The Nimble Knitter

Keeping Score

2010-05-30T09:10:00.001-04:00

This is one of our roses that I shot in honor of Macro May.

One of the things that influenced Doug and I when we decided to buy the iPad was our love of minor league baseball. The first app we purchased was ESPN iScore Baseball, though when I researched it before the 3G iPad was released it didn't have the ESPN moniker.

I'll admit right here and now that I find baseball to be a little slow and boring. I prefer to sit at the games and knit or do crosswords while I watch. I have a short attention span. So one of the things that I learned to do, with Doug's help, was to keep score. We bought scorebooks and I kept score. It forced me to learn about the game and, more importantly at the time, to pay attention to the game. I say "at the time" because we used to sit on the first base side in the bleachers where a foul ball could be life threatening. If I was reading or knitting or whatever and not paying attention, I could get smacked in the head with a foul ball before Doug could dive in front of me.

I liked keeping score but when we started sitting in the box seats behind home plate (and behind the netting) it became harder to see what was happening on the field. I didn't have to worry about foul balls anymore so gradually I went back to reading, knitting and crosswords.

The iPad and iScore has changed all that. Now we take turns scoring (I score the visitors and Doug scores the Suns) and I am having to learn all over again how to score a game. What's worse is that now it seems to go so fast that I can't always keep up.

We attracted some attention when we first showed up at the game with our iPad and started keeping score. The Suns assistant manager Joel wanted to know more about it and sat with us for a while to see how it worked. He later downloaded the iPhone version and messed with it enough to see the potential. He now sees to it that the starting lineups are emailed to me before game time so we don't have to waste time setting that up.

One of the scouts who are always there came over and asked about it also. I hoped he checked it out some more because I know it could make his life easier.

I sometimes sit at home and watch baseball on tv now so I can practice scoring. Before the iPad I considered that to be akin to watching paint dry but know I'm so busy trying to figure out what happened that I can't keep up. This has turned out to be so much fun that I really look forward to games. I'd like to be able to score every play exactly right but I think it will be a while before I reach that level, if ever.

So for now the knitting stays home and I'm getting things done a little more slowly but they are getting done. I finished Eva last weekend but I haven't worked in the ends or blocked it yet. I'm almost done with the India Stole, less than 100 rows left with each one being two stitches shorter than the last. When it's done I'm going back the Evenstar shawl. So despite the attraction of the iPad and the rush of baseball, I'm still getting some knitting done. Just a little more slowly.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Don't Let That Furry Face Fool You!

2010-05-26T09:00:00.001-04:00

My friend is waging a war to save her vegetables from the aggressions of an insidious invader known as the groundhog. They know no boundaries, recognize no form of legitimate government authority, show no mercy, and take no prisoners.

According to her latest update, hogs invaded her home base and destroyed her romaine while she was away performing a humanitarian mission. Later she discovered that the enemy had also destroyed her crop of kale and established a base of operations nearby. She has been forced to call in air strikes on their underground facilities. It's unknown at this time whether the air strikes were effective. These subterranean saboteurs often have a network of burrows which allow them to elude attack and escape all capture attempts.

The battle is ongoing with the weather favoring both sides and neither camp likely to yield at this time. Stay tuned for updates.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I took the plunge

2010-05-05T16:31:00.001-04:00

We purchased an iPad. It's a 32G wifi 3G model which means that I can get to the internet from just about anywhere. I wanted an iPhone ever since my friend Janis got one a couple years ago and I had my hubby convinced that I should get one when our current contract was up for renewal. I knew about the iPad but figured there was no way i was ever going to talk the hubster into one of those. But then my friend Sarah said that I could get a 3G iPad and just get a plain phone.

I told Doug and he didn't reject it out-of-hand so I thought I might have a chance. I just kept chipping away at his wall of resistance but my big break came when he went to a work meeting and saw someone using one in person. He stayed after the meeting and talked to the guy about it and I think he was sold.

The release date for the 3g was April 30 (my birthday) and we made arrangements to leave work early and head over to the next town to purchase one from Best Buy so we could get the Geek Squad coverage. When we got there we were number 17 in line but they only had 15 iPads! They recommended that I get in line anyway just in case and I am so glad that I took their advice. Two people ahead of me left when they said they didn't have any 16G's. So we got the one we wanted and it was the last one they had.

I love this thing!! I've been finding apps for all the things we need to do including this app, BlogPress, that allows me to post to my BlogSpot blog. For some reason, I can't post to it in Safari. There are so many apps but the best one so far is iScore Baseball that we're learning to use to keep score at the Hagerstown Suns games.

Of course there's still knitting going on but it's taken a backseat this week. Friends and I went to Maryland Sheep & Wool on Saturday but I only bought one skein of silk lace weight from Spirit Trail Fiber Works and two remnants of Koigu. I have apps to buy! I can't be wasting money on yarn!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:W Washington St,Hagerstown,United States

Warming Up

2010-03-09T14:53:00.004-05:00

Just a quick post to prove that I'm still alive. It's warming up around these parts and we've had a few sunny days to melt most of the snow piles. The ground in our yard is mostly bare now except in areas of extreme shadiness.

I've been working on the India Stole most of the time and I'm about a third of the way through the second half. It's moving right along even though it doesn't seem like I get to work on it very much. I'm thinking it's going to be really beautiful when it's done.

I'm also working on the Evenstar Shawl (part of the Lord of the Rings Series by Susan Pandorf). Clues come out every other Friday and since it's still in it's infancy it's quite easy to finish a clue before the next one comes out. We've finished Clue #2 and are awaiting #3 which will come out this Friday. Here's a photo I took after I finished Clue #1.

It appears that I'm going to have surgery on my left shoulder very soon so the knitting will be on hold for a while. I somehow partially tore my rotator cuff and need to get it fixed and rahabed in time for mowing this spring. I hope the doctor can fit me in soon.

The start of our local minor league season is only a month away and we're looking forward to that as we do each spring. Here's hoping that we get a break and have some warm weather for our first home stand.

Oh, My Aching Head!

2010-02-19T14:45:00.007-05:00

Sinuses, do we really need them? Must we have these holes in our faces that fill up with gunk and ache so badly? I got a sinus infection last week. It really put a damper on my activities over the weekend. I took a sick day on Monday and managed to snag a doctor appointment. She listened to me explain that it felt like my upper teeth on the left side were being pushed out of my jaw against their will. Now I'm on antibiotics and sinus meds.

It hurt so bad I didn't even feel like knitting. That's when I know I'm really si....

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG POST FOR THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
I just now received a phone call from someone wanting to verify the model number of the photocopier in our office. Now my momma didn't raise any fools and I didn't just fall of the turnip truck yesterday so I told the dude that I know he's participating in a scam and that he should be ashamed of himself. He says "this is not a scam" and then hangs up on me. Way to protest your innocence there, Buddy.
If you ever get one of these calls, don't give them any information. They will send you supplies for the copier that you didn't order and then bill you or even worse just bill you without sending you anything.
WE NOW RETURN YOU TO THE BLOG POST ALREADY IN PROGRESS...

...ck; I loose interest in doing the things I love.

The snow from last week is still hanging around. Here are some photos of the lacey remnants along our driveway.

I did force myself to knit a little over the weekend but the only thing that kept me going was this beautiful Malabrigo Twist yarn. The pattern is The Amanda Hat (Ravelry link) and I think I did something wrong on the crown. It's a little small. I may open it back up and rip out the crown and add some extra rows between the decrease rows. I really like it though. It fits good around my tiny head and should stay one better when I'm shoveling. Not that I want to do anymore shoveling. I've had enough of that to last me quite some time. But I found that the various hats I've knitted don't stay in place during hard manual labor.

Meanwhile, I've started the Evenstar Mystery Shawl KAL, a pi shawl inspired by Arwen's necklace that she gave to Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings. When I finished my first and only pi shawl last summer (Girasole by Jarad Flood) I was fairly certain that I wouldn't be doing another pi shawl any time soon. I'm just not fond of round shawls. But Susan Pandorf's motif for this shawl was so lovely and I'm such a sucker for all things LotR that I immediately signed up. I commissioned Nicole at No Two Snowflakes to custom dye 1800 yards of lace-weight silk for me and purchased 3000 beads.

The first clue was released Friday night but I didn't start it until Tuesday evening because of the pain in my head and mouth. I didn't even look at the pattern. It hurt just to think about a circular cast-on in 100% silk lace-weight. When I did started it I remembered one of the reasons that I don't care for pi shawls - the circular cast-on. I tried 3 different methods and after starting over at least 10 times and having to cut off the worn-out end of my yarn, I settled on Emily Ocher's method. Now I'm almost done with the first clue. No photo yet.

I'm using a the recommended needle size, US#3 and it's producing a looser, more open lace than I usually allow. I've decided to continue with this needle size though because I want this shawl to be large. I'll get used to the openness, I guess.

Bad Things, Man!

2010-02-09T08:58:00.006-05:00

This sun pillar phenomenon is get out of hand around here. This morning was the brightest, reddest one yet. I think it means something really bad is coming. Something like another 6-10 inches of snow on top of the 24" we got over the weekend. Here in the Desert of Maryland we're just not equipped to deal with these amounts of snowfall.

Here's what it looked like around here on Saturday morning.

Sunrise

This is my LYS Y2Knit in Funkstown

Barn yard gate

Our poor shrubbery ("nothing too expensive")

Sunday the sun came out but it was in the single digits so not much melting occurred.

Looking up the driveway to chez Artz

Rime ice on the asparagus

Looking down the driveway

Our hemlocks at sunset

I realize that this amount of snowfall is normal in other parts of the country but it's pretty unusual here. Schools and colleges are closed; Federal Govt. is closed, local govt. is on liberal leave. Most of my coworkers made it in yesterday and today and our county government is functioning normally. Our Highways Dept. employees have done a heroic job getting the roads open and now they have to start over again with very little rest.

We have had a few weather related deaths in the area, mostly due to the fact that rescue crews couldn't get to the victims in time. This despite the concerted efforts of the state and county road crews and private individuals with plows and loaders. It's so frustrating for the rescue workers who try so hard to get to the victims but are thwarted by the weather conditions.

I think most of the residents for Washington County are ready for spring. I know I am.

Another Beautiful Snowy Morning

2010-02-03T09:12:00.003-05:00

This morning's sunrise was beautiful in a different sort of way. Snow and fog blanketed the area and it was a little dark yet for good photos. We cleaned off the cars (someday we hope to have a garage) and by then it was light enough to take photos without the flash. They're still a little dark but they capture to eerie beauty well, I think.

Here's the shrubbery in front of the house.

Notice the snow crusted on the neighbor's chain link fence in this picture.

More snowy trees and fog in our front yard.

This one is in the alley I walk down every morning and evening from the parking deck to my office and back. I think it's a pear but I could be wrong. I like how snow is clinging to every little branch.

I am continuing to knit in the evenings, primarily on the India Stole. I'm almost half done and the rows are getting shorter as I approach the point. I think it's beautiful but the yarn is kind of clingy and I think it would have been better made with silk. But then I think just about every thing looks better made of silk.

I've been having a lot of pain in my left shoulder lately and had an x-ray on Wednesday and an MRI on Monday. I haven't heard the results of the MRI yet but the Dr. called about the x-ray and said it showed a significant amount of ARTHRITIS! I go see an orthopedist tomorrow; I suppose he'll tell me, "You're old, get used to it."

Look What I Did!

2010-01-26T11:36:00.012-05:00

I wreaked both our cars! See those right-rear bumpers? See how they match? I did that all by myself.

It was a dark and stormy night. The rain was coming down in buckets. I parked the blue car in the turn-around and forgot about it. Later I hopped into the gold car slapped it in reverse, completely forgetting that I had parked the blue car in the turn-around, and backed right into it. I turned the gold car around so the headlights were shining on the back of the blue car and got out in the pouring rain and stood there wondering how I could be such an idiot.

The blue one is in the shop right now being fixed and the gold one goes in tomorrow. It's the first time I've ever been the cause of an accident. I've never had a ticket or a warning or even a stern look and then I wreak both our cars in our own driveway. I had to explain it to our insurance rep and the guy at the body shop. It was so-o-o embarrassing.

On the plus side, both cars were still drivable and no one was hurt.

On Saturday afternoon I spotted a sundog while Doug and I were out and about and he pulled into a parking lot so I could snap a photo.

At first there was only one on the right or north side of the sun but later one appeared on the south side and though they made a good attempt to connect, they didn't quite make it.

This morning there was another sun pillar. The clouds were just right for a beautiful shot. I went back in the house and got the camera so I could capture this scene. It kind of reminds me of the view of Mount Doom from Minas Tirith.

Adios, 2009!

2010-01-11T13:38:00.006-05:00

Boy, am I glad that 2008 and 2009 are over. Those will be remembered as "the cancer years" here at chez Artz. I hope they're the last. I didn't make any New Year's Resolutions. I never do because I'm not good at following through on things like that.

We had a lot of snowy weather here over the holidays and it's been really cold and windy most of the time. I took the photo above Friday morning from the front of our house. There's a scientific term for that bar of light going straight up from the rising (in this case) or setting sun but it escapes me at the moment. I've seen several of them this winter so it must not be a truly rare phenomena.

The photo below shows our driveway on December 17th, the day after we received 16-18 inches of snow. We don't often get such large snow events here in Washington County. In fact we don't often get much precip at all. We refer to this area as the desert of Maryland. The rain and snow usually go east or west of us but seldom make into the Great Hagerstown Valley. Last summer was also an exception and I guess it just carried on into winter.

It was certainly beautiful, both while falling and the day after. This is a cedar along our driveway. I took lots of photos during the storm and the day after. You can see more on Flickr. Fortunately I don't have to go out and work in this kind of weather. I'm sure I'd sing a different song all together if that were the case.

Here's the snow piled on the shrubbery in front of our house the morning after. It was breathtaking. It was a very light and fluffy snow because of the extreme cold and therefore didn't cause any power outages in our area. And it shoveled easily. We don't do a lot of shoveling because we have all-wheel-drive Subarus and don't have much trouble making it up and down our driveway despite the little hill we have to go up to get to the house. So we only shovel paths to the cars.

In knitting news, I joined the 10 Shawls in 2010 group on Ravelry. My first shawl is the India Stole by Sylvie Beez. I'm using Perchance to Knit Lace in the Lagoon colorway.

I'm not going to obsess over getting all 10 done. My queue is pretty ambitious so I'll do what I can and be satisfied with what I get done. I've also been watching "Cranford" and "Return to Cranford" on PBS Masterpeice Classics and enjoying it immensely. What an amazing cast!

In which I FINALLY reclaim some Christmas spirit...

2009-12-23T09:50:00.004-05:00

In October I had it in spades. My emotional self was ready to get the decorations out but my common sense told me I was crazy so I let it go. I traditionally decorate the week of Thanksgiving and I told myself I could wait. But when Thanksgiving rolled around my Christmas spirit was nowhere to be found.

I blame it on deluge of Christmas hype that starts in late October/early November. By Thanksgiving I was sick of Christmas. We carried our artificial tree up to the living room and there it stands - naked. It's now December 23 and I don't see myself putting anything on that tree this year. If it wasn't for the 16 inches of snow on the ground I would have carried it back to the basement. The indoor stairs are a little narrow for the tree to maneuver so we carry it up through the yard and in the front door. I guess we'll just plug it in and look at the lights.

Doug has been concerned by my total inability to get with the spirit. I'm a little confused myself. We haven't decorated in 2 years and I was really looking forward to it this year, right up until it came time to do it, that is. Last year I was finishing up my chemo and didn't have the energy to decorate and the year before that we spent Christmas in Santa Fe with Doug's sister and her family. Since we weren't going to be home, I didn't decorate very much.

Last night I finally did my Christmas cards (yes, I know, you don't have to say it) and all of the sudden I felt the tiniest flutter of "something" in my heart. I got up and found the scotch tape and hung the cards we've received on the pillars in the living room. It looked so nice. I still don't hold out any hope for the tree but I believe that I'll put up the garlands and hang the wreath on the door when I get home today. Doug will be so surprised when he gets home!

News or Entertainment?

2009-12-03T13:12:00.002-05:00

This morning on the Today show they lead off with the couple who crashed the state dinner party, Tiger Woods, and the Jackson Brothers. It's strange, you know, because I thought WE ARE AT WAR! I realize that they can't show the serious stuff all the time but really, to lead off with those stories trivializes the struggles of the men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Am I wrong in thinking this way? Have I missed something along the way? When did the Today Show become an extension of Entertainment Tonight? For a society that is so focused on the media and instant access to the latest information about everything under the sun, it's really hard to find the news.

I listen to NPR (WYPR out of Baltimore) in the car on the way to and from work everyday and it has become my only real source for hard news. The fact that I have a 10 minute commute doesn't allow much time but I really do get more from those two 10 minutes sessions then I do for a whole half-hour of TV news or from our local newspaper. The paper focuses almost exclusively on local news with only one page devoted to world and national news. That's both on one page.

It seems that we can't handle the cold, hard facts anymore. We must be entertained or our attention wanders. I don't think it's really true but the media seems to think that we Americans have the attention span of a fruit fly and that if they don't wrap the facts in a sugary coating and then jamb them down our throats at the speed of light they'll lose us.

"Twenty-six people were killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq yesterday...oh look, a chicken!"

Come on, do we really have NADD (national attention deficit disorder)?

Time to Get Back on this Horse

2009-11-30T11:16:00.003-05:00

I been absent far too long and life is much to short to waste.

Summer and Fall recap: We had a great summer! In July we met family in Cape Cod and spent a week together. It was the first time there for all of us so it was all new and no one was bored. I have a lot of great photos but none are available right now so they will have to come later.

