Scorchin'

Our luck finally ran out after being blessed with a relatively cool and non-humid spring. Yesterday was hot, hot, hot, and today was even hotter, with the temperature topping out at 95 degrees, in the shade no less. We were going to go to the Potomac Celtic Festival at Morven Park but it was too hot. Tom did a long run yesterday and was pretty wiped out and today we decided that it was still too hot and opted to get stuff done around the house.

Tom ended up straightening up the basement some and went through things that we don't want anymore and posted them on Freecycle. I concentrated on ridding the house of dust buffalo. The herd was beginning to disturb my sleep. Our house isn't all that large (compared to the houses they are building today, though, it's miniscule), but it takes the better part of a day to clean it. And even then, there's something that ends up not getting done...washing the floors, dusting, or cleaning the bathrooms. Today, though, I managed to get two out of three completed. I didn't wash the floors. Perhaps next weekend will be for floor washing.

Bird Update
Sadly, I have no pictures of the birds today. We took the fern down so I could photograph week two of their development and darned if two of them flew away. Granted, they didn't fly very well or very far (which made me feel bad), but the rest of the brood (there were four birds) should fledge this week. They grow up so fast...

Eating Local
Tonight's dinner was almost all local. We grilled local asparagus, organic fennel, and rockfish (most likely caught in the Chesapeake Bay). We rounded out the meal with a salad that had local organic romaine, tomatoes, and herbs from our garden. The cucumber wasn't local (I ran out of cash at the farmers market) and neither were the baked potatoes, toppings, and wine. All in all, though, a very fine meal.

Knitting
And of course, there was knitting. Tom took a nap after his run yesterday, so clearly I couldn't round up the dust buffalo. Instead, I spent some quality time with the Jaywalker and finished the heel and started the foot. I'm still a little nervous about how tight it is, but I can still get the sock on my foot. I've had a couple of mishaps with stitches leaping off the needles, but fortunately I've been able to pick them up with no problem. Here's the sock:



The baby blanket continues to progress, although I didn't get as much done on it as I would have liked. A migraine on Saturday morning precluded all work on it and I was able to knit about three rows this morning. It's about 29 inches wide and 32 inches long so I've got only about three more inches to knit. Woo hoo! Then it's on to embroidering hundreds and hundreds of French knots. That's going to be rough going.

One Skein Secret Pal
I ordered a very special yarn for my One Skein secret pal and it arrived this weekend. It's going to be very difficult to mail this skein out to her because it is so yummy! What is it? That will remain a secret until after I mail her the goods. I'll post pictures then.

That's it for now. Have a great week!

Turning Point

The Jaywalker is moving right along. I turned the heel last night:



I'm still loving the way the yarn is working with this pattern. I don't think I've repeated a color pattern yet. That doesn't bode well for the second sock because I don't think I can get the color changes to match. But...I do have a second ball of the same color and dyelot and maybe I'll dig into that to make the second sock. That's assuming that the color progression is the same from ball to ball.

The sock fits passably well. But I've got this suspicion that the gauge gods are going to smack me down soon and smack me down hard. I can still get the sock on but it's a bit of a struggle. I keep telling myself the needles are inflexible and that's what making it difficult. But I'm afraid that I won't be able to get the sock on after working the heel gussets. I'll know later tonight. Keep your fingers crossed!

The blanket is still progressing, although I had a bit of a setback this morning. I was knitting along, congratulating myself on the fact that I haven't had to do significant tinking in quite a while. The pattern has finally worked its way into my brain. But after knitting three rows, I took a look and groaned at what I saw. I repeated the second pattern row, thus making a big blob in between the cables. Net row gain this morning? One stinkin' row.

Note to Self: Never, ever congratulate yourself on how well you knit, especially at 5:30 in the morning. The knitting goddess will get you.

Progress Report

The end is near! Well, it's more near than it was last weekend. The blanket is still slowly progressing, thanks to daily 5:30 a.m. knitting sessions. I'm on the eighth ball (out of 12) and have completed 224 rows. I'm at the point where I'm eyeing the blanket and determining if the proportions are pleasing enough to stop knitting (they aren't...yet). I have no qualms about bailing making a design decision to change the length. Here's a picture of the progress so far, shown with my stuffed tiger collection:



I've made progress on the Jaywalker sock as well. I love working with this pattern in this colorway. The colors keep changing and I'm entranced by the way the bar increases and double decreases make the pattern happen. I like the way the stitch marker on needle one moves to the left before the double decrease and to the right after the double decrease (yes, I'm easily amused). I've been sneaking in a little lunchtime knitting at work, only about 30 minutes or so, and spend a little more time on the weekends. If I'm lucky, I'll start turning the heel today.



Bird Update
The baby birds are growing, although they are far from being self-sufficient. They are a week old today and if you look closely, you can see their eyes, beaks, and the primary feathers on their wings. They are definitely house finches.



A flicker has recently arrived in the neighborhood. It's a fairly large one, and the first one we've seen in several years.

Jezebel fancies herself an expert bird hunter. Tom and I were sitting on the deck the other evening, watching the bats. Jez was laying on her cushion, when all of a sudden she sat up and stared intently at the garden. Then, with great purpose, she made her way down to the garden and disappeared into the foliage. A little while later, Tom saw her out of the corner of his eye, furtively climbing the deck stairs and slinking into the house. We followed her and found her in the dining room, gleefully tossing around a dead catbird. It was pretty clear that she didn't catch it because all of its feathers were intact (unless the wren I rescued from her). Tom had found another dead catbird a couple of days ago. I hope that the West Nile virus hasn't moved into the catbird population.

And finally, a parting shot of one of our Asian lilies. These flowers are so colorful and abundant in our garden right now. It's a shame that they don't last all summer.

Productive

I've been fairly productive around here...well,productive in a fibery sort of way. There was actual spinning on Sunday and I thought Tom took a picture of me in action, but it wasn't on the camera. It turned out that he was taking a video of me in action but it didn't work. So, you'll just have to take my word for it. I still can't spin a soft, lofty yarn. I adjusted the tension on both the brake band and the drive band, but no luck. It's still a somewhat hard, slightly over-twisted worsted type yarn. But I'm spinning a finer yarn now, something that resembles sport-weight. And it's even. But oh, to be able to spin sock yarn!

The blanket continues to progress, as does the Jaywalker. Nothing to show though; both pieces are looking a little longer.

I started taking yoga again; it felt so good to be back in the class. My teacher, Annie, is wonderful. She's very observant and provides a lot of verbal cues for getting the pose right. Annie is also good at providing suggestions for making the poses attainable for those who are challenged by them. I've heard so many horror stories about teachers who expect the student to be able to do the poses perfectly.

I also decided to start running this week. Big mistake. My last run was about a month ago and I had very little ITB pain, so I figured I was good to go again. About a mile into the run, my knee started hurting and it didn't stop. So, I'm going to have to find an alternative source of aerobic exercise. I'm really bummed.

On a slightly more positive note, we have babies!



I took this picture on Sunday; they were still hatching! I'm not sure what type of bird, though. We've had house finches nest in ferns before, but there's also been a wren hanging around. Wrens are nest in cavities,though, so I suspect it's a house finch family.

Today's DailyOm was about wildlife in our midst, which I thought was a propos for the Trekking knit along. Here's a not-so-brief excerpt:

Because both cities and tightly packed suburbs offer wildlife bountiful nooks and crannies in which to hide, it can be difficult to spot the animals that live in our midst. Many thrive among paved streets, sidewalks, buildings, parking lots, and high-rises. There are animals in abundance burrowing in the soil of center medians and tiny backyard gardens, making nests in the trees that line broad and busy avenues, and buzzing round the flowers that beautify our parks...

Season by season, cities offer diverse ecosystems for you to explore. If your search for urban and suburban wildlife is challenging, try to look at your community with an animal's eyes...

Recognizing that you share your city with a wide range of animals can make you feel like a part of the grand circle of life and help you appreciate the importance of a healthy urban environment. You can admire the hardiness and adaptability of the urban animal while developing a sense of stewardship that inspires you to become their champion. The shrill calls of birds, the hum of bees, and the sweet squeaks of city-dwelling mammals can be a symphony that help you develop a deeper connection with the nature world.

Grab your sock, get outside, and find and appreciate some nature!

Weekends Are For Knitting

...and cooking and cleaning and gardening. And for my husband, running. (Let's not talk about my lack of running, okay?) So when the spousal unit is out on his long runs, I knit. Or blog, as is the case today.

