stop here and finish it. I'm very glad I did, the resulting yarn was just too fuzzy and indistinct for my taste. The fiber was so soft and glowing, I really wanted a smooth smooshy yarn for my efforts. The remaining three ounces I spun "normal" twist, then made a true 3-ply, for a total of 150 yds (161 of the low twist stuff). Here's the 3-ply, I don't have a good photo of the singles.

But wait, there's more! I can't spin in the car, and round trip from Ohio to Vermont is about 22 hours (we stopped overnight(s) at my parents in Rochester both directions). Socks!

These are the Twinkleberry socks from Beth LaPensee. I worked them toe-up, but otherwise, no mods. The yarn is Collinette Jitterbug in Elephant's Daydream.

Tired yet? I am. I'll buckle down and work up those August photos soon so you can see all my August stash busting!

Unexpected day off

2010-06-18T12:38:00.002-05:00

You know what I hate about unexpected days off? You don't know you are having one until that morning when your kid says they aren't feeling well, and the thermometer confirms that they aren't making it up.

Because if I knew I was going to be home all day on a day when it's too darn hot to go outside anyways, I would have booked a couple of home-improvement type people to come over and take care of the non-critical tasks around the house that I hate to use my vacation days on. Like getting the tile floors' grout cleaned, stained and sealed for instance. Been meaning to do it for a while, but someone's got to be home when they are here. And today I am home. But they are not available last minute.

On the plus side, I cleaned the whole house, so that weekend chore is done, and I got some nice daylight for taking pictures of a few FO's without the flash. I may even crack open a few cookbooks and plan some menus for the next couple of weeks!

Between knitting group last night and this morning, I've really made some progress on the summer tank top I'm knitting for Audrey. I'm just about ready to divide for the armholes.

I'm using the leftover's of KnitPicks Shine Sport in Hydrangea I bought for a baby blanket at the end of 2008.

My handspun shawl is done too - I'm very happy with the way it turned out!

Pattern: Faraway, So Close
Designer: Carina Spencer
Yarn: handspun, from Chameleon Colorworks Optim in Midnight
Needles: US 5

And, I'm caught up on my blogging!

Black sheep, black sheep

2010-06-15T19:51:00.002-05:00

Have you any wool?

Yes, Sir. Yes, Sir.

Three bags full!

The Grrlfriend Market Bag by Laura Spradlin, with modifications by FrozenFlame22, knitted up in triplicate for my daughter's three wonderful kindergarten teachers (One teacher, two assistants). Can you believe she's done with kindergarten? I can't!

They are a quick and easy knit - about 4 evenings per, and take 2.5 skeins of regular size Lily Sugar and Cream, or just under 2 skeins of the Super Size skeins. Cute colors and so easy!

Just finished up a shawl with my Optim handspun - haven't figured out how to photograph a dark multi-colored lace shawl. What color background and lighting would be best? Any ideas?

And now a bit of stash-busting - a breezy summer tank for Audrey with the KnitPicks Shine Sport in Hydrangea left over from the 2008 baby blanket for Nancy's daughter. After that - some fiber stash-busting during the Tour de Fleece, and some sock stash busting over vacation (are we sensing a theme here?). I could theoretically knit to the end of the year from only stash and yarn spun from stash, but I'd be mostly limited to socks and lace. I don't think I'll do it, but I would like to make a good dent before I fall in love with any sweater patterns for the winter (which would require new yarn - I don't have any sweater quantities of anything good in stash. For me at least. Audrey's going to be wearing a lot of vests this fall. Yeah, I wish.)

So now, back to Star Trek and the tank top! I'd like to finish it up before the Tour.

Turnip

2010-05-04T20:43:00.002-05:00

Turnip Turnip Turnip. Keep saying it - it really starts to sound funny.

Here's my new spindle! It's a Turnip spindle by Ann Grout. I got if from Steam Valley Farm. The fiber is a wool/mohair blend from Steam Valley in Tide Pool. Very soft and subtle shades of blue and green.

I finished up the Optima by Chameleon Colorworks. Optima is a mechanically stretched merino fiber that has almost no crimp left in it - it feels like cashmere, and the staple is much longer than unstretched merino, so it drafts like a much longer stapled fiber. Very limp and drapy, it is destined to become a shawl. I got 540+ yds out of 4 ounces, it's a light fingering weight yarn.

The mystery romney fiber from Sheepish Creations is done too - 234 yds (light worsted) from 3 3/8 ounces. It came in a 4 oz. braid, but I used 1/2 ounce for experimenting. While initially I was really fighting with this fiber to get it to draft smoothly, by the end things were moving much more smoothly.

Just taking a little spring break this week from knitting and enjoying the nice weather! Soon I'll have to start working on teachers' gifts for June - I can't believe my little girl is finishing kindergarten! Last weekend she passed the swimming test to use the diving board at the rec center. She swam one length of the lap pool unassisted. I'm so proud of her - amazed too - since she was really struggling to cover half that distance just last week. The key was telling her to swim slower in order to go faster. She was wasting so much energy with her arms going like windmills and feet making big splashes and just not going anywhere. When she slowed her strokes down, her arms had enough contact with the water to really pull through it.

News of the weird.
My alarm clock went off 34 minutes late today. Why???

Spring has sprung

2010-04-27T11:34:00.003-05:00

OK. Stop. Breathe.
Probably going to jinx myself by saying this – but I’ve got nothing scheduled this week. No trips. No vacations. No off-site day-long meetings. Just a swimming lesson on Thursday night for Audrey (last one for the spring – yay!).

The baby blanket is done. The half-finished vest has been returned to the depths of the knitting bag where it will wait until the weather hints at turning cool again. I’ve got almost 6 weeks before my daughter’s graduation from Kindergarten (teacher gifts needed). Ahhhh. Just sit back and relax.

Baby blanket? Vest? Has it been that long since I posted last? Well, yes. I started the Honeycomb Vest in March, thinking it would be a quick knit and a nice office piece for those days when it isn’t quite warm enough for short sleeves, but a little too warm for long sleeves. NOT a quick knit. I love the fabric and the yarn (Elizabeth Lavold Silky Wool), but honeycomb is not a fast stitch pattern. I’m done with the back, and the front up to the armholes. It can wait until Fall I think.

And just 4 weeks ago, my friend B. called me with great news. She and her husband were chosen by a birth mother to adopt her baby! She found out only about a week before the birth date – good thing they had the nursery all set up already. I made up a Serenity blanket in Green Apple (KnitPicks Shine Sport) for her – it’s blocking now. I can’t wait to meet baby M.!

I’m thinking it will be mostly a shawls and socks summer, nothing too elaborate. And spinning. I’ve been making good progress on last year’s fiber purchases, and I’ll miss this year’s Great Lakes Fiber Show, so no new purchases for a little while. The Optima fiber from Christmas is almost done – only about ¼ oz. to spin tonight – I might be able to ply it too. About an ounce of the Romney to go (not loving this fiber, but the colors are great). I bought more BFL in Phoenix over Easter, and an ounce of camel down. That, combined with the bags of angora Cathy gifted me this winter, convinced me that it might be a good time to get a support spindle. Maybe that will also do the trick on that soft white slippery wool that’s been defying my attempts to spin it on a top-whorl? I ordered an Ann Grout ceramic turnip spindle. (Just love the name, don’t you?) I hope it arrives soon!

February goes out like a lion

2010-02-27T20:52:00.002-05:00

...and it looks like March will be coming in like a lion as well. More snow! Lots and lots of it. Good for the guy who plows our driveway, not so good for my desire to see something green around here (the stuff growing in the abandoned yoghurt container doesn't count).

It's been a busy month here around Casa Castro, what with the Olympics and all. Hard to believe it's been a month since I posted last. Busy month - three projects completed! Six if you count the presentation and two publications I finished at work.

First up, finished in time for the Super Bowl - the Scoop Sweater.

Pattern: Scoop Pullover
Designer: Cathy Carron
Yarn: Reynolds Rapture
Needles: US 9
Began: 1/15/2010, Finished: 1/29/2010 (knitting) and 2/6/2010 (weaving in ends)

I LOVE this yarn, I wish it wasn't discontinued! It just glows.

Next, a quick cardigan for Audrey. I had a deadline for this one - I had stranded socks planned for the Ravelympics and wanted this off the needles before the opening ceremonies. Audrey picked out the pattern, she saw it in the Winter Patternworks catalog. A pretty basic cardigan with striped sleeves and flowers embroidered on the front. The flowerpot is a pocket of course...

Pattern: A pocket full of posies
Designer: unknown, I unvented it based on the photo
Yarn: Plymouth Encore
Needles: US 8
Began: 1/31/2010, Finished:2/11/2010

And finally - my Olympic challenge: colorwork. After my Northern Lights mitten fail, I've tried a couple of minor stranded pieces in worsted and bulky weight yarn, and they've come out fine. I still want to tackle fingering weight though, in hopes of someday making a fantastic Fair Isle sweater. So, socks. I know I can finish a pair of socks in two weeks. The challenge will be to make two socks (of the same size) in stranding technique.

There's a few minor errors in there, and some pretty serious laddering going on along the foot, so shall we say Bronze?

Designer: color pattern is Alice Starmore's Alba
Pattern: mine, combining the Alba pattern with the construction from Seriously Southwestern Socks.
Yarn: Plymouth Happy Feet (variegated) and ShibuiKnits Sock (black)
Needles: US 1 and US 2
Began: 2/12/2010, Finished 2/24/2010.

Phew! What a month. Next up is a little spinning I think. Then a vest for March.

5% less = 6.7% more!

2010-01-27T20:50:00.002-05:00

Woo hoo! I won my company's weight loss challenge! The challenge: from November 3rd to January 26th, any employee who lost at least 5% of their body weight gets an extra paid vacation day in 2010. I did it! I also won the prize in my building for most % weight lost overall - a gift card to the grocery store. Kind of funny when you think about it, but appreciated nonetheless.

My Scoop Pullover is almost done - I've got one skein of yarn left. I'm going to move away from the body (which is borderline as long as I want it), start on the sleeves and make sure I get those matching, and whatever is left will go back down to the waistline. I tried it on with lifelines in place - hot!

I'm going to try to cram in a cardigan for Audrey before the Olympics (and Ravelympics) starts - I'm adapting Starmore's Alba pattern to a pair of socks. Yarn is ordered and on the way!

Tonight I'm re-cutting the pieces for the GD Double Pieced Tulips quilt. I WILL finish this quilt someday. And if I ever meet the designer/pattern tech editor, well, I won't be held responsible for my actions. They have it coming.

Warm surprises on a winter weekend

2010-01-19T15:14:00.003-05:00

The weekend before last was full of surprises! First, I was surprised to find a box on my doorstep – I had not ordered anything, nor had DH. Return address – Virginia. I looked inside and found this!:

No note, but I suspected Clarsah (and confirmed by email) – my upstream SP from the last KnittySP round – from the initials on the box and the return address. How nice is that?! Two balls of Debbie Bliss Aran Tweed in warm cozy red – just the thing to warm up this bitter Ohio weather we’ve been having. And they were packed in this adorable bag – it looks tiny, but had two outside pockets, two inside pockets and a key loop. Plus the strap is adjustable from shoulder bag to across-the-chest length. I think it will be perfect for those get-out-your-money-frequently trips to the farmers market or (cough) fiber festival (cough cough).

And Friday night – a TV star stopped by our dinner table! And not just a TV star – an Iron Chef! We went to Bar Symon for dinner (Michael Symon’s new casual restaurant in Avon Lake) with Audrey and he was there eating and making the rounds. He asked Audrey how she liked her grilled cheese – thank goodness she said “good”! She really didn’t comprehend who he was – her TV viewing habits are limited to PBS and the occasional Nickolodeon show with a babysitter. We told her he was the guy who wrote the new cookbook Daddy got for Christmas – that seemed to ring a bit of a bell. But, she was clearly underwhelmed. DH and I were completely geeked out though! I mean, sure, lots of restaurants send the owner/chef/manager around to ask how the food is, but how many of them are IRON CHEFS? Too cool. I watch way too much Food TV. I think I saw Guy Fieri in the Chicago airport once too.

Anyhow, if you are near the west side of Cleveland, go there to eat! We’ve been three times now and everything has been awesome, from the beer list (extensive) to the side dishes (mmm, bacon. Remember I said everything is better with bacon? He uses it in many dishes). Favorite main courses (so far) are the mussels, the grown-up mac-and-cheese (rosemary, chicken, and goat cheese) and the fried chicken. Which is like, half a chicken. So you get it for lunch the next day too. It’s kid-friendly – no printed kids menu, but the wait staff can recite the 4 kids items they make (hot dog, grilled cheese, mac-n-cheese, and chicken strips). Bring crayons and your own paper to color on.

And in knitting, I finished the Sparkling Elves socks:

Shiny. Not something I usually say about socks, but well, if the shoe (or sock) fits…

New project: the Scoop Pullover by Cathy Carron. I’m using the Reynolds Rapture I got on clearance last summer. I made a little mod to the set up round for the sleeves so the sleeves would be symmetrical (can’t find an errata for this – is it really supposed to be asymmetrical?). Instead of *p2,k2* all the way across the shoulders and back, I did k1,*p2,k2* p2, k1. I’m making the smallest size, with an extra 4 stitches in the back. Should work out to around 2” negative ease – the next size up would have had 3 inches

Past and Present and the bridge between

2010-01-08T20:18:00.002-05:00

And so we begin a new year - 2010. I suppose I should say something deep and meaningful about turning 40, or my daughter starting kindergarten, or the state of the world.

Nah.

After the crazy knitting race that was DH's hat, I exhaled, and started the second Wanida sock. Started after Christmas (like the 26th, I think) and finished easily before the Ball dropped on Time's Square. I wore them yesterday actually - very comfortable! I like the yarn (Plymouth Happy Feet) a lot. I'll find out how it washes this weekend.

The Past - the last complete project of 2009:

Pattern: Wanida
Designer: Cookie A.
Source: Sock Innovations
Yarn: Plymouth Happy Feet
Needles: US1

Pattern notes and mods: none. Her patterns are so well written, I have no need to tinker.

The Present: the first project started in 2010:

Pattern: Circle Socks
Designer: Anne Campbell
Yarn: Wisdome Yarns Marathon Socks, North Pole in Elf
Needles: US2
Pattern notes and mods: cute pattern for striped yarns - the slip stitches hide a world of self striping funk. I also made these toe up (Judy's magic cast on, short row heel).

The Bridge between:

Pattern: Aurora Borealis Mitts
Designer: me

Yarn: NY Yarns Gypsy (#1) and Lamb's Pride Bulky (onyx)
Needles: US8

Inspiration: the Northern Lights as viewed from the Hill of Three Oaks and my wish for truly warm cozy mittens. I've been oogling beautiful stranded mittens on Ravelry, but I couldn't help thinking - I don't care how many stitches per inch you knit - fingering weight mittens just aren't going to cut it when sledding with my daughter in 20F weather. And like a flash I knew what I was going to do with the two skeins of Gypsy in my stash.
I had to use both skeins and do a little color sequence editing to get the colors to come out like they did, but I love them. And yeah, they're warm.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-28T13:34:00.005-05:00

Three steps to an easy handmade stocking that is sure to become a family heirloom

1) Purchase felt appliqué Christmas stocking kit at your local craft store. I am partial to snowmen. Be sure to check package for extra materials needed (tissue paper for tracing and quilt batting/stuffing).

2) Assemble kit as per instructions*

3) Hang on fireplace mantel. That's it! See how easy it is?

Here’s the stocking I made for Audrey this year!

My parents and sister came to Cleveland this year for Christmas. We had a fresh cut tree (Wilcox Farms in Lagrange, OH – I recommend it for a great “cut your own” experience), way too much food, and enough presents to open our own toy store.

Best new recipe (for me. I guess it's been hot in the food-blog world since 2006): No-knead, Dutch Oven crusty bread. OMG this is the best, easiest bread recipe EVER! I’ve been able to make decent white and French breads in the past, but they never quite hit the spot. They’re good enough to say – this is homemade and better than the factory made presliced bread at the supermarket. But never as good as the loaves from a real bakery or bread store. Not the type you want to sit down with a stick of butter and stuff yourself. This bread though, was that good. The recipe includes a link to a YouTube video of a guy in a real bakery testing it. Note that in the recipe, she sets her oven (which I assume is a standard household range) to 475°F, while in the video, the baker says 500 - 515°F. I had trouble getting my oven to stabilize at a high temperature and the independent thermometer on the rack read everything from 450 - 510°F during the first 30 minutes. The top was already starting to color up when I took the lid off, and I left it in only an additional 10 minutes. The color was great and the loaf had a good hollow sound on the bottom. Although the crust seemed rock-hard right after cooking, I left it on a wire rack until it was fully cooled and the crust softened quite a bit. When we ate it at dinner, it was exactly the chewy, crunchy crust you get at a good bakery or restaurant. I’ll be making it again for New Year’s Eve for sure!

Christmas gifts were well received – DH liked the hat I made him (although I think he thinks it should be a tiny bit smaller) and was very impressed with the handspun yarn.

Pattern: Ranger Hat

Designer: Anni Laine

Yarn: handspun black BFL fiber, purchased from Sheepish Creations (Etsy)

Needles: US2

I finished it on December 23^rd, turning under the hem at lunch at work. Then washed and blocked when I got home, and tried to accelerate drying by laying it next to the heat vent overnight. I stacked the drying racks in front of the vent so he wouldn’t see it. This is the first project I’ve ever made from fiber to finish, intentionally spinning the yarn to suit the planned project. I’m pretty happy with it, and I’ve got a couple hundred yards of extra yarn left over.

And guess what Audrey gave me: sparkly, self patterning green sock yarn. Christmas in a skein!

Do I have a great kid or what?

*Step 2 – Follow steps 1 – 46 on the 10 page instruction sheet included in the kit. Total time to completion: approximately 15 – 20 hours spread over 10 evenings.

Everything's better with bacon

2009-12-13T19:45:00.003-05:00

Don't you agree?
Tonight we had roast chicken, roast red potatoes, and collard greens seasoned with... you got it, bacon.

Doesn't compare to the bacon wrapped crackers I had at the Cleveland Knits West party yesterday though. Here's the recipe (Trish, hope you don't mind if I spill the secret - not too many people read this anyways). Wrap raw bacon around Club crackers. Season lightly with garlic powder. Sprinkle a little fresh parmesan cheese over them. Arrange on a cookie sheet and bake at 225F for 2 hours. Apparently there is no need to drain the grease after cooking. It's all soaked in to the crackers.

