Panhandle Portals

The Sunday Report

2012-01-29T22:46:00.001-06:00

Any day that begins with the children’s sermon at church having a live hedgehog as the centerpiece of discussion holds promise, so I continued with spiny things.

As I mentioned before, I recently purchased some sock-sized DPNs from Knit Picks just to try. This far, all my sock knitting has been on 2 circulars or on 1 circular using magic loop. Even though I’ve been using the circs, I have never knit 2 socks at a time because I like my sock projects to be very portable, and I find dealing with two balls of yarn to be more tedious than knitting a second sock.

Much to my surprise, I’m enjoying the DPN process. I have a tiny mistake in the ribbing, but that is due to the difficulty of knitting on the dark gray/black yarn at night rather than using the new needles.

The yarn is some that I have had for a long, long time—part of a bag of sock yarn that I bought from Elann when I first took up knitting again. I have 2 pairs knitted from this yarn purchase already—Elann’s “house brand”—and they are some of the most durable and most comfy that I own. By durable, I mean not only without holes but also with few pills and with no fading.

I knitted tonight through part of Downton Abbey; however, when the show became too emotionally intense, I stopped to watch without distraction. For anyone who is becoming interested in the home front in England during World War I, may I recommend an autobiography written by a woman who lived through it and served as a nurse. The book is Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain. There was an excerpt in a literature text I taught from a few years ago, so I became interested and read the whole book.

Almost There

2012-01-27T13:41:00.001-06:00

In spite of the fact that I took a day off yesterday, I am almost to the point that I can ready my sewing machine cabinet for transport because I have a place to put it indoors. Hence, I can probably look at the end of next week as THE day. I will still not have everything in the room exactly as I want it, but I am also finding out that this is going to be a work in progress, that as I use it I may have different ideas. I have already made one or two changes. The site of the machine is going to be a little bit cramped. I considered putting it somewhere else, but, when I get some other changes made later down the road, I would have to move it. This way, I will already have it in place and can already be mounting some bulletin board space above it. That just seems wiser. I will still have junque—the kind that needs to be given away, as opposed to junk that can just be tossed—to get rid of from the closet and sewing fabrics to organize, but I can do that as I bring them in a little bit at a time from the other room. The closet items can be bagged and toted out of town to a charity shop when I’m making a trip anyway. This also means that I will have a place to move the spinning wheel out of the living room when I’m not using it and the rigid heddle out of the kitchen. It will also be a relatively light and cheery place to work. The whole idea is making me feel contented and peaceful.

I promised a picture of the Button-Tab Hat from the Hats for Sailors project:

After washing and blocking on a wig head.

Nothing Much to Write About, but I’m Writing Anyway

2012-01-25T10:40:00.001-06:00

For the last 24 hours, things have been fairly uninteresting, but I can at least use bullets:

Yesterday, I slept late because I did not actually go to sleep until 5 a.m. That usually means a non-productive day.
We did go out for a pizza lunch. That’s a once every two to three month occasion for us. It also involves a 35-mile drive, so it’s a bigger deal than it seems. They’re having a survey about the waiters, so we suffered from extra attentiveness--really extra, as in, “You’ll be glad to know they’re cutting your pizza now.” However, she was very nice, and the pizza was excellent.
When I got home, I read on my Kindle for awhile and fell asleep.
Last night, my hubby went to bed early, and I turned off the television and finished my book. No knitting, no work on the craft room project.
It rained last night. The amount of precipitation was probably not measurable, but it at least slowed down evaporation, I hope.

Plans for today:

Check off at least two more items on the list for the craft room.
Make meat loaf. (I’ve been having miserable failures with this lately, but now that I did all the organization of Mother’s old recipes, I’m going to try one of the four or five that she had. I think I remember which one was her favorite.)
Prepare a couple of good vegetable dishes to go with the meatloaf.

Amusements:

I haven’t been keeping up with the outdoor sports/camping scene in awhile. We passed a sign yesterday advertising “Yeti Coolers.” The immediate mental image I got was that of a storage box used by the expedition that finally found an abominable snowman in order to keep him comfortable while bringing him to civilization. Remember all the problems transporting King Kong?
I have one audible.com credit per month—my big book purchase extravagance. Sometimes I have to hunt for awhile to find a suitable book to spend my precious credit on. This month I had already decided in advance on the new Nevada Barr novel. Now audible is having download problems, not that I want to listen at the moment, but having to deal with a computer glitch is an irritation.
Still haven’t found the sock.
The closest fairly large newspaper to us has been crusading about public salaries of all kinds for the past few months, even to the point of writing articles about one of those icky teacher/student affairs and including the amount of the teacher’s salary in such a way that it implied a relationship between the two issues. I find misusing logic that way irritating, so I’ve been in the mood to look for mistakes. I’m usually not that mean-spirited, at least in part because pointing out other’s mistakes is the fastest way to make one myself. However, here’s a sentence from a news article yesterday: On Jan. 18, a white minivan pulled into the Amarillo High School parking lot, near a 15-year-old girl when he exposed himself, police said. I do not mean to imply that I found that sad situation amusing, but I really wanted the writer’s or the copy editor’s salary affixed to that sentence.

A Quiet, but Satisfactory Day

2012-01-23T21:53:00.001-06:00

Quiet as in the way we spent the day and quiet as in no wind, thank heavens!

I had a really good night’s sleep last night, got up this morning and watched two episodes of a British television series while finishing the hat that I started the previous evening. The button is on, the hat is soaked, and it is blocking right now. I will photograph ASAP. I’ve even started another hat, this one for a different charity project from the Craft Hope blog, involving hats for small children who are having chemo. I’m using some odds and ends of some very soft yarn that I happen to have on hand. I began the first one tonight while watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I know it’s a Brangelina classic, but I’d never seen it. This particular broadcast included the extra scenes that are included on the DVD. That was interesting, but it rather spoiled the suspense. Anyway, I got a good start on the hat.

More progress on my “room.” I managed to drag an upholstered chair all the way out to our “storage” room. It was much too uncomfortable to sit in, mainly because it had a tendency to tip over backwards if you even relaxed back a teeny bit. I have another chair in mind for a replacement that will be comfy for knitting, but I don’t want to move anything else in there until I get the other furniture arranged. Tomorrow I have more items to move out.

I’m on allergy meds due to the wind yesterday. It’s entirely possible that the red cedars are already pollinating as well. My DH has been sneezing and coughing all day. I’m not sure if it’s allergies or a cold—he’s a man and won’t admit to anything!

Tomorrow will be a meat loaf day!

Doing My Bit

2012-01-22T22:51:00.001-06:00

Tonight was Episode 3 of Season 2 of Downton Abbey, with World War I in full force. I needed a knitting project, so I decided that nothing I needed to knit would be more appropriate than a hat for Hats for Sailors, so I cast on a Button-Tab Hat in Knit Picks Swish Worsted:

By knitting a little bit of overtime, I did finish the button band. The rest of the hat is plain stockinette, so it will go much faster. I really like the dark teal color, even if I don’t remember at the moment what it is called.

The wind blew hard almost all day, with up to 50 mph gusts here and much higher than that in Amarillo. With only 10-15% relative humidity and power lines being blown down, fire danger was high, but we managed without a local disaster. I’m not sure what kinds of wind damage happened here, but the wind in Amarillo destroyed my granddaughter’s new trampoline. Here’s hoping tomorrow will be better.

I did manage a little more cleanout in the future sewing/knitting/weaving room, and I have more planned for tomorrow.

Remarkably Little Knitting

2012-01-21T18:45:00.001-06:00

I’ve been taking something of a knitting break this week. For one thing, I spent some time earlier in the week weaving on the beginning practice piece. I’ve also been working on a planned move to set up a sewing/knitting/weaving room in the spare bedroom. I’ve been cleaning out, and I’ve made some progress getting that done. I anticipate making more progress this weekend.

Furthermore, I still haven’t found that sock!

In addition, I’ve spent time reading 2 books on my Kindle2, and I’m halfway through another. I’ve rather neglected reading-reading in favor of audiobook-reading while knitting lately, but I’ve hit some books that I can’t get in the audio version, so I’m enjoying the Kindle versions, courtesy of a public library link.

What else of note has been going on?

Well, I just changed my computer desktop to this picture, which I appropriated from my daughter’s Facebook Timeline:

I like the picture because it is so reflective of their personalities: enjoying the caramel apple; plunging headlong into the sensory experience; and analyzing the recipe. (No, there are no twins; there are cousins.)

They all began ballet lessons this week—one also took last semester. The two younger ones were particularly proud of their buns:

The little ones are also proud to be “Buttercups”—I think because they like saying the word, which simply must be accompanied by giggles. The oldest girl, alas, is a Daisy, which is not quite so much fun to say, but I understand she got off to a very good start as well.

The “analyzer” from above also had a birthday this week.

I did get to spend time with one granddaughter because she was sick and her dad couldn’t take off work, so Meemaw got to babysit. While she was napping, I got in a little snooze for myself and quite a bit of knitting on a square of my mitered square blanket. (After years of knitting almost entirely on circulars, I’m using straights on this project, and I keep forgetting and turning loose of the needle at the end of the row. My granddaughter found it quite amusing that the needles kept clattering to the tiles.)

Today I’ve been home, reading, piddling around, and cooking lunch. We had tilapia again, cooked in the microwave using the recipe I found earlier. I fixed oven-roasted potatoes which did not get quite done enough and cooked cabbage. I sliced 1/2 head of cabbage, put a small amount of canola oil in the bottom of a cast-iron skillet (just enough so that the bottom of the skillet was shiny), dropped in the cabbage and stirred until it wilted a little bit. Then I stirred a little more and sprayed on a little EVOO from my new sprayer, added 3/4 c. water, covered with a tight-fitting lid, and lowered the temperature to low and let it simmer and steam for about 15 minutes. I find that the cabbage gets done without getting slimy and limp. I prefer eating mine with some Jack Daniels Mustard. Emphasis on mustard in that last sentence.

I’m off now to do some more reading, drink a Coke Zero, clean the kitchen, and plan Sunday dinner, and perhaps sneak in a little more craft room work—and, of course, look for that darn sock!

Randomness

2012-01-16T20:52:00.001-06:00

A literature book that I used to teach from in the 1970s when I taught mostly 10th grade had a short story by Herman Melville, called “The Piazza.” Notice that I said the book “had” the story—I didn’t say I actually taught it. Even in those days, there was more literature in a text than could be taught, and frankly, Melville ranks as my most-hated classic American author. I did, however, read the story myself, and while there are probably many interpretations and symbolic meanings that can be applied by those wishing to do so, let it be said that the story involves a narrator who has settled in a house on the edge of a valley with a mountain on the other side. (Of course, if there’s a valley, there’s a mountain on the other side. But if I can’t be overly wordy when writing about Melville, when can I be?) There is a piazza on the side of the house (title justification). On occasions when the light is just right on the top of the mountain, he can see a clearing with the light reflecting off something shiny. After much reflection (It’s Melville, much is much. Notice the pun with “reflection”?), the narrator decides the golden sheen he sees at the top must be some sort of beautiful palace, so he undertakes a journey (better description than just “climbs”) to the palace. When he gets there, it’s an old ruined house with light hitting on the broken windows. I’m not going to discuss possible meanings of the story here. Possible meanings of Melville always depress me. (I once was forced into having to give my opinion of the meaning of the whale in Moby Dick after a lengthy, rather pontifical discussion in grad school—pontifical as only a bunch of graduate assistants could be. I failed to “pretty up” my answer and suggested that I thought the whale represented revenge because after the critics had given Melville such a hard time about his earlier works he had written an unjustifiably long book and thrown in every contradictory symbol or possible symbol he could think of just to give them something to rant about.)

For some reason, this story popped into my head on Saturday. I found that rather scary, frankly. A couple of months ago, my son and I were driving in Amarillo after dark and noticed the lights of a restaurant in a rather unusual spot. There was only a car or two, but the name was exotic—started with a “P,” don’t remember how to spell it—and the view in the windows looked dark and mysterious with low hanging lights. We did not stop to investigate because we were on the way to the car wash. A few weeks later, I drove by in daylight and noticed that neon had added “Thai-Chinese Cuisine.” Now understand that I like Chinese food and that I live where it is not available, or was not available until a few weeks ago. My husband will tolerate it if it is a buffet. My son doesn’t particularly care for it. My daughter has that fish allergy that makes it entirely too risky. But on Saturday, I found myself eating lunch alone, just me and my audio book. I made a mad dash of my errands, getting a haircut and shopping for groceries in 47 minutes flat and headed to the restaurant. It was supposed to open at 11. It was 11:20. The door was locked. However, when they heard me try it, they did come and open the door. I was anticipating an exotic atmosphere. It turns out that the mysterious atmosphere was just the tinting in the glass; the tables and chairs were early café. The menus were somewhat sticky. In short, there was no ambiance at all. It was obviously a quickie lunch place, which is probably a better business choice for their location, but it had looked so different that night. I must admit however, that the food was plentiful and quite tasty, even if it was not the best I’ve ever had. The service was attentive as well. Now you can see why the incident reminded me of the story. I’m not sure that there is any meaning to be drawn from the relationship of the two whatsoever, but I get some satisfaction in feeling that if Melville knew I was calling attention to the parallel, he would be tremendously irritated.

Knitting note: I’ve lost a sock! This may be a crisis. I lost it somewhere in the house, and it is half-finished with a metal size 1 1/2 circ sticking out of it. I’m hoping it is not stepped on or sat on until I find it!

style

The More Things Change. . .

2012-01-15T19:23:00.001-06:00

Sorting through old cookbooks to decide which ones to donate has been something of a challenge. However, I have come across a few treasures that I intend to keep.

One such treasure, and I have two copies, is a microwave cookbook. This one came with the very first microwave that I bought in 1981. My mother bought one just like it, so that ‘s the reason for two. In those days microwaves were just becoming really affordable to the average person and even a portable microwave was big by today’s standards. Another reason they were big was because everyone thought that people were actually going to COOK in them. Hence, the many-paged hardback cookbook. This book includes directions for thawing and cooking a turkey—it was big enough—elaborately browning and cooking t-bone steaks, and baking cakes. I hadn’t looked at it in years, but I’m glad I did. There are actually some good recipes and cooking methods in there that I’ve sort of forgotten about over the years. Their method for cooking frozen corn on the cob is excellent. Their method for softening an acorn squash to make it cut more easily is helpful. And there are many vegetable recipes that were very good, much better than just popping in a Steamable.

I also remembered that their method of cooking fish fillets in lemon butter sauce produced better results than I ever got in an oven. (Place in dish with thickest parts to the outside, cover with seasonings, cracker crumbs, and lemon butter, put waxed paper over the top, and cook until flaky. In those days, you had to rotate halfway through.) I tried it again last week on some Tilapia and was very pleased. I used to do this all the time when we first got the microwave, but then my daughter turned out to have an allergy to fish—not just a food allergy but a severe reaction to exposure to fish in any form—so I had completely forgotten about it. If I remember correctly, there were some pretty good chicken recipes in this book as well.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to trying out some of these old recipes again. What I’m wondering is if anyone else out there has a good recipe that is microwave prepared. I don’t ever see anyone sharing those anymore—everything seems to be grills or crockpots.

There was no knitting today, but I did weave on the Cricket. I’m still not pleased with my edges, but they are getting better. I’m having an enthusiasm problem. Although I know myself better than this, I set up my first project as what would amount to a very long swatch rather than a scarf or something. Eventually, making a great big practice swatch of no particular beauty gets really old. I watched a couple of videos this afternoon, and I’m going to do a little more selvedge work tomorrow and then remove that item from the loom. I have some cotton that I got from Webs just waiting for me to try making a scarf for myself. The color is quite lovely and the yarn has some variation to cover sins a little bit. I’m going to give that a try.

Almost time for the new Downton Abbey. I must get another cup of tea. Do you think the Edwardians would have heated the water in the microwave if they had one?