On June 1, I started knitting up a Jaywalker sock in Trekking color #100, for the Trek With Me knit along. And I'm playing with fire with gauge, among other things. I diligently knit a gauge swatch using size 0 and size 1 needles. Did I get gauge? Nope, not even close. In fact, I got a smaller gauge on the size 1 needles. Go figure. So, since Wendy recommends knitting socks on size 0s, that's what I'm doing. And I will not be surprised to get smacked down by the knitting goddess. I also misread the instructions and did a k1,p1 rib instead of the k2,p2 rib. At that point, I thought I'd just see what happened. Now, I have been slipping the sock on to see if it is misbehaving fits, and so far, so good. It appears to fit. We'll see if that continues. I fully expect to have to rip it out and start over at some point.

On the baby blanket front, I've got about 200 rows completed and started the seventh ball. Woo hoo! I'm officially halfway done, with the knitting. There will still be hundreds and hundreds of French knots to embroider.

Thanks for answering my yarn shop questions. Your answers helped clarify some of the ideas that have been rolling around in my head for a while. I've started reaching out to other local business owners to get a sense of what rents are in the area (it would be really nice to walk to work). There's still a lot of research to be done, mostly visiting different shops (what a hardship), as well as writing a business plan. This will be a long-term project, perhaps three to five years down the road, unless I inherit a lot of money from an unknown rich relative. Or win the lottery. And both are highly unlikely.

Eating Local
I visited the farmer's market yesterday and spent a lot of time talking to the nice lady at Willow Hawk Farm about her fleeces and yarns. And while I was at it, I bought some lamb sausage, which is locally produced. Next door to Willow Hawk was Potomac Vegetable Farms, an "ecoganic" farm. They didn't have a lot of variety, but what they had was so beautiful. I bought some Swiss chard (too much, as it turns out) and made a greens pizza with a whole wheat crust, served with a salad (non-local) and a nice red Zinfandel. Tonight I'll make Swiss chard with beets and goat cheese, using local beets.

I tend to be a shy person and asking vendors what they do and how they do it is a bit scary for me. But I'm finding as I open up, so do others. I'm now searching for a local source of chickens and maybe, just maybe, I can increase the amount of local, and hopefully healthier, food in our diet.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Of Food and Yarn Shops

It's Spring (well, if feels like Summer today) and the best part is that our Farmers' Market is now open. Every Saturday from 9:00 to 1:00, farmers, bakers, and craftspeople sell their wares. When we moved to town almost nine years ago, there were very few vendors; now, there are folks selling everything from free-range beef to homemade salsa to cheese and yogurt to fleece and handspun yarn.

Liz, from Pocket Farm got me thinking about eating "local." So much of the food that we consume is imported and for a lot of people, highly processed. It's possible to get asparagus in the dead of winter, as well as strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. These fruits and veggies are imported from Central and South America. Think of the cost to transport them. Peaches can be had in March here in Virginia. Have you tasted one off-season? They are very un-peach-like. Think about the meals the average person eats--most likely it's a frozen meal, laden with sodium and preservatives.

There's a web site called Eat Local Challenge. Wander over there and read what the authors have to say. And if you aren't "eating local," think about ways you can incorporate more local food into your life. After you start getting food, especially produce, locally, at the peak of ripeness, you might never want to buy another peach from the regular grocery store again!

So what local food did we eat last night? Grilled green onions, grilled asparagus, and roasted new potatoes. We rounded out the meal with wild-caught grilled Alaskan salmon and halibut. That is definitely not local, but it is on the eco-friendly fish list.

Of Yarn Shops
Okay, so I'm going to do a little informal poll here. I've had this idea for about a year now to open my own yarn shop. And with every day that goes by, that idea gets stronger and stronger. If it comes to fruition, it's going to be more work than I can imagine, I'm going to take a huge cut in salary, and I won't have any time to knit or spin (and forget about picking up weaving again). And the business could fail. But still, that idea persists.

So, here are some questions that have been rolling around in my head and I need other knitters to provide the answers.

1. What do you like best about your favorite yarn shop?


2. What are the characteristics of your least favorite yarn shop?


3. What do you think about the idea of combining a yarn shop with say, a coffee shop or a wine bar?


4. Is there a particular yarn that you wish your yarn shop would carry?


5. Describe the yarn shop of your dreams

You can post the answers in the comments or send an email to me at tlhsimondsAT verizonDOTnet. And thanks for helping out!

Wild Weekend

It's been an exciting weekend, nay, week, chez nous. On Wednesday, there was a fun-filled picnic at work at which I got to try my hand at playing cricket. For those of us who aren't comfortable with team sports, cricket's the ticket, especially if the majority of people playing haven't played it before. It's mostly a lot of standing around, interspersed with some bowling (or pitching to us Americans) and maybe some batting. You don't run bases, you run between two wickets, which aren't placed that far apart. And if your fellow batsman hits the ball far enough, you don't even have to run; the team automatically scores four or six runs, depending on the distance hit. And the best part? When you bowl, you get to throw like a girl! And you get to bounce the ball on the ground! How cool is that?

Yesterday morning was spent knitting and running some errands. Run of the mill stuff. However, after I got home, pandemonium ensued. Somehow a wren managed to get into the house. That in itself was not a problem. The problem was the cat was also in the house and doing her best to prove that she was a mighty huntress. I was yelling, the bird was fluttering, Jez was pouncing, and Tom was trying to get Jez away from bird. Feathers and fur were flying! Tom grabbed Jez and took her into another room. The poor wren was huddled on the floor underneath a table, trying to be very small. I gently picked it up in a towel (it didn't even move) and took it outside to the garden and examined it. The wings didn't look broken, there wasn't any damage other than most of its tailfeathers were gone. It simply sat in my hand, beak opening and closing. Its eyes slowly closed and I thought it was dying. Then, after a few minutes, it flew away, despite its missing tail.

The rest of the day was spent visiting wineries in Rappahannock County with our friend, Leigh. We visited Farfelu, Unicorn, Rappahannock Cellars, and Gray Ghost. All the wines we tasted were quite tasty, even some of the reds. Virginia is not known for high quality red wines, but they are getting much better. I found them to be undrinkable ten years ago, but now I could probably drink a glass of some of the reds. The terroir in the reds comes throug loud and clear for me; the reds have a very mineral or chemical characteristic. For some reason, it is not noticeable in the white wines. A couple of the vineyards had some excellent local musicians playing. It was a wonderful way to spend an absolutely gorgeous day.

Before we headed back to Leesburg, we had dinner at Four and Twenty Blackbirds, which specializes in food using local ingredients. The menu changes frequently and the food was excellent. At first glance, the menu is expensive, but the portions are large (leftovers!), giving you a good value. The wine list is small, but good, and very reasonable. I don't think there was a wine that was priced over $50. And that is very unusual in these parts. We would definitely go back.

I plan to spend today and tomorrow (gotta love a long weekend!) getting some chores done around the house. The dust buffalo are getting a little out of control. There will be knitting, of course. And if all goes well, maybe some spinning on the deck. Chris is inspiring me. Go check out her new wheel!

And finally, pictures!



The swatch for my Trek Along with Me socks...I definitely think Jaywalker will be a good match for this yarn.

And the blanket:


I just started the sixth ball this morning. You are looking at 158 rows, with at least that many more to go. To put a little more pressure on this knitting, the baby arrived Thursday a week ago, 11 days early. Ack!

Must knit fast!

Whew!

Okay, I think things are finally beginning to get back to normal. I'm home again and back at work. Mom continues to get better every day. And the best part? The final pathology showed her to be clear of cancer. We couldn't have hoped for more. The family is breathing a major sigh of relief.

So, what's on the agenda for this Libran? The never-ending baby blanket (I'm seeing the end of ball 5) is top priority. This effort involves a daily 5:30 a.m. knitting session (yawn!) and if I'm lucky, a little bit of knitting in the evening. The Blue Danube sock is cast aside again for the (you guessed it) never-ending baby blanket, and as of June 1, for a pair of Jaywalker socks, knit in Trekking XXL #100 for Margene's Trek Along with Me knit along. This picture doesn't really do the yarn justice (my swatch is much more subdued). I'm pretty excited about my new sock adventure. And best of all, it gives me a chance to get out and take a hike, assuming I can pry my husband away from his running persuade my husband to take a post-run hike some Saturday or Sunday. Hiking opportunities abound near my home--there's the Appalachian Trail, the W&OD Trail (quite nice for an urban/suburban/rural trail), and any number of trails at Great Falls National Park. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to get in a backpacking trip.

