Quick update

Well, the 2008 Stitch 'n Bitch calendar came out. I'm November 22.

I'm a bit disappointed:
1) I never got my complimentary copy.
2) They didn't print my blog address with my name.

#2 above had me a bit miffed and not quite so motivated to post. That, and (of course) a spot of depression due to grief.

Photos soon of finished sweater and a hat/mitten/scarf set (once I get it back from my SIL who promised to return them after xmas eve....). I've got another sweater (a cardigan this time) and a decorative (as opposed to *warm*) scarf in progress.

More later - as 2008 I plan to be more diligent with the postings.

Buying yarn solves all problems...

...at least most of them.

I have returned to work and have been having a particular issue. Last night I went off my Yarn DIET and today, like magic, my issue has been resolved.

I can only attribute this miracle to the fabulous power of fiber.

d~ (once I find my camera, pix of WIPs and FOs will follow.)

p~'s obituary

I'm not going to have much fiber content for a while. I may even go offline for a time.

http://www.legacy.com/Newsday/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=93206798

and so is love

p~ passed away yesterday.

"And So Is Love"
Kate Bush

And you huh?

You do huh?

We let it in

We give it out

And in the end

What's it all about?

It must be love

I give you my

I give you my

You give me your

You give me your joy

We used to say

"Ah Hell, we're young"

But now we see that life is sad

And so is love

Ooh baby live your life for love

Ooh baby live your life for love

We used to say

"Ah Hell, we're young"

But now we see that life is sad

And so is love

Ooh baby for the sake of love

Ooh baby for the sake of love

And whatever happens

What really matters?

It's all we've got

Isn't that enough?

Life is sad and so is love

You let it slip

You let it slip

I love you more

I love you more for it

Life is sad and so is love

All for love

Just for the sake of love

You set me free

I set you free

and so it goes

greetings!

so, yes - after ripping back the mystery stole to my last lifeline on CHART A for the fifth TIME (my dental floss life line at that point is frightfully frayed!)! I decided that my life was a bit too chaotic for such an advanced / detailed / attentive lace project and I set it aside. I accidentally deleted the photo chronicling this travesty - but I may reload its pitiful little scrappy self in the near future in order to prove that even 'published knit folk' can just fall on their faces every now and then.

well, that and to show off the fancy "lap easel" that I fashioned out of packing material to hold the pattern at an angle on my lap..... with both charts side by side. Non-Knitters have commented that they were surprised that I made it and didn't buy it!!!

of course, that could be a 'comment' on how much I am enamored by purchasing gadgets - especially of the knitting variety - - - dang; for a bit there I thought it was a compliment.

ANYWAY - Instead of working on the MS3, I decided to finish (FINALLY) the "Looking Glass" top from the summer '06 issue of Interweave Knits. (see prior post)

yes. sweaters are commitments. but they really shouldn't take THIS long!!!

however, keep in mind that I've been working on a scarf that I adapted from a Lavold hat/mitten pattern for almost 2 years now... I'm friggin' whacked when it comes to knitting! I LOVE to cast on and design and play away - - I've never been overly hung up on the whole completion thing. Even with other things like obtaining degrees, or finishing other creative projects.... perhaps a subject for a future post?

anyway - I finished knitting my version of the "looking glass top" last week and I blocked it over the weekend and started seaming Sunday over a LARGE cup of tea (2 Lipton bags for one cup!!):

I did my own thing on the front. I didn't like the big hole at the bust (see prior post for original pattern photo) as I don't need additional attention in that area and I'm not real comfortable with the kitchner stitch yet - - so I did my own thing with the front/neckline:
I'm not sure I went the right route with the decreases - running them consistently along the outer 6 stitches of each side of the neckline, but I suppose only real knitters will notice ?? (i hope?)
dang. Those decrease lines are gonna bug me forever. crap.

Other than that. My life has been chaos. I've been working from home - fighting the cats for the most comfortable chairs - - - -

while the love of my life - and my every happiness - is dying from cancer.

more when I can get it together....

d~

I've been working on this sweater (Looking Glass Top) for almost a year now. I don't care much for the hole on the v neck, so I've changed the pattern a bit.

I'm splitting the cable at the "V" and running two cables up along the "V"'s.

I hope to have a photo up soon..... things are crazy here lately...

You have a lot of yarn.....

My good friend, r~, visited this weekend. She is not a fiber person. When she saw all the yarn I had in my living room (in baskets, in project bags, and such) she said "You have a lot of yarn."