In early November we took Joyce to Buffalo to see cousin Junior. It was the first time I had ever been there but it was such a quick trip that I didn't get to see much. I didn't see the city, the lake or the falls. That will all have to wait for another trip with more time and better weather.

I've been knitting steadily all this time and finished a number of projects.

In June I finished the Aeolian Shawl.

Then I made Girasole as a shawl. I haven't blocked it yet but here's a partial photo:

While I was working on this shawl I started and finished a smaller shawl project, The Feather Duster Shawl. This one was small and quick. I don't have a finished photo of it either (I'm really slacking in the photo department) but here's a partial:

I started another Curved Shawl with Diamond Edging from Victorian Lace Today for a friend and I really need to get back to work on it. But I been busy making slouchy berets and cowls for myself and friends. Right now I'm working on the second mitt of a pair for DH. They're the Flip Top Mitts by Susan Wolcott of Y2Knit. They work up so fast I may have to make a pair for myself.

Hello, It's Me!

2009-06-09T14:55:00.008-04:00

Yes, it's been awhile. I missed my third blogiversary, my birthday, all kinds of things. No regrets though, because I've been busy. Doug and I have been mowing on the evenings and weekends, when weather permits. Looks like we're about to have a thunderstorm here any minute.

I've started Zumba! It's been 4 weeks (eight classes) and I can really tell a difference in my movement and energy level. After months of little or no energy and therefore little or no activity I'm finally moving again. Of course, I can just barely walk to the car after class and don't even think of asking me to do anything when I get home but I'm taking baby steps.

I had a check up with my oncologist yesterday and after a very thorough exam she said everything seems fine. I'm scheduled for a mammo next month. I've been putting it off because of lingering tenderness in the incision area, but I guess I'll just have to bear up and get it done.

My hair is coming back like crazy! It's very fine baby hair, mostly white, but some darker strands are coming in finally. I can't say I'm thrilled to have to shave my legs again but it's pretty sparse so I'm not complaining.

And of course, I've been knitting. I didn't get to go to MD Sheep and Wool this year because of a wedding in the family (honestly, what were they thinking?) but I made a list and my wonderful friends went on a treasure hunt and found almost all of it. They also bought a few wonderful things that weren't on the list that they knew I'd like. I've got great friends!

I've bought more yarn since. In fact, I've been on a little spree but it's over now. I've got one more order coming and I'm done for a while. The center photo on the top row of the mosaic below is the Midnight Rainbow/Harlot's Peacock from Perchance to Knit that I ordered from the Loopy Ewe to made a Girasole (Rav Link) shawl. I've wanted it for a long time and since Sheri was offering a 20% discount to those of us buying yarn to join the Girasole KAL, well I had to buy it.

We bought a Canon Rebel Xsi DSLR for our anniversay and I'm slowing learning how to use it. All of the photos about were taken with the new camera. I'll post a photo of my new hair later.

In Heaven There Is No Beer

2009-03-19T08:00:00.004-04:00

Turns out that's not necessarily true. On The Universe (History Channel) the other night they talked about huge clouds of alcohol floating about in the galaxy and how prevalent they are. Some are larger then our entire solar system. Though technically not beer, this is the kind of alcohol we drink.

Why am I talking about beer? Because shortly before my last radiation treatment I started craving beer. I have never been a beer drinker (or any kind of drinker for that matter). I drink less then 10 beers a year on average. But all at once I had to have beer, any kind of beer. I dreamed about beer. I longed for beer while I was a work. I drank beer before noon on the weekends. I sent my hubby out on late night beer runs. In the past month or so I have probably drank 5 six packs. That may not sound like a lot to some but it's unprecedented for me.

I told my oncologist about this craving and she thought it was very funny. She said it was nothing to be alarmed about. I guess my body is just screaming for yeast. I know that it's the yeastiness of the beer that attracts me. I'm hoping now that my treatments are finished, this madness will end. I thinks it's tapering off a little already. I meant to drink a beer last night, I thought about while I was a Charity Knitting at Y2Kint, but I forgot about it when I got home.

So the next time you raise a glass, think of me and rest assured that if you didn't want that beer I would definitely drink it for you.

Cheers!

Happy Holidays

2008-12-24T09:38:00.005-05:00

Hi, everyone. I wanted to post a project update and wish everyone a happy holiday (whatever that holiday maybe) and a happy new year. I've been knitting every free moment and have finished a shawl and started a couple of new projects. You know me, one is never enough.

I finished the Baltic Blossoms Shawl for my step-mother. It's blocked and all I have to do is weave in the ends. I asked Sarah to model it for me but the camera batteries were dead and then later she was busy so here are pictures of it without a human for scale.

I really love this shawl and will hate to have to gift it but I can always make another one, right? This was quite a journey from beginning to end. But I won out in the end and finished it. The yarn is so pretty. Here's the stats:

Pattern: Baltic Blossoms Lace Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Spirit Trail Fiberworks Atropos Bombyx Silk in a one-of-a-kind colorway
Needles: #2 Knitpicks Harmony
Mods: I added 5 repeats to the body of the shawl and made the rest according to the pattern. I pinned out the points as scallops instead of points. I like that look better. I love nupps!

Meanwhile I've started a scarf from Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. It's the kimono shawl but I cut the repeats from 10 to 6 so it's a little narrower. I'm wondering though if I should have cut them to 4 because it's still pretty wide and I only have 654 yards. I sure hate to rip it out now because I have over 2 feet of it done. I'm using Handmaiden Sea Silk 150g in Ivory. I've long covetted this colorway and finally scored a skein thanks to a generous gift from my wonderful MIL.

This is a boring knit but the yarn is so yummy that it keeps me going. In fact I think it's slowing me down because I keep stopping to admire and fondle. I worked on it at the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis last Friday while we drank a couple of beers and waited to see the Bacon Brothers.

I'm also working on a scarf from Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush out of Filatura di Crosa Superior. I can't remember the name of the pattern right at the moment and I haven't photographed it yet. It's going fast but the Kimono Shawl is my first priority.

That's about it for knitting right now. I have to wrap up some presents tonight and we're ready for Christmas. We going to relatives tomorrow and the LYS is having a Boxing Day Knit-In so I'll probably go to that for a while. I don't intend to do any shopping on the day after.

Monday will be my last chemo treatment and I'll be so glad to get it over with. Thank goodness it fell after Christmas. Then I start radiation sometime after the first of the year.

I hope you all have great holidays and enjoy it however you see fit. Happy New Year, y'all!

2008-12-04T14:55:00.001-05:00

1 minute, 9 seconds

I'm still going...

2008-11-25T12:53:00.005-05:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last update. I've been knitting like crazy so I have a lot to talk about.

I've been on a lace kick lately. I finished the Swallowtail and gifted it to my lovely co-worker. I really enjoyed this knit. The pattern is well written and easy to follow and the yarn I used, Handmaiden Sea Silk, is just beyond words. I think it's the perfect yarn for this pattern. It was a true pleasure to knit with and I wish I could afford to make more projects with it but it's a bit pricey for my budget. This photo shows the actual color of the yarn much better.

This put me on a path to nupp central. I purchased an online pattern that features nupps, Baltic Blossoms by Evelyn A. Clark and started it right away. I started it using Filatura di Crosa Superior of which I have 660 yards. This yarn is my most cherished possession and I didn't want to waste it. The small version of the shawl would have left me with 200 yards, not enough to do much with but not enough to knit the larger size. I did the body of the shawl before I finally made up my mind that I just couldn't live with the thought of wasting those 200 yards. So I ripped it out and started over using Spirit Trail Fiberworks Bombyx Silk Atropos. I have 500 yards of this so I did the body for the smaller size but I also went down a needle size. After knitting 9 repeats of the body and the first two lily of the valley charts I decided that the shawl would be too small. So I ripped out the LOV charts and added 5 more repeats of the the body pattern for a total of 14 repeats. With the smaller needle size I'm hoping that 500 yards will be enough to finish this.

Here's what it looked like before I ripped out the LOV charts. I ripped it back to the where the first lifeline is shown but unfortunately I had already removed the lifeline (I know, I'm an idiot). So I had a lot of fun trying to pick up all those stitches in SILK yarn but I eventually succeeded. I'm now back to where the first lifeline is shown but with 5 extra repeats of the body pattern. I'm ready to start the first lily of the valley chart. I'll have to do some major improvisation if I don't have enough yarn to finish this because the colorway was one of a kind.

Meanwhile, my friends and I went to Stitches East for three wonderful fun-filled days! I took two classes and really enjoyed them both but especially the Cable Variations class taught by Melissa Leapman. She is a really good teacher and kept the class moving even if it meant leaving some folks behind. The class description clearly indicated that it wasn't for beginners. I felt so sorry for the lady who sat beside me. She didn't know what an SSK was! She didn't even really get started on any of the examples before she had to quit and move on to the next one. I think she was in tears at one point. No one should ever cry over knitting. That's just wrong in so many ways.

I made some purchases at the market preview Thursday night. I bought a skein of gorgeous tencel laceweight Almaza from Just Our Yarn. Yes, that's the real color.

It's seems to be a very fine lace weight, perhaps closer to cobweb. I just couldn't resist the color and shine.

I bought two skeins of Jojoland Harmony, which is also a very fine lace weight. I'm into bright colors right now. Maybe it's because of the gray/brown yarn I'm working with right now.

I haven't worked with either of these yarns so I hope they will lend themselves to an enjoyable knitting experience.

I hung around the Windy Valley Muskox booth a little too long and ended up buying two balls of Golden Crown Suri Alpaca with the intention of making some sort of lacy scarf. They also had gorgeous pima cotton and beads to make a beaded scarf so I bought that as well. I forgot to take a photo of the cotton but here's the alpaca. I've started a scarf that I'll talk about later.

My hubby wants a scarf made from muskox but he's going to have to cough up the cash for that yarn because it's not coming out of my budget. It's nice but there's too many other yarns I'd like to have.

Let's see, what else did I buy? Oh yeah, I bought a skein of Creatively Dyed Beaches sock yarn. Probably won't make socks out of it though.

I also bought a couple books I've been planning to get. It Itches by Franklin Habit and Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush. I have A Gathering of Lace on my list but I'm saving it for my Christmas list.

I cast on for the Lily of the Valley scarf using the Suri Alpaca from Windy Valley Muskox and I'm working on it off and on. Here's a progress shot.

This yarn feels so luxurious and decadent that it's hard to describe. It has a cool, silky feel and a fuzzy softness both at the same time even though I think those tactile sensations contradict one another. It also stretches a lot. I hope it blocks okay.

Somewhere in the the midst of all that I bought a skein of Malabrigo Worsted from Susan at Y2Knit and made another Better Bucket for me, since Hubby took off with the first one I made. I haven't blocked it yet and it's way too big for my hairless head but it fits over my head wraps and really keeps the cold off my bare head. The colorway it Noviembre, which suits it fine.

I had my fourth chemo treatment last Monday and spent the week on the couch too tired to even knit. No nausea, for which I'm so thankful, but extreme fatigue and weakness. This week I'm doing better. I only worked half a day yesterday but I'm fine today. Two more treatments and I'm done with chemo. My exams have been good. No new lumps in evidence so we just continue to treat all the side effects of the chemo and hope for the best. I've had to go on insulin and blood pressure meds but hopefully once the poisons are out of my body, I'll be able to go off those. I have to admit that I'm enjoying the hair loss. Bath time lasts about 5 minutes now because there's nothing to shampoo or shave. My eyebrows are getting sparse but may actually make it through without completely disappearing. My lashes are hanging in there too but I've read that they will be the very last hair to go.

New Projects

2008-10-14T09:53:00.004-04:00

I have about six projects on the needles right now. I'm working on The Clementine Shawlette in some amazing hand painted fingering weight merino with sterling silver that was given to me by a dear friend. I'm also making a pair of socks using some Intention Yarn by Lime & Violet using the Nutkin pattern by Beth LaPensee that was giving to me by another great friend. Yet another friend (I know, I'm so lucky) gave me some Blue Heron Chenille that I haven't found the right pattern for yet but I'm looking. I don't have photos of any of these projects and I haven't added them to Ravelry either.

I've also started Print O' The Wave by Eunny Yang out of some gorgeous Penthouse Silk by Neightborhood Fiber Company that I bought a couple of years ago. I started several projects with this yarn but none stuck until now. I've got about 8 inches of the center panel finished and was going pretty strong on it until the Loopy Ewe got in a shipment of Handmaiden Sea Silk. I've been waiting a long time for some Ivory Sea Silk and there it was in my cart at last. That's when I saw the Moss color. Out flew the Ivory, in went the Moss and that was that. I had been saving my money for Stitches East in November but a skein of Sea Silk might be impossible to find there so I wasn't taking a chance. It came a couple of weeks ago and I fondled it and sniffed it and let it sit on the coffee table for weeks knowing that I wanted to make the Swallowtail Shawl but that I had so many things going right now that I just couldn't start another one.

You know where I'm going with this of course. On Sunday I finaly wound the skein and dug out the Fall 2006 issue of Interweave Knits and started. It's going really fast because this isn't really a "laceweight" yarn.

I'm always working on baby socks and have a pair done. I'm working on matching handsies to go with these socks because I had a request for a set.

I've had two chemo treatments now, one-third of the way done, whew! This one left me tired, so tired. But I can't complain because I can handle tired just fine. I'm back at work this week and next week and then it'll be time for my third treatment. Friends and family are taking such great care of me. How will I ever repay everyone's kindness?

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow - Part II

2008-10-02T08:19:00.005-04:00

I went to my beautician to have my remaining hair buzzed off last night. Here's a front view of the hair that was left after my first chemo treatment. It was driving me nuts under my hats. It was itchy and being pressed down in unnatural directions was making my scalp hurt.
Here's the back view. Lovely, isn't it?

First Linda Sue gave me a Mohawk because, really, how many opportunities does a straight-laced, white bread girl like me get to see herself in a Mohawk? It would have looked better if my hair had been thicker but of course it wasn't or we wouldn't be doing this in the first place.

Next she shaved off the top of the Mohawk and left me with some weird Hare Krishna type look.

Then she really got down to the job at hand and shaved it using a series of blades until there was just stubble left. The stubble is like velcro and sticks to all my hats and scarves. It should soon fall out though because my next chemo is on Monday.

After a lot of buzzing I finally ended up with the look I was after. I give you - Uncle Fester. Some black shadow around the eye and a black coat and I'm ready for Halloween.

Then we really got silly and Linda Sue gave me a wig that I could use if I wanted but it's really not me. Wouldn't you agree?

I'm going to order a wig from her that fits me better and looks more like my own hair. I know, I know, what's the fun in that?

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2008-09-29T10:26:00.006-04:00

I took this photo on Friday, September 26th. On Saturday the 27th my hair started to come out. It was day 13 since the start of my Chemo so I was expecting it. Everything I heard and read said to expect the hair loss to begin 10-14 day after my first treatment. What I wasn't expecting was that it would take so long to come out. Despite diligent efforts on my part to "comb it out" with my fingers there's still a good bit left. Today I wore a turban to work for the first time though because what's left is so sparse and ugly. I took the photo below this morning. I'm going to need more headgear. I plan to stop at a local medical supply store and see what they have. The turban that I'm wearing today was a gift from the local Breast Cancer Awareness chapter. They gave me two turbans and sleeping cap. I really can't say enough good things about BCA and all the help and assistance that they offer.

The lumpectomy went very well. Little pain and no nausea from the anesthesia. I told every staffer who came in contact with me that general anesthesia makes me sick and they went out of their way to make sure that didn't happen this time. I had a pill, a shot and a patch. There was no staples or stitches, just steri-strips. All-in-all, the most pain free surgery and recovery I've ever had.

The pathology report was good and bad. The good news was that it hadn't spread to my lymph nodes. The sentinel node biopsy was clear. The margins were clear as well except that the tumor was very close to the surface of my breast. To get completely clear margins, the surgeon would have had to make a hole in my breast and she opted not to do that. Radiation will kill any cells that were left in that area.

The bad news was that it was triple negative. No positive cells were found. This means that the cancer has a higher chance of recurring and that it can recur in areas other than the breast. Triple negative cancers are also more aggresive and mine was rated grade three, which is the most aggressive.

I had my first chemo treatment on September 15th. They're giving me Adriamycin, Cytoxan, and Taxotere. It took 6 hours for all the meds to drip into my vein. I didn't get sick but had headaches and "chemo brain" for the first few days. Chemo brain is dizziness, disorintation and short term memory loss. I couldn't believe how it affected me! I was looking under the sink for clean spoons instead of in the dishwasher at one point. Scary stuff!

Next chemo - October 6th. One of my friends is taking me this time (hubby went last time) and she's a knitter too so we should have a great time. They told me that it should take an hour less this time because now that they know I'm not allergic to the meds they can let them drip in a little faster.

But the knitting goes on. I just can't knit lace or anything complicated that first week after chemo. I'm working on Eunny's Print O'the Wave stole and various socks right now.

It comes down to this...

2008-08-21T09:03:00.003-04:00

On July 28th I found a lump in my left breast
On July 30th I had a mammogram and sonogram
On July 31th I had a biopsy
On August 4th I found out that I have an Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.
On August 8th I had an MRI
On August 12th I met my Radiation Oncologist and discussed treatment options
On August 13th I met with my surgeon to schedule the surgery
On August 26th I'll have a lumpectomy.
Sometime after that, if all goes well, I'll have radiation (MammoSite RTS) twice a day for five days (if there's not enough healthy tissue left I'll have seven weeks of conventional radiation)
Sometime after that, I'll start chemo.

That's my life right now. I'll go for hours and forget all about it and then something reminds me that, oh yeah, I have breast cancer. When it's on my mind I can't concentrate on anything else. Work is getting to be joke right now but I think my boss and coworkers understand. I have a lot of stuff to get done before I leave next week but I just can't muster up enough brain cells to think about them right now. Time is running out though and I must force myself to concentrate on the tasks at hand for a little while.

