Thanks Maggie

Last night I took a trip over to knitting buddy Maggie's place with shovel in hand.  She has a beautiful and peaceful little slice of heaven next to a creek and a massive stand of deep purple lilac bushes.  (They were no longer blooming so I had to search the internet for an appropriate picture to show you what I would eventually have blooming in my own yard.)  The runners dug up easily and are now planted in my yard.  Weather report for today says to expect some rain which is perfect for my newly planted friends.   Then, to treat myself for a job well done, I stepped over to the strawberry patch and picked a couple quart.  These were quickly washed, smashed and served over shortcake and ice cream which was eaten while we watched the final period of the hockey game.  Bummer, we are going to have a game 7.  At least the food and company during the game was good.

Blogging via email

Just stumbled across the feature in blogger that lets you email messages to your blog.  Thought, hey that's cool, lets give it a try and see what happens.  We can tell the blogging world that the Shedir hat is done and was sent off in the mail prior to getting a picture of the finished product.  But that's ok because it needed to get to its new home.  And the leftover yarn has become a vest that demonstrates splitting a cable.  The pattern in my head has become reality and is even scribbled on paper.

Moving on - the final part

What could have sidetracked me from those bright green socks you ask? What could be more interesting? Several things...




First there was the offer of paid knitting. This is the back and start of the front of a sweater being designed for Alpaca with a Twist. The designer needs it knit and has no time to do it herself.




And then of course there was spring weather. We had a waterfall that needed to be reworked and Dave decided to start one day while I was at work. I came home to all the rocks pulled off the hill and re-digging in progress. Couple of trips to the landscape supply place and several evenings of hauling and stacking resulted in a waterfall we are both quite happy with...finally.

Lastly, there was the email from a friend. Breast cancer had been found and surgery was done. Chemo comes next. What better use of a knitters time is there than to make something for a friend in need. Pattern is Shedir from a special breast cancer awareness issue of Knitty and prayers for good news are being knit into every stitch.

Winter/Spring 2009 - part 2

What else was I doing instead of blogging you ask...



This is 1/3 of a scarf to match my thrummed mittens. Going pretty good now after I got past the lace pattern at the beginning. I reknit that several times and finally just made it work. Not sure if it was the pattern or me but I couldn't find any corrections online and I didn't care anymore. Now it is a mindless knit. Great grab and go project which will probably not get done until next fall. And I have the other end of the same lace to look forward to yet. Pattern is the Qiviuk Webs Scarf from 2007 Interweave Knits Holiday issue.


It was also time to attempt toe up socks. While I was at it I threw in working them both at the same time on one circular needle. Found a pattern I liked online (Naga Socks by Abigail Welbourn) and went to it. Since I didn't bother to check gauge I was half way to the heel (on both socks) before I admitted they were just going to be too wide for my foot. Checked the pattern, decided I wasn't going to get gauge given the needles and yarn I was using even though I really liked the pattern. Ripped back to the toes and meditated on my options. Looked at the pattern and did lots of math. Started again. Less stitches round, pattern from Naga Socks running on 2/3 of both socks (on the inside), small cable pattern running up the side on top of the little toe. Just turned the heel on sock 1, working heel on sock 2 when I got sidetracked by a couple of other projects I will share next time. If all goes well with these when I get back to them I might have my first sock pattern to share with the world.

I also expanded my knitting skills by taking a cable class from Melissa Leapman. I will be sharing a bit of the knowledge I gained this coming July at Sip N Knit. We will be splitting a cable and running it up a neckline in what I hope will be a beautiful and pretty manner. A doll sweater pattern to help us learn is in my head right now but needs to get to paper in the next month.


Finally, daughter number 1 was confirmed into our Church in March and daughter number 2 is working her way towards the same next spring. I am a reasonably intelligent person but it never registered (and no one pointed out to me) that having your kids practically on top of each other would mean all these major events in life would also occur on top of each other. Too late now, guess we just hold on and enjoy the ride.

For Mary and Maple - part1...

OK...I'll update the blog with everything I have been doing other than blogging. But considering we are looking at 3 months worth of knitting and things I'll break it up into multiple posts so you don't have to swallow it all in one big gulp.





First up the Cobblestone sweater. It was questionable a few times there but it has been completed and worn. He likes the fit and says it is quite warm. He wore it once before winter stepped aside for spring.

I also finally put the cuffs on the slippers I was working on before Christmas when Travis showed interest in wearing them. These are perfect for him because there was yarn for three slippers which means he has an extra one in case of loss. Being 9, this tends to happen to him occasionally. Pattern was from the 2008 Interweave Knits Holiday Issue.












Next, Cary from Serenity Farms taught us how to make thrummed mittens one Saturday morning at Sip N Knit. I am really happy with how mine turned out and they were a lot of fun to make.











Finally, the east side of the barn now has steel on it. Dave had a down week and a neighbor who works for GM had time on his hands. One more side to go.

Something finished, something frogged

What a fun little project this turned out to be. I got to try some new stitches, finished something in a relatively short amount of time and my sister really liked it. I need to find out what the Mom-to-be thought of it next time I talk to sis.

Back on the needles is husbands sweater. Ripped out both sleeves back to the cuffs and I also ripped back the body to about 3 inches below the arms. Both sleeves have since been re-knit modifying the pattern so that the cuffs start at an X-small and increase up to the size medium. Working on the body presently taking that from the X-small we did at the waist to medium at the chest. If this still doesn’t work/fit right I may have a lovely green and black yarn being given away to the first blog reader who sends me their address.

On other fronts, I bought a new wireless photo printer because the kids had finally destroyed our old printer and what fun I am having with this one. I can sit down at the kitchen table with my work laptop, check out my email and when my interweave newsletter gives me a link to a free pattern I just push print and magic happens. A beautiful, color copy of the pattern is waiting for me in the storage closet (where I stashed the printer). I love technology when it works!

Baby Blocks

My current project started with my sister presenting me with 4 balls of yarn. She needed a baby blanket for a friend who is due at the end of this month. She would have just purchased a blanket but this friend is not your traditional baby colors kind of person as you can see in the picture. We are working on a baby blanket in brown, rust and off white. I decided to experiment with patterns I hadn't tried before so we have a different pattern on each block. I intend to sew the blocks together and then put a garter stitch border around the edge using what remains of the yarn. We should make our due date in good time unless the baby decides otherwise.

I thought I had also completed my husbands cobblestone sweater. I had knit the body of the sweater twice before I got the waist how he wanted it. Took 3 tries before I got the cuffs right. Thought I was home free until he tried it on for me. Waist is excellent, cuffs are delightful, shoulders and upper arms need some work. Apparently my husband is not your average middle age dude. Waist is a small, shoulders are a large. I have no complaints about his measurements except when it comes to making a sweater for him. I will be frogging the shoulders and half of each arm as soon as the blanket is done. I may have pictures for you sometime before I retire.