Reporting In (No Pics)

2012-01-14T17:55:00.001-06:00

Fiber-related activities—Knitted the central cross part of a Mitered Square Blanket square, ready for the log cabin frame strips. Most importantly, helped the youngest granddaughter weave 1/4 of a potholder on a potholder loom!
Audio books—I had unexpected knitting and listening time because my granddaughter was tired and took a really, really long nap. With travelling and napping and nighttime listening, I polished off the two shorter audiobooks, leaving only the book on Abraham Lincoln for tonight and tomorrow. Coincidentally, the Wine Country Mystery novel that I listened to first had an essential plot point involving documents related to the assassination of Lincoln.
And most important of all, I got to spend one-on-one time with a granddaughter. That is hard to come by sometimes. I need to make more of an effort to do this.
I also have to finish my sock and then slow down knitting for a little while. One of the reasons I got my Cricket loom was for the grandchildren to learn to use. I thought I had time. Then someone gave one of them a potholder loom for Christmas, and now all three have potholder looms, and I’m hearing chanting of “over, under, over, under.”
Furthermore, someone published an interesting project today using cord made on a corker to decorate a pillow. I think the spool knitter might be a little hard for them right now, but I already have lucets on hand for each of them, and I think the square braid would be easier to attach to something. I just need to work on my technique. I find lucet cord harder to keep an even tension. Supposedly Pinterest has a spool knitter made from a toilet paper roll and popsicle sticks, but I can’t visualize that making a very attractive cord, and I think it would be hard to keep an even tension.

When I was a child, I was an avid reader. At that time there was no public library in our town. I was fortunate to live across the street from the school and sometimes in the summer, I got to sit in the bookroom and read out-of-adoption readers, no kidding. My parents bought books for me, and we always had newspapers and magazines. I remember that one book was something similar to a Whitman Classic, but it was a Roy Rogers story. I don’t remember the name, but it involved needing to build a suspension bridge over a canyon. Although I was something of a Roy Rogers fan and although the plot was suspenseful, I remember being absolutely fascinated that the characters made ropes, mostly from horsehair if I remember correctly, to build the bridge. I must have read that part a milllion times. Of course, the horsehair cordage that I have actually seen has been braided rather than knitted, and if truth be told, I think it would have taken herds and herds of horses to have enough hair to build a suspension bridge, but nevertheless, I was interested.

When did this happen?

2012-01-12T13:49:00.001-06:00

I’m packing today for a trip tomorrow that includes an overnight stay—alone much of the time, except for a small black dog. Of course, I must pack travel knitting, and right now I’m planning on taking a bag with a partially completed mitered cross blanket square. I’ll save the sock for in-the-car knitting. This time I’m driving.

However, I am also packing audio books into my little MP3 player. I have an hour- and-fifteen-minute drive each way. I can’t listen to audio books while driving in town because I don’t multitask that well, but I find that listening in the very light traffic on the highway helps keep me alert and my eyes on the road. I can play my little player through my car’s sound system, or in a pinch I have some ear thingies that are not sound-cancelling. Most of my audio book listening comes from my annual subscription to The Free Library of Philadelphia. I buy one Audible.com credit per month. In addition, I get books from my local library’s consortium, which I would prefer to use all the time, but their selection is very small and the number of titles that you are allowed is two. The third source is LibriVox. The quality there varies, but I have some favorite readers that I like to use for classics. The FLP has excellent service when it comes to having a hold list and notifying the client when the books are available. However, it sometimes happens that the books on hold become available at the same time, which is what has happened to me in the last 24 hours. Therefore, I am making a trip which will last approximately 36 hours, including sleeping time and several hours with a grandchild and son and time for a haircut. In addition to the knitting, I am armed with 3 new audio books, adding up to 23 hours, 17 minutes, 15 seconds of listening time and a Kindle book that also came through the FLP. This and my knitting make me feel secure, but intellectually I think this could be a problem. At the same time, I am thinking that if the little player is full, I could load more into my IPhone. I don’t use the IPhone for audio books because it’s too heavy to haul around the house with me, but in the car. . . .

Sigh! I should also admit that there is a paperback in my suitcase just in case all technology fails.

In case you’re wondering—audio books: Explosive Eighteen; The Chardonnay Charade; Killing Lincoln

Kindle—The first C.J. Box mystery—forgot the title. Open Season, maybe.

Looking Better

2012-01-11T21:05:00.001-06:00

Today was bitterly cold. I’m not sure about the exact temperature, but very strong cold winds blew until sunset. It was nice to be inside.

If there’s anything I don’t need, it’s usually more cooking equipment. Someone online today described herself as having three grandmothers worth of sewing equipment—me, too—and my cooking stuff is even more in depth. I use cast iron skillets, which seem to be gaining in popularity among the young. None of mine, however, are new to me. In fact, with the exception of a tiny little one that is not good for very much, all of them are older than I am. Three of them came from my mother, and the biggest one came from my father’s camping equipment. Similar situations exist in other cooking areas. Today, however, I bought a new item:

In trying to eat healthier—that cast iron is not exclusively used for frying—I have been looking for ways to use olive oil more and ways to roast veggies. I have been using commercial cooking sprays, but I hate the way they smell when sprayed, and I worry about inhaling them. This is a pump up oil sprayer. I’m going to put EVOO in it and try it. Since I have plans for the rest of the week, it will be after the weekend before I get things going, but I have high hopes.

After yesterday’s sock disaster, I jumped right back on the horse. In cleaning out my projects basket, I found a barely-started pair of socks—same number of stitches and same size needles as the other pair, but the yarn is different. This is some Patons Kroy that I picked up in the closeout bin at Michaels. I think it was $1.24 per ball.

The leg appears to be the right size. I experimented a little bit with the heel. Someone on a knitting site mentioned using the heel stitch on the bottom of the heel as well as on the heel flap for extra strength and cushioning. I am trying it. I am now past the gussets and part way down the foot. I hope there’s enough yarn to finish. If not, I have plenty of pieces of one of the solid colors to knit a toe! I know that Kroy is not the snazziest, snobbiest sock yarn, but it makes very cushy, very durable socks.

Today I also finished getting all 8 totes of yarn stash organized and into the bedroom/studio closet. Now I need to clean out another area of the closet to store fabric. It’s a VERY big closet, in case you were wondering.

EDIT: I worked on the new sock last night while watching The Help. I am pleased to say that I thought the movie was excellent. I had been a little bit hesitant to watch because I really, really liked the book’s presentation as an audio book. Of course, it is difficult to compare two different genres, but I did find the movie true to the spirit and concept of the book itself, and that is something that does not always happen. Like any book-to-movie adaptation, there was just less of it. I also found the movie to be less suspenseful because some things had to be left out, such as the suspense over whether or not the book would actually be published. It could be, though, that suspense was lessened because I had already listened to the book. I also thought that the movie’s mean and bitchy characters did not have time to be quite as mean and bitchy as in the book and that there were fewer stories from the maids about white people that had been really kind to them. Some of the little details about the extent of Jim Crow customs which made the book so fascinating—and horrifying-- were also left out. If you really liked the movie, you might also like to listen to the audio book, which is read as a dramatic performance with more than one reader.

Houston—and everyone else—I have a problem

2012-01-10T22:18:00.001-06:00

Admittedly, I did not check gauge for these socks. That is because I was using the same size needle—checked it twice—the same number of stitches, and a yarn that I have used at least 3 times before—checked my notes. However there is something vastly wrong. These came out much bigger than I expected. (Not, of course, the ribbing, which is perhaps the nicest 1 x 1 I’ve ever knitted. I was using Annie Modesitt’s combination method.) I even did my wet blocking in hot water to try to shrink something, but I think they stretched instead.

Just to be clear, the socks are actually the same size at least. It’s the photo angle that makes them look different. The good news is that I think they will fit my husband, even though I used twelve fewer stitches than I usually knit for him. However, I don’t think there is any way that the ribbing will be big enough, and he also prefers a shorter leg. These are cuff down socks. Is there any way to frog back the beginning and knit up some different ribbing to salvage the job?

And, just to be sure that I’m not crazy, I picked up another sock that I had already started—same number of stitches, same size needles—and it seems to be working fine. I’m wondering if there happened to be a difference in the yarn because the fabric feels obviously different than the other pairs I’ve knitted from this. I suppose I should have gone down a needle size.

Any “fix it” suggestions are welcome.

What a Shame!

2012-01-10T04:03:00.001-06:00

I did not get to move my book donations out and to the library’s book shoppe on Monday as I had planned. It seems that the glass door to the shoppe is boarded up because someone broke it. The little charity business will not be open again until it is fixed. I’ll have to keep an eye out to see if it will be available next week. I could just drop them at the library itself, but then someone else has to tote them to the sale site, and I hate to dump extra work on someone else.

Since I couldn’t get books out of my developing craft room area, I put some in. I moved my knitting and spinning books to one of the vacated shelves. They are such a variety of sizes, and more importantly, thicknesses. I think I am going to put a magazine holder on the shelf—I have some left from my former career—to hold the very thin or very small ones so that they don’t slide back between the bigger books and hide themselves.

There is a big closet in the room to hold my yarn totes. I did sort out my living room project basket, which tends to collect the unused leftovers from projects. Now it just contains “to be knitted” items, and the extras have been sorted into the appropriate stash totes. I don’t know about you, but a sizeable part of my stash is yarn left from one project or another. Since I don’t have a LYS, I always buy a little extra because that is usually cheaper than ordering another skein in a matching dye lot and paying the shipping charge. I try to use the extras for smaller projects, but it’s sometimes hard to keep up.

I set up a drying rack for woolies in the tub of the extra bathroom where it is convenient. I usually use that sink for soaking them, and the tub is seldom used, so it seems like a good idea for the winter.

I also found my Ziploc of sock yarn leftovers—make that one of my Ziplocs of sock yarn leftovers. That was important because I needed to darn two pairs of socks. I have very limited success in darning socks that have worn through, but I had two different, perfectly good socks—one almost brand new—that had snagged on something and been cut. I found the matching leftovers and mended them. The darns don’t feel as smooth as I would like, but they are not very visible, and since they are both up on the leg of the sock, they’ll not be uncomfortable. Now DH and I are each back in business with one more pair each.

I know this sounds like a really dull day, but it is such a relief to be making some progress on getting all this stuff sorted that the day was actually quite pleasant, particularly since we had a good lunch that I had put in the crock pot the night before. There will be enough leftovers for Tuesday so that I can get even more done in the room—toting totes perhaps.

A Miscellaneous Sort of Day

2012-01-08T23:46:00.001-06:00

Watched a little television early this morning to see the granddaughters at church. The televised service from FBC Amarillo is a great boon to grandparents. One panoramic shot included mom and dad, too.
Attended church myself. Had great fun with the hymns this week—a good tenor behind me and a good bass in the next seat over. That’s so much better than feeling you are the only one singing!
After church, made a flying trip to the grocery store for milk, eggs, BARLEY. Of course, I came out with more items than that since I rolled past some things that I knew we were out of. I remember that when I was a girl, my mother used to send me in with money for a loaf of bread—29 cents—because she said that way she wouldn’t come out with a cart full. Now I know what she meant. The barley is capitalized because I never found it. I looked in all the logical places, too. I also confess to being irritated with the supermarket service. If a business is going to offer Wal-Mart-type unload-your-own, carry- out-your-own service, it should be reflected in the prices. And, most importantly, if you must push your cart to the parking lot to unload into your car, there should be some place to put the cart. You should not have to lock up everything again in order to return the cart all the way into the store. At least I don’t have small children.
We snacked on leftovers for lunch. After I finish writing this, I’m going to put a roast on in the crockpot for tomorrow’s dinner.
After lunch, I knitted on the sweater for the doll clothes while listening to Trap Door by Sarah Graves. I’m not entirely sure yet, but I’m afraid I’ve been bitten by the gauge monster on this project. My husband was watching a miniseries about life on a Channel Island during World War II. I watched part of it, and while it is interesting, I kept comparing it to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and found it somewhat wanting. However, we haven’t finished it yet, so I’ll reserve judgment. And I was knitting and listening to an audiobook during much of the film. That was probably too much multitasking.
Tonight was the premiere of the second season of Downton Abbey, and it was great fun. Perhaps I could have finished my sock, but I kept stopping and turning off the light in order to watch. Also, the World War I scenes made me feel that I should perhaps be knitting a dark green sock from one of those Red Cross kits that are available.
Yea, Denver and Tim Tebow!
Tomorrow I have plans for moving out some more stuff so that I can move fiber items into the extra bedroom soon in order to have a bright and cheerful place to work on my projects. It’s coming along rather slowly, but it is coming.

Interrupted!

2012-01-06T23:02:00.001-06:00

I had excellent intentions of making significant progress on the second sock today and did indeed manage to finish the leg with only a couple of rows to go before beginning the heel flap. However, I have a granddaughter who received an American Girl doll for Christmas who has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks and Ravelry has all these knitted patterns for doll clothes and I have some extra skeins of this and that in the stash, so. . . I just finished knitting a lace-ruffled skirt. The matching sweater is on the agenda for tomorrow. I do promise that I will at least knit a flap and turn a heel.

You Know You’re Retired When. . .

2012-01-05T17:37:00.001-06:00

your husband is called for jury duty at the county seat and you grab your knitting, your Kindle, some items to deliver for charity, and a grocery list, and go along for the entertainment value!

We left here before daylight, drove over to Clovis, NM, delivered the charity items to the drop-off bin, and had breakfast at Cook’s Truck Stop Café. Then we drove back across the state line to the courthouse, amused ourselves watching a woman park a very large Cadillac very carefully—four times, no less, with a walk around between each time—and waited until time for him to report. I waited until the crowd had reported upstairs and then seated myself in the waiting area for a court that was not in session and cast on for the second of a pair of socks and knitted a bit of ribbing while listening to A Face at the Window on my MP3 player:

I had a nice conversation in the ladies room with a former coworker as well. Although my husband did have to serve, the proceedings lasted only 1 hour and 28 minutes, so we were out in plenty of time to pop back over to Clovis for a trip to the office supply for pens, to a grocery for some monthly restocking, and then to the Cotton Patch for lunch. We were home and comfortable by 1:30. Not bad for a morning’s work! He has to report again in March; I am trembling with anticipation.

This trip was also the first outing for the Botanical Cowl. I really liked wearing it.

Note to those who like British TV: The first season of Downton Abbey was great knitter watching as far as I was concerned. The second season starts on our locally available PBS on Sunday evening. I’m setting the DVR just to be sure.

The Last Finished Knitting Project of 2011

2012-01-03T09:00:00.001-06:00

Unpinned from the blocking board last night, the Botanical Cowl by Megan Goodacre. This cowl took about 1.25 skeins of Elann Peruvian Baby Silk, an alpaca/silk blend in the Cornflower colorway. Alterations to the original pattern included using a 152-stitch cast on to make an intermediate, necklace length. The original pattern shows a close-fitting neckwarmer and a double length that can be looped up twice for a bulkier version or worn as one of those very long circular scarves. I wanted something to give a more vertical, non-fluffy look. My fluffy self can use all the vertical it can get. After a severe blocking, the ring drapes well and is practically weightless.

All of the finished projects on Ravelry were of multicolored yarns. This pattern would be ideal for that purpose and ideal for fine handspun. I’m very pleased with how it turned out. Another variation in a very different yarn may be upcoming.

Motto for the New Year

2012-01-02T16:15:00.001-06:00

Any day is just a little bit brighter if it includes turning a heel!

A Lovely Christmas Present

2012-01-01T23:07:00.001-06:00

This was my Christmas present from my daughter and her family—4 skeins of Claudia Handpainted fingering weight merino from The Loopy Ewe. Top to bottom, the colorways are Oops! and Secrets. I have the sock pattern all picked out for the Oops!; I just need to get another pair of socks off needles first. Meanwhile, I plan to keep the yarn calm by frequent squeezing and stroking. This feels really nice.