And I've decided to knit my mom a new boob. No, seriously! I read about it in the latest issue of Interweave Knits, which was delivered right after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It's a great idea and it should be a fast, fun knit. Especially if I use a cashmere/silk blend or some other luxurious yarn. And if Mom decides to go with the reconstruction surgery, it will be a memorial boob. You can find the pattern here.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll get a chance to take some pictures this weekend.

Happy knitting!

A Quick Update

I'm still at my parent's house and plan to go back home tomorrow. Mom came through the surgery fine on Thursday and came home from the hospital on Friday. The initial biopsy showed that the lymph nodes were clear; we'll get the final report on Tuesday. Mom is in pretty good spirits and with the help of Percocet, is not in a lot pain. I'm thinking that they should rename Percocet to "Perky-cet" because Mom has become quite chatty.

Thanks to everyone who kept Mom in their thoughts and prayers. We couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. Our circle of family and friends (which definitely includes my blogging acquaintences) is amazing. I'm deeply grateful and humbled.

I've been able to get a fair amount of knitting done this weekend. The Blue Danube sock has grown a little bit and I'm on the fifth ball (out of 12) for the blanket. I started swatching for my Trekking XXL socks for the Trek with Me knitalong, but quickly discovered that I can't knit and translate charts or instructions from knitting in the round to flat knitting. At least I've got an idea of gauge in stockinette. Does anyone have any suggestions for a pattern that would look good with color #100? It stripes very subtly.

And for my One Skein "Seekrit" Pal, here are my answers:

1. Which yarn is most like your personality (you can be specific or general with your answer- brand, type, color, fiber, whatever)?

Hmmm...some would say dishrag cotton! I think I would say cashmere/silk...elegant, but casual (okay, that's what I wannabe). Colors would be muted, earthy tones...(understated elegance?)


2. What is your favorite color yarn to knit/crochet with?

Given that most of my knitting recently has been for gifts, I don't really have a favorite. But when I'm in a yarn store, I gravitate to pinks, greens, purples, reds, and some others.


3. Have you ever used variegated, or magic, yarns?

Yes, with interesting results. The jury is still out, but I think I like them. They certainly are easy!


4. Do you tend to favor certain fibers when choosing yarns?

Natural fibers!!! I am a yarn snob, but mostly because I hate the way most synthetic fibers feel as they move through my hands. However, I do try to keep an open mind.


5. Do you prefer to work with center-pull or traditionally wound balls of yarn?

Either is fine; I have a swift and a ball winder.


6. Have you ever worked with organic yarns or are you interested in trying them?

I have not worked with them and I am definitely interested in trying them. I've had my eye on Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton for the robe that was in a past issue of Interweave Knits.


7. How many and what projects have you made in the last year?

Oh goodness...several hats, some scarves, mittens, baby blankets, a couple pairs of socks...see the list of FOS on my blog (pay no attention to the UFOS).


8. Will you be knitting any gifts this year?

Absolutely. Some socks and a baby blanket. Maybe some more hats and a couple of children's sweaters.


9. What is your favorite one skein project?

Well, I haven't worked much with one skein projects, but I would say socks. I did knit a small scarf for my niece using one skein. It was extremely satisfying and relatively quick.


10. How much yarn do you have in your stash and how do you store it?

I don't know. I'll have to take an inventory. I've got one large flat Rubbermaid contain filled, and another one partially filled. As stashes go, mine is rather modest.


11. Do you have a yarn in your stash that you love so much you can never use it or part with it?

Not really, but I do have several yarns in my stash that are destined for something I design, after I get over my fear of failure.


12. Do you knit less or differently in the summer?

Not really. I might not be knitting with worsted anything (cotton is extremely sticky in the humidity). Maybe more socks?


13. Do you belong to any knitting groups (online or offline)?

I occasionally attend the Loudoun Knitters group, but mostly I knit solo.

GTB
GTB starts in 5 minutes! I wish we could be there. Maybe next year...

Mush Brain

I decided that I have had enough with the blanket. Oh, I'll continue to knit on it and it will be finished soon sometime after the baby is born. Knitnthings asked why not just leave off the French knots? Well, the couple for whom this blanket is intended is Greek and Tom thought it would be nice to make a blanket in the colors of the Greek flag. It's obvious that I wasn't thinking clearly ("Oh, what a pretty blanket. Aren't the French knots adorable!) and that I could have easily picked a blanket that didn't require embroidering over 500 French knots in Greek flag blue. Sigh...

So, I picked up the Blue Danube sock again. I had knit part of a round at the Knit Bloggers' Knoll at MDS&W and figured it would make good lunch time knitting or car knitting. I couldn't believe what I saw...the knitting was a mess. An absolute mess! The first pattern round is *sl3 purlwise, p3; repeat from *. Simple enough, right? Nope. I got the slippin' right, but seemed to get my knit and purl stitches mixed up (I think the whack of knit bloggers really freaked me out). So off to the frog pond on round 8. But my troubles were not over. I knit the one 12-round pattern repeat and and first half of the second repeat (which are the same). I managed to keep my knit and purl stitches straight, but got off on the count somewhere. The pattern was very off-kilter. I counted and counted and couldn't figure it out. So off the the frog pond again. This time I ripped back the whole thing and started over. The sock is looking much better.

Musings about Mother's Day
I didn't get a chance to visit my mother yesterday, but we did send flowers and I'll be making a trip down home on Wednesday to help out after her mastectomy. Mom has such a great attitude about the breast cancer. Actually Mom has a great attitude about almost everything. She's a very strong and determined woman and I admire her and love her a lot (don't get teary-eyed when you read this, Mom!). I suspect that she's doing much better with all this than I am.

But anyway, this the first year that I've noticed that pretty much all the cashiers in our local grocery stores kept telling me "Happy Mother's Day!" I'm not a mother and at this stage in my life, I'm probably not going to become one. How did I react? I smiled and said "Thank you, to you too." But that got me thinking. Is it because I'm clearly a woman of a certain age and wearing a wedding ring that people automatically think I have children? What do you think? Is it polite to wish a total stranger a happy "insert generic holiday here" when you don't have an inkling of their personal situation? I wasn't offended, but it did make feel rather odd.

We did get a chance to visit my mother-in-law. We cooked dinner and delivered it to her (she hates to cook, so cooked meals are alway a good gift). I made Rick Bayless' Grilled Salmon Vera Cruz with Lemon-and-Thyme-Scented Salsa, a spicy black bean and chile salad, Fruit Salad with Cannoli Cream (from Everyday Italian). Fortunately, everything could be made ahead and didn't require an final cooking. All of these dishes would be perfect for a picnic. And it was all quite yummy. A good time was had by all.

My apologies for lack of pictures this post. The blanket looks much like it did last week except longer and the sock is almost ready to be photographed.

My next post will probably be from my parents' house. In the meantime, have a great week and for those of you in the Northeast, don't float away!

The Fleece That Got Away

It's time to reminisce (and do a little show-and-tell) about my trip last week to Maryland Sheep and Wool. As I've already mentioned, there was a lot of fiber and fiber-producing critters there. There were also knit bloggers in their natural habitat and it was a lot of fun to watch everyone and wonder if they blogged. I never did get up enough courage to approach someone and ask "Excuse me, do you have a blog?" But I did meet some very nice bloggers at the knit bloggers convergence on the grassy knoll.

So, on to fiber and the fleece that got away.

One of my goals for Maryland Sheep and Wool was to buy a whole fleece and clean, card, and spin it up. But as I was looking for a fleece, it became clear to me that that would be a whole lot of work and I had almost decided to buy a lot of roving. Almost, because I came to one booth that had the most gorgeous fleece I ever did see. It was silvery-grey Coopworth,very lustrous, with a nice long staple and crimp. The locks were soft and smooth and lanolin-y and very, very clean. The fleece weighed in at almost six pounds and seemed to be priced right. Should I buy it? Will I have the time to be able to do it justice? I was almost ready to commit when another woman stopped and admired it. She also wanted it. Oh what to do, what to do? I accepted reality and did the honourable thing...I let her have it. Regrets? Of course. But I wrote down the name of the sheep and the vendor. That fleece is mine next year!

So, what did I get last weekend? A little bit of yarn:



From left to right, Jade Sapphire Cashmere Silk (800 yards!) in Vintage Rose, some hand-dyed Spirit Trail sock yarn, and two skeins of Duet from Brooks Farm Fibers.