Anyway, I had about 6 of these suckers at the party yesterday, in addition to spinach and artichoke dip (Thanks Michelle!), homemade marshmallows (Trish!), Mississippi Mud cake (Tim!), and too many other goodies to keep track of. I'm afraid to go to weigh-in on Tuesday. Maybe if I skip all my meals on Monday?

It was a wonderful party - we each had a secret Santa, and brought stocking stuffers for everybody. Everybody brought the most thoughtful little gifts for the stockings - candles, stitch markers, ornaments, handmade cards, candies! Here's a couple of the ornaments:

and the rest of the goodies:

And here is what Santa (Andrea) brought me!

It's a 4 oz. braid of Chameleon Colorworks Optim in Midnight colorway. It feels like silk - but it's merino. Mechanically stretched and set! I've never seen this before, but apparently it was selling like hotcakes at a recent fiber show. Seriously, this feels so soft you wouldn't believe it came off a sheep if you didn't read the label. It's going to the top of my spinning queue. A scarf? A hat? I don't want to attempt socks, I'm afraid it would be too delicate for hard foot wear, and besides, something this soft can go around my neck or ears for sure without itching. Hmmmm, I'll have to plan carefully!

Knitting

I'm now in panic mode. The black BFL I spun for Mike's surprise Christmas hat took a LOT longer than I was expecting - almost 3 weeks of spinning.

Which means I got a very late start on the actual knitting. Then the knitting got interrupted for a felt applique Christmas stocking for Audrey (almost done, but it's taken 10 days). I couldn't very well bring it along to the wedding in Seattle (wonderful amounts of knitting time on the plane and while hanging out at my BIL's apartment) - there would be too many nosy relatives asking what it was and could they see it - so I worked on a sock - Wanida by Cookie A (in Sock Innovations).

And I couldn't bring it to Thanksgiving in Michigan (same problem), so I made a scarf for the Red Scarf Project.

I finished the Bird's Nest Smoke Ring with my handspun merino/silk (Ashland Bay fiber):
No, I don't usually wear a purple cowl with a green sweater, I was just taking advantage of some decent indoor light to knock off a few photos.

There you have it!

Iz Zen...Iz Superhydrophobic...Iz a hat

2009-10-27T19:59:00.003-05:00

Well, it's probably not superhydrophobic. Being lace and all. And wool.

I bring you...

The Lotus Hat

Pattern: Lotus Hat
Designer: Uptown Purl
Yarn: my handspun, worsted weight/worsted style, natural color merino
Fiber purchased at Great Lakes Fiber Festival, 2009
Needles: US8

I overheard Mike discussing my spinning with his sister - "she spins a lot, but I don't think she ever uses the yarn". Um, maybe I should do something about that.

On the needles now, the Ashland Bay merino/silk fingering/sport weight 2-ply for a Bird's Nest Smoke Ring. It's in time out right now, having just discovered that I repeated rows 23 and 24 twice in a row. And this after frogging about 15 rows at knitting group last week.

Mike's in Singapore (again) and I'm taking advantage of his absence to spin up some naturally dark brown BFL into (hopefully) a fingering weight 2-ply to make him a hat for Christmas. You know, I haven't knit him anything since the 3 lb. sweater in grad school? I'm just itching to frog that sucker and make sweaters for the whole family from the yarn. Of course, then we would be immediately transferred to northern Ontario and I would regret frogging his very warmest sweater.

The house is in chaos right now - I'm having everything but the bedrooms and bathrooms painted. My first time hiring a painter for an inside job! Boy, they work a lot faster than I do. Can't wait to get it all put back together and see what it looks like with furniture and pictures on the walls. Right now - chaos surrounding a Nomadic Desert, with a side helping of Latte.

Must go make a cup of tea.
Ta!

It doesn't itch!

2009-10-15T19:36:00.002-05:00

I bring you - the Eastlake sweater.

Pattern: Eastlake
Designer: Norah Gaughan
Yarn: Da Vie Zenith
Needles: US 6 & 8

Notes: check Berroco for errata, there are several. I would also recommend working the front first, not the back. The back instructs you to work even to so many inches - in my case, this was about 4 rows fewer than the number required to finish the lace chart on the front. And you sort of want the purl welts on the front and back to match up, you know?

I wore the sweater to work today for the first time. I love it! So soft and squishy, no itchies at all, which is rare for me with wool. The elbow-length sleeves worked very well for the fall weather, and I got several compliments on it.

We're having a cool wet fall here, no crisp sunny days for crunching through the leaves. I'm giving up on the last of the basil, no motivation to harvest the last bush before the probable frost tonight.

Gray ice cream

2009-09-13T18:15:00.002-05:00

Hmmm. If you have a blue-green mint ice cream base, and you blend in oreo cookies, the final product is steel gray ice cream. Tastes better than it looks - that's for sure!

After last weekend's trip to Lake Farm Park, we decided to pull out the ice cream maker and plug it in. I mean, what can be easier than an electric ice cream maker? True, it is a two-day process, making the custard base, chilling it and the cooler insert, plus you have to remember to buy cream and/or half-and-half by lunch on Saturday if you are going to get this all done by Sunday dinner. That probably explains why we've made fewer than a dozen quarts of ice cream in the 7 - 8 years we've owned the ice cream maker.

This weekend - more geocaching! Audrey's really gotten into it and it's a great way to get the family outside and walking around, and "justifies" DH's recent purchase of a fancy new GPS unit. The weather's really be perfect the last two weeks though - not too hot, not too cold.

I may have also "saved" $1000 on new window treatments! I tried to order new shades for the great room in natural woven woods. Due to the size of the window, the fact that it has to be broken into 3 sections to accomodate the weight, and the material I chose has a subtle, but noticeable horizontal pattern, it's really hard to find new shades. So much so that the customer service department at the company I tried to order from called me up to ask if I was really, really sure about this. They recommended I think about it some more. Which is incredibly honest of them. They could have taken my money and just let me be unhappy when the shades arrived at my door (custom is non-refundable). So, I cancelled the order. DH asked how long it was going to take to choose something new, and said let's just take the broken one off the window while I decided (a couple of cords had snapped - it's way too heavy) and it has been hanging cock-eyed half-up and down.

I said before we throw them out, I'll try to re-string them.. They are re-strung! $3.80 of drapery cord at Jo-ann's. Now the real test - will the new strings hold. Stay tuned....

Labor Day laziness

2009-09-06T19:51:00.004-05:00

I wish....

We're having a peaceful three-day weekend here at home. No pressure to travel anywhere, which is a blessing. Spent Saturday at Lake Farmpark, and Sunday doing a little geocaching after our picnic lunch. Tomorrow we'll head down to Taste of Cleveland to stuff our faces and see Cowboy Mouth perform. DH reminded me what happened last time we went to see a band we last saw 10 years ago. Should be good though, as long as the weather holds.

I'm plugging away on the front of Eastlake - I picked it up again last week after its summer hiatus. It's the only thing on the needles now - I finished the childs yoke pullover and the Rick socks.

Pattern: Bernat free pattern (Child's Pullover and Toque)
Needles: US9
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in Roasted Coffee and Raspberry

Pattern: Rick
Designer: Cookie A. in Sock Innovation
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino, colorway unknown
Needles: US2

The pooling on these isn't as noticeable as in the photos - something about the way reds and blues get filtered in the camera.

It's been a nice weekend - I hope we have more weather like this!

Almost home...

2009-07-31T20:21:00.002-05:00

Yay! DH is coming home tomorrow!

I've been concentrating on spinning for the last two weeks, hoping to make some progress on the stash and learn a new technique - woolen long draw spinning on the spindle. It can be done! Carol Huebscher Rhoades wrote an article for Spin-Off (download it here) showing how. So, I set out to try using the natural color merino I picked up at the Great Lakes Fiber Show.

I did a search on making rolags, since I haven't had much luck with from-the-fold. Look what I found! Psuedo-rolags - the art of making rolags without carding brushes. A million thanks, Rosemary! Here's a few I made

I divided the 4 ounces of merino in half, with the intention of spinning half woolen from rolags, the other have worsted with a short forward draw, 2-plying both sets, and comparing.

The woolen:

The worsten:

The woolen is quite thick and thin, but after a week of trial and error, and a helpful email conversation with Ms. Rhoades, I got it! Not expert spinning be any means, but I think the technical aspects of it are correct. I can't really tell any difference in softness or fluffiness - they both came out squishibly soft and fluffy.

Next up: color. I've never bought handpainted roving before but that doesn't mean I haven't drooled over the options. First up: Big Bang from FLUFFfibers, a 4+ ounce braid of superwash BFL.

And that's not all - it came with a little sibling, a 1 ounce sampler of 80%merino/20%silk:

These fibers are so yummy! I tore off a little of the BFL to do a little sampling and OMG it is so easy to draft. Just tear off a chunk and draft from the fold. I've never been able to do that! I want to make a fluffy yarn to make a hat and mittens or something for Audrey. (You didn't think I bought those colors for myself, did you?)

Fiber heaven!

A little spinning break

2009-07-17T20:45:00.003-05:00

Twilight Tank is finished (but no photos yet - maybe this weekend?) and I've decided to spend the rest of the month working on my fiber stash. So, you know, I can buy some more.

I finished up the "September Glow" Lambswool/Silk blend from Nistock Farms. This is 7/8 ounce, in my attempt to spin from the fold and/or from a "rolag". I didn't really know what a rolag was, so I ripped off a hunk of batt, then rolled it up like a cigar. Well, it's a start I guess. 56 yds of 3 ply (Navaho plied).

I love the colors, and I'm pretty happy with the yarn! It spun up much better than my first attempts to spin it worsted from thin strips off the batt.

Now I'm trying to do a true long-draw with the merino mix I bought at the Fiber Fest over Memorial Day weekend. And solo-parenting for two weeks (Singapore again). Anyone want to take a guess what will break this month?

Introducing Ellie

2009-07-11T19:09:00.002-05:00

Here she is! Unfortunately, she thinks the other elephant is a bit of a doofus too. He's still lonely.

Pattern: Elijah
Designer: Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Universal Yarns Bella DK, color 08
Needles: US3
Began/Finished: June 8, 20th 2009

DH is getting ready for another trip to Singapore - my plan is to finish off July with spinning only, recharge my knitting batteries. I finished my Twilight Tank yesterday - it's blocking now upstairs.

The last day of our "vacation" is tomorrow - boy this one didn't go as planned. DH and I spent last Sunday and Monday down in the Finger Lakes doing the Cayuga Wine Trail Sunday and hiking the Taughanock gorge and Watkin's Glen gorge trail Monday. We returned before dinner to my parents house Monday to find Audrey on the couch with at 103+ degree fever. After 3 hours at the Urgent Care, we left with a prescription for Tamiflu and instructions to keep her isolated for 7 days. So we cancelled the Canada and Michigan portions of the week, and returned to Cleveland. Primarily so that if DH or I got sick, we wouldn't be hostage to the way-out-of-network urgent care in Rochester. So far, neither of us has fallen sick, and Audrey has been symptom free since mid-Wednesday. She had a very mild bout of the flu. We've spent a quiet week at home, doing assorted crafts and reading lots of books. On the plus side, I got lots of daytime knitting time in.

Hello there!

2009-06-24T10:31:00.002-05:00

Well, it’s been a while since I posted, but I have good excuses – really!

Memorial Day weekend I went to the Great Lakes Fiber Festival with my friend Becky, who just relocated to Wooster from Chicago. Fiber and Yarn galore! I wisely hit the ATM in the morning and withdrew the maximum I was willing to part with, and left the credit cards home. In the end, I didn’t spend all my money, but I got plenty of fiber to practice spinning with, and some new yarn too. I also convinced Becky to buy a spindle and some fiber. Not that I’m trying to enable her or anything…

Showing off the goodies (all fiber was purchased in 4 oz. lots):

First, a mixed wool, mostly merino blend in natural shades. Primarily a creamy white with thin shots of dark brown throughout. I’m picturing a loosely spun worsted-bulky weight two ply. Warm puffy hat for winter?

Next, a gorgeous Ashland Bay merino/Tussah silk blend. Smooth and shiny, this is drafting like a dream, producing smooth, glossy singles which ply easily into a next-to-skin soft yarn which looks like it will have good drape. My original plan was “no commercially prepped fibers”, but I’ve wanted to try this for a while, and it was nice to see it in person before purchasing. Plus, the price was better than online.

Third, a mix of llama and alpaca from Winding Creek Alpacas. This is cloud soft in the bag. As I tried to spin it though, lots of scratchy hairs are sticking out of the yarn, and the colors are very muddied. The sample skein at the booth seemed much nicer than this. If I try spinning from the fold, I get slightly better results, but I still don’t understand how something so soft can have so many hairs in it.

Lastly, a big 8 oz hank of handpainted pima cotton yarn. I hadn’t planned on buying any cotton. It always seems that the summer is too short for handknit tanks and things, and they get faded so quickly, but at $24 for 595 yds, who can resist? I loved the colors at this vendor’s booth – I will definitely seek her out at future festivals. The yarn is Alpine Petite II, in Twilight. The seller is The Weavers Loft, the product name is Yarns of Distinction. It’s on its way to becoming a simple tank top, with a vine lace border at the bottom and simple wide ribbing in the body. Check out their website – they offer very generous yardage for the price, and I love the colors.

June has been super busy for me with Audrey’s graduation (preschool? Seriously?), three anniversaries, Father’s Day, and Audrey’s dance recital. Now it’s all over and I can relax. Phew… I whipped up “Ellie” for Audrey as a companion to her Webkins elephant. He’s lonely, and Audrey won’t play with him because she a) doesn’t like his “hair” and b) he’s kind of insecure and clingy. Bit of a doofus too, if you ask me. I think he is very sweet though, and could really thrive with a bit of attention.

So that’s my excuse – what’s yours?

It's Mine! All Mine!!

2009-05-09T20:42:00.002-05:00

No, really, it was all mine today! Every piece of mail that came today was addressed to me. Real Simple, Chemistry and Engineering News, the Carleton Voice, a statement from my financial advisor, and some junk mail, and best of all....

A big box from Portland. Portland, home of the wonderful homemade toffee mentioned a few weeks ago. Portland, home of ... cement? Is there some connection between Portland cement and Portland, OR? Not sure. And best of all, my SP.

She (and I think I've figured out her real identity, but not quite positive - is it hellahelen?) sent me a box of Mother's Day joy. Gifts for me - yarn, a spa kit, truffles and Sour Patch swedish fish, and Audrey (without whom I would not be celebrating Mother's Day) - a pack of 350 assorted stickers and a bag of Jelly Bellys (her fav). See the pretty yarn and bath gifts? Thank you SP!

Candy is not photographed, as opened bags of candy really aren't very photogenic, are they? After an afternoon of shopping, we fell on the candy like famished vultures. Is there really a recession? 'Cause I swear everybody in the greater Cleveland area was rocketing through the shopping center parking lots like they had just won the lottery today. SLOW DOWN!!!! Especially if you are driving a big invincible SUV. Because when you are trying to back a Honda Civic out from between two monster vehicles, and a third nearly clips you in the rear, it makes you want to mount a rocket launcher on the back of said Civic. Just to give warning that you are backing up, you know?

The yarn was not labeled, but looks like a great sock yarn with which to try out one of the designs in Cookie A's new book, Sock Innovations. I bought it in Rochester a couple of weeks ago, and was trying to decide if any of them would work with the self-striping yarn in my stash, or if I needed to go shopping. Now I don't have to!

I got back from four days in Houston on Thursday, with only 1.5 skeins of my Eastlake yarn consumed (I packed 4, plus a skein of sock yarn). Not sure why I thought I could knit 800 yards in 4 days, but I'm sure the TSA was amused at my suitcase full of yarn and dirty laundry. I'm almost done with the back of Eastlake now - photo next time.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there! Call your Mom!

FO!

2009-04-30T19:02:00.002-05:00

I finished the Child's Guernsey and Hat, from the Paton's website, with the intention of reducing the amount of yarn in stash. Except that I bought 2 skeins of Paton's Classic Wool Merino to make the sweater (not pulled it from the stash), thinking if I made a size 3T, I could finish the sweater in 2 skeins, then ran out of yarn just before the end (10 rows left in sleeve 2, and collar), so I had to buy a third skein. So while I did make a nice sweater and hat for charity, the net effect on my stash was 1 mostly full skein ADDED, none subtracted.

It's my first project with Paton's Classic Wool Merino, and probably my last. Just not loving it. And it bled a lot when I washed it.

Yarn: Paton's Classic Wool Merino
Needles: US 5 and 7

I'm cranking along on the child's fair isle sweater, until I got to the sleeves. I discovered I don't own US9 dpn's. Can you believe it? I can't. But, if I own them, I can't find them. Another charity project that ADDS to stash (new needles) instead of reducing. On the other hand, I have enough Lambs Pride to make two of these, so that should do some good towards making more room in my yarn box.

Getting ready to go out of town for a few days, need to pick a good plane project. Hmmm. I just bought Cookie A.'s "Sock Innovation", but I don't think I've got appropriate sock yarn. I could start Eastlake, but I'll need to swatch before I leave, so I bring the right needles. Not sure. I've got til Sunday morning to decide.

Almost done with the Dovetail Sweater! If I can finish the second sleeve before Sunday (and I think I can), that would free up my favorite size 8 needles.
Got to go!

Crafts = crack

2009-04-21T15:00:00.002-05:00

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

I’m quickly coming to the conclusion that almost all crafts have the potential to addict me like heroin. Or cashmere. Are there any crafts out there with a significant startup fee? One that would prevent the casual user from dipping one’s toes in, then finding themselves sucked into the abyss, never to be seen again? Cause it’s so easy to just pick up one little strand of beads (it’s only $2.99, you know), and a little spool of beading wire (practically free!), okay, and a couple of pliers (cheap ones, but you know you’re going to want to upgrade soon). $36 later, I’m leaving Pat Catan’s crafts and wondering why I thought I could make stitch markers cheaper than I can buy them. Well, okay, if I convert all those beads and all that wire into stitch markers, it will be cheaper/piece than buying them on Etsy. But really, do I need 50 stitch markers? Do I even know 10 people I could give 5 each to? But the beads – so pretty. Must.Buy.More.Pretty.Beads..

And don’t get me started on “making my own greeting cards”. The ones my friend Eva sends look so nice, shouldn’t I try too? Maybe buy a couple of ink stamps to add a little interest? It’s madness I tell you, just madness.