Today was a quiet New Year’s—slept late, went to church, cooked lunch, and knitted while watching All Creatures Great and Small on Netflix and listening to a David Baldacci audiobook. All, of course, with a short nap thrown in. Tomorrow it’s back to some business items, doing some more decluttering, and trying to finish sorting recipes into the binder. None of that sounds very strenuous, does it?

Happy New Year, Everyone!

2011-12-31T21:12:00.001-06:00

Best wishes to each one of you for a happy and blessed 2012!

I’m ending 2011 with a quiet happy dance. My mother’s old recipe box collapsed when I took it down during Christmas cooking, and I simply dumped everything into an empty coffee can and went on. I decided to follow my daughter’s example and combine my mother’s cards and mine into transparent sleeves and put them in a 3-ring notebook. The pages came yesterday, so I set to work this morning. I have been looking for a few years for a recipe that my mother used to make every Christmas that she referred to as “date loaf.” I hunted through all the relevant categories in her box—candy, desserts, cakes, cookies. I hunted on the internet sites using the ingredients I remembered. I had no luck either place. Today the first loose recipe that I pulled out of the can, actually in a handful of three, was that recipe. The title on it read, “Date Pudding.” I’m not sure why, since even the directions describe rolls that you slice, but it was filed with two other puddings. Even though Christmas is over, I think I’ll get the ingredients the next time I go to the grocery store and make some just because I can.

I also finished knitting the Botanical Cowl last night. At the moment, it is wet blocking, but I suppose that is my last knitting project of 2011.

Hat for Hubby

2011-12-28T20:32:00.001-06:00

This is made from Paton’s Décor left over from one of the Christmas blankets I knitted. The pattern is Waffle Hat by Gayle Bable, available on Ravelry. It makes a very cushy-feeling hat, and it is easy to follow. In our 34 years of marriage, I don’t ever remember him having a knitted hat with a stripe, so I went all out with this one.

Wallaby Notes

2011-12-27T18:57:00.001-06:00

The latest Wonderful Wallaby is finished. Since this is my 8th, I wanted to pass along hints that I have gained from experience.

Sizing—This pattern has been around for awhile. As written, it is definitely intended for a garment that is shorter than most of us wear them today, and it is also obviously intended to be worn as a sweater that replaces another inner top. If you live where a hoodie is most useful as an outer garment pulled on over other clothes on a chilly day, you will need to consider that in your sizing. My personal recommendation is to measure a garment that fits correctly, check your gauge, and make the size needed. Length is not a problem--just keep knitting. On the sleeves you will want to judge from the underarm down on another garment. For children, I make the sleeves extra long with tight ribbing. I’m going for 2 years of wear.
Yarn—My personal favorite for child wear is Plymouth Encore. I get it from Webs.
Edges—My personal preference, which sort of messes up the Wallaby signature—for the neck placket and the edges of the pouch pocket is to use seed stitch instead of garter. I like the firmer edge that it gives.
Needles—This garment is a perfect place to use a circular needle set. I use cables as stitch holders all over the place with those little caps on the ends. I screw and unscrew tips as needed for needle sizes. I change cable lengths when needed.
Do follow the pattern suggestion about marking your pickup row for the pocket stitches. It makes life much easier.
I have made ties with a crocheted chain, with single crochet, with narrow seed stitch, and with I-cord. They all work, but the chain is a little skinny for convenience.
Hood—The ribbing at the base of the hood makes the neck of the sweater fit very nicely. I always make the garter hood. I like the stretchiness and I like the contrast in texture with the body of the sweater. The pattern suggests that for a nice finish the seam in the top of the hood should be kitchenered. I did that on the first few that I made. However, since you are kitchenering a folded seam, you are putting together two furrows or two ridges. I just don’t like the way that looks. I began experimenting with #7 with stopping with a wrong side row, turning to the right side, folding the hood, and using a three-needle bindoff. It makes a slightly more pronounced ridge than the other garter ridges, but I think it looks much nicer than the other way, and it is still nice and stretchy.

What I will do differently the next time: I will put the underarm stitches on the sleeves and body on a firmer stitch holder than waste yarn. It is very hard to pick them up nicely when I get ready to weave them together.

Next up, a quick hat for my hubby and then a lovely pair of socks for ME, from some beautiful yarn my daughter’s family gave me for Christmas.

The Day After—Random Notes

2011-12-26T22:17:00.001-06:00

Today was a knitting catch up day. The replacement sweater that I intended to have finished for my youngest granddaughter by Christmas was put on hold during the days I was ill last week. I knitted in every spare minute today, and I think that I am going to be able to finish tomorrow.

On the home front, I’m working on trying to get rid of one trash bag of throwaway clutter every day. That does not include items to be given to charity. I have to accumulate those and then take them when I am going out of town to a drop off place.

Before I retire tonight, I am also going to put on some steel-cut oats in my little crockpot. I’ve been reading about doing this, and the recipe I found sounds good for breakfast.

While knitting, I’ve watched some tv or listened to audiobooks. I’ve been able to download some of the Home Repair Homicide series by Sarah Graves. I’ve actually read some of these before, but I can say that the audiobook narration is so entertaining that I’m enjoying them all over again.

A White Christmas

2011-12-25T18:20:00.001-06:00

White Christmases are fairly rare in our part of the world. We do have snow fairly frequently, but we tend to have most of our snows in the early months of the year. However, there are “those” winters, and this one promises to become one of them. We woke to the promised light snowfall this morning, hopped in the car, and set off to see our children in Amarillo. Along the way, the snowfall became much heavier, with the roads covered. Part of the reason they were covered was because there was such slight traffic. Just as we reached Amarillo, the roads became relatively clear again. We went to IHOP for breakfast with our son and his daughter, and then we drove to my daughter’s home for our Christmas. With an 8-year-old and 2 4s, the gift opening didn’t take long. We finished preparing our Christmas Dinner fairly quickly and ate it the same way because we could see the heavier snowfall out the window. After the meal, we headed home, driving our 65 miles though snowfalls although the roads got better the farther we drove—sort of the reverse of the morning. My daughter’s family needed to go 130 miles north, and they’ve arrived safely as well. Son and his daughter are tucked in at his home. I’m sure she’s playing with dolls and talking non-stop.

Now I can post pictures of the Christmas knitting I didn’t show before.

The Emily Dickinson shawl:

The second Moderne-style Blanket for my daughter’s new living room:

And, in a no-affiliation recommendation, may I say that sewsecret4dolls on etsy makes cute, really well-made clothes for the American Girl and similar sized dolls that are easy for younger children to put on and take off. I can assure you the products were road-tested today!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas today, even if it had to be a little bit brief, like ours.

And, for the final word on the holiday—I GOT YARN! Pictures will follow when I can get a true color shot set up.

Have a Blessed Christmas!

2011-12-24T15:10:00.001-06:00

And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans--and all that lives and moves upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused--and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.
― Sigrid Undset

Christmases Performances Past

2011-12-22T17:02:00.001-06:00

I went looking the other day for a remembered performance from a Tom Jones Christmas show. In 1969, this young Welshman was one of the HOT contemporary entertainers. This celebration of his heritage had me looking up Dylan Thomas’ “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” and to this very day I try to read it again sometime during the Christmas season.

Many years later at the Vatican Concert:

Finally!

2011-12-21T20:35:00.001-06:00

Weather, scheduling, a series of illnesses, and other general obstacles have kept me from getting together will all three granddaughters at the same time to make Christmas ornaments this year. Today was the day! I have one picture, my oldest granddaughter winding the yarn to make the wool on her sheep, which she named Sunshine in honor of the yellow yarn. I tried to get pictures of the two 4 year olds, but they were moving at warp speed, so the pics turned into a blurry mess.

The sheep bodies are bamboo, and I ordered them on etsy from Girl on the Rocks after seeing them on Franklin Habit’s blog last Christmas. (Check out the fridge in the background.)

Just to be fair, the two little cousins, all ready for the Christmas Kinderkonzert performed by the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra:

Christmas Day will have to be extraordinary to be better than today. I missed the older one and her little cousin and found that the big one had tucked M in for her nap and was reading her bedtime stories.

Shopping Feedback

2011-12-20T12:37:00.003-06:00

I did almost all my Christmas shopping on computer this year. Keeping in mind that these are only my personal experiences, I thought it might be worthwhile to post an evaluation of the service I received from different merchants. Of course, I realize that any one transaction could just be a one-time glitch, so please take that into account. Yes, I would have shopped locally, but I live in a very small town in which items that I wanted to purchase were not available. Adding in 35-70 miles, one-way, in gasoline costs made shopping on line seem like a good alternative.

Amazon—I found their customer service to be superior. The most difficult thing is hunting down the appropriate place on the web site. I used their chat service twice, once for a shipment that did not arrive and once for a digital download that I was charged the customary price for instead of the sale price. They immediately shipped a replacement for the first item by next day air, and they refunded the entire price of the download and did not charge me anything. In both cases, the resolution was more than I would have expected.
Target—I had difficulty placing an order on the Cyber weekend. Telephone customer service was also unreachable at the time. I ordered two of the same item. The items shipped at two different times by two different routes. They did keep me informed by email.
Land’s End—Shipping and customer service were adequate.
Hobby Lobby—I took advantage of their 40% off and some shipping offers in order to knit for Christmas. Their shipping was very fast and efficient. Orders were correct.
JoAnns—Service was good. Coupons were good. Hobby Lobby shipping was much, much faster.
Penneys—an old favorite of mine. I was very disappointed in customer service. I had difficulty placing the order from my shopping bag. It was being sent directly to the recipient, so I wanted to be notified and to be able to tell that person when to expect a package. The tracking system did not work. I called customer service, and they acted as if I were being unreasonable by wanting tracking info.
Others—I ordered two or three individual items from various sources that were mostly just one-time purchases. All arrived satisfactorily.
Etsy—every etsy vendor that I bought from shipped promptly and with care.

The Best-Laid Plans. . . .

2011-12-19T17:35:00.001-06:00

When Robert Burns wrote about plowing up a mouse’s nest, he was writing about this time of year:

An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!

We are definitely into bleak December winds, accompanied by snow, which are already wreaking havoc with holiday plans. This is a mixed blessing. After more than a year of drought and predictions for a dry winter, any amount of snow is welcome, and this is our second for the season. However, blizzard conditions on the plains are not to be taken lightly. In addition, it is always possible for blizzard snows to produce very little in the way of measurable precipitation, so we are waiting to see. This weather will interfere with my planned trip on Wednesday to make Christmas ornaments with the granddaughters, but Christmas Day itself should be clear. Our snow accumulations here are small enough to cause amusement to those of you up north, but because we don’t have frequent large snowfalls, we don’t have the snow removal equipment that is common in other parts of the country either. It just isn’t economically practical.

Furthermore, I was visited by a gastrointestinal something-or-other over the weekend. Fortunately, my actual Christmas shopping and knitting was done. I need to wrap. The replacement sweater will probably not be quite finished by Christmas Day, however. I know better than to try to knit when my mind is that foggy.

Right now, Hubby and I are in a warm house with a slab of ribs having just been cooked in the roaster, so everything smells great. We can enjoy an evening of television and knowing that we don’t have to fight our way to work in the morning.

I just found this video interpretation of Burns’ poem:

Knitting Report for Friday

2011-12-16T23:54:00.000-06:00

Wallaby progress—Finished body up to point where the sleeves attach. Attached sleeves. Ready to start the yoke tomorrow.

Lace project—Knitting was finished two or three weeks ago, but I didn’t have the courage to block it. For one thing, my sore knee hurt enough if I stood still that I didn’t want to have to stand there while shoving in pins; for another, I was afraid that I would see a glaring error when I got it all stretched out. This afternoon, I got brave!

Obligatory squished up lace photo--

Pinned out--

I am already a little disappointed in that while my shawl is blocking out nicely to the appropriate size, it is not as airy and light looking as the original. Of course, I have no good reason to feel that way, since the original was knitted from cobweb weight and mine is knitted from Zephyr laceweight, which fine as it is, is comparatively a much heavier yarn than cobweb.

Tomorrow I must sort and wrap some gifts and put the brisket—packer cut—into the refrigerator to thaw so that I can begin marinating it for Christmas dinner. The Wallaby also needs a yoke.

Knitting and a Present

2011-12-16T10:42:00.001-06:00

I bought myself a present for Christmas, thanks to a suggestion from the Yarn Harlot’s series on gifts for knitters:

This is a small, fully-lined project bag from the etsy shop of Stitchy McYarnpants. I can always use another project bag, but I was also thrilled to see the fabric. My first readers in first grade were from the Dick and Jane series, so I really loved this idea. Now all it needs is socks in progress.

The Wallaby is also growing.

The Wallaby pocket is knitted and fused, and 4 more inches of plain stockinette in the round will reach the sleeve attachment point.

Please excuse the posing quality of these pics. I am moving too fast right now to take on finding places for artistic poses for knitting products.

The Wallaby Diary, continued

2011-12-14T19:56:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was my husband’s birthday, so we drove up to Amarillo, bought groceries at United, and had lunch with the children and grandchildren. All in all, it was a very nice day, but I got only a little bit of knitting done.

Today, I slept late after a restless night, and we spent some time putting together (him) and setting up (me) our Christmas/anniversary/his birthday present to each other, a new flat screen for the kitchen. It’s a 22” Samsung, and will replace a very old 13” tv that we have had for probably 20 years. The picture had gotten so fuzzy that we couldn’t actually read much of anything that scrolled across the screen. This is going to be a real luxury.

I did, however, make some progress on the Wallaby. The body is knitted up far enough for me to stop and drop back and pick up the stitches for the Wallaby pocket. I am going to try to get the pickup done tonight. The pocket is one of my favorite parts of the sweater.

I finished listening to a really suspenseful mystery, Love You More by Lisa Gardner. It is definitely a mindbender that keeps the reader interested and involved.

Movin’ On

2011-12-12T22:10:00.001-06:00

Bottom ribbing, body increases, and inserted “lifeline” so that stitches will be easier to pick up when I start the Wallaby pocket. My Knit Picks Options make it particularly easy to insert this marker line. I just thread some finer yarn through the hole for the tightening key, knit across the front of the sweater, and leave the line in. That is much easier than going back with a yarn needle and picking out the stitches by hand, particularly when you have a yarn that is uneven in color saturation like this one.

Number Two

2011-12-12T01:44:00.001-06:00

Feel-good Christmas film recommendation—The Christmas Bunny, available on Netflix Watch Instantly. I’d never seen this one.

Sunday Morning News Bulletin

2011-12-11T08:05:00.001-06:00

First sleeve.

Welcome to the Wallaby Diary

2011-12-10T09:50:00.001-06:00

Knitting has begun on the replacement Wonderful Wallaby.

First of all, a yarn picture:

The yarn—Plymouth Encore in its Colorspun version—in the Hot Pink Specs colorway. Encore is my go to yarn for Wallabies. I think the acrylic content offers the parents the benefit of easy sweater care which is so important for young children. The 25% wool content makes a lighter weight sweater than pure acrylic and makes it easier to weave in ends more invisibly and make more invisibe joins. Encore is also a “feel good” yarn to knit with. I am not sure exactly why this yarn feels better going through my fingers than other yarns with the 75/25% fiber content mix, but it does. I find the difference worth having to buy online and wait for an order and also having to spend a little more money per skein than from the other “identical” yarns. FYI, this yarn was purchased online from WEBS.

Some knitters suffer from second sock syndrome—for me, the disease is sleeve syndrome, first and second. For some reason I hate knitting sleeves. No matter how much I try to convince myself that a sleeve is just a sock without a heel and no matter that I know that actual clock time says sleeves go very fast, I just hate having a sweater almost done except for the sleeves. (Remember that blue sweater I’ve been knitting for myself? It’s just sitting right there by my chair waiting for sleeve completion!) This time, I’m knitting sleeves first. They will be all ready to attach when I reach that part of the body, and then I can just pop right on to the yoke and hood. The first sleeve is just about 1/2 done:

Looks like a hat, doesn’t it? Two notes:

The hat shape is due to the fact that I am using the recommended increase method for small children and putting all the increases at the beginning of the sleeve. As the pattern writer points out, very young children tend to have arms that are fairly uniform in size all the way up, so this gives a more comfortable fit. I think it also fits better over long-sleeved garments if this particular sweater is being worn as a jacket. A fussy child does not enjoy trying to get arms into tightly fitting sleeves, particularly with two fabrics exhibiting the “velcro effect.” The pattern also gives directions for tapered sleeves.
It’s rather hard to see in the photograph, but I think this is some of the prettiest ribbing that I’ve ever knitted. I almost always prefer 1 x 1 ribbing, and this is knitted using the combination knitting method that I learned in an online class from Annie Modesitt. I hope the other sleeve and the bottom of the body turn out equally well.

