Nonsuch Knits

Day 1: Tools of the Trade

2011-11-29T19:32:00.003-06:00

The Day 1 part of Adventkalendarschal 2010 is complete. This was easy and enjoyable, with a 8-stitch repeat. Easy-peasy. The one thing that came to mind was how important the "tools of the trade" are. After testing out a few needles, it became apparent that I needed to use US 3 to get gauge, or more important to me with a scarf/stole, a "fabric" that looks nice. I borrowed a #3 from a 3-year old WIP, but it was 32" long. This ended up being much too long for this project, making the knitting feel cumbersome and awkward. I must have a 24" #3 somewhere in the house on a different WIP, but I broke down and bought a new needle. What a difference! The knitting just seemed to flow along.

I was so pleased, I moved on to Day 2 - a motif pattern without repeats. I lost count on Row 3, ending up with too few stitches. As I was tinking it seems that I've dropped one or two stitches. Rats. I think I'll wait until tomorrow with natural light coming through the windows to figure out where I am in the pattern. I was really hoping to get a big jump forward today.

The yarn is gorgeous for this pattern. It isn't noticeable in the photos but there is a gentle shift from cherry red to orange/red and back again. I can only describe it as "alive".

24 Days in December (and November)

2011-11-28T16:40:00.002-06:00

My yarn is wound and my needles are at the ready! I've always loved knit-alongs and the crazy pre-Christmas season is no exception. I've wound a skein of Lorna's Lace's Helen's Lace in color Ysolda Red...

(oh, gosh, isn't it beautiful?) to make Adventkalendarschal 2010, a free pattern on Ravelry for a lovely lace stole designed by some (obviously) lovely German women. The general premiss is one lace pattern each day in December until the 24th. And voila, presto you have a Christmas stole.

You who know me, know that LAKNITS (my Ravatar) stands for Looney-Arse Knitter Nears Irrationality This Season - or some such sentiment.

So, here we go. I'm casting on this evening. I know it's not December, yet, but seriously, only 24 days?

Christmas Comes Early

2011-10-26T16:53:00.002-05:00

On this date, at 4:20 p.m. Central Time, I saw my first house in the next neighborhood decorated for Christmas! Am I the winner? Just asking.

Dinner and a Movie

2011-07-14T17:46:00.005-05:00

First and foremost, no, we aren't having rabbit! It seems the babies have flown the coup, or rather, hopped the warren. The evening after my last post, I saw Mrs. Rabbit scurry away as I opened the back door. Two of her children were just outside the safety of their nest. Cute as cute can be. They were each about the size of my fist with little bitty rabbit ears and beady little black eyes. Yesterday they were gone. The Rabbit family has relocated to a different rabbit neighborhood. I hope they keep in touch with a Christmas card or two!

Dinner tonight will be a lovely vegetarian dish that my sister found and served when we were visiting in London this spring. She was the one to think that arugula (rocket in the UK) would be so much nicer than green beans. The combination of sweet potatoes with peppery, bitter arugula, pasta, and feta cheese is awe inspiring!

Here, then is Sweet Potato and Feta Pasta a la Laurie:

2 sweet potatoes

1-2 bags, or a big bunch of arugula

1 lb round or short pasta of your choice

3-4 Tbsp good olive oil

a good handful of pine nuts (Darn conversions! The recipe calls for 50 grams.)

1 Tbsp olive oil

6 oz. feta cheese

Peel the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Boil in salted water for about 5 mins, until just about tender. Drain. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water; drain., saving a little of the water. Return pasta to pot with a splash of the good olive oil. and 2 Tbsp of the cooking water. Quickly stir-fry the pine nuts in 1 Tbsp olive oil until golden. Place all of the cooked ingredients in a warmed serving bowl, crumble the feta cheese over the top, add a splash of olive oil and toss with arugula to slightly wilt before serving.

Pick a movie to watch while enjoying dinner, or if you're really (reel-y) lucky, try to stay awake for the midnight showing of the last episode of Harry Potter. I won't be there at midnight, but I'm excited to see the movie. Excited and sad. It doesn't seem possible that this is The End. When I read the last book, I knew I still had the movie in my future. As of midnight tonight, well...the book is closed.

"Goodnight, Harry."

Mr. McGregor's Garden

2011-07-11T15:06:00.008-05:00

We've had gardens big and bigger, and now we have a very small garden. This spring we purchased two 4"x4" raised bed forms. The perfect spot for them was in front of my studio window where I could watch the seedlings become large plants. (Massive plants! Take a gander at the zucchini leaves.) I bought plastic fencing to put around the upper edges to keep any little critters away from the tender seedlings. One planter has the zucchini, green beans and a tomato plant, the other had spinach, beets, and peas. This mini-garden also sits up against the patio - the very same patio that our two hunting dogs run across at least four times a day, when I take them outside.

I guess I didn't plan very well, since all the early plants were in one planter. Maybe I should have planted the early vegetables along with the slower ones to harvest some and save space for the others. On the other hand, it would have been nice to re-plant some quick-growing vegetables in the same planter after harvesting the early ones. This is where the story gets interesting.

Two weeks ago Dave went out to pick the last of the peas. I had planted them in circles around a "teepee" of wooden stakes. He was downstairs for several minutes and then called me to come down. There was something different in his voice. When I got outside, he was standing by the teepee, holding some old pea vines. "Take a look at this, " he said.

In the exact center of the teepee was a depression filled with dried grass, fur, and several fuzzy, squirming animals. The ears were small, yet too big for mice or rats. Baby rabbits! Mrs. Rabbit had managed to get through or over the fence and built a nursery in - the - very- center of my peas. Not a pea, or spinach leaf, or beet was ever nibbled. But here was her family. Raised beds, fencing, two hunting dogs (is it too late for a refund?) and still Mrs. Rabbit decided this was the perfect bunny spot.

Fast forward two weeks, and they're doing quite well, thank you. This may seem surprising to those of you who know that Dave has four geese, two ducks, two turkey tails, two deer, an arctic caribou, and a musk ox suspended on the walls of his "man cave", but even he decided that it would be bad form to eat his neighbors!

Since we cut away all the "walls" of their house, I've tied cut grasses and weeds to the teepee for a little protection. I've never seen Mrs. Rabbit, but her children are growing, so she must be there every night. I even used our Webber kettle cover as a sun block yesterday, as it was so hot and humid and I can't imagine how sweltering it must be for furry bunnies in the moist dirt, with grass covering them.

I suppose I should start designing clothes for the bunnies. Let's see, a sweater for Peter Rabbit, dresses for Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail, and a jaunty jacket for cousin, Benjamin Bunny. Sock yarn would do well. It's washable!

Claire

2011-06-18T08:56:00.001-05:00

A new FREE pattern was just added to my Ravelry page. Claire is a light-as-air stole, knit with Rowan Kidsilk Haze. There is just one written row! Repeat that row until you run out of yarn, then bind off. Easy-peasey!

If you want your stole longer or wider simply add pattern repeats - and more yarn. My finished measurement are 63" x 19" using the 2 skeins of "Killer Red" (unusual name for such a gorgeous deep coral) that were in my stash.

I'm glad that I managed to get the above photos last evening as this morning has been rainy and gray. At least my petunias will be happy when the sun comes out later today.

Flood Pants

2011-06-16T17:12:00.006-05:00

I've been meaning to introduce my new patterns, but I feel this needs to be shown, first:

This is Omaha from the north. It's an amazing sight as the Missouri River is flooding eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. There have been so many natural disasters in the U.S. this year. I realize that people can get overwhelmed. Just keep the farmers, restaurant/shop owners, families in your thoughts...and The Red Cross can always use some monetary support.

Home Again, Home Again

2011-06-14T18:12:00.005-05:00

I got home yesterday at 4:30 pm. My pajamas were on by 7:00, in bed by 7:30, read one chapter, lights out (not that it was dark) by 8:00, and sound asleep in 5 minutes. After 11 hours I felt delightfully refreshed. Two hours later, I was feeling heavy-eyed again. Fun times in Columbus at the TNNA Market! It wouldn't have been so bad if I had acted intelligently and gone to bed early each night to be ready for another busy day. But, nooooo, I stayed up till after midnight talking with my good friends from Twisted Yarns.

The exhaustion started before that, though. I only got about 2 hours of sleep before my flight since the alarm was set for 2:45 am, but I woke up at 2:15 to just stare at the clock, waiting for 2:45. Luckily, I was entertained by listening to late-night radio and a man who had his aura "read" by sticking his finger in a machine where they could see his aura "glow" (he then went into a room where all sorts of gases were blown at him, and then his aura was re-read and was...different!), and a woman who feels that people are sneaking into her house and poisoning her Frosted Flakes since she feels sick every time she eats a bowl of them!

I felt as though someone should have checked my aura as I was driving to the airport. It was 3:45 am and hardly a soul was on the road. The speed limit was 45 mph on a 4-lane street, and I was doing slightly over 50 mph when a car pulled directly behind me after entering the road froma ramp. Red lights went off in my head, luckily, since when we drove under a street light I saw that it was, indeed, a police car. Not wanting to appear even more guilty, I took my foot off the gas to slowly reduce my speed. Eventually he or she must have decided that I had learned my lesson for the day and pulled away from me.

Things seemed to be running fairly smoothly at the airport, but I was so sleepy I almost didn't realize that I was being waved into the dreaded scanner. I have a thing about that machine. It's not so much the picture-taking as the incomplete testing on long-term effects. So, I requested, for the second time, to be patted down. This seems better to me. The TSA ladies have been nice and polite, and use the back of their hands at "sensitive areas". After the pat-down, you are instructed to stand where you are while they run their gloves through a scanning device. Beep-beep-beep. Her gloves read positive for "chemicals". Chemicals? I'm trying to think ...deodorant?...laundry detergent?...no perfume...what? Now I got to enter the "private room" with two TSA ladies for an additional pat-down. Great. Do I want an attorney present? Truly, it wasn't that bad. Just more of the same. We even discussed underwire bras and how the wire broke for one of the ladies. (Ouch.) A few more minutes and I was declared "clean".