I laughed and pulled her up into the guest room and the full sized futon covered with canvas "under the bed" storage bags STUFFED with yarn.

She was appalled and accused me of being crazy.

Then I showed her my spinning bag. :-)

Little does she know. There was more yarn in the guest room closet; and the 'exotic' yarns in the dresser (that only r~ and I believed in!). I guess you could say she really only saw the tip of the fiber iceberg.

I even had a bag of yarn that a friend's husband picked up for me at a tag sale. It was mostly acrylic, but there was some Reynolds "Dream" that was real nice. Unfortunately I'm allergic to Mohair, so I sent it back to Missouri with r~ for a neighborhood acquaintance of hers who is a fiber gal.

It's good to spread the fiber love.

MS3: part 3 - ACK!

LIFE LINE, LIFE LINE, LIFE LINE!!!!

I swear, I just bought some non-flavored dental floss to use as a lifeline. I figured I'd knit to row 35 (I was on row 32) and then string it.

I messed up on row 33 so bad I HAD TO FROG!

I'm starting over, now. And I'm so sad.

MS3: part 3 - AARRRGGGHHH!!!

LIFE LINE, LIFE LINE, LIFE LINE!!!!

I swear, I just bought some non-flavored dental floss to use as a lifeline. I figured I'd knit to row 35 (I was on row 32) and then string it.

I messed up on row 33 so bad I HAD TO FROG!

I'm starting over, now. And I'm so sad.

The Good, The Bad and the Absent Minded

The good news is that I think I found a bind off that will work for me! The Knit, Knit, Pass over, *slip stitch back onto left needle, knit, knit, pass over* repeat between *'s

Although I end up with a bound of edge that has twice as many stitches, I also end up with a bound off edge that is (at least, if not more) as stretchy as the cast on edge!

Cheers!

The bad news is that I lost my MS3 swatch. I've been looking for days so that I might reblock according to suggestions I've received. I just can't find it.

I finished the coral scarf (highlighted in "Knitting People are Good People") using my new bind off approach and should have photo up shortly.

Right now I have TONS of work-work and house work to do, so more later.

MS3 Pt2: Best laid plans...

.... the martini won out last night.

All I did was cast on for the swatch and knit 2 rows of garter stitch.

Now that the clue is up, I might just forget the swatch. Clearly the swatch pattern doesn't have much to do with the stole pattern. I'm just going to have to knit real slow, use a lifeline, a ton of stitch markers and lots and lots of counting.

MS3:Pt1.b - Maybe I'm not ready for lace?

What the heck!?

I unpinned my swatch just now (over my lunch break) and I think I need to do at least another one; not just for testing the bind offs but for practicing the pattern.

Now, I was sipping some wine, AND 'Watching' "Drowning Mona" while I worked on this, BUT DANG! It looks like I made a mess of mistakes. Maybe I should have blocked it like I've seen in some of the MS3 photos - with pins pulling all three 'points' down instead of how I did with just the middle point.... something to experiment with tonight.

Guess I'll have to ditch the Martini I've been looking forward to all week. :-(

:~Þ '>-|

Mystery Stole 3: Part 1 - the swatch.

I haven't knit in about 2 weeks. Been kinda stressed out and realized that the lack of knitting might be contributing to stress level. So, I'm joining the Mystery Stole 3 Knit Along.

The swatch, before blocking.

I worked up my swatch yesterday. Clearly I need a new bind off method. Actually, I've always needed a new bind off - I bind off wicked tight no matter what I do to try to loosen it. I've copied a few suggestions from the MS3 group and will try them out later today.

The swatch - blocking

I also had some difficulty remembering to knit the first two stitches in each row consistently.

I'm going to be using pewter beads with the "dark grey" Merino Lace yarn Laura at Creative Fibers helped me pick out.

I've never worked with such fine yarn before and it's a bit of a challenge. I've been meaning to get some bulky projects going so I could get some immediate gratification, but the 'pressure' of a knit along might actually encourage me to FINISH something for once.

on another note - I went and ordered a new computer a couple days ago. I can no longer play iTunes on my 3 year old Alienware (www.alienware.com) Aurora as my SCSI drive is keeling over and when I ripped "The Essential Johhny Cash" I must have hit a bundle of bad bits on the drive. iTunes just freezes the whole system now and computing w/out music; that's just no way to live.

I may be off line a while if LEELOO (the Alienware box) dies before the new box (yet to be named) arrives.