My boss is okay with me working from home while I'm off. I'm taking my laptop home and there will be a spare one on my desk for those days when I feel like coming to work. I'll officially be on sick leave (because my employer doesn't have a "work from home policy" in place) but at least I won't have to come back to a mountain of work. I'm the only one here who can do my job (webmaster) so except for emergency postings that will be done by one of my coworkers following my written documentation, everything else will sit and wait for me to get to it.

I think I have a good attitude. My friends say I'm taking it very well. I haven't had any breakdowns, though I came close when I found out the the tumor is most likely triple negative. The surgeon said that the biopsy only samples a very small portion of the tumor and the pathology report after the surgery may show that there are some positive hormone receptors in the much larger sample that is examined. If there's even one positive cell in the sample then I'll receive the hormone treatments. Otherwise, I'll just have the radiation and chemo and then wait. I couldn't have regular breast cancer, oh no, I had to have triple negative breast cancer. But I'm not complaining because there are worse kinds of breast cancer and worse kinds to cancer in general. Breast cancer is highly treatable these days.

And by the way, all you ladies out there who are reading this and saying to yourselves that you don't have anything to worry about because there's no history of breast cancer in your family should WAKE UP AND DO YOUR BREAST EXAM RIGHT NOW (unless you're at work, of course) because the only history in my family was a great-aunt on my father's side.

I never thought of getting breast cancer for that very reason although I did do my exams. You see, cancer has cut quite a swath through my family, but not breast cancer. My mother and her mother both died of colon cancer and I have regular colonoscopies because of that. My father died of lung and brain cancer, and my half sister (dad's daughter) has kidney cancer. Everyone who didn't die of cancer died of heart disease. So breast cancer took me by surprise.

Fortunately for me, I have a fantastic husband, great friends and coworkers, a wonderful local breast cancer awareness program and good medical facilities very close by. I'm more curious than scared at this point.

My wonderful sister-in-law from Santa Fe sent me a beautiful Zuni horse fetish that I've been wearing in my bra. According to my research "the horse is an animal of freedom and the horse fetish has the power of healing, strength and safe movement". I'm knitting a pouch for him right now that I can fasten to my bra so I don't have to keep feeling myself to make sure he's still there. I've named him Victor (the Lone Ranger's nephew's horse's name, from A Christmas Story).

He's my constant companion now and probably will be for the rest of my life. Isn't he beautiful? I think he's carved from marble with veins of pyrite. Thank you, Robin, for sending him to me.

He's posing with my latest pair of baby socks. They're Koigu and the pattern is Miriam Felton's Infant to Toddler Sized Socks. We've given away all we had so I've been working on these when I get the chance and hope to complete some more while I'm off from work. So, that's how it stands right now. I'll update the blog again after the surgery but I don't want this to turn into a "breast cancer blog". It's all about the knitting!

Curved Shawl Finished

2008-07-28T11:59:00.007-04:00

My friend and co-worker Karen was kind enough to model the shawl for me today so that I could post photos of the finished object. Here are the details and a blow-by-blow description of the knitting.

Pattern: A Curved Shawl with Diamond Edging from Victorian Lace Today
Yarn: Yubina Laceweight 100% Cashmere, approx. 300-400 yds.
Needles: started on a size 2 Addi Turbo Lace then switched to Knitpicks Harmony

6/12/08: This is a pretty easy knit once you get started. It would be easier still if I had Knitpicks Harmony needles in this size. The metal ones are a little too slippery. I’ll have to place an order soon.

I’m putting in lifelines after every 12 row chart repeat right now. As it gets wider I may do it every six rows.

6/18/08: I’m on the 22nd 4-row repeat and the pattern calls for 42 so I’m over halfway through with the body. Yeah! Still loving the knitting and have a hard time putting it down. I’m knitting much more slowly then I normally would though because the needles are so slick. I think I’ll breakdown and order the KnitPicks Harmonys in size 2.

6/30/08: I have about 35 4-row repeats done now - closing in on 42 very quickly. I did order the Harmony needles and now I’m moving much faster but the rows are getting very long. I can’t wait to start the border because I’ve signed up for another KAL on the Victorian Lace Today group that starts tomorrow.

7/2/08: 11 more rows to go on the center panel.

7/8/08: I have 6 repeats of the border done! It took me several tries to figure out how to attach it to the center panel. It was awkward to knit it onto the big panel and not twist it at the beginning. Then I decided to do it just like the Harebell Fichu and I picked up all the edge loops of the center panel onto my circular needle. This made it very easy to keep the border straight and now I’m sailing along. I think it’ll go quickly if I can just stick with it and not let myself get distracted.

7/21/08: I have about 4 more diamonds to complete and it’s done. I bought 500 extra-long pins yesterday at Joann’s because I knew I didn’t have enough to pin this out.

7/22/08: Finished last night. The pattern miraculously worked out, ending on the last row of the chart just like I had planned it that way. Since I inadvertently skipped a row on at least two repeats this is truly amazing. I’ll wait until Sat. to soak and pin. I have a feeling this process will involve hours of back-breaking work but I know it’ll be worth it in the end.

7/28/08: Blocked it on Saturday. It dried really fast. I put 3 pins in each diamond on the border and ran blocking wires through the picot on the neck edge. I am so happy with how it turned out. I would make this pattern again. It took less than one 500yd ball. I would say between 300 and 400 yards.

Sock Knitting Continues...

2008-05-22T09:18:00.003-04:00

I finished another pair of adult socks. These are Pillars of Fire from the Loopy Ewe Sock Club Summer 2008. The yarn is Wollmeise Sockenwolle 100% Superwash and if you haven't experienced this yarn I suggest you run, don't walk, to your computer and try to find a skein. It's not real easy to find though so think of it as big game hunting, big yarn hunting. The Loopy Ewe carries it but it's usually sold out. The lady who dyes the yarn is in Germany and does all the work herself I think, so it's thin on the ground.

If you go to her website you'll see that she shares it with her husband who's in the wrought iron business. I love that combination, iron and wool. It's like a place near here called Rudy's Welding Service and Cold Beer (seriously, go look at the photo, I love the description under it).

But back to the socks. I wound the yarn the night it arrived and started the next day. I don't usually jump right on sock club kits when they arrive. I've got some from last year still in my stash. But I've been trying to get some Wollmeise for a while and when I saw it in the kit I started screaming "Wollmeise, Wollmeise!" (you have to pity my poor husband and cats). I bought a skein last year from the Loopy Ewe but I didn't like the colorway (Drachenblut) and recently traded it to aliseknits (Ravelry ID) for some leftover sock yarn to make baby socks. This yarn, on the other hand, is gorgeous. It's also called Pillars of Fire.

Now that these are done, I can go back to the Green Appletini socks from the spring sock club kit. This is another one that I started right away because the yarn is so pretty. It's by Yarntini and it's 50/50 merino/tencel, one of my favorite combinations. I have one finished and another ready for the gusset.

The gusset worked out very nice and the short row heel is my favorite. It knits up quickly and looks very neat when finished.

Isn't the yarn beautiful? The tencel gives it a little shine. And how about those tight little cables? Aren't they cute? They're only four stitches so they're easy to do without a cable needle. Sheri at the Loopy Ewe really does a great job putting these sock club kits together. She has excellent taste in yarn!

In other news, my friends and I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and we had a blast.

The Action photo taken before we left from my house. My poor, long suffering husband took these two photos.

The Normal pose. We are, from left to right, Janis, Me, Marge, Audrey, Terry, and Jane. WE ARE KNITTERS!.

2nd Blogiversary

2008-05-12T14:15:00.003-04:00

Two years ago today I wrote my first blog post. Creating this blog opened up a world I didn't know existed. I have friends all over the country that I've never met because of this blog. I feel privileged to be part of the knit-blogging community and always feel more than a little pride when I tell people that I have a blog.

Thanks to the readers (you know who are are) for visiting even though the updates have been thin on the ground lately. I hope to do a post about the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival latter this week so stay tuned.

Spring Fever

2008-04-21T13:14:00.005-04:00

I've been very busy knitting this spring but just not in the mood to blog. I don't know why I keep up this blog. I don't think that anyone reads it and I don't really know why they would want to. I have nothing witty or interesting to say. Just the same old stuff.

What have I knit?
Well, I knit Miss Dashwood, Katja, and these ribbed soakers all from Kraemer Yarns Little Lehigh Pebbles. Katja and Miss Dashwood are from Knitty. I found the soaker pattern while cruising on Ravelry and don't know where it came from.

These were knitted as a gift for one of our favorite waitresses at the Waffle House who is due in mid-May. They were very quick and easy to knit except for Miss Dashwood (the hat). I found it a bit of a challenge where the brim joins the hat but I think it was mostly due to the non-elasticity of the yarn I was using.

I also knit an alpaca baby jacket (b13-3 Jacket, socks, soft toy and blanket in Alpaca by DROPS design) using Classic Elite Alpaca Sox in the Oatmeal Melange colorway. This is the cutest little thing.
I left the crochet edging off because it was for a little boy and I thought that might make it look a little too feminine. I knit the Baby Bell Bottoms by Alison Hansel out of
Cascade Yarns Cherub Collection DK to go with the jacket. These were made for a friend who had her little boy a couple of weeks ago.

I made numerous pair of baby socks using Miriam Felton Baby to Toddler Sized Socks pattern to give away and I did indeed give them all away and am making more. I didn't keep track but I estimate that I've given away a couple dozen pair by now. Here are photos of just a couple of the
them. I ordered more Moo Cards to attach to them in case the mothers have any questions about care or materials. I love making these socks and always carry them in my purse as my portable knitting. So far no one has turned me down when I ask them if they will accept a pair of socks for their new baby. It was all my husband's idea to start giving them away to strangers as an act of kindness.

I've completed a couple pair of adult socks as well. One pair was made for one of my co-workers, Harold. He's an avid fisherman and when I came across a skien of yarn from Woolly Boully called "Fishing with my Father" I knew they were for Harold.

Socks for Harold
Woolly Boully Softie Sock
100% Merino
Colorway: Fishing With My Father
Purchased From The Loopy Ewe
Pattern: my usual toe-up on #1 circs
I can't remember where the leg pattern came from. K3, YO, K3, SSK then reverse for the other leg, K2tog, K3, YO, K3.

This is Harold modeling the socks. I wanted to get a detail of the heel and the leg portion. I'm making a pair for me out of Claudia Handpaints with this same pattern.

Let's see, what else have I knit and not blogged about? Oh yeah, I just finished "A Better Bucket" by Amy Swenson. Talk about quick... I started Thursday and finished Saturday without even really trying. I've got to get a button or a big pin to put on it for decoration.

I'm buying the yarn to make another one of these for another waitress at the Waffle House who is graduating from college soon and moving out into the working world. I know she rides horses and this is a very warm hat. I wish I had made mine last fall. Now I have to wait months to wear it. The brim is double thick Malabrigo Worsted Weight Merino Wool right over your ears where you need the extra warmth. I may get some wear out of it at the baseball games for the next few weeks until it really warms up once and for all.

That's about it for now. I started "The Woodland Shawl" out of Dream In Color Smooshy in the Flamingo Pie colorway on Sunday but I don't have any pics yet. Enjoy the spring weather because it'll be hotter than Hades out there soon enough.

Quick post to let you know I'm still alive...

2008-03-11T13:47:00.004-04:00

I haven't dropped off the edge of the earth or fallen into a big hole. I'm just busy at work and at home and haven't really had anything interesting to talk about (do I ever?). The most exciting thing to happen to me lately is that my hair stylist talked me into changing my hair color and I agreed! I've had dark auburn for over 20 years but she suggested that it's time to lighten up. I started going gray in college and have been coloring my hair since I was 29. I'm almost 51 now so I guess she's got a point. A lighter color will make those glowing silver roots blend in better between colorings. So Friday evening she stripped my hair of most of it's red (no way to get it all out, red is extremely hard to remove) and then dyed it with a complex combination of colors to counteract the remain red. It's now a honey brown or dark honey blonde color.

That's the old hair on the left and the new hair on the right. I've never had light hair before and I don't know myself when I look in the mirror. I like it though and we may add some highlights come summer.

In knitting news, there's not much to report. I still working on the Harebell Fichu from Victorian Lace Today to give as a gift. I dropped a stitch on Sunday and just put it away for a while. I'll have to rip out several rows to get that stitch back on the needles correctly and I just couldn't face it at the time. I'm also working on a pair of socks for a coworker and more baby socks as my most portable project.

I ordered more Moo MiniCards so I can put them with the baby socks when I give them away. I wish you could divide your order in half and have different text on 50 of the cards. I would have liked to put care instructions on some of the cards and my contact info on the other half. Have you seen the Moo cards? They're wonderful little creations that let you use your own photos. They work with Flickr and you can drag your pics straight into the Moo card window. I didn't have quite enough so I used some of their stock photos to fill out the order. I like having a nice picture on one side and my info on the other.

Doug and I got a Wii a couple weeks ago and have been having a blast playing Wii Play and Wii Sports. Doug pre-ordered Wii Fit. Who ever thought that two 50+ year olds would be buying a video game? Doug is anxious to get Guitar Hero so he can practice and beat the teenage nephews when next we see them. How mature is that?

Many Irons in the Fire

2008-02-21T08:39:00.002-05:00

I know it's been a while since I posted. I just haven't been very talkative lately, I guess. So here's an update on what I've been doing.

I made a pair of socks with Trekking XXL Color 100 that I purchased at Y2Knit with Christmas money. It's my usual recipe based on Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Socks. Knitpicks Harmony size 0 circs.

Let me sing the praises of the Harmony needles. They have the smoothest joins - I mean that it's like there isn't a join at all. I didn't have any problem seeing this yarn on the stained wood. All in all, an A++ rating.

I also made a baby jacket using Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton. The pattern is Super Natural Stripes by Fawn Pea. Isn't it cute? I followed the directions without deviation and it turned out great. I still have to add a button and a loop.

The yarn has a tendency to fuzz up while you knit and I don't really like that look but I guess that's how it's supposed to be. If I make this again I may use a different yarn. The colors really speak to me though. I'm an earthy kind of girl and I really like this combination.

I also started a new lace project from Victorian Lace Today. It's the Harebell Fichu and I'm making it for a waitress at our local Waffle House who will be graduating from college in May and starting work for the federal government. She's been waiting on us for years and I wanted to give her something that she can use in her new job. This should ward off drafts quite nicely while staying in place. For a lace project, it's a little understated and therefore perfect for office use. She is a natural redhead and I think the emerald green should suit her perfectly. I'm halfway done and should have plenty of time to finish and block it before she leaves.

I'm still making baby cloths and socks. One recipient is due any day now, one in April, and two in mid summer. Doug has suggested that I carry socks with me at all times so I that I can give them out whenever we see a new born or an expectant mother. He calls them random acts of kindness. Whenever we're out he points out babies that I could give socks to if I had them with me. Do I have a great husband? Yes, indeed I do.

A Friend in the News

2008-02-04T08:02:00.001-05:00

Susan Wolcott, the owner of my lys, Y2Knit, was recently contacted by a journalist from U.S. News and World Report about a story. It's a series their doing about people who have left successful careers to start a new career doing something they love. Susan has no idea how they found her but agreed to do the article. They even sent a photographer to Funkstown to take her photo (which doesn't appear in the on-line story).

Here's the link to the Story.

Susan has become a good friend since teaching me how to knit and since the shop is only an easy bike-ride from my house, I spend too much time (and money :^P) there. Here's a photo of Susan and I on the front porch of her shop/home knitting while we watch a street skirmish during the re-enactment of the Battle of Funkstown (Civil War).

And here's a photo of the shop that I took at Christmas two years ago. It's beautiful old home that used to be an antique shop before it was a yarn shop.

Congratulations to Susan for making a success of her new career. I know I'm certainly glad she made the decision to change her life and move to Funkstown. I would have never learned to knit and I wouldn't have all the friends I've made, both online and through the shop. Susan didn't just change her life for the better, she also changed mine.

The Gifts Keep Coming

2008-01-17T15:26:00.000-05:00

I had a very good knitterly Christmas thanks mainly to my moms, my brother-in-law and his wife and my Hubby. My mother-in-law gave me a gift certificate to KnitPicks and I was able to get the set of Harmony needles that I had been craving for so long. I had enough to also buy the nickel plated tips in sizes 4-8US and a set of 40" cables. I also splurged and got two pair of size #0US 24" circs in the Harmony wood. I'll see how long they last.

My step-mother gave enough to get a swift. It's ordered and I am saving my skeins until it arrives.

I haven't used the KnitPicks yet, only petted them and shown them off to anyone who would stop long enough to look. They're so beautiful. I'm dying to put some lace on them but I have other things that need to be finished first.

The case is great too. I think I'll like this pouch much better than the binder. It holds both types of needles and all the parts with ease.

I'll gather additional sizes as I need them. I find I rarely ever use larger needles anymore. I prefer knitting more delicate things now. But it's certainly good to have them if you need them.

Not that I should ever need more needles. I counted the needles that I have inventoried on Ravelry yesterday and I had about 96 pair. I did count each of the tips pairs as a set of circs because that's what they are even though I don't have enough cables to use them all at once.

Aren't they pretty? I know I'm probably the last knitter to get some of these and you all are no doubt immune to their charms by now but let me enjoy my infatuation for a little while.

Those are the #4's and the #11's. Sigh...

The way I figure it, I've got enough left to buy the swift and Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters from Susan at Y2Knit. Life is Good.