Luckily, from then on things got better. The other passengers didn't even shy away, thinking that there must really be something up with me since I had a double pat!

Home. Still sleepy, and trying to put faces, names, and business cards together. Bit by bit, it's all coming back to me. I met so many interesting people while at Brown Sheep's booth and walking and walking around the convention center floor.

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig.

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.

To market, to market, to buy a fat hog.

Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.

To market, to market, to buy a plum bun.

Home again, home again, Market is done!

Announcement

2011-06-09T19:44:00.007-05:00

The Nonsuch Knits website is up and running! Stop by and see it at www.nonsuchknits.com. I'm very pleased.! I love the slight movement and interactive feel. Dave's pretty pleased since many of the photos used were taken by him. But, I have to give major praise to Tomek Sawan, the wonder tech! He understood what I needed from the start and didn't mind the many, many emails back and forth. "So, how do I...?" Check him out at Atomic Design and Media. You'll be happy you did!

Now I need to dash off and finish packing for an outrageously early flight to Columbus, Ohio for the TNNA Market. I'm excited to have a space at Brown Sheep Company's booth. My 6 Brown Sheep items are ready to go. They're on Ravelry now. When I get home, I'll put some photos of them on this blog.

I'll try post while I'm at Market. There are links to Nonsuch Knits' Facebook page and Twitter on the website.

See you when I get back!

NYC Dreamin'

2011-05-30T18:32:00.018-05:00

Just a week ago, as of this very moment, Dave and I were sitting at La Guardia, waiting for our flight home. Ah, New York! We spent a long weekend visiting Darling Daughter #2 (DD2), Allyson.

Visiting = eating.

The Meatball Shop. Who would have thought - meatballs on a salad!

Aroma. We had a fabulous dinner downstairs, with lots of wine. (Don't miss the restroom down there!)

Tom & Jerry's for a Hendrick's Gin, limeade, and cucumber.

Sweet Grapes for drinks, and then dinner at

The Ten Bells Oh my what a dinner! I'm happy to announce that after many tapas plates, and 4 hours later, we were the last group in the back. (Thanks for the final bottle of wine, Arturo!)

Lombardi's pizza, delivered, so I have to check the address, but oh, my goodness, it was pizza as I remember. What is it that is so special with the sauce? And a terrific meal at a

Chinese Restaurant. (Once again, I need to check my facts.) And what trip can be complete without hot pastrami at

Katz's Deli? "Send a salami to your boy in the army"!

By this time, Dave and I had to slow down a bit and eat more sensibly...protein bars and green tea and then strolling down the ramps at the Guggenheim Museum.

Isn't it great when a weekend can contain so many links?

Allyson and Chris were very obliging hosts, with Ally even being coerced into some modeling for me!

With all of the food, and walking to find the food, there wasn't that much time for LYS spotting. I did get to Purl Soho. It's such a pretty and colorful shop! Then we wandered over to Downtown Yarns where I bought some Malabrigo Lace to make a lovely long vest. Very warm and welcoming shop!

The only glitch came with our return trip. Because of weather around NYC we didn't walk through our front door until 2 am. The older I get, the harder that is to take! I sure hate to admit that, but it's a fact.

I'm now "TNNA minus ten days". It's been a busy week since I got home. There's a lot to write about with this, but it will have to wait for another day!

Lego Post (Bits and Pieces)

2011-05-05T19:54:00.008-05:00

Nonsuch Knits is now on Facebook. Just don't laugh when you realize that I have no idea what to do with it! Honestly, I wish someone would write how-to instructions for the technological illiterate. Jeesh. I promise to get "buttons" and "banners", etc., but my kids are all celebrating Cinco de Mayo tonight, so my questions for them will have to wait till tomorrow. (We were absolute Mexican cuisine failures tonight, eating a pasta dish from an Ottolenghi cookbook along with a Californian red wine.)

I met Debbie Macomber today. (I said "Hi" to her once at Stitches, but I won't count that.) She was in Omaha to speak at a fund-raiser dinner for The Omaha Hearing School. We had a lovely few-minute-conversation, and something may come of it in the future. I wish I could come across to people as half as friendly as she truly appears to be. By that I mean to say that she is one of those delightful people who makes you feel as if you are the most important person in the room while she is speaking with you. When I grow up I'd like to be like Debbie!

More exciting news is that I will be at the TNNA Market in June! Brown Sheep Yarn will be displaying several of my new designs for a trunk show. I'll be at their booth during the day and then enjoying my evenings with some of the Twisted Gals from Twisted Yarns. (I was just trying to think of some witty way to mention mixing work with pleasure, when it dawned on me that this trip will be ALL pleasure! Please, fiber and friends? What's not to enjoy?)

Knit on!

Spring in the UK

2011-04-09T08:09:00.015-05:00

One more pattern is complete for the Brown Sheep Company trunk show. Here is the Tetbury Throw, complete:

This is a quick knit throw using Lamb's Pride Bulky, and best of all for some of you...it's made with all knit stitches. Yep, not a purl in the project. The patterning comes from an easy to remember slip-stitch pattern. My favorite part, though, is the bold border of garter stitch with mitered corners. The finished size is 38" x 47", perfect for covering your lap and legs on a chilly morning. If you were to use a DK yarn, you'd end up with a baby blanket of about 21" x 35".

I named the pattern for a town in the Cotswolds, a region in western England. We got to travel to England in March to visit my sister and brother-in-law. We had a perfect mix of time in their house in London, along with visiting their new/old cottage in the Cotswolds.

This isn't theirs, but the photo captures the mood of the area with the weathered stone cottages. (I want a dry stone wall!)

Being a more temperate climate than Omaha, the spring flowers were in bloom.

And then one of my favorite features...sheep!

These ladies are, in fact, neighbors to my sister. I'm having her keep an eye out for available fleeces.

No trip is complete without visiting at least one LYS. Mine this time was "loop" in Islington.

It is a lovely shop where they treated me to some of their signature candies as well as their canvas bag, as you can see. I managed to find some gorgeous English lace-weight yarn:

Juno Fibre Arts' Alice Lace - and since this blog does not have "feel-o-vision" you'll just have to imagine the happiness in 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere. Yum. I've got to design a shawl that is "yarn worthy".

Na Na Na-na

2011-02-26T09:55:00.019-06:00

Hey kids! It's been a while since I've posted. I think of you often, but I'm usually so busy knitting that I don't take the time to put my project down and head to this shiny screen of technology. Unfortunately, I was knitting so much I injured myself. Next time I'll know better and take a break. When I knit using bulky yarn I put too much stress on my right shoulder (broken when I was 9 years old) and then I get nerve issues that travel down to my hand. This was the cause:

I've been requested by Brown Sheep to design and knit some pieces for a trunk show that will begin at TNNA in June. Very exciting! This little number will be a throw/ afghan when it's all grown up.

I also have a hat/mitten/cowl trio:

And a lace stole:

I'm still waiting for yarn to arrive to start some socks and a sweater.

The weather here in Omaha has turned back to winter after some glorious days that were just teasing us. Once again, the ground"s white, the sky's white, and our fire is going. I took this photo a couple weeks ago and posted it on Facebook, but didn't want to put it in this blog since the weather had taken such a nice turn. The photo seemed so out of place with the warm sun - just as red and green look so awkward after Christmas. Now the landscape looks the same as when I caught this Bald Eagle sitting in a tree behind our house:

We don't have any large bodies of open water that eagles like right near us - the Missouri, Platte, and Elkhorn rivers are all 5-25 miles from us - but I sure am glad that this guy/girl decided to drop in for a few minutes! About 50 yards away was another large trees filled with 20+ nervous little birds who were all keeping a wary eye on the Big Guy!

Oh...Na Na Na-na. Last night Dave and I were hanging out listening to songs he's downloaded to his iPad. He found a bunch from the 60's and 70's that were taking us for a little stroll down Memory Lane. It was surprising to us that he had 4 songs with they heavy, thought-provoking lyrics containing an assortment of "Na-Na's". A good Na-Na speaks volumes! (The dogs headed to bed after we started singing along to the choruses.)

Steam - "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye"

Journey - "Lovin', Touchin' Squeezin' "

Deep Purple - "Hush"

The Grass Roots - "Midnight Confessions"

Please post to me if you think of any other Na-Na songs. I'll compile the International Na-Na List!

I'm still working on the Stora Dimun Shawl, slowly, though I think it will be this weekend's pleasure knitting.

Enjoy the last days of February. It brings Spring even closer - though I always hear my Grandma Clark telling me not to wish away my days.

Shawl, Cookies, and WIP Wednesday

2011-02-02T14:54:00.007-06:00

For some time now I have been meaning to get a decent photo of this lovely shawl onto this blog.

This is the Winter Mystery Shawl 2010 from Goddess Knits, knit using Spinning Bunny's Blue Face Leicester Lace Weight Yarn. The mystery shawls from Goddess Knits are great fun. Once a week "clues" are released through Yahoo!Groups. The clues consist of charted rows to be knit before the next week's clue. The mystery is not knowing what the finished shawl will look like. It is a bit of a leap of faith, though I've never been disappointed. This pattern is obviously winter-themed, with beads (a little difficult to see here) knitted in using a crochet hook to load each bead.

The yarn was delightful to use. There was one massive skein of lace weight yarn, that when wound into a ball, didn't have a single break. That's happy dance wonderful! I chose color Merlot and enjoyed the soft and lofty feel. Being hand-dyed there was quite a bit of color bleeding onto my fingers. I had to be extra careful not to let the yarn slide across the off-white upholstery. When the shawl was complete I simply ran it through a couple rinses of vinegar and water to set the color. I'd gladly use this yarn again.