I take on yet another new fiber project - -

- - - without finishing anything currently on the needles.

Thought this could be a fun diversion http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mysterystole3/ and since it's a knit along... maybe I'll even finish it this summer!

Update: Knitting people are good people

So, my husband has been ill and my work colleagues have been dropping off food and treats. One such shipment showed up with yarn and a lacy scarf pattern. I've been working on it a bit here and there - especially this weekend when the in-laws where here cleaning our house so I couldn't find anything anymore. Strange ritual, no? Confuse the caregiver...

The Scarf, on "the monstrosity" (aka: Double Recliner)

My sister-in-law fell in love with the pattern and said "we need to go to a yarn store so I can make one too!" I was SO THERE!! YES!! YARN STORE!! and then my other Sister-In-Law (the *non* Knitter) said "Don't you have extra needles and yarn that she could use?"

Drat.

"Why yes, I do indeed."

I took SIL1 upstairs to my guest room closet and started yanking canvas 'under the bed storage' bags out; "here's the wool {plonk!} here's the cotton blends {plonk!] here's the Elisabeth Lavold Silkly Wool {Plonk!} (you can't have that), here's the novelty yarns {plonk!}" She picked out a nice green silk/cotton blend and I then helped her pick a nice sized needle to get started with. I should have snapped some photos before she left with it all Sunday. I'm sure she'll be back and we can document.

(I neglected to show her the whole dresser drawer full of 'exotic' yarns. 100% angora, 100% silk, 75% cashmere... There's no way in heck I'm letting that stuff go anywhere but on my needles!)

Detail of the scarf

So, knitting people are good people. You can take that to the bank.

And non-knitting people don't understand that even though you have a closet (and drawer) full of yarn and a canvas organizer full of needles it doesn't mean you don't need to go to a yarn store when times are rough.

Update: Spinning

As promised, yet much delayed, photographic evidence of the results of my spinning class.What's on the Tsunami right now

I tried to spin with the 'fischer price' drop spindle that was included in the class price but it kept falling apart. So, I ordered 3 Goldings and the difference was immediately evident.

Tsunami, Midnight Sky and Antique Hyrogliphic

The picture isn't the best. These things are works of art.

My first double strand skein - which still needs to be washed and the twist set -

First skein.

there's not much yarn there. Might be able to knit teeny tiny wrist warmers....

One of my better FO's

Before

One of the items I get the most comments on and requests for is my husband's berret.

Ever since I moved in with p~ (almost 11 years ago) he's wanted a black berret. I looked and looked and searched and shopped (and I *hate* shopping) and couldn't find anything like what he wanted.

When I started knitting again, I heard about felting and stumbled across a pattern for a felted berret that looked exactly like what he had been looking for. I knit it up one Saturday, finishing it outside while he was up on the roof cleaning the gutters. Once he came down I made him try it on. (Note the amusement and nervous laughter peeking out from under the Elephant Man-like hood.)

He clearly didn't believe in the berret.

After a couple of spins in the washing machine and a couple of days drying with a dinner plate inside, he was won over to the wonders of fiber arts.

After - note the lack of laughter

People have stopped p~ when he's out in the wild - asking him where he got it. He enthusiastically explains how his wife made it and walks them through the process. (I've noticed that guys are more fascinated by the process of felting than any other fiber action they hear about or witness.)

I've had people ask to buy one, but I can't figure out how much to charge.

You know it's been a rough week.....

...when you get sympathy e-mails from sheep:

Dear d~,

  When my not so bright owner, "C", was out checking on us the other day, I overheard him mumbling that your husband wasn't feeling  so well :^(  Even though he doesnt have the brains to send you an email wishing you and your family well, we sheep know better. Let me tell you how stupid that "C" guy is! We pretend that we are grazing everytime he come out to the field to check on us, but the second he goes back to the house, we pilfer his wireless internet connection and google all day! (TeeHeeHee - Silly Human) The cows got us a decent laptop and we hide it in the stonewall.

   Since you were nice enough to put my picture on your website, the least I could do is show you my 2 boys I just had on Tuesday. Man, are they alot of work. Well, enough of my ramblings, it's time for me take a nap while I have a chance and count people jumping over the fence  ;) 

    Take care of  p~ and yourself. You're in our prayers.

     If I dont see you in the future, then in the pasture.


    Sincerely,

      196

aren't they just the cutest!?!

I hope to catch up on stuff this weekend - including an update of fiber projects and adventures.