In knitting news, I ran out of yarn just 10 rows before the end of the second sleeve on the Child’s Guersney (also had to do the neckline). Luckily, they still had the dye lot in stock, so I finished the sweater, and made the matching hat. The steeks for the armholes went smoothly, but left a bit thicker ridge of fabric at the armhole seam than I really like. I suppose its because its worsted weight wool. I’ve still got enough wool left over to make another matching hat, and probably mittens too. Hmm. This project was supposed to decrease the yarn in stash, not add to it. I’ve set aside the rest of the skein because I’m tired of the color for now, and picked up the Roasted Coffee Lamb’s Pride to make a basic child’s two-color pullover. Started on US8, frogged and re-made on US9. 5sts/inch is too dense for this yarn.

And a big thank you! to my KnittyMama swap partner for the bag of homemade toffee waiting in my mailbox last night. Yummmm.

Ooooh - black capped chickadee and Carolina Goldfinch at the feeder. Got to go!

I did not eat the green jelly bean

2009-04-13T21:00:00.002-05:00

See? I can learn. (scroll down to the May 5, 2007 entry). I actually think there is too much candy in the house right now. I can't believe I am saying that.

I spent last month working on Early Spring socks; my knitting group picked a Spring KAL for "any socks with "spring" in the pattern name.

Pattern: Early Spring
Designer: Janice Kang, for Crystal Palace Yarn
Yarn: Collinette Jitterbug, "Elephant's Daydream"
Needles: US 1
Mods: none

I spun:

and

The brown is some wonderful natural color fine wool top from Nistock Farms in color "Maple Walnut". The second is merino roving from Iheartfelt.com, a gift from highlanddancemom03 (Sarah R), who sent me this lovely pink fluffyness during the Knitty '07 summer SP round. I've been saving it until I felt I could spin a little finer than I have in the past. Not quite laceweight - more like a light fingering weight. A little underplied, but not too bad. I'm pretty happy with it - 147 yds from the ounce!

Spring knitting? I decided to take a serious stab at my stash. I'm going to convert as much of my "charity" stash to actual FO's for charity as possible. This would be all the 400 - 800 yd lots of worsted wool I've picked up over the years. First: the knitted guernsey pullover from Better Homes and Gardens in Paton's Classic Merino Wool (burgundy). I altered the pattern to work completely in the round, to the shoulders (steeked sleeves), and I am cranking! Entire body finished in one week, and sleeves should be finished by week 2. Next up: a fair isle pullover with Lamb's Pride.

DH is out of town again this week - what will break now? Anyone want to guess?

Another business trip, another crisis

2009-03-04T15:25:00.001-05:00

Well, not quite a crisis, it’s just a headlight bulb on my car burned out. Of course, it’s also been temperatures in the mid-teens here, so just a leeetle too cold to go mucking around in the garage replacing it. DH is in Vermont this week, of course. Has anyone else noticed the correlation between how far away he travels and the size of the challenges on the home front?

Singapore trip #1 – record breaking snowfall
Singapore trip #2 – broken sump pump
Vermont – car headlight down

In happier events, Audrey had her first “Level 1” swim class last night. No parents! She was really nervous about it yesterday morning (after counting down the days to class since January), but once she got there, she was fine. Very well staffed class – 8 students, 3 teachers, and 1 lifeguard dedicated to the class. He sat in a deck chair right behind the students the whole time. There’s the usual collection of lifeguards in the high chairs by each pool area, but this class (the only class of not-yet-swimmers) gets its own guard. Looked like she had a great time. I got to sit on the side and watch. Next week I will remember to put on a lighter shirt before going over – it’s around 84F and humid on the poolside – that cabled sweater was a bit uncomfortable. And that was cotton!

I finished up the Morning Surf scarf with my handspun – looky! Unfortunately, overspun and a bit itchy. It will look good on the outside of my coat though. I’m proud of it anyway.

Those of you who saw it on my Ravelry page see I’ve named it my “Won’t make a monkey out of me” scarf. Why such a long name for such a simple scarf? Well, here’s the story. About two years ago, in the summer of 2007, I participated in a Knitty Secret Pal swap. It was a three-month swap, and as I am typically very busy, I did all my shopping up front as soon as I got my downstream pal’s info sheet. There’s a $20/month suggested minimum for these swaps, but typically I think people send more generously. I know my upstream pals have always been quite generous to me, and I like to pass it forward. Among the things I bought was the CTH merino roving. It came in a 8 oz bag, $25. I also bought a $16 candle in her favorite scent (most expensive candle I’ve ever bought, and went to 3 stores to find it), along with yarn, candies, etc, etc. Enough to more than fill her three boxes. First box goes out (can’t remember what was in it). Weeks go by, I’m nervous it’s lost in the mail. Downstream hasn’t replied to any of my chatty getting-to-know-you emails. Finally I ask point blank if she got the box. Oh yeah, she did, thanks. As month two nears the end, still like pulling teeth to get any communication with this woman. I’m kind of thinking I would rather just cut her a $40 check for the remainder of the swap and be done with it. Isn’t the whole point of the swap not just to get stuff, but to make a new friend? I’m not so enthusiastic about sending that whole bag of roving now. Sure, it would fulfill the minimum for the month, but I can’t send just one item. And by the time I fill up the box, I’ll be way over what I want to send her. So I split the roving in half, and kept 4 oz. for myself.

About 6 months later, my downstream swap partner died of a chronic illness.
About 1.5 years after that, she rose from the dead. With a new username. Turns out she wasn’t so dead after all.

I don’t feel so bad about keeping that roving anymore. And the candle smelled delicious too.

I just want one peaceful night

2009-02-26T20:52:00.003-05:00

The last couple days, I have good intentions of a happy, chatty blogpost. But by the time I get on the computer, the evening has gone downhill and I just can't be bothered.

DD seems to be reaching the end of her patience with Daddy's absence - another endless bedtime ending in tears. Need to go shopping, but when? Such a pain to go after work, pushes dinner too late, risk of preschool breakdown. Will do it tomorrow; we'll go out to dinner, then the grocery store. If I'm smart I'll write a list.

Then today, a letter from my credit card - they are raising my rate from 9.9% to 17.9%. Ummm, why? "Due to extraordinary changes in the economic environment, we're reviewing our existing credit card accounts" (makes sense. Dump the bad customers. Okay, I'm with you.) "Having considered these economic conditions, your account's current purchase rate (9.9%), and the length of time you have had this rate and account (over 10 years, if I remember correctly), we will be increasing [all your rates]" Huh? I've never had a late payment, and pay in full always. Maybe once a year, I let a couple hundred slide over to the next month, then pay it all in full, plus extra so I don't have rolling finance fees. So the best I can figure is I'm not creating enough revenue for them, so they better raise my rates. Or maybe I'll just cancel your card, idiots.

What a hassle.

Breathe in breathe out. Think calming thoughts. Fiber

With the spinning I was doing this week, I had a flash of insight. Ravelry! I could use advanced search to find out what other people do small amounts of handspun. I knew I had ~230 yds of the Watercolors merino I spun up in 2007, enough for a nice scarf. Search scarf, handspun.....voila! Morning Surf scarf by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer. Perfect!

Hey - where's the...sump pump?

2009-02-18T20:16:00.002-05:00

Oops! He did it again! No, not recorded bad pop songs.

DH left again for Singapore on Friday morning. Saturday morning I wake up to...nope, not more snow. The ear-splitting shriek of the sump pump alarm. I ran down to the basement and try to make the noise go away by treating the first (and most usual) cause of said alarm - the high water level meter. This is a simple two electrode chip that, when both electrodes get wet (from say, the water level in the sump well threatening to overflow), causes a really loud alarm to sound. No good. Electrodes dry, noise still there. It's the other alarm, attached to the backup pump. We installed a backup pump that runs off a deep cycle marine battery. It provides a day's worth of intermittent pumping in the event of a) power failure to the house or b) failure of the main pump. Since we have electricity today, it couldn't be (a). I could probably fix this problem if I could just focus on it and the electrical cords and battery and stuff, but with the noise, I can't THINK! I tried to unplug a few things, but no good.

Finally, I shut the door to the sump room and go upstairs, shutting the door behind me.

I take Audrey to dance and start chatting with one of the other parents there. I tell her how my morning is go far and ask if they (she and her DH are both there) know a good handyman. Her DH raises his hand. Really? He hands me a business card. Yup. He's a professional, insured handyman. His part time job when he isn't working his day job. Is 8 a.m. tomorrow too early in the morning for him to come over? No problem! Heck, I'll even have coffee ready.

So, two hours and $300 later, I have a brand new sump pump installed. The alarm is still going off though - says the battery is discharged (to be expected), but charging. He says if it's still not charged by Monday morning, I need a new one.

Monday night - $150 later at Lowe's and I've got a new battery and 6 qts. of sulfuric acid.

Ahhhh, home ownership. Love it. Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Keeping myself sane - well, yarn of course!
The Braided Pullover? Frogged. I just liked it less and less each time I tried it on (sans sleeves). It just looked so big and sloppy. Next up with the purple Ultra Alpaca? Well, cables, duh. And long sleeves. But I'm going for a more fitted look - 0" ease and some nice side shaping. Here's the back completed on the Dovetail Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman.

After finishing the back, I got the yarn for Audrey's hat and scarf (the pink was backordered). Yeah, it's a little late in the year to be starting winter wear, but I'm sure she'll pick a coat in either pink or purple next year too. It's my first experiment in double-knitting. Cool technique! This is the ultimate in reversible patterning.

So what now? I've still got the front and two sleeves left on the pullover. I've also got the new Spring Interweave Knits. Hmmm....tempting. Should I just launch into a warm weather knit, knowing that I won't be able to wear the Dovetail this winter anyhow? Or should I finish the Dovetail now, while I'm still enthusiatic about it? I've also got the yarn and pattern for Eastlake, and I've got a bunch of stranded mittens and things queued up in Rav. The double knitting, while a little tedious (K1, p1. Repeat until your hands fall off), was a great practice in managing two strands of yarn simultaeously. I held both strands in my left hand, and ultimately felt it easier than one in each hand, as I did for my Northern Lights mitts.

Tonight I think though, I'll just do a little spinning and let me hands rest.

Hey - where's the shovel?!?

2009-01-12T20:21:00.002-05:00

Friday night the snow started falling. Thankfully, it waited until after rush hour to really get thick, although the ride to the day-care after work took about 50% longer than normal. Lots of people leaving a little early I think, to avoid the coming storm. I heard the plow in my driveway at 2:20 a.m. I could not really tell for sure that he had been there at 8:00 a.m. when I went to find the newspaper. So I figured I'd better shovel a little if I was going to take Audrey to her dance class (this is Cleveland. We do not cancel dance classes for a mere 6 inches of snow). The shovels? (We own two) Nowhere to be seen. The husband? Oh yeah - just this side of the equator. Can you believe it? He goes off for two weeks to equatorial Singapore in the dead of winter and doesn't even have the decency to retrieve the shovels from the garage attic before leaving. Thanks!

All this beautiful snow makes me keen to wrap my hands around some nice thick warm wool - no more cotton blends for me for a while. I've been working on the Braided Pullover since a little before Christmas - taking it slowly, no rush here. I'm a little stuck on the sleevecaps right now. Looking at the modeled shot, it's clear the sleeve cap is poorly planned. I'm trying to do a short row sleevecap from the top down, a la Barbara Walker, but it's still bulgy and puffy near the seamline. I've frogged the first sleeve twice now. I'm going to give it a few day's rest, then tackle it again.

I started the second "Green River" sock (Judy Sumner) - the first was made in October. I realized I did not take good notes. Oops. Thank goodness I didn't make any mods (that I can tell so far) in the first one.

I whipped out a second pair of wool socks for Audrey - closer to her actual foot size (I swear I measured the first time). $2.50 for a pair! Paton's Kroy sock yarn at Michaels, with coupon. One skein. I'm not in love with the colors (I don't think she is either to be honest), but they are great for ice-skating.

And now I'm off to chip away at the housecleaning before my parents come for a little respite on Friday. Ta!

Catching up in the New Year

2009-01-06T16:20:00.004-05:00

Phew. Well, the holidays are over and life is returning to semi-normal around here. Semi-normal meaning that we are back to work, and Audrey is back to school (first week back not going to well in the mornings). DH is headed to the other side of the planet for a couple of weeks both this month and next (ugh), leaving me to my own devices.

Serenity was well-received at the baby shower. The mom-to-be got several handmade blankets actually, 3 crocheted, and 1 knit (mine). I have to say (with only a little bias) that mine was by far the nicest (just my opinion of course). I finished Serenity in a record short time – only 2 weeks to knit the whole thing. I didn’t take it with me for Thanksgiving, hence the three week total project time. Just bound off and blocked when I got home. It took much less yarn than I expected – 7.5 skeins of KnitPicks Shine Sport. I swatched a whole ball (leftover from Audrey’s summer sweater a couple of years ago), figured out the area in square inches, calculated the area I needed to make a 32x32” blanket, and ordered 12 balls of yarn (rounded up from 10 to 11, order one extra to be safe). Will I have enough for a lightweight sweater for Audrey? Not sure. Maybe I’ll order a couple of balls in a contrasting color and make something a little stripey for one of us.

Here’s a few pictures of the blanket – this is one of my favorite blanket patterns now. So pretty! The color is “hydrangea” – exactly the color of blue hydrangeas, and coincidentally, the same color the mom-to-be painted the walls in the nursery. Score!

Pattern: Serenity

Designer: Laura Wilson-Martos

Yarn: KnitPicks Shine Sport, Hydrangea, 7.5 balls

Needles: US 6

Mods: none

Lot's of FO's

2008-11-18T18:46:00.006-05:00

Hmmm... I guess I'm more organized than I thought. I just went into Photobucket to upload what I thought was a month's worth of photos, and most of them were already there. I don't remember doing that, but hey - great!

It's been a busy crazy month.

First - socks for Audrey. I finished them mostly on the trip to Minnesota for my DH's cousin's wedding. They are a wee bit big, but she's growing fast. Plus, I'm pretty sure they are going to be "too itchy" and best worn over a thinner pair of socks for ice skating.

Next - a modeled shot of my Little Blue Sweater - not too bad over this great red shirt I got on sale at Ann Taylor - only $9.99! Can't beat that with a stick now, can we?

I frantically started a baby blanket for Nancy - Serenity - in Knit Picks Shine DK.

I was thinking I had until early January to finish - we usually have a shower at work a few weeks before the due date. I wasn't planning on being invited to the friends and family shower at her house! Eep! That's Dec. 6 - less than 3 weeks away. I'm making good progress (I'm in row 80-something tonight) but need to keep in mind that as you get closer to the end, the rows get astronomically longer. Like only a couple of rows per night.

Lastly - a quick 2 pairs of mittens for afghans for Afghans. In connection with Roots of Peace, they are requesting 300 pairs of mittens by Nov. 20. Got them in the mail Saturday!

So, as you can see, a very busy but productive month. Between us, I think DH and I made a total of 5 business trips too. I don't know whether I'm coming or going.

Audrey finally "got it" in swimming lessons - she released her death grip on the accompanying parent and is jumping off the side unassisted and taking a couple of little kicks/strokes too. Yay Audrey! She's being promoted up to Level 1 next semester after only one time through "preschool 3 - 5 with parent" (it took three tries to pass through "toddler 18 - 36 mos. with parent"). The best part? (For me anyway) No parent! I can just sit and cheer her on from the side of the pool. I can swim just fine myself. I just lost interest in it after my eyesight got so bad that I have to wear glasses in the pool. Nothing like standing around getting splashed in the glasses for half an hour every week to really make you dislike going to the pool.

Hmmm, what else? Winter had finally crash-landed on our doorstep. After one week of Indian Summer (beautiful weather for yard work, leaves still firmly attached to trees) followed by a week of rain (leaves now sodden in the lawn), we woke up this morning to find the leaves firmly cemented to the lawn and driveway with 1/4" of ice. Nice. I still haven't mulched the rose bed for the winter or cleaned up the lily and hosta debris. Hope we get another dry weekend in there somewhere.

Well, ta for now!

They made it too hard

2008-10-13T19:42:00.003-05:00

to be a Grinch tonight.

When I got home from work today I saw that I have been "booed" - someone had dropped a bag full of candy and a halloween goody (a 4 ft tall inflatable frankenstein) on my doorstep, with a cute poem explaining that I've been booed, and now I need to make up TWO bags like this, and drop them on unsuspecting neighbors doorsteps to continue the "fun". In the next 48 hours. Then tape the memo with a picture of a ghost on my window, so I wouldn't get booed twice.

I'm leaving on a two-day business trip tomorrow morning at 5 a.m.

My first thought is SHIT!!!! I do not have time for this! There is no way I have time to go to the library or drugstore and photocopy this poem/picture, make up gift bags, and deliver them. I'll just trace the ghosty picture, tape it to my window, and re-gift the whole bag. Not quite as good as two bags, but at least I won't be the one to break the chain letter.

Then I see a website on the bottom of the notice. I go to the website and find the notice template - okay, I can print out a copy for my window, and regift the bag of candy.

While the printer is churning, I dig through the bag. Then I see that my upstream ghost has already printed out two extra copies of the notice for me, thus saving me the effort of photocopying. Well, cripes! If it's that easy, I really can't wimp out on this one now, can I? They practically did it for me. I print out 4 copies of the notice.

Then I run down to the basement, find another small gift bag, divy up the candy, add another handful from the bag I bought to pass out on Halloween, and throw in some leftover party favors from Audrey's birthday and the two fresh notices. Not exactly Halloween themed, but not too shabby. Then a quick jog over to the two nearest neighbors I know get into the Halloween spirit (that didn't already have ghost notices in their windows), and I'm done.

I have fulfilled my duty as a station-wagon-driving, kid-toting, suburban cul-de-sac mom.

In knitting news, I finished all but one toe of a pair of socks for Audrey this weekend on our way to Minnesota for a family wedding. Yay me.

Mini-me!

2008-10-06T19:14:00.002-05:00

Umm, well, if I had blond hair and blue eyes. But other than that....

Pattern: Little Blue Sweater
Designer: Simona Merchant-Dest
Source: Interweave Knits Fall 2008
Yarn: Reynolds Utopia
Needles: US8

Pattern mods. Quite a few, obviously, as the smallest size is for a full grown woman and Audrey most definitely is not. The pattern calls for bulky yarn and big needles. I swatched worsted yarn on size 8's, and the gauge worked out to 70% of the pattern gauge. Then I measured up my daughter and found she is about 70% of a woman's size Small! I eliminated the selvedge stitches to work this in the round, and raised the neckline a little. Of course I had to adjust the vertical dimensions too. But otherwise, just followed the pattern! No tricky math to make the cables land where I wanted them or anything. Even the sleeve caps worked out as expected!

Little Blue Sweater

2008-10-04T21:10:00.002-05:00

Actually, it's brown.

Super quick knit!