Today, being Groundhog Day, I had to break out my groundhog cookie cutter to celebrate. (I just googled "groundhog cookie cutter" and found many available.) I use a terrific sugar cookie recipe that tastes and looks like the best from a bakery. I had been given this recipe by a friend and felt that I shouldn't openly share it until I discovered last year that I had the same recipe written done on a 3x5 card from years ago.

Here's my favorite sugar cookie recipe:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cream the butter; add sugar and vanilla; mix well. Add flour and salt; mix well.

Roll the dough to 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick and use cookie cutters.

Place cookies on ungreased baking sheet, covered in parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops look dry. Do not bake until brown.

Cool.

Decorate.

I spread a thin coat of melted chocolate (6 oz. chocolate chips with 1 tsp. solid shortening melted in a double boiler) on the back of the cookie - the groundhog's shadow! There isn't any vanilla ice cream in this house, or else I'd put a scoop in a bowl, stand a groundhog in the ice cream, and then drizzle some homemade hot fudge, as more of a shadow, behind him.

Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning, so winter will be over soon! I wanted to take a sunny picture of these little guys, but the 4 degree afternoon chased me indoors. We'll see how accurate the Punxsutawney rodent is!

"Hey, you dang woodchucks! Quit chuckin' my wood!"

And so now onto WIP Wednesday. I've been designing a few things for Brown Sheep Yarns. This is a sneak peek at the beginning of a stole. The yarn is wonderful to use. I just love lace.

Knit through everything!

Lynn Anne

One - Done

2011-01-31T13:13:00.001-06:00

I completed Litla Dimun Shawl this weekend. Here it is:

(If you put your computer on the floor and then lie in your right side you will see this photo as it is meant to be seen! For some unknown reason Blogger has decided that even though I rotated this photo on iPhoto I must not really want it that way.)

No matter. I do love this shawl. In fact I've been wearing it all morning while straightening up my blog page a bit, since it looks like this outside:

Actually, it's a bit worse now, but I'd never get a good shot of it since the ground, sky, and trees are currently all the same color. We've been having freezing fog (I've never experienced that before this year) and drizzle.

No matter. The shawl is making me happy. Cheryl Oberle must be a tall woman as the photo of this shawl in the book hangs just past her waist, while on me it's down to my bum. There were a couple other issues with the pattern, like the gusset decreases on Row 151, and do you decrease 8 stitches in the main sections on Rows 151 and 171 along with the usual 2 decreases, or in place of ? No matter. I learned to just roll with the punches. Like "Shakespeare in Love":

"Strangely enough, it all turns out well."

"How?"

"I don't know. It's a mystery."

With the weather the way it is around here, I was thinking about all the women through the ages who ran about town or farm wrapped in a woolen shawl. I wear a down jacket, wool hat, felted mittens, and bulky scarf, along with one of many pairs of non-skid Gortex-lined boots. It wasn't always this way. Once again, I am in awe of those who came before us.

So that got me thinking and I googled the Faroe Islands. Wow - they're really out there! Eighteen islands are floating smack-dab in the middle of the northern Atlantic, northwest of Scotland and their Shetland Islands, halfway between Norway and Iceland. Now...they may be the final stop for the Gulf Current, but still...I bet they get some interesting storms rolling in.

Take a peak for yourself, it looks lovely when displayed by the tourism board! Faroe Islands (Check out the Gallery, and the Icelandic sheep on the roof!)

So, on to Tvey, the Faroese word for two. This is the cast on and first rows for Stora Dimun Shawl. Once again, I'm using yarn that is listed in the pattern, Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill Silk Blend in color red trillium. The yarn looks very red in the book photo, but is actually a lovely raspberry. The pattern starts the same way, at the base, and with more stitches, but has a very different feel with 75% wool and 25% silk.

Knit through everything!

Great Expectations, Lessened

2011-01-19T11:41:00.002-06:00

I should know this by now. When it comes to blogging, I should never make promises. I have ~~glorious~~ ~~great~~ mediocre expectations for hammering out posts a few times a week, and well, it just doesn't always happen. Mind you, I have fairly reasonable excuses. My latest was babysitting Caleb for 3 days while Dave, Ashley, and Joy the Beagle drove 1400 miles across half the country with a car loaded with all their STUFF. I then flew with Caleb to Virginia to be in his "home" for the first time. (Now that was interesting: awake at 1:45 a.m. watching The Weather Channel as they showed a great blob of "mixed precipitation" heading directly to Omaha; up at 2:15 a.m.; waking Caleb at 3:15 a.m. for a bottle; plopping Caleb in his car seat at 3:45 a.m.; arriving at Eppley Airfield at 4:30 a.m. after a slow drive on the highways, keeping the sander trucks company along the highways; "wheels up" at 5:45 a.m. after being de-iced; land in Detroit 1 1/2 hours later to change and feed Caleb; take off for Virginia an hour later; hand Caleb to Ashley in Norfolk and breath a huge sigh of relief!)

We are all back in our proper places ("Take your seats, class) and ready for a new day.

I have been knitting (well, duh), though not as much as I was hoping. I'm now up to Row 95 on the Litla Dimun Shawl. I'm nearing the end of ball 3 on 5 of yarn, and the rows are coming along so much faster after all the decreases.

Interweave Press has had errata pages for Folk Shawls for years now. I'm assuming that the later editions have been corrected without need for looking for the errata. But as I was knitting along I found an issue that wasn't mentioned - and when I googled about it there was only one mention in 4 or 5 pages.

Okay, on page 25 of Folk Shawls there is a chart for the center lace pattern, or gusset, that travels up the back of the shawl. Beginning on Row 71, and then every 20 rows, you're to decrease one stitch each side within the gusset. But the pattern seems a little funky:

Look at Row 71. The first stitch is a k2tog followed by 4 knit stitches. My pattern wasn't working out, so I counted and recounted before noticing that the k2tog decreases the pattern by 1 stitch immediately, not in the next row. So, it should read "k2tog, k3, ssk, yo...". This happens on Rows 51, 71, 91, 111, 131, and 171. There are gusset decreases on Row 151 as well, but I'm going to have to work them out since there is a k2tog and ssk next to each other.

Am I looking at this correctly? I'd love it if you could check my thinking and let me know. Well, I've corrected the issue for myself and now the pattern is moving along without problems. Do any of you have a later edition? Does the chart remain the same as mine?

Thanks for checking. I know you will.

This is the right edge with decreases every other row. I can't wait to see it blocked when all the stitches relax and the yarn "blooms".

Take care. I'll have more to post about another completed shawl - not from this book.

Do's and Don'ts

2011-01-11T19:27:00.002-06:00

Don't...

pick up your shawl midway through a row, look at the stitch markers to help you remember whether this is a right side or wrong side, think "ah, wrong side so I'll just knit to the end", realize that the yarn is on the wrong needle tip, turn the knitting, and forget to re-think the plan since you are now, obviously, looking at the right side, knit a couple hundred stitches before getting to the orange stitch marker (see previous post) to realize the dreadful mistake that will now cause you to spend 1/2 hour frogging a couple hundred knit stitches.

Photos - happy photos - to follow tomorrow, after a good night's sleep.

Litla Dimun Shawl, Act 1

2011-01-05T19:13:00.006-06:00

Act 1, Scene 1

Casting On - Faroese shawls are knit from the bottom up with borders on either side, two side panels, and a center gusset. I always feel that a shawl that will decrease it's stitches as you progress will be a happy shawl. Maybe that makes this a comedy. Anyway, 421 stitches cast on using the crochet cast on. Sloooooooow, but nicely flexible, and best of all...no guess-timates as to the amount of yarn needed for a long-tail cast on!

I used my friendly stitch markers every 50 stitches to keep my sanity as I really don't like counting and recounting large numbers of stitches as they twist around circular needles.

Then I set things up with different stitch markers as Cheryl points out. My modus operandi is a green marker at the beginning of the RS, since green means GO. Then an orange (for these particular markers) for the last marker of the row, since orange is almost red, which means STOP. Then there are 2 markers on either side of the gusset - green first, then purple.

Act 1, Scene 2

Knitting Begins - This is always an exciting time for knitters. A vast "unknown" lies ahead. Maybe there will be multiple repeats, yarn overs and decreases, maybe even double decreases. The mind boggles with the possibilities!

I begin the shawl with 190 stitches in each of the side panels and after 4 rows garter stitch I am decreasing at the beginning and end of each side panel until I have 170 stitches in each. I will have 12 garter ridges at this point, but I like to double-check that my numbers are correct, and I still hate counting large numbers of stitches. So, I placed two additional markers in each side panel, 10 stitches in from each end. (10 sts, 170 sts, 10 sts) When I'm through with these decreases all of the 10 stitches will be gone, leaving 170. No counting!

It's surprising that at this point I've used almost all of my first of five balls of yarn. 225 m each. I'm almost one-fifth of the way through, which is another beauty of from the bottom up shawls.

Technical Stuff

The Icelandic wool is interesting to use. It's not unpleasant, but is certainly a coarser yarn. Icelandic sheep continue, after 1100 years, as one of the pure breed sheep, lacking the cross breeding as with many other breeds. They are a dual-coated sheep with a heavier, outer fleece, or Tog, along with a finer inner fiber, or Thel. The Tog is used for rugs and other weaving, while the Thel is used for garments that touch the skin. When blended together, the fiber is called Lopi. (Ah-ha!)

We will now return to our previously scheduled performance.

1.1.11

2011-01-01T19:27:00.006-06:00

Well, Hi there, kids! Long time, no post...but I have been here, just as Mom and Grandma for a while. Knitting has been happening, without doubt, along with designing. It's the pattern writing and publishing that has been absent. BUT, I have had an excellent reason - Ashley and Caleb:

As much as I've loved posting and publishing, I learned that those take a backseat to holding a baby and spending time with one of my daughters. Dave and I have a lovely time traveling and spending time together as empty-nesters. That has all changed, however, with our temporarily/permanent house-guests. But, alas, all things must come to an end. Ashley and Caleb will be returning to Virginia shortly since Phillip will be ending his deployment. That is "the way of the world" (to quote Kermit the Frog) and I'm pleased that their little family will be reunited. I desperately miss all three girls (Anne, Allyson, Ashley) and their families, though I feel a connecting thread to them at all times. I'm always amazed that so much time can pass since I've last seen them, since I can picture and imagine every detail of their lives through phone calls and emails.