The Goldings arrived....

Yes, my kittens, I took a spining class last weekend - more on that later.

The news for the day is that the 3 Goldings I ordered Monday arrived last night and they are amazing. Pictures and further info to follow as soon as I get home from work.

evidently I be jamin' too loud....

Just got a call on the inter-house-intercom.... I should be in bed, asleep.... I'm Minesweeperin' to the jammin' tunes of The Artist Formerly Known As Prince Who's Known As Prince Once Again Now That His Slave Contract With Warner Brothers Has Exprired. (TAFKAPWKAPOANTHSCTWBHE)

She saw me walking down the streets | Of your fine city
It kinda turned me on when she looked at me | And said, "c'mere"
Now i don't usually talk to strangers | But she looked so pretty
What can i lose, | If i, uh, just give her a little ear?
"what's up little girl? | i ain't got time to play."
Baby didn't say too much | She said, "are you gay?"
Kinda took me by suprise | I didn't know what to do
I just looked her in her eyes | And i said, "no, are u?"
Said to myself, said | "she's just a crazy, crazy, crazy
Little mixed up dame. | She's just a victim of society
And all it's games."

Now where i come from | We don't let society
Tell us how it's supposed to be | Our clothes, our hair
We don't care | It's all about being there
Everybody's going uptown | That's where i wanna be
Uptown | Set your mind free
Uptown | Got my body hot
Get down | I don't wanna stop, no

As soon as we got there | Good times were rolling
White, black, puerto rican | Everybody just a-freakin'
Good times were rolling | She started dancing in the streets
Ow, girl, she's just gone mad | U know, she even made love to me
Ooh, best night i ever had | Ah yeah

I never talk to strangers | But this time it's all right
See, she got me hot, ah | I couldn't stop, ah
Good times were rolling all night all night, yeah

Now where i come from | We don't give a damn
We do whatever we please | It ain't about no downtown
Nowhere bound | Narrow-minded drag
It's all about being free

Everybody's going uptown...{snip}

d~ (spent golden years in UPTOWN.)

So much to do, so little time

"196" - my coworker's sweetest sheep.
Not the one who's wool I've been carrying around in a big sack, but a cute one nonetheless.

Just to check in - - things have been crazy and I've had little time for knitting or posting. Seems to be a recurring theme for me. Hmm.

Started a variation of the checkerboard baby blanket that will be in the 2008 Stitch 'n' Bitch calendar (see photo on left channel). Using Berroco Touche yarn in green and yellow with a rust/orange *seed stitch* border. Pictures to follow as soon as I get at least 2 rows of blocks knit up.

The big news, however, is that a coworker (in corporate america) runs a side business raising "grass fed" cows, pigs and (hold on to your hand knit socks!) SHEEP.

He brought me a big bag (about 5 lbs) of fleece that he shaved off one of his sheep (Aries) who is part merino. It feels amazing. I start a hand spinning class next weekend and I can't wait to take a sample in to see if the experts can give me an idea if it is "spinable" or not.

Free fleece. Could mean Free Yarn.

I quiver.

Week off = Finished Objects

The Blanket, circa 3/8/7, being attacked by Brewster T. Butterworth

Quite a busy week, for a vacation. I took this week off as p~ was on spring break and I figured it would be a great time to hang out and do nothing but knitting and housework. (3 Doctor's appointments for me and 2 for p~ kept us from going out of town for the week.)

I finished the blanket, pictured above - washed and blocked. Finished a sock for p~ that I started at xmas and immediately plowed through the first half of the mate for it.

Meanwhile, I had to phone in Monday morning for my 2006 performance review and found out that effective Tuesday I had a new boss. Dialed in Tuesday to prep the weekly stuff for review and shipped it off. Ensured that someone would run my Thursday morning meeting and by Wednesday afternoon I shut down all work related electronics.

Still have a few items on needles and just about a whole room of yarn waiting to evolve into something fabulous. 2 more days of vacation and so much to do.

Where Did February Go?

The blanket, circa January 19, 2007

Goodness! My, oh, my. Where the heck did Feruary go?

Things at work have gotten very busy and I've had little time for "me time" or "p~" (my spouse) time. Trying to dig out of the groundhog blues and get caught up at home; that seems to be the March-ing orders this month.