Santa Fe

2008-01-11T14:58:00.000-05:00

While we were in Santa Fe we took in a few galleries. I loved these sculptures but I can't remember the artist's name. I picked up a brochure but I haven't been able to locate it. It was quite cold that day but the sun was warm and it was calm. The temperature was only in the mid twenties but it felt quite nice. Maybe too nice, because we were tempted to dress lightly and I don't think that did my cold any good.

This sculpture was amazing in the sun. A big slab of rock with the glass set in to a rectangular slit cut in the slab. I'm a sucker for glass so this one really appealed to me. There was a glass blower across the street but the shop was closed.

Robin took us to one of the yarn shops in Santa Fe, Needle's Eye. They have a very nice selection of yarns, though not a big color selection in each brand. I'm sure space limitations were the cause and no doubt they could order the colors you need if you ask. The two ladies who were there that day were both very nice.

They had Koigu on sale for $9.00 a skein and since I'm on this baby sock binge right now and have used up all my sock yarn scraps, I bought four skein specifically for baby socks. I've already used up two of the four. I can get three pair of socks out of a skein.

I also bought a skein of Lane Borgosesia Baruffa Cashwool which is new to me. It's so soft. I was little disappointed that they only had three colors the day I was there but I've been wanting to make a shawl in off-white. Here's a photo of all the yarn I bought along with a crocheted bag I bought from a Mexican girl in the lobby of a restaurant. I couldn't resist the colors and it makes a great knitting bag. The clear object in the foreground is a Yarn Clam. Here's a better photo of it. It's made out of the same plastic they make take-out containers from. I'm sure it won't last very long but it was cheap and it works great for yarn cakes. The hole in the top has a metal grommet to protect the yarn. It comes in different sizes too.

When we left the yarn shop Robin took us by the Really, Really Big Cows and Geese. There are sculptures everywhere in Santa Fe especially of Elk.

We also went to the Silver Sun which is where Robin works. I didn't get any photo though because I was still pretty sick then. Please check out the website. They have a fabulous selection of Native American jewelry using American Turquoise from a variety of mines. She gave Joyce and I gift certificates for Christmas so we went there the day after and picked out our treasures. I selected a Zuni piece but I haven't photographed it yet.

We left Santa Fe on Friday, Dec. 28th around 11am and arrived home in Maryland on Sunday, Dec. 30th at 10pm. It was a quick trip back with good weather most of the way. We all had a great time but it's always good to get home to your own bed.

Thoughts on Santa Fe

2008-01-03T14:58:00.000-05:00

Joyce said that Robin once said to her that we in Maryland don't know what blue sky is. I think she may be on to something. The sky in Santa Fe is definitely a different kind of blue. I think it may be because of all the light on the ground. It was snowy and a lot of the trees have light or white bark. All of that contributes to the blue of the sky.
Orion gently explained to Doug that he is Alpha Dog by putting his paw on Doug's arm. If you pushed it off and put your hand on his shoulder you would end up in an arm wrestling match to see who could end up with their paw/hand on whom. He (Orion, not Doug) was very persistent. All in all, Orion is a very good dog. He goes to his kennel when told, isn't terribly destructive, and doesn't bark much. But he really has a hangup about this Alpha Dog stuff.

Here's a photo of him on reclining on Robin after a hard day. I like the way his right leg is sticking straight out. He thinks he's Alpha Dog because he's laying on Robin and that's made him very contented. He kept us all entertained while we were visiting.
Here's the gift that we hauled all the way to Santa Fe for Robin. It's a dress that Robin's grandmother (Joyce's mother) crocheted for Joyce when she was a little girl. Joyce had it framed along with a photo of herself in the dress when she was 5 or 6 years old.

Here's a photo of daughter and mother with the dress made by grandmother. The dress was stored in a trunk wrapped in paper and was in excellent condition. It looks like it was made from cotton crochet thread in a peach color. The framer put matching matting inside the dress so that the back didn't show and carefully arranged each row of stitches.
Here's a slightly better angle. Click on the photo to see a larger version.

The kids have a Wii so Doug and I got to try it out. I've been telling Doug we need one of these and he's been resistant. Now he sees how much fun they are and we're trying to find one. They're still very thin on the ground.

Here's a photo of Joe and Doug bowling on the Wii. They also have an XBox 360 and maybe a PS3 (I'm not sure about that one). We played Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution. I totally suck at those games because I have ZERO hand/eye coordination but it was fun to try.

We ate authentic New Mexican food while we were there and we both thought it was great. I learned that "chili" in New Mexico isn't a soup with beans and hamburger. I learned to order green chili ( not quite as hot as the red) and have them put it one the side. We ate posole
(yum!) and sopapilla with honey. More about the Santa Fe later

The Journey Ends - Day Four

2007-12-23T21:02:00.000-05:00

If you read the last post you'll recall that we were in Amarillo, TX and it was 60 degrees but they were calling for bad weather. When we awoke the next morning it was 24 degrees, the wind was blowing 40 MPH and it was snowing hard.

All I had taken into the motel was a hoodie. I took the first load of bags out to the car so I could get my coat, scarf, hat and gloves. I couldn't feel my fingers by the time I got back inside. We loaded the car and Doug went to check us out while I warmed the car up. That's when we realized that we had forgotten the ice scraper. The car was completely coated with about an 1/8th inch of ice. The defroster was slow to make any headway against the wind but finally it melted enough that I could get out and scrap the windows and clean off the wiper with my gloved hands.

I drove us to a gas station where we bought a scraper and filled up the tank. The wind was blowing so hard and the road was so icy that the car was being pushed sideways across the road. We went back to the Cracker Barrel beside the motel and ate a good hot breakfast and waited for it to let up some. It was supposed to end at noon. We left the restaurant and Doug drove a few miles up I40 where we decided to get off and reevaluate just how badly we wanted to get to Santa Fe that day. While we were setting in the parking lot of a Barnes and Nobel it stopped snowing. We decided try it again.
The roads were icy and the bridges were treacherous but we crept along at 40MPH. Gradually conditions improved and by the time we got to NM we were back up to 70MPH.
We passed another wind farm before we left Texas and this one went on for miles. It was well off the road and I couldn't get a good photo but I could tell that the blades were turning - fast in the 40 mph winds. If you click on the photo at right and view the larger size you can make out the turbines against the cloudy sky.

Gradually the sun came out and the icy roads melted and dried. We headed into New Mexico in the bright sunshine.

We saw several wrecks including a few that had obviously rolled at least once. Most were trucks including this one. I just hope no one was injured in these accidents. One was an SUV loaded down with stuff just like we were. You can't see something like that and not think how lucky you are. We stopped in Tucumcari at McDonald's to get drinks and use the facilities because all the New Mexico rest areas were closed.

That's Tucumcari Mountain on the left. It was smooth sailing into Santa Fe and we pulled into Robin's at about 2:30 local (mountain) time. We were certainly glad to arrive safely after seeing so much carnage on the highway and now we can rest and enjoy our stay in this beautiful city. More about Santa Fe later.

The Journey Continues - Day Three

2007-12-23T19:58:00.000-05:00

Oklahoma and Texas made up Day Three of the trip. We left Conway, Arkansas and headed for Oklahoma City. All the way from Maryland we had been meeting bucket trucks for utility companys from all over the eastern US. They were all headed home from Oklahoma where they had been assisting with repair from the ice storm the week before. Convoys of utility trucks. Hundreds of them traveling north and east from OK. When we got near Oklahoma City we started see why they were there. Of course, I could only snap pics from the moving car but I think you can make out some of the damage. The photo at left is of a playground covered with debris. Not many trees were spared some sort of damage.

I've seen my share of ice storms but this one must have been a doosy. We passed neighborhoods where the broken trunks and branches had been neatly sawed up and stacked along the curb (for pick-up I guess) sometimes 4 or 5 feet high. They'll have a lot less shade come summer.

I took some pics of downtown Oklahoma City. We discussed taking the time to see the memorial site for the bombing but decided we should press on instead.
Here's the skyline of the city. We passed some wind farms in Oklahoma and Texas. This one is in OK. I don't know why but they weren't turning. They were HUGE though and I was disappointed that they were still because I wanted to hear them. Surely they make noise?

We stopped for the night in Amarillo, Texas. We had a great dinner and stayed at a nice motel. It was 60 degrees when we went to bed but they were calling for bad weather. But that's another story. Here's the sunset.

Day Two (a day late)

2007-12-21T21:43:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delayed entry but there was no wireless internet in the dump we stayed in last night. We got to Conway, Arkansas and couldn't find a good motel. We ended up staying in a pretty bad one without internet access.

Anyway, on Day Two we passed through Nashville, seen at left in the fog. From there we continued on to Memphis where we took a side trip to see the house I lived in when I was in Junior High. It wasn't hard to find thanks to Google Maps. I remembered nothing except the house itself which hadn't really changed at all.

The trees were bigger and prettier but the house and the street looked the same. The biggest difference was the character of the neighborhood itself. It's completely black now where it was mostly white in 1971. The houses all looked older since it was a brand new development when we moved in. But it still looked like a nice neighborhood. It was great to know that it's still there and still being taken care of.

Then we headed out of Memphis. We went by downtown and by this pyramid thing. I just looked it up on Google and Found out that it's a sports and entertainment arena. Then we crossed the Mississippi and headed into Arkansas.

Don't you just love the photos taken from the window of a speeding car? My entire childhood was photographed like this. My dad didn't believe in stopping to take pictures.

The river was lovely.

Arkansas was flat and wet for the most part. Nothing much to photograph. Stay tuned for my report on Day Three coming soon.

Trip to Santa Fe - Day 1

2007-12-19T21:27:00.001-05:00

Be sure to click on that photo to the left to see the larger version. This was the only thing worth photographing on the trip today. I love the fact that this guy had the guts to name his company "Turdbusters". Can you imagine working for this company?

Phone: "Ring, ring"
Employee: "Turdbusters. May I help you?"

How great is that? We made it to Cooksville, Tenn. today after a later start than I had hoped. That's about 600 miles and we didn't push it. We kept to the speed limit or just a little over (5mph). We stopped in Winchester, VA at the Cracker Barrel and had a big breakfast. We skipped lunch and had a nice supper. Tomorrow, Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock and maybe Oklahoma City (mighty pretty).

I'm Back

2007-12-10T13:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the long absence from blogland. I've been swamped the last few weeks and just couldn't muster the energy to create a post. My step-mother fell and broke her left hip in August and came to live with us for a few weeks after her rehab was over. She kept me busy, so busy I didn't even have time to knit much. We took her back to her home on Saturday and got her settled in so now we're back to our normal life.

It's amazing how something as simple as an unassuming house guest can turn your life upside down. Anyway, here's one of the projects I've tried to work on over the last month. It's the Bear Claw Scarfette by Olga Buraya-Kefelian in Socks That Rock Oregon Red Clover Honey Medium-weight. I was not sure the needles were large enough to give me the kind of fabric I had in mind so I wet-blocked it on the needles. I think it's going to be ok.

We Rouges of Wool, a knitting shanty

2007-11-07T09:51:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned it here before, but one of my favorite comics is Little Dee. It's about a little girl who's lost in the woods and is adopted by a bear named Ted. They live in a cave with a dog named Blake and vulture named Vachel. Vachel is a knitter. He prefers to knit straight from the sheep and has made several sweaters for Dee. Recently, Chris did a series of strips about Vachel knitting (straight from the sheep again) and singing a sea shanty. Chris and his brother decided to put it to music and create a video.

And so, without further ado, I present "We Rouges of Wool"...

Serpentine Mitts at the Mummers Parade

2007-10-30T14:11:00.000-04:00

Saturday night was the annual Mummer's Parade in Hagerstown. This is the biggest parade of the year in this area and usually has well over 100 units and lasts about 3 hours. Our Farm Toy Collectors Club has had a float in the parade for the last 7 years and this one was no different. The weather was clear, cool and windy with highs in the upper 50's. There were nine of us on the float this year and I knitted right up until the time that we started down the route. I can't wave and knit.

It was pretty cool so the the Serpentine Mitts by Miriam Felton came in very handy. I took my heavy gloves to put on over the mitts but I didn't need them, the mitts kept me warm enough. I had them on this morning when I stopped at McDonald's to get my ice tea and the lady who always takes my money said she could really use something like that so I had her try one on (there was no one behind me) and told her I'd make her a pair. I plan to start them tonight.

The thing on my left shoulder in the photo is a gryphon puppet by A Midsummer Knights Dream. He's my constant companion at events like this where he attracts quite a lot of attention. His name is Andy Gryphon and we adopted him at the MD Renn Fest about 6 or 7 years ago. I take him when we go to shows to sell pedal tractor tickets and he really draws a crowd. I'm sorry that's such a bad pic of him, he's got his head hanging down so that you can't see his face or his glowing orange eyes.

I think we all had a great time at the parade but I for one am glad it's over for this year. Now if we can just get through our toy show in November without any major hiccups I'll be able to relax until it's time to get ready for the spring show in April.

Serpentine Mitts Finished, Beginning Cascading Diamonds

2007-10-22T11:14:00.000-04:00

Miriam Felton has done it again. She's created another beautiful pattern and given it to us for free. Here are my version of her Serpentine Mitts.

Pattern: Serpentine Mitts by Miriam Felton
Yarn: Jojoland Melody Superwash
Needles: Size 1.5 dpns
Modifications: none

This yarn works great with this pattern because of the very long color changes. The subtle color shifts add interest without distraction. They even match despite no effort on my part. I made them on Friday and Saturday while sitting at a steam and craft show in McConnellsburg, PA. I will be making more of these as gifts for friends and family. I used less than half a skein of yarn and I bought 4 total at Stitches East so I have plenty of yarn. I may vary the cable pattern on some of them so they're not all alike. I hope Miriam doesn't mind.

I also started Cascading Diamonds Scarf by Deborah Miller on Saturday night while my hubby was watching the tractor pull. I didn't relish sitting on a bleacher in the cold night air getting my ear drums pounded by roaring engines so I opted to sit in the car with my knitting and iPod. I moved the car under a street light and opened the moon roof and got a good start on the scarf. I worked more on it Sunday. It's beautiful and easy to follow but I'm a slow knitter so my progress is a little disappointing.

This will be an incredibly soft scarf and I may have to snag it for myself because it will match my barn coat. Here's the stats:

Pattern: Cascading Diamonds by Deborah Miller
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace Weight Applewood
Needle: Size 4 Addi Turbo Lace circ

I know its nuts to use a circular needle on something that's only 6" wide but I wanted the sharp points of the Addis. I've be practicing knitting backwards on the wrong-side row just so I don't forget what I learned from Candace Strick at Stitches. It goes a little slower than turning and purling but it's really giving me a good opportunity to imprint that technique into my gray matter.

In between I continue to knit baby socks for the ever increasing number of babies that will be entering my life in the next nine months.

We're discussing the possibility of driving to Santa Fe for Christmas this year. We'd be renting a van and there would be six of us. I should get lots of knitting done. Lord knows I'll need something to keep me sane.

Just a "Smidge" of Silk, Wool & Pearl

2007-10-16T08:43:00.000-04:00

I don't know how many of you are aware but there's a tempest in a teacup going on on Ravelry about something called a Pidge. If you click that link you'll see a completely redesigned website. The company changed everything after the tempest began in an effort to save face. Their original site made all sorts of ridiculous claims about their product and how it's produced in an attempt (in my opinion) to justify the outrageous price. The prices for this bit of cashmere and wood ranged from $275 to $425. Read Quenouille's blog post about the company's claims for more information.

A group was started on Ravelry and everyone was encouraged to come up with their own "smidge" designs. The photo above is my first attempt. It's just a simple seed stitch but the beautiful silk/wool yarn and the antique pearl buttons really make it special. It's light weigh so it can be worn indoors to protect from drafts or just as a fashion accessory. My friend Jennifer modeled it for me and I think it looks great on her.

Here's the stats:
Yarn: Glenfiddich Wool in silk/wool
Pattern: Row 1 - S1,*k1, p1, repeat from * for 21 stitches. Row 2 - S1,*p1, k1, repeat from * across. Repeat rows 1 and 2 to desired length minus 1.5". Make two button holes. Repeat rows 1 and 2 for 1.5 inches. Bind off. Sew on buttons. Different yarns will require different tactics as far as the number of stitches cast on, stitch pattern, etc.

This was a quick knit that required less than 110yds of yarn and I plan to make more for Christmas from a variety of yarns.

Stitches East 2007

2007-10-14T12:24:00.000-04:00

My friends Terry and Janis and I had a great time at Stitches East. Everything seemed to go really well. We left right on time and got there in 1 hour and 15 minutes. We all took way too much stuff as you can see.

Hotel: The Days Inn Inner Harbor was easy to get to and turned out to be a great place to stay. It's got to be less than 100yds from the front door of the convention center. The staff was very kind and professional, the room was more than adequate with a frig, microwave, coffee maker, iron and ironing board, hair dryer. We'll be staying there again next year.

Classes: My Thursday afternoon class was "The Art of Knitting Backward" taught by Candace Strick. I loved it! She's a wonderful teacher who really knows her subject and was extremely well prepared. You could tell she's taught the class many times but still has a wealth of enthusiasm for the subject. She was patient, funny and kind. I highly recommend the class.

My Friday morning class was "A Sampling of Stitches" with Margaret Fisher. Just like Candace she was well prepared and experienced with the subject. She had swatches of each stitch pattern as well as variations and she also had garments made using the stitches that we could look at. We covered Brioche, Twisted Traveling Stitch, Smocking, and Elongated Stitches (Indian Cross and Seafoam). I also highly recommend this class.