It shouldn't be surprising that I'm so reflective at this time. A new year always does this to me. I purchase my monthly desk calendar early October and then keep it, untouched, till January 1 when I sit down and finally write in all the birthdays and anniversaries. I may even enjoy New Years more than Christmas. The latter is busy, busy and so very tiring. New Years is calm, for me, and a chance to take stock of my life.

For weeks now, I've been waiting to write today and discuss my "2011 Knitting Plans". Just as I decide what direction my life will be heading, something happened to remind me that I am not the person in charge. It looks as if I may be getting a wish of mine to share my knitting thoughts and ideas with others. Suddenly, all my plans changed. Flexibility (and a good night's sleep) then lead me to decide that more IS better. I can tackle all of it! I am woman!

Okay, okay! Enough of this!!!

My original plans were to make 2011 the Year of Folk Shawls. For the most of a decade I have loved Cheryl Oberle's book, Folk Shawls. A little late in the year I realized that 2010 was the 10th anniversary of the publish date for the book. Rats. I missed my chance to knit my way through the book during a memorable year. Okay...rethink this...I'll follow through with my plans beginning at the 2nd decade of "the book's" publishing date!

As of this moment I have 3 hours, 56 minutes to cast on (55 minutes) the Litla Dimun Shawl. Begin at the beginning. I have my yarn, needles, book at the ready.

The yarn is a lovely Icelandic laceweight, ordered from Schoolhouse Press. Being an Icelandic wool, it's not the softest I've ever felt, but I want to keep this experience as authentic as I can. The next decision will be whether or not to re-knit the Aran Pocket Shawl, Wool Peddler's Shawl, Highland Triangle Shawl, Bird's Nest Shawl, and Sampler Shawl in more appropriate yarns. Only time will tell.

So, keep posted, boys and girls. I'll try to keep my posts current, and somewhat meaningful. No promises for either.

Happy New Year and happy knitting!

Dog Days of Summer and Preparing for Winter

2010-08-12T08:52:00.003-05:00

First the preparation part. I just finished sewing the buttons on this adorable "romper" from Dale of Norway. It's located in Book # 203 and is pattern 20302. Since they don't name their patterns, that's all I can tell you! I knit it Baby Ull, color 5701, an Ice Blue. There's a simple-to-knit little pattern at the leg cuffs, and then again around the bodice. But, correct me if I'm wrong - I think there is a big mistake in their pattern. (Not that I've ever written a pattern with mistakes! Ha!)

There's a little chart with symbols, but basically, Row 1 is the Right Side and all knit. Row 2 (Wrong Side) all knit again. So now we have 2 rows garter stitch. Row 3 (RS) reads "Knit 1, slip 1 st on RS (okay, I'm working on RS, so just slip one stitch) with yarn at WS". (Slip stitch with yarn held away from me on WS). (Knit, slip, knit, slip.) Now comes Row 4 (WS) - Knit 1, "slip 1 st on WS with yarn at RS". (Slip 1 stitch on WS, where I am, and with yarn on RS which is away from me, again.) Following those directions, the slipped stitches on Row 3 are at the back and the slipped stitches on Row 4 are at the front giving a pattern that looks like this:

However, when closely examining the photo of the little cardigan that goes with this set and can be knit with up to three colors, it's obvious that all the slipped stitches should be on the Wrong Side. (Slight, grrrr.) It's still a cute little pattern, but I'll have to change it when I knit the cardigan in white and ice blue.

This will be a nice and warm little romper for Caleb when he's born into an Omaha autumn, followed closely by an Omaha winter! All that is to come is hard to imagine when we've been having a very Houstonian summer. The Weather Channel is on now..."hot and humid...". But the weather is supposed to break tomorrow with a high of 82. Yippee!

And so on to the dog days of summer:

The bum at the top left is Jessie, with Keltie hugging her new friend from Virginia, Joy. Mornings around here are interesting with three dogs needing to go out and then being fed. But, at least they get along well together!

Mr. Sock Meets Lord Kitchener in Kansas City

2010-07-30T14:10:00.003-05:00

The sock is complete! And for all you two-at-a-time-on-circular people, yes, I know, ONE sock is complete. I was pushing for a Kansas City finish line and just made it. I tried to get a photo of the sock with the "Welcome to Kansas City" sign, but it flew past us too quickly. (Or rather, we flew past it...)

So now we're home. Ashley is in the upstairs guest room for now. Her permanent residence will be my studio as soon as we can clear out some yarn, and books, and patterns, and loom, and did I say yarn? I'll have photos of that, even though the disarray in my studio is very embarrassing at the moment. But for now, it's just good to be home. Dave says he and I logged over 1600 miles in the last 5 days. (Five days and all I have is a few photos from the gate at an airport, and from the inside of a car. This was not a sight-seeing trip.)

Mr. Sock is a Heel

2010-07-28T20:42:00.003-05:00

Mr. Sock became a heel somewhere in Kentucky, or Indiana, or Illinois. Definitely before Missouri. Since this photo there's a finished gusset, too.

Let's see, I'm a day behind on our trip. Yesterday we left sunny Virginia Beach and headed west on I-64. In an 8-hour day we drove through Virginia, West Virginia and just into Kentucky. We might have made better time except for traveling with a 7-month pregnant lady and her beagle. Thank goodness there was Cullahan's Pub and Grill in Ashland, KY, AND the bartender could pour a really fine Black and Tan!

This morning we started out at 8:30 and were making great time until all traffic stopped. Not moving. Not creeping forward. Stopped. Then bit, by bit we started inching forward. At one point we were even with the cab of an 18-wheeler and I yelled up to the driver, "So, why are we having so much fun?" He answered, but with the cheek of chew and the noise of the engine I missed most of it. I did get, "...exit at 96 and get back on at 94." Well, there was promise with that, since exit 94 held the first Starbucks of the morning. Several hours later we passed the same truck, again. He must have gone beyond us during one of our many stops. Then miles and miles down the road we saw him pulled over by an Indiana State Trooper. Poor guy. And then, yet again, we passed him in Illinois. So, if any of you know a friendly truck driver for Magnum, who wears a straw cowboy hat, but he seems grumpy tonight, buy him a beer from us. (I'll be good for the money!)

I've never been through St. Louis and I was pleasantly surprised at how cool the Gateway Arch looks. It's fun that you can see it from miles away, and then I-64 passes right next to it. But where does everyone live? We drove 20 miles west of the city in heavy traffic the whole time. No one seemed to be exiting the highway, and we didn't see a single street of houses or development. Farmland, yes. Houses, nope.

So, tonight we are in O'Fallon Missouri, not O'Fallon Illinois, which is a few miles back. I thought it seemed like an extraordinarily long day, but the car clock said 5:20. Then it dawned on me that we were in Central Time, once more,so it was 6:20 to us.

Ashley has been fed. Joy, the beagle has been fed. Hopefully they can both get to sleep, soon. And that's were I'm headed. Missouri to Kansas City, then up to Iowa, and finally Omaha tomorrow.

Mr. Sock Goes to Washington

2010-07-27T19:42:00.003-05:00

I thought I'd make Dave happy and knit a pair of "Steeler Socks" for him since, as I've been reminded repeatedly, "Training camp starts this weekend." This yarn has been in my stash for several years (Lorna's Laces Bee Stripe Sock Yarn), but I've forgotten about it every year until football season is half-way through. At that point I'm doing the crazy-Christmas-knitting-dance, so I keep promising myself that I'll be more timely the next year, then the next year, then... Well, this is the year. The yarn is lovely to work with and he's thrilled . Here I am (okay, my left hand) at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, waiting to fly to Chicago-Midway, and then on to Washington Dulles:

I'm happy with the beginning. They'll just be basic stockinette socks with a k2p2 ribbing. Then next to me sits Sue who pulls these from her bag:

Swedish Fish Socks by Spilly Jane. Sue graciously allows me to capture her left hand and these yummy socks.

Oh, my...they're just too fun! I can't wait to get back home and get the pattern and yarn to make some for myself!

And now my little Ode to the Steelers socks are looking like a poor relation.

This is the trip to get Ashley and bring her to Omaha. She and Phillip are expecting their first baby in October, but he's being deployed next week. So little Caleb Patrick will be born in Nebraska with Grandma being the coach. Wait...what?

Maybe that's why I'm just concentrating on simple knitting. One stitch, one stitch, one stitch, change needle, repeat. More on Mr. Sock, Ms. Ashley, and training camp (!) to follow.

Wicked Beautiful

2010-07-14T20:50:00.004-05:00

Wicked: We had a big thunder/rain/wind storm just pass through here. At first it looked like we'd be between two storms, but they joined. Then it looked as if it would be a narrow band and pass by quickly, but it grew and grew. Some of the winds were clocked at 74+ mph. Then, as if that wasn't enough for the evening, the active lightning-producing storm south of us pushed it's edge right over us.

Beautiful: When things finally started to settle down at 8:30 P.M., there was still some sun off to the west, creating this...

...a double, complete rainbow. I wish I had a wide-angle lens. I couldn't capture all of it. The sky looks bizarre, but that was the real color at the time. We, like many of our neighbors were on our deck and front lawn, just staring at this sight.

Both arcs spread across the horizon from ground to ground. (One of the pleasures of living in the Great Plains. Massive vistas.)

Just had to share this awe inspiring moment.

Hat With Heart

2010-07-12T09:29:00.011-05:00

What was I thinking at the end of yesterday's post? Quit knitting?! Get serious! I might as well not breathe.