Pattern: Little Blue Sweater
Designer: Simona Merchant-Dest
Source: Interweave Knits Fall 2008
Yarn: Louet Riverstone Bulky
Needles: US11

Pattern notes and lessons learned: I had to go up several needle sizes to get gauge, and used the same needle for the ribbing and body. Might be due to the yarn substitution - I find "bulky" yarns to be more highly variable than say "worsted" or "DK". Yarn softens up nicely with washing, although not "next to skin" soft - not that this pattern would be quite modest enough without a shirt underneath anyway.
Pattern is well written; I felt the sleeve caps were a bit too square for my liking, but acceptable.

Done!

2008-09-28T19:18:00.003-05:00

Told you Little Blue Sweater was fast, didn't I? No pictures today, but I finished weaving in the ends on Friday night. Then Saturday went to the LYS to buy 600 yds of worsted weight yarn to start over again, the same pattern for Audrey. My swatch told me that with worsted weight on US8, my gauge is 70% of what I was getting on US11 with bulky weight. And Audrey is 70% of the women's small size. Which means......I just discovered a whole new source of patterns for small children. Cool. Obviously I have to alter some of the dimensions, like "work in pattern until sweater measures 15 inches" - I need to proportionally reduce the vertical directions. I'm also doing hers in the round. While the women's medium in bulky ended up being fairly hefty and can benefit from the structural support of the side seams, childs 4T in worsted will not be an issue.

Anonymous asked in the comments about the Starghan (I have no idea how to link to previous comments): once on circular needles, does the blanket resemble a connected web? Well, kind of. I think it looks more like a basket or bag with the needle cord supporting the opening edge, but I can see how it would also look like a web. You really can't tell it is a star shape when its on the needles though - the points are all smushed in to the fabric, and it just looks round.

Pictures later, I promise!

My mom went to a fiber festival!

2008-09-24T19:08:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it! My mom, who couldn't knit her way out of a wet paper bag, went to the Finger Lakes Fiber Festival last weekend. 4 days before her knee surgery (she's doing fine).

I have not yet made it to any fiber festival, in any state, because we are always somewhere else when the local festival is taking place. I miss the Great Lakes festival in Wooster, OH every Memorial Day because we're always in Rochester visiting my folks. I miss the Finger Lakes festival in Hemlock NY because we are inbetween our summer and fall visits to my folks (we usually go up around Columbus Day too), and I miss the Michigan festival near my inlaws because we are up there either too early or late each summer as well. I just can't get it coordinated.

Sigh. Next fall for sure, I'm going to New York.

Michelle said her daughter LOVES Elijah - carries it everywhere! Woot - a happy recipient of a handknit item! Always makes you feel good.

Finished up two quick (!) projects that I started in July. Worked straight through, each took only a couple of days. Interrupted by a sweater, baby blanket and elephant, well, they take a little longer.

First up: Evangeline.

Pattern: Evangeline
Designer: Michelle Szeghalmi
Yarn: Mirasol Miski
Needles: US6
Time to complete: about 3 hours per glove

Alterations: added thumb gussets, made wrist a little longer than in the pattern. Used 52 g yarn (just a skosh over 1 skein).

I love this yarn. Just love it. It's the softest thing ever.

Next up: Treenah

Pattern: Treenah
Designer: Megan Marshall
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential in Burgundy
Hook: D

My first crochet project! Don't worry, I'm not giving up the needles. I was very pleasantly pleased to see that crochet can make lacy stuff - I'm used to the sc/dc afghans of my youth. Pretty!

Hubris

2008-09-16T17:57:00.002-05:00

I'm really cranking through the Little Blue Sweater, in this Fall's Interweave Knits. Only 9 days in, and I've already finished the back and all but one shoulder of the front. Here's the back:

The color is a little lighter than the picture - more of a cinnamon shade. It's Sandalwood in Louet Riverstone Chunky.

Hubris of course, because telling you how fast this is knitting up invites disaster - my only size 11 circulars will disintegrate; a bird will fly into the house and grab the last skein for her nest; I will burn my fingers while making tea. One should never brag about how well something is going. Bad karma.

But, it is going really well and I want to shout about it! Tension was a little wonky on the back - I'm not used to big wool and big needles, but the front looks much more even, especially in the ribbing. Now if only the temperature would drop a little farther - even in a lacy pattern with elbow length sleeves, I can tell this is going to be one warm sweater. The lace-on-size-11 demands a shirt underneath for modesty, as well as the rather rustic (read scratchy) feel of the wool.

We survived the remnants of Ike up here with just some debris in the yard - one advantage I guess, of a new-ish neighborhood. No trees large enough to do any real damage if they lose a limb or two. Other folks around the area, not so lucky.

I've got an hour of me-time tonight - DH took DD over to the rec center for her swimming lesson. Not that I don't get some me-time every night, after DD's bedtime, but it feels odd to be alone in a quiet house before sunset. I walked around the house, listened to the clocks, and went upstairs to rummage in my stash. Sigh. So many odd-balls in there. I really must figure out what to do with them. A log cabin blanket maybe? That would clear it all out in a hurry. Boring, but practical. Lots of mittens for charity? Hats? I dunno.

Okay baby, you can come out now!

2008-09-06T20:29:00.004-05:00

I told Michelle she could have her baby now - I'm all done knitting.

The Starghan from the last post is for the new baby; Elijah is a gift for the big-sister-to-be.

Is he not adorable? (And no, I have no problem with a pink boy elephant. After all, Lumpy the Heffalump was purple.)

Pattern: Elijah, by Ysolda Teague
Source: downloaded through Ravelry
Yarn: Bella DK (Universal Yarns), 1 skein, light pink

Needles: US 3
Time to completion: 8 days, including one day I didn't work on it because I had no stuffing available.

Pattern notes: A wonderfully written pattern, no mistakes that I could find, and crystal-clear in the directions of exactly where to pick up the stitches for the arms, legs, and ears.

Next up: Little Blue Sweater by Simona Merchant-Dest. Swatch, swatch, swatch. Turns out I will be doing the whole sweater on size 11 needles, rather than the recommended 9 and 10.5. Unless my tension loosens up midway, which has been known to happen.

Knitted Starghan

2008-09-01T07:46:00.003-05:00

I finished the Starghan, with only weeks to spare before Michelle's baby is born. Now I'm frantically putting ears on Elijah, a little gift for the soon-to-be big sister.

Here's the blanket!

Details:
Pattern: my own! The crochet version of this is quite popular, but I prefer knitting. I wasn't able to find a knitted pattern online, so I figured it out myself. I plan to write it up and post it on Ravelry as soon as I finish Elijah.
Yarn: Bernat Baby Softee, 4 skeins
Needles: US6. I started on DPNs, then moved to 24" and 36" circulars as the blanket grew.
Time to finish: 3 weeks once I figured out how to do it.

Back to the needles - just 1.5 ears to go! Due date is T+30 days, but baby #1 came 3 weeks early, so I figure I'd better get this done by the end of the week.

YES! YES! YES!

2008-08-08T11:31:00.002-05:00

;-)

Picture me doing a Meg Ryan imitation in a yarn store, plunging my hands deep into a shelf of soft merino worsted weight yarn and rubbing them all over me.

My Fall Interweave Knits came last night!

Just getting a new knitting magazine makes me extraordinarily happy, even if in the end I don't knit a single thing from it. The pictures! The possibilities! The ads!

My faves today: Knotty or Knice socks (despite the fact I would have to recalculate heavily to fit my size 9ish feet), Braided Pullover (sleeves look bizarrely long on model, but that's easy to fix), and Little Blue Sweater (would probably extend waist to cover a little more Mommy poochiness in the lower abs).

WEBS is having their summer sale....

And then we walked through a bog

2008-08-05T19:08:00.004-05:00

From Patterdale we crossed to Thirlmere, and from Thirlmere on to Grange on Borrowdale. In Thirlmere, the best of luck. Our B&B was tiny - just two rooms. At most B&B's, there are 4 - 5 rooms, and the breakfast room is set up with 4-5 tables for 2, one per room. Should you be traveling with another couple, they will pull two tables together for your group, but generally speaking, you are not required to socialize with strangers before your morning tea (or coffee). But Thirlmere was two rooms in the owners home. So we (all four of us) sat around the dining room table for breakfast.

The other pair that morning were two chaperones for a group of youth completing the trekking portion of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, sort of a co-ed version of Eagle Scout for young adults in England, from what we could tell. They asked us about our hike for the day. We had two options, we told them - 7 miles, crossing High Tove, or 13 miles, going over Brea Tarn. It was raining, and we weren't really up for the 13 miler. Oh no, they told us. You don't want to cross High Tove today. It's the boggier route even on a dry day, and it's been raining for several weeks now. If we wanted to wait around for another hour, they would be back this way after checking on their charges, and they would give us a lift in their van to the end of the lake. That would take 7 miles off the hike, and we could cross at Brea Tarn.

We accepted, and later, as we sank into the not-so-boggy ground around Brea Tarn up to our bootlaces, were so thankful we had met this pair. It's hard to believe High Tove could be any boggier than this, but later we met another hiker who confirmed the bog of High Tove - he was hiking with two friends last year, and one had sunk up to his KNEES in the bog. It took the two non-sunk friends to pull the first one out. What the hell would we have done if DH had sunk up to his knees? I don't think I would have been able to pull him out myself, and most days we saw few, if any, other hikers.

The rain finally stopped in Grange before dinner, and held off for the entire last day of hiking! We took the easy route the last day, just 7 miles around the lakeshore, no elevation change (my knees are killing me).

Last night in Keswick - I broke out project #3: Treenah. Yep - crochet! Technically, knitting needles are still verboten at Manchester Airport. While many Knittys assert that they have had no problems knitting on flights out of Manchester, I decided not to risk it.

I crochet painfully slowly, but over the course of the last evening, the train ride back to Manchester, and the flight(s) back to Grand Rapids, I finished half the scarf (1 ball of Knit Picks Essentials). Neat!

Back at home now, I'm (almost) done with the Starghan. I cast off last night so I could spread it out and properly measure it -

The doll on the blanket is 18" tall; the blanket underneath it is ~26 x 28". I looked through Audrey's old baby blankets, and the ones around 28 - 32" were the most used. The Starghan is 28" across each axis, but this is somehow feeling a little small to me. I'm going to undo the bindoff and work another stripe or two, make it a little meatier. I'm getting seriously worried that I won't finish both projects for Michelle before her baby comes. Each stripe takes about 3 evenings of knitting now.

Well, back to the needles!

By jove, I think I've got it!

2008-08-01T20:01:00.002-05:00

Check it out!

I took the time to put the Starghan blanket onto a lifeline after the third stripe to see if it really laid flat, and to measure the angles. So far, so good! I'm on stripe 8 now, still have another 1 or 2 to go (I'm aiming for a blanket around 32" in diameter). Took an evening with a pad of graph paper to figure it out (yeah, we're old. We have a pad of graph paper in the house.)

And I'm already thinking about the next blanket - Nancy is expecting! I have until Feb. 1 or thereabouts to finish that one.

Woot!

And then it started raining

2008-07-30T19:26:00.002-05:00

We headed out in threatening skies to Dockray in a cab arranged by Mickledore, then hit the trail to Pooley Bridge. After about 10 minutes, the rain started, so we stopped, opened our daypacks, and put on our raingear, then continued on down the trail to Aira Force, a waterfall. The rain let up so we took a few pictures here, then moved on. Then it started again, and didn't let up until we were a few hundred yards away from Pooley Bridge, where we spent the next night. (That pretty much covers the first 5 hours of walking. Rain. Lots of rain. Through pastures, lanes, a small forest, and around the side of a small hill.) In the middle of this cold windy rain I thought - I wish I had fingerless gloves now! That would really be nice.

That night I cast on for Evangeline in Mirasol Miski, the softest yarn ever. I modified the length a bit to be inbetween the long and short versions. It's a super quick knit, I finished the first one in two evenings. It's a little snug across the palm for me though; I think I will rework it with a thumb gusset.

The next day, more rain as we walked from Pooley Bridge to Patterdale. According to the brochure at the B&B, Crookabeck Angora's is just up the road, but it's one of those call for an appointment places (working farm), and since goat based yarn makes me itch, I decided not to bother them, knowing that I wouldn't actually buy anything. We also saw Wordsworth's former cottage (now a B&B).

The most astonishing thing on this hike? No matter how high you hike (and I think we went 2000 ft up in elevation today), there is a sheep higher than you. Except at the cairn with the elevation marker. There weren't any sheep on that particular small pile of rocks. But they were nearby, and not breathing nearly as hard as I was.

A proper dinner at a pub - fish and chips (the biggest piece of fried fish I have ever seen), a pint and half of ale, and a good nights sleep. The half-pint of beer, by the way, is the most wonderful thing. I really don't feel so good after two full pints, but sometimes you just want a little more, you know? I wish we had half-glasses here too.

Two planes, 5 skeins of yarn

2008-07-25T20:34:00.002-05:00

So, I overpacked for vacation. I brought three projects.

We headed out from Grand Rapids on Thursday, after a massive storm Wednesday blacked out power to 200,000 western Michiganders (Michigandites?). Not a massive problem usually, we've got lots of flashlights (DH works for the Bunny), and my in-laws have a gas stove and plenty of matches. What we didn't plan for was the well. Without power, they have no water. And since we really wanted to shower before embarking on a two-plane, one-train, one-bus, nearly 24 hour (including time difference) journey, we headed first to my SIL's, who DID have power. And water, being that they live in a subdivision with city water supply.

Squeaky clean, we head out, stopping at Panera for lunch, then the library for Audrey (she spent the week with Grandma and Grandpa), then the GR airport, about an hour away. At the airport, I realize I left my fleece jacket at the SIL's. Sigh. No way to get it now.

Quick flight to O'Hare, then board the plane to Manchester. I pull out project one, Tidal Wave Socks by SWTC. I didn't actually bring the pattern with me - I memorized the lace pattern before I left. Yeah, right. And while looking for the link for the free pattern just now, I see that it has disappeared. I sure hope I downloaded it somewhere.

As you can see here, I'm getting serious pooling issues with this yarn. I'm sure its because I'm working at 72 sts/round. The pattern is suggested on size 2 needles/64 sts per round, but I prefer the fabric I get on size 1 needles.

I realized at this point (day 2 of trip) that I have not successfully memorized the lace pattern. Meh.

We arrived in Keswick, Cumbria and checked into our B&B, Cranford House. We were way early for check-in, but we had emailed ahead to Carol, the owner, and she got our room ready early for us. Except for the air and land travel, the entire trip was organized by Mickledore Travel. I can't say enough good things about the company. We've never been to the UK before, and they were so helpful. They run inn-to-inn self-guided hiking tours around England. They booked all the B&B's, provided TOPO maps with our route highlighted, detailed written instructions to accompany the maps, and moved our luggage each day to the next B&B. This is civilized hiking! We also arranged for a bag lunch each day from the B&B, so we just packed up our suitcases, left them in the hall, and headed out on the trails. When we reached the next B&B, our suitcases were waiting for us, along with dry clothes, a hot shower, and pot of tea.

Being a tea drinker, I really fell in love with England. They make much better tea there than we have here.

Friday (first full day in England) was actually sunny, so we wandered around Keswick and tried to stay awake to avoid the jet lag on Saturday, first day of hiking. Cute town. From the looks of it, there are only three types of businesses in this town. 1. Own a B&B. 2. own a restaurant. 3. own an outdoor-outfitter store (hiking/camping/climbing supplies). But this suited us just fine.
We walked down to the lake. We saw sheep. Unaware that we would see many, many more sheep before the end of our vacation, we took pictures.

In retrospect, this was a good idea. These were the last dry sheep we saw for the next 6 days.

Bye!

Houston, we have a problem

2008-07-19T19:18:00.002-05:00

After knitting mucho-many rounds on the Starghan for Michelle's baby-to-be, I proudly cast off, certain I had discovered the secret to a knitted 5-point-star afghan. After all, 99% of all starghans on Ravelry are crocheted. Could it simply be that no knitter had bother to see this adorable afghan? Had I really been the first to figure it out? I could publish the pattern! People would link to me! I would be a star (pun intended) in the knitted baby afghan world.

Alas, it was not to be.

It is a royal disaster. Perhaps someone out there knows a jellyfish in need of a burqa? A basketball in need of a wig? Because this is more than a little gauge issue.

Upon closer examination (and by closer, I mean I dug through my desk until I found my old protractor), I found that the internal angle of each "arm" of the star is 60 degrees. 60 degrees is the required angle for a 6-point star, not 5. 5 needs 72 degrees. Believe it or not, I did swatch. But I only swatched what I thought was 1/5 of the star - and it looked pointy, like it should work just fine. I did not measure the actual angle. My bad.

I think I've figured out the ratios to make a 5 point star. Time to frog and try again. The pressure's on now. Baby is due in only 2 months, and I want to make a gift for her 1 year-old as well.

Updates on my vacation to the land of sheep next time. (Teaser - I did pack three projects for a 10 day trip. I finished 50% of two of them, and ~25% of the third.)

Whoops - It's June!

2008-06-25T15:27:00.003-05:00

Arghh. I really need to accept the fact that the blog police will not come to my house and arrest me if I write a post without photos. They will not wipe my blog from the internet; they will not send cybergoons through the cable to delete my network connection. Nothing bad will happen. And then perhaps, I would post more regularly.

I mean, look! These socks here today have been finished for almost a month. I’ve hiked in them already, for cripes sake. They are done, done, done. But have I shown them to you? No. Pure laziness on my part – you know, finding a camera when the house is light enough to take pictures, uploading the photo, editing it, loading it into Photobucket. A poor excuse, I know. Most people don’t seem to struggle with this.

Finally I present to you my RPM socks! Or, as I like to call them, my RPM|MPR socks. ‘Cause I reversed the direction of the purl stitch spiral on the second sock so they would be mirror image of each other. Lying flat, the first sock has a much more distinct spiral – the purl stitches really pop out of the fabric. The second sock, not so much. I suspect this is related to everything from the synergy of the spiral matching/not matching the direction of knitting in the round to the way I wrap my stitches. On the ankles though, the differences fade and they really do look neat. I also did these toe up (Judy’s magic cast on), with a stockinette foot (no funky ridges when I’m hiking), and a short-row heel. Oh, and twisted 1x1 ribbing on top. But otherwise, credit where it’s due – the pattern is here.

I made these from some of my crazy Cherry Tree Hill Super Sport stash (this colorway is Spanish Moss). Crazy because I bought 8 skeins in 8 different colors (big grab bag sale). Thanks to the wonder that is the Ravelry yarn search, I discovered that a single skein (~250 yds) is in fact enough to make a pair of adult socks. Not that I need 7 pairs of wildly colored boot socks, but at least I know I can do it. I used one skein some time ago to make a scarf, too.

