Here’s contestant number two in the Union Market Square Pullover personality contest. Knitpicks Andean Treasure. The main color would be that nice, heathery orange, with that deep burgandy as its accent color. This is a sport-weight yarn, and at 6 stitches per inch . . . may be too large for me to use for this one.

Still, it’s lovely and soft and the colors are great. Definitely a good addition to my stash, even if it doesn’t get used for this sweater.

Maybe I’ll be lucky and my third option will come in tomorrow’s mail. Then I could swatch all three this weekend!

  And, what’s this that came today? Is it a briefcase of some kind? An art portfolio?

  No, it’s a Spaceboard for blocking! Like the one Theresa uses and that I’ve been lusting after for ages. I got mine from Patternworks, and it came so quickly. I had compared it to a couple other sites (like Angelika’s) and while the board itself was a little more, they didn’t charge extra for shipping and it was shipped directly from them rather than the manufacturer, so there was no extra waiting. Now I can block my NbaT properly when I get that second sleeve done.

Really, it will be so unusual to be able to actually measure things as I block them, it will be quite refreshing!

  Look what else I did last night. I turned my row counter into a [badly made but I don't care I'm proud of myself anyway] beaded stitch marker. Now, I’ve had this actual row counter for years. Like,15 or so years. I haven’t lost it and it’s treated me right. But there’s been one problem–getting it on the needles, especially since I love circular knitting whenever possible.

Using a tip from Maggie Righetti’s Knitting in Plain English (a book I recommed to just everyone), what I HAD done was string a piece of yarn through the counter and tie it through one of those plastic stitch markers. That worked for the longest time, but eventually the yarn wore through. Fine. I replaced that. Then I accidentally knitted the marker into a stitch and had to cut it free. That’s okay, too. Plenty of markers where that came from. But in its most recent incarnation, it was on a split-ring marker–which kept snagging on my Chai yarn last night. (You can see this for yourself in the photo I posted last night.)

So last night, I was daring. I strung this on an eye pin and somehow or other managed to connect it to a metal split ring. The workmanship is lousy, but I’m proud of myself! It will be easier to slide from needle to needle and, while it’s no work of art, it certainly looks better than it did.

Now, as to the Chai shawl. I’ve been thinking about it all day–even at the dentist’s office–and I think I’m going to frog what I’ve got and start fresh. The pattern is coming too close to the YO increases at each end of the sections. It’s tricky, you see, because each diamond increases one stitch at either side–easy to shape around, but then there’s a jump of four stitches before the next diamond, and already that’s caught me off-guard. I think I need a bigger buffer around the lace pattern. And I also think that–since I need to do shaping increases not only on the front side, but also on the back–I may do all of them as M1 increases instead of YOs since the holes will get kind of busy looking . . . All things to think about!! But I think I’m going to start fresh. The lace pattern is beautiful, the yarn is beyond gorgeous . . . they deserve as good a pattern as I can come up with.

I am so looking forward to my long weekend! Longer than some, even, because my company always gives a four-day weekend for Fourth of July. (There’s such a drout of summer holidays, the PTB decided years ago to give off two days instead of just one for this holiday. Wasn’t that nice?)

  Oh, and I almost forgot! While sitting in the dentist’s waiting room, I saw a display for a veneer product that you can use to cosmetically improve your teeth without having to actually pull or do anything drastic or painful to your actual teeth. However, that’s not at all what the display actually read. “These Lumineer Smiles Were Created Without Removal of Painful Tooth Structure.” Oh, that adverb placement is so important–it should be modifying “removal,” not “tooth structure!” What this actually says is that they won’t be removing that painful tooth structure of yours. In other words, your teeth are still going to hurt, but they’ll look pretty. This company CLEARLY needs to hire better copy editors. Or to, you know, read what they’re printing on heaven knows how many promotional items to display at dentists’ offices around the country? Sheesh.

(Be proud of me–this was the first photo I’ve taken with my camera phone–and I figured out how to e-mail it to myself, and everything!)

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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  Let’s see. I started my Chai shawl which, at the moment, doesn’t really look like much of anything. I may have to rethink some of this, though. The way, at least, that I’ve got this charted out, I have to move the markers every other row, and as we remember from my comments about Peacock, I don’t like having to move my stitch markers. And, every other row for the entire shawl? Ick.

The lace pattern, of course, I got from the Heirloom Knitting book, but I pieced it together for the triangle shawl myself . . . so any difficulty is my own fault. But also, therefore, theoretically fixable by me. So what you see here in this picture may be history in another day or so!