If you are not familiar with this pattern, you should check it out on Ravelry. It makes a very comfortable, easily-sized play sweater. It can be very attractive, but it is also extremely practical and cozy. The kangaroo pocket is a favorite with children and the technique is interesting.

Entertainment while knitting: On Netflix, The McLeods; on MP3, The Serpent in the Crown, by Elizabeth Peters.

A Short Knitting Post

2011-12-08T22:52:00.001-06:00

The Gingerbread Hat:

This design is by Angelrae Knits. The yarn is Knit Picks Swish Worsted, in Bordeaux. The actual color is much more of a wine/maroon color than the picture. The cables were fun. I modified the pattern a little bit: I knitted the size M on size 8 needles and used 84 stitches. In addition, I changed the decreases at the top: the pattern gave instructions for a regular gathered top and a more rounded top. I used the more rounded instructions, but I also modified the placement of my decreases in order to make a more “straight up” run of the cables. I intended for this hat to be unisex, since it is for Hats for Sailors. This yarn is a dream to knit with. I’ve used the DK before, but not the worsted, I’m definitely a satisfied customer!

I didn’t knit today. I wanted a break before starting the Wallaby. I did spend a little time this afternoon tidying up some leftovers from projects and unraveling some of the previously knitted squares and rolling them into balls to be ready for my next Mitered Cross square.

We had a roast from the crockpot, spinach, and beets for lunch/dinner. In retirement we sometimes just eat one meal in the early afteroon with a light snack in the evening.

A Long, Rambling Knitter Story

2011-12-07T22:16:00.001-06:00

I need to do a quick knit of a Wonderful Wallaby to replace one that I knit last year for one of my granddaughters. It seems to have disappeared in some family moving. I found out a few weeks ago, but I needed to finish some Christmas projects, and since my preferred yarn for Wallabies is Plymouth Encore, I waited on a Webs order. Then, when the yarn came, I couldn’t find my Wallaby pattern, so I ordered another, which didn’t come in until today. I will be all ready to cast on tomorrow. Meanwhile, on the theory that one should never be without knitting, particularly when one is trying to rest a knee, I knitted a hat and then I started on a project that I’ve been wanting to do since I saw it on the Mason-Dixon blog earlier in the year—the Mitered Cross Blanket.

A few months ago, I ordered some Plymouth Boku to do an afghan that I saw in a knitting magazine that used mitered squares. I was about half through, and it was indeed very pretty, but then I realized that I should have noticed the size given in the instructions. It was going to be much too small for my needs. I considered ordering more yarn, but given the price of the Boku and the fact that I would need to order about 100% more, I hesitated. Not to mention potential dyelot problems. I kept eyeing the Mitered Cross pattern. The original is of Noro Silk Garden, and the blended colors in the vivid crosses and in the “solid” background are what makes much of the attractiveness of the afghan. There are not all that many yarns out there with long, beautifully blended color runs. I looked and looked at other people’s work on Ravelry. I finally decided that I’m going to unravel my mitered square blanket and use another yarn for the background. Instead of a neutral with color runs, I am using a neutral tweed. I think this will work well since the Boku is also rather tweedy. I am using Paton’s Classic Wool Tweed in Aran for the background. Even though it’s 100% wool and the Boku has some silk content, I think it is going to work out fine. I have knitted one square. Here it is, unblocked:

I will not be working on this steadily; I’ll be knitting squares while taking breaks or between other projects, so I’ll try to post progress and pictures as I make the squares.

Precipitation and a Warm Hat

2011-12-05T18:13:00.001-06:00

Snow!

This won’t be much in the way of moisture, but it beats high, dry winds, and it is certainly better than nothing at all.

I haven’t accomplished quite as much the last couple of days as I had planned. I stumbled over a box yesterday and banged up a knee a little bit. All appears to be well, and I’m getting around today, trying to keep anything from getting stiff while letting it heal. Fortunately, this is good knitting weather. And it is GREAT retirement weather. In this little town, driving to work in the snow was never much of a problem, but walking from the parking lot to the building could be a real challenge. My husband would also have to clear sidewalks at our business. Today we didn’t have to do any of that.

OTN: The Gingerbread Hat in Knit Picks Swish Worsted, color Bordeaux. My intention is for this to be one done for the next Hats for Sailors deadline on Memorial Day. If it goes to someone else before then, I’ll just knit another. The pattern is easy, and I’m enjoying the cables, since it’s been awhile since I did any.

I’m going to spend the rest of the evening with my knee up, knitting, and watching a new episode of The Closer.

A Brief Post

2011-12-02T10:10:00.001-06:00

I am short on time, so here are some random thoughts:

Check out this link to an interesting story from Edinburgh.
The tinked project is back on track, if not entirely caught up to the tinking point.
Observation about Facebook: I have noticed that the former schoolmates who are most likely to post rants about what is wrong with the youth of today—the usual things—are the ones who had the reputations of being the biggest hellraisers and troublemakers when we were young. Time evidently changes perspective.
In spite of the complaints I read everywhere, I find Amazon’s customer service to be very good to excellent, even at very busy times of the year.

Tink, Tink, Tink

2011-12-01T16:28:00.001-06:00

On the plus side:

Christmas shopping is mostly done. I’m down to the bought-everything-I-really-need-unless-I-come-across-an-absolutely-perfect-tiny-something point.
Tomorrow will be our wedding anniversary—34 years.
I got 2 yarny packages today. One is Paton’s Classic Tweed from JoAnns that will let me use some Plymouth Boku that I have on hand to make a Mitered Crosses Blanket. I am not liking the pattern that I purchased the Boku for, so I’m changing. The other is from KnitPicks—a new set of metal needle tips, size 8 (mine are showing some wear, and I sometimes have two projects that need this size at the same time); my first—no kidding—set of DPN sock needles—Harmony, 1 1/2s—I’ve always Magic Looped, but I’m going to try the dark side; and enough Swish in some different colors for the Hats for Sailors project for the next go-round, due Memorial Day.

Note: Much of my knitting is self-or Internet- taught. Years ago, I read about knitting with DPNs. It was a hat. I bought some. There were 4 very heavy, very slick, very sharp size 7s about 8 inches long. The instructions were scanty. They just said something like “cast on x stitches, dividing evenly among needles. Join ends and knit in the round.” Of course, I spread the stitches over all 4 needles and then struggled to scoot them to the appropriate ends without getting stabbed by a needle that was sticking out or by one of the very heavy and slick missiles sliding out of the stitches and impaling my foot. Therefore, I never seriously considered DPNs for sock knitting until now. We’ll see if I’ve lost my nerve when I finish my current project.

On the minus side:

Knitting project is trying to beat me. I quit putting in lifelines after the lace part. Now I’ve found an unfixable mistake 10 rows down the double decrease in the center back, and I’m afraid to try to frog laceweight, so I’m painstakingly tinking back to the place for repair, unbeading as I go. I’m reminding myself that it will be worth it and that one of the beauties of knitting is that unlike most things in life it can always be fixed or at least you can have a do-over. I’m watching a miniseries on the British monarchy, and I just tinked from mid-reign of Elizabeth I to the beginning of the Civil War, and I am still not through.
None of the Christmas shopping is wrapped, not a single gift.
I have all sorts of cleaning and decluttering to do. Still need to get out the Christmas Cat.

An Anniversary and Knitting Progress

2011-11-28T18:11:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was Daddy’s birthday; today was their wedding anniversary. I was told that they planned a birthday wedding but an autumn snowstorm prevented their travelling to Clovis, so the wedding was postponed for a day. They were married in the living room of her sister’s house there, with her sister and brother-in-law as witnesses. It was 1931, the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. There are no pictures of the wedding itself although they did have a very nice formally posed wedding portrait taken after the fact. However, there is one snapshot taken the morning after the wedding. I think it was at the country home of Mama’s parents.

There are certainly more attractive pictures of them about the same time period—photos that hint of fun and a little bit of mystery, like this one:

Or this one:

However, when my dad knew that he was terminally ill, it was that first snapshot in the overalls that he asked for and insisted on having it propped up where he could see it.

Knitting Progress:

Expensive Pizza

2011-11-27T11:00:00.001-06:00

Have you ever heard the old story that says that “dog bites man” is not necessarily news, but “man bites dog” is?

Yesterday was one of those times. We decided we wanted pizza for lunch. Pizza Hut pizza. For us, that decision entails a 35 mile drive, one way. With gas prices, that alone adds significantly to the price of a pizza, but we often go to this neighboring town to pick up items we can’t get here, and I did save significantly on the mops and broom that I needed.

I should also add that the winds yesterday were about 35 mph, with stronger gusts. There was also blowing dust due to the lack of rain. Neither of these situations is unusual for us. In the Panhandle if you stayed home on every windy day, you would be a hermit.

Uneventful trip until we got to town and turned north on the street to Pizza Hut, directly into the wind. One of those signboards made out of fairly heavy plywood flats hinged together on the top blew away from the parking lot where it was sitting and cartwheeled sideways in front of us. We could not dodge due to traffic, but my DH did hit the brakes and slow us down significantly. The bottom corner of the sign, which was now on top, hit the passenger side of our car directly behind the headlight, causing a very deep, but fairly small dent. However, another few inches and it would have been on top of the hood and probably through the windshield. The headlight wasn’t even broken. We were very thankful. And I would just like to point out that this was one case where “I was just driving down the road and that sign just jumped out and hit me” was the absolute truth and not a joke.

Deniability—I have been avoiding my current knitting project because I thought I really messed up the last row of the lace portion. Last night, I gathered my courage—after you’ve escaped a wayward sign, what’s a little yarn—and checked and counted. It appears that everything is ok, so I’m moving on to garter stitch today. (Sigh of Relief)

BTW, the pizza was particularly delicious.

Thanksgiving Dinner Surprise

2011-11-25T21:18:00.001-06:00

Considering all the preparation involved in preparing a Thanksgiving dinner, how do you have a surprise? The story is long. I usually have the family Thanksgiving at our house, but things are in disarray this year, so we were to have it at my daughter’s home in Amarillo on the 19th. The early date was because of a family member who needed to be elsewhere on the Day. Beginning the weekend before, however, the three little girls in the family began getting ill with a respiratory virus involving several contagious days with temp, general misery, and in one case, 7 nights of what we old timers describe as croup. So did the doctor. One mom spent all those nights holding the little one in a recliner beside a vaporizer before acquiring the illness herself. Our plans were cancelled, then half-revived before being cancelled again. On Wednesday, the mom was feeling much better, but no one was in the mood to thaw a turkey and make dressing so we gave up. I did, however, drive to Amarillo on Thanksgiving morning to visit my son and to take care of some postponed family business. Then conversations about lunch ensued. Then we called my daughter’s house and examined what local restaurants were open. At 10:55 or so, to beat the crowd, we hit the parking lot of a local tourist/Route 66 hotspot—The Big Texan—the place that presents pseudo Old West, tourist style, nailhead studded purse, big haired, mounted longhorn and buffalo head Texas at its finest. Locals have a more mixed reaction—we enjoy the fun with a somewhat tongue-in-cheek reaction to the tourists. As my 5 year old son remarked the first time he visited and looked over the Stetson, chaps, and boots-clad waiter, “Mom, these cowboys don’t smell right.” It was true—they didn’t smell anything like the real cowboys at lunch in the Tasty Cream back home—no eau de manure and horse sweat.

On Thanksgiving, the usual atmosphere was missing, or was probably actually there, but invisible behind the crowd. The enormous parking lot was entirely full; we elbowed our way through the crowd to the registration desk, where my SIL was given one of those round flashy things and a promise of a 10 minute wait. The wonderfully kitschy curio shop was SRO. I finally became claustrophobic, squeezed out on the porch to a bench, and texted my family. We stayed out there for 1 hr. and 15 minutes before getting a table. SIL said that by the time the hostess flashed his device, there was also a lengthy waiting list for flashers. I am afraid the children got to see almost nothing of the charm of the place. It was waaaay too crowded. The food, however, was excellent. Lots of raw veggie choices, fruit choices, a green bean casserole, sweet and mashed potatoes, dressing, giblet gravy, and a very moist and delicious turkey, and, of course, in Texas, juicy roast beef. The amazingly efficient waiter—no chaps, but hat, boots, and western shirt—kept our beverages topped off and brought pumpkin or pecan pie. In spite of the fact that a couple of members of the family missed out, and I’m really sorry about that, we managed to have a lot of fun!

And, instead of doing tons of dishes and disposing of that messy turkey carcass, we spent the afternoon and evening doing this:

Yep, my DD and SIL painted their hall, and then “we” hung paintable bead board texture on the bottom. I did the pasting. This is a very short video because it was supposed to be a still picture. I’m still getting acquainted with my IPhone. Today, they completed the painting and the chair rail trim.

I took knitting and managed 3 rows of a plain stockinette sock.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

2011-11-23T17:04:00.001-06:00

At this time of year, I’m so thankful for the blessings of God and family and friends and country!

A Hat Project

2011-11-21T12:30:00.001-06:00

Pictured above is a bed full of the 337 hats donated to Hats for Sailors. (The button for the Ravelry group is in the sidebar.) These hats are part of an ongoing project to supply hats for U.S. Navy personnel to wear in their off-duty hours aboard ship. This batch is going to the U.S.S. Ingraham, and there are enough excess hats to send to a smaller ship.

I needed to order something from Knit Picks this morning, so I ordered yarn for the next round of hats. Navy requirements are that the yarn be 100% wool (fire regs) and washable. I have no local sources for superwash, so I ordered some Swish. This past go-round, I knit only one hat—gray, front row, third from right—(I know it looks small, but it is very squashy and stretchy.) This time, I am going for four. I have some other patterns chosen in addition to my favorite Jacques Cousteau, and I’ll be knitting three different blues and a dark red, some DK, some worsted. You can check the blog or the Ravelry group for more information and for patterns and yarn sources. If you have some washable wool in your stash, or if you can buy some, this is a quick project to give a warm hug to some of our military.

Cultural Experiences and a Knitting Start

2011-11-18T18:07:00.001-06:00

Today is Friday, my usual hamburger-at-the-drive-in day, a real celebration in retirement, particularly when I have been marathon knitting and waiting for the plumber. We, however, did something small town exciting. We went to the new Thai/Chinese restaurant. It is tiny—10 tables—and located in a former office building tucked in behind a gas station across the side street to the grocery store, but it is there, and it is neither a hamburger place or a Mexican restaurant. (We have had 2 of the former and 3 of the latter, and that’s been it for quite awhile. If you don’t count the pizza/gas station/convenience store/coffee shop.) I had very acceptable chicken fried rice, and we visited with some people we hadn’t seen in awhile.

I also had a package in the mail.

These are the lucets I plan to use with my granddaughters. I bought them from n Sistermaide on etsy. Her service was very quick, especially considering that she made these up especially for me. These are the medium size, and I included a regular size paper clip so you could judge the size. After I finish posting, I am going to try one out. The reason I have this many is so that I can fix up a little kit to share this fiber experience with my granddaughters.

I have also begun deadline project number 3.

Please notice that I have blotted out the name. That is on purpose. If you’ve knitted it, you may recognize the charts. Unlike the other project knitting, this one starts with 545 stitches and gets smaller. I had been reading comments on the pattern and felt rather sympathetic when one knitter said that the cast on and first row took her 2 hours. Ha! I spent almost 3. Part of the trouble is that this was suggested as a backward loop cast on, and that kind of cast on is always painfully slow for me to knit off the first time. I also took the time to add markers between every repeat. I will only need those for the first 13 or so rows, so that should help. I am also getting faster at adding the beads. This is probably the last picture you will see until the project is completed and gifted.

