When Reason Abandons Me...

How many times have I tried socks? My mother has made 100's of socks. I got my knitting gene from her, but not the sock knitting mutation.

I got 3/4 of the last pair of socks, for DH, completed, but I just could not bring myself to finish the foot and toe. They sat forlornly in a bag at the bottom of the closet, forgotten, except for a few furtive glances of light when I was looking for something else, and found only guilt instead. Finally, I gave the whole mess to Mom. Within 3 days, L was wearing new sox.

I started lime-green mohair sox for DD, for Christmas 2006, same vintage as the ones for DH. These were much larger gauge, mini-cable, 48 stitches, should have been easy to finish. I finished one. Then they went to the bottom of the closet. In the meantime, DD's 3-year fascination with lime green finally ended. Yet she still wants me to finish these sox. I'm not even sure if it would fit her anymore, although her feet couldn't change much from 18 to 20, I would think.

Mom recently made several pairs of socks, with this accordion-y, slouchy pattern. I am fascinated. I want some. More than that, I want to MAKE some. No, wait, lace.

I don't have a car, although DH does. I use public transportation for work, and many errands. No matter what project I'm working, most of them eventually get too large for commute knitting, and changing busses/trains. Socks would not. So, maybe that is what's happening.

I've been craving sock yarn lately, much as one would crave peanut butter cups or fresh raspberries. After a stressful evening yesterday (did you know that parenting does not stop when they are 18? Did you know that?),
I simply HAD to hit an LYS today. HAD to. I ended up with the pattern for this (Leaf Lace Socks, Fiber Trends)<<=====



















to make out of this =====>

On #1's. Oy.

Too Embarassed to Post

OK, so I haven't posted in a month. That's because I've been bad, starting too many things, stressing over moving, etc. I will try to do a brief catchup.

I did a search on my computer for photos and "it has been 187 photos since my last confession", er, blog entry. It would appear that most of them are related to house hunting, or adding photos to my new Palm.

The house - we have dropped that idea. New idea - build massive addition to current house (double garage underneath a master suite, at least one more bedroom, an office, kitchen remodel, move all the stairs to the side of house instead of all over the place like they are now. Probably $100,000 minimum. Which is likely the amount of debt we would have left over after all the buying/moving/cleaning/selling was done. We own the current small, ugly house free and clear. DH met with architect 2 weeks ago, and tomorrow we will both meet with him to hear his preliminary plans and perhaps see some drawings.

OKC - a few knitting photos DID crop up in that search.

One of the baby learning socks from Cat Bordhi's new book (will update with link this weekend). Book is stunning, and I'm not even a sock knitter. This one has the increase stitches all in a triangle on the TOP of the foot.
I can't wait to try out some of these ideas.




Unfortunately, I was already well into these socks for DH before I went to Cat's booksigning. I'm doing quite well with these, working both sort of at the same time (two sets of two circs). The most recent photo is just AWFUL, but trust me they will get photo'd again WHEN, not IF, they get done.

A trip to the newest LYS showed a long, luscious cashmere cowl in basic Feather and Fan, but the cashmere was in 3 blah, dull colors. Someone who shall remain nameless introduced me to Debbie Bliss Alpaca DK. I got one skein in red and faked the cowl just to see how far it would go. Not very. Plus, the yarn broke and released a few bound-off stitches while I was weaving in ends. And I wasn't tugging, just pulling through to snip. Fortunately, I had a longtail caston end which I cannibalized for repairs. I also got two shades in a lovely lavendar - no photos yet. I want to make a larger, longer one of these - this might work for a teen or petite woman, but especially if yarn is this fragiles, best not to pull on it, rather have it slip / slide / drape into place.