And so I present a new pattern, Hat With Heart:

Those who know me well have seen me knit quite a few of these for The Ships Project, a massive group of crafters who have hand made hundreds of thousands (really) of items for our deployed troops. I designed this pattern a few years ago and like the rapid decreases in the crown. Not only is it an easy-to-remember pattern (perfect for road trips or plane rides), it also has a contemporary feel.

Here's the free pattern. It's also on Ravelry here.

Hat With Heart

For many years I have joined hundreds of knitters who have knit thousands of hats for our troops through The Ships Project . This is the hat pattern that I developed and use. The military requires that there be no cuff, but there are many organizations that need hats for civilians, as well. Please knit a hat for someone you love, and then a hat for a stranger, whatever the cause, need, or group.

Materials

· Worsted weight yarn, approx. 150 -200 yds

For hat in the round:

· One 16” circular needle, size 8, or size required to get gauge

One set double-pointed needles, size 8, or the same as the circular needle

For flat hat:

· One pair knitting needles, size 8, or size required to get gauge

· Stitch marker

· Scissors

· Darning needle

Size – to fit average adult head, 20”-24” Gauge – 4 sts/in, stretched slightly

Abbreviations & Stitches Used

CO – cast on; K – knit; k2tog –knit two together; p – purl; p2tog – purl two together; rep – repeat;

rnd – round; st(s) – stitch(es)

(Try this: 7-8 yds are needed for the decrease rounds/rows. Measure this amount from yarn end, tie a knot to mark remaining amount for crown. There will certainly be enough to complete hat.)

Hat (in the round)

CO 88 sts. Join in the round, being careful not to twist stitches. (Try this: Cast on one extra stitch. When joining in the round for the first row, knit together the last cast on stitch with the first cast on stitch. This makes a firm join without the usual “gap”.)

Place marker at beg of round.

Next Rnd: *K2, p2; rep from * to marker.

Continue with this pattern until the hat measures 8” for hat without cuff, or 11” for hat with cuff.

Decrease Rounds (change to double-pointed needles when there are too few sts for circular needle)

Rnd 1: *K2, p2tog; rep from * to marker. (66 sts)

Rnd 2: *K2, p1; rep from * to marker.

Rnd 3: *K2tog, p1; rep from * to marker. (44 sts)

Rnd 4: *K1, p1; rep from * to marker.

Rnd 5: K2tog for complete round to marker. (22 sts)

Rnd 6: K to marker.

Break yarn, leaving a 10” tail. Thread tail through remaining sts and pull tightly. Secure to keep crown tight. Weave in all ends.

Hat (flat)

CO 90 stitches.

Row 1 (RS): *K2, p2; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2.

Row 2: *P2, k2; rep from * to last 2 sts, p2.

Rep Rows 1 and 2 until the hat measures 8” for hat without cuff, or 11” for hat with cuff.

Decrease Rounds

Row 1: *K2, p2tog; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2. (68 sts)

Row 2: *P2, k1; rep from * to last 2 sts, p2.

Row 3: *K2tog, p1; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2tog. (45 sts)

Row 4: *P1, k1; rep from * to last st, p1.

Row 5: K2tog across row to last st, k1. (23 sts)

Row 6: Purl.

Break yarn, leaving a 18” tail. Thread tail through remaining sts and pull tightly. Secure to keep crown tight. Seam down hat, using one stitch from each side as seam allowance. Weave in all ends.

This pattern is provided for your personal, non-commercial use (don’t sell hats from this pattern at the Farmers’ Market!) and may not be resold. Please do share it, though, and encourage others to knit for charity.

I hope you enjoy this, and will consider knitting a "donation hat".

Love the One (or City) You're With

2010-07-11T18:34:00.003-05:00

It's been a glorious weekend in Omaha, starting with coffee and news on the deck:

No, I'm really not scowling. Dave wouldn't let me put on my sunglasses.

After reading all that the Omaha World-Herald has to tell us, we took a ride downtown to the Farmers' Market in the Old Market section of town. Lots of local vegetables, lots of bake goods (ooohh, baklava!) and lots of music. This was a group playing some Cajun tunes. They had high hopes with that large pail for tips!

The Old Market is filled with these old buildings (many of which were once warehouses) turned condos. And look ... a fellow sitting there playing the clarinet.

Great window boxes. (Excuse the No-This-and-That sign.)

And, finally, a shot of a small section of the market, itself. AND, another clarinetist! This young man is much improved since last summer!

Maybe I should give up the knitting gig and go to work for the Omaha Chamber of Commerce!

Cubism

2010-07-07T16:20:00.002-05:00

Yay! A new pattern is finally out! I'm calling it Cubicle and have the pattern available on Ravelry. This has been a long time coming. The Silk Garden version was knit as my Knitting Olympics challenge. Then I thought it would be good to have a solid version. (Note to self: It's even more difficult getting a second afghan knit than a second sock!)

I love this color #84!

Now on to more...I have a bunch of ideas, and want to get started right away with a baby blanket pattern for Ashley's baby.

I hope everyone's summer is going along nicely. It's hard to believe that the first week of July is a thing of the past!

Still Kickin'

2010-06-07T08:19:00.010-05:00

(Hunh. I started writing this on June 7, but needed to be away from my laptop for a few days. It seems I can't fix the date. It's now June 16. One more of those mysterious computer moments!)

It's been an unusual last couple of weeks, and that seemed to sap my creativity. (Thanks to those of you who have been checking in and waiting for the next post!) I did keep knitting (well, duh), but really enjoyed following patterns written by others! I just finished these:

Little Dude jeans called Blu from Knitty - Winter '05, and designed by Christina Bernardi Shiffman and Kay Gardiner, the Mason-Dixon Knitters. My example was knit following the 3-6 month directions and will be good for Ashley's (DD3) due-in-October baby, Caleb. There's a happy/sad story to this...

Ashely's hubby, Phillip, is set to be deployed in August, so she'll be moving to Omaha while he's away. That means...she'll be here for Caleb's birth...and we'll have a newborn in this house! Hopefully, Phillip will be able to get "leave" to be here for the birth, but I'll be getting geared up to become the substitute coach! (Exciting, though I do break out in nervous sweats at times!)

I was thinking of keeping these jeans as a surprise for Ashley, but they're just too darn cute not to share! It would be fun to make them "girlie", if needed, with some embroidery. Maybe hearts on the back pockets, or flowers up the legs.

Now I want to knit up a bigger size for Adam. He can wear them in the fall, and then share with his cousin when they're too small for him.

Speaking of Adam...He's 9 weeks old now, and according to Anne, he's a big bunch of smiles and coo's. (Repeat after me, "Awwww.")

(Since I started writing this post I have completed a couple other items. Pictures to follow, shortly.)

Babies/Tulips/Bolero

2010-05-21T11:06:00.011-05:00

So, it seems I'll be knitting for two grandsons now. Ashley had her ultrasound yesterday, and it is definitely an unashamed boy! That will be lots of fun for everyone (well, maybe not to big-sister Audrey!) to have two cousins just 6 months apart in age! What are your favorite baby boy patterns and/or yarns?

So, yesterday afternoon I treated myself to some fresh flowers:

Seriously, how does Nature manage to create such color? I'd like to spend the whole day just looking at these tulips. They'd like it, too!

Well, I can look at them while knitting on this beauty:

Patina by Rick Mondragon from Knitter's magazine, Spring 2010. Sally of String of Purls (also of the Big Louie post) made this bolero as a shop project. Then Judy whipped up one. Now I'm hooked. It's a lovely, speedy-to-knit project. A squared-off bolero. No fuss, but has a perfect fit. I'm following the size medium directions for the number of stitches, but the size large for row count so the ribbing doesn't fall right across my chest. Sally changed up the colors just a bit to match what the shop currently had in stock. (Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine - color 1293, Lane Borgosesia Toreador - color 104, Berroco Lumina - color 1610, color 1618, color 1605, color 1620)

Gotta run. My stomach is growling for lunch and the tulips are feeling neglected!

Wanderings II

2010-05-17T17:14:00.011-05:00

1. I found a fun group on Ravelry - Prairie Girl's Guide to Life. It was started by a Mom as her way to spend a entertaining summer with her daughter by making many of the crafts that are mentioned in the "Little House (...in the Big Woods, ...on the Prairie)" series. I've joined, though I don't have a young daughter at home anymore.

2.I've completed my sock design for the Twisted Yarns Sock Club. I'm hoping to get my model (she's a young knitter/nurse friend of mine who loves the model title!) to wear them for photos today. It's a beautiful Spring day in Omaha. Here is not a sneak peek:

[Photo was here]

I lost my head and jumped the gun. I really don't want a sneak peek out there. Duh.

Oh, Linda-B, you may like this...I checked out your profile and saw that you like all things Robert Frost. I had to smile since all along I've been thinking of this sock as "Two Roads Diverged", thanks to Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken.

3. I just completed the new knitting/mystery novel Moon Spinners, by Sally Goldenbaum. This is her third novel set in Sea Harbor, Massachusetts. They're enjoyable books. They sure do make me want to move to a little town full of salty air, great food, resident artists, and life-time friends. The murders that happen in Sea Harbor are just a minor negative in an otherwise blissful community!

The knitting references also seem believable. There aren't any mentions of lace gowns that are knit (without a pattern) in two weeks. I suppose that could possible, but certainly not if you are also an LYS owner with just a couple part-time employees!