I also bought a little bit of fiber:



From left to right (my apologies for the fuzziness), some beautiful dark grey and brown Border Leicester wool (from the same vendor of the fleece that got away), a bit of merino/silk roving in reds from Shadyside Farm, and a hand-painted Clun Forest/Cormo roving from Spirit Trail. The pink reminds me of cotton candy. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. If I can perfect my spinning, it might make an interesting pair of socks.

Of Secret Pals and Knit Alongs
The One Skein Secret Pal thingy has started. This is my first Secret Pal event and it should be fun. I already have some ideas for my secret pal, but I'll have to see what her yarn preferences are.

Margene and Norma are hosting a Trek Along which starts June 1st. It's simple, just grab some of the yummy Trekking XXL yarn hiding in your stash, start knitting a pair of socks, and take a hike (or two or three) with said socks-in-progress. This is my first knit along, too. I'm hoping that it will help get Tom and me back into hiking a little more (the Appalachian Trail is so close!) and that I'll be able to get some Extreme Knitting pictures.

And speaking of Extreme Knitting, I'm still accepting photos. You can find the details of Extreme Knitting here. Scroll down to the July 12th post.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Just a Quickie

I probably won't post photos of the stash enhancement until this weekend. It seems like there isn't all that much time in the evenings after I get home from work. Plus, if I don't take the photos until the weekend, I'll be much less tempted to start working on a new project...say a new pair of socks or Clapotis?

Sigh...so much yarn, so little time.

All work on the current socks and the Jenna sweater has ceased. My focus is on the baby blanket, which is coming along oh so slowly. I've knit 75 rows so far and am on the third ball of yarn and the blanket barely measures 9-1/4 inches. The baby for which it is destined isn't due to make his grand entrance until the end of May, so I have a little time. What is beginning to worry me, though, is the fact that I have to embroider French knots in the center of each cable. There are 16 columns of cables and each cable is about an inch long. There are about 36 inches of blanket length which means that I need to make approximately 576 French knots (someone please tell me I did the math wrong!).

I think the baby is going to get the blanket late.

Like a Virgin

A Maryland Sheep and Wool virgin, that is. What can I say, other than "Oooohhhhh!"

It was good. It was beyond good. It was amazing. It was amazing on many levels.

First, there were a lot of sheep there. And goats. And bunnies. And llamas and alpacas. All were very cute. The sheep smelled, well, like sheep and that's a very good smell. Yes, I know, I'm weird. Most people think barnyards stink. I think they smell earthy and good.

Look at these guys:



Mohair goats (or more like mohair goat butts). Aren't they adorable? The sheep were too numerous to photograph, but they came in all shapes and sizes. And voices! Some sheep had deep base baaaa's while others had "normal" baaaa's. I had no idea that sheep had deep voices. It fascinated me to no end.

The other thing that was good was being amongst my own kind. I mean, where else can you see thousands of women (and men) fingering raw fleece and toting bags and bags of the stuff? Kindred spirits, we were. Not to mention all the yarn and roving and top.

And then there were these fine ladies:







A whack of knit bloggers. And that wasn't all of us. Wendy and her cadre were a bit to right of us so we all picked up and trooped over there. It was awesome. And because there were so many people around, the old shyness kicked in. You'd think that after being out of high school for say 30 years that I'd get over feeling like I was tagging along behind the popular folks. But I met these fine knitters from Dallas, who helped me get over that feeling:



From left to right, that's Nanc, Petra (of 200Sox fame), and Chris. They had their own t-shirts and blog business cards! I need to do that for next year.

I also met Jody and Linda, her mother (and, alas, blogless), OneCraftyBitch, Melanie, Maggi and Suzanne.

It felt so right to be with other knitters, since I knit solo most of the time. Everyone hung around on the grassy knoll for about an hour or so and drifted away for more stash enhancement.

And of course, there was stash enhancement on my part, too. But not in a big way. A little sock yarn, some Duet for Clapotis, some fleece for spinning, a bit of roving, a little bit of cashmere/silk. And then there was the fleece that got away (more on that next time). Stash pictures will be posted the next time we get some sun. I don't think the flash will do justice to all the different colors.

In the meantime, happy knitting!

Do You See What I See?

After my 5:30a.m. knitting session (wherein I did not have to tink, I think) and after my 7:00a.m. weight training session, I drove to work (after making the appropriate change in clothes and such). And wouldn't you know it, the car in front of me (a Chevy Subdivision) had this bumper sticker on it: MSWF. And this one: My other vehicle is a spinning wheel. And this one: www.spirit-trail.net.

I think a saw a vendor.

It's clearly a message. Must...go...to...Maryland...Sheep...and...Wool...

Even if I have to go by myself.

In knitting news, I knit another two rows on the blanket tonight. I got to the end of the purl row, turned and started working the next pattern row. Ruh roh...something is not right. Danged if I didn't forget another yarn over at the beginning of the last pattern row (this is getting old, very old). So I tinked back the purl row and assessed the situation. I didn't want to tink back a cable row; I really didn't. So I slipped the stitches onto another needle, picked up the yarn where the yarn over should have been and created a new yarn over in situ. A quick slip of the stitches back to the working needles, and I'm on my way. Woo hoo! I'm so proud of myself.

Tomorrow? Another 5:30a.m. knitting session, followed by a 2-mile walk at 6:15a.m. One day I'm going to start running again.

Better Now

Whew! I'm glad that's over. The Blue Funk, that is. I don't think I've been that blue for years. It wasn't a lot of fun.

But a little housecleaning, the return of my husband from his little climbing trip, and dinner with friends did a lot to lift my spirits. A return of hormonal balance didn't hurt, either. Thank you for your words of encouragement, and especially your thoughts for my mother. Those also contributed.

I didn't make it to Knit Happens yesterday. I didn't quite have the energy to make the trek to Alexandria. I'll catch Wendy next weekend at Maryland Sheep and Wool.

I'm making slow progress on the blanket, because I seem to be unable to knit a pattern row without making some kind of mistake. I forget yarnovers, I end up with extra stitches...fortunately, I haven't dropped another stitch during a cable (yet). But despite the slowness of the work, the Martina yarn continues to fascinate me. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy knitting with this yarn? I read the ball band again and discovered the source of the lustre...10% silk. That's why it looks like pearls. I can sit and stare at the lustre for hours. It grabs me and pulls me in. It's almost a shame to be knitting a baby blanket with it. And I feel really bad that the baby blankets knit for my niece and nephew were out of Lamb's Pride. Don't get me wrong, I really like Lamb's Pride. But it isn't Martina. Did I say how much I love this yarn?

Is anyone else going to be at Maryland Sheep and Wool on Saturday? (Well, yes, thousands of people will be. I meant knitting and spinning bloggers.) Last year at this time, the blog world was all abuzz about MDSW. Other than Melanie, I haven't heard much of anything about it. If you are going, would you like to try to meet up? Post a comment and let me know.

That's it for now. Time to finish some laundry and do some gardening and grocery shopping. Enjoy the day!

Weariness

I'm glad this week is over as it has been a rollercoaster of emotions, mostly down. Sometimes events just become too much and the defense is to roll up in a ball and pull the covers over your head. It isn't just my mother's cancer diagnosis that's causing me to feel like this. It's everything that's happening in the world--the conflicts, the environment, everything. It's our Administration and their extreme short-sightedness and cultural ignorance; it's the hatred that seems to be rife in the Middle East and Sudan, and elsewhere.

This feeling will eventually pass, but in the meantime, things are looking pretty bleak.

I need my flannel jammies and a warm blankie.

I stayed up until almost 11:30 last night reading Wendy Knits--My Never-Ending Adventures in Yarn. I just finished it (okay, I got sidetracked while writing this entry). It's a quick, entertaining read and is essentially an autobiography of a knitter. It's humorous (especially the Bad-Ass Knitters' Kitties' Manifesto). And the patterns provide inspiration. As does Wendy's blog. Wander on over there and check out her tiger socks. As Tony (the Tiger) would say "They're GRRRRREAT!"

I feel a stash enhancement coming on. I have been a tiger fan ever since I was a wee child when I was allowed to choose a toy for my first birthday. My choice? A stuffed sleeping tiger. It was the only thing in the entire toy store that I wanted. I still have it, too, but most of the fur has long been loved off and the stuffing is a bit...er...crunchy. But it's still my tiger. So clearly, the Opal Rainforest Tiger yarn is meant for me.

But wait, there's more. There Opal Rainforest Flamingo yarn. I love birds. And flamingos are special because of the Annual Goodtime Boogie. So clearly, the Opal Rainforest Flamingo yarn is meant for me, too!