The Market: What can I say? After we left I said that I felt the need to stare at a white wall for a while to try to calm my senses. There was yarn made from yak, musk ox, suri alpaca, cashmere, camel, merino, cotton, alpaca, organic wool/cotton/alpaca, corn, soy, silk, stainless steel, plastic, paper, hemp, sterling silver, seaweed, and others that I missed or can't remember. There was every brand under the sun. The most expense yarn I saw was Tilli Thomas silk with Swarovski crytals for $132 a skein. Next would be the Qiviut for $60. These things were not to be mine however. I was interested in sock yarn and lace.

My Purchases: I bought two skeins of Graceful Lace Yarn from the Skaska booth. Each is 903 yds. This is the Summer Dusk Colorway. It has long repeats and I'm looking forward to finding the perfect pattern to show it off at it's best.

I bought 4 skeins of Jojoland Melody Superwash Sock. This yarn and the Graceful Lace were both new to me. I had never seen either one before. The Melody also has a long repeat and the sample socks shown in the booth have an ombre effect.
Probably for socks though I wouldn't rule out some sort of baby item. I don't know if this yarn would be suitable for a BSJ but I might just swatch for it to see how in looks.

Of course, I had to get a skein of Socks that Rock so I chose the Oregon Red Clover Honey skein in mediumweight. Later I picked up 2 skeins of Koigu KPPPM for socks but back at the room I noticed how well they compliment the STR so those may wind up being used together, perhaps for a Chevron Scarf. It's hard to tell from these pics but they really do go well together and they both match my barn coat.

I found some lovely antique pearl buttons for my smidge, a set of Addi 4" size 0 dpns, and a pattern for Malabrigo Lace. I don't have a full skein of that right now but I can get it at my LYS. The owners of Malabrigo were there handing out little skeins of laceweight. The tag says 470 yds. but I don't know whether that's right or not. It wound up into a 2" ball. If it is 470 yds. that's enough to make some of the scarves in Victorian Lace Today.

What do you think? Is that little ball really 470 yds.?

Summing up, I would have to say that our trip was a great success. We had a great room, great parking, great food, great beer, great coffee, great weather, and great shopping.

We met old friends and made new friends including a lot of the ladies that we've been gabbing with on Ravelry. I found myself with the almost uncontrollable urge to stand up in class and ask how many of my fellow students were on Ravelry and what their user names are.

Amazingly, I talked to some people who have never heard of it. Those poor souls who don't use the internet, they give me pain when I think of all they're missing out on.

Somebody Stop Me, Please!

2007-09-25T15:30:00.000-04:00

I can't seem to stop myself from making baby socks. I've already gifted one pair and I've almost finished the 6th pair. I haven't even modified the pattern yet, though I keep thinking I might. I'm seriously addicted to these little things.

Pattern: Miriam Felton's Baby to Toddler Sized Socks

Yarn: (clockwise from top left) Cherry Tree Hill "Jewels", Cherry Tree Hill "Serengeti", Cherry Tree Hill "Spring Frost", Perchance to Knit "Seascape", and (center) Tofutsies "Three Feet Short"

Needles: KnitPicks, HiyaHiya, and KA #0us/2.0mm.

My husband reminds me often of how tolerant he is of my obsessive behavior. He even got me a new Cub Cadet to help me refocus my compulsion and do something "useful" at the same time. I enjoy the mowing but it hasn't stopped me from making baby socks.

I have two friends who are due in Feb. and Apr. and I have quite a few items I'd like to make including Baby Bell Bottoms by Alison Hansel and Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I think I might be the only knitter in America who hasn't made one of the those yet.

So my poor, long-suffering husband will have to bear with me and my obsessions for a little while longer. He's a good man and like I keep telling him, there are worse things to be obsessed with then knitting.

The Busiest Season of All (for me anyway)

2007-09-18T11:28:00.000-04:00

I've read that many people consider the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to be their busiest time of year. For me it's fall. My husband and I belong to a farm toy collectors club and every year in November and April our club holds a farm toy show that attracts hundreds of visitors. We only have about 15 members and only 8 are really active so this means that a few people do a tremendous amount of work. Our most important activity outside of the two shows is to sell chances on a pedal tractor to raise money for a scholarship. Every year we award a $1,000 scholarship to an area senior. That's a lot of chances for 8 people to sell. Doug, Linda and I take the pedal tractor around to various tractor shows and festivals, most of which are held in the fall. This provides many opportunities for Knitting in Public.

I knit in public all the time so when I learned that many consider this to be an unusual activity I was a little puzzled. Yes, I get comments and questions but I've never had anything other then a positive experience. More often than not, I'm approached by other knitters who want to ask about my yarn or pattern. I love this aspect of knitting in public.

Saturday Doug and I went to Crownsville, Maryland for the Renaissance Festival and I took my baby socks to work on while we're sitting around watching people (and drinking beer). I saw a woman knitting on the bench where I had been sitting and knitting just a few minutes before. I approached her we got to talking and really hit it off. It is amazing how many subjects we touched on during our short conversation. Her name is Sherry and she was there with her family. She was working on a sock but told me that she had only been knitting for a few months. You would have never guessed that by watching her knit. She went to a social knitting group with her daughter in Columbia, Maryland and I think that's how she got pulled into the knitting universe.

The Saturday before, I was knitting at an arts and crafts festival where we were selling chances on the pedal tractor when a little girl about 9 or 10 walked up to me and said, "You're knitting a sock." I was stunned. Not only did she know I was knitting but that I was knitting a sock. She scampered off before I could ask her how she knew what I was knitting. I looked at my knitting and it wasn't really to the point where it looked unmistakably like a sock hanging off my needles but she recognized it as such. I hope whoever the sock knitter is in her life teaches her how to knit.

Being out and about with time on my hands is a wonderful thing right now because I can sit and knit (or stand and knit) and I get to meet new friends like Sherry.

The Next New Thing

2007-09-04T14:33:00.000-04:00

I buy two Vogue magazines each year, the big spring and fall issues. I'm not a slave to fashion but I like to see what the trends are especially in knitwear. One of the latest trends had left me baffled.

Toe-less knee socks.

Have you seen these things? They have a heel and gusset and a band of ribbing and that's it. They come to an abrupt halt about halfway down the instep. They were everywhere in the fall issue. Usually two tone though I did see some solids.

Here's a link to the page where I found this photo. You have to scroll down to read about the socks. If you scroll down a little farther you'll see a blurb about fingerless gloves.

I guess this year's fashion statement is frostbitten toes and fingers.

Neighborhood Fiber Company

2007-08-30T13:22:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday I went to a trunk show at my lys, Y2Knit, for Neighborhood Fiber Company. This is a small company based in Washington D.C. owned by Karida Collins. She handpaints everything from lace-weight to roving and names her colorways after the neighborhoods of D.C.
Here's a photo of two very hot women, Karida's on the right and I'm the pasty red-head on the left. It was sweltering in the shop that day even with the air and fans. My random hot flashes weren't helping any.

I'm glad I got there early because I had a great selection of fibers to choose from. Not that it was easy to make a choice from so many beautiful skeins. I immediately grabbed a skein of 100% silk lace-weight in the Logan Park colorway.

This yarn is so yummy that I am flummoxed as to what to make with it. I've vowed to make something from Victorian Lace Today but I swatched for the Myrtle Leaf Shawl and decided it was too lacy to show off the yarn. Then I swatched for and started the Handsome Triangle but 40 rows in I decided it was not the right yarn for the project so I frogged it. I want something that will show off the sheen of the silk. I'm sure inspiration will come to me eventually. This subtle variegation is perfect for lace, not enough that the pattern gets lost but enough to lend texture.

I couldn't leave the trunk show without some sock yarn so I bought a skein of Dupont Circle. It's a salmon, carnation, purple colorway that I couldn't resist. It's going to make one wild-ass pair of socks.

Karida was a joy to meet and really seems to love what she's doing. She also loves her home and wants people to see the beauty of Washington.

The colorways are available in each type of yarn she carries so you can coordinate yarns and vary the fiber content in the same project, while maintaining the overall color.

Progress Report and Knitting Scout Badges

2007-08-24T13:22:00.000-04:00

My step-mother fell on Monday and broke her femur just below the hip joint. The surgeon inserted a rod and some screws and now she's in the rehab unit for a few days. She has lived alone since my dad died in March 2006 and really values her independence. She lives about 100 miles from me so I'm not going to be able to look after her for more than a week (vacation from work) and I'm worried about how we're going to work this out. I know she doesn't want to come here because she doesn't know anyone and there still wouldn't be anyone there during the day. She'll be out of the hospital in a day or two so we're going to have to come up with a (low cost, cause none of us are rich) solution quick.

I've been working on a pair of Miriam Felton's Baby to Toddler Sized Socks for my step-mother's physical therapist. Her son is 5 months so I'm using Size #1US needles so that he can get some use of them before they're too small. I've finished one and cast on for the second. This is the third pair of these I've made and I'm still not tired of them. I'm a slow knitter and I can finish one of these in about 3 hours.

I was knitting in the hospital room and was amazed at the number of people who commented on my socks. One lady asked if I sell them and I told her I didn't think it was practical because the yarn cost over $20. She said I could probably sell them for $75 and I had to wonder who she thought would ever pay $75 for a pair of socks. Paris Hilton, perhaps?

I've stopped working on my Double Eyelet Rib Toe-Up Socks by Wendy Johnson of WendyKnits to work on the baby socks but I only have the leg of the second sock to finish and they're done. This has been an enjoyable if somewhat boring pattern to knit. It's only 4 chart lines so it's very easy for a beginning lace knitter. I didn't use the heel from this pattern because I didn't have it in front of me when I started the heel. Instead I used the wrap-less short-row heel with a gusset from Wendy's Southwestern Socks pattern. I really like this heel and it may become my favorite.

When I read Miriam's page I saw these Cast On Scout Knitting Badges and decided that's a few of them apply to me so I created a little bar with the applicable images. Thanks, Brenda.

A Suprise Package from the Loopy Ewe!

2007-08-16T11:42:00.000-04:00

Look what came today from The Loopy Ewe! I made a guess in Sheri's Anniversary Contest. She asked us to guess how much yarn she had in the shop. I didn't win but she drew some additional names for consolation prizes and MINE WAS ONE OF THEM!!!!!

Clockwise from the top:

Cider Moon Flurrie - Peas and Carrots
Seacoast Hand Painted Superwash Sock - Greensleeves
Perchance to Knit Superwash - Rainbow Black with stitchmarker

I never imaged anything like this - I thought maybe one of the clear Loopy bags or maybe, just maybe, a skein of yarn. But this, this is beyond my wildest dreams. And this is a consolation prize!

Sheri, thank you so much. You are so generous.

Sockdown: Ravelry Socks

2007-08-16T09:56:00.000-04:00

Over on Ravelry, in the Sock Knitters Anonymous Group we're playing a little game.

Sockdown: Ravelry is a year-long personal knitting challenge that will begin on August 1, 2007 and end on September 30, 2008. Members of Sock Knitters Anonymous are NOT required to participate in the KAL.

This month the challenge is Sockbug/Lace. I chose the River Run Socks and started them in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Champlain Sunset colorway but I got distracted by Wendy's Double Eyelet Rib Socks. I started them in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Spring Frost. They're lacy so they qualify. Sorry for the flash photgraphy but it's raining here today (Yipee! We need it so bad).

These are working up great. I'm not using the heel in the pattern though I am using another of Wendy's heels. I didn't have the pattern in front of me yesterday when I started the heel but I did have Wendy's Southwestern Socks pattern. So I used the heel from that one. I'm going to rip the heel back to the beginning of the gusset and a add a few rows because they're a little short. It's the first time I've made this type of heel and I wasn't sure where to start the gusset.

I think this heel is going to fit my ankle much better than the short-row heels that I've been using. I guess I could even make the gusset a little bigger if need be.

I really love Cherry Tree Hill Supersock yarn. Thank goodness The Loopy Ewe keeps a good supply on hand. It and the Claudia Hand Painted Yarns that I get from my LYS Y2Knit, seem to be my go-to sock yarns.

Awwwwww....

2007-08-08T15:04:00.000-04:00

Isn't it cute! It's my first baby sock ever. It was a littly wonky working with something that small on my dpns but I stuck with it and about 1-1/2 to 2 hours later I had a finished baby sock.

Miriam Felton created the pattern and it was just what I was looking for. So many of the baby sock and bootie patterns I looked at are knitted flat and seamed. I didn't want to fool with a seam.

This will go to one of my friends who is due in February. Late winter babies need lots of warm socks so there will no doubt be other pairs made from leftover sock yarn. There are so many things that I want to make for this baby that I know I'll never get them all done. I've never had a baby to knit for before and this is my big chance to knit baby things.

I used to crochet baby cloths and sell them at craft shows many years ago when I was unemployed for a brief period. That was fun but this is better. Not only am I enjoying the knitting but I get to use yummy yarns. Back then I used Red Heart. Yeah, I was young and stupid.

Project details:

pattern: Baby to Toddler Sized Socks by Miriam Felton
size: newborn
yarn: Perchance to Knit, Seascape colorway from the Loopy Ewe
needles: #0US/2.00mm dpn's

It was a Loopy Ewe Day

2007-08-07T08:28:00.001-04:00

What a day! I received my yarn from last weeks sneak up in the morning at work and when I got home another box was on the porch. I was the second installment of The Loopy Ewe Sock Club.

Claudia Hand Painted Yarns, O-M-G! I love Claudia's yarns. The package was loaded with goodies for fall including two Good to be Girl stitch markers: a chocolate covered donut with sprinkles and a pumpkin. I love stitch markers and have started making some of my own. I've found those rubbery ones from Clover are too light and have a tendency to fly off the needles during transfer. I like markers with some weight to them. I loose the Clover ones left and right and can go through a whole package while making a lace project. But haven't lost a handmade one yet (knock on wood).

The pattern looks like fun. It's Pheasant Run Socks by Lisa Parker from Wildhorse Farm Design. Sheri also included a pocket reference for all things knitting. That will come in handy along with the small Loopy Ewe pouch. I love the clear bags and pouches.

Earlier in the day my sneak up order came. I exercised remarkable self-restraint and only purchased two skeins. I like to try new yarns so both of these skeins were first-time purchases from these dyers.

First up is Seacoast Handpainted Yarns in the Greensleeves colorway. It's 100% superwash merino and it's a whopping 560 yards.

I also ordered a skein from Gypsy Knits. Here's Sheri's description, "Kathy has hand dyed this yarn in small batches and you will love it. She calls this BFL Superwash Fingering Wool the "poor knitter's cashmere"! This yarn is milled in the UK from long staple BFL fleece producing a strong, soft yarn. Because of the long staple it is especially durable for socks yet it is as soft as cashmere." I like a fine spun yarn is this fits the bill. I can't wait to try it for myself.

But that will have to wait because I have two pair of socks on the needles and a lace project, as well as a Clapotis that I've moved to the back burner for now.

If only I didn't have to work...

Chair as Art

2007-08-04T11:54:00.000-04:00

Two years ago we dropped into Gummel Chairworks in Castine, Maine while we were on vacation. We were spending a few days in Castine and I had looked up a few local places that we might want to see while we were there. It's a very small town on the end of a peninsula, in other words, a long way from anywhere. We were there to relax and take life easy so one afternoon we rode out to Gummel's. Mr. and Mrs. Gummel were so nice and spent a great deal of time explaining the whole process of making a chair.

We picked out a Nantucket Fanback and put down a deposit. Mr. Gummel said it would take about a year and our plan was to pick it up ourselves during a little mini-vacation. Plans have a tendency to go astray, don't they? Well, long story short, we picked up the chair at our local FedEx Freight depot last week.

The chair is a very, very dark green with a barn red undercoat. It's all done with milk paint and has a somewhat matte finish that shines with use. As the green overcoat wears the barn red shows through. The under side of the seat is branded with the M & E Gummel Chairworks brand.

We feel so privileged to own this beautiful piece of handmade furniture. It sits comfortably and is very easy on the back. We'll be using it as an occasional chair and possibly as a desk chair. Go visit the site and take a look at the wonderful chairs and tables.

The Desert of Maryland

2007-08-04T09:15:00.001-04:00

It's not a fit day out for man nor beast so the beasts and I are hanging around in the air-conditioned house today. Hazy, hot and humid - the three words that best describe Maryland in the summer - weather has been entrenched here for a few days and shows no sign of leaving in the near future. Add dry to that description and you've got a more accurate picture. But dry doesn't really do it justice. Crispy, burnt, crunchy, those words describe our lawn. It's not grass anymore, it's straw. We are in a drought here in western Maryland, a pretty severe drought.

There's a mountain in the background but you can't see it because of the haze. Three years ago our landscaper planted sunset maples along our driveway, ten on each side. We've been in a drought ever since. Rainfall totals have been far below normal each year so we have been force to water the maples during the summer both to protect our investment and to keep the poor things alive. We've only lost one thanks to Doug's dedication and determination. But it's a lot of work to water them as they should be watered and two of them are showing signs of stress. Leaves are falling here at Idle Hour Farm and it's not fall yet. It makes us both very sad. The haze, the white sky seems so oppressive to me. Don't even like to look out the window and I hate to take photos in this white, sickening glare.

This is a tree in distress. It hurts me to look at it but I drive past it each time I leave and return to the house. Doug keeps pouring the water on them but the sun bakes it out of the ground before it can benefit the thirsty roots. Even watering at night doesn't seem to help.

We've begun to refer to this area as the Desert of Maryland although the whole state is hurting for rain. The weather patterns in this small area seem to have changed in the last ten years. We don't get enough snow or rain anymore. It all goes around us or breaks up before is gets to us. A few more years of this and the local vegetation will make a shift to plants that can stand the arid conditions.

I want to move to Maine.

Ribbons, I got Ribbons!