Sally, the author, mentions the myth of the Moon Spinners - women/goddesses who wind the light of the moon onto a distaff and then let it out again once a month for a full moon. "The moon spinners were working their rightly magic, winding the strands of moonlight onto their distaffs, moving the world toward darkness. Providing protection in the darkness, or so the legend went." (Moon Spinners, Sally Goldenbaum)

I did a little on-line research last evening. There are many ancient myths with three spinners who spin the full moon. In Greek mythology the goddesses are Selene who is the personification of the moon, Artemis who is the goddess of the hunt, and Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. Baltic mythology has Saule, the life-giving sun goddess. This myth connects the Sun and Moon (no Moon phases to see without the Sun's light being reflected at the Earth) as Saule spins the moonbeams. And the Celts have three goddesses (sometimes one goddess at the three different stages of life) of the moon, the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. I didn't find mention of the legend that Sally speaks of, but I'll keep looking. It sounds interesting - especially for fiber fanatics.

4.And, finally, a big, BIG thank you to the readers and followers of this little blog. It amazes me that people take time from their busy lives to check out what's rattling around in my head. I am honored and delighted to have you stop by this site.

"...I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

Robert Frost

New Day, New Phrase

2010-05-09T11:40:00.009-05:00

One of the joys of knitting is that there is always something to learn. Yesterday, for instance, brought along the term "rowing out". I knew of the situation, but not the term. If you look at the top rows of this swatch you will see that my rows of stockinette are lumped in pairs of rows. Two rows, gap, two rows, gap. Rowing out:

What a great term! I read that Priscilla Gibson-Roberts coined that phrase. (That may or may not be so. You know, don't believe everything you read!)

It's most apparent on the purl (usually the WS) side, but is also visible on the knit (RS?) as uneven-looking stitches:

Unforgiving fibers, such as cotton, really make rowing out apparent, though it can pop up any time. The trick is to keep your tension even with your knits and purls. TECHknitting has some great tips and strategies here, and Janet of twistedknitter.prettyposies.com has written about rowing out here.

Instead of reinventing the wheel, sliced bread, and seamless gutters, let me tell you that if you use a search engine of your choice and look up "rowing out knitting" you will find many articles and blogs on the subject. For me, I've solved my conflicts with rowing out, more or less, by knitting a row with Continental knit, and then purling a row in the English, or throwing style. My usual Norwegian purl will stretch the purl stitch too much, especially when working on cotton stockinette.

One final website of note is Annie Modesitt and her article on Combined Knitting, or as I've heard it called - Eastern Uncrossed - here. I'm thinking I might want to practice this technique.

Here! Here!

"Lizard" Wraps

2010-05-01T20:19:00.015-05:00

If you've been around me at all, you know that I hate to miss a party. I'm a social-events joiner - and that especially includes KAL's (Knit-A-Longs). All I need to hear is, "Wouldn't it be fun if we all...?" and I'm grabbing my needles, buying yarn, and downloading a pattern.

So I was a sitting duck when I asked my friends from Twisted Yarns some questions about the Lizard Ridge afghan from knitty.com. Did they knit separate squares, strips, or Version 2 - all one color? I heard back from Janet (aka Twisted Knitter) and she suggested a KAL! (Run for the needles, buy yarn, print pattern!) Within minutes we had the Lizard Ridge KAL set up on Twisted Yarn's Ravelry site here.

We were all set to start on May 1, but being the weak person that I am, I jumped ahead. (If this doesn't sound plausible, ask Nancy Bush. I don't think she was too pleased when I jumped ahead in a sock workshop of hers. And Nancy, you were right, I got into a mess!) I'm not a big fan of Wrap and Turn's because the wrap yarn always stretches when I lift it up to knit with the stitch. But I learned something great from my partially finished (I promise, I will finish it!) Hanne Falkenberg Mermaid - you don't have to W&T to get the same effect!

Using the Lizard Ridge pattern, purl to the first W&T location, turn without doing the W&T stuff, yo (as usual, from front to back) and knit the required number of stitches. Now turn as before, without the W&T stuff, yo, and purl the required number of stitches. (This last yo is again from front to back, and then forward again to purl.)

After doing this as the pattern instructs, you will get something that looks like this on the purl side:

It looks like multiples of the gaps that occur in turning a heel of a sock, and you treat them much the same with "closing the gap" by working the two stitches on either side of the gap together. On the purl side, purl the 2 stitches together through the back loop. This can be a little awkward at first, since the needle is going into the two stitches through the back from left to right, but it becomes easier with time:

You need to p2togtbl to get the correct twist to the stitches. If you just p2tog it will look like you forgot a to pick up a wrap.

When closing the gap on the knit side, you just need to knit 2 together in the usual way:

I'm loving this pattern. Way to go, Laura Aylor, the genius designer!

The "egg crate" bumps disappear. "It all comes out in the wash (or blocking)."

Next Generation

2010-05-01T19:42:00.006-05:00

Public Service Announcement #1: When at Washington Dulles International Airport, use the security check-point on the lower level. I made it to my gate 55 minutes ahead of others who entered the airport with me, but used the upper-level security.

Public Service Announcement #2: If while traveling you meet up with a 30-something named Echo, run the other way. No details.

I was in the D.C. area a few days ago to meet this fine young man:

My grandson, Adam. This photo was taken the day that my daughter was running her 3 1/2-year old to the doctor's after she got sick in the morning. (Ruptured ear-drum with no mention of pain, etc. Kids.) Grandma was left babysitting, so I got a shot of Adam with Baby Blue.

My grand-daughter, Audrey, isn't so fond of having her picture taken. We bought her a shark towel, since she thinks sharks are grand, and I wanted a post-bath photo of her with the towel. My little Canon has a setting for Kids/Pets that helps, since kids/pets are always on the move. Here are the shots I got of of her:

And then I finally waited until she was walking down the hallway:

Maybe I won't apply for a job with National Geographic. Sure do love those kids, though.

Roller Coasters

2010-04-23T16:41:00.006-05:00

My daughter (the one with the 3 1/2-year old and 9-day old) told me that she felt she was on a roller coaster. Up and down, lots of screaming, and sometimes it helps if you close your eyes! That's just how I've been feeling the last, umm, 22 1/2 hours.

Last evening I was sitting here, calmly eating my tangerine and chipotle tofu (don't snicker) with green beans when I thought someone had fired a gun near me. No gun, just a golfer, trying to muscle his golf ball onto the 8th green, but getting our window instead:

For 14 hours we were trying to convince the golfer that it's best to call his home owner's insurance company. (FYI - accidents like this are considered "third-party liability" and don't carry a deductible. Call your insurance agent.) This window is above our air conditioner unit and we're expecting severe weather tonight and tomorrow, so it needed to be covered before the glass fell and damaged the unit. Finally the golfer realized he couldn't "fix" this and called his agent. So, now we have this:

until the window is ordered and replaced.

Just when I'd had enough and started day-dreaming about the vodka bottle this arrived in the mail:

and, suddenly, the birds were singing, the sun was shining (seriously), and I poured myself a Diet Coke. My liver thanks Elisabeth of Wolles Yarn Creations for rescuing it! Too beautiful for words. Elisabeth offers this yarn on Etsy. Color Changing Cotton yarn, 4-ply, 480 yds/100 gr each ball of lace-weight perfection. This color that I grabbed is called Lights and Lights II - balls wound in reverse directions. I can't wait to swatch!

So, now that the little grey cloud over my head has cleared...and I get to pack a suitcase so that I can meet my new grandson tomorrow!

P.S. Elisabeth tops it all off by adding the Original Gummi Bears with the order. Way to go, Elisabeth!

Update: So much for shining sun. Now under Tornado Watch. Whee!!! Down the roller coaster we go!

Wanderings

2010-04-18T08:34:00.009-05:00

Just half an hour ago, I had all sorts of "mental wandering" thoughts in my head. Since then I opened a friend's email with the Chocolate Calculator game, and now all other thoughts have skittered away. (Thanks, Debbie!) If you haven't seen this game floating around on the web - and I've been told by Dave that it's been around for a while - you might want to look it up. I just Googled for Chocolate Calculator Game 2010 and came across many sites. I'll let you find one, since there are so many and none seem to be the "Official" site. It is fun. This kind of stuff always amazes me, even though I know there's a mathematical reason. It's like magic tricks - you know there's a logical explanation, but you want to believe what you "see".

Ah...now I'm starting to come out of my pre-breakfast chocolate fixation:

1. One of the coolest things about knitting is that your mind does wander to many interesting spots when it's released into that Zen atmosphere. I've heard many people talk about being able to sort through issues and solve problems while knitting. Just this morning I was sitting here, knitting in my hands, one dog by the fireplace (cool mornings), and the other dog asleep on my feet, when so many ideas and answers were popping around my head like last night's popcorn. I find that early mornings are best suited to the simpler projects. I'm currently working on a dishcloth (yeh, yeh, yeh, but they're great for using up bits of cotton, and it makes me smile while I'm cleaning pots and pans. And that's always a plus!) from the Monthly Dishcloth group on yahoogroups.com. Check it out sometime. Two cloths a month, 10 rows a day, perfect to wake up the fingers!

2. So, I (we) wander. Many times I'm asked, "Where is home?" Hmmm. Where do I live at the moment? Where was I born? Where did I spend most of my youth? Where is my heart connected? (Omaha, Germany, New Jersey, where the kids are) At times I envy my friends who have grown up and lived their lives in the same area. They seem to have such a connection to their surroundings. But, then, just think of all the interesting places we've lived, and all the interesting people who have crossed paths with us.

3. (Connected to #2) I'm designing a pair of socks for Twisted Yarns and their sock club. I've chosen to make socks with cables. Every time I work on the pattern I think of the cables as representing the paths crossing.

Yikes- This is getting too mushy and deep for a Sunday morning!

4. I'm also tossing around ideas for Stitch Play Studio. This is a new on-line knit and crochet magazine - the brain child of Lynn Burdick. (I sure hope I'm correct with the last name! I've misplaced the email where we discussed the fact that we both have the same first and middle names - different spellings.) I'll have something in the October edition. (Can't tell you what, though. You know, if I did...well, it wouldn't be good for you.) Anyway, check out this mag...the fiber community always needs new activity.

