Sunday, March 29, 2009

Embrace the Lace

I joined Woolgirl's Embrace the Lace club. Shipments every other month - beginning this month! The notice is up - all orders have been shipped. And of course, there's a ravelry group. The nice thing about these groups is the posts are noted if they contain pictures. All nicely labeled "spoiler."

All last year, I peeked at the RSC spoiler pictures. The first Embrace the Lace spoiler was up Sat night when I logged onto ravelry. And I actually didn't look! We'll see how long the willpower lasts. But right now, I don't want to know ahead of time. I'm looking forward to the surprise. So far, the only "clue" given was color - a lot of green hints!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Crochet!

I was about 12 when my great aunt (my paternal grandmother's sister) taught me to crochet. Using a small metal hook and thread I attempted to make pot holders. It was that last blasted stitch in the row that was my downfall. I'd miss it. Which of course meant that I was making an ever decreasing potholder. My aunt taught me that ripping out mistakes is always the right thing to do. Now, there are occasionally mistakes in my knitting that I'll happily let live in peace. But ripping something out doesn't usually bother me at all. Heck, I ripped out the same sock (totally finished once, past the heel a second time) at least three times before I was happy.

But I haven't been crocheting much lately. It's been the knitting that travels around with me. Which is partly why I'm so happy to be part of the Pot Holder swap! The swap reached their limit on co-authors of the blog and I can't post there. But that sure doesn't stop me from reading.

Thanks to a post on the pot holder blog, I was introduced to Attic24. I love her attitude and cheerfulness. The colors she uses are absolutely wonderful and I really enjoyed her post on 3/25. I can so completely relate to the need to balance everything in my life. Mine is very off-balance right now. It feels like I'm just working, working, working. Which (un/fortunately) is fairly accurate. But anyway....be sure to check out her flowers too. Both the horticultural kind and the crocheted ones.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Hot Pad swap

I am really looking forward to this swap. My great-aunt taught me to crochet making potholders from crochet thread. I think I'll be using something a bit heavier for this swap!

I've found several patterns that I like. The rules are to knit five of the same pattern, but I'd like to keep track of these patterns.

First, go check out Purple and Paisley. She claims to be a beginner, but look several posts down at her wonderful samples! This one I especially like.

This potholder reminds me of ones my aunt made. Not exactly the same, but similar. But the pattern is in a Japanese book. This pattern is called Gehaekelte Topflappen is looks really cool. Right before leaving for this trip, I printed off the pattern for these Orange Slice Potholders. I can see I'll have my work cut out for me just deciding on a pattern!

edited to add....Oh, no! My first Ravelry pattern search was for "hot pad." I just typed "pot holder" into the search box and and got even more designs to choose from!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Drat!

I'm a member of the Harry Potter Lover's group in ravelry. Several months ago, someone got the great idea to swap knit or crocheted squares to reproduce Ron's blanket. I'm hosting the second block swap. Well, we're in Ohio right now for a quilt show. Down time while getting to and from Ohio, so I brought along several selected patterns, yarn and needles.

Well, the drat part is the yarn! It's yarn I received in a swap from a fellow raveler. Nothing wrong with the yarn. And it's a color that would be great for the swap. But the blocks are to be made from worsted weight yarn ..... and this is bulky. Drat, drat, drat. Thought I'd have a great start on the blocks I need for the swap. Hopefully, I'll be so incredibally busy during the show that at night I'll be too tired to knit.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Couldn't resist another one

I was looking through some of my photos from the Chihuly exhibit and fell in love with them all over again.



I know, I know. Absolutely nothing to do with the glass exhibit. Try this one:



Rowing anyone?



I'm not making any promises not to pull out more of these later! Nothing new to show on the knitting front. The sweater body is done. But I'm not near a sewing machine to sew the steeks before cutting. The old sock is ripped, but the new sock isn't started. The yarn was in the hotel room, the needles in the van and the pattern at the convention center! Sounds rather like "who's on first?"!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Joining Fever

Guess what I just joined??



Crocheted pot holder swap info can be found here. But hurry - deadline is 3/21.

But that wasn't all. Apparently I caught the joining bug tonight. Rather like cast-on-itis, but without the actual knitting! For many years, I collected tins. And then it got out of hand. There were tins literally everywhere in my house. When I got divorced, I bought a 900 sf home. And the majority of the empty tins were given to the local thrift shop. Who were very excited of course. Anyway...awhile ago, a thread started on Ravelry titled "What's in your altoid tin?". The thread was popular, spawned a group, spawned several swaps. Round 2 is just starting. Send a small tin, some things to fit into tin and some special something. Limited to 50 people and I got in early. Just think - a small tin in your knitting bag that holds scissors, tape measure, needles, stitch markers, etc, etc. I hope it is going to be as much fun as I think it will be.