Random Updates

2011-11-18T11:21:00.001-06:00

Number 2 of 3 knitting-with-deadline projects is finished!

Number 3 will be OTN today!

I also finished another first—my first library-downloaded Kindle book. I had been neglecting Kindle in favor of a totally audio diet so that I could put in knitting time. This week, however, I did read Shock Wave, the new Virgil Flowers novel by John Sandford. The library did not have the audio available. I suspect that all libraries are slighting audio budgets right now to beef up ebook selections, and that is totally understandable. I just hope the disparity evens out soon. I know there are people who can read and knit, but I’m not one of them. It was really nice, though, to be able to use my Kindle 2, my most comfortable reader, to read a free library book. It was also good to be able to do an immediate check in when I finished so that the book would be available for someone else.

Wow, Mom!

2011-11-15T16:17:00.001-06:00

I came across this item in some family “junk” that we were cleaning out this week.

A No. 132 Hohner Marine Band Harmonica, in its original case. This item is a keeper, not because I play it, but because of the story.

My grandmother passed away when I was in college, right before I was leaving for a summer abroad, so when her home was cleaned out, I was 6000 miles away. A few boxes were put in storage in some other property. Several years later, that property sold, and as a young adult, I came home to help my parents clean out the storage. In a chest, we found this harmonica. At the time, my mother was, I suppose, in her late sixties. She grabbed the instrument with delight and began playing. I won’t say that she was the most talented harmonica player I had ever heard, but she was the best I had ever heard in person. The most amazing thing, though, is that I had never ever heard her play or heard her mention that she had played.

Just a reminder that we never quite know another person as well as we think we do!

WIP—acreage still expanding

Grandmother Help Needed!

2011-11-12T14:24:00.001-06:00

Last Monday would have been my Grandma Carrie’s 123rd birthday. I suppose that put me in a reflective mood and gave me a nudge toward something I had been thinking about. I learned to sew mostly from watching my mother, from a Singer sewing class when I was in upper elementary, and from Home Economics classes in high school back in the days of the lined, tailored wool suit with the hair canvas and padding stitches and bound buttonholes. However, my interest in some of the needlework arts came from hours spent with my grandmother when I was very, very small. By the time I was in upper elementary, she had a stroke which affected her ability to sew and do handwork beyond rudimentary mending and button sewing, but when I was little, I sat at her knee while she embroidered and crocheted. My mother was perfectly capable of these tasks, but much too busy with a home, a child, and helping in my father’s business.

From Grandma, I learned how to cross stitch, embroider French knots, and outline stitch. I learned some of the basics of crochet—chaining, single crochet, and making a circle. (She insisted that I use only yarn and bone hooks because the extremely fine hooks she used for lace were considered too dangerous. She was convinced I would stick one in my finger and then it would have to be pushed all the way through like a fish hook to cut the end off and get it out.)

Eventually, I learned a little more crochet as a teenager from watching my mother crochet afghans after she retired. I still have not attempted crocheted lace, but my next knitting project will use one of those fine needles handed down from my grandmother to place beads in my first beaded lace project.

It seems I have rambled. I want to begin working with my own granddaughters in teaching them some of the joys of needlework. I have some ideas in mind, somewhat different ones since my interests and skills are a little different from my predecessors. My situation is a little more inconvenient because I don’t live in the same town.

I am thinking of beginning with making lucet cords. The girls are 4, 4, and 8. I think that will give them a fast feeling of success. My original intention was to then string pony beads on these to make bracelets, but I would welcome any other suggestions of projects that don’t take too long. I know shoelaces would be a possibility, but I think that would take too much time at first.

I then plan to move on to potholder looms and loops. I am reasonably sure that they will not have the finger strength to pull and finish the edges, but they should be able to manage the weaving, I think. Even if they have lots of assistance with the weaving, they should learn a great deal about color choice.

One of the children has a fine motor issue, so I also plan at some point to introduce a prewarped Cricket loom which can be managed with a larger hand motion.

Finally, I plan to move on to knitting. I have a couple of easy projects lined up that I think they will like.

However, as I said, I’m going to be doing this on sort of an “in and out” basis, so any suggestions you might have will be welcome. I won’t have the long afternoons of one-on-one that I had with my own grandmother, but I’m not in a rush either.

WIP update: Knitting acreage continues!

No Picture, but Lots of Knitting

2011-11-10T20:37:00.001-06:00

I used to harp on the overuse of the word “lot” as a lazy replacement for a more precise word describing a large amount of something, but since my current project is quite literally large, rather square, flat, and covered in furrows of garter stitch, “lot” seems appropriately descriptive. I have managed rather more than I thought I would this week because I have been spending much of the time waiting for a plumber/handyman person who was supposed to be here on Tuesday afternoon. That was contingent upon his mother’s being released from day surgery on time. Since I have been in the position of having an elderly patient in day surgery before, I really did not hold out much hope for Tuesday, but I did beg off my lunchtime Bible Study just in case. I was right.

Wednesday was a no show also. So was today. I was definitely afraid not to be here in case he did come, so I just kept knitting. At least the time has been productive. It is my understanding that he will be here tomorrow if she was released from the hospital today. We’ll see. I will just keep knitting.

A couple of years ago, David Reidy mentioned the Brother Cadfael mysteries as good knitting. I really can’t remember if he was talking about the audio books or the television series. I have already exhausted the audio books that I have access to—both of them. However, Netflix has recently made the television series Cadfael , starring Derek Jacobi, available. The three I’ve watched so far have been a treat, and they are great to concentrate on while knitting mindless rows of garter stitch. If you like medieval or mysteries or good acting, have a go at these.

I will also admit to taking knitting breaks with Hanging and Angry Birds.

Note: I am so glad that both David and Brenda Dayne are back with podcasts. I don’t listen to many podcasters, but I really enjoy theirs, and not just for the knitting content. In case you are not familiar with them, David is from Australia and Brenda lives in Wales. The different cultural backgrounds add to the charm of their programs.

For English Teachers, Former English Teachers, and Other Lovers of the Language

2011-11-05T16:58:00.001-05:00

I am becoming increasingly convinced that Facebook is irrevocably corrupting English grammar and syntax. The games, in particular, seem to have difficulty with plurals, gender agreement, and common spellings. The use of “their” as an all-purpose pronoun to avoid gender reference and ignore number is particularly irritating. All of these are problems with the programs and the site itself—I will not even mention all of the grievous injury inflicted by users.

This afternoon, however, my technical writer daughter liked a group which I consider worth posting. (Notice how techy I am to have used “liked” in such a with-it fashion.) The group is devoted to the celebration and preservation of the Oxford comma. There are a couple of interesting articles. If you don’t know what an Oxford comma is, one is lurking in the title of this post. Here’s the link if you wish to read the articles or merely to lend your support to such an important matter. If you do not like Oxford commas, you will simply have to abstain or start your own group because Facebook does not yet offer a dislike button.

A Movie Review

2011-11-04T23:35:00.001-05:00

Actually a DVD review, but not really because I watched it by electronic download instead of on the DVD, but I couldn’t watch it that way until the DVD came out, so . . . .

I really liked the novel Water for Elephants, both for the main story and for the portrayal of a side of the Great Depression that is seldom written about. I was hesitant to see the film because I was afraid I would be disappointed. Also, I just don’t get to an actual theater very often because the distance adds a substantial amount to the ticket price. I save my theater trips for those films that really need a BIG screen. For other video experiences, I make use of an HD flat screen and my living room. It’s better for knitting and watching anyway.

It turns out that I was quite pleased with this film. The acting was great. The cinematography managed to give me the feeling that I was there, but at the same time something about the lighting and focus reminded me of the past. I thought the film did justice to the main story and to the storyline about the Great Depression. Of course, in a genre-to-genre conversion of this type, detail is always left out. The one theme that was noticeably slighted was the old-age aspect. I missed the ongoing battle between the protagonist and the other old man in the nursing home. However, the film was a lovely way to spend a couple of wintry hours and well worth the rental fee. If you haven’t read the book, please do, but watch the film also.

A Finished Project and a Prize

2011-11-02T11:41:00.001-05:00

I did indeed finish the afghan on my deadline of November 1—at 11:23 p.m., but on the date. I plan to wash it for wet blocking purposes, but I’m going to wait until closer to the time to wrap it for Christmas. This is based on the Mason-Dixon Moderne Baby Blanket pattern, which, of course, is not big enough for a 6’1” man, so I modified by adding six garter row bumps to each block. In the end, that still was not quite big enough, so I added a side band on one side and an additional bottom block. I used PurlBee’s directions for an attached I-cord edge. I did add one more stitch, making mine a 5-stitch edge. Even though this method is slightly different from what I remember using before, I am generally pleased with the result.

Yarn Review: This yarn is Patons Décor, an acrylic/wool blend. I chose it for its washability and because I could get the shadings of a monotone color family that I wanted for this project. I like the yarn very much, but I think the price point could be better. I also noticed a considerable difference in the feel of the different colors. The lighter colors are fuzzier, fluffier, and you can almost swear an angora rabbit had sneaked in somewhere, although there is no shedding. Some of the medium colors are almost silk like, but definitely not as fluffy. Nevertheless, they work well together. The end product is a wonderfully drapey, cuddly, comforting hug of an afghan. The colors are specifically listed on my Ravelry page, but basically they are all of the taupe family, plus winter white and aran. I would definitely use this yarn again, but I will check colors on Plymouth Encore first because of the Webs discount.

I have already begun a second Christmas project that I will not be posting pictures of. My third planned project will be the same, so this is likely to be a rather dull knitting resource for awhile. Sorry about that! I do, however, promise to complain about any trials and tribulations I have along the way. One of them will, I hope, be my first project using knitted-in beads. I have established that thanks to my mother and grandmother’s hoards, I do have the required tiny crochet hook to place the beads with.

As you can tell from the sidebar, I use Goodreads to keep track of my reading. Occasionally, there are offers from publishers or agents or someone for advance copies of books. Usually so many people sign up that it turns into a contest. Well, I won:

I like historical fiction, so I am excited. Ironically, I have made an effort in the last year or so to use the library, electronic editions from the library, an occasional kindle purchase, to save money and to cut down on clutter. This is a hardback! I feel as if I have a real treasure on my hands!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T14:06:00.001-05:00

I am so sorry that all of you in the Northeast are having such foul weather! We are still really dry down here in spite of the light snow last week. I read that precipitation raised our annual to almost 1/4 of the yearly average. I know, however, that too much can be just as bad and destructive as too little. You have my sympathies.

I have a new knitting tool:

Yep! That’s an IPhone 4S! I am excited. We live in a hole for the other services that provide service for IPhone, but my Sprint account was due for an upgrade. This picture does not show the color well. That’s the last white one that the Amarillo store had, outfitted in a blue/blue Otterbox Defender to protect it from my fumbly fingers. I immediately installed one of the sets of knitting apps—KnitMinder and StitchMinder. I think they will be quite useful, particularly since the holster for this case turns into an easel. (I would welcome suggestions for other useful apps.) However, the best knitting app has been unexpected. The garter stitch afghan that I’ve been knitting on is now big and covers me from feet to chin, and I just struggled through the intarsia sections. Now I’m adding extra blocks for a bigger size. Whenever I settled down for tv or audio book and a knit after lunch and spread that warm afghan out on my lap, I kept dozing off. (DH said I was “testing driving” the afghan.) Then I found Words with Friends and Hanging with Friends. I am trying to play a round between every row. That keeps me awake, mostly, although I’ve made some rather spectacular game goofs when I’ve gotten drowsy. I should finish the knitting tonight and the I-cord tomorrow. My goal was Halloween, so I won’t miss it by much.

I wonder if there are recorded injuries from a knitter falling asleep on size 8 metal circs?

It’s big and white. . . .

2011-10-21T17:24:00.001-05:00

Actually, it’s not all that big by today’s standards—I didn’t want to remodel a perfectly good kitchen, so this is a narrower fridge with French doors and a bottom freezer. I am unreasonably excited. Why? Well, somehow I have never ever gotten to buy a refrigerator before. Yes, I’m 62 and I’ve been married for 33 years, but the opportunity has never come up, probably in large part because I grew up with the “use it till it wears out” philosophy.

My first refrigerator was used. It was in my first house when I was single, and it wasn’t very used. At that time, my dad actually sold appliances in his small town hardware store. A customer surprised his wife with a refrigerator—one of the small ones that only had one big door with the freezer on the inside—in a lovely harvest gold color. It was the ‘70s. Unfortunately, her kitchen was avocado. She kept it for about a year and then traded it in to my dad for another. I got the gold one. It was an excellent little refrigerator with an icemaker. When DH and I married, we kept the house and the fridge for a few years, but by the time we moved to our present town, we had two children and that fridge was really small.

The house we moved into had an almost-new top freezer model. It came with the house. I used it from 1984-2003. It cooled and froze well, but the outside top sweated like crazy, so much that it would grow mildew on the top of the refrigerator. I finally found out that there was inadequate insulation in the top of the freezer, but I was not the original purchaser and the warranty would have worn out anyway. I did not replace it, however, because we were starting a business and raising a family and for much of the time I was looking after a sick parent as well.

Then we moved back to my childhood home in the same community. I gladly gave up the mildewy model for my mom’s side-by-side. It was, however, a very narrow side-by-side, and it has gradually been giving out on us. I should mention that it was purchased in the late ‘70s or very early ‘80s, so it had a good run. For the last few months, it had been freezing everything that had any water content. I had given up on storing much in the way of fresh vegetables. Since we can only get good produce by buying when we are out of town and given that gas prices are such that we try to avoid special trips just for groceries, I felt we needed something that would store food safely and something with more interior room. Besides, getting the milk out early enough for it to thaw whenever you needed some was just a nuisance. We have also been noticing that when we get a handful of ice out and drop a cube, the floor seems much lower than it used to when we were younger. Now we will have an ice dispenser and properly refrigerated foods. I hope. I have not yet had time to try out this new appliance, so I hope I’m not disappointed.

Knitting progress—I am making good progress on the Moderne blanket. The crocheted blanket that I had planned did not go well. I frogged it after two evenings of crochet. I have mentally redesigned, and I’m using as a base a pattern that I found on Ravelry that is constructed in the same fashion as the Moderne but with a different pattern of blocks. It avoids the intarsia sections completely.

On the subject of the pattern that I frogged--is it just me, or do patterns that are written by yarn companies for objects like afghans, blankets, and scarves sometimes skimp on the size, perhaps in an effort to make the project look like it could be cheaper than it will actually be if you knit or crochet a decent size?

For Bronte Fans—a book review

2011-10-17T13:27:00.001-05:00

Becoming Jane Eyre by Sheila Kohler

(Copy of my Goodreads review)

First of all, let me say that I am a big fan of the works of the Bronte sisters. I am also something of an admirer of Charlotte. I recognize that this work is a novel, but it is undoubtedly based on research. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I do not doubt that given the isolation and stress of the family situation and the fact that the three sisters were all writers, professional and sibling rivalry did exist. However, those conflicts seemed to be more the focus of the latter part of this novel than I felt was warranted. The story of the family is deeply moving, and I thought the novel slighted that aspect in favor of conflict. Indeed, the last years of Charlotte's life were treated almost as an afterthought.

Perhaps I was misled by the title, but the book started with promise, switching back and forth from the hospital room in Manchester, where we know Charlotte began Jane Eyre, to episodes from the past. Then, however, this novel seemed to lose focus. I suppose I was expecting more of an analysis of how Charlotte was reflected in her own novel, and I did not find much of that. I know just as much of how Anne's life is reflected in her books and how Emily used the Bronte family as material for Wuthering Heights.