2007-07-29T10:48:00.000-04:00

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I was entering some things in the local Ag Expo, Washington County's equivalent of a county fair. Thursday before last I took my Icarus shawl by Miriam Felton, a pair of socks based on Wendy's Toe-Up pattern with a feather and fan leg, and a pysanki (Ukrainian) egg down to the Agricultural Education Center and somewhat reluctantly handed them over to strangers.

Friday evening I went back down to pick them up. I really expected the egg to be broken but to my surprise it appears unharmed and it has a blue ribbon (first prize) taped to the stand! The socks had a red second prize ribbon pinned to them. And Icarus? Another first prize! I'm so thrilled. It was my first lace project and it wasn't perfect by any means but it was good enough for FIRST PRIZE!!!

There wasn't a category for shawls so I entered it under scarves. There wasn't a category for socks either. I entered them under "knitted: other". Most of the other entries were gone when I got there so I don't know what I was competing against but I'm sure there were other great knits there. Next year I'll have to go during the week and see the other entries. This year I just didn't have the time.

Lily of the Valley Smoke Ring

2007-07-24T10:11:00.000-04:00

This is my current focus right now. I'm on the fifth chart repeat. It's hard to photograph a tubular lace project that's still on the needles. I stretched it out as best I could with a sheet of paper in between the layers. I think it's absolutely lovely and I want to thank Susan Pierce Lawrence and Wooly Wonka Fibers for making it available. I think I'll get a lot of use out of this come winter to ward of the drafts here in my office. I can almost feel it's soft folds around my neck.

It's a fun and portable project. I have the chart memorized so I can whip the project out where ever I happen to be and just knit away. This is my first experience with nupps (knit five together through the back loop) and I've heard horror stories about them but I find that if I keep it loose my Knitpicks 16" US#5 circs are quite pointy enough to get the job done. They don't make 16" Addi Turbo Lace circs. I even worked on it while standing in line Friday night waiting to get my Harry Potter book. When this is done, more socks.

I'm off to the Ball

2007-07-20T11:42:00.000-04:00

The Grand Hallows Ball, that is! My boss let me take some vacation time to go stand in line at Borders this morning to get my wrist band for tonight's party. I waited until 45 minutes after they started handing them out and I still had to stand in line outside the store for about an hour. Fortunately the weather has taken a delightful turn here and except for the a sunburn on the back of my neck I faired very well. Any other day this week would have made this task torture since the heat and humidity were unbearable.

I took a side in the Great Snape Debate as well. I trust Snape. If Dumbledore trusted him who am I to argue?

So tonight, after KnitFlix, Doug and I will be at Borders partying with the Potter fans. I hope you have fun at your Grand Hallows Ball, too!

KnitTrip

2007-07-17T10:58:00.000-04:00

Janis and Marge

The social knitting groups from Y2Knit got together and went on a field trip Monday. We piled into cars and vans and headed south to Virginia. Janis and Marge rode with Doug and I in the Outback and we knitted and talked the whole way to Staunton, Virginia.

Our driver: my husband Doug (the only male in the entire group)

First stop: Chester Farms, home of Cestari Yarns. Mr. Chester (below) took half the group on a wagon tour of the farm while the other half toured the mill. Only a part of the operation is at this location. Most of the sheep are on another nearby farm. He talked about his sheep, Merino and Columbia, and it was clear that he really loves raising the sheep and improving the bloodlines and the wool. He was very enthusiastic about the whole process.

We got to meet Reggie, a partially shorn cat (matted hair removed) and some of the rams.

The whole yarn making process was fascinating. The machines used are all from a mill in Maine and were made in the 1940's. I saw a date of 1947 on one of them.

They send the wool to Pennsylvania to be dyed and it comes back in 700lb. bales.

They spread them out and feed them into a machine that mixes and fluffs them. Then they go into a huge machine that cards and combs to wool. It comes out the other end a pencil roving on long rolls.

The rolls are then taken to another machine that spins the roving onto spindles. The spindles are taken to another machine that plies them onto other spindles. Those spindles are taken to another machine that winds them onto really big spindles. The big spindles go to the last machine that winds them into center-pull skeins. I think. I could be wrong about any of those steps.

I took lots of video of the machine running. I hope to upload it to YouTube soon. Stay tuned for more later...

Casting On, Casting Off

2007-07-13T08:43:00.001-04:00

I'm in a slight slump. I have cast on and started Monkey and Cornucopia, in two different yarns and just didn't feel right about any of them. I frogged everything.

I just started the Lucy Socks by Wendy. I think that these will be the ones that break the slump. I needed a pattern that will work on a dark colorway and still be a little interesting, not just stockingette.

The yarn is All Things Heather but I'm not sure of the colorway at the moment, it might be Champlain Sunset. I got it from The Loopy Ewe. It's rich and dark; it suits my mood at the present. I guess I'm still a little sore from the recent death of my FIL. It was a mighty blow to all of us and we're still learning how to cope.

And to add to my woes, the finish is coming off my Knitpicks us#0 dpns. In the photo above you can see a tiny spot of silver in the center (click on the photo to enlarge). That's the finish that's flaking off. I love these needles so much - sob. I guess I'll have to order another set soon.

The family gathers to celebrate a life...

2007-07-03T11:12:00.000-04:00

My father-in-law died on Tuesday, June 26th. We're all still a little stunned because he died suddenly, unexpectedly. He was literally gone in an instant. There was no time for goodbyes but also no time for pain and suffering.

We're still trying to wrap our minds around how this could happen to someone that we loved so much. He was 74 and we were planning to have a huge surprise party for his 75th birthday in December. My mother-in-law had already booked the hall and the caterers and was busy finalizing the plans. But instead of a party we had a visitation, attended by around 400 family and friends and a memorial service, attended by about 130. He touched many lives in his 74 years.

He was a great father-in-law to me and I'm already missing him terribly. I saw him practically every day since Doug and I married in 1996 even if only to wave as I went up the driveway. Our house is built behind theirs and he mowed our lawn along with his because he loved to mow. He was a dairy farmer by birth and by choice, milking twice a day every day of his life from the time he was old enough until they sold the herd and retired in the mid 1990's. Mowing gave him an opportunity to be outside in the fresh air without putting too much stress on his tired old knees, which he had worn completely out.

I'll post some pictures later. For now, we're just trying to adapt to this new life with him.

Middletown Valley Barn Tour

2007-06-25T09:57:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a beautiful day here in Maryland, clear, breezy and almost cool. That's rare in a state that's the capitol of hazy, hot and humid so we took advantage of it and went on the Barn Tour. Eleven barns were featured on the tour which ran from 10am to 5pm. We made it to 10 of them before calling it a day. My husband's family are retired dairy farmers so he's very interest in old barns. We have one across the road from our house that's about 200 years old.

I took advantage of our stops to sit in the shade and knit. I'm almost done with the second Anastasia Sock by Pepperknit. I lost one of my dps at one of the farms where I was sitting on a hill under some tall pines enjoying the breeze and scent of the pines. It was one of my new KA bamboos and I hated to lose it but it wasn't worth going back and looking through pine needles to try to find a bamboo size 0US!

The first farm had about a dozen peacocks roaming around and I took lots of photos. They are such beautiful birds.

I is so handsome! Take picture of me!

You get my good side, ok?

I has nice legs!

Flag the Itchy

The last farm we went to had horses. We parked in the shade beside a fence and I sat in car with the door open and knitted. Eventually the one of the horses , a pinto, came up to the fence to check me out and we ended up having a 15 minute scratch orgy. He was very clean and well groomed but he had lots of itches that needed to be scratched and I was happy to oblige. I got all the critial spots: under the mane, behind the ears, under the halter straps.

He leaned into the scratches with such obvious pleasure that I just kept on scratching thinking he would walk away when he had had enough but he never made the slightest attempt to leave. So I moved on to styling his forelock into a mohawk and was getting ready to take a picture when my husband came back and told me to quit torturing the poor horse, whose name it turned out is Flag. So I bid Flag farewell and we headed off to dinner. It was a wonderful day.

Ravelry!!! Nuff Said!

2007-06-21T13:33:00.001-04:00

I got my invitation to Ravelry on Tuesday afternoon and I've been sucked into the vortex along with all the other Ravelers. There is something for everyone and spot for everything. I've been entering projects and stash and needles and looking at other people's stuff and looking at patterns and... the list just goes on and on. Thank you so much for creating this site!

I'm nearly finished with the first Anastasia sock but I didn't get to work on it at all yesterday. Hope to have some pictures soon.

Ok, now I understand...

2007-06-18T13:16:00.000-04:00

I purchased my first-ever Socks That Rock (lightweight) last year at Stitches East. I picked up five skeins at the Blue Moon booth and brought them home, put them in a Rubbermaid tub and never really thought too much about them. I knew I'd get to them someday. Saturday morning I got one out (Fairgrounds) and wound it into a cake and decided to make the Anastasia Socks by Pepperknit.

I know about the fascination (obsession) with Socks That Rock here in Blogland and it's very pretty and all but I guess I just didn't get it. That was until Saturday night at the baseball game when I cast on and started knitting with it for the first time.

WOW!! It's so-o-o tight. I don't spin so I don't know how else to describe what it is that's so different from the other yarns I've knit with. Is it tightly plied? Tightly spun? Both? I don't know, but it's smooth. No splittyness (well if it's not a word it should be) whatsoever.

The softness, the stitch definition, the squishiness - indescribable. I've joined the other Socks That Rock devotees (addicts, zombies) and will make that booth my first stop at Stitches East in October and stand in line with my sister sock knitters.

I saw the line at Maryland Sheep & Wool and skirted it to see what all the fuss was about. "Oh," I said to myself, "Socks That Rock. I have five skeins of that at home. I'm certainly not standing in that line for more."

Ha! I just hope I haven't incurred the wrath of the yarn goddess with my dismissive attitude. Please forgive this humble woman for her ignorance, oh great Mistress of the Skeins. I was blind but now I knit.

Edited to add: I'm using the KA High Quality Bamboo Needles in size 0US/2.0mm instead of my usual KnitPicks dpns and I like them. The Brittany size 0's that I used in the past were too weak to pick up and knit the wraps on my shortrow heel. I snapped one on the first sock I knit with them. But these KA's are tough. Almost no bending, even on the k2tog's. They're made in Japan of aged bamboo and I guess that makes all the difference. Mine came from Y2Knit.

Here's a picture of the points for comparison. The KA's are a little blunter but sometimes that's a good thing. The KnitPicks are capable of drawing blood.

The First Ever KnitFlix

2007-06-18T11:53:00.000-04:00

Left to right: Susan from Y2knit, Janis, Sonja (intern at Y2Knit) and Audrey.
Click for bigger

Friday evening was the first ever KnitFlix. Some of the social knitters from Y2Knit came over to my house and we ate popcorn, drank iced tea, knitted and watched Pride and Prejudice. I think everyone had a great time, we laughed and talked after the movie until almost 11pm.

It was so much fun to have everyone over to my home that I wish we could do it every week but people are busy with family and friends and I understand that, I'm busy too. Next Friday at Social Knitting we'll decide what to watch next. There was talk of continuing on the Jane Austin theme with Sense and Sensibility, Emma and Mansfield Park. We may even watch the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.

I sure hope the others had as good a time as I did and that everyone will come back for the second edition of KnitFlix!

Loopy Ewe Sock Club Scoks Are Done

2007-06-12T12:46:00.000-04:00

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Wow. It's been a while, hasn't it? I apologize for the long gap in the blog. I've been busy, depressed, distracted, you name it. I do have some knitting to report on though. I finished the Loopy Ewe Sock Club socks last week but just got around to photgraphing them yesterday. Yes, I know I have on two different socks but believe me both Loopy socks are done. I didn't follow the pattern exactly. I made the foot stockingette and only did the pattern on the leg and I did them toe-up using Wendy's Toe-Up pattern with US0/2.0mm Knitpicks dps.

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These were a very fun project! I loved the yarn from All Things Heather (not my first yarn from her, by the way) in the wonderful Skinny Dipping colorway. They fit pretty good and will brighten up my days come fall and winter (I don't often wear socks in the summer).

I also finished one of the Mirabella socks by Mary Jo Gumayagay. I started these socks months ago and worked the first one to the heel and then put them away to work on something else. I picked them up again on Saturday and finished the first one Sunday evening.

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They look a little different than the photo on the pattern because I left off the squiggly section on each side of the lacy. It just didn't look right to me. They are also made of yarn by All Things Heather, her 50/50 merino/tencel in Teal. This yarn is so great to knit with that I will definitely be buying more. I used US1/2.5mm(?) Brittany dps and worked the toe as in Wendy's pattern.

Click for bigger

These could be summer socks, they're so cool and thin and silky. My only problem is that they are tight across my ankle. I'm going to try adding a few increases as I get close to the heel and then decreasing as I start up the leg. I have big ankles because they've both been broken at one time or another.

When I finish the second Mirabella sock I hope to start on the Lily of the Valley smoke ring from Wooly Wonka Fibers. I ordered the needles from Knitpicks and I also ordered a pair of Addi Turbo Lace needles from my lys Y2Knit.

I'm in the mood for lace...simply because it's near me...

MD Sheep and Wool Part Two - Yarn

2007-05-11T10:46:00.000-04:00

Here are photos of the yarns that I managed to snag! This is Spirit Trail Fibers alpaca lace-weight. Their silk was so beautiful too. I visited this booth again and again. They were all so nice. I will definitely buy from them again.

The Tess booth was one of my goals. I picked up two skiens of Superwash Lace. Janice got 5 for a project that she has in mind. I want to try one of their variegated projects that use this yarn so bad but I didn't have the funds at this time.

Here is my first ever Brook Farm Acero. I managed to get a discontinued colorway for $17.00 and oh my is it gorgeous!

I can't remember the name of the people I got this from but it's called "Alpaca Lite", 200 yds. each in the Fawn.

Here's a close-up. Soooo soft!

Dyed Dreams by Janel Stollnitz. I can't remember what this yarn is made of but it was love at first site. It's destined to by my first Clapotis.

Koigu from the Mannings'. There was a lady there picking out yarn for a mitered blanket while I was selecting my paltry four skiens. She must have had 20 skiens already picked out. I'm sure it will be a thing of beauty.

I had a great time even though I ran out of money and was forced to live vicariously through Janice. I couldn't have asked for a better companion.

My first time at MD Sheep & Wool

2007-05-08T11:12:00.000-04:00

My first ever trip to the Maryland Sheep & Wool is over and now it's time to talk about what (and who) I saw and what I purchased. A group of us from Hagerstown formed a caravan and got there around 8:40am on Saturday morning. Janice, who rode with me, and I spent most of the day together. We got along great together because we both like to spend obscene amounts of money on yarn.

Who I saw: Carry from KnitWit: Rantings of a Rabid Knitter, my favorite podcast! She said that she would have a big sunflower in her basket and when I saw that flower walk by I yelled "Carry!". She came over and talked for a while. It was so great to meet her. I apologize for the blurry photo. I took it in the Mannings booth and we were both being joustled a bit. You can see the stem of the sunflower sticking out of her basket. What a great idea! I might have found some of my blogging buddies if I had carried something distinctive like that.

There were also plenty of sheep:

There were sheep sleeping:

Sheep getting gussied up for the judges:

Sheep standing on the rails of their pens trying to get a better view of the activities:

And pretty sheep just standing in the morning sun:

Tomorrow: photos of my aquisitions!

The New Sock Goes to the Eisenhower Farm

2007-05-02T11:05:00.000-04:00

I took the partially finished sock on a bus trip yesterday. We went to the Eisenhower Farm at Gettysburg, PA. My hubby tried to take a photo of the sock on location but I forgot to bring the freshly charged batteries with us and the ones in the camera died as soon as we turned it on. In lieu of a location shot, I'm posing the sock (completed last night) with the really cool pin I got at the book shop. I know you're thinking that Ike was a five star general and the photo only shows three but the stars spin around and there are five of them.

I worked on the sock on the bus, on the grounds of the farm, and at the Gettysburg Visitor's Center. I finished it up last night after we got home. While we were touring the Eisenhower farm I noticed that the Docent had her knitting laying on a table by the door.

The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Serengeti that I got from The Loopy Ewe and I'm using Knit Picks US#0 - 6 inch double points. I've found that I work much faster using double points than 2 circs. I started this sock late Friday night and finished Tuesday night. That's got to be a personal best. I'll be starting the second sock tonight. The leg is made over a pattern called Falling Leaves by Jessica Landers at Knitty.com and the foot is Wendy's Toe Up Sock. Thanks, Ladies!

Tofutsie Socks Finished

2007-04-27T10:10:00.000-04:00

The Old Bay socks are finished! I called them that in an earlier post because they contain Chitin which is made from shrimp and crab shells. I made these for one of my coworkers, Angie, because she has very narrow feet. When I started them using my regular pattern (Wendy's Toe-Up Socks, thanks Wendy!) I quickly realized that this yarn is so much finer gauge that I didn't cast on enough stitches. Rather than ripping them out I asked if any of my friends have narrow feet and would like a pair of hand-knit socks. Angie's feet were just the right size so I continued on with them, matching her length and ankle size.

This yarn knits up very soft and squishy but it can be a little splitty when using US#0 Knit Picks circulars with their stiletto points. I hope they hold up well for Angie. Don't they look great with jeans?

I used Wendy's Feather and Fan Pattern for the cuffs and finished them off with an inch of 2x2 ribbing. Now it's back to the Lacy Cable Scoop sweater. I'm ready to put the body and the sleeves together and start the yoke.

The "See-food" Diet

2007-04-12T09:25:00.000-04:00

I saw this on PBS the other night and nearly tossed my cookies. I'm not easily sickened but this has haunted me ever since I saw it. I told my husband, who also saw it, that I would give just about anything to have those last few minutes back. I will carry this bit of video with me for the rest of my life. I found the website of the man who shot the video (link to the YouTube video is on the right).