In other news, I’m getting ready for my big English hiking trip. What to pack… hmmm, let’s see, is 3 projects too many for an 8 day trip? (Note to self: yes. Don’t be ridiculous. Even if you stay awake for every minute of the trans-Atlantic flight in both directions, you cannot knit through that much yarn in that few days.) Two books – both non-fiction (snore….., but required reading for upcoming book club meetings). My not-quite-dead-yet MP3 player (will replace when I get home). Here’s a hmmmm for you. What do people with IPods do when they travel overseas? Do you carry an electric plug converter with you? My current player runs on a single AAA battery – you can get them anywhere on the planet. But it looks like almost all the new devices (most brands) for sale use a lithium ion battery (permanent, rechargeable). That seems like kind of a pain, considering how nice it is to have music on a really long plane trip.

In other knitting news, I’m into the painful part of a baby-blanket in the round for a friend of mine. DK weight, size 6 needles. I think I’m at over 250 sts/round now. I do twelve rows/color and it was fun at first to finish a color per night. Now I’m at around 3 nights per color. Not as much fun.

Okay, I promise to post more regularly in the future. Maybe not with pretty pictures every time, but less than a month between posts.

{Edited Thursday: Did I say 250 sts/round? I must have been smoking. I counted last night. It's at 500 sts/round. Ugh. The end is in sight, but it's a lot of stitches away.}

Time is speeding by!

2008-05-12T19:39:00.002-05:00

Whoops - almost a month since my last blog post. Too busy! Too busy cranking out a great pair of Monkey Socks for Mother's Day, carrying them all the way to Chicago so I could block them in my hotel room and mail them to Mom in time for Mother's Day, then popping them in an envelope and tossing them in the hotel mail drop BEFORE I remembered to take a photo of them. Damn. Double Damn. I dragged the stupid camera all the way to the Radtech 2008 conference (which was very educational, BTW) and I forgot to photograph the danged socks. They were in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Mixed Berries, a gift from my Secret Pal Sarah last summer. There was quite a bit left over - maybe minnie-Monkeys for Audrey?

The Lazy Kate is finished, and wow - does it make plying a world easier.

I plied up the second Lettuce Knits dyed roving I bought last October on my trip to Toronto - you can see the two roving hanks below, and the yarn they became.

I'm starting to accumulate a small pile of short (<100 yd) hanks of homespun. No idea what to do with it.

I finished Audrey's summer sweater:

My thoughts? A little loose in the gauge. I don't think it will wear/wash as well as last summer's sweater. And she lost interest in it shortly after I finished it. I think I may stick to winter sweaters for her for the forseeable future. It's only in the 60's here, and she's already wearing T-shirts. She'd be in shorts too, if I let her. Brrrrr. I'm wearing a long sleeved twin-set today. I can't imagine baring my arms below about 75 F.

What's on the needles now? Nada. After my initial rush of excitement over the Summer IK issue, I decided there isn't really anything in there that I really want to make. The Apres Surf Hoodie is my top choice, but when I look at the yardage, I realize for my size, that's like making 8 identical lace socks, all in the same color. Nope. The Wakame Tunic is fascinating from a "Damn that's challenging" point of view, but I showed it to my co-workers in the lunch room and had to admit that it does look a lot like Grandma's lace tablecloth. I'd be better off tracking down a Niebling tablecloth pattern and making a real heirloom. (Check out the beautiful FO's on this web page. I am just in awe.) And the rest just don't really appeal to me. I may go back to the Spring issue and re-visit my favorites from that.

I can't believe it's mid-May already!

Almost caught up

2008-04-15T19:46:00.002-05:00

then I fell completely behind. How does that happen? Yesterday I went to bed feeling on top of the world. I put Audrey to bed, came downstairs, set up some chicken to roast so we could eat it tonight for dinner, paid the bills, took out the garbage and recycling, put the first coat of stain on my Kate and bobbins, and cleaned up the kitchen.

Tonight, it's already 9 p.m. and all I've gotten done is the dishes. Huh? Why did I have so much more time last night? I don't get it.

Audrey's sweater just needs a neckline, but I haven't decided yet exactly how to do it. Next up? I don't know. Socks maybe.

Green stuff baby!

2008-04-06T18:20:00.005-05:00

Spring! I think it's really here! Time to break out the cotton yarn:
a new sweater (short sleeve) for Audrey. This one is a 50/50 cotton acrylic blend (Plymouth jeannee) that washes and dries very nicely. It's knitting up super quick; I started swatching on April 1st, and now (April 6) I am done with the back, and halfway through the front. I just finished the second ball and expect to use a little over three balls to complete this project.

I didn't get nearly as much done as I planned to this weekend due to the first truly nice spring weekend. And that means....gardening! Still way to early to put new things in the ground, but just right for raking up the rotting dregs of the hostas, the old oak leaves (from next door. Hmpphhh), pruning the ends of the rose bushes, and just generally getting ready for planting time.

We spent a part of Sunday at the garden store, buying a new peach tree. See?

Looks nice on the deck, no? Well, it's way too early to plant it in the ground, as I said. It's going to spend the next couple weeks on the deck so that A) if there is a frost warning I can bring it into the kitchen for the night and B) it is protected from deer. There is a whole mess of lawn furniture blocking the entrance to the deck. I'm guessing the deer will not be so crazy as to jump over the railing and trap themselves on the deck to get at the tree. There's easier food around here.

Here is the tree it is replacing, that we just planted last year. It had more than two branches when we planted it (deer ate the rest), and bark too (white trunk protector was installed after they nibbled off the bark all the way round).

The six-foot tall stakes were pounded in Saturday. After the new tree goes in, the deer wire (like chicken wire, but taller) goes up. They are NOT going to eat this tree!

The cherry tomatoes Audrey planted with my MIL are sprouting on the kitchen counter:

I love spring!

Spring is here!

2008-04-02T18:58:00.003-05:00

I know this because there was a ladybug on the ceiling at dinner last night, and the kitchenette at work had quite a few of those teeny tiny ants near the coffee pot. Ahhh, critters.

So, only 2 weeks after a record snowy March storm, spring has finally crept up on us. And like spring, so creeps the WIPs. Despite my best efforts, I now have 3 WIPs. The quilt - I'm doing quite well with the border strips. The center blocks need to be started over. They are just a disaster. I started a summer sweater for Audrey in Plymouth jeannee - a 50/50 cotton/acrylic worsted yarn. And a woodworking project - I ordered a lazy Kate and bobbins to help with plying last Friday night and it arrived Tuesday! Now that's fast shipping - considering it had to travel from California to Ohio. Kudos to Villagespinweave.com for getting it out the door less than 24 hours after I ordered it. I bought the "unfinished" kate and bobbins though, so it's into the basement for me for some sanding and Minwaxing. I was tempted to assemble it and start plying right away, then take it apart later to finish it, but the assembly screws look like they would best be left in place once tightened.

No pictures today - I can't get motivated to take a lot of pictures of partially finished stuff.

Bye!

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

2008-03-20T19:53:00.002-05:00

The Good

I spent the last week or so doing a little stash control – I used up all but 22 g of the Capri Swish Superwash I bought for Audrey’s Aran last year making another sweater (around 18 month size), and a pair of mittens (about 3 years size). The mittens took 17 grams each – maybe I should make a generic (non-handed) third mitten and send it along with the other two in case the recipient loses one? They’re all going to charity though – would the agency just think I’m nuts? The mittens are such a fast project – about 1.5 hours each. Two evenings in front of the TV and you’ve got a pair! I got the pattern here. The site also has mitten patterns for all ages.

The construction was different than I was expecting – the mittens were knit flat and sewn up the side (and down the thumb). While I was initially a little annoyed (I dislike seaming), in hindsight I think I prefer a few inches of seaming to working 32 stitches (the length of one row) in the round. 8 stitches per needle over 4 needles is how I start out socks on dpns (toe up), and that’s like wrestling a porcupine. At least with socks, I increase to 16 sts/needle pretty quickly (64 total). The mittens only go up to 40 total after the thumb. The sweater is from EZ’s Knitting Without Tears – Seamless Raglan Sweater. A little wonky in the armpits where I had to graft, but passable.

The Details: EZ's seamless raglan sweater, described in "Knitting Without Tears"
Needles: US 8
Yarn: about 2 skeins of KnitPicks Swish Superwash (worsted) in Capri
Began/Finished: March 7 - March 12, 2008. Still need to sew on 2 buttons on placket.

The Details: 3 year old cabled mittens

Source: www.freevintageknitting.com
Yarn: KnitPicks Swish Superwash (worsted) in Capri, 34 g
Needles: US3
Began/Finished: March 15 - 16, 2008

The Bad.

I think my car is trying to bankrupt me. It’s a relatively new (6 years) car, with only 68K miles. Until now, absolutely repair-free. Sure, the rear brakes needed replacing at 50K, and of course a new set of tires around 40K, and the periodic oil change and tire rotation, but you’ll have that with every car. I brought my car in for it’s 60K tune up this weekend (again, a routine expense), expecting it would be a few hundred dollars. They do drain and replace all your fluids, and generally monkey around with the guts for a half-day or so. The mechanic called me a few hours into the job – I need new front brakes today too (+$300), and that funny smell? That’s a leaking head gasket. $2000 if I want to do it today, or he can pour in a bottle of Super Seal for $6.99 and put off the gasket for a little while. Funny, he says, he’s had six or seven of my model car in his shop in the last year with the exact same problem. I chose the latter of course, then went online. Turns out the manufacturer KNOWS the head gaskets were faulty for about 5 years of production. Turns out they were supposed to notify me by mail back in 2004 (they didn’t). Their fix? No, they aren’t replacing all those head gaskets. If I had brought it to the dealer, they would have poured in a free bottle of “Official Manufacturer Brand engine seal”, and extended the gasket warranty up to 8 years/100K. But only if I go get that done at the dealership. Which of course is too late, since my mechanic had already poured in the Valvoline product. Arghhhh! Hopefully the Super Seal will get me another 30K miles, and then I plan on replacing the car anyway. No one in my family has ever managed to have a car make it past 100K. Either the body rusts out, or the maintenance/repair costs become more than the car is worth. My co-worker can’t believe that, since all her cars have make it over 200K, but I guess bad car luck runs in my family.

Oh yeah. And on Tuesday my windshield cracked.

The Ugly.

I think I bit off more than I can chew with this quilt. I got all the pieces cut out, checking against the templates along the way to make sure they were all the right sizes. I started piecing last night (ripping out one seam for every two I sewed), and when I got to the final seam of the first block – look. It’s like one piece is an entirely wrong size! There is no seam allowance on that piece! When I sew the border on, I’m going to lop off the point of the black triangle.

The instructions are no help. They assume you know how to sew together non-45° triangles. No matter which way I match them up – the resulting edges of the rectangle are not even. Help! I’m sure this is why at the end I am missing a ¼” on one side.

I think I should have bought a brighter yellow fabric too – but I’m not going to start over on that. This is looking like it’s going to be another “practice quilt” – you know, those quilts you spend a lot of time on, then bury in a box when they are done. But I guess I won’t get better if I don’t practice. It’s frustrating, because I feel like I can deal with just about any knitting pattern, but these stupid triangles are beating my butt.

Adios!

The things we do for love

2008-03-09T14:36:00.003-05:00

We knit with eyelash yarn, held doubled, on size 10.5 needles.

Can you tell what this is going to be? A Santa hat of course! Somebody in my MIL's choir decided they should all knit these hats for the 2008 Christmas Mass, passed out copies of the "pattern", and gave them a 10 month lead on the project. So, my MIL went to her LYS for assistance picking out yarn (the yarn in the pattern has been discontinued), and needles. The LYS employee was a bit concerned because the pattern HAS NO GAUGE! but figured out that it must be bulky, because the whole thing starts out with only 50 sts around. It think the yarn subs were actually pretty nice, and the eyelash yarn does have a very soft "knitting a small animal" feel to it, but after a few inches into the crown of the hat, it is very obvious that this is way too small.

The visit is over, and MIL is taking the mess back to her LYS to see if this project could be salvaged with larger needles. My recommendation is to frog and start over, but then, I won't be the one frogging 50 g of eyelash yarn, held double. Oy.

And in small needle news - new socks! These were a speed record for me, only 11 days for the pair. Very basic toe-up (Judy's magic cast on), short row heel construction. Yarn: Regia Bamboo, Needles, US1.

Cool pooling in this yarn, more vertical than horizontal, and very subtle. I don't mind it at all and really don't care that these socks are fraternal twins. This yarn has been in my stash since last summer. I bought it on vacation in Michigan (store has since closed).

And, some snowstorm knitting (we got over 12" since Friday afternoon):

A simple blue raglan sweater in KnitPicks Swish Superwash in Capri. Leftover yarn from Audrey's Aran. I bought 7 balls for her sweater and only used 3.75. I'm aiming at ~18 month size for this one to use up the remaining 3+ balls. It will go to charity.

That's it! Besides shoveling the driveway (our plow guy could have made a fortune this weekend if he had bothered to show up), and cooking meals for my snowbound family - it's been a pretty quiet week here.

Bye!

Trellis Scarf

2008-02-22T21:08:00.005-05:00

My Trellis Scarf is finished! The bulk of the scarf took 3 weeks to finish, then I spent another week knitting and frogging the finishing border. I read on Ravelry how people were unhappy with the finishing border ending straight across when the beginning border has points. Turns out, just working the beginning border backwards does NOT give you the reverse! I figured it out though, or at least well enough to give a pointy finish without having to block the bejeezus out of it (which can be done with the pattern as written if you bind off loosely enough). Did I mention my blocking pins have all gone AWOL? Haven't a clue where they are. Probably on a warm beach somewhere.

So, here it is!

Pattern: Trellis Scarf
Designer: Evelyn A. Clark
Source: Interveave Knits Spring 2006
Yarn: KnitPicks Shadow, Jewels
Needles: US5
Began: 1/19/2008
Finished: 2/20/2008

Here's what I did to get the ending to match the beginning: When you reach the end of the 23rd repeat, as in the pattern, work the first 8 rows of the Lace chart in the pattern, then the first 4 rows of the Ending Border. For the 5th row, and every following odd row, create a "point" in the stockinette section of the pattern repeat by making the center stitch (this is the stitch immediately to the right of the pattern repeat box) into three stitches by knitting into the front, then the back, then the front again of the center stitch without dropping the stitch from the left needle (k(FBF)). After you have created the three stitches from one, drop it off the left needle. To accomodate the two new stitches in the center of the repeat, you need to decrease at the left and right sides of the "triangle" using k2tog on the right side and ssk on the left.

So, for Row 5: sl 1 pwise wyf k2tog yo k2tog k yo k2tog k k(FBF) *k ssk yo k ssk yo sk2p yo k2tog k yo k2tog k k(FBF)* k ssk yo k ssk yo ssk k

The stitches in red above are the alterations from the original chart. If you have the pattern, hopefully you will be able to see easily how this propagates up the chart.

Here's my attempt at a chart, made in Excel. I hope it is clear enough to print! You can email me or pm me through Blogger if you want me to email you the Excel spreadsheet.

From top to bottom: my "new" Ending Border, the border as written in the pattern, and the Beginning Border (placed upside down for comparison).

So now what?
Stashbusting - socks and lace
WIPbusting - the quilt I started cutting out pieces for
budgetbusting - order more stuff for spinning. I decided to get a tensioned lazy Kate and some bobbins for plying, because the balls-of-energized-singles-in-a-coffee-mug just isn't working out. I tried to make a Kate out of a shoebox, as shown here, but it just isn't working at all for me. Now, the Kate and bobbins aren't all that expensive, but they only get me half way to free shipping, so I should order a new spindle and some fiber to get to that free shipping minimum, right?

I'll have to think about it some more.

A bit of catching up to do.

2008-02-04T20:14:00.000-05:00

First, my Booga Bag. Finished a couple of weeks ago actually, but I’m slow getting the camera out.

A quick and easy knit – Julie’s instructions are clear and easy to follow. I only had 2.5 skeins of Kureyon, and finished this with yarn to spare (a little). I worked up the body on US10 needles and the i-cord on US8, because this was a stash project and I don’t buy new needles for stash projects. Especially when the needles are larger than US10. I just try to avoid those projects. Felted one long cycle (hot wash/cold rinse) in the washer (I did the 15 minute washing option, no extra rinses), then fitted it over two plastic-bag covered cookbooks to dry. To give the bottom some structure, I made a little basket out of super-stiff interfacing (Pellon) and used a fusible interfacing to glue some pretty coordinating fabric to the inside. It’s been a while since I last used double-sided fusible interfacing – I glued my basket template to the ironing board!

Rave reviews at work – everyone thought it was cute, even before I told them I made it. Quite a nice compliment – I’m never sure if people say they like something you made just because they feel obligated, or if they actually like it.

Rave reviews at home – Audrey demanded her own “but my size”. And pink (changed her mind from red). Well, I didn’t have pink wool and didn’t want to prolong this project (but thanks for your offer Leigh!), but I did have a full skein of Plymouth Encore left over from her Scarborough sweater. Feltable? No. But knit on US2 needles, it’s just about bullet proof on its own. Basic recipe: 7 sts/inch. Cast on 40 inches, work 14 rows garter stitch. Pick up 7 stitches on each end, and 40 stitches on the long sides. Work 5.5 inches in stockinette. Add a row of K2tog, yo eyelets (to facilitate threading the i-cord), then 4 rows of garter stitch to prevent edge curl. 36 inches of 3-stitch i-cord for the handles and you have a mini-booga bag for your littlest princess. Dimensions are ~6 x 6 x 1”. Used 45 g of the Encore.

My Trellis Scarf is moving along at a steady pace of about 1 pattern repeat per 60 – 90 minutes. I’m halfway done! On a good night, I can get two repeats finished. If I really apply myself, I may be able to finish this by Valentine’s Day. I could wear it to dinner? Over what, I’m not sure. But, it’s a worthy goal.

Next, Looky! – lots of little fabric shapes in ziplock baggies. It’s such a humbling experience to start working in some craft I don’t do but once in a blue moon. It took about 5 hours to cut all these pieces. The front of the quilt (with three borders) is only a mere 44” wide. You can’t imagine how much longer it will take to sew all the pieces together. I think this pattern was listed in the “weekend projects” section of the magazine.

And my last FO for the week: my Christmas present (one of them) from DH:

There are four giant flowers on top of a 16" stem. I started forcing this amaryllis bulb as soon as we got home after Christmas, so about 5 weeks from bulb to flower. This is one.big.flower.