Tom is off climbing this weekend; he'll be back tomorrow night. This would be a perfect time for a little stash acquisition. I could take a field trip to Knit Happens, get some yarn, meet Wendy (who's signing books from noon to 2pm)...or I could wait until Maryland Sheep and Wool next weekend. I think that's probably the better option.

Okay, I'm rambling. Time to sign off and get some tinking done. I'd close with a picture of my tiger, but it appears that Tom took the camera climbing with him.

We Interrupt This Blog

...to bring you an important public service announcement...

Okay, ladies. I have to ask you a very important question. When was your last mammogram? If it was last year, good for you. Be sure to get one this year, if you are at the "get a yearly mammogram" stage of life. If it's been two or more years? Call or visit your doctor and have her write an order for a mammogram, schedule it, and don't miss the appointment.

"Hmmm..." you are probably thinking, "This is isn't about knitting. What's up?"

You're right, today's blog is not about knitting. It's about breast cancer. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last week. It's very early, very contained, and the prognosis is pretty good. They found it with a mammogram, which my mother has done every year.

It's scary that it's in my family. It's scary that my mom has it. But what is even scarier is the number of women I know who have had breast cancer. According to breastcancer.org, breast cancer incidence in women is one in seven. I know (or know of) more than a dozen women who have had breast cancer.

So please, stay current with the mammograms, learn what you can about breast cancer prevention, and take good care of you. After all, you want to be knitting for a really long time, right?

We now return you to the blog in progress...

A New Arrival
It arrived! It shipped yesterday and arrived today! Wendy's new book arrived. I'm on p. 35 (it's sitting here next to my computer). So far, it's a good read. It's not laugh-out-loud-funny (well, not yet, anyway), the way Yarn Harlot's bookbookbooks are. But it's chatty and engaging and a very pleasant read. And I've already gotten some ideas about One Skein (hee hee).

In knitting news? I'm afraid there hasn't been much activity this week. Mom's diagnosis (coupled with the wrong time of the month...or maybe it's the other way 'round) put me in a major funk. I'm climbing out and should be back to my normal knitting self soon. I tried knitting the Jenna sleeve on Monday and managed to complete four rows, but it was not a pleasant four rows. It was "tarry" and slow and I kept making mistakes. The baby blanket didn't fare well, either. I decided to tink and was doing right well until I got to a certain "sl 1, k2tog, psso." I tinked wrong and now I've got two weird stitches. I'm hoping they'll right themselves on the next row, as well as a third weird stitch that emerged when I picked up the dropped stitch. Sigh...

Click your heels together and repeat after me: There's nothing like the process, there's nothing like the process, there's nothing like the process...

Houston, We Have a Problem

Help! A stitch has fallen and it can't get up!



One of my greatest knitting fears has been realized. I dropped a stitch during a cable and kept going, blissfully unaware of it for a couple of rows. I figure I have a couple of options for fixing it, none of which thrill me. I could try to fix it in place. Or I could tink several rows. The problem with fixing it in place is that I don't have a clue how to bring up that stitch and rearrange all the yarn overs and decreases. The problem with tinking is that I have to deal with unknitting the yarn overs on the purl rows.

Can any of you more experienced knitters offer some advice before I mess this up beyond repair?

In happier news, on Friday my friend Keith told me a story that almost made me swoon. His wife had lunch with a friend who was helping clean out the house of one her relatives who had recently passed away and who was apparently a knitter. She had (you might want to sit down for this) 52 large black trash bags of yarn. There were also a number of unfinished projects, still on the needles, neatly stored in bags with the yarn and pattern. No, I don't know what kind of yarn it was. In my imagination, I think of the most beautiful yarn possible: soft wools in luscious colors, beautiful silk blends, luxurious novelties; in short, all the types of yarn I want to own and work with. In reality, all the yarn could have been bad acrylic. The family donated the entire stash to a charity, which I don't think I'd be able to do (unless all the yarn was bad acrylic).

Shrooming
The mushroom hunt today was a little less than successful. We found (thanks to Sunil and Susan) a grand total of four little morels:



Tom and I found zero morels; I found one false morel (which you don't want to eat because they are poisonous). Susan graciously let us keep the whole haul, and they are now soaking in salt water to get all of the tiny bugs out. Tonight's dinner will be grilled asparagus, chicken prepared in some way, sauteed morels, new potatoes, pain rustique, and a salad. And ice cream for dessert, of course.

Hunting morels is a lot about the process. If you want immediate gratification, morel hunting is not for you. But if you like taking a walk in the woods, slowing down, and really looking at what's in front of you, the process can be very rewarding. Box turtles, butterflies, birds, brightly colored centipedes, wood spiders, wild flowers, and maybe even the elusive morel reveal themselves. It's a time for slowing down, and being aware of nature, which we so often are not these days.

So, in the spirit of Earth Day (which was yesterday), try to get outside and take a walk in nature. It doesn't have to be in the wilds; go to your local park. Slow down and absorb your surroundings. See how many birds, wild flowers, trees, and animals you can identify. Revel in feeling the sun, or wind, or rain on your face. And above all, enjoy!

Smack Down!

I cast on for the new baby blanket last Sunday. The Martina continues to knit like a dream and the pattern is very easy. So easy, in fact, that I got a little cocky during the second pattern repeat and made a mental comment about how easy it was and how I hadn't made any mistakes.

The Knitting Goddess at that point performed a cosmic smack down.

I was coming up on the end of a 195-stitch row and decided to have a little look-see at my knitting. Hmmm...it looks a little weird, just slightly off. So I went back to the beginning of the row and compared it with the pattern. I made a one-stitch mistake at stitch 9. Gar! So I tinked and started again. Fortunately, the yarn is no worse for the wear.

The lesson? Never, ever get cocky about your ability to follow a pattern, no matter how easy you think it is. If you want to read more knitting lessons, visit Margene's blog. Her lessons are in the April 20 and 21 posts.

The blanket is progressing nicely. See?



That's 31 rows and roughly three inches and almost one ball of Martina. I'm not quite getting gauge, so the blanket will be a little smaller than what the pattern says.

The Lace-edged Cardigan sleeve is also progressing. I've only got one more increase row, then it's knitting until it's the right length. Henceforth, I'm going to call the Lace-edged Cardigan "Jenna." That's who it's for and Jenna is a whole lot easier to type than Lace-edged Cardigan.

What's on tap for the remainder of the weekend? The oft-postponed housecleaning and grocery shopping (the larder is getting a bit bare), the usual laundry. Tonight we'll have dinner at our favorite restaurant. I'm hoping that something on the menu will include fiddlehead ferns or morels. And tomorrow will be my first morel hunt. Yum, yum!

Never Say Never

A long time ago (okay, maybe not that long ago) when I first started knitting and began the stash acquisition, I was focused on reasonably-priced natural fibers. I'd read other knitter's blogs and they were using yarns that I never heard of...Rowan, Debbie Bliss, and so on. After I saw the prices of these yarns and how tiny the balls were, I swore that I'd never buy designer yarn. It's too expensive and too...trendy.

Never say never.

When I purchased the Rowan Cotton Glace for the Lace-edged Cardigan (can't Debbie Bliss come up with catchier names for her sweaters?), I started down the slippery slope, although I didn't know it at the time. I justified the Adrienne Vittadini yarn purchase because it was the right weight and color for the baby blanket and it was 40% off. But I swatched it on the way home today and I'm in love!

This yarn is an absolute dream to knit. It's soft and the resulting fabric is very lustrous, like pearls. I'm now having difficulty justifying using this yarn for a baby blanket, even though it is for a friend of my husband. I'm also wondering if I can find good deals on this yarn. I'm addicted, I'm afraid. Please keep me away from the cashmere and qiviut!

I finally took a picture of the kittens on the kitten blanket:



Pretty cute, eh?

Runner Down!

This weekend was the Fourth Annual Charlottesville Marathon and Half-Marathon. Tom and I signed up months ago. Unfortunately, I developed a problem with the IT band in my right knee and can't run much more than two or three miles without pain, so I knew a while ago that I wasn't going to be able to run. Tom, on the other hand, has been running regularly and was ready to set another PR. So yesterday, we packed up the car and headed to Charlottesville.

We met our friends, Jim and Lynda, had a cocktail and some shrimp and oysters, then headed over to Fellini's #9 for dinner. Dinner was quite good (I had fresh ravioli with roasted red peppers and carmelized onions). Then it was back to our hotel room for a good night's sleep before the race today.