Visit the site if you're interested but DO NOT WATCH THE VIDEO UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE CHANGED FOREVER!

If you don't want to watch the video here is the narrative. It's easier to read about it than watch it, believe me!

POINT OF VIEW:

Hardy Jones, BlueVoice.org

"I’ve been going to Japan for over 25 years. They have a great cultural historical tie to hunting whales and dolphins and they make no bones about the fact that they’re doing it.

Imagine a school of dolphins frolicking off the coast. Suddenly they hear the sound of engines and then the overwhelming painful sounds of the banging of metal bars. The dolphins flee before the terrifying sounds. But their flight takes them in to a confined and unfamiliar space. They extract the young and the pretty and they put them in slings and they send them off to aquariums where they’re going to pay anywhere from $4000 to up to $50,000 a head.

Then they kill the rest for the dolphin meat. The horror of lying on your side out of the water, having trouble breathing, hearing the sounds of your pod mates as they’re slaughtered. I just said to myself, just keep filming. Just keep filming, and then get this film out of here.

They always want the video. They always want the video from you. Then I just ran away from them. I knew what those dolphins were experiencing.The only thing I can do is take pictures and show the world what they are doing."

I've seen a lot of documentaries about dolphins and I'm not one of these bleeding hearts who think they're just like you and me. Or maybe I should refrase that and say that maybe they're too much like you and me. They have their vices just like us. But they are intelligent creatures who don't deserve to die like this.

Here are a couple other links. The first one is another, equally disturbing video so be warned!

Save the Dolphins
PBS Frontline Report

When I went to read "Sherman's Lagoon" this morning I noticed a link on the home page to this - Seafood Watch. If you love seafood AND care about the environment (and I know you do) you should check this out.

The only thing I can't figure out is how you know where the seafood you eat in a restaurant comes from? I have a feeling that if I sit down in Red Lobster and ask them whether the shrimp in the scampi are from the US or Mexico, farm-raised or wild-caught, I'm just going to get a blank look. Even the management probably has no clue where or how the seafood they serve was caught. Sure, in some fancy restaurant on the shore they probably know exactly where the fish came from but what about all the chains? In some parts of the country that's your only alternative for a seafood dinner.

New arrival Spider Spud poses with Lacy Cabled Scoop sleeve

2007-04-05T13:10:00.000-04:00

My, what a handsome devil! You can see on the box that he comes with all the necessary parts to transform back into Peter Parker Potato. Work continues on the Lacy Cabled Scoop. I have one sleeve almost done, just a couple more rows. Hopefully I can get a good start on the second sleeve this weekend especially since I'm off work tomorrow.

Saturday is our Spring Farm Toy Show and I'll be taking money at the door so I should be able to get a little knitting done after the initial rush. Happy knitting, Everyone!

Eye Candy Friday

2007-03-30T15:22:00.000-04:00

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. That is a glass pig on a penny. I bought several of these "Critters" at the Art of Fire studio. We are friends with Foster and Theda and visit the studio as often as we can. I think Theda said these critters are made by a man from Germany.

This one is some kind of wierd platypus-type critter with a little black cap. I apologize for the poor quality photos. My cheap camera just won't focus on things this small.

I call this one "skeeter" because of it's long probiscus. I think I bought seven and each one came in a tiny little foil box about 3/4" x 3/4".

The Harlot Represents

2007-03-28T10:46:00.000-04:00

I've been following the story of the Yarn Harlot and her quest to "represent". To show the muggles (non-knitters) just how many knitters there are and how serious they are about their knitting. She got tired to speaking in cramped bookstores and tiny reception halls because the muggles who organize her book tours constantly underestimate the number of attendees. It was her hope to fill the 775 seat auditorium at The Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. She did.

Wow, I wish I could have been there! It must have really been something. And it's about time that knitting gets some good publicity. When I knit in public (often) I don't think I really make people think about their concept of a knitter because I'm almost 50 and probably fall into the grandmotherly stereotype. People need to see young knitters and male knitters to really understand that it isn't just something that Granny does while rocking on the porch. They need to see modern, well designed and constructed items in really nice yarns that didn't come from Walmart.

I can't have the impact of the Yarn Harlot but I make it my business to knit in public when ever and where ever I can. Every person who asks me about what I'm doing gets a detailed explanation of the process and the project as well as encouragement to visit the local yarn shop and check out the inventory of wool, silk, cashmere, alpaca, etc. I encourage people to ask Susan about lessons. I tell them that she taught me and look at what I'm doing now. If they haven't wandered off, I tell them about Social Knitting on Friday nights and about the wonderful friends I've made through knitting and the charity knitting we've done.

If I could get just one person interested enough to visit the shop and sign up for lessons, I would feel... what would I feel? Joyful, fulfilled, elated? I know I would be very happy to have another knitting friend and to know that I helped to introduce someone to a marvelous new lifestyle.

Charity Knitting and Baseball

2007-03-26T10:40:00.000-04:00

I took a little time off from knitting the Lacy Cabled Scoop to knit a couple squares for an afghan we're making to be raffled off for charity. I asked the Star Wars gang to pose with the squares and Artoo Potatoo agreed to put aside his differences with Darth Tater and Spud Trooper long enough for this photo. The mayham resumed as soon as the flash died.

The afghan will be made of orange, black and cream squares knit in various stitch patterns and pieced together. It'll be raffled off at a Hagerstown Suns game (their colors are black and orange) on Father's Day (I think). Kraemer Yarns generously donated the yarn for the project.

Susan, from Y2Knit, is organizing the project and the Social Knitters are doing the squares. It's a really team project. We'll be having a few Stitch & Pitch events at the games this season. I love to knit at the ball game. What a great way to spend a summer evening. Here's a pic of me knitting the Icarus Shawl from Interweave Knits Summer 2006 at the game last year.

Opening night is only two weeks away!

Eye Candy Friday

2007-03-16T13:30:00.000-04:00

Nubbin, my middle cat, is black except for her white bikini (her lower belly and where breasts would be if she had them are white). She had always had a few white whiskers only on the left side of her nose until recently when a kinky white whisker popped out on the right side. It comes out, heads down in an elegant but tight curve and then flips at the end. The only reason I can think of for the kinkiness is that maybe it was ingrown and had a hard time getting out. Who knows, maybe it's growing through her head from the other side! Whatever, she's a strange little cat and nothing would surprise me.

Knitting and Ripping

2007-03-07T15:06:00.000-05:00

I've knit a few rows and ripped a few rows but I think I'm making a little headway. I knit a while last night then found a mistake and had to rip out about 6 rows. I'm thinking about putting in a lifeline. Those of you familiar with lace knitting will know what I mean. For those who aren't, a lifeline is a thin thread put through all the stitches on a particular row when you're sure what you have knitted is correct. The purpose is to be able to rip back to the lifeline if necessary and not have to worry about dropping any stitches. I use crochet cotton and a darning needle and go through all the stitches on my needles and let the ends hang loose. I may do this if I keep making stupid mistakes.

KUI (Knitting Under the Influence)

2007-03-02T14:50:00.000-05:00

Here's the first photo of my progress on the sweater. The color is actually a bit darker. As you can see, I'm not breaking any speed records but I am enjoying it very much. It's quite a change from all the socks I've been making lately. I'm doing the cables without a cable needle for the first time and it's going great (knock on wood).

Most of what you see was knitted in the car on Wednesday. We went to Annapolis to see the Smothers Brothers at the Rams Head Tavern and I knitted on the way down, for a little while in the car while we took a break from sight-seeing, and at the Tavern in the bar while we waited for our dinner reservation. I had 2 Copperhead lagers while I was working my way through the C&LR chart for the first time. I'm not sure whether that was the reason why I had to rip it out later or whether I just wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing. Whatever, I was one stitch off and didn't notice it until I started the second repeat.

It's a long way around that XL sweater body (253 stitches) but I'm more of a process knitter than a results knitter, thank goodness. I hope to work on it a lot more tonight at our local community college basketball game and over the weekend.

I hope you are all able to get started real soon. I know you'll love it!

Cross-posted to the Lacy Cable Scoop Knit-Along.

Before I learned to knit (continued)...

2007-02-25T20:04:00.000-05:00

...I did beading. I made many necklaces and bracelets; sold some, gave some as gifts. The photo above is a closeup of an amulet bag I gave to my wonderful mother-in-law. The bag part is peyote stitch made with Delica glass beads. The fringe is Delicas and Swarovsky crystals, and the strap is crystals and Delica in peyote stitch and spiral rope stitch. I like the geometric look of the Frank Lloyd Wright design. On the back (which I forgot to photograph) are her initials.

Below is the first bag I made using a pattern by Carol Wilcox Wells. It's also peyote stitch using Delicas and a lot of other unusual beads in the fringe. Each of these bags is about 1.5" x 2". I also made one with a Southwestern motif for my sister-in-law who lives in Santa Fe. I don't have any pictures of it because I didn't have a digital camera then.

I still get a couple beading magazines and buy interesting beads when I come across them but this another hobby I've put aside to concentrate on knitting.

Before I learned to knit (continued)...

2007-02-24T22:33:00.000-05:00

...I learned to make Ukrainian Easter Eggs. In 1987 I took a 3-hour class at a local museum and fell in love. I still love to do this but finding the time and the space is a problem. Being a draftsmen most of my life has lead to a love of geometry and drawing geometric patterns on the curved surface of an egg is endlessly fascinating. After the class I went home and immersed myself in egg decorating. I ordered more supplies and books from Hanusey Music & Gifts in Philadelphia. I made a lot of eggs and sold some in a gift shop and at a craft show. I taught classes and had a great time turning others on to this great art form.

The eggs shown in these photos are all chicken eggs except the one in the middle of the photo above which is a duck egg. I stick to the traditional Ukrainian symbols and designs because I like the idea that they started out as pagan symbols and even though they were later given new meanings by the Christian church the pagan influence still remains.

I won't go into great detail about how they are created because Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka the Yarn Harlot) did a great pictorial about the process. I have an electric kiska (the tool used to apply the beeswax) that has interchangable points for fine, medium and heavy lines. I think one of things that I like best about doing eggs is the smell of melted beeswax. What could possibly be closer to nature than raw eggs and beeswax?

Eye Candy Friday

2007-02-23T09:11:00.000-05:00

Here's our boy, Barney Fife, posing for a photo. He's scary-smart and loves to smooch. He can't get close enough to my face, would lay on my face if I would let him. He insists on sitting on my chest with his face about 1" from mine and doesn't want me to look at anything but him. He likes to smell my breath and would put his entire head in my mouth if I could open it wide enough.

We found him at the barn in July 2000 but not with the other barn cats. His foot pads had been burned and he had upper respitory distress. We gathered him up and took him to the vet then took him home and kept him in the master bed and bathroom until he was old enough for his feline leukemia test. Now he has the run of the house during the day but he still spends every night in the master bath because he tortures his older sister Nubbin so much that she spends all day in hiding and only comes out in the evening when Barney is put in the master bedroom and fed. He eats in there because he would eat ALL the food otherwise. So when we go to bed I put him in the bathroom with some treats where he has his own litter box, toys and TWO cat beds.

His hobbies include playing fetch with his fuzzy ball, annoying his two older sisters, sleeping, eating, and pooping. He'd like to send out a big smooch to all of you and smell your breath.

Before I learned to knit...

2007-02-19T14:43:00.000-05:00

... one of the things I used to do was Counted Cross-Stitch. I am especially fond of the patterns by Marilyn Leavitt Imblum. The photo above is a detail from Celtic Christmas. I finished this project in January 2000 and I guess it took me about a year. It's done on 28-count (28 threads per inch) linen with each stitch done over 2 strands (14 stitches per inch).

I have another of her designs about 3/4 finished. I really should try to finish it while I can see see what I'm doing. My eyes just aren't what they used to be and this is one craft that takes really good eyesight. I loved it though and did it with great gusto, taking it everywhere and stitching when ever and where ever I got the chance.

I have several more of her patterns but I doubt if I'll ever attempt them. Her angel patterns attracted me because of the flowing robes and the serene faces, not because of any religious connotations. I'm a heathern and proud of it! I particularly like her Angel of Mercy pattern because a portion of the sales goes to the Polly Klaas Foundation. But the best in my opinion is Peace Angel. How I would love to stitch that design. If you could see a closeup of her face (which you can't on her website, I'll have to dig out the pattern) you would understand what I mean about her ability to capture serenity. It's twice as detailed as Celtic Christmas, with the face and hands stitched over one thread instead of two.

Puffins and Diamonds

2007-02-19T13:58:00.000-05:00

He knows how I love sparkly things and about my concerns about the ethics of the diamond industry so he gave me Puffins made by Swarovski for Valentines Day. We love puffins and feel a special connection with them because of the our visits to Eastern Egg Rock. Aren't they cute?

Meanwhile what do I do about my diamonds? I love my wedding and engagement rings but I just don't feel comfortable wearing them. I've been hearing about "conflict diamonds" for years and finally decided to quit wearing my rings about a year ago. I've told my husband not to get me any diamond jewelry. Today I did a google on "blood diamonds" and found this link. Do I believe it? I don't know. I'll have to do some more research.

Chutes and Ladders and Shiny Snow

2007-02-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

I'm working on the Mitred U Baby Jacket by Megan Mills and I'm either getting sloppy or losing my ability to knit because I have ladders. I've never had a problem with ladders in the past and I don't know why I've suddenly developed this problem. Once I realized that I had a serious problem I started transferring stitches around on the needles so that the transition from one needle to the next wouldn't always be in the same place and it helped but it's too late. I don't think any amount of blocking is going to help this.

I'm going to have to frog because it just looks terrible. I couldn't possibly give this as a gift to someone. Yuck! Thank goodness it's just a baby jacket and not something huge.

The yarn is Claudia Handpaint in the Pink Cloud colorway. It looks washed out in the photo because of the glare off the snow. Speaking of snow, we have what looks like plastic snow here in Western Maryland. Here's some photo I took Friday afternoon from the front of our house.

I took this one Friday night. It's a long exposure so the car headlights seem to be stretched out but look at the glare of the lights off of that snow! It's very hard, you can walk on it if you can keep yourself upright. It's slicker than snot on a doorknob and hard as... well... hard as ice.

Loopy Ewe Order and Snow

2007-02-13T11:13:00.000-05:00

My latest order from Sheri at the Loopy Ewe just arrived! Three more orders and I'll be a Loopy Groupie! (Place squeal of glee here.) At the top of the photo are 4 skiens of Claudia Handpaints in the Pink Cloud colorway with which I hope to make the Mitred U Baby Jacket by Megan Mills. I say I hope because I don't know if the yarn is suitable, if I have enough, and if I really understand the pattern.

The lower skien is from J-Knits in the Maryland colorway. Since I live in Maryland I felt a special connection with this colorway even though I don't understand the significance of the colors in relation to the state of Maryland. Maybe it's referring to the melons grown on the Eastern Shore. It's 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon so it should make a good sturdy pair of socks. As usual, Sheri included some extras in the order. This time I got samples of Schaefer's Lola and Anne and the Little Red Sock Kit!

In other news, it's actually snowing here at the moment. Better look quick though because it will soon turn to freezing rain that is supposed to coat everything in 1/2 to 3/4 inch of ice. Then it's supposed to get windy. Can you say "Power Outages"? Here's the view from my window at work.

Eye Candy Friday

2007-02-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

These are my two Furry Princesses, Fran (top) and Nubbin (bottom). I have a Furry Prince too but I'll save his photo for another day.

"Cuke, I am your father"

2007-02-08T08:47:00.000-05:00

My husband gave me Darth Tater for Christmas. So I took Darth to work to keep me amused (obviously I'm easily amused) and he's just been hanging around on my desk breathing loudly so I decided to put him to work as a sock model. He had a little trouble at first juggling the Light Saber and the sock but he eventually figured it out and now he looks quite comfortable in his new role, don't you think?

This is the first Tofutsie sock almost done. As I said in my last post it's a little narrow for my poor ankles, both of which have been broken in the past and are now permanently swollen. One of my co-workers tried it on the other day and since she has slender, delicate ankles it fits her wonderfully so I'm finishing them up for her.

This yarn is great to knit with and the fabric feels really good but it's more like two strands of lace-weight plied together. I'm used to Claudia Handpaints, Fleece Artist and Cherry Tree Hill so my standard pattern is a little too small for this yarn. I use Wendy's Generic Toe-Up which calls for 64 stitches. My next pair of Tofutsies will have 68 or even 72 stitches because I really want a pair of these for myself!

Here's the vital stats:
Yarn: Tofutsies (50% superwash wool, 25% soysilk fibers, 22.5% cotton, and 2.5% chitin)
Needles: KnitPicks US#0/2mm - 24" circs
Pattern: Wendy's Generic Toe Up with the Feather and Fan top
Gauge: 10 stitches and 14 row/1 inch (I usually get 8 and 12/inch)

But they don't smell like Old Bay

2007-01-30T09:28:00.000-05:00

I'm knitting sock with a new yarn (new for me al least) from SWTC called Tofutsies (toe-foot-sies). Isn't the colorway fantastic?
I'm using Wendy's Generic Toe-Up pattern and my new KnitPicks 5" US#0/2mm needles. I have the longer (7" ??) Inox needles in the same size but I found that they were getting caught on my long sleeves. These needles from KnitPicks are extremely sharp, I mean draw blood sharp. I also ordered two pair of size US#0/2mm 24" circulars from them and they are just as sharp.