5. Yesterday I finished the Twisted Yarns sock club sock for April:

It's from Lisa Knits and is called "Sock of the Month - April". Appropriate. Dave felt them and said, "Yummy, " or the guy equivalent. Two hours later I have 4 balls of Cascade Yarns Cash Vera DK - guy grey, color 029. (Twisted Yarns sent Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK for their socks, but my LYS, String of Purls carries the Cash Vera - almost identical fiber content.) The yarn will become a very basic sock. I'll put the free pattern on my blog and Ravelry when the socks are completed.

6. (Connected to #5) I know that some people would just as soon go to their major discount store to buy a pair of men's grey socks, but for sock knitters it's the process and thought put into the socks. Don't we, as hand-knitters, try to explain this to non-knitters when they suggest that we could buy a sweater like the one we just spent $200 for on yarn, and used the last 7 weeks of our lives knitting? Process and thought.

7. I need to wander to the coffee maker for a refill.

Adam Taylor

2010-04-13T12:57:00.002-05:00

May I present Adam Taylor White-

born today, April 13, 2010, and weighing in at 6lbs, 12oz, and 18.25" long. (Baby Blue was designed and knit for him.) Mom, Dad, and older sister are all fine...Grandma is exhausted from a sleepless night waiting to hear of his arrival!

Off for a nap!

Gremlins in Knitting Instructions

2010-04-06T07:09:00.005-05:00

Good morning, All! I have my steaming-hot cup of coffee by me (and, yes, I really do use my French Press Foulard), so I feel strong enough to share the next photo with you.

This, my dears, is my friend and student for my Eighteen Fair Isle class at String of Purls, Karen, cutting away the top half of her vest. Not steeking, but actually cutting half of her knitting to remove it from the other half! She did say that having the rest of the class with her gave her the courage to do this without crying and saying naughty words.

I am very impressed with Karen's fortitude and willingness to complete this project, gremlins and all. They struck the first time while Karen was purchasing her yarn, changing the words Fingering to Sport on the ball band. She was well into her vest, nearing the armholes, when she discovered the gremlin mischief that had caused her to use fingering-weight yarn for the background color and sport-weight for the contrast colors. (The pattern calls for all sport-weight, so this was going to be a peculiar vest!) Karen huffed and puffed just a little bit - in public - and took the project off the needle. (She plans on using this piece to make a felted Fair Isle bag, which I think is brilliant!)

Karen, then, cast on again, and we all know how deja-vu-ish (in a negative way) that can be, got through the armhole and v-neck steeks before she realized that the gremlins had visited again and changed the words in the instructions from "decrease one stitch at each side of neck steek on the next 8 rounds" to "decrease one time each side of neck steek every 8th round." This was going to create a neck line that would resemble a slit more than a V.

When I walked into the shop yesterday morning for our final class, Karen was running a life-line through a pattern row just below the steeks. She then cut the top away, a few rows above the life-line. While this was drastic, it seemed more plausible than unraveling all those rounds with 7 colors.

How were the other students feeling during this unnerving display? Check for yourself:

No beads of sweat on their foreheads!

The color combinations have been fabulous! I offer 3 choices in the pattern. (Doesn't Captain Jack Sparrow say something about guidelines more than rules?) And these ladies have taken off from there. Here is Ro, modeling her just-completed vest:

I love the vibrancy of the purple/orange/gold colorway she created! And for me, it's happiness beyond words to see someone wearing a garment that started it's existence in my head...and she's smiling!

Moral of the gremlin story: This has happened to all of us, and no matter how brilliant we might be, read carefully and don't allow the words to be altered all willy-nilly!

The Six Steps of Perfection

2010-03-17T14:40:00.003-05:00

Enough said.

Oh, okay..."The Six Steps of Perfection" refers to the perfectly drawn pint of Guinness.

Monkey Surprise

2010-03-16T14:42:00.012-05:00

I just got back to Omaha after spending a great weekend surprising my daughter, Anne (daughter #1), at her baby shower. We had just been there to visit in February and I truly didn't think I'd be able to make it there again - especially since we'll fly back out when this baby arrives! But I hadn't seen Ashley's (daughter #3) townhouse, yet, and I didn't want her to make the drive to the shower alone since she's in her first trimester. (Baby shower or showering babies?) So it seemed to be the perfect time to visit and it's so rare to really, really, really surprise someone.

There was a moment of iffy-ness that I'd actually make it out of Omaha. On December 23rd, we were all packed, waiting for our ride to the airport for Christmas with our granddaughter when we got a message that one leg of our flight was cancelled. Well, that just brought the whole trip to a screeching halt. There was no chance that we would be able to get on a different flight. I love spending time with Dave, but the two of us, alone, couldn't compete with Christmas in the presence of a 3-year old!

We waited, semi-patiently, through a record-breaking Omaha winter until we could fly to finally visit Anne and family. No sooner did we get to her house then the first of the two blizzards hit the mid-Atlantic. We were delayed getting home, but who cared? We were with family!

So, this past Thursday, after days of pleasant late-winter weather in Omaha, while I'm finishing packing (what knitting should I take?) it begins to snow. Huge flakes. Humongous flakes. I could use these flakes of snow as lace doilies! Jeesh! My little Jetta performed valiantly and I managed to get out of Omaha this time. I think I would have crawled out!

Anyway, it was a big surprise for Anne and we had a great time at the baby shower, meeting her friends and listening to all of the baby/childrearing stories. I gave Anne the completed baby blanket (see "Events", Feb. 11) that will have a written pattern shortly, and this rendition of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket:

Monkey Surprise

I couldn't find the perfect baby blue sock yarn (sock yarn makes a superb newborn jacket!) in my stash and was just turning away from all the yarns when my eyes hit on the tan and red and my brain yelled, "Sock Monkey!"

It makes me happy.

I followed EZ's pattern with the first 13 ridges in tan, then 6 ridges in white, 6 ridges in red, and 6 more ridges in white. Then I continued along with tan to the section of 10 ridges of 90 stitches. Here I knit one ridge in tan, 3 ridges in white, 2 ridges in tan, 3 ridges in white, and the last ridge in tan. Two buttonholes spaced about 5 stitches apart (I put the buttonholes on both sides. It gives me a guide as to where I sew the buttons.) and flip, flop, it's a jacket!

All this talk of daughter #1 and daughter #3...is there a daughter #2? Absolutely! And she's celebrating her birthday today! Happy Birthday, Allyson!! We'll see you soon for a NYC weekend.

Big Louie

2010-03-06T13:55:00.009-06:00

So here comes Innocent Lynn Anne, walking into her local yarn shop, String Of Purls, for a little Thursday knitting with friends. "Evil Sally", the super-genius saleswoman, is lying in wait for her. Over she strolls to the table, smile on her face, and some gorgeous yarn on some needles.

"What are you knitting?" asks Innocent Lynn Anne.

"Why, I'm knitting that cute lace cardigan in the new Vogue Knitting, " replies Evil Sally.

The spell has been cast and Innocent Lynn Anne can't help but blurt out, "Ohh...Can I see a photo?"

This is what Evil Sally had at the ready to display to Innocent Lynn Anne: (Rats! The photo was visible for a few hours, and now it's gone. I'll see if I can do something else. Ugh>)

VKSS10-02D.jpg">

Lace Jacket from the Enchanted Lace collection in the Spring/Summer 2010 issue of Vogue Knitting.

I'm not expecting to wear it over anything formal (Where do I think I'm going?), but it will be perfect over some dressy slacks with a cute sleeveless shell.

I bought the yarn in this beautiful color (#271 peach):

and now all I want to do is knit with it.

As I sat here this morning, happily knitting each stitch, I became aware of the cadence of the knit stitches that I was silently repeating in my head with each repeat of the lace pattern. Many of us have learned to assign each stitch in the repeat a number, or to set up a little sing-song reminder of the directions. I often use the number bit. Knit and purl stitches are numbered and silently spoken in a normal "voice". Yarn overs are silently spoken with a rise and fall in the word. Since knit 2 togethers and slip-slip-knits take a bit longer to knit, I lengthen each of those numbers.

K3, k2tog, yo, k2, yo, ssk, becomes, "One, two, three, ff-oo-uu-rr, fiiiive, six, seven, eeiight, nn-ii-nn-ee." Repeat many times. (Please don't tell me if any of you are in the psychiatric profession. It weirds me out. Like smiling at a dentist.)

This Lace Jacket pattern has a 16-stitch repeat so I'm finding it a little easier to just say the stitches instead of assigning my usual numbers. There is, also, a double decrease that requires moving a stitch marker each time. I was calling this stitch "the big one" until my coffee must have kicked in, and it became "Big Louie". Why? I have no idea. But Big Louie it now is!

"Yarn over, knit 2, Big Louie." Geesh!

Anyway, it's lovely yarn and a lovely cardigan pattern:

Happy silent knitting to all!

Olympians, All

2010-03-01T16:02:00.007-06:00

I am proud to display my 2010 Knitting Champion gold medal:

My knitting challenge was this:

I'm only posting a sneak peek for now. All grown up, it's a rather large afghan. Now I'm playing with the idea of re-working the sizing and knitting a smaller sibling in a solid color. I love options. The pattern is written and will be published when the photos are complete.

I'd love to see any of your Olympic events! If you didn't compete this year...well, it's never too early to start training for Sochi in 2014!

Me & Mac (Poor grammar...I know)

2010-02-17T18:43:00.006-06:00

The Mac in my life is my new Mac Pro. Lovely, exciting, and making me slightly crazy. I am the last person who would ever put my name and the term techie together. All that I know of computers has come to me with lots of sweat and tears. On Sunday I was ready to throw this computer out my window into a snow bank. For all of Monday I "taught it a lesson" by ignoring it completely! Our poor dog, Jesse, a 5 year old British Lab, spent the day keeping a wary eye on me. Poor thing. I hate to see the dogs worry when my mood hits the skids.