I also felt that Charlotte's personal feelings were presented in a somewhat more hysterical fashion than I associate with her, particularly since part of the emphasis of Jane Eyre seems to be on controlling excessive display of emotion. However, I will give the book the benefit of the doubt because I was listening to the audio book, and this feeling of mine may be due to the style of the reader.

I am glad I read this novel, and I did gain some insights into the family. I just have trouble with this particular genre of fictionalized biography whenever I encounter it.

The Saturday Report

2011-10-15T19:01:00.001-05:00

First of all, here’s some knitting candy:

It’s an adaptation of a Moderne Baby Blanket that I’m working on for a Christmas present. This project is for an adult, so after the first three-block foundation, I’m increasing each block by six garter ridges. I’m also knitting with a worsted yarn, Patons Décor, and using larger needles. I still think I will need to add a border strip before the actual I-cord border to get the size that I need, but that will be ok. However, I have been knitting so steadily that I am suffering from garter fatigue. I have another Christmas project to crochet, so I’m going to start it and switch between the two because I know I will feel the same way about double crochet before I’m through with that one! I will blog my progress on the second blanket, but I will not include pictures until after it is gifted.

I’ve been knitting to a LOT of Netflix. I’ve enjoyed watching The Murdoch Mysteries and my DH and I have watched a few of the Catherine Coulter historical miniseries based on her books. The last one that I watched was set around World War I. I am the child of older parents, and I couldn’t help but think that those lovely dresses reminded me of pictures of my grandmother. Those were the lovely dresses worn by the shopkeepers in the film, not the aristocracy by any means. It seems particularly fitting since today would have been Mother’s 103rd birthday.

My sweater is not quite finished. I still have some sleeve work to do, and I just haven’t been in the mood. Perhaps I can use that as a garter stitch “break” as well.

Plans for Wednesday and Really Random Observation

2011-10-04T21:12:00.001-05:00

I have extensive plans for tomorrow. I am writing them down here so that I will be more likely to do them:

Clean out the refrigerator.
Take out some major trash—I have some boxes and stuff that need to go out to the dumpster.
Spousal felting session—No, I am not felting my spouse. In a marathon knitting session made less tiring by watching back-to-back episodes of Bramwell, I finished some new wool slippers for my DH. His felted clogs just absolutely wore out last year. I had promised a new pair. Just as I was knitting the instep decreases on the first clog, he mentioned that he would like slippers with a back and a side, so I switched to the Alpine Boots pattern by the same designer. That pattern has boots and also some more substantial slippers, and, most importantly, it happens to use the same sole and toe increases as the clogs, or near enough considering this is a felted project. I have already warned him that since he is retired, I am not felting alone and guessing at the size by holding up various samples of his shoes to try to get it right. This time I intend to size them to the actual feet, so I have plans for DH spending part of tomorrow with slightly soapy, very warm, wet feet until we get it right!
Plan thorough grocery list.

I’ll let you know how this turns out.

Cultural observation—My daughter’s family recently moved into a new section of town. New to them at least. This is a residential area with a rather creative street layout, and while I can find their house fairly easily, I am still experimenting with how to get there if I come into the subdivision a different way. Furthermore, this is one of those sections in which if you go around a sharp curve on the same street, the street name may change. I always find that difficult. Last week I tried a new route, drove down Hatfield Street and realized that I had arrived at the intersection of Hatfield and McCoy—someone has a sense of humor. Then I had one of those English teacher moments. I knew that in that same subdivision there is a street named Montague. Aha! If there is a McCoy for Hatfield, surely there is a Capulet for Montague. Alas, I can’t find it on a map. (This is complicated because I have been told that local pronunciation for Montague is “Montag.” That’s just too confusing.)

Life and Knitting Update

2011-09-23T14:15:00.001-05:00

No knitting pictures, sorry.

I’ve made great progress on the KAL sweater. The body is done, except for buttons. Now I just have to finish the two sleeves, which will be 3/4. I should start on them this afternoon. I think the sweater is going to fit okay. I know people always say that you can try on a top down raglan thanks to the flexibility of the needle cables, but with the tendency of stockinette to roll and the absence of blocking, I am never just quite sure. So if this winter you see me in an ill-fitting blue cardigan, please notice that the bottom bind off is absolute perfection. (This last sentence is directed only at knitters—if you have to ask what a bind off is, never mind.)

I procrastinated this morning looking up some ideas on-line for a gift project for someone who needs one right now. I also need to make it RIGHT NOW. I looked and looked and then went back to an old standby pattern. Jo-Ann’s had an on-line sale for the yarn, so I should be ready to go when it comes in. I can alternate between it (fairly mindless) and my DH’s promised felted clog slippers (ditto) for some quick knitting. The larger project will require some frequent color changes, so that will help break up any monotony.

I also just reorganized my spices, using an organizer I bought on Amazon. I should say, part of my spices, because I am ashamed to say I still have some infrequently used ones in the rectangular tins with the sliding lids. I know they are so old that I should toss most of them, but I don’t. I also have a few, like garlic powder and cumin—available here in the Mexican spices as comino—in large containers, so they will go on another shelf. This won’t be quite as handy as grabbing them from the lazy susan that I was using, but that could only be said for the ones on the outside of the lazy susan. I was forever buying something I already had because I couldn’t find it. I will see how I like using this system before I buy more. It also enables me to make use of a narrow cabinet and frees up the larger space I had been using for something else.

Joe Btfsplk, from L’il Abner

For those of you out there who are my local friends, I know I have been posting more infrequently. We are all ok. I have just not been in the mood to make observations that were not hopelessly cynical or even to talk to people very much; our family has been going through our own version of annus horribilis, and the less said about it the better. Trying to fight my mood and the heat was more than I wanted to do. Now that fall is arriving, I will be emerging from my shell or cave or whatever. I can’t hibernate in the winter because I must wear knitwear!

Remember

2011-09-10T13:12:00.001-05:00

In memory of those who died on September 11, here is a link to “On Hallowed Ground,” my favorite essay about 9/11. It is written by the humorist Dave Barry.

A Finished Project

2011-09-10T12:54:00.001-05:00

The sweater being blocked, or at least drying. I suspect it is far too big for the granddaughter’s present size, but she will grow. I like the pattern, but since it is a Jiffy pattern, the lack of size adjustment is a little worrisome. When/if I continue my plan to knit sweaters for the younger granddaughters, the button band will be seed stitch instead of garter. Garter is much too stretchy on these larger needles.

A Link to Something Special

2011-09-08T00:41:00.001-05:00

My daughter homeschools. They moved to a new house in July, and for the first time, she has a dedicated classroom/play area for the girls. She just finished remodeling the room and made some before/after pictures. Her pictures were picked up by one of the organizing blogs. Here’s the link. Her name is Carrie—there are other neat classrooms there as well. I am particularly fond of the art work above the desk area; the girls did the two big paintings, and my daughter did the melted crayon art in the center.

Midsomer Mysteries

2011-09-06T12:39:00.001-05:00

Last night, I finished watching all the episodes available for free on Netflix Watch Instantly. That’s a pity, because I could certainly watch more. This series was delightful. On the surface, the stories are the traditional English Country Mystery genre, cozy with a little bit of police procedural thrown in, but after watching a few, I became aware of several levels going on at once. One level is the real effort made to introduce the viewer to English traditional life—change ringing, Morris dancing, ancient solstice customs, Arthurian legend, a camera obscura, choral music. Another is the scenery—scenic vistas, beautiful gardens, the seacoast, the mountains of Wales, thatched-roof houses. Another aspect of the series is the attention to detail—the episode that is a parody of Hamlet; the villages that revere the long dead author who grew up there, a MAN by the name of Ellis Bell (the pen name of Emily Bronte); the scenes by the river while characters are watching a race that is composed like that famous painting by Seurat. The series is also something of a send-up of the genre. After all, the murder rate in Midsomer is totally unrealistic, and at one point, someone remarks to Barnaby that a particular death is natural, an unlikely occurrence. Furthermore, there is an emphasis on acting and the theatre that reminds the viewer that everything is a performance. All in all, we’ve had a great time watching. I’m moving on to some P.D. James—excellent films, but a much darker experience.

I also need some help. There was something wrong with the Midsomer episode called “Bantling Boy.” It failed to include the ending. I tried googling, but no one wanted to include a spoiler, so if any of you know how it came out, please let me know.

Midsomer Knitting

2011-09-01T23:37:00.001-05:00

I’ve spent most of my spare minutes for the last two very hot days knitting in an air-conditioned room while watching episodes of Midsomer Murders. The collar is finished, and the rather extensive rows of short rows for back of the neck and front neckline shaping are finished. I have begun just enough of the yoke increase to have made the first buttonhole.

I've chosen to use M1L and M1R increases on this project. I really like the way they are turning out so far.

Two WIPs

2011-08-30T22:03:00.001-05:00

I finally revived my courage to try warping the Cricket loom again. I have begun weaving. There is definitely a learning period, particularly in dealing with aspects that are not covered in the videos. I had lots of trouble getting the shuttle through at first before discovering that I just did not have enough tension on the warp. I tightened and tightened, and now it is better and much, much easier. I am also going to have to fiddle with ergonomics to find the most comfortable position in which to weave.

I also found that I just couldn’t wait to begin the sweater for the KAL. I have decided on a size for the neck and yoke and bustline area, but there will need to be alterations to other parts which may take me some time to figure out. Besides, I was spending some extensive time today with Midsomer Murders, and I needed knitting! The pattern begins with the outside edge of the collar in the pattern stitch that is used for front panels and hem edging. I finished three repeats:

Otherwise, it was a frustrating day. A study group that I was looking forward to didn’t meet. I tried to mail off a Woolee Winder bobbin to Hansencrafts for repair and discovered that the Post Office is now closed from 11:30-12:30, in addition to closing earlier in the afternoon than most places. I finally connected with the dishwasher repairman, only to discover that he can’t come until after Labor Day.

Tomorrow, I plan to use a free Amazon movie credit to watch the new Jane Eyre.

Late August

2011-08-29T16:07:00.001-05:00

Peace! The yarn’s wound up!

2011-08-27T20:19:00.001-05:00

Cascade 220 Heathers in Sapphire for a sweater KAL that I’m going to be participating in on Ravelry. This much winding took a surprising amount of time, even with a ball winder and my Mama Bear Swift. My DH loved watching me use that swift, since until recently that was his job! I also managed to swatch and decide on a needle size.

Fie!!!

2011-08-24T10:15:00.001-05:00

After being extra-careful because I had read an earlier post by the Yarn Harlot on this very subject, I warped my Cricket backwards yesterday. I was very slow because I was being so very careful. I am going to try again this afternoon—chores to do this morning.

Marathon Knitting and Economic Reflections

2011-08-22T10:41:00.001-05:00

The knitting and weaving-in and underarm sleeve seams are finished! The sweater is not completely finished, however, because the buttons have not arrived. I am also afraid that the sweater itself is going to be too big. Fortunately, grandchildren tend to grow, and this is pretty much an all-season sweater for our climate, so it should fit sometime!

Please note that I am not intentionally plagiarizing the following idea—I’m just reflecting on something I heard last week on television. In all the back-and-forth about President Obama’s delaying announcement of his jobs plan and his vacation plans, I heard one female commentator on one of the news channels talking about the “shampoo index.” Basically, she described it as the fact that times are hard enough that even those people who are considered well off are no longer throwing away their “empty” bottles of shampoo. Instead, they are letting them sit upside down overnight to get that last squeeze out. Evidently, those were the only two points on her continuum. Ha! I am a member of the group that gets the last squeeze out and then fills the bottle with water to eke out at least two more shampoos for my short hair. (Works with laundry detergent, too—for the laundry, not hair.) Furthermore, I know people on line who make their own shampoo, although from reading the lists of ingredients, I am not sure that finances are the entire reason. I suspect our view of economy reflects our backgrounds. Right now, I am not actually washing and reusing every scrap of aluminum foil or reusing the plastic bread bag before getting out a bag I had to pay for, but I am thinking enough about it to be aware that I’m not doing it. Mostly, I’m just trying to think of other points to add to the Shampoo Index. Perhaps just lather and rinse and giving up the repeat? (If you want to know what companies are in economic trouble, notice who drops NASCAR sponsorships. Some of the big mortgage companies/banks dropped off right before the crash.)

A Cricket Nest and Miscellany

2011-08-19T10:27:00.001-05:00

I am rather fond of reading blogs about lifestyles in other places, and some of them, such as Milkweed & Teasel, are a source of endless fascination, combining life in another country with outdoor and wildlife adventures. Be warned: this post has absolutely nothing to do with living creatures.

My Cricket in its nest:

(If you think this is a cheesy intro, I actually considered photographing it on the hearth, but I would have had to wash down the hearth first, and that seemed like too much trouble when I could be doing something fibery.) DH helped me assemble the loom day before yesterday. I was thankful for the Cricket group on Ravelry for some hints. I am determined not to try it out yet because I’m trying to finish this sweater

first and because I still need to assemble some of the accessories, like brown paper for winding on the warp. Brown paper is easy to come by, but I need to trim it to the right width. I am excited about having this loom be a way to share some experiences with my granddaughters. Note on the above sweater: If you look closely, you will see one of the things that I love most about my Knit Picks Options set. I have simply unscrewed tips and screwed on caps in two different places instead of having to run yarn for a stitch holder or having to find a ready-made one that fits. The yoke is done; one sleeve is complete; the second sleeve is about 3/4 complete, and then there will be just the body to knit. I ordered the buttons yesterday. I want to finish this so that I can play with the Cricket and begin a KAL for a sweater for myself on September 10.

I also finished blocking my two scarves for the Special Olympics. They are knitted from Red Heart Soft. I will bag them as per instructions, write notes of encouragement to go with each scarf, and mail them to the Texas address.

The first one is done half and half, the second in quarters. These arrangements give a certain versatility in tying and having both colors show. The stitch pattern is the One-Row Handspun Scarf by the Yarn Harlot. I also had enough yarn left to complete 3 small child-size hats for a local charity.

At Last

2011-08-13T17:16:00.001-05:00

The lacy yoke part to the Petal Jacket is finally finished. I think it looks pretty nice. Before I continue with the rest of the jacket, which is just plain stockinette, I am going to check out a couple of YouTube videos that have been recommended to me that demonstrate a good way to do M1L and M1R increases. I’m not sure that is what I’ll use, but I need to look at them anyway for another project.

Here’s a rather hurriedly taken photo of the progress so far:

Just Sayin’. . . .

2011-08-11T21:19:00.001-05:00

I know I’ve been complaining about the drought all summer, but it the last few days we’ve isolated, strong thundershowers.

A. Twice now, I’ve had to drive in almost blinding conditions because the downpour falling from the sky was combining with the manure dust from the feedlot that was coming up from the ground to reduce visibility to the point where one is caught in the “do-I-keep-driving-when-I-can’t-see-or-slow-down-or-stop-and-get-rear-ended quandary.”

B. Having learned to drive in the days when the speed of the wipers was controlled by the speed of the car and living where at best wiper use is somewhat infrequent, I found that after not using them for almost a year, I couldn’t remember which way to rotate the little sleeve around my turn signal to make them go faster. There has not been enough practice to imprint the process into my kinesthetic memory (or whatever it is called.) And, yes, for you youngsters, wipers really did work that way.

Pictures at Last

2011-08-08T17:20:00.001-05:00

Here are the pictures of my first finished yarn from my Hansencrafts Minispinner. The fiber is from Sheep Shed Studio, some of the Brown Sheep Mill Ends that they have. It is great practice fiber. This was also my first try with my Ogle Lazy Kate, and I was very pleased with it. I had no backspin issues at all, and it is very easy to set up and very portable.

My first spinning results were mixed. I let these singles set for about a month before I plied. The first bobbin had some areas that just did not have enough twist. The second bobbin was much better. At least, I improved with practice instead of getting worse. I really need to work on spinning finer. With the yarn that I had to discard from the first bobbin, I still ended up with about 350 yards of two-ply. It is a worsted weight and very soft. This is not my usual color, so I’m not sure what I will do with it. I think that I may take a peek at some of Jared Flood’s designs for Shelter to see if he has something that will work for this. I thought of overdyeing, but I would sort of like to keep this first project “original.”

