Happy Halloween

Working against a deadline

Taking a weaving class.  Got homework due tomorrow afternoon.  Work requires me to be present at the office (and not weaving) in order to be paid.  How unreasonable!  Guess that means knit night in Ithaca is out and weaving is in for the evening.  I will have to admire everyone's market bags next week.

Upsized Freddie Mac

One upsized Freddie Mac successfully executed.  Gotta turn my scribbles into a readable pattern and then see if my guess for my size turns out as well.

What to work on next

No pictures to share but the needles are working...

The upsized version of the Freddie Mac vest for my daughters is progressing nicely.  Back was finished last week and I am currently working at the shoulders of the front.  Hoping to finish it this weekend while waiting between games at the 3 on 3 my daughter is playing in.  Then we will share pictures and plans for my vest which will be out of the beautiful cashmere blend I have had my eye on at the yarn store.

Got the yarn from Sharon for the American Brilliant throw and I started on the first square.  Casted on, knit about 3 rows, compared to gauge and her sample square and then promptly frogged it back.  My guess is I will need to go down about 2 needle sizes but I haven't gotten back to it yet this week.  Pattern calls for a loose cast on and I just saw a you-tube video for a new one I may have to try out so I am waiting to find 30 minutes of time to fire up the computer and sit with the yarn.  Maybe I should set the alarm for 2am.

And lastly, yarn arrived for the hooded vest in the Fall 2009 Knit Scene and I have the first skein in the knitting bag waiting for the swatch to be done.  Gonna have to do that before next Monday so I can pick up any needles or notions I need to get it going.  Carri is already flying on her version and it looks lovely.

Available for Hire

I have been doing test knitting for Alpaca With A Twist yarn for a couple of years now and I just got a new project.  What is test knitting you may ask...this is when you take a newly designed pattern and knit it up for the designer or yarn company so they have a sample to send around to your favority lys.  You are also looking for any errors in the pattern so they can be corrected before it gets printed and made available to the general public.  My new project looks very cool and I am excited to get the yarn next week and start on it.  It is a Sharon Winsauer pattern titled American Brilliant.  A really cool looking throw knit in blocks.  And if you know of Sharon, you know it includes lace.  The perfect traveling project for this coming fall and the sports seasons that will be here before I know it.  Come back next week and check out my progress...current plan gets me and the yarn together on Tuesday.

Back from Vacation

We are back from the family vacation in Tennessee.  I can report that summer weather does exist and we found it 10 hours south.  90 - 95 degrees every day.  We had a great time hiking the trails and doing the tourist thing and are now happy to be back home.  Weather this weekend looks like rain and cool (only in the 60's tomorrow --eek).  Perfect weather for me to stay inside and do the final check on the new pattern.  If all goes well the Freddie Mac vest should be available via etsy and ravelry sometime this weekend.

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.

Random Monday - Money Order

What is random Monday? A fun way to learn something (maybe) and a reason to look forward to Monday (yea right).

What am I going to do on random Monday? Generate a random number (using random.org) between 1 and 1459. This happens to be the number of pages in my Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate dictionary. Once I flip to that page, I will count the number of entries on the page and generate a second random number to determine which word will be the focus for that Monday. Note: there is no guarantee on my counting ability and the decision of the judge (that would be me) as to which word is in randomly selected position is final. After that you will get any profound statements I may have to add about the random selection which was selected. Wouldn't my English teachers be proud of that last sentence?

This week we have
Page 801 with selections from monastic to monkey

I find it interesting that my first random Monday page selection included a definition of Monday, which happens to be defined as the second day of the week.

And item 29 … Money order
An order issued by a post office, bank, or telegraph office for payment of a specified sum of money usu, at any branch of the organization.

Did I find a typo in my first random Monday pick? Me thinks ‘money usu,’ should be ‘money used’. Wonder who we contact to get that corrected?

See you next week.