Finally, this week's project the Argosy scarf from Knitty (link later - google argosy knitty - it will come up. I promise you.) This newish LYS boasts the most ginormous selection of Noro that I've ever seen. The colors in this were radioactive bright and this is the only pix of about 10 I've taken that even BEGINS to capture the glory of this stuff. I have 2 skeins, which will be about 6 feet total. That's enough for a primarily decorative item; we'll see if I really want to add more after that. And my colors will sequence great from one skein to the next!

Seeing double...

OK, I just discovered I had two loose posts wandering around from a previous blogging attempt in 2004. I think I have now deleted them and the blog they were sitting on. I wonder how much other stuff I might have out there on spinsite, wordpress (which still has Dad's tribute pages, those will stay up), etc.

Anyway, not too much to report knitting wise. I've been trying to be serially monogamous and work on this one project. I'm actually enjoying it although the rows get l-o-n-g-e-r as you go. So that even though I have finished 38 of 52 rows, I might not be half-done with it yet in number of stitches. And DD still thinks it's ugly, to which I reply, "Who said it was FOR you?"

The rush to clean out the Yarn Room (well, not THAT much of a rush, as I haven't really started yet) may be premature. It turns out that the house we are interested in has serious furnace/heating issues, which added to the other smaller issues, means that we would likely have to expend $10-15,000 before winter to fix up the various bits. The house IS being sold as a fixer, and visually, the house is in great shape. But DH spoke to a contractor who bid the furnace conversion on this house 6 months ago, and it was an illuminating discussion. Haven't made the final decision but my feeling is the chance we won't even make an offer is up to about 80%.

OK, time for Futurama.

Time flies....

Wow, I can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I last posted. Bless me Father for I have sinned, my last yarn purchase was...not very long ago (grin).

One day last week, B wore the scarf to work and it looked great. I'm glad she likes it.

Now, as for the wicked enabling friend who was here a couple weeks ago, let's see if I can find the forensic evidence, er, photographs, of the stuff she made me buy.

This stuff was actually in my stash. OK, it hadn't been in my stash for very long, but I did already have it in hand to make a pillow (basically a big tube that was stuffed with a flat, circular pillow form and gathered at each end - well, that's not it exactly but I can't find a pix online.) What was I thinking? At Mabel's, some evil person had done up the very delicate and lovely Shetland Triangle, designed for laceweight, or something THIN, in Noro Silk Garden in a green/gray/black colorway. OMG, it was amazing. I wish I'd taken a pix of it. You'd be stunned. It was paired on the mannequin with a lime-green skirt with black ruffly flounce at the bottom and the whole ensemble was perfect. So, of course, my lemming tendencies come out and I have to start one too. I'll see how big it is with the three skeins I have since I don't remember where they came from.

This stuff was new to me, Noro Silk Garden Lite. Yes, less filling. It's about DK weight and I quickly (well, quickly for me - about a week) did up a feather-and-fan lace cap in it. Pattern was written for bulky yarn, 72 sts. I did 96 sts, and mine won't fit an adult head. But it's OK. I'm considering doing some generic handwarmers with a repeat of the f-n-f pattern on the back of hand. This took less than one skein. And, yes, those two skeins are the same color AND lot number.

For quick and dirty, there is this Eskimo Yarn by Garnstudio. I bought 2 skeins, thinking scarf or hat, but it's only 55 yds per. I started a few things, the last thing I tried was a mitered square thing. I think it needs to be alternated with something else and cast on the long way for a scarf or just do a basic cap. It's sized for a US #11, 2.5 sts to the inch.



Went to the Oregon Coast for our anniversary last weekend and found some Plymouth Boku. It's much like Kureyon, with 5% silk. I started a Saxon braid with it, but I think I will frog that and just do a simple seed stitch scarf. I got 2 skeins of that; DH was with me, patiently sitting in the Spouse Chair, so I had to behave myself.

Finally, I was out several days this week with irritative or viral bronchitis (I think it was the "ambience" in our theoretically nonsmoking hotel room last weekend). So, I deserved a pretty. This is quite pale, although the photo makes it look more washed out than it is. This is looking nice for a right triangle scarf. 2 skeins of this too. I appear to be in a rut. Or maybe I'm just cheap.

