1/2 Way!

My knitting time has been severely cut back as I try to meet my deadline for my second book. A couple more weeks and I should be able to pick up speed. I hope. So when I can grab a bit of time here and there to knit it's been on my Frog Nog Cowl because I have the pattern memorized and there isn't anymore shaping. Just round and round and round and round and round....

~Daughter #1

In response.......

Well, I am feeling a little bereft now that the Tea Cloth is finally finished. Wandering in and out of my yarn room sniffing hanks of wool and sighing..Sad really.
My next mammoth project is going to be Sharon Miller's Queen Shawl. I have the merino..on a cone..2/48 which translates as pretty friggin' fine as opposed to what I was just knitting which was fine-ish. A 2mm needle...pish tush..I've knit with thinner and the pattern which will require a lot more study. My plan was to start this in July. I have lots of.......oh crap June is almost gone.....eeeeeeee I had better make up my mind, Borders outward or borders inward?
Thank you for the lovely comments. I am rather chuffed. As my darling Daddy would have said, "Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back."
Yesterday was Father's Day and I thought of him all day. Too bad I don't have a picture of him knitting. Like that would ever happen. He would sit and knit and if anyone came to the door he would stuff the knitting down the cushions of the couch and pick up the newspaper. When I told him I was expecting he went right out to the wool shop and bought yellow baby wool...3ply... and new needles and promptly cast on a sweater. When the woman in the shop asked ,"Oh, is Ann going to knit?" My father said," Good god no, it's for me." He said he didn't care who knew now. HE was going to be a Grandfather! He loved knitting baby sweaters with tiny cables and eyelets..

The Welsh Daffodil Tea Cloth

Sunday morning I was out and running around to the shops to buy more T pins. Who would have thought I didn't have enough? I expect to find a stash of them now that I have literally "hundreds."
The sun was threatening to go behind a very large BLACK cloud but I kept the good thought and hauled all the stuff I would need for blocking outside.
String, pencil, interlocking foam slabs, T pins, bottled water. What else could I possibly need?

I measured off two feet of string and in a mathematical precision type way inscribed a circle onto the foam. Ready! I slapped down the sogging mass of knitting.

And began hauling it out and pinning it down. Something is not quite right. Looks like waves on a beach.....grrrr

1. Doesn't look much like a circle to me.

2. It is a lot smaller than I expected....crap. I keep pinning expecting a miracle.

Finally I stop and take the all the pins out and go re soak the knitting...damn

Go look in garage for something to use as a straight edge.

You can't see the lines but I inscribed a newer smaller circle and bisected said circle in 8 points..

Now I am on to something here. I haul the cloth out of the house in a plastic jug and dump it on the foam. Water sloshes and floods every where. Firstly I pin out 4 points then 8. Ahhhh.... I am on to something now. By the way the bottle of water was replaced by a very large white wine spritzer. Should know better than to drink water when working on complicated problems.

Looking much better.

My knees are killing me from crawling around. This was actually not a bad way to block. Aforementioned spritzer is getting a little too far away. Remedy that next.

Almost done.

Did I really knit that??

The chairs and the bottle of water (snort) are weighing down the foam while the drying is in process. Once this is accomplished I will have to weave in the ends and it will be truly finished.
I will have to purchase a dark cloth to do under it as it is too small for my glass topped table.

Daffodil Tea Cloth

2.75 mm Addi Turbo lace needle

6 balls Coats Opera Cotton

Marianne Kinzel's Second Book Of Lace Knitting

finished diameter 45.5"

Fire in the Hole!

These are my finished sock weapons, launched from a post office this morning and are now ever so slowly making there way to my target. LOL. (I bet that sentence gets us on an FBI/RCMP watch list) I really can't believe that I'm still alive, I thought for certain I would be knocked out by now. So now I sit back and wait for my SIP's (socks in progress) or my death what ever comes first.

I celebrated by starting a new project. LOL I got some absolutely awesome handspun from the Samurai Knitter called Frog in a Blender. I love it. Every time I pick it up, I smile. it's sock weight but i didn't want to hide this in my shoes so after a long deliberation I decided on a cowl for the fall.