The completed skeins:

A closeup:

Thank you to everyone who commented or emailed me with suggestions for the Petal Sweater. I am going to do the sleeves in the round and the body as well.

Dear Ann Landers or Dear Abby or Someone

2011-08-07T09:13:00.001-05:00

Dear Adviceperson,

After something of a struggle, I have conquered the yoke of this sweater—well, almost conquered it. I’m not quite to the end yet, but using markers between repeats is helping me keep track of the pattern quite satisfactorily.

Now I need advice. Obviously, this top-down raglan sweater is knitted in one piece through the lace yoke. However, in reading the pattern, it appears that the sleeves and body sections are knitted flat and seamed in one long seam on each side from cuff to the bottom of the sweater. I want these to be as soft and comfy as possible for little girls. Is there any reason I should not do an Elizabeth Zimmermann and knit the sleeves on circulars and the body back and forth on a long circular? I know that SHE would probably have done it completely in the round and steeked, but I didn’t want to do that, and I’m not sure how well this yarn would have done. I know that seams provide some support, but that is the only reason I can think of to make such long seams on this raglan.

Avoiding the Unthinkable

2011-08-04T23:36:00.001-05:00

The horrible happened to me last week. I made an emergency trip out of town that turned into a 4-day stressful situation, and I had NO KNITTING. I really do depend on knitting as a repetitive calming activity to get through difficult times. The other one is eating, and I don’t need to go there! I thought of knitting as I hopped into the car, but I didn’t have anything simple on needles. I knew this would not be a follow a complicated pattern situation. I needed a plain sock.

Today, I decided to begin that sort of project so that I would have something ready for the next round of this situation. A few months ago, I noticed on the blog Den of Chaos a vintage child’s sweater that she knitted for her daughter. At the time, I hunted and found the Coats and Clarks leaflet on Ebay and squirreled it away. I also knew that I had some Cotton Ease in my stash in the lovely Pistachio color that has been discontinued. There is enough there for all three granddaughters, and I can differentiate each girl’s sweater by letting her choose her buttons. Today I decided to whip out that yoke that was only 36 fairly easy rows and then I would have plain stockinette sleeves and body for emergency soothing knitting. HA! The lace rows are giving me fits, not because they are hard, but because there is no chart. It took me forever to learn to knit comfortably from a chart, and now I’m lost without one. This pattern is particularly frustrating because it is small print and in order to save space, the directions are written in a continuous paragraph rather than starting each row on a new line. I must compliment this yarn—it stands up well to being frogged repeatedly. I have completed the neck ribbing and 9 rows of the yoke. At last, though, I am able to read the knitting itself so that I can tell if something is not quite right. I don’t even want to comment on the idea that this is considered a vintage pattern and it was published when I was a college freshman!

We still have had no rain; the daily temps are regularly in the very high 90s or low 100s; there are thunderhead clouds that develop occasionally just to taunt us, but they move on to the east.

Decluttering by Repurposing or Use What You Have

2011-07-27T14:22:00.001-05:00

In the last few months, I have become the proud owner of George, a Hansencrafts Minispinner in beautiful cherry wood. George also has cherry WooLee Winder bobbins and a cherry Ogle Lazy Kate. George’s wood is absolutely beautiful, and his design is functional, but he is not a decorative object in the same way that Matilda the Ashford Traveller is. Furthermore, I am somewhat more protective of George in that he has moving parts that would not be so easily replaced if someone abused him. (One of the beauties of an Ashford is that you can find parts readily or use fishing line, bead lacing, cup hooks and springs from the hardware store.) George came with an attractive tote bag, but I’m a real klutz, and the person that I trust least around an unprotected George is me! Therefore, I’ve been looking for a suitable home or suit of armor or something for him. The most popular choice among minispinner owners, particularly those who travel and take their spinners along or who go every week to a spinning group, is the Zuca bag. Zuca bags are the wheelie bags that you see the Olympic ice skaters pulling or pushing as they arrive at the rink. Beautiful bright colors, sturdy frames that double as a table or a seat, and, if you pick the right models, flashy wheels. The bags and frames are sold separately, so you can mix and match fashion choices. They are also supposed to fly well. That’s in a plane, and I’ve wondered if part of that is because the crew thinks they’re flying part of the Olympic Team. (However, if they got a look at most spinners, they probably wouldn’t think so.) Zucas are also pricey.

My need was for something sturdy to store my minispinner and accessories and very occasionally take him somewhere for a visit. A Ravelry entry to the Minispinner group sparked my memory. One spinner had purchased a portable file box for hers. I remembered that I had, in my own garage, sitting there taking up floor space, TWO portable file boxes with outdated files I brought home from school when I retired.

This morning, I loaded them into the back of the SUV, drove around to the dumpster, and emptied them. Then I washed off the cobwebs. One of the boxes is going to be home to George himself. I used some open? celled foam packing from another box to make a domed end protector for his switches. Another strip holds that one in place and will protect his tension knob.

If I were going to carry him many places, I would want protection all around him, but I can also do that with fiber.

Here is George’s home, partially loaded:

That is George, his foot control, his power source, his orifice threader, and his papers, with their attached allen wrenches. There is also room for one more bobbin and some fiber, and a tiny spinning toolkit. (I have the box, but I haven’t loaded it up yet.) My Ogle Lazy Kate would also fit, but there’s not much point in having it in there unless I put in a third bobbin. I do have that flexibility also.

The second file box will hold the Kate, extra bobbins, the car power source. I do not as yet have a battery for George. When I get one, I can put it wherever it is needed.

Before you mention that I do not have wheels, I do have one of those wheeled file carts from Office Depot. This box will sit in that one, so I can pull it along with me when I need to. In a pinch, the spinner could sit on top of this box just like on a Zuca. I, however, cannot use this box as a seat, and I’m afraid that I have not worked out a system to replace the flashing wheels, darn it! However, I’ve spent $0.00, and I decluttered two things—useless file space in the garage and scattered fiber equipment parts in the house. I think that’s a win! (Don’t count two more wet skeins of yarn hanging on the oven door!)

#1 Is Done, but not Blocked

2011-07-16T16:50:00.001-05:00

This is a picture of the unblocked Special Olympics scarf—not that there will be much to the blocking, just washing and spreading out flat to dry nicely. You can see the unfinished mitered blanket in the background. I really like this yarn much better for a scarf than Super Saver, even though it is somewhat splitty to knit with.

I’m halfway through the second scarf, which is the same pattern—the Yarn Harlot’s One-Row Handspun Scarf—but instead of being half and half, the scarf will have alternating quarters of the two colors. I still think this scarf is a wonderful stitch pattern which seems to maximize yardage use while still making a scrunchy and comfy wearable. .

I’m watching episodes of Swamp People, openers of the new season of shows like The Closer and Haven and listening to audiobooks. The scarves are “automatic” enough that I may try propping my Kindle and seeing if I can do the reading/knitting thing that I keep hearing others talk about, using the read aloud feature to turn the pages automatically. That process may take more coordination than I have.

We still have had no rain, with daily temps hovering around 100 degrees. When I went to the grocery store at midday, the temp was 90, which is practically a cold front!

Finally, a pick-up-and-put-down project

2011-07-09T22:26:00.001-05:00

After a mix-up and a month-and-a-half-long delay, the yarn arrived a couple of days ago for me to begin knitting scarves for this coming winter’s Special Olympics. This year, the colors are red and navy, but knitters and crocheters are not limited to Red Heart Super Saver—there is also a set of the same colors in Red Heart Soft. I don’t think this yarn is as sturdy in many ways as the Super Saver. If I were knitting a blanket that would have to endure frequent washings and being dragged around by a child, the tougher yarn would be my choice, but I did not feel that it worked well for scarves last year. I used as big a needle as I could get by with and maintain any kind of stitch definition, but the scarves just did not drape well. The Soft, in the color Really Red, is working out much better. The pattern is the Yarn Harlot’s One-Row Handspun Scarf. This pattern is textured, unisex, reversible, and readily foldable into a narrower scarf if the wearer desires. And, of course, memorizing a one-row pattern is handy. Each scarf has to have both colors; this one will be 2 1/2 feet of red and 2 1/2 feet of navy. I experimented last year, and found different neat ways to tie that combination that are quite suitable for either gender as well as the fairly broad age range of the athletes.

I have added a few more book comments—too brief to be called reviews—to the Goodreads list in the right sidebar.

Knitting Psychology and Weaving FOs and Vocabulary

2011-07-03T11:41:00.001-05:00

I am now 8/21 of the way through my mitered afghan. It is going very slowly, and I have figured out why. It is the only project that I have OTN right now, other than a pair of red lace socks that I need to finish up. I will have to look up the chart and all that again for that second sock. This project is in those discrete little squares, which should make it seem to go faster, but I find that instead of picking it up for a quick row or two in spare moments, I am waiting until I have a block of time (pun accidental, but appropriate) to complete an entire square. Otherwise, I don’t knit for just a row or two. I hadn’t realized how much of my knitting was done betwixt and between other activities. I must get another low-mental-concentration project OTN.

In the title above, “FO” does not mean “Finished Object” as it usually does on a knitting blog. Instead, it means “Found Object.” In cleaning out some stored old family items when we sold our business, I found two of the tiny handheld weaving looms. I know these belonged to my grandmother, because I already have my mother’s. Hers was a Loomette, in great condition. These are both Weave-its. The pin configuration is different. Here is the 2-inch, in its box:

And here is the 4-inch:

Unfortunately, the box on the 4-inch will have to be discarded because of mildew. I am going to have to bleach the loom as well. This box is interesting because the paper tape on the outside shows that the loom came from the Haile Drug Store. I don’t think that was local here. I’m assuming it may have been in the Dallas area because that is where my grandparents moved from in the 1920s. I remember going back for a visit as a small child and going to a really neat old drug store with the soda fountain with the bent wire back type of chairs at little tables. I think it was in Lancaster. If anyone knows any history, I would be glad to find out. Fortunately, warping instructions are available on-line and there is a “Looms to Go” Ravelry group. These will be fun to use little scraps of yarn.

Vocabulary—While I am quite familiar with the British reference to “bespoke” tailoring and to its use in American English to refer to those wonderfully elegant London-made suits created especially for an individual, I noticed on HGTV House Hunters International yesterday a reference to a “bespoke” door. I googled and then wikied, and found out that there are many uses of the word. In the UK, there is even a car manufacturer that operates this way. And, of course, in the 21st century, the term is even applied to software. On the program, the door was being described by a British-heritage real estate agent who was selling a French house in Brittany to a British family. I wonder if this is a word that will sneak into French eventually.

Still Knitting and Charity Opportunities

2011-07-01T22:52:00.001-05:00

I’m still knitting on the mitered blanket.

I know that practically everyone out there who knits does some charity knitting, but I wanted to mention two opportunities to knit quick projects. If you look in the right sidebar of this blog, you will see the link to Hats for Sailors. It will take you to the web site. There’s also a Ravelry group. The story of how this project started a year or so ago is really interesting. A hat is a quick knit, and many more hats are needed for the first deadline in August. This is a wonderful place to use up an odd ball of superwash wool from your stash. There are no color requirements, but the Navy requires washable 100% wool as a safety precaution.

The other project is knitting scarves for the Special Olympics. If you Google, there is a web site, but there is also a group on Ravelry and a group on Facebook. Yarns are inexpensive and specified; there are dozens of patterns or you can make your own, and knit or crochet are equally acceptable. Deadlines and numbers needed vary by state, so check to be sure.

End of “advertisement.”

Another Weather Report

2011-06-27T09:17:00.001-05:00

There is practically no knitting progress. Even with air conditioning, wool just looks too hot when outside temps are like this. Today, however, we have cool. The high is supposed to be “only” 98, with the possibility of scattered thundershowers. Those will not necessarily be a blessing even if we are in a drought because thundershowers in this heat often mean very violent weather in this area of the country. The other reason they might not be a blessing is because the precipitation is estimated at 0.1 to 0.25 inches. Yes, for those of you who live in other places, the average person here, particularly those in agriculture, measure these tiny quantities on their own. (I think there’s something wrong with subject-verb-pronoun agreement in that sentence, but I’m too hot and dry to care.)

Normal conversation:

“How much rain d’get last night?”

“On that section north a town, I got a tenth, but that half south just got 3 hunerts.”

And I feel bad even complaining about the heat and drought when I see the damage done by the tornadoes and floods in other parts of the US. God bless you all!

Weather Report

2011-06-24T17:02:00.001-05:00

Unlike much of the rest of the country, we are experiencing a several months’ long drought. The temperature outside right now is 108 degrees, and one of the local television stations is posting this as the weather forecast for the weekend. It is 109 degrees in Amarillo right now—the hottest day on record. We noticed on the way home that jackrabbits are sitting in the shade of telephone poles to try to stay cool. Trees are in short supply in our part of the country.

On Father’s Day

2011-06-19T08:33:00.001-05:00

For Daddy, with love. . . .

An Anniversary and a Review

2011-06-18T17:20:00.001-05:00

Today is the anniversary of our engagement—34 years ago. That day we went prairie dog hunting; today we dismissed that idea—it now requires an expensive hunting license; we now use bifocals and trifocals; and it is over 100 degrees outside.

I just finished listening to the audio book of Moon over Manifest. I posted my review on my Goodreads shelf, but I wanted to give it a special mention. Here’s the review:

The blurb on OverDrive did not do this book justice. This is a lovely, well-written historical novel which manages to be historical in two eras--World War I and the Great Depression/Dustbowl era--through the use of an interesting narrative technique. The technique uses first-person narration, letters, stories, and newspaper articles to weave a complex story of a community and its survival in challenging times. I am not sure if this book is meant to be a Young Adult novel; it would certainly be suitable for that, but it is an interesting read. I used the audio version, and the readers do an excellent job. The historical notes at the end are interesting as well.

I should note that the 12-year-old narrator of the book seems overly adult in some of her observations, much like Huck Finn, but she has also had a very untypical childhood.

Knitting progress—one more square added to the blanket.

Knitting Progress and a Review

2011-06-16T18:52:00.002-05:00

Knitting progress on the mitered blanket has been steady. It is now 5/21 completed.

I have been knitting and watching a British television series on Netflix. The series is George Gently, based on mystery novels written by Alex Hunter. The series is set in the 1960s, but unlike campy takes on the 60s, this series is much more realistic. As a background for the murders that are being solved, social strengths and ills of the period are portrayed realistically. During the course of the series, you can notice the death penalty disappear, the struggles to deal with racial bias, the change in attitude toward other groups. I found the mysteries themselves to be complicated enough to be engaging. For a former teacher of British literature, the mention of places like Jarrow and Lindisfarne in a context other than Anglo Saxon history adds interest as well. The acting is well-done; the costuming is wonderful.

Security Blanket

2011-06-10T21:42:00.001-05:00

Today was it—we signed the papers, accepted the check, and turned over the keys to our retail business. One chapter of our lives is over—another is beginning. While we do have some sentimental feelings about the past, and while we probably saved entirely too many mementos—and tools—it actually feels pretty good. The local economy is a worry, and while we both feel that we could have regrouped and readjusted and continued, we both lacked the desire to do that at our age.

I had not knitted much for a couple of weeks because I strained my back doing some of the moving out, and I was pretty much just wallowing in my misery. I suspect that much of the soreness was also due to tension since it seems to have disappeared after leaving the title company this morning. However, in the last few days, I picked up the blanket again. It is sometimes easy to forget how the rhythmic flow of knitting can soothe a tense and injured spirit. A couple of squares a day got me through this experience. I calculate that I am now 4/21 done with the blanket, if you don’t count the single crochet edging, but it is satisfying knitting that shows the progress that you are making square by square—perfect, in fact, for the remainder of the changes that we have ahead. I won’t have much knitting time for awhile, but I can easily manage the couple of squares a day that seem to soothe my spirit.