Have a splendid weekend.

And that is why we knit for other people...

I gave B the scarf for J's birthday. She was in tears reading the note, and again when she opened it up. Well, I had hoped it would touch her, but I didn't mean to upset her! There were hugs all around and later she sent me a Hallmark e-card in appreciation. Later, there was some glitch and Hallmark sent the message 7 times. She was apologizing and I told her I would save them for the gift recipients who don't appreciate the effort. Interesting coincidence, her nail polish color that day was a PERFECT match for the scarf...

I've been alternating between two projects since then.

<= I finished the gusset for the Brea bag, decreased from 16 to 12 stitches, folded the edges around, and started the i-cord for strap. The cord is 120 rows, boring, but it goes fast, good for commute knitting. Once the three cords are done, I will loosely braid them together and then kitchener to opposite side of gusset. I'm quite proud of myself for not starting something new. It's a little disingenuous since I *have* started maybe 10 new things since the first of the year, but every little bit helps. I have a button, clasp, pendant thing that will go with this PERFECTLY. I found it by accident and it has the same shape as the lotus petal, is primarily pearlescent white with a little bit of black and orange in it!!

Morning Glory => I am about 25 rows into the 58 rows total. I did an Excel spreadsheet (I love numbers) and figured out that I have about 20% of the knitting done. There will be over 600 stitches by the time it's done. I love the way this is working out. After all the struggling with learning the chart on Dogs Paw, I'm delighted to see this is making sense sooner. I added two repeats to chart to account for general boobage, but I think it will be a "one size fits most" if I decide to not keep it. DD saw the pix and pronounced it worthy of the old "You Knit What" webpage, so clearly it is not for her.

Yesterday, we took another look, with the realtor, of what might be our new home. The house has been on the market for several months, price has been reduced 10%. House is being sold as-is, but the few items needing attention are not massive. We may make an offer contingent on the house inspection. But how can you not love a house with 3 separate walls of stuff like this:

There are DOZENS of shallow drawers for placemats, etc. It almost looks like they were set up for architectural drawings. God bless my DH - he brought a skein of yarn to check it in the shallow drawers (they are about 4 inches high, lots of nooks and crannies to store stuff).



A couple of non-negotiables that are probably keeping this house on the market are: NO back yard (not a problem for me - lawn mowing is SO over) and it's located on a busy street with the city bus stopping 30 yards west of the front door. The street noise is pretty well muted by the windows and would be even more so if we replaced them with double panes. The kitchen is small, but soon it will be just the two of us, and cooking is not a pastime or hobby with me; it's a necessary evil. My current kitchen is HUGE but poorly designed so having everything closer works for me. There's even a built-in spice rack behind those cupboard doors at the far end, and they are probably 4 inches deep.

So, we're thinking about it and thinking about getting prequalified. There are not loads of buyers lining up for this house, so we've had some time, but I think we need to get moving on it Monday.

Finally, an old friend, my former BFF where we lived before, was in town and we got together and we had a grand old time. Things had sort of cooled off between us over the last couple of years. We just had the BEST time today! She comes from a small town that is not LYS-enabled (watch out for "enable" - it comes into play later) and so we hit three of my favorite LYSs - Naked Sheep (having their 2nd anniversary sale this weekend!), Mabel's (where Mom met us for yarn and a sip and a nosh =>) and Yarn Garden. I told her this was so much more shopping than I was used to, I'd have to have a cigarette afterwards.

In typical fashion, J netted out with only *2* skeins of yarn, but enabled me to do much worse, or is it better? Pix tomorrow when I've recovered.

So now, if I'm a good girl, I'll keep working on those two existing "current" projects and not start something with the new goodies, eh? Film at 11.