A spinning eyelet should make it look blenderish. Then I found the perfect pattern in my (mum's) book. It looks like little webbed feet!! So I did those around the bottom and then will start the spinning eyelets from there. I know, I have a bit of a twisted sense of humour but it's really not that sick.
If I was really sick, I would sew on little eyes here and there....... ;o)

My life with socks.

For centuries I knit socks on three needles. Three metal needles that were about 7" long. It was tortuous. I did it but did not enjoy it. Back then sock yarn was a boring as bleach too. Grey, brown, navy and if you were daring ...dark red. Then my life was transformed when I saw Meg Swansen use 4 needles. It was truly an OMG moment. I didn't knit continental, just the good old "english" way, but I thought what the heck I can do that. Fifty - six stitches translated so nicely on four needles.
Then, be still my beating heart, we got self patterning sock yarn! and I discovered 2.75mm short bamboo double points. Oh joy oh bliss. My life was content. It can't get any better than this, right? Then we got toe up socks. No guess work on foot length now. Not crazy about the short row heel. Gussett heel discovered. woo hoo Hours of mindless knitting watching TV. Every time I look down a new pattern has emerged. Life is good.
Now fancy shmancy patterned socks have become the rage. I got a pattern and 2.25mm "sustainably harvested domestic birch hardwood" needles for Corinne's socks. These needles are as blunt as an unsharpened pencil, very annoying. I persevered. I knit and frogged and tinked and sighed...lots of sighing. There is no joy in my Sockville.
I began to hear about knitting socks on two circulars. I tried but always ended up trying to get all the stitches on one circular. I bought books, I watched YouTube, I resisted, I watched Corinne and thought ...."Hey, I get it." I bought 2 addi turbos in 2.25mm.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Not having a good time here. Flopping wires all over the place. My tension is shot. Not good.... O.K. I tried very hard but it just isn't me.

I am standing out in the crowd. I am going back to my four double pointy bamboo needles - plain knitted socks! I feel free.......lolol ....and I have about 6 balls of Kaffe's new Exotica yarn to knit up....yummy
Corinne, Wanna play sock roulette? Pretty please?

Progress report..

I am on round 153. It is difficult to get a picture at this stage. I am on the home stretch now. Hovering in the wings is the new project. It takes over an hour to knit the plain round and over two hours to knit the pattern round.

Birthday wool! Thank you Mummy for the "where with all" to go shopping; arrayed on birthday shawl from Sandy (who knew this had my name all over it. It's a stunner and it has silver threads shot through it. Divine.I am wearing it to work today.) Back to the lace weight. The colours are, pewter, copper, curry, sable, suede and off white. With bronzed beads yet..OOO's and AHHHH's.

About the pattern: I get daily emails from Knitting Daily always interesting some days more than others. Sign up, it's free and sometimes you get gorgeous e patterns also free. You will get advertising for interweave press publications but not so much as to be truly irritating. This is the "Thordis Icelandic Shawl." It just struck a cord with me and I have to knit it. I am going to add some beads at the end. It reminds me of a Hap shawl. This was one of 7 lace patterns that are available to readers.Speaking of Piecework I have to stop at Chapters tonight and get the latest issue of that magazine, before they are all gone. It is all about lace.....I can not find a copy of "Anna" in London. They are supposed to be issuing the Neibling patterns..damn x 2
The gauntlet has been thrown down by smarty pants child. Hmmmm she has already finished Clue one and I am only on row 10 of the Mother's Day Shawl KAL this is going to take some serious knitting to even the playing field. Guess who's socks aren't going to be worked on? At this rate she should have them for the winter. That is all for now!

~MuM

Throwing Down the Gauntlet

Clue #3 was released today for the Mystery Anniversary Shawl. So far, I have Clue 1 done. I'd like to get clues #2-3 done before next Saturday. Lofty goals considering how fast the stitch count is adding up. LOL. I really like the pattern so far and I'm loving the yarn.

How's yours doing MUM???