I've been having troubles moving my files form one computer to another - and I need to get them moved over quickly. There are patterns waiting to be written, photos to be uploaded, and some darn good tunes to be played. So, this morning I went trudging over the hill for my personal lesson where I was greeted by the calmest, most relaxed teacher I have ever come across. Bless her for patiently listening to my ranting, addressing my concerns, and then miraculously realizing that I had missed their offering of setting up this computer and transferring my files. I hope the store asks me to rate my experience this morning, for I will give her the kudos she deserves!

Suddenly the sun beamed brighter, food tasted better, and the birds sang sweeter. There is a light shining at the end of this technological tunnel. In 48 hours I'll be stumbling along, but at least I'll be moving forward.

For now I'll continue contentedly with my ancient craft of knitting. The familiarity of the yarn slipping between my fingers and the gentle sound of needle hitting needle will soothe my soul. My 2010 Olympic Knitting Challenge is moving along nicely...and it's a good night to cheer on Apolo Ohno on the Short Track!

Events

2010-02-11T06:51:00.013-06:00

I have always loved parties and events. Birthday parties were always great as I was growing up. Our family was small-ish, and we all lived in or around New Jersey. Birthdays were family gatherings. The birthday "child" of any age would get to choose the meal, flavor of the home-made layer cake, blow out the candles after the traditional "Happy Birthday" song was sung (my father has always loved coconut cake and I have fond memories of the grown-ups picking coconut out of their coffee cups after the candles were blown out), and then, finally, the presents could be opened.

January 1, 2000? Oh, boy. We were all gathered at my parents home (now in North Carolina) were we had spent the last day of the previous millennium watching the festivities as they progressed around the world.

For the majority of my adult life we have lived too far away from family to continue with the "all-relative" gatherings, and I miss that deeply. My friends, in person and over the web, have taken up much of that slack. So, it stands to reason that I would get drawn to the 2010 Knitting Olympics organized by Stephanie Pearl-McFee, The Yarn Harlot. I was involved with this 4 years ago, when I was working at Twisted Yarns. I knit Judy Sumner's "Wave Lace Tunic" with Lorna's Laces "Helen's Lace", casting on during the opening ceremony and binding off before the flame was extinguished. I still love that top and wear it often.

Now comes the dilemma. What will I knit? It should be a challenge in keeping with all the athletes striving for gold. And I understand that even if I am a raving lunatic for 17 days, there will be an end. It's just that I have an unusually massive amount of UFOs.

There is a sweater:

"Starlight Baby" from Arnhild's Knitting Studio for this little girl:

my grand-daughter, Audrey;

a baby blanket I'm designing for her baby brother, due to be born in April:

and an EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket for the same baby:

It's not that 3 unfinished projects is a record breaking amount. After all, there are dozens of other UFOs stashed in every corner of this house. It's more that I have deadlines for these projects.

I was thinking of knitting, for me, another Norwegian sweater for the Knitting Olympics, but started tossing and turning in bed last night just thinking of the hours and hours of semi-manic knitting that would need to be done in 17 days.

So...I've had an afghan's worth of this

for a couple of years, plus some design ideas rattling around in my head. I think this might be a little more manageable. An afghan is still a handful (okay, lapful) but it doesn't have sleeves. Sleeves...now there's a whole other topic! I need to decide today since the Opening Ceremonies are tomorrow night.

But first...I need to make a cake for my husband's birthday!

Decorating 101

2010-01-25T16:04:00.005-06:00

As I spent a few minutes this morning clearing off the mounds of paper and books from my desk (really just an old, long table) in my studio I took a good look around. It's a nice room. Actually it's the biggest bedroom in the house. Because it's located downstairs without a connected bathroom, no one minded when I claimed it as mine, mine, all mine. A tray ceiling, storage cubes like those in yarn shops, a floor-to-ceiling bookcase that offers no more space for knitting books so now they're piling up on the floor, and a view of the birds outside in the snow, snow, snow. Beautiful, except...those squares of cork that are supposed to stick to the wall with double-sided sticky tape are not living up to expectations. The tape does not stick and the cork is so thin that a thumbtack (push-pin to you Pittsburghers) pokes right through and into the wall. Quick trip to Target and wow, great, new, black-framed cork board. Just hang it and voila!

No attached hanger-thingies. That should have been my first warning of impending doom. The kind manufacturers did think of adding little hanger-thingies with matching mini-screws. I can do this. Carry the shiny new cork board to the workroom and situate it gently on the workbench. Find appropriately small Phillips head screwdriver. Ah, look - the kind manufacturers have even pre-drilled little holes for me. Easy-peasy.

Half way through turning the screws, they stop. Done. Not going any more. Okey-dokey...power tools. I spot Dave's battery operated drill/screw driver. (It's wonderful that's he's so organized.) Zrrrr! - and the battery's charged! Oh, and here are the drill bits, etc. in their locking, size-arranged plastic container. Life is good. Problem solved. I insert the screwdriver tip and tighten that ring-thing around it. I am woman! Set screwdriver bit to screw. Push down. Pull trigger. Zrrrr! Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Nope. Zero. The drill bit spins, but the little itty-bitty, almost-microscopic screw holds fast and doesn't budge. Rats!

At this point I should "Step away from the power tool, Ma'am." But, no, not me. This moment is followed by a quick progression (or maybe, regression) of going back to the hand screwdriver with bouts of power screwdriver, hammering (Jesse, the dog runs from room at this point), swearing, pouting,and finally concluding that it really won't matter that much if the screws aren't completely flush with the cork board.

Now off to measure the wall. The afore-mentioned screws hold little hook-things that will be held by nails to the wall. They appear to be even (-ish) so we'll just measure the distance between the hook-things. "33 inches and the middle of that 5." That 5, it appears, refers to 85 centimeters. This will work. With pencil, mark on wall the beginning and end of length "0 to 33 and the middle of that 5." It needs to be level? No prob. I just downloaded this cool handy level App on my phone.

So, wait a minute...isn't this suppposed to be a blog about knitting? Didn't someone hear me swear that I wasn't going to natter on about my life? Well, of course. This has oodles to do with knitting. Take, for instance s-w-a-t-c-h-i-n-g. I know. Most people want to gag at the mention of that word. But, thank goodness, I learned to do this swatching step, and to do it well. No guessing. No thinking that it will probably work. It has to be accurate or my sleeves will hang down to the floor. And what about lengthening or shortening a sweater? 16 inches plus most-of-my-hand length will get me an ill-fitting sweater.

As my favorite Norm says, "Measure twice, cut once."

I think I'll have Dave finish hanging my cork board.

New Mexico and a Sundae

2010-01-22T09:29:00.008-06:00

I'm back from a long weekend in Taos, New Mexico, where I enjoyed great food, great shopping, and fabulous friends. One of the highlights was going to Taos Clay where owner Logan Wannamaker, Max, and Alex led us through glazing pottery, and then (yikes) throwing our own clay. They were knowledgable, friendly, and most of all very patient!

Stephanie, Shelley, Eve, Alisa, Debbie, me (with our pottery, and various wine glasses)

Max and Alex - Thanks guys!

Then on to yarn...after all, we all met at Shelley and Eve's yarn shop just north of Houston, Twisted Yarns.

In Taos we bought yarn from New Mexico at The Yarn Shop. We then walked around the corner (it's so easy to get around Taos) to drool over the yarns and colors at La Lana Wools. A few years ago I picked out two of their Forever Random Fines to make the Dream Pillow, by Wendy Siera, for their One Skein Wonder kits.

My example

We then completed helping the local economy with a stop at Weaving Southwest, where I hear there is a weekly Knit Night. I wish I could have been there to sit and knit. The atmosphere in Taos is so relaxed. Any of your worries just fade into the starry nights.

Our one-day trip down to Santa Fe resulted in Native jewelry purchases and a "fiber feeding frenzy" (tri-F) at Tutto. They carry Isager (ea'-say-er) yarns and tempted me beyond all reason with this lace-weight alpaca:

Okay, you've been patient...here's our ultra-simple recipe for...

Friends-in-Taos Sundae

Start with ice cream in a bowl (flavor and size of bowl is your choice), and cover with hot fudge from The Shed in Santa Fe. Next top with crumbled oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies (thanks Stephanie), and finally top with a healthy dose of Baileys (original flavor), and dig in.

Serving size: 1 oz to 1/2 gallon

Calories - Get serious

Bark...

2010-01-12T15:29:00.004-06:00

...not out loud, or you'll scare the kids and the neighbors will talk.

Bark is the name of of a free scarf pattern that has just been added to Ravelry under Nonsuch Knits.

The yarn I used is a lovely 60/40 alpaca/wool blend that is spun by DeSoto Bend Alpacas by a friend and her husband. I managed to grab 2 skeins (200 yards each) at a recent guild meeting. I opted for a very simple 2x2 pattern that produces great texture along with subtle vertical lines.

That moment...

2010-01-07T09:19:00.005-06:00

There's a special moment in knitting - when the pattern has been followed and has been set aside, all the tails have been woven in, and the object is just a little bit damp still from blocking - when you can drape the object on the back of your knitting chair and say, "There! It's finished!" I also love the moment when, after getting back to real life, you walk back into that room, maybe with an armful of laundry, and see that object as if for the first time. There's a slight intake of breath and a faint smile on your lips. Years have conditioned you not to go running through the house, waving your arms in the air (memories of Home Alone - "I made my family disappear!"), and generally making a fool of yourself.

Actually, maybe an occasional outburst wouldn't be such a bad idea. Just make sure that the dog has been put in another room, and the UPS man isn't standing at your door.

So, I felt a little like that when this was first displayed on my knitting chair. It's called Eighteen and will soon be available on Ravelry with the other Nonsuch Knits patterns.

Summer Dreams

2010-01-04T20:05:00.000-06:00

After a few weeks of this prairie winter, my mind is beginning to wander towards designing flowing summer skirts and cute little sleeveless tops. Maybe this is why clothing designers show next seasons fashions on the runways...too tired of the weather at hand.