But the sleep turned out to be not so good. Tom got that stomach virus that has been going around and spent the better part of the night in the bathroom. By the time race time rolled around, he was not quite feeling up to running 13.1 miles. That was a major disappointment for him.

I spent the morning knitting, or rather unknitting, the Blue Danube sock. At some point, I got confused and ended up decreasing in the middle of the bottom of the foot, not at the side. Later in the day, Lynda and I had lunch and shopped on the pedestrian mall near the hotel. I've been looking for the right yarn for another baby blanket and finally found it, at 40% off. It's Adrienne Vittadini's Martina, which is a nice sportweight merino and I got a lot of it. If you are looking for a decent sale on yarn, head to The Needle Lady in Charlottesville, Virginia.

As a result of not really being able to wander too far afield today, I was able to finish the Blue Danube sock, despite the decrease accident. And here it is:



The colors in the photo are washed out; in real life the second color ranges in color from light taupe to black, with rich plums and browns in between. This yarn is great to knit with. Despite it being merino and silk, it tinks well, not showing signs of abuse overuse. I hope that means it will wear well, too.

And as promised, a picture of the sleeve for the Lace-edged Cardigan:



I finally figured out the macro function on the camera (you'd think that someone who works in high-tech should have been able to figure it out sooner). This is the cable detail for the sleeve:



The picture is a little blurry, but shows the pattern nicely. The yarn is Rowan's Cotton Glace. It's a cotton, but it's easy on the hands. It knits well, even though the yarn kinks up quite a bit.

Tom is off to see the movie Thank You for Smoking with Jim and Lynda. He's finally feeling better and needed to get out. I'm taking this opportunity to update my blog and knit in the quiet of the hotel room. I'm undecided, though. Should I cast on the second Blue Danube sock, thus helping to avoid second sock syndrome? Perhaps I should try to make more progress on the cardigan sleeve. Or should I swatch the Martina? So many options, so little time!

Knit on, friends!

Organized (in spite of myself)

I spent another weekend with Miss Val, organizing my workroom. I'm happy to report that we're done! Yippee!

Here are some before pictures:





Now, I wouldn't describe myself as "unorganized." I would say, though, that my organization quickly devolves into disorganization or, as these pictures suggest, chaos. Really, it's much easier to leave things out if I know (or even think) that I'll be using them again.

After spending 19 hours working on this room, including the closets and filing cabinet, we ended up with one box and three large bags for charity, one large bag of trash, one large box of recyclables, and various piles that needed to go elsewhere in the house. And I was left with this:





Every time I walk past the room, I look in and say "Ahhh..." It feels more spacious, the energy flows better, and it's just good. But I did have to rein in Val a little bit. When it came time to organize the stash, she looked at my one stash box (and its overflow) and kept asking "Isn't there anything in there you can get rid of? Maybe some old yarn?" Nope, every bit of the stash stays. It took every ounce of my self-control to not pull out every skein, thrust it in her hands and say "Here, feel this. Isn't it wonderful?" (I only did it once or twice).

I must say, though, that it's rather sad that I couldn't do this organization project by myself. I think it was too overwhelming and I was only thinking along two lines: throw it out or give it away. For some things, particularly some of the things that came from my grandmother's house, I needed someone who understood the emotional attachment and who could gently detach me from that attachment and get me to realize that it was good to give it to someone who would get better use of the objects than I would. Thanks, Miss Val!

Because of the whirlwind of organization this weekend, not much knitting was accomplished. I started swatching for the next baby blanket. I'm considering using Indicieta, a sport weight alpaca yarn by Plymouth. I'm not sure that I like it...yet. The swatch needs to get bigger than one row. The sleeve to the Lace-edged Cardigan is slowly but surely growing. It's about six inches long right now and I've had no signficant cabling accidents. I think it will turn out rather well. I'll post pictures next time...after I replace the batteries in the camera.

Finito

It's done...the kittens blanket is totally finished. And here it is, for your viewing pleasure:



I tried to take a detail picture of the kittens, but as usual, the macro function created a blurry picture. I must read the camera user's guide sometime (but that means I'd have to find it first). It's really annoying to have blurry macro pictures.

I've finished the first full repeat of the Lace-edged Cardigan sleeve. It looks as if the gauge is working out, despite my stitch name translation accident. The sleeve at the cuff is supposed to be 8" and that's what I'm measuring. So far, so good.

In other news, Miss Val came over yesterday to help me get organized. One of my New Year's resolutions (with much prodding from Tom) was to de-clutter and organize. For a pack rat, this is pretty scary. But Val would like to become a professional organizer so I've offered up myself (and my stuff) as a guinea pig. It's exhausting work. Of course, it didn't help that I began with the most challenging room, the work room (aka the "fiber arts studio"). But we made good progress for one day. She'll be back next weekend and with any luck (and lots of work), we'll finish the job. I'll post before and after pictures when we finish.

And now? I'm off to knit a few rows on the sleeve.

Jacked Up

That's what happened to our house this week...literally. We live in a 1906 four-square that over the years has been modified. One of the modifications, probably done in the early 20th century, was to add a bump out to the dining room (which was probably the original kitchen) and upstairs bedroom. That little addition has slowly sunk about two inches, which caused some cracked plaster, slopey floors, and the windows to not close. We've debated for years whether or not to fix it; we suspected that it was still sinking.

This week, we went for it. The crew came on Monday and started digging. More digging ensued on Tuesday and they installed helical piers. Wednesday, they jacked. Let me tell you that hearing a house (or part of it) get raised is heart-wrenching. It makes the most hideous hissings, poppings, and crackings. The jacking only took about 90 minutes, but those were some of the most stressful 90 minutes of my life. There were a couple of times where I definitely felt like I needed a little lie-down. Either that or a good, stiff drink (at 8:00 in the morning).

Fortunately, nothing bad happened. In addition to raising the house, the workers also fixed the drainage on that side of the house and repaired the addition foundation where it had separated from the main foundation (it had never been tied in). So now we have a level floor, windows that close, an addition that will never sink again. And lots of cracked plaster to repair.

Knitting News
I finished knitting the blanket a week ago so it wasn't delivered to the wee babe, although I did show it to his proud parents. It's been washed and blocked and all that's left to do is the embroidery. I hope to finish that this weekend and mail it next week.

I started the Lace-edged Cardigan from Great Knits for Kids by Debbie Bliss. The sweater designs are gorgeous and this particular design, at least, will be challenging. It has five cable patterns, along with double moss stitch as filler. It's a bit frustrating that the she doesn't state up front just what double moss stitch is. I did a Google search on it and discovered that it is a four-row repeat of k2,p2; p2,k2; p2,k2; k2,p2. I happily swatched on the drive down to Rescue and got gauge, mostly. After starting the sleeve, I realized that her definition of double moss stitch is comprised of a single knit and purl stitch. So, I need to swatch again. But in the meantime, I'm merrily knitting the sleeve (attempt number three), realizing full well that I swatched the wrong stitch pattern and might need to start over again.

Can you tell that I'm in denial? Can you tell that I'm ignoring the fact that perhaps after three or repeats of five cable patterns that I might not feel so enamored of this sweater?

I keep telling myself: I love the process, I love the process, I love the process.

Where Does the Time Go?

Okay, so I posted right after the Knitting Olympics. And I look up and it's already March 20th. How did that happen? Maybe I've been immersed in my job. Maybe I've been heads down trying to get the baby blanket done before next weekend. Maybe I've just been lazy. It's probably a combination of all three.

I usually get home from work between 7:00 and 8:00 in the evening and after having worked on a computer all day, I don't quite feel like logging on at home. That means I'm woefully behind with reading my favorite blogs. But I have been managing to knit about an hour or so before I go to bed, which is wonderfully relaxing.

The baby blanket is almost finished. I've got about 40 rows of seed and stockinette stitch to go, then it's on to weaving in the ends and blocking. I'll post a picture of the blanket after I've finished it.

I've come to realize that I'm a process knitter, not a product knitter. There times, however, when the process drives me batty. I get bored easily, so doing row after long row of stockinette stitch has a tendency to be painful, at least initially. I feel like I'm fighting the knitting. What I found, though, is that at some point something else kicks in and I become fascinated with the way the yarn moves through my hands or the way the light catches and changes the colors. When that happens, the "conflict" goes away and the knitting just flows. My hands are more relaxed; my self is more relaxed. And I hate to see the project end.