Knit Picks Shadow Kettle Dyed "Jay"

I've been working on my Insidious socks for Sock Wars. To be honest I was hoping I'd be dead by now and could, guilt free, ship the socks to my assassin to finish. Terrible. I know, but I really want to work on my shawl. I have about 9 rows left till the toe decrease, not too much since my target wears a size 7. I was working on it while doing my volunteer/voluntold hours at my daughter's gymnastic competition this weekend.


I love these sock so much and I wonder if my procrastination is because I don't want to give them away. LOL As soon as I put them in the mail, I'll be over at SPUN picking up another ball to make my self a pair.

Tofutsies #930 Pernacious

C'est fini......

This is the first weekend I had that time and weather co operated. I dragged the chaise out of the gargage and tossed the old quilt on it. Accompanied by my laptop and my knitting I spent a blissful Saturday sewing up Matt's sweater and watching Google videos on Ancient Britain. A very satisfying day!
I can finally cast on the Anniversay shawl. Now I realize I am approaching the dreaded 90% level on the "Tablecloth." Corinne had a great idea. If I commit to knitting at least one row a day on the daffodil it will be finished in 3 weeks....and I can knit in the shawl. Win win all around.

I will send the sweater off tomorrow with a ball band ( for washing directions)and a note explaining to my nephew that the creative process can not be governed by the weather. (see post below) He won't be able to wear this till the fall. Nothing like getting a pure wool sweater at the onset of summer.....oh well

Summer Projects...100% wool

There is one specific fact about dealing with string and sticks that every fibre artist has to contend with. The seasons you start a project is not always the same season it gets finished in. Especially if you suffer from Startitus, which I am plagued with every once in a while. I am often knitting on light colourful cotton projects in the middle of winter and then trying to work on heavy woolen projects in the summer. I guess that might be one explanation for my recent obsession with socks. They get worn year round and there is a much faster turn over. *G* I found a pattern for a winter project that could be done in an evening or two, but it would be best to start it now.

This is a knitted helmet liner, referred to as a Wooly Pulley. The pattern can be found HERE It has to be 100% wool, NO ACRYLICS. Remember that the troops can be exposed to extreme heat in some situations and they don't need their liner melting against them. Also wool is still warm even when wet. This is something that wouldn't take long to make up a few of them, and still have lots to time to get it shipped overseas to the troops before it gets cold. Hopefully, by that time I will have found an address I can send it to for our troops.

I'll give the Americans full credit, I think that they do a lot more for their soldiers then we do. There are tons of groups that donate knitted accessories for their troops. Now what frustrates me is how hard it is to do anything like that for our Canadian Forces. When I was a Girl Guide leader, we wanted to send cards to them and I got so frustrated trying to send a package to the troops and make sure it GETS to the troops overseas. The Canadian Forces have so many rules and regulations with packages and web pages to fumble through, I spent hours and just got more frustrated.

One of these days,I'm going to set up something myself. Right now I just don't have the time to commit to it and I want to do it right not half-assed. If anyone knows of something that is already set up for the Canadian Forces, PLEASE let me know!

~Daughter #1

Oh boy,

The table cloth proceeds in snail like proportions. Around and around and slow as a turtle. I am looking forward to something else to work on. This has been 3 months of almost single dedication. I need colour!! Boring thy name is ecru!

The Anniversary Shawl KAL ( Mother's Day gift from eldest..sweet child) is calling to me..

BUT

and that's a big but I promised to finish Matt's Skull sweater first before I cast on anything new.
Can you believe it? I have run out of black wool! Me the Queen of, "buy another ball...just in case." Oye vey, now I have to run out after work and HOPE they have another ball. Carl is away this evening so it is chick flicks on the telly and a massive drive to finish the last of this project.

I am having a lunch time respite on Corinne's Geyser socks. I am getting ready to turn the gusset heel "toe up." Something new! When your my age their aren't many "new" things left....lolol
Susan
(edit: yes they had another ball of black and I kinda picked up 2 more balls of Kaffe's Exotica sock yarn. I mean it would look chinsy to use the debit card for a $6 purchase, eh?)