Toodles!

Lace Zen

2008-01-24T20:13:00.000-05:00

I have achieved Lace Zen. That moment when suddenly you aren’t just reading your lace, you know your lace. You can put the chart away, remove all those annoying stitch markers and just knit.

Somewhere in the third pattern repeat of the Trellis Scarf I reached this state last night. I understood the pattern. And not that I have anything against stitch markers, but in this pattern the repeating unit shifts a couple of times over the 16 rows, so you are constantly moving the markers. Which really slows things down and breaks my concentration.

I'm making it in KnitPicks Shadow in the Jewel colorway. It's really not that intense blue, more sapphire blue with flecks of amethyst throughout. And of course it looks a little like unblocked spaghetti.

I haven’t removed the lifeline though. I’m happy, but not crazy. That’s still coming along for the ride, advancing every pattern repeat in Row 2. Row 1 has those 7-into-5 jobs (K7tog leave on needle, m1, K7tog leave on needle, m1, K7tog slip (5) new stitches from needle. A sight easier than the P7tog in the Swallowtail Shawl, but dang! This is not lunchroom knitting.

I haven’t quite committed to only knitting from Stash in 2008, but I am making a serious effort to diminish the beast. I have enough lace yarn for 5 lace scarves, but not enough of any one color for a shawl. Enough fingering weight for about 6 pairs of socks. Those two categories alone could fill up 2008. I doubt I’ll stick to only lace and socks for the whole year, but I will refrain from buying any more lace or sock yarn until these are used up. And I’m not one to buy random bags of worsted unless I have a pattern in mind first.

The Booga Bag is (essentially) finished – I think I want to add some stiff interfacing to the bottom to keep it from bulging when I put things in it. Are felted bags supposed to be so floppy? For some reason I thought it would be very stiff.

And guess who wants a felted purse of her own now too? You guessed it – Audrey! Everything Mommy has, she wants one too. In red. I think I have some red Lamb’s Pride in Stash (I hope I hope) so I won’t need to buy any more. Why she wants another purse (she has at least 3 – red corduroy, pink sparkly, and purple vinyl) I have no idea. It’s not like she carries a wallet. She does have a cell phone though. Three actually (all toys). You can never be too prepared! I think a scaled-down Booga Bag shouldn’t take more than an evening. Or maybe I’ll just make a rectangle, fold it in half, sew the sides and add a handle. Very easy.

DH will be home tomorrow (I hope). Looking forward to a quiet weekend and a playdate on Saturday.

Bye!

Sanity has returned

2008-01-17T20:07:00.000-05:00

After thinking just a little more, I decided that making Audrey a Valentine's sweater would actually be a pretty dumb idea. It would take most of the next month to make, and she would only be able to wear it for about 2 more months before the weather gets a little too warm for a wool sweater. And it won't fit next year, I'm pretty sure.

How fast is she growing, you ask? In one year (1/17/2007 to 1/17/2008), this much:

drum roll please.....

3.675 inches

Taa Daaaa! It's the amazing stretching preschooler! Holy cow, I knew the marks on the wall were getting farther apart, but wow - that's a lot of growth. No wonder her legs always hurt.

So, moving ahead with my stash-busting goals, I cast on for the Booga Bag. I've got 2.5 skeins of Kureyon left over from last year, a little short of the 3 called for in the pattern. I'm also working on size 10 needles instead of 10.5 (my 10.5's are too long), and using size US8 for the i-cord, cause those are my biggest dpns. I figure, I'm going to felt it. Whats a little gauge between friends? (Insert ominous music here). Our washer is dropping hints that it may not be long for this world, and since we have pretty much decided to replace it with one of those high-efficiency front loaders when it dies, I want to get the felting project out of the way. I'm not a huge fan of felting, so if this is my last project, I'll live.

After this, who knows? Mom's birthday is March 1st - maybe a pair of socks? Or else lace (for me. She got a lace scarf in 2006.) Or maybe focus on spinning for a bit. It's all good.

We'll see what happens. I'll have a lot of knitting time next week - DH is going out of town and I always have trouble going to sleep when he's not here. Nervous about the night I guess.

Later!

Halfway through January

2008-01-13T20:51:00.000-05:00

Sigh. It's really gray and rainy here. Or is it grey and rainy? I can never remember the right spelling for that color (but not colour - I know my GPS coordinates).

Last week I got an oh-so-wonderful three day all-expenses trip to Boca Raton, Florida! Woot! The weather was perfect - 80F and sunny every day. All I had to do was spend from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with some coworkers and some potential business partners. Which would have been great if one of them was not a chain-smoker. In the office. And IN THE LAB! Nothing like watching someone light up a smoke a few feet from a 5 gal drum of methanol. Eep! I have never had to use my inhaler 3 times in 24 hours before now. A new experience for me.

The "late" starting time each morning meant I got to go out for a jog (to the beach! In shorts and a t-shirt!) Weds and Thurs, which is a real treat. Just the temperature was a treat. I never jog to the ocean from my house - it's a few hundred miles. Even Lake Erie is a bit past my current fitness level I think, although I may work on that this spring and summer. And meals were al-fresco, which kept the concentration of smoke to a minimum. And I ate a lot of seafood, which I love. Is it still health food if it is battered and fried?

The three hour flight meant a little quality Knitting time of course - just right for a Cascade Fixation ankle sock:

You can get a pair of these out of one skein, which I think was about $6 (can't remember). I used US3 needles, and 40 sts/round. Speedy knit. The thing is - I don't really like the way this sock looks on my foot or feels. I may not make the second one.

After arriving home, I finished my Northern Lights Mittens. My first real Fair Isle project. The picture below is post-blocking - my gauge loosened up considerably as I got used to the two handed knitting technique. They fit well in the wrists, thumbs, and lower hand, but have way too much free space up at top. I don't know if that is just the way I knit them, or the way they were designed. Probably just me.

As you might expect, the pattern uses up lots more Bark and Blue yarn than red, peach, orange, apricot, or pool. Here's what I had left of each ball: bark - 33 g; blue - 30 g; red - 46 g; peach - 47 g; orange - 46 g, apricot - 48 g; and pool - 41 g. So, there is enough yarn in the initial purchase (7 balls of Palette) to make two complete pairs of Northern Lights, and then (350 - 2x60 = 230 g) = 3 pairs more pairs in random color patterns + 50 g left over. That's a lot of mittens for $14! I think I will make more mittens, but probably just in two colors to practice the technique. Charity knitting perhaps? (I really don't need 5 new pairs of mittens).

No (intentional) pattern mods here. I used US2 needles to get gauge of 10 sts/inch; started 11/24/2007 and finished 1/12/2008.

Which brings me to this: empty needles. And no real jones to make anything yet. I'm toying with some stash-busting projects - a booga bag to use up the Kureyon from last year's vest, a couple lace scarves to use up all though single skeins of laceweight I bought a couple of years ago. This afternoon I had a sudden brainstorm that I should design and knit a Valentine's day sweater for my daughter as a surprise. Because, you know, I like stressful deadlines. That's probably what I'll do. Because, you know, I'm kind of dumb that way.

See you later!

2007 year in review

2007-12-30T20:31:00.000-05:00

Hmmm. Only 36 hours left in 2007, give or take a few. So, what have I accomplished?

1. Painted living room and dining room, hung drapes and made valence in living room. Poor choice of paint color.

2. New landscaping in front of house (woo hoo! It makes our house look twice as big now that it's not hiding behind overgrown shaggy trees.)

3. Survived first full year in new job.

4. Learned how to change a tire. In dress clothes. In a drizzling rain. Sigh.

5. Completed 12 knitting projects, or an average of one per month. There is only one scarf that did not get a blog entry - it is ummmm, novel. As in novelty yarn novel. Sparkly!
In reverse order:
1. Grey mini-mock cable dress socks - simple, understated. KnitPicks Essentials yarn.
2. Tumbling shells socks - designed for my SockSwap pal in CTH supersock, one of my favorite superwash yarns.
3. Kureyon deep-V vest - designed by me for me - form fitting and fully steeked! My first steeked project.
4. Jitterbug Castagna socks - basic feather and fan socks in Colinette Jitterbug yarn.
5. Audrey's summer sweater - a basic cotton tee with a braid at the bottom
6. Follow the leader shawl - Faroese shaped shawl in Jagger wool-silk lace yarn
7. Jaywalker socks - 'cause everybody needs a pair of these comfy socks! In Brown Sheep Wildfoote.
8. Coronet - a gift of Malabrigo from my first Secret Pal was waiting for a perfect hat pattern. I love it!
9. Scarborough - an adaptation of AS's pattern for my daughter
10. Minimalist cardigan - in KnitPicks Andean Silk. Loosely constructed, yet dressy enough for work.
11. Love-in-Idleness socks - my first socks with the much-coveted STR yarn.

On the needles: well, right this moment nothing. But I still have one of the Northern Lights Mittens to cast on. After that, who knows? I'm thinking of maybe some lace, and more socks of course. I don't have any big projects in mind right now. And I would like to clear out some of my stash.

I leave you with - Cincinnati Chili

I made a crockpot of this for dinner tonight, and I was thinking "this is one of my favorite recipes" . Nothing gourmet, but oh is it good. And not terrible for you either, like some of my other favorite foods (fried cheese curds and fry-bread come to mind).

1 - 1.5 lbs of ground beef
small onion, chopped

Brown the beef and onion together in a skillet, drain the grease.
Add to a crockpot with:

29 oz. tomato sauce
15 oz. chopped or diced canned tomatoes
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1.5 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 clove garlic (whole)
3 bay leaves
1 square (1 oz) unsweetened Baker's chocolate

Simmer in the crockpot on "low" for ~5 hours (set up after lunch to eat at dinner).
Serve over spaghetti with shredded cheddar cheese.

I can eat this year-round, but it especially good in the Fall and Winter. Enjoy!

Love in Idleness socks

2007-12-29T22:11:00.000-05:00

Love in Idleness socks complete!

The pics:

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, Love in Idleness
Needles: US1
Pattern: toe up with gusset heel, plain stockinette foot and leg

While I wasn't plagued by the pooling that other people report for this yarn, try as I might (I cast on the second sock three times), I could not get the stripe frequency to match for the two socks. I checked my gauge several times on both socks too - and while they are both nominally 8 sts/inch, there must be just a hair difference in there somewhere for the colors to be a little offset. A little annoying, but I won't let it stop me from wearing them.

And that's it! My last FO of 2007.

Happy New Year everyone!

Minimalist Cardigan - finished!

2007-12-21T21:14:00.000-05:00

It's finally finished! Begun September 17th, finished seaming about 2 weeks ago. First wearing - to work the day of our Holiday party. Such a yummy squishy sweater! The guard hairs in the yarn are too itchy for me to wear this with a sleeveless shell like the model in the magazine, but I like the way it looks with a skinny turtleneck too.

Pattern: Minimalist Cardigan
Designer: Ruth Nussbaum
Source: Interweave Knits, Fall 2007
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Silk in Cranberry, 11 skeins (for 35.5" size)
Needles: US 8.

Pattern mods and lessons learned: do not attempt moss stitch in a dark, moving car. You will have to frog that section. Added selvedge stitches to side to assist in seaming.

Woot! I am all done with my sweater!

Happy Holidays everyone!

The Halfway House

2007-12-12T19:42:00.000-05:00

As promised - photos! I have two half-finished FO's to wear - my left hand and one foot will be toasty warm at least. This is what happens when you cast on two things at once.

Up first: Northern Lights (left) mitten, done in KnitPicks Palette yarn, with pattern also from KnitPicks. My first real serious attempt at Fair Isle. Quite lumpy, actually. You can't see the uneven stitches in the photo. I think some of it will even out with blocking, but it's still going to be a work in progress.

Next - a plain stockinette sock in Socks that Rock Love in Idleness. The toe - Method Two from Wendy's Toe-up gusset heel pattern, the heel - generic Widdershins - so very many thanks to Mel for this easy-to-follow translation of the original pattern.

This is the easiest toe-up cast on I have tried by far! No waste crochet yarn, no fancy fingerwork (Magic cast on). Just the humble backward loop. So simple, even I can remember it!

And now - off to the mall to tackle the Elves!

Phew

2007-12-08T16:32:00.000-05:00

I'm pooped. Next year, I swear, I'm going to be organized before the holidays. I still have 4 people to shop for and there is only 1.5 weekends left before we head to my parents! Thank goodness my DH took yesterday off work - he took care of buying gifts for Audrey's preschool ornament exchange and a gift for a birthday party next week. When am I going to do my shopping?

I got a couple of things done today, but after only finding 3 items at three separate stores in a crazy suburban shopping plaza I decided I could declare absolute and total victory by bailing on the holiday shopping and going to Costco. Surprise! They had absolutely everything I was looking for - and at a good price! I filled up the car with milk, orange juice, frozen fish fillets, a couple loaves of bread, a case of diced tomatoes, enough TP to see us through Easter - you get the idea. Mission accomplished. Headed home and spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch/phone with parents and friends, and worked on a sock.

Which brings me to this week's knitting update - no photos. Because if I delay this post until I find the camera, the cable, and time to edit the photo, it ain't going to happen. So, just imagine beautiful pictures. Next time, I promise.

The home project: Northern Lights mittens in KnitPicks Palette. Going faster than I expected -about 10 rounds per evening. I'm using the weaving technique from Philospher's Wool. It is very difficult to keep my right and left hand yarns evenly tensioned. Often appears that the background color is disappearing. I'm almost done with the first mitten, and will try harder for even stitches on the second. At least, I feel like I've got the technique down now, and I've stopped dropping needles all over the place.

The work project: basic stockinette sock in Socks that Rock "Love in Idleness". Toe up, with "widdershin's" heel. Almost at the top of the first sock. I did take it home this weekend - I left it at work all week to ensure that I would put in the hard work on the mittens in the evening.

The UFO: the Minimalist Cardigan. Mostly seamed and all ends woven in except for the back of the neck. Got postponed due to my Chibi needles being at work in my knitting bag. Oops!

Well, just a quickie update. We're off to have dinner with some friends and check out the lights and decorations at Finwood Estates in Elyria.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-25T20:22:00.000-05:00

The guests are gone, the turkey (almost) eaten, and one last slice of pecan pie awaits me in the fridge. A very nice Thanksgiving Day spent here at home with my in-laws. All the food came out tasty, albeit a little cold. Is it even possible to get all those things to the table piping hot? I used the warmer drawer, soaked the serving bowls in hot water, and didn't take the beans or the gravy off the stove until the last possible second. Still, it all cooled down in the time it took to say "buffet line"! This will be the challenge of the rest of my life, I suppose. I don't think my mom every really solved the puzzle either.

A Thanksgiving near disaster - the digital thermometer I stuck in the bird as backup read 170F after only two hours (12 pound bird should take 3+ hours). Since I could SEE the drippings coming off the bird bright red, I wisely ignored the thermometer and waited until the popper popped. Thank goodness it worked (they don't always)!

I finished up Scarborough over the weekend, doing the last sleeve and the collar in a single evening session. Audrey did not like the separated, tunic-style flaps at the hem. She immediately asked why they were cut, and demanded I sew them up. Add that one to the modifications page! If I had known that from the beginning, I could have done the whole darn thing in the round.

Here it is:

And a detail:

Pattern: Scarborough
Designer: Alice Starmore, in Fishermen's Sweaters
Yarn: Plymouth Encore Worsted
Needles: US8 and US6
Began: Nov. 5, 2007; Finished: Nov. 24, 2007

Pattern modifications: this pattern was written for sportweight yarn. Also, the smallest pattern size was a 26" circumference for a child with a 23" chest. Since Audrey only has a 20.5" chest, this is waaay too much ease. Despite her slender frame, she is actually tall enough, and with long enough arms, to wear the sweater as designed. So I made it narrower, and converted the pattern to worsted weight yarn to speed things up a bit. Don't want her to outgrow it before I finish! As mentioned above, I sewed the border flaps closed at the end.

Minimalist Cardigan: Seamed in the sleeves last night. Not completely happy with my seaming job. May undo and try again tomorrow.

Up next: two projects (I know, I said I'd never do that again). For home: the Northern Lights mittens. For work: plain stockinette socks as part of a "Sock DOE". I'll explain later.

Almost a month

2007-11-11T20:20:00.000-05:00

since my last blogpost.

It is that time of year when time speeds away from you. Halloween - zoom. Thanksgiving - only 10 days away. And Christmas - bam. How did I get so far behind? Last year, I promised myself that THIS year, I would have my Christmas cards ordered by now, so I could get the good deals like free shipping and stuff. Forget ordering, I have not even bought a holiday dress for Audrey, much less taken the photo, edited the photo, or chosen a card-making website to print the cards. What happened? It seems like just last week she was trying on her Halloween costume.

Probably, if I spent less time knitting, I would get more of these other projects done.

The knitting portion of the Minimalist Cardigan is done:

And a closeup:

I finished the knitting of the third sleeve last Sunday night, just hours before leaving on a business trip that involved 6.5 hours of driving each way. So of course, I wanted my size 8 needles empty to start a new project that would last through all that driving:

Audrey's winter sweater. The yarn, Plymouth Encore Worsted. The needles, US8. The color, really f-cking bright pink. My bad. I took Audrey to The Knitting Garden, put her in front of the wall of Encore, and told her she could pick any color she wanted for her sweater. Serves me right. At least she is small, and I only have to watch 600 yds of it go past my aching eyes. The pattern, Scarborough, by She-who-must-not-be-named. If she could see her creation rendered in hot pink worsted weight acrylic blend, I'm sure she would have some really choice words for me. Probably find a way to block my internet access to her website too.

So that is what I have been doing for the past week. I'm past the first half of the gussets, and into the front yoke. I've got another road trip for work coming up on Thursday, I think I may be able to finish this up in another week or so. And THEN, I can return to the Minimalist Cardigan. You know, for the seaming and blocking and stuff.

Then what? The perpetual question. Fair Isle mittens? Baby llama? Socks? I really can't decide. Note I did not say Christmas knitting. Might still happen, but probably not.

Till later!

p.s. anybody wonder about that third sleeve? No, not a lab-derived anatomical mutation. I noticed a massive error just past the cast on of the 1st sleeve, and had to frog and re-do the whole thing.

September SP package

2007-10-13T18:54:00.000-05:00

I just received my last SP package from Sarah R., aka highlanddancemom03 on Knittyboard. She has been a great SP this Fall - I love all the stuff she sent me! This month's theme was "My favorite things", in which she sent me all my favorite things! There is a package of caramel apple kit - just add butter and cream to make the caramel apple sauce, stick in your apples, and cool. I bet this is going to be miles better than the caramel sheets I bought at the store last week. Remember "Wrapples"? Same product, different brand. I haven't seen an authentic box of "Wrapples" in years. Possibly decades. A Toblerone bar (must hide from DH), Lindor truffles (already scarfed up by DH), and sesame candies (inhaled by me while unpacking the rest of the package).