I am beyond delighted

After promising to be VERY careful with DH's new $$$ digital camera, and learning about only three of the eleventy-five buttons and switches on it, I was able to get pix of my first serious lace piece. It probably took me as long to pin it out as it did for this to dry - it was nearly 90F today.

Without further ado (and reluctantly saying adieu to the scarf tomorrow), here it is. Click on a thumbnail for the big picture.

Losing my lace-inity

It was a lovely day. It was a holiday. The sun was out; the sky was blue.

The jasmine was in bloom. It was a perfect opportunity to do my first-ever serious lace blocking job. Even though there were men in my way , eventually I knew today was the day.

I am never good with finishing. I am often so proud of myself (not to mention surprised) that I ever finish the knitting, that there are nearly FO’s, who shall remain nameless, all over the place. You can’t pass judgment on something if it’s not completely done. Once I get started with finishing, the mechanics of it usually interest me and I do a fairly complete job. Unless it’s 10PM, Dec 24.

So, my intended partner was feeling lazy and loose. It was only when I prepared the tools that she tried to make a run for it. Too late. Ironically, the first thing to do is to get dressed (before getting “dressed”). To look finished. To not go to pieces.

Then, like a small child, she could not avoid – the bath. A toe dip. OK. Well, here we go. Ah, nice, cooling, relaxing. What could be better? She relaxed, looking not so much like wool, but more like raspberry compote.

When she was gently lifted from the cooling waters….. again, much like a small child, well, you could tell, she had been there.

Rats. I really wanted to get this done today. Ah, another holiday. 3 capfuls of vinegar, in we go again. This time, she didn't lose her flavor or her personality.

I will spare you the pix of the actual event (parental discretion would be advised, plus I couldn’t fight the child and take photos at the same time. Eventually, she wound down and stretched out for a nice nap.

Serial Monogamy? Hardly....

So, today I took *4* projects to work. It's only about a 30-minute commute, so I don't know what I was thinking. The completed, but not blocked Dog Paw Lace (meant to show it to someone, but didn't), the Brea purse (two main pieces are done - I finally decided what to do about gusset and strap; Noro Silk Garden for a pillow, not even cast on yet. And the Morning Glory cape, which is what I worked on mostly.
The Brea bag should not have been that complicated. The original pattern called for a knitted gusset, in seed stitch, I think, with a leather strap attached. Well, I couldn't find a leather strap at several of the local places, not just LYS, but fabric stores, etc. One issue is, it was my intent all along to slightly felt the bag, which I can't do once leather is attached (can I?). I did find some nice purse straps, but no way to remove the strap for felting or laundry. DH cleverly suggested using a split ring and attach strap to split ring and split ring to bag. That actually would have worked. Finally, I came upon this idea. Knit a double-thickness gusset, with a seam on the inside center. Slide plastic canvas or some sort of reinforcement into the envelope of the gusset. At the top of the bag, I decrease the stitches, and make three separate i-cords. Braid them together LOOSELY, and then kitchener them to the other side of bag. This is what I have so far.

This weekend, while looking for something else (isn't that the way it is?), I found this knitted lace doily. This was to be a wedding present for a coworker, now long gone. It is complete but for blocking. Do I need to put a pin in each one of those little crocheted loops on the edging? There's 200+ of those !! Yikes!

Quick block peek - DPL

DONE DONE DONE!

It needs to be wet-blocked, but I couldn't wait to pop it on the wires for a
quick look at the finished project....

DH has a new, quite elaborate digital camera, so once it is truly and completely done, I think I'll ask him to help me with some really good pix.

Oh, and while looking for something else, I found a lace project I did several years ago, a doily. It is all done except for the blocking, so hopefully I can post that in the next week or so....

My Xth blog site

I'm trying a new site because it was such a hassle to post photos on Wordpress. Latest photo of the Dogs Paw Lace, nearly done. I've finished 30 of 29 repeats (because I still have yarn left) but will start border today.