Oh, that's not too bad after all! Somehow, I thought it was worse than that.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Holy Progress, Batman!

With the magic of stealth knitting, I present to you.....A Body!



This was taken a week ago and I am about thisclose to being done with the body (I think!). Which would leave cutting the steeks, sewing in sleeves, knitting button bands and a collar!

Oh, and finishing pockets:


Thursday, March 19, 2009

Stripes!

I've been working on a sweater. Without an easy way to post, it has turned into a stealth project! I bought a Philosopher's Wool kit at the quilt show I worked at in Denver and started the sleeves on the way home. And look at the wonderful stripes:



You know how when you're working ribbing and change the colors you get those funny bumps? Well, thanks to Norma, I no longer have those. And you can do away with them also. On the row when you change colors, knit all the stitches! From there on out, do your regular ribbing. It truly doesn't effect the ribbing at all and you can't even tell.

Wanna know what else is cool? I am having fun with the Philosopher's Wool (PW) fair isle technique. You weave in every other stitch and never have floats. Which would be a problem in a pattern like this with 9 stitches in color a before 1 stitch in color b. Check it out!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Remember this sock?

Awhile ago, I posted about ripping out a pair of socks. This is what I started with:



This is the next stage:



I am ripping again. The yarn is doing what Lorna's Laces is (in)famous for. But ya know, if I can wear a pair of socks for a couple of years, rip them out and have yarn worth reknitting, that's some pretty good yarn!

And notice the cute project bag? That was part of my prize winnings for being on the first place Dish Rag Tag Team! Yeah Team! And look at all the great room I have inside:




(P.S. I am in a hotel right now with wireless! The toilet is constantly running and I am hoping that i am exhausted enough that by closing the door, I'll never notice and can get that fixed tomorrow. I think I'll do up a couple of posts and save them for later! Yippee....)

Sunday, March 15, 2009

I'm on a roll - two in a row!

I've quit dusting my house. At least in the traditional way. I have a 900 sf home and we are woodworkers by trade. The woodshop is the basement. I do not have a scrap of carpeting in my house. My dusting now consists of a wet rag and a pan of dishwater. Thought you might like to know!

Wendy has a new sock book coming out this spring sometime. Wendy knits fantastic socks and has been only knitting socks she has designed for quite awhile now. And I am quite sure that no one that reads this blog does not already read hers. Her readership is similar to the Yarn Harlot's I'm sure. Anyway.....the publishers of her book have given her permission to post a free pattern from her book on her blog! Isn't that nice! There is a pdf file - dash over and get yours!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Dial Up Really Does Stink

Now, if all you've ever had access to was a dial-up connection, well then, dial up is fantastic. But if you have been seduced by the siren call of dsl -or digital or any of the other really fast things out there - and then have to go back to dial-up....well, it stinks.

I have been knitting (sounds rather redundant I know). And I have pictures of said knitting. But the pictures (and even the camera chip I think) are in the laptop. Without any connection. Yuck.

Sometimes I think in lists. Rather odd I know, but there you have it. Short incomplete sentences run through my brain. Just enough so that you know the remainder without ever having to think the remainder.

I constantly wake up with songs running through my mind. Drives me absolutely batty. Leave me ALONE already so I can get a decent night's sleep, will ya!

I have started taking the estroven again. Apparently I was very foolish when I stopped taking the pills because I hadn't had a hot flash in quite awhile and what's the sense of taking something for a symptom that has stopped?? Right. Bob just laughs at me when I roll the window all the way down while riding down the road. Never mind that it might be 30 degrees outside and we are on the interstate. I might be willing to keep the hot flashes if I could just start sleeping again.

I love my Philosopher's Wool sweater that I've been knitting. Actually, I've been wearing another PW sweater almost constantly. I finished it last year and never sewed the buttons on. Buttons on a couple of weeks ago and the sweater has seen constant duty as my coat. I'm sure I will finish this sweater just in time for warm weather.

Ok - there is plenty of work that I really should be doing instead of this. Let's take bets on how long a picture-less post takes to upload, shall we?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Oh, my gosh!

We safely made it home from Denver on a completely uneventful return drive. Got home to frigid weather (high temps in the 20's anyone?) - and the wireless wasn't working and dialup takes 15 years to post anything, so I didn't. Post anything of course. English teachers have all just rolled over in their graves at the above. So be it.

There has been knitting - but no pictures. And then LOTS of work. Currently, I am in (oh, gosh! I just had to stop and think about where I am!) Atlanta. And there is SNOW on the ground!!! Freak winter storm hit the south. NC actually had more snow on the ground than we did in PA.

But hopefully I will have a chance during daylight hours to take some pictures and hopefully everything will be not quite as boring! If I can get enough pictures taken while we're here, maybe I can even do up a few posts ahead of time!