Maybe it's because I'm a process knitter that I can't be faithful to only one project. It's taking every ounce of my self-control to not cast on yet another pair of socks (I've got two pairs going now) or the Debbie Bliss sweaters that I want to knit for my little nieces. A little voice in my head says "Just do a gauge swatch. You've got to do one anyway. It won't hurt." Ha! I know me. Once I feel the new yarn and start working on a new pattern, it's all over. The current project(s) will languish indefinitely (see the sidebar of WIPs...they've all been deserted for new projects). The feeling of waiting to start a new project is not unlike having a crush on someone unattainable. The anticipation is bittersweet because I know I can't knit it now. And when the "relationship" does start, there's a good chance it will be fraught with frustration and disappointment.

But then that's part of the process too, isn't it?

Knitting Olympics Wrap-up

Well, Jim, yesterday marked the end of the first Knitting Olympics. The competition was amazing.

You're right, Bob. And here to talk about her Olympic experience is Teri, from Leesburg, Virginia. As you may recall, her entry was a pair of Baltic mittens. Let's see how she did. So, Teri, it seemed that after a strong start, something happened and you lost that competitive fire.

Well, I wouldn't call the start especially strong, Jim. I didn't swatch and I didn't practice the plaiting technique before casting on. That slowed me down, especially when I read the instructions later and realized that I did it wrong. The other thing that slowed me down was my inability to count to five. It seems that I can only count to four.

But after those problems, it looks like you picked up steam and hit your stride. You were well on your way to completing the first mitten of the pair at the end of the first week of competition. What happened then?

You're right, Bob. I was so excited that I was on schedule, with very few tinking incidences. I just knew that success was within my reach. But after my Thursday knitting session, as I was assessing my work, I noticed a dropped stitch five rows earlier. This really threw me for a loop. I wasn't prepared for that level of problem solving and I didn't want to unknit five rows. So I took a rest day and pondered the problem.

What did you finally end up doing?

I tinked five rows early Saturday morning. I was able to pick up and keep knitting, but the fire just went out of me. As you know, half of the competition is psychological. I didn't have it in me to get up early to knit, work all day, then knit until midnight after I got home. I just sort of gave up.

But you completed one mitten, and it looks pretty good. The tension seems to be even, the pattern is pleasing, and the thumb pattern matches the mitten body pattern.



Yes, I completed the mitten on Saturday. But even that was dicey, Jim. After looking at Stephanie's color work and seeing how flat it was, I decided that the mitten was a failure. It was just too puckery. But I forgot about the magic of blocking. All the puckers just sort of steamed away and when all was said and done, I was quite pleased with my work. I'm disappointed, though, that I didn't have the fortitude and courage to push through my doubts and get to a point where I could complete the second mitten.

What are you taking away from your Olympic experience?

I've learned that I can knit things that I never thought I'd be knitting, Bob. When I saw Stephanie's MSF Latvian mittens last year, I was astounded at their beauty and just knew that I would never achieve that level of complexity, at least not any time soon. But after a brief flirtation with two-color knitting at Christmas, I was enchanted and decided to go for it. I've also learned that it is a mistake to listen to that little negative voice in my head.

And what's next for you?

I've got a lot of knitting that was put on hold, Jim. I plan to finish the second mitten. I'm in the process of knitting a baby blanket, which I need to finish. The baby came a little early and he had quite a rough start. He almost didn't make it. I'm happy to report that he's doing fine now and I'd like to finish the blanket by the time I visit them, which hopefully will be at the end of March.

Will you be competing in the next Knitting Olympics?

If they hold them again? Absolutely! It was a wonderful experience and it was very cool to be knitting, albeit virtually, with over 4000 others.

Well, Bob, that wraps it up for the 2006 Knitting Olympics. Many thanks to Stephanie and other members of the International Knitting Olympic Committee for sponsoring the competition. We look forward to the next competition, whenever that may be. Good night, and best wishes to all of the Knitting Olympics contenders.

It Looks Bad for the Baltic Mittens

Despite feeling that I hit my stride, events have conspired against me and the Baltic mittens. I've been merrily knitting along, watching listening to the Olympics, staying up way past my bedtime, just knowing that I was going to blow everyone away with the brilliance and beauty of the Baltic mittens.

Ha!

I was knitting away on Thursday and was in a good position to complete the first mitten on Friday, pretty much on schedule. Then as I was admiring my handiwork, I noticed this little loop sticking out about five or six rows down.

Here's Teri coming down the row....looking good....great form....not too tense...but wait! Oh no, Jim, she's dropped a stitch! What a heartbreaker for this knitting powerhouse from Leesburg, Virginia!

Well, Bill, these are the setbacks that determine the true Olympians. Teri's shown a lot of guts and fortitude in the past, and I think she has what it takes to overcome this.

Bill, I've heard it said that Teri is "small but powerful." Do you think that is going to help her through the second half of the mitten biathalon?

Oh definitely, Jim. This is the time where true Olympians dig down deep and summon the strength to carry on. But you know, Jim, you can train and train, but you can't train for the thrill of actual competition, for the flood of adrenalin that comes as you approach the end of a row.

That's what makes these knitting Olympians great.

What to do? What to do? Do I ignore it and hope it goes away? Do I try to repair it in place? Do I tink back and fix it? Given that it was midnight and I was tired, I did what all good Olympians do...I went to bed.

I spent the next day pondering the recovery. And Saturday morning, when I examined the mitten, I knew I had but one choice. Tink, and tink some more. And you'd think that with the weekend here, I'd get in some good knitting time, but somehow life interfered. I was hoping to complete the first mitten by the end of the weekend. I'm not there yet. And the more I look at the mitten, the more I'm thinking that I've done a really bad job with the stranded knitting. No matter how much I spread the stitches, the mitten is puckering. It's on the flower part of the design, so it's tempting to say that it's a three-dimensional design element. And the mitten is going to be too big for my hand. And it doesn't look good enough to give as a gift. I'm going to keep working on it, but I'll only have one mitten completed by the time the Olympic flame is extinguished. There's no way I can knit the second mitten in five days and 15 hours.

Folks, stay tuned, we'll be joined shortly by former Russian knitting gold medalist Ivana Nitamiten.

(Knitting commentary playfully provided by Keith last week as I was relating my knitting woes to him.)

And They're Off!

So, the Knitting Olympics have begun! Because I foolishly went to work on Friday (very silly since we didn't get back from Costa Rica until after midnight), I couldn't cast on at 2:00pm. And then after work we went out for drinks with some friends. Finally, after a quick dinner, I gathered up my wool, needles, and pattern and cast on.

It was an inauspicious beginning. After plaiting two rounds, I read the pattern (imagine that) and realized that I did it wrong. So I called in the frogs and undid it all. At that point, it was too late and I was too tired to make a second attempt so off to bed I went.

I got a fresh start on Saturday. The casting on went well, the plaiting went well (but I haven't figured out how to keep the two balls of yarn from twisting together), and despite having to unknit a round or two here and there, the knitting is going well. I think I've hit my stride. But...I haven't gotten to the thumb part yet and I haven't gotten to the decreases in the chart yet. That will be the next hurdle. I'm almost done with the cuff and should start the main mitten pattern later today. If I can keep up the momentum, I have a decent shot at finishing both mittens by the time the Olympic Games end.

I must say that it is a bit thrilling (yes, I know, I'm a bit dorky) to be "competitively" knitting at the same time athletes are ski jumping, downhill racing, luging, figure skating, and speed skating. I feel the thrill of victory after having completed a particularly tricky bit in the pattern without having to tink. I feel the agony of defeat when I reach the end of a round and realize that somewhere I got off in the chart. I get teary-eyed when I see the winners of an event standing on the podium, listening to their national anthem. And knowing that I'm knitting with at least 4000 other Olympic knitters boggles my mind. Who would've thunk it?

Of Birds and Knitting
The trip to Costa Rica was quite nice. After we arrived at Cerro Coyote, we pretty much stayed there, primarily because the roads were so daunting (if you don't have a 4WD vehicle, it's difficult to get around). Getting from place to place is measured not by distance, but by time. And the time is usually measured in hours, not minutes. We didn't want to spend four hours or more on the road every day, so we hung out at the inn and relaxed and ate and knit and ate and relaxed and watched birds.

I added several new birds to my life list: keel-billed toucan, collared trogon, emerald toucan, blue-crowned mot-mot, white-eared ground sparrow, brown jay, common paurauque, black and white warbler, great kiskadee, Eastern meadowlark. My favorite, though, was the blue-crowned mot-mot. It's a gorgeous bird.