It's 50% superwash wool, 25% soysilk fibers, 22.5% cotton, andd 2.5% chitin. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Chesapeake Bay area, Old Bay Seasoning is used on shrimp, crabs, and all kinds of foods around here. When I picked this yarn up at my LYS and Susan told me what was in it, I really expected it to smell like Old Bay. The yarn is very thin. After working with Cherry Tree Hill and Claudia Hand Paints I can really notice a big difference. I'm getting 10 stitches and 14 rows to the inch and the sock is knitting up narrow. I may frog it and increase from 64 stitches to 68 or 72. It fits but it's snug and I don't know how this yarn will be after it's washed. I'll bet it shrinks.

You can also see my new GoKnit Pouch from KnowKnits.com. I love this bag! It beats the ZipLock bags I've been using all to hell. I really splurged on KnitPicks site last week. I also bought Victorian Lace Today and the fancy folding chart holder.

SIL Socks

2007-01-24T13:08:00.000-05:00

I'm finishing up a pair of socks for my sister-in-law and I thought I would post a few photos. This pair is kind of a Frankenstein's monster of different patterns. I started with Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Pattern (which I love!) , then I found a reference to a sl2wyf (slip 2 with yarn in front) technique and thought that might work for the leg portion. The cuff is hemmed with a picot edge. Does anyone know a good technique for doing that on a toe-up sock? I love the simplicity of it on a top-down sock but it's really fiddly on a toe-up.
I also have a question about the short-row heels. Wendy's version works very well for me but the two sides look very different. I wanted to know if this is normal or am I doing it wrong?

If you look at the photos to the left you can see each side of the heel. One is nearly invisible and the other is rather bumpy. It doesn't feel bumpy, in fact they are both very smooth and comfortable. They just look so very different and I wanted to be sure that I was doing them right.

Here's the vital statistics:
Pattern: mostly Wendy's
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in the Water colorway (yumm!)
Needles: US#0/2.25mm Inox

I made the legs short so they will be good for summer wear with shorts.

Finished Objects

2007-01-05T14:56:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year and pass the decongestant. Christmas was great but I came down with a nasty head cold on New Year's Eve. I'm still fighting it with no dicernable improvement. I did manage to knit while I was off over the holidays and even after the cold hit. I finished the toe-up socks made using Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Instructions.

The yarn is Fleece Artist Hand Dyed Merino 2/6 in a peacock colorway. There wasn't a name or dyelot on the tag. This was my first time using this brand and it was wonderful to work with.

I really like this pattern because it works for my size foot without any fiddling necessary. I cast on 64 and go to town.The heel usually works out well for me. If I pay close attention when I begin the heel I don't end up with big holes at the end. Keeping the tension even and sort of tight is the key for me.

Here is the heel of my first Koigu sock made using Wendy's Feather and Fan Pattern. I definitely love the Koigu.

Here they are being modeled by me.

2006-12-21T13:29:00.000-05:00

Wow! Two posts in one day. I had to post a photo of the yarn that arrived today from The Sweet Sheep. Two lovely skeins of Cherry Tree Hill and nice note from Michelle. On the left is Jewels and on the right is Watercolors. Yummy!

Sometimes you have to break a few eggs...

2006-12-21T07:52:00.000-05:00

Last night we made eggnog using the "ancient family recipe".

Doug and I got everything ready.

We waited for our guest chef to arrive...

We broke and separated many eggs...

We had to beat the whites half at a time because they fluff up so much the mixer could only hold half...

Two turns of whipped egg whites looked like this...

Next I whipped the yolks...

We added the sugar and whipped the yolks some more and then poured them into a 12 quart pot. After pouring in a gallon of milk and a quart of heavy cream we added the liquour...

Then we very slowly folded in the whipped egg whites...

It has a tendancy to foam up at this point so we folded and stirred until it look like this...

Then it was time to test the batch to see how it turned out...

It was good!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Preparations, plans and socks

2006-12-18T11:03:00.000-05:00

Is that kid happy or what?! That's Hayden, the winner of the 2006 Tri State Farm Toy Collectors Club Pedal Tractor Raffle. I've seldom seen a more appreciative winner in my life. His mom and dad brought him to our house to pick it up so I snapped a few photos. What a lucky boy!

Every year we pick a different pedal tractor and sell raffle tickets all year at various shows and festivals in the area. The money goes to the Leon Thomas Memorial Scholarship Fund. Leon was the club founder and former president and when we lost him about 3 years ago we renamed the scholarship in his honor. We give a $1,000 scholarship to an area student majoring in an ag-related field such as veternary medicine or horticulture. It's a lot of work but with the help of some very generous individuals and organizations we manage.

I finished all the Christmas knitting I'm going to do and I have the sniffles so it's time for a little self-indulgent sock knitting. Sunday morning I reached into the bag of goodies I bought at Stitches East and pulled out the first yarn that my fingers touched. I've been carrying the sock yarns around in a purple Lisa Souza bag for weeks, showing them to people whom I thought would appreciate them, petting them, imagining all the wonderful things they could become.

Out came a skein of Fleece Artist Hand Dyed Merino 2/6 (what does the 2/6 mean?) in a stunning peacock feathery colorway. There is no name or dye lot on the label so I don't have a clue what to call it. I wound it off using this homemade contraption that I found at my parent's home. I'm not even sure that's what it's meant for but it's the only possible use for it I can imagine. I don't have a swift or a ball winder. I'm working with stone knives and bear skins here.

Then I sat down with some of the patterns I've gathered over the last 3 years to decide which socks to make. I was far too impatient to look too long. I quickly settled on Jaywalkers because they will show the yarn to it's best advantage and because I've never made a pair of these.

Aren't they pretty?! It's not a great photo because it's cloudy and I'm at work (flouresent lighting). I think they're going to be gorgeous! The yarn has great stitch definition and consistancy, and the most lovely luster. I hope it doesn't lose that sheen but I guess it probably will with wear.

I'm using size #1US or 2.25mm Brittany needles in the 5" length. They seem a little short so I may have to stop at Y2Knit to get a 7" set. Picking up and knitting the gusset could get a little hairy on 5" needles.

We're almost ready for Christmas. I still have some housecleaning to do (who doesn't, right?) and some garlands to hang. Most of the presents are purchased and some are wrapped. We're having a few friends over on the 23rd and I have to bake a spiral ham. On Wednesday we're making the Artz Family Traditional Eggnog. This is an "ancient family recipe" that consists of a lot of rum, whiskey, and brandy - and some cream and eggs. It is potent stuff. Keep it away from the kids and the candles and for godsakes don't spill any on my hardwood floors. So we'll be breaking, separating and beating 42 eggs on Wednesday night. Whipping cream and opening bottles of booze. Thank goodness for my KitchenAid Mixer. I may not use it very often but when I do it's great to have.

I hope your holiday festivities are wonderful.

Knitting Vultures

2006-12-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

Farm Toy Show, Pedal Pull and Santa

2006-11-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

Here is photo of my nephew, Joshua, sitting on Santa's lap at the Western Maryland Farm Toy Show. That beard is real, folks! My hubby and I are part of the Tri State Farm Toy Collectors Club and we put on a farm toy show twice a year, spring and fall.

It's a lot of work and a lot of fun and I'm always glad when it's over but it's great to see that way the kids interact with Santa.

The club president, Linda, and I sit at the door and collect the admission and hand out door prize tickets. I saw a father, mother and five-year-old son come up to the door. The little boy peeked through the glass on the door and saw Santa just as his dad was opening the other door. He vanished, poof! with a scream of "I'm not going in there!". Several minutes later, they reappeared, the dad was carrying the boy and telling him not to look at Santa. The boy had his hood up and his dad was telling him which way to look so that he wouldn't make eye contact with Santa.

Here is a very enthusiastic little girl participating in the kiddie pedal pull. We have this every year as part of our show and it is a huge hit with kids and parents. If you've never been to a real tractor pull this is a kid size version of the real thing. A sled with weights is hooked to the back of the pedal tractor and the farther the kids pedal the heavier the sled becomes. The object is to pull the sled the fartherest down the track. It is divided into age groups, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-10 year olds. All the kids get little tractor toys for participating and the first, second, and third place finishers in each age group win a trophy.

Here are some photos of the toys.

Welsh Family Toy Collection

Our youngest member, Jared with some of his collection.

Finally...an Update

2006-11-21T11:03:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a while since I posted. Let's start with a report on Stitches East. This was my first yarn show. I was totally overwhelmed. I was invited by Susan from Y2Knit to help out in her booth while she and her sister/partner taught a class. I took Doug along with me because I wanted to share the experience with him. He seemed genuinely interested in the yarns. We got there before it officially opened and the first booth I came to was Blue Moon Fibers. Socks That Rock were at the top of my wish list so I bought 4 skeins of lightweigh sock yarn.

Left to right they are: Jail House Rock (my fav), Sherbet, Watermelon Tourmaline, and Fairgrounds.

This is my first STR and I can't stop admiring it. I don't know what I'm going to make out them yet. They seem too pretty for socks. Any suggestions?

I wanted one of each color plus some of the other yarns at the booth but I was on a limited budget so I stopped at four. Then Doug found the Saratogoa Llamas booth. Linda was very nice and showed us a photo album of the llamas. She takes them to schools and puts on a funny show.

Doug bought a skein spun from the fleece of ATM for a hat. I haven't closed the top because I had a good bit of yarn left and thought I might rip the whole thing out and make it a little bigger. Doug has a large head and the hat fits but it could be a little looser.

Here's the rest of my plunder. Left to right: two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Superwash in Sand Ridge, Lisa Souza Sock! Superwash in South Pacific, two skeins of Koigu Painter's Pallete P823162, and finally Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 (what does that mean?).

The Fleece Artist doesn't have a color name, number, or dyelot. Is that normal?

Here's a closeup of the Koigu. I wasn't expecting to find any Koigu there because I'm always reading about how hard it is to come by. I didn't have it on my list but as I was wandering around looking for sock yarn there it was. Dozens of skeins.

I didn't find any Cherry Tree Hill or All Things Heather. It may have been there but I missed it. I suppose I will have to order it from the Loopy Ewe.

Meanwhile the sock for my coworker, Harold is progressing but I fear it may be too long in the foot.
I am using The Boyfriend Socks pattern from the Slipped Stitich with Wendy's Generic Toe-Up Sock Pattern.

I'll have to get him to try them on soon. I'm using size 0(US) needles (for the first time) and I'll have to say they really work well with the Trekking XXL.

Caps to the Capitol

2006-11-01T13:44:00.000-05:00

Here is part of my contribution to Caps to the Capitol, sponsored by Save the Children. These caps will eventually go to newborns around the world to help fight infant mortality.

I found the link to the pattern on the Fall Cable KAL. It's by Ellen Lynch (thanks, Ellen) and is called Ellen's Ruffled Hat. I really enjoyed knitting this pattern because it worked up quickly and looks adorable. I've made 5 hats so far but have enough yarn for a few more.

I don't have the ball bands in front of me right now so I can't give you all the poop on the yarn. The primary colors and the purply are the same brand but the white one is Patons that I bought a bag of about 20 years ago.

I'm back to work on another "We Call Them Pirates" hat for Christmas. This one will be black with red skulls.

Radioactive Pirate Hat Done

2006-10-20T09:18:00.000-04:00

Pattern: We Call Them Pirates by Hello Yarn
Yarn: Green - Kokon 35% cotton, 35% silk, 30% microfiber
Black - ggh superwash merino wool
Needles: size 3, 16" circular; size 3, 7" dnp; size 1, 12" circular

My freind Doug (sorry, Ladies, he's married) agreed to model the green pirate hat. I finished it last night and steam blocked it. This hat is so much fun to make. It turned out smaller than the black and white one because the green yarn was a slightly smaller gauge. I really need to make a least 2 more of these for nephews. This one will have to go to one of the younger ones because it should fit loosely. I will have to experiment with other yarns and/or needles on the others.

Here is a detail of the lining. I decided to do it with the green since I had a lot left over.

I think the next one will be turquoise and black but the center row of skulls will be green. I'm pretty sure that I have enough of the green for that.

I can also picture this with a bright handpainted yarn for the skulls. Whadda ya think?

I get trampled by a buffalo and knit another Pirate hat

2006-10-17T12:58:00.000-04:00

This is my second "We Call Them Pirates" hat by Hello Yarn. I plan to do the next one with bright turqoise and black. This one is a very bright lime-green but it looks washed out in the photo. This pattern is so much fun and works up very quickly.

I love that the folks at Hello Yarn included a blank chart as well. I have a book of charted celtic designs and have already worked one up. I won't be able to start it until I finish with the glut of Christmas presents though.

Check out the Fall Cable KAL 2006 blog. The design is lovely. Seeing all the projects and talking about mine has got me itchin' to finish my Soft Shoulders sweater that I started 3 years ago. I posted photos of it on the blog here.

On a side note, I found out that I am allergic to buffalo - the hard way. A friend at Social Knitting Night at my lys, Y2Knit, had some buffalo yarn that she was using to knit hats. She passed it around and everyone felt how soft and yummy it was. Right away I felt like I had an eyelash in my eye and I rubbed it. BIG MISTAKE. My eyes felt like someone had thrown dirt in them. I rinsed them out at the shop and then went home and rinsed them some more and finally had to put drops in them before I could get the pain to stop. No buffalo for me. Unrefined wool does the same thing. Does that mean I can never spin?

"We Call Them Pirates" Finished and Gifted

2006-10-04T11:05:00.000-04:00

The camera isn't working right now. The rechargables won't hold a charge so I'm waiting on new batteries to arrive. I finished the "We Call Them Pirates" hat and gifted it on Sunday. It went to a very deserving college freshman who loves hats. He works at our favorite pizza place, Asaro's, and always take the very best care of us.

I started another one with bright lime green skulls on a black background. The green is a different yarn and I am getting a smaller gauge on this hat. I am going to put it on some waste yarn and try it on this evening to make sure it will fit. I may have to start over on the next size needle.

I'll post pics as soon as possible.

We Call Them Pirates!

2006-09-14T11:14:00.000-04:00

I swear, I had no choice. When I saw the link on Stitch-n-Sue's blog I had to click it. When I saw the pattern I had to print it. I knew that I had just found the perfect Christmas gift for one of my teenage nephews. I left work and went straight to my LYS, Y2Knit and bought some wool. Susan doesn't have Dale of Norway so I have Zara and and GGH Maxima, both fine merino, both machine washable.
There are even matching mittens. What teenage boy doesn't like skulls? Trouble is, I have two teenage nephews (brothers) and both are skiers. I am thinking about doing another one with a white background and black skulls or maybe I'll abandon the black and white scheme altogether and go wild! Flourecent green and orange! Thanks so much to Hello Yarn for the pattern.

I've stopped temporarily on Mountain Peaks by Miriam Felton to work on this hat. But I was making amazing progress when I stopped. I'm over halfway through Chart 2 despite having to rip back past my last lifeline to fix a mistake at the end of Chart 1. I love this pattern so much. The yarn is Jaggerspun Zephyr in Sage. I picked up a ball of Zephyr in Peacock on sale a Susan's. It's 875yds. I need to find a pattern for it.

Categories: knitting, hats, pirates

Fir Cone Wrapette and Other News

2006-09-06T13:40:00.000-04:00

Here is a very bad photo of the wrapette I am working on at lunchtime. It is destined to be a Christmas present for my 8-year old niece.

The pattern is a cutdown version of the Fir Cone Wrap from Wendy of Wendy Knits. I made it about half as wide, casting on 57 stitches as opposed to 117. I didn't cut down the border (k8) because I felt that it would need a stable border to stand up to the wear and tear of a third-grader. When blocked I think it will be fine for an 8-year-old.

The yarn is Fortissima Colori Socka Color (Disco). It's hard to tell from the photo but it has silver sparkles in it.

This is an easy lunchtime project, with an easily memorized 16 row chart. Thanks, Wendy, for sharing this with us.

I'm also making great progress on the Mountain Peaks Shawl by Miriam Felton. I just started Chart 2, which is such a relief after 3 repeats of Chart 1 with the wrong-side rows of lace. I found those p2togtbl to be a pain. Thank goodness the rows were short for most of Chart 1. I love this shawl though and am really looking forward to finishing it.

I read many blogs everyday, one being Smatterings. I lust after Judy's yarn. I want some of it so bad that it hurts. I emailed her and asked whether she was going to be at Stitches East since that is the only yarn event I'm going to this year, but she said no. I guess I'll just have to save up some money and order some online. I have a deep aching need to make a shawl out of Blueberry. Ahhh, maybe someday.

Have You Seen Me? and a Famous Person Sighting

2006-08-25T09:22:00.000-04:00

Name: Pluto
Age: Billions of years (when you get that old you stop counting)
Size: 2,320 kilometers in diameter
Last seen by the NASA Hubble Space Telescope .

Yes, my friends, we have lost a planet. Hail to thee, brave Pluto. Planet thou never wer't.

Farewell, Pluto. We hardly knew thee.

I have lived to see the number of planets in our solar system drop from 9 to 8. What's next? My favorite geology professor, Dr. Murphy, told us that when he started teaching the Earth was believed to be 2.6 billion years old. Then he said, "Now it's 4.2. I guess it's time to retire."

Now for the Rich and Famous sighting.

I followed author Nora Roberts into town this morning. When I pulled out of my driveway this morning I was behind a blue Mercedes Kompressor with the licence "BOOKSRI". I could see a woman wearing sun glasses reflected in her rearview mirror as we sat at a light. I've never actually seen her but I have seen her photos so I knew it was her. She lives down the road and has a bookstore in Boonsboro. A little later I pulled past her in a turning lane and took a glance. Sure enough, it was her. I have never read any of her books but I admire anyone who can make a good living as an author. She did a book signing at a Suns Game a few weeks ago but that was one of the few nights that we missed.
Her son, Dan, has a restaurant named Asaro's Pizza (name of former owner and founder) in Boonsboro that we go to at least once a week. FANTASTIC PIZZA!!