Please excuse the slightly blurry quality of the picture. I was too lazy to get out a tripod, and I had turned off an automatic setting to adjust for the fluorescent lighting. The picture does give a fairly good idea of the texture and the colors.

Spinning 2; Finals Postponed

2011-05-14T23:55:00.001-05:00

I finished spinning the rest of the Brown Sheep fiber a few days ago. I am ready to ply, but for right now the project is on hold.

Both my husband and I retired last year. We didn’t go about some things very scientifically, but retirement was quite an adjustment for both of us. I thought I was prepared: my plans were to substitute at my old school about 4 days per month; expand my relationship with fiber arts; spend more time with my children and grandchildren; do a bunch of things around the house. Ha! Much to my amazement, teaching has been the farthest thing from my mind and heart. I have not set foot in the building for any reason (and in a small town that covers many of the community activities), not even to see my friends. I do communicate with them by email and Facebook, but that’s about it. This is strange for me. When I took an 18 year break from teaching in midcareer, I was always aware of potential lesson plan implications of everything around me. I sought out opportunities to teach—Sunday School, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, odd classes here and there. Now? Just not interested. And the only person more surprised than I am is my husband.

The time has come for us to clean out the office and storage from our retail hardware business of 25 years. My spinning is on hold because I’m finding this to be a very emotional experience. We started this business from scratch, literally, in 1984. We came back to my hometown with a nursing infant and an almost-4-year-old daughter. My mother, newly widowed, lived here. We got a building at an unbelievably good price because the widow who owned it kept selling it to people who paid for part of it and then defaulted. We pretty much got it for the leftover amount. We obtained a store full of what would have been very expensive shelving because one grocery store bought out another one and didn’t want to have to haul off the extras. We hired someone to spray paint all of it a uniform color and were good to go. Now we are left with a lot of memories, both good and bad—two tiny blond children taking turns pushing each other up and down the aisles in a mop bucket; standing on the street corner in front looking at a vacant Main Street while everyone was waiting to see if Saddam Hussein would give in or if the first Gulf War would start; standing on that same corner at 3 in the afternoon watching for my son to walk from the point where the crossing guard escorted him across the street after kindergarten; customers who came in to talk and share the time of day or sometimes looking for comfort when their world had become dark and sad; operating in the dark without electricity for a few days after the town was struck by a tornado in 1995. I’ve spent the last two days cleaning out office files, and I have some more to go. In the corners of the file cabinet and the back of desk drawers, I found reminders of much of our lives—the remainders of a kit of Girl Scout Cookie sales from when my daughter, a mother of two, was a Girl Scout. I found the pictures from the fly-up ceremony from when they were Brownies as well. There were pictures of my children at various ages, put into the drawers when I replaced them with new ones. I even found an entire unused set of Barbie doll patterns. There were notes and newspaper clippings that customers had given me over the years, some of them slipped under the glass on the desktop. There is the desk itself. My husband knew how much I missed teaching at the time and had bought me a standard oak double pedestal desk that he found somewhere that was the standard teaching desk from my last job. At the time it was an old familiar friend. Today, the infant who sat in the playpen as we were stocking shelves for the opening is 6-foot-something, and he and his wife and two children were helping us clean out, reaching the top shelves and carrying out loads for the old folks.

Anyway, this is why I’m waiting awhile to ply my yarn. I’m emotional enough that I’m afraid I won’t be able to concentrate and I will mess up. We are very much closing a chapter of our lives and there is a certain amount of grieving to be done, even though we are very excited about our future and happy that we have retired.

Knitting 0; Spinning 1

2011-05-09T08:18:00.001-05:00

Obviously, I don’t have a gift for art direction—on the other hand, my 4-year-old granddaughters would be impressed because the yarn matches the spinner. This is my first bobbin of yarn on my new Hansencrafts Minispinner. It is the cherry model, in case you want to know. For some reason, my wheel has always seemed feminine, but this little guy seems to need a masculine name. I’m thinking of William, in honor of Matilda’s husband, or George, since he is made from a cherry tree. Any suggestions are welcome!

As you can see, I have the WooLee Winder, and it is wonderful. The only problem I have had with it—and it was in the instructions if I had read closely enough—is that when I stop to check twist and spin the Winder backwards to draw off some yarn to double, the backspin can loop the yarn around the stationary eye. When you start to spin again, the takeup is non-existent. Compared to a backlash on a casting reel, that’s an easy fix. Now I just check that eye before I tap the control, and everything is peachy.

I watched Beth’s video for beginning spinners and set the speed control at 9 for the short forward draw that she was demonstrating. I just couldn’t seem to get a consistent twist. I tried long draw, but my fiber was some I bought a few years ago, and it was too compacted. It finally occurred to me to increase the speed a little bit. I moved it up to almost 10, and my spinning became much, much better.

The machine is very, very quiet and spins so beautifully. I’ve been trying to put in at least two hours a day. I’d like to do more, but I have some projects to work on—cleaning out closets and bookshelves and stuff.

How to Celebrate a Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T10:24:00.001-05:00

On Thursday morning I drove to Amarillo to have a pre-royal-wedding party with my three granddaughters, ages, 4, 4, and 8. My daughter, who was an infant at the time of the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana, was also there. This was definitely a low-key celebration, but it was colorful. In keeping with the dress of the little girls who were the royal bridesmaids, the girls made flower wreaths for their heads. We did not have fresh flowers of course, but we had multicolored felt flower shapes. DD and I cut slits in the shapes and the girls threaded them on long pipe cleaners. Then we went to lunch at the closest thing Amarillo has to a “chick place,” The Back Porch Restaurant. The girls, wearing their flower wreaths, dined on non-traditional wedding fare—grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, cups of fruit, and chocolate chip cookies. According to my daughter’s Facebook post earlier today, the girls hopped out of bed before dawn to watch the wedding, wearing the proper headgear, of course.

I was up, too. I am a fan of British Royal Weddings and Space Launches and concerts featuring marches by John Phillip Sousa. It was a great celebration to watch, particularly since the network I was watching chose to run the entire wedding itself without interruption or commentary. The gown and veil were lovely—in fact, I thought they created an almost medieval feeling in keeping with the atmosphere of the Abbey itself.

Now comes the almost unbelievable part—my brand new, long awaited, beautiful cherry Hansen minispinner came in last night, and I have not yet even attempted spinning on it! So some experimenting is on the agenda for today, along with a shuttle launch, if it hasn’t been postponed for some reason. Perhaps I should put on my LP of Sousa!

Note: And how appropriate is it that on this historic day in British history, the Shuttle Endeavour, that’s with a “u,” will launch for its final trip. The shuttle was named by American schoolchildren, but the “u” is there because it was named after the ship on which the British explorer James Cook circumnavigated the globe.

NOW I understand. . .

2011-04-25T20:14:00.001-05:00

why many knitters are so enthusiastic about knitting mitered squares. I read comments on this pattern before I started, and some people who were making a solid colored afghan said that the process was boring. However, using the Boku, with its ever-slightly-changing shades of colors and its thick and thin handspun like texture, adds variety to the absolutely mesmerizing process. My photo is a little blurry, but it was the best choice to show the colors. I have knitted seventeen squares of 176—all of the first two rows.

2011-04-24T00:43:00.001-05:00

Christ is risen!

Knitting Progress; Have a Blessed Easter

2011-04-22T18:39:00.001-05:00

I made my first mitered squares—only 172 more to go!

And, in keeping with the Yarn Harlot’s post about daughters and Easter eggs, here is the evidence that family traditions continue. Cell phones are wonderful inventions for grandmas.

The “experienced one”--

The trainees--

A Book to Read

2011-04-19T23:01:00.002-05:00

A few years ago, like practically everyone else, I read Girl with a Pearl Earring, watched the movie, and ended up on sort of a Vermeer kick. As part of that, I read a second novel, The Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by the author Susan Vreeland. I was quite impressed. Now I’ve listened to a second Vreeland novel as an audio book.

Clara and Mr. Tiffany is a fictional novel based on fairly recently discovered information about the work and studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany, the Tiffany of the stained glass windows and the lamps, son of the Tiffany of the jewelry store.` A 2007 museum exhibit, inspired in part by the letters of Clara Driscoll, cast a new light on who exactly did what in Mr. Tiffany’s studio. This book does a wonderful job of portraying the kind of life a working woman would have led in the New York City of the late 1800s into the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The city itself and its growth is described—its politics, its economics, its middle-class society (unlike Edith Wharton’s New York), its architecture, its strengths and deficiencies.

At the time when the middle class was becoming increasingly important, the decorative arts were a way that people “on the way up” who did not possess great fortunes could enjoy a taste of fine art. Just as the characters in the book can enjoy the opera even if they have to resort to the standing room section, an upper middle class woman could enjoy having a small Tiffany lamp on her dressing table.

The movement also embraced technology. The Dragonfly lamp above was an oil lamp; the wisteria lamp is electric. Notice how technology affected the design of the base. Supposedly, Tiffany consulted with the expert--Thomas Edison himself—and Edison expressed the opinion that the colored shades would be just the thing to moderate the harshness of incandescent light. One wonders what Tiffany would do with the compact daylight fluorescent!

A prominent theme in the novel is the role of women in society. Ironically, in an age when the issue of Women’s Suffrage had not yet been settled, it is the economic right of women to work and to work for a decent wage, in spite of opposition by the labor unions, that takes center stage.

Finally, the novel deals with a philosophical question: In the whole scope of a person’s life, exactly how important is art or one’s career as an artist? That's an old question, the same one Tennyson asked in "The Lady of Shalott." Finding a balanced answer to this question is a struggle for Tiffany himself and for Clara Driscoll.

Rebellion

2011-04-19T13:47:00.002-05:00

I posted a picture earlier of the Spring Socks that I have on needles for the Six Sox KAL. I knit for both process and product. I joined this KAL because I think many of their patterns are beautiful and because I needed to stretch my skills instead of staying in the same old ruts. But the truth is, I don’t have any desire to knit socks that I won’t wear. Period. If I had no other knitting and the overwhelming desire to knit SOMETHING RIGHT NOW, maybe. However, I have a list of projects and some yarn right now that I desperately want to start. I did learn a picot edging from this sock pattern, but it is just “not me.” Because I am at nature a rule follower, I have been knitting them out of guilt. I quit! The yarn came last night for the beautiful mitered square blanket that I am making just for us. I had to wait months for it to go on sale. The pattern is ready to go and the box of yarn is sitting on the kitchen table. If there are consequences and I get kicked out of a KAL, so be it. I QUIT! Ribbit! (I have another project in mind for the sock yarn.)

Not a Lot of Knitting

2011-04-17T21:26:00.002-05:00

I did manage to complete the picot hem for the second of the Spring Socks. After that, I seemed to be unable to count to 30 accurately because my mind kept loping off to some other tasks and possibilities that we have going right now.

I did, however, finish and deliver my presentation on e-books and audio books for the Friends of the Library here. We have had access for a couple of years to audio books to download through OverDrive, but the e-books are a brand new item. I don’t know that I helped anyone much, but they went away with a handful of written down information about the two subjects, so perhaps that will help.

I just finished reading to an e-book myself—The Lacemakers of Glenmara. I had put it on my hold list a couple of months ago just because the title and the blurb appealed to me. I really liked the book. You can click on the cover in the Goodreads section of the sidebar to read my review.

A Little Bit of Knitting

2011-04-11T14:58:00.002-05:00

I joined the Six Sox KAL on Yahoo recently because I kept favoriting their patterns on Ravelry and because I tend to get in a rut when knitting socks and felt that I needed to stretch my horizons somewhat. The first pair of sox was not exactly that kind of a stretch, but it was a wonderful pattern that I plan to use repeatedly in the future. The current bimonthly pair features a 12-stitch lace pattern and a picot top hem and an eye of partridge heel. I am adapting a little bit. I know that I need 64 stitches on a 2.5 mm needle for the best fit. Of course, 64 does not divide by 12. I finally decided that I would go with the 60 stitch option—72 would be too big, that fits my husband—because the lace will be extra stretchy. I plan on making the heel flap a little longer than suggested on the pattern because I know what fits me, and I can stop my gusset decreases to give a 64-stitch foot. I chose to use some yarn I had on hand, Maizy, in a Springtime colorway. This is a corn yarn that I have used before. I’ve been generally pleased with the way the socks have worn. However, I think I may have made a poor choice for this pattern because the color variation in the yarn does not show off the lace to best advantage. The holes show, but the intricate pattern of twisted stitches does not stand out.

The picot hem, however, was a revelation! Had I known it was this easy, I would have used it before. The top ribbing is always my least-favorite sock part.

Although I use Magic Loop, I never do two socks at a time because I don’t like keeping up with the two separate strands of working yarn. I confuse easily. Because I want to keep my lace mojo going on this pair, I quit knitting this sock at the heel flap, and I am starting the second sock on another circular needle. That way, I am doing two at a time in the sense of leg, leg, heel, heel, foot, foot, and I am getting the hard part over with quickly. This may never be my favorite pair of socks, but I will admit that I am learning new skills.

Knit, Knit, Review

2011-04-05T13:31:00.002-05:00

Finally, some finished knitting to show--

The first item is a finished hat for Hats for Sailors. There is a rather lengthy story behind this project. To read about it and to find out how to participate, click on the button in the right sidebar. There is also a Ravelry group. This hat is knitted by the Jacques Cousteau pattern that is available on Ravelry. If you check the finished projects, you will find instructions for knitting the hat from worsted weight instead of DK. The yarn is Knit Picks Swish worsted in the color Truffle. It is a tad bit darker than the picture shows. The yarn was super to knit with. I used about 1 1/2 skeins.

The Clapotis is finished and blocked and photographed. Now I just need to get the nerve to wear it. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to wearing something swingy with panache. This stole-like wrap makes me feel rather Jane Austenish, and I am having trouble figuring out just how to wear it. Of course, it isn’t quite the “thing” to wear with waffle-weave sweats. There’s that lovely scene in Sense and Sensibility when Emma Thompson is walking with Hugh Grant and her stole slips and he grabs the end of it and helps her redrape it. . . . I figure that I will just be lucky not to trip over the end of mine! The actual color of the yarn is a little more burgundy than the picture shows. The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy from The Loopy Ewe. I used not quite all of two skeins. I was going for the rule of 5, but I left myself a little safety room. The blocked measurement is approximately 7 1/2’ x 22”.

Audiobook Review—A Heartbeat Away is an intriguing scientific/medical/political thriller. Michael Palmer does a good job of keeping the reader involved with changes of scene and plot. If you like thrillers, you should find this book a treat.

If you water it, it grows. . . .

2011-03-31T16:40:00.002-05:00

Today I soaked my Clapotis to block it. This was a much more complicated procedure than it should have been. About 2 years ago, I happened to be with my husband in a welding supply shop, and I purchased, for a mere pittance, the stainless steel wires for lace blocking. I brought them home and put them away, and then proceeded to knit garter-stitch afghans and Wonderful Wallabies and socks for a long time. Long enough to have forgotten where I put those darn wires. I can’t seem to find them anywhere. So, this morning, I used cotton string and a needle to prepare the Clapotis for string blocking. (Thanks, Yarn Harlot, for your instructions.) Right after lunch, I put the Clapotis in to soak with a little Euclan. I just pinned it out. This is not particularly a hard blocking, and I went for shawl width rather than length in my stretching. It is pinned out across the length of the blocking board and to the bed on each end and then hangs down to the bottom of a rather thick mattress. That must make it about 8 feet! Width is 22 inches. I may have to rewet and pin out those ends separately after this much is dry, but crawling on the floor to pin out the entire piece is just beyond me. I hope this is not too long, but as I am more than ample in size, perhaps it will be just right.

Schedule check—The gas meter people came today instead of Tuesday.

OTN—a Jacques Cousteau hat in Shine Worsted for Hats for Sailors. If you are interested in the project, click on the button to the right. There is also a Ravelry group.

Too Pooped to Photograph

2011-03-30T18:33:00.002-05:00

I just finished knitting the Clapotis. I will photograph in the morning and then wash and block it. It was great fun, but I’m ready to move on.