On the knitting front, I hit "afghan burnout" on the baby blanket about the same time that my collegue started to have pregnancy issues. Coincidence? I think not! I got back into the blanket frenzy just as she stopped coming in and had hit "I MIGHT MAKE IT!" stride just as notice came in that she was bed ridden. "I still have time, that kid 'ain't due till first week of March!" I knit 24x7 for 2 weekends solid. However, it wasn't to be. Health issues dictated an early C-Section, so the kid beat me. I just started up the first border edge last night. I lost the race.

I did finally send my parents and my Sister/Niece[1] their xmas presents....

Socks for my StepDad, Sweater for my Mother and an iPod Nano cozy (which I designed, shown blocking below) for my Sister/Niece [1]

Yes. I sent xmas presents in February. I'm just that buried with stuff. I've promised myself to put more time aside for personal stuff. It's become a critical priority.

d~

[1] My parents adopted my sister's kid. No wacky incest stuff going on, I assure you!

I'm an idiot

My problem wasn't only row gauge, but reading comprehension.

"36 Garter Ridges" are not the same as "36 Garter Rows"

Once I stopped counting rows, started counting ridges and only picked up every other row when starting the next block, things have gone swimingly. (pix to follow)

Yummy yarn broke my heart

Under the heading of "never too experienced to be humbled by gauge" I bring you the following tale of heartbreak and (row) gauge betrayal.

With the combination of a pending birth within our circle of friends and a %30-%50 sale at the LYS around the corner from where I work I went a little mad and bought a mess of Silk; Silk and Cotton; Cotton and wool. I got gauge (stitch per inch) on all yarns and started out making the Modern Baby Blanket from Mason-Dixon Knitting. mmmmm 3 different textures, 4 different colors... this is going to be WILD!!


Some of you out there already see the problem, don't you?


After doing 4 blocks of this modernized log cabin blanket, I stood back and looked at what should have been a tidy rectangle and saw this:I DIDN'T CHECK THE ROW GAUGE!!!

I tried to convince myself that "it will even out with steam blocking" but let's face it; there ain't enough steam or pins in the world to fix this!

So, I'm ripping the faded blue denim block at the top by frogging it out as I knit it into a baby kimono (also from M-DK). Meanwhile, I must plan another trip to LYS to try and come up with enough of the Berroco Touche in 3 other colors. That yarn feels like the perfect yarn for a baby blanket.

Guess I'll just have to come up with something for myself out of the silk and cotton/silk yarn.

Darn. ;-)

My new found enthusiasm for the fiber arts becomes contagious.

Coworkers have started to pick up sticks, hooks and string. Long lunches are now spent at nearby yarn stores (LYS) and weekly “show and tell” coffee klatches have become routine as we show each other our latest finished objects (FO). I have lobbied for weekly “meetings” where we actually book a conference room, and have an onsite Stitch ‘n Bitch session; sharing our knowledge with those who constantly mention that they’d like to learn. The idea hasn’t caught on – yet. Once all the new year incoming work-work slows down I will re-launch my campaign.

I’m nothing if not obsessive.

How it started: Part The First

I learned to crochet and knit (but not bind off) when I was a child. My mother didn’t know how to “end” with knitting, so we had this big bag in the closet with a long strip of knitted fabric that we would pull out and work on when we had the urge to knit. Oddly enough I lost interest in this pursuit at a very early age.

When I went to college, I decided to lean how to really knit. I took a class at a Local Yarn Store (LYS) (http://www.depthoffieldyarn.com/) and learned the hard way that I’m very allergic to mohair. (The rose pink sweater is still in my possession, though I haven’t worn it in 15 years or so). Oddly enough, I lost interest after blowing sixty precious student dollars on a sweater I couldn’t wear without taking benadryl. In the late mid ‘80s, that was a lot of money for a student! My portion of the rent was around $120!

So, about 2 years ago, my sister-in-law went through a phase and was struggling with casting on. I helped her out and was amazed at how quickly it came back to me. I dug out my old knitting bag and made a lame vest with some old Lion Brand homespun I had from when I last gave up knitting (circa late mid ‘80’s). A quick trip to a real yarn store along with the discovery of www.elann.com and I was hooked once again.

Well, how about that!?

I managed to figure out how to upload a picture. My, my, my; I suppose my technical skills aren't that barren these days after all.

Next week, I'll try to post some actual Fiber Content!

Inaugural post:

So, they say to me: the material is going to print soon, do you have a blog address we can add to your information?

Not wanting to be a *total* loser, I signed up here.

Hope to blog lots about fiber arts. we'll see how it goes.