Two books - one by Margaret Atwood (one of my favorite authors), and "At knit's end" by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka Yarn Harlot), and some bookplates to mark my favorite books by.

A little bottle of "Tiber River" hand lotion, which was developed to honor the IIHF World Women's Hockey Championship team. It's winter white and minty.

And yarn.... Oh the yarn! 100% baby llama in a deep grape purple color. You cannot believe how soft this yarn is. Possibly even softer than alpaca. I love it. It is from Peru, and called Mirasol Miski.

Thanks Sarah!

Knitting Update (yes, I have been doing something other than accumulating yarn for my stash).

The back and the left side of the Minimalist Cardi are finished, and I am several inches into the right side. I have a heck-lacious business trip coming up next Wednesday - 12 hours in a car with 2 co-workers (6 hours each direction). We leave at dawn and return before midnight (I hope). Except for my shift driving though, I should be able to get some knitting in.

That's all!

I'm baaaack!

2007-10-11T19:21:00.000-05:00

Anybody miss me?

We have returned from our mini-vacation over Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving to Toronto. Last June, for our 9th anniversary, my parents offered us a three-day, two night babysitting date, for the weekend of our choice. Initially, it was also for the city of our choice (ours or theirs), but once we picked the weekend, it turned out that Mom had a meeting on Monday, and our city was just not going to work.

So, Rochester it was. From Rochester, the best weekend getaways (city-wise) are Toronto (easy drive) or NYC (easy flight). We both love Toronto, so booked ourselves a room downtown and away we went!

First stop: Galleria Mall in Buffalo. We exchanged child and carseat in the parking lot outside Lord & Taylor. After a tense lunch in the food court (child would not look at, speak to, or sit on same side of table with grandparents), she warmed up to my mom immediately after my mom suggested we go look for a doll store. Jumped right into her lap. The men went out to the lot to wrestle the carseat into my folk's car. When they returned, Audrey waved goodbye to us and dragged my parents back into the mall. I could tell she really missed us. Not.

Next stop: the Gardiner Expressway. Literally. From Buffalo to downtown Toronto should be a 2 hour drive. It took three. Need I say more?

Finally: the hotel. We splurged on a nice hotel right downtown, easy walking distance from just about everything. Our room was on the 22nd floor, facing north. Here's our view:

You can see City Hall from here - it's that two -part, curved building in the upper right. The one with the UFO parked in the courtyard. Yeah, that's the one. Not a bad parking place, eh? I wonder what they are paying/24 hours. Our hotel charged $24.

Not having too much time for dinner, we took a stroll to stretch our legs and walked a big circle around Eaton Centre, a huge indoor mall. If you like big malls, this should please you. 285 stores. Yikes.

Back to the hotel to dress for dinner at La Fenice (Italian at 319 King St. W, no web site), then to the Diesel Playhouse to see Jewtopia, a comedy which we found funny, without being offensive. If you are the easily offended type however, you might find it the opposite. But, if you like a good comedy - go see it! The run has been extended to Dec. 1.

And that was Saturday. On Sunday, we decided to work our leg muscles. First, we walked back to Yonge Street for breakfast at Eggspectation. Huge, HUGE breakfast for very reasonable prices. Then, we waddled up University Ave, through the University of Toronto, to the Royal Ontario Museum. For 2.5 hours we had the museum nearly to ourselves, having arrived just as it opened. Ancient Egypt, Greece, the Bronze Age, the First Peoples of Canada - all excellent exhibits. The museum looks to be about 1/2 closed for expansion and renovation. I can't imagine how big it will be when it is fully open. Oh yeah, we skipped the entire second floor and the Crystal.

From the museum, a quick foot tour of Yorkville (mostly closed for the holiday), then back south on Spadina to Nassau where I sought Lettuce Knits. Woot! What a great selection of things crammed into a tiny store. DH sat outside on the front steps while I touched everything in there, returning just as I was handing over my Visa card. Oops. But, I restrained myself! If I bought some of everything that wasn't available at home, I would have had to dip into the college fund. Here's the goodies:

Spinning fiber - Fleece Artist (the orange) and Lettuce Knits dyed (the multicolored)

The yarn - Lorna's Laces in Mother Lode

Yummmm. I love these colors! Now I only have to find the time to knit and spin it all.

Leaving the Kensington Market area, we trekked back down Spadina through Chinatown to Queen St., where we stopped at the Crepe Cafe (246 Queen St. W., no web site) for a light lunch. Excellent! I had a panini sandwich filled with marinated vegetables; DH had the spinach and feta crepe. Again, a very modestly priced meal.

Went back to the hotel, changed into my bathing suit and collapsed in the whirlpool and sauna for 45 minutes or so before dinner. Too exhausted (we were on our feet for almost 5.5 hours today) to go searching for dinner, we ate at the hotel restaurant - Tundra. It lived up to it's AAA 4 diamond rating, with a price tag to match. Ouch! And there won't be any nice discount on currency when we get the bill this time. $1 = $1CDN. Can you believe it? But the meal was excellent and the service perfect. From there, Second City for a little improv, then back to the hotel to crash.

Monday morning we slept in, limped back to Eggspectation for breakfast, then back to the hotel to pack and take another quick dip in the pool. Checked out, hung out at Eaton Centre until lunch, then hit the road. Back at the Galleria Mall at 3 p.m. to pick up Audrey, and back in Cleveland at 9 p.m.

Whew! What a weekend! We had a blast - I can't wait to do it again. Maybe Chicago next time?

That's a lot of moss stitch

2007-09-30T19:22:00.000-05:00

Wow - my hands hurt. 10 days for the back of the Minimalist cardigan - here it is:

Pattern mods to date: instead of binding off the shoulders "stair step" style, I did short rows (wrap and turn) at the indicated points in the pattern. I'll do a three-needle bind off instead of a shoulder seam. Less bulky that way.

Looks like my gauge was a little loose near the bottom of the sweater - gauge measured just about right closer to the top. Still, only off by a fraction of an stitch/4", so not sure I can really do much about it. My swatching changing needle sizes made full stitch adjustments in the gauge. This is a very stretchy fabric though. I hope it doesn't start to sag when I start wearing it (something a 4" swatch will not tell me). The yarn is Knit Picks Andean Silk. Very nice to work with, very soft.

I learned something new

Last weekend I went shopping for shoes with handknit socks on, determined to find shoes to wear with such socks. After many hopeless attempts to get into my regular size, I asked the salesman (fancy store with salesman instead of my usual el-cheapo self-serve shoe store) to bring me the next size up. He said no, the next size up would be too long, and my heel would be slipping out of the shoes when I walked. What I needed was a wide shoe, to accomodate the bulky socks, and to go a half size DOWN. That's right, an 8.5W is the same length as a 9 regular. In the process of keeping the proportions right when they make a shoe wider, they also make it a little longer. I had no idea. I bought two pairs from him. They are very comfortable, and don't pinch at all with my handknit socks on. I may send him a holiday gift, who knows?

The plant

Woot! Still going strong -

Umm, anybody know what kind of plant this is? I lost the tag it came with.

Looking forward to another unseasonably warm week - I can't believe it's October. It just seems so wrong to be looking at pumpkins already. We just deflated the kiddie pool today.

Well, must get ready for the season premiere of Desparate Housewives - guilty pleasure you know.

Lookit!

2007-09-21T20:02:00.000-05:00

Lookit!

Lookit!

Are you lookiting? (5 points to whoever can recall the source of this "word" and its context as originally published)

My plant is flowering! Pretty! And there are new buds on several of the other branches too - I may get multiple flowers - I can't believe it.

Minimalist sweater

No photo yet - my hands are aching too much tonight, and the lights not good. Umm, what the heck was I thinking, a whole sweater in Moss Stitch? Owie. At least its only 5 spi.

Typing hurts too, so good night.

Coronet

2007-09-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

And the winner of the "what shall I knit next?" contest is....

Coronet

Pattern: Coronet
Source: Knitty
Yarn: Malabrigo in "Velvet Grapes"
Needles: US8
Time to complete - less than 1 week

This yarn was a gift from my very first SP ever - it has been marinating in stash since last summer. I wanted to do something yummy with it, but I wanted to minimize pilling, since I've heard that happens a lot with this yarn. It is so soft and lovely to work with - I can see why people get addicted. Of the 100 g skein, I had 23 g left over - wrist warmers?

A busy, busy weekend here, getting ready for DH's next business trip. He's gone all next week, but my inlaws are coming down for a couple of days to help out and visit with Audrey. Which means the house has to be clean, and some food in the fridge. Other highlights of the weekend - painted the trim around the garage door (steel blue), took Audrey to a swimming lesson, bought new work clothes for the fall (20% off at Eddie Bauer - woo hoo!), shopped for final SP package, and watched the first two hours of "The Seven Samurai", because we've never seen it. There's still an hour and a half left to go, I think that will be next weekend's entertainment.

Speaking of movies, I just got a call from a telephone survey that wanted to discuss my movie viewing habits. Since I have not been to a movie in the last two months, and can't remember if I have seen 4 movies in the last 12 months, she apologized for wasting my time and hung up. How pathetic is that? Ah well, that's why we have Netflix.

In other news:

Bud Watch

Jaywalkers

2007-09-10T20:22:00.000-05:00

Jaywalker socks are finished! A quick knit - each sock took about 8 days, with about a month rest between them (life got in the way). I like the way this yarn worked with these socks - there was some pooling in the stockinette sections on the sole of the foot, but in the leg section, just short stretches of color. I ended up staying with the original needle size - recall I was worried it would be too tight in the ankle. Remembering that yarn tends to stretch with wearing and washing, I stuck with it and am pleased to say they were quite comfortable in their maiden wearing today.

Jaywalkers

Pattern: Jaywalkers (by Grumperina for Magknits)
Yarn: Brown Sheep Wildfoote in Lilac Desert
Needles: US1 bamboo

Bud Watch

You know, I think this plant is trying to flower. I'm not sure, because no house plant of mine has ever done that before, but I'm keeping an eye on it just in case.

Squee!

2007-09-03T18:57:00.001-05:00

I have the best SP! Look what was waiting for me when I got home from vacation:

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Mixed Berries, some hot pink roving,

And...

Snacks! Pomegranate hot tea, instant iced tea (blueberry and peach), fruit gummy snacks, orange chocolate, and a box of votive candles in an intense "Midnight Bloom" scent. Which translates into (French?) as "Plante Carnivore". Carnivorous plant. Not quite as romantic as midnight bloom, but more practical from a personal safety point of view.

Sense a theme here? I think this is Fruits and Berries month! In addition there was a "merlot" tinted lip gloss. (Think grapes)

What a lucky girl I am! My SP has really outdone herself - I need to "pass it on" and hit the shops for my downstream too - one more package to go!

And in spinning news:

I got about 200 yds of 2 ply yarn from my 4 oz of roving.

I finished (almost) my second Jaywalker sock over vacation. All that's left is to Kitchener closed the toe. Next post, I suppose.

Up next? Yikes, so many choices! I ordered the yarn (Andean Silk) for the Minimalist Cardigan (IK Fall 2007) and it arrived Saturday. But then, I have this new sock yarn to drool on, as well as some equally drool-worthy STR sock yarn from the Sock Swap this past spring. I bought 3 more skeins of sock yarn over the summer - tofutsies, Crystal Palace cotton, and Regia Bamboo - but those are going to wait until late in the winter, to be ready for cool summer socks. Rummaging through my list of projects to do - I see a couple of quick scarves and hats that I may push ahead of the cardigan. Oh yeah, I promised Audrey a new winter sweater too.
And there's still plenty of fiber to spin!

Later!

The package has arrived!

2007-08-19T18:48:00.000-05:00

Woot! My SP sent me a box of goodies! Actually, she sent them quite some time ago. They were last logged in to the Canada Post tracking system on August 5 (!) at the Missisauga Sorting Station. If I remember my last trip through Ontario correctly, Missisauga is a (big) suburb on the west side of Toronto. It's probably a 4.5 - 5 hour drive from my house. From there, I believe the package swam upstream across Lake Ontario, fought its way up Niagara Falls like an itinerant salmon, and halfway across Lake Erie to the Cleveland postal station. Otherwise, I have no idea what it was doing for the last two weeks.

But it was worth the wait - look!
A new novel to read on vacation and a quilting mag (and strawberry scented bubbles for DD) -

Some sweets to nibble on when reading -
That's arrowroot animal cookies (supposed to be for DH. We'll see ;-0), Campino strawberry and yoghurt candies, and vanilla clodhoppers. Clodhoppers are little bits of graham cracker, coated in a white chocolate coating, and stuck together like a Rice Krispy bar. They taste a little like a Wonka Bar, with a much higher graham: chocolate ratio. Yummm - I've already made a serious dent in the bag.

And last but not least - yarn!
It's Gypsy by NY Yarns, an acrylic wool blend in bulky weight. I think it will make a nice scarf.

I haven't been doing much knitting lately - mostly spinning the last couple of weeks. Photo to come.

Here's the Follow the Leader Shawl, blocking:

I've already brought it in to work, so no modeled shot. I only blocked it a little bit - the finished dimensions would have covered my rear, and I only want something around waist length - it's really to keep my shoulders and arms warm in the A/C.

Here's the Jaywalker socks I'm working on (Brown Sheep Wildfoote in Lilac Desert)-

The bit of fuzz in the corner is one of the last photos of Zoey's fur, I'm afraid. Something I realized after she died was that I took very, very few photos of her in the last three years. When I used a film camera (up until three years ago), I almost always used to take a couple of shots of the cat to use up the roll of film so I could send it for developing. There is no end of the roll on a digital camera.

That's all for now. Picked up a lousy head cold sometime this weekend. Spinning photos next time for sure.

It is over

2007-08-09T20:22:00.000-05:00

Zoey died last Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. I petted her as the vet gave the injection. She was calm.

The hardest thing is not her absence in the house - I knew right away there would be no more food dish, no litter box. It's the little changes in routine - the door to the guest bedroom left open (she wasn't allowed to sleep in there), the door to the laundry room closed (no need for access to the litter box). And so quiet. I didn't appreciate how many little noises she made throughout the day.

I feel better now that it is over. No more agonizing, no second guessing if now is the right time. It is over. There is no changing my mind. I know it was the right time. To spare her suffering.

Keeping very busy this week with work, and planning Audrey's birthday party next Saturday. I'm sewing backpacks for a crew of Dora's to go exploring in the back yard.

And spinning - I just plied the CTH watercolors tonight. Pics later.

I'm ready for a vacation, and the fall. It really hasn't been a good summer this year. Time to knit something warm, cozy, and substantial.

An interruption in time

2007-08-01T20:23:00.001-05:00

Has it really only been two weeks since my last post? It feels like a lifetime ago.

The briefest of fiber updates: the shawl is finished and blocked. Not photographed yet. Cast on a Jaywalkers sock in the larger size - too tight around the ankle. Will retry with a larger needle.

Spinning - despite good intentions of spinning every day on vacation, I was too exhausted from chasing the kids (Audrey and her cousins) around the beach. Missed too many days to claim my yellow jersey in the Tour. I did exceed my goal of trying 3 new fibers however - I spun 4! Much plying to come in future weeks.

Finished Harry Potter (Book 7) in 3 nights.

And at home...

Zoey has taken a sharp turn for the worse. She is aware of the tumor now, and as it is an open and weeping sore, it stings her when she eats. Watching her try to scrape it away with her paws is too terrible. I have been trying to rationalize not euthanizing her by looking at the good hours, as she purrs in my lap or comes looking for a treat (which she struggles to eat). But I know she is getting worse, not better. Last night the voice in my head asked me "what are you waiting for? For her to be in pain full time?" And I know it is more humane to end this before she reaches this point. This weekend I think, will be her last. 13 summers since my friends found her in the town softball field on the north side of Bloomington, IN. And until last year, so healthy. I tell myself this would be easier if she was acting "sick" - not eating, laying around ill, in obvious pain. But I know it would be cruel now to wait that long, since the end result will be the same. How do animals perceive their own lives? She is aware something is different, I'm sure. She is sleeping on my bed again this week, after having not done so for several years. She seeks my lap over my husband's - unusual for her. Is she looking for a last dose of affection? Or trying to tell me she wants out? I wish they could talk.

Just not feeling like photographing anything lately. You understand.

Spinning update

2007-07-18T19:27:00.000-05:00

I spent the first week of the tour working on the lamb's wool (Cotswald) in natural brown shade. Very nice to spin, I felt like I was able to get pretty even singles with a minimum of effort. Here's the first week's work (I'm pretty slow at this):
Now I'm into the lamb/alpaca blend. Oh, what a mess I am making of this lovely fiber. It is super soft - like petting a well-groomed persian cat. Very long staple (and I am struggling with keeping my hands far enough apart while drafting). Yet, when I try to divide the roving to pre-draft, it changes from a fairly hefting roll of fiber to a loose collection of super-fine threads, which then fall apart as I try to wrap it around my wrist. I need a lot more practice with this slippery stuff. I may put it aside for a while and try the wool/silk blend. Maybe the silk will be "stickier"?

Nearly done with the shawl - just a few rows to go! But I will put is aside for a few days to finish up the socks for my secret pal's son, because I want to get that sent out at the end of next week.

Then what? More socks? Hmmmmm.....choices.

Mmmm, roving

2007-07-12T20:02:00.000-05:00

I'm still on the seat - spinning wise! Each day since Le Tour started, I have done some spinning-related activity. Last night was plying and skeining - I only have one spindle, so no spinning could occur until the spindle was nekkid ;-)

Here's this week's progress on the blue:

That's 1.25 oz of thick-and-thin (mostly thin) yarn! Very wiry and scratchy feeling though - not as soft as the roving would suggest. I think I am spinning too tight, and although the skein is well balanced, I think that might just mean I plied it just as tightly in the opposite direction. After giving it a dunk in the sink, the fibers really jumped out of the yarn and stuck in all directions. I need to work on that.

My new roving arrived today :

Squee! It's yummy! From left to right: Cotswald lamb/silk blend in "September Glow", Cotswald lamb/alpaca blend in "Whipped Cream" and natural color fine wool lamb combed top in "Maple Walnut". All from Nistock Farms. Great service! I ordered online (they take Paypal) on Saturday morning, and my box was in the mail, USPS Priority on Monday. I got it today, Thursday.