I got a fair amount of knitting done, too. I took three projects: Blue Danube socks, kittens baby blanket, and Dream socks. I almost completed the heel on the Blue Danube socks, but left the fifth needle at home so couldn't complete the turning. I knit a couple of rows on the baby blanket, but it was humid and the cotton yarn was being recalcitrant and I didn't make as much progress as I wanted. And the Dream socks were going quite well until I got to the heel. That's what I get for feeling smug about turning a heel and watching "Corpse Bride" at the same time. I managed to not get huge gaps with the yarn over short row, but somehow managed to end up with fewer stitches than I started out with. It's back to Frog Pond with the sock (but not until I finish the Knitting Olympics mittens and the baby blanket).

The hats were well-received by my nephews. Logan loves the earflap hat, according to my mother, and my brother says that Craig likes his hat, too. That makes me feel good. My brother said that I do good work, which is high praise coming from a man who raised two sons mostly on his own, works mega-hours at welding, has made his own fishing nets, and built a major addition to his house, all by himself. My brother impresses the heck out of me.

That's it for now. I might update this entry later with a picture of The Mitten.

Flying Away

Well, Tom and I are off to the mountains of Costa Rica for a week of relaxation, bird-watching, relaxation, cooking classes, relaxation... You get the picture. We'll be at The Inn at Coyote Mountain. It looks nice, but I think getting there will be an adventure.

Yes, there will be knitting. I've packed three knitting projects. Hopefully I'll be able to get some extreme knitting knitting in.

Our friend Brian is house and cat-sitting, the cab is arranged, we're packed. And now? It's off to bed. The plane takes off at 6:11 a.m. Ugh.

Adios, amigos y amigas!

As If I Didn't Have Enough To Do

Well, the Christmas knitting is complete, almost. I have one more hat to knit, but it's cotton and there isn't a deadline. Here are the finished objects.



This is the Fickle Fingers Scarf from the Winter 2005 issue of Interweave Knits, knit with Serendipity (an alpaca/wool blend) from Dancing Fibers Yarn. The yarn was an absolute dream to knit with. Unfortunately, the recipient (a 14-year old girl) seemed singularly underwhelmed with it. Oh, well...



The Rasta Colors hat proved to be quite popular with all ages and I'll be making more of these. This is actually the Heads Up Hat from the Spring 2005 Interweave Knits, but knit with Provence cotton.



The School Colors hat, scarf, and mittens ensemble is finally complete. I completed the scarf late winter last year (it was supposed to be a Christmas gift) and finished the hat and mittens before Christmas this year. Unfortunately, it's been too warm for my nephew to wear them, even though he's going to school in the mountains of southwestern Virginia.



The Bubble Up Hats, knit from kits from KnitKits, are for my youngest nieces. Fun hats, but the bubble yarn was a pain to knit with. Jenna said "I love my hat!" as soon as she saw it. Christine, on the other hand, was very blunt and said "I don't like the hat." Her mother was appalled and took her in the back room for a talking-to.



The last three gifts have not yet been received by the giftees, mainly because I finished them this week. They will go in the mail tomorrow. The earflap hat is also from the Winter 2005 issue of Interweave Knits and is actually the Berry Hat, knit in blue Manos. The other hat is of my own design, borrowing the Fair Isle pattern from the Berry hat. It is knit in Cascade 220. And the socks are the Toe Up Socks from Y2Knit, knit Cascade Fixation. I love knitting with this yarn and the pattern is a nice, easy slip-stitch. If you haven't tried short rows for the heel and toe, this would be a good pattern to start with, as it is easy to see and pick up the wraps.

I have another scarf and a poncho to show, but for some reason, Blogger doesn't seem to want to upload them. I'll try putting them in another post.

Next up to complete is a baby blanket for a special sister-in-law. The baby is due in early March, so if I continue the 5:30 a.m. knitting sessions, I should be able to complete it before, or just after, the baby is born.

Knitting For Me

With all the gifts I've knitted for others, I'm feeling a bit neglected and really want to knit something for me. I'm thinking that I'll knit the Blue Danube socks from Ellen's Half Pint Farm that I picked up at Stitches in September. The yarn is a silk/merino blend that feels absolutely yummy.

Knitting Olympics

And if that isn't enough, I've declared for Team Fair Isle for the Knitting Olympics that the Yarn Harlot is hosting. I'll be knitting the Baltic Mittens from Folk Mittens. It will be a major challenge to knit these mittens in 16 days, given that they are knit on tiny needles and have four colors. In addition, there is a left and right mitten, which increases the risk of the project not being completed. There's a very good chance that I'll knit either two left or two right mittens.

Clearly, I have not recovered from the Christmas knitting delusion euphoria.

Extreme Knitting...Finally!

Warning! This post is very photo-heavy.

At long last, and with profound apologies to all of the intrepid extreme knitters who have sent entries in over the past several months, I present to you the latest in Extreme Knitting!

Stacey is our first entrant today (entry received in November). She is knitting at Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. Acoma Pueblo is also known as Sky City and is a 70-acre pueblo village set atop at 357-foot sandstone mesa. Stacey appears to be knitting a scarf.



Our second entrant is Shirra, who sent entries way back in October, just as I was in the middle of preparing to return to work. She took the opportunity to knit while unicycling...



...and while a climbing tree with her 9-year old, who is also knitting.



I'm duly impressed. I couldn't ride a unicycle even if I wasn't knitting!

I mentioned that Honorable Mentions would go to those who displayed prowess and creativity with Photoshop.

All hail this entry (received in January):



This is a photograph of Ed White, knitting during the first spacewalk way back in 1965. Ed said in his email that his wife had requested him to knit during the spacewalk so he did so, mentioning that it took about one minute to knit a single stitch. Because there was no live feed, NASA never found out.

I was suspicious when I received this entry because the sweater looked very familiar. One day a couple of weeks ago, my friend Keith called up and wanted to know if I could meet him for lunch and give my assessment as to whether a sweater from his early childhood was worth repairing. I agreed. The
sweater, knit from fine Virgin Orlon, was in fairly good shape, with the exception of a couple of holes that could easily be repaired with needle and thread. Then I received the above photo and a rather lengthy IM conversation with Keith ensued. Keith eventually 'fessed up, after spinning a yarn about how he and Ed were close childhood friends and had the same sweaters. Keith never ceases to amaze me with his creativity. And no, he does not knit. But his sister-in-law does.

This next entry (submitted in October) is from Elizabeth M., who had the temerity and grit during a root canal.



Elizabeth said that the dentist and his assistant probably thought that she was a little nuts, but it turned out that the visit was surprisingly painless and knitting-productive.

This next entry (submitted in the fall) is from Folkcat, of I Knit Around fame. This is the Yankee Siege Trebuchet:



And this is Folkcat knitting in front of the Yankee Siege Trebuchet:



Looks pretty calm, right? But check out her entry Socks, Pumpkins, and Folkcat's Flying Leap to learn more about what a siege engine can do. It's a long post, but keep reading and you will be amply rewarded.

Cerridwen took a trip to the Tucson
Botanical Garden Magic Butterfly Exhibit:



She said that while it was a bit overwhelming to take her wool knitting into a house full of butterflies and moths, no moths, butterflies, or knitting were harmed. However, when the moth moved, you can be sure that Cerridwen ran!

And the final entry is from Cathy S., who was knitting (a sock?) during a surgical procedure on her toe.



Ouch!

Many, many thanks to all those who entered. The Extreme Knitting button will be on its way to you soon. The Extreme Knitting Challenge is ongoing, so if you are knitting in the extreme, feel free to enter.

Ain't Gonna Happen

So, I've been getting up every day at 5:30 (in the A.M., that is) to continue with the Christmas knitting. Up until yesterday, I entertained the rather deluded opinion that I could knit a scarf, two hats, and a sock by this coming Saturday. I realized that after knitting for an hour or so yesterday morning, I had added about four inches to the scarf and still had twenty inches to go. Do the math. I may be able to finish the scarf tonight, but the hats and the sock aren't going to be close to being completed.

But I'm still delusional optimistic. We plan to drive down to my parents' Friday evening. It will be dark. I'm not a good enough knitter to knit in the dark. So, enter the ultra lightweight Petzl headlamp. Yup, I'm going to don said headlamp and knit on the trip down, unless it interferes with Tom's driving. An alternative is to knit by the light of the navigation system screen. I should be able to do that with a simple rib.

Tonight will be spent finishing and blocking the scarf (and other items), and winding skeins into balls.

I think I'm finally feeling the pressure.