I'm starting with the pure lamb tonight - very sproingy! and trying hard to spin a little looser and heavier gauge than my previous attempts. I hope this will help it keep it's sproinginess after plying, and it will still be soft after washing. It has a very long staple - I really lucked out here. I've not yet attempted anything short staple like Merino.

Knitting: The shawl is chugging along - row 173 completed last night (out of 189), nearly done with the last lace section! Woot! I may get to wear this soon.

And a new WIP (I know, I said I was going to be monagomous): socks. Secret socks for a secret pal! Actually for the secret pal's child, who has been bugging her for handknit socks - kid has good taste :-) They should knit up very quickly - I got halfway to the heel (toe-up) between yesterday's lunch break and today.

And finally, a sad Zoey update.

She pulled throught the surgery very well, and after about 6 - 7 days, is eating and drinking enthusiastically again. But only a week after the stitches were removed (3 weeks post-op), the tumors have re-appeared with a vengeance. The vet confirmed that the lumps and ulcerated mass in her mouth were indeed a recurrence, and due to it's inclusion into the jaw bone, and the speed with which it came back, there is nothing left to do but wait until it prevents her from eating comfortably. If we're lucky, she make it through the summer. My poor little kitty. This is the saddest part of being a pet mommy.

And we're off!

2007-07-07T13:21:00.001-05:00

Off my rocker that is...

I have signed up for the 2007 Tour de Fleece - a 3-week long spinning event to spin along with the riders of the Tour de France. The goals are self imposed: my goal is to spin a little every day ( a big challenge for me - I tend to ignore my spindle for weeks at a time), and to spin 3 new kinds of fiber during the 3 weeks. Prior to this, I have only spun a soft, long-staple fiber I bought from the woman I took a few lessons from. Back in January, and I'm still working through the 4 oz. I bought at my second lesson. Ahem.

So, spinning along with the rest of the tour should be a good motivation for me to keep up! I don't have any yardage goals, just a consistency goal.

I just ordered a few ounces of 3 different fibers from Nistock Farms, hopefully they will be here before the end of next week. Until then, I will be riding "warm up" with my blue fiber (I think it's Corriedale).

Knitting - I won't abandon the shawl, not when it's so close to being finished! Lookie!
See that tiny little nubbin of yarn next to the left needle? That's all that is left of ball 1, and I was on row 160. I joined ball 2 in row 161, and am cruising (plodding) through the last lace chart to row 178. Then a few finishing rows of eyelet and garter stitch, and I'm done! The lace goes very slowly for me - about 2 rows per night, but I can knit up to 4 rows per night in the garter areas. Yay! I may get to wear this during the summer still!

Other -
Hazy hot and humid here, a real summer day with temps near 90. My next-door neighbor has invited us (Audrey and I) for a swimming play-date with her girls after naptime. Can't wait!

I'll try to post more regularly during the Tour - I hope to get into the swing of things spinning so it isn't such a production to spin up a hunk of roving during this time.

Later!

Summer FO

2007-07-05T19:11:00.000-05:00

I have finally finished Audrey's summer sweater! After too many failed attempts at sleeves to match the bottom band, I decided on a simple top-down, garter-edged sleeve. When July 1st came around, I realized the number of weeks left in the year for wearing short sleeves was quickly dwindling, and wrapped up this project ASAP.

Here it is:
And modeled:
The details:

Audrey's Summer Sweater, 2007
Pattern: my own
Yarn: KnitPicks Shine Sport, Cherry, 4 skeins
Needles: US3
Began-Finished: 5/14/07 - 7/3/07

The notes and lessons learned: plan ahead for armscyes and sleeves earlier in the project. Much time lost in this section. Neck a little snug going over the noggin. Length - good.

Please send get well soon vibes

2007-06-20T20:12:00.000-05:00

Zoey is home from the vet today after having an aggressive tumor removed from the side of her face and her throat. It had spread more than the vet thought before the surgery. Her first challenge is to keep hydrated the next few days.

This is a recurrence of the cancer she had removed last summer. It grew much faster this time.

Not much else to say today. Please think good thoughts for my kitty.

Mid June milestones

2007-06-17T20:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there!

It is now mid June, which to me was always just the beginning of summer. Today I overheard a lady discussing the season with a saleswoman at the department store, and learned that "summer is nearly over". Huhh? Good thing I haven't gotten around to buying any shorts yet this year. Nearly time to pull out my wool slacks for Fall again I guess.

Good thing I've reached a major "milestone" in Audrey's sweater: the front and back are complete, and shoulders seamed. Tonight I finished one sleeve too (not pictured).

I think maybe another two nights for the other sleeve, one night for seaming, and one night for the neckline. So by next weekend, I think it will be done!

Milestone reached in the Follow the Leader Shawl too - I finished gusset chart "C" and have started chart "D". It's difficult to show progress on an unblocked shawl, one blob looks just like the next. Here's the yarn photo: according to the pattern, I think I will use up 1.5 cakes of this yarn.

The garter stitch "wings" on this pattern are starting to bore me. This is a lot of garter stitch. Still, I think I will like the simplicity of the finished shawl for work. Not quite as boring as the garter stitch baby blanket I made while pregnant (that was acrylic, this is lovely wool-silk blend), but enough garter stitch to send me to the looney bin just the same.

I'm not quite sure what to knit next. I'm almost out of time to make a blanket for Michelle's baby before she is born, but I would still like to do that. I want to shop for new yarn (summer sales and all), but I haven't even dented (more like dinged) the stash I created with last summer's sales (neither of the current projects for example came from the stash). I think at heart, I am a project knitter. I really need to find the project first, then the yarn. The beautiful yarn I bought with no project in mind - just sits there. And then I've got a few skeins of gift yarn to knit up. These are easier - the sock yarn becomes socks, the novelty yarn a scarf. But time, where is the time?

How do people do it - the ones that feature new yarn purchases on their blogs each week? Can you really knit 4 pairs of socks a week? Am I terribly slow? Or are there overflowing closets somewhere, exploding with sock yarn?

Ah well, back to the needles! Best finish these before the winter (which I hear starts around Labor Day).

Not a lot of progress

2007-06-10T21:20:00.000-05:00

The big downside to having multiple WIPs? Snail's pace progress on both at once! The sweater for Audrey is moving towards finished - the front is complete, and the back about 80% done. I'm struggling with the sleeve caps and considering abandoning them for a simple inset sleeve.

The Follow the Leader Shawl is at row 121 - just about done with gusset lace chart C.
My apologies for the crummy color rendition. It's late here, and I had to turn on a lot of lights to get the photo.

What's my excuse? Busy, busy, busy. This is the first weekend we've been home since before Memorial Day. Lots of time with family - mine for Memorial Day, DH's for last weekend. We all met in Chicago for a weekend of fun and photos - had professional family photos shot at Lincoln Park Friday, then off to the Aquarium (most of us), and a Cubs game (a few adults). Saturday was a little mellower - I went shoe shopping with my sisters-in-law (dangerous), then we saw the musical "Wicked". Excellent! If you are in Chicago, I highly recommend it. The lead two actresses were terrific.

This weekend was back at home, with one last swimming lesson for Audrey, and a trip to the zoo this morning. Perfect weather both days, I hope it continues for a little while. I also planted some tomatoes (4 plants), and hot peppers (2 plants). I have one basil plant ready to go, but I want to pick up another 2 to go with it. Maybe next weekend. Last year I put the basil in front of the tomatoes, and it really seemed to shield it from the hungry critters in the neighborhood. I'm hoping the same applies this year. I think the pepper plants will help too.

Hoping to get to a couple of yarn stores in the next week, but I may not be able to make it. DH is busy with work Monday and Tuesday, and Zoey goes to the vet Thursday. I am not looking forward to it. The tumor that was removed last summer has reappeared, and much larger this time. She does not seem to be uncomfortable yet, but I don't know if the vet will recommend treating it or letting this run its course. She is 13 years old this year.

Later

I've gone over to the dark side

2007-05-19T13:22:00.001-05:00

I have multiple (that's more than one!) WIPs. I know, for some people project monogamy is right up there with eating a bowl of plain oatmeal every day, every week for breakfast. Give me raisins! they say. Give me apples and cinnamon flavor! Heck, forget the oatmeal - I wan't eggs benedict, a side of Canadian bacon and a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice!

Now, I don't really want to eat plain oatmeal every day, but in knitting, I don't do well with multiple projects. I get so stressed about which project I should be working on, I don't work on either. Come to think of it, I'm like that about home decorating projects too. Which is why I'm seriously considering hiring a designer to whip this place into shape. My next door neighbor (same house, mirror-image floor plan) hired one, and her house looks 15 years younger than its actual age.

Back to knitting - I started the Follow the Leader Shawl by Sivia Harding in Jagger Zephyr wool-silk. Yum! I can see why this is always a top hit when people ask the lace group on Knitty "what's your favorite lace yarn?" It knits up very nicely, and yet feels sturdy enough in my noob lace hands that I don't feel like I am fumbling with cobwebs. No snagging on my needles (US5 - plastic, unknown brand). The color, teal, is just what I was hoping for. I ordered from Theknitter.com. I did not know the USPS had an option that took 10 days to get a package from Colorado to Ohio, but apparently the Pony Express has been brought out of mothballs. Next time, I will either plan further ahead, or fork over a little extra money for faster shipping ( I went with the "free shipping" option.)

and I'm knitting away happily and my daughter asks what it is. I tell her and she says "For me?" "No, for Mommy" "Oh. What you knitting for me?"

How can I resist this face?
So, I break out the Knit Picks color cards and let her pick her favorite color. Then, we break out the crayons and I have her draw (with my help) a neckline and sleeves on her new sweater.

I'm working in Knit Picks Shine Sport, in Cherry:
I'm at the point where it's time to start the armholes, and am off to read the Knitty tutorial on such. Time to break out the calculator!

Or maybe to sneak back to the shawl, which has been unloved for the last week for the sweater. Feeling guilty again....

Diving into the stash

2007-05-08T19:29:00.000-05:00

Still no packages from my mailman, so I broke down last night and pulled out the only "kit" I have in my stash right now - the Northern Lights mittens from Knitpicks. I bought the pattern last summer, and after reading it carefully, ordered the yarn that was listed in the materials section.

I cast on and knitted a few rows:

and I'm just thinking - this doesn't look like the photo in the pattern. The orange stripes are just too light. I checked the pattern again, and the yarn band, and I did order the right color - but its not the color listed on the Knitpicks site now! Since ordering the yarn, they have added a "buy colors shown in photo" button to their pattern order pages. And now it is Bark, not Fawn.

I found a great picture of the mittens as a FO with Fawn as the contrast color (as I would have if I keep going). If you read Jenna's post, she comments on the pattern error, and I agree with her that the Fawn doesn't offer enough color constrast. I think it's way too late to call and complain, especially since I already used a little of the Fawn for another project, so I'll just order a ball of Bark and start again in a week or so. Until then, I'll keep going with the colors I've got now, skipping over the rest of the corrugated ribbing to practice the Fair Isle and make sure I'm getting gauge with these needles (US1 bamboo). Of course, I'm not about to pay S&H for one lousy ball of wool, so I'll have to pick up some Shine Sport to make a little summer tank for Audrey.

Why is my stash not getting smaller??

I ate the jellybeans

2007-05-05T20:04:00.000-05:00

They were over a year old. And I'm still alive to tell about it.

My daughter has (finally!) finished eating her Easter candy. I'm getting tired of the plastic eggs rolling all over the kitchen counter for the last month (empty eggs go on the counter, full eggs stay in the basket until eaten), so I told her that when the candy was all gone, she should put the empty eggs back in the basket, put the basket on the porch, and call the Easter Bunny to come pick up the basket. Then he would store the basket until next Easter for us, and bring it back full.

Genius me forgot to check the weather forecast today. Strong southerly winds. Basket blew across the porch, jammed under the railing, and a dozen plastic eggs were launched over the edge. Plastic grass decorates the arborvitae. Fortunately, this is not visible from the window. After she went upstairs to change this evening, I went on an Easter Egg hunt. Found all the eggs - and one was still full! Oh joy - candy for me!!! I have a terrible sweet tooth. As the first jellybeans enter my mouth, I see the black licorice bean in my hand and I think "there shouldn't be any black beans in the "tropical smoothie" flavor mix. Then it dawns on me that there were black beans LAST year. This egg got overlooked last year, buried in the plastic easter grass. Got overlooked when we emptied the basket to refill it this Easter. Got overlooked when Audrey was pulling out candy each night for her dessert. Got overlooked until I dug it out from under a lilac bush tonight and tossed the contents in my mouth. Ick.

Nothing much fiber-y happening lately. I'm waiting on my Zephyr wool-silk laceweight to start the Faroese, and can't motivate myself to pick up anything else in the meantime. Slow mail (I know, I get what I pay for - it was free shipping) - I ordered it a week and a half ago. It did ship out earlier this week though, I got a nice update email from the seller. I think they are clear across the country though, so a delay is to be expected. I've been practicing with my spindle on the light blue roving and I think I'm getting more even. I won't know for sure until I ply it though.

Sorry, no pretty pictures today. Wish I could do better!

Kureyon Deep V Vest

2007-04-14T21:30:00.000-05:00

Kureyon Deep V Vest
Pattern: my own
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, Color 148, 4.5 skeins; Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted (Onyx), < style="text-align: left;">Pattern Notes: This is my first self-designed garment for an adult. I wanted to accomplish a few things with this project: use the Kureyon in my stash that I picked up last summer on sale. Not enough for a sweater (I bought 7 skeins - all the store had), I decided on a vest. Learn steeking. I wanted waist shaping, shoulder shaping (short row), and a three-needle bind off on the shoulders (I hate bulky shoulder seams). Corrugated ribbing.

I'm really happy with how this turned out! I had to frog about halfway through because my gauge was tighter than my swatch, and I didn't want skintight, but otherwise, just lots of math and it all worked out. Steeking wasn't nearly as scary as I expected (I used crochet reinforced, Knit Picks Palette for the binding yarn), and the shoulders came out just like I wanted. I used steeks for the neckline (front and back), and the armholes.

No good news in the morning

2007-04-12T19:51:00.000-05:00

Such a sad week for the morning news. My alarm goes off at 5:30, just as my local NPR station is starting with headlines and (hopefully) a quickie preview of the weather.

This morning as I arose from the fog of sleep, I heard that one of my favorite authors had died - Kurt Vonnegut Jr., RIP. Have I read all of his books? Almost, I think. I honestly haven't read (or re-read) any lately, but they are lined up neatly on the shelf. And I have fond memories of the neighbors whose little boys I used to babysit in the 1980's. They did not have a TV, but wall after wall of books. There I started reading slim paperbacks by Mr. Vonnegut. I sat nearly every weekend for them, and marked my place in whichever book I was reading as I heard them come back in the door.

In graduate school he gave a lecture at my university. There was supposed to be a book signing afterwards. It was cancelled due to the sheer number of people who came to hear him (the signing was cancelled, not the talk). The organizers did not have the foresight to book a larger hall on campus. The auditorium was filled; people crowded in the lobby to listen at the open doors.

RIP.

And Tuesday, a moment of personal reflections of hell, I heard, again as if in a dream, the name of a person I dearly wish to forget. Nearly 15 years has gone by since I last saw this person, and probably only a couple since I realized they were no longer creeping into my thoughts on a daily basis. An unusual name, not likely to be shared by many. I could not stop myself from checking the transcript later that day at work. Yes. This person is now a professor, and is giving a lecture at a university in my city. I will not attend, needless to say. What about the people we most wish to forget draws our attention like a train wreck, forcing us to look, to remember?

No good news in the morning this week.

These socks rock!

2007-03-31T20:50:00.000-05:00

I promised my next post would be an FO - I just didn't say whose FO it would be!
I did finish the Kureyon vest, even wore it to work last week (got a thumbs up from the co-workers), but we haven't had weather this last week warm and sunny enough for any outdoor photography.

The FO du jour - my SockPal socks arrived today courtesy of Stephie26 - terrific little pattern that works well with the variegated colors. They fit perfectly - thanks Stephanie!
And, the package included another skein of Socks that Rock so I can try them for myself! Woot - my first Rockin Socks! I've heard so many good things about this yarn, I can't wait to use it!

On the needles now (but not pictured) - Feather and Fan socks in Colinette Jitterug Castagna. Looks oddly camoflague colored. But, the lace on top offsets that army look I think.

Spring is verrrrry slowly descending on Cleveland - the bulbs are coming up and look ready to burst any day now and the weeds are in full force. Trees are budding and tiny leaves are making their appearances. The forsythia is bursting with yellow flowers. We don't have a forsythia, but our neighbors do, and it is bursting. We planted a dwarf peach tree today - yum, here come peaches! It's an Elberta type, which is supposed to be a very pretty tree too, in case the deer eat all the fruit, we'll still have something nice to look at.

So, it's time to put away the heavy wool and break out the summer projects. New socks (several pair I think), a Faroese shawl, and a baby blanket.

Later!

SometimesSheKnits

Done!

February is for finishing!

Kitty!

Vellamino!

Finally Winter!

Happy New Year!

Inferi

Well, time to paint the house!

Unmotivated

The Hat Came Back

It was a *productive* day

The worst thing about Christmas knitting...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hats!

Winding down

Unexpected day off

Black sheep, black sheep

Turnip

Spring has sprung

February goes out like a lion

5% less = 6.7% more!

Warm surprises on a winter weekend

Past and Present and the bridge between

Merry Christmas

Everything's better with bacon

Iz Zen...Iz Superhydrophobic...Iz a hat

It doesn't itch!

Gray ice cream

Labor Day laziness

Almost home...

A little spinning break

Introducing Ellie

Hello there!

It's Mine! All Mine!!

FO!

Crafts = crack

I did not eat the green jelly bean

Another business trip, another crisis

I just want one peaceful night

Hey - where's the...sump pump?

Hey - where's the shovel?!?

Catching up in the New Year

Lot's of FO's

They made it too hard

Mini-me!

Little Blue Sweater

Done!

My mom went to a fiber festival!

Hubris

Okay baby, you can come out now!

Knitted Starghan

YES! YES! YES!

And then we walked through a bog

By jove, I think I've got it!

And then it started raining

Two planes, 5 skeins of yarn

Houston, we have a problem

Whoops - It's June!

Time is speeding by!

Almost caught up

Green stuff baby!

Spring is here!

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The things we do for love

Trellis Scarf

A bit of catching up to do.

Lace Zen

Sanity has returned

Halfway through January

2007 year in review

Love in Idleness socks

Minimalist Cardigan - finished!

The Halfway House

Phew

Happy Thanksgiving!

Almost a month

September SP package

I'm baaaack!

That's a lot of moss stitch

It was a productive day