  I did get a decent picture of my Calmer colors (at least not so glaringly pink and blue). In fact, this is a picture of my knitting bag . . . the bag that I adore not least because it holds a lot and stays w-i-i-i-d-e open. All in all, it’s a remarkably coordinated knitting bag at the moment–doesn’t the sock yarn from my KRSecretPal go perfectly with the NbaT colors?

  And, oh yes, the first yarn contestant for my Union Square Market Pullover arrived today. It’s this incredibly soft, very nice Alpaca from Misti in a nice, mossy green, with deep purple as the potential accent color.

Did I not explain? Well, I’m kind of out of control where the yarn for this sweater is concerned. I’ve ordered yarn from three different places and am waiting to see which one will give me the gauge I need . . . and I’ll figure out what to do with the “rejects” later. Do you think this means I have a problem? Maybe I should have just gone with the Plassard Alpaga in the first place and saved myself all this guess work . . . and really, if I end up being too lazy to return the yarns I don’t want, it would have been cheaper after all! (Though, it was hard to find a source for it….)

The thing is, with this one, I bought lace-weight . . . I’m not exactly sure why, except that that’s closer to Fingering weight than the Sport weight version would have been. The sweater requires a gauge of 27 stitches over 4″, and since I tend to be a loose knitter, I figured I’d have a better chance with thinner yarn rather than thicker. Hence the lace weight. I’ll knit up a swatch later or tomorrow or something.

Incidentally, if you haven’t checked them out before, please do visit the YarnDex, an online index of just about every yarn out there, that can be sorted by manufacturer, weight, fiber . . . extremely helpful when looking for a specific (or a specific kind of) yarn. Useful!

Oh! I almost forgot. Thanks, Natalie, for adding the Union Square Market Pullover Knit-Along to your site of 2005 Knit-alongs!

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Just to confirm that the colors for my NbaT really aren’t pink and blue and that I’m not trying to pull your leg, I snitched these color swatches off the internet (since my camera isn’t cooperating):

Coral on the left.

Khaki on the right.

Don’t they look great together? I wouldn’t have done anything with roughly equal amounts of color with the two of them, but with just the edging around the sleeve and the neck, I think the Khaki adds a nice accent to the Coral. Like I said, just different enough to be interesting without being weird (grin).

I bought my yarns, incidentally from Colourway in England. Even with the currently abysmal exchange rate, and the shipping, the price was cheaper than buying this from just about anywhere in the U.S. that I could find, and the service was wonderfully fast. I placed my order on a Thursday, and my yarn arrived on Tuesday. In New Jersey. From England. Over a weekend. Fast!

I finished reading “1776″ by David McCullough tonight. He tells such a good story and is a darn good historian. (Though, I read in an interview that he considers himself a writer who happens to write about history, not a historian.) Anyway, what I wanted to share? I came across two names that sound like something that JK Rowling would have made up: Albigence Waldo and Philip Fithian. Too funny, and yet real!

Tags: Knitting/Spinning, Reading by Deb
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It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one nuts about my dog (or cat, or horse, or any other kind of pet). Look at the great toy that Sarah made for her dog. One thing that Chappy does not have is hand-knit dog toys! (Hmmm….)

Now, just to prove that I have, in fact, been knitting lately, here’s a current picture of my NbaT. Which, again, looks pink in the photo (it’s not), and the edging on the sleeves looks blue (it’s not, either). Sigh. Digital photography simply isn’t perfect. The main color is actually Coral, and the accent is Khaki, and they really look nice together–complimentary, yet a little unexpected. My favorite kind of combination.

And, naturally, since the pieces are just laid out on the floor and are unblocked, they don’t look the same size. Don’t worry, they are. I was busy making sure that Chappy–whose foot you can just barely see in the top right corner–didn’t grab the sleeve and run off, as I could tell that he was longing to do. You can’t quite see it, but I cast on and knitted the first two rows of sleeve #2, but the needle’s kind of blending in with the floor . . . but it’s there.

  The other thing I’ve been working on? Charting the lace for my Chai. I copied the chart onto Excel and have been working on figuring out the best, most graceful way to accomplish the increases necessary for a triangular shawl, and the darn thing’s being difficult . . . or at least, it’s being difficult because I only have about 5 minutes at a time to think about it before I’m interrupted or my concentration wanders off (grin).

Which isn’t to say that I’m not enjoying the process–just that it’s taking longer than I thought it would. I’m starting to go into the dreaded Lace Withdrawal. And with my T nearing completion and the yarn for my Union Square Market Pullover not yet here, this means that I’m perilously close to being AWAP (Altogether Without A Project). I’m sure it won’t actually happen, and there’s the lovely sock yarn my KRSP sent me last month–you know, from the box that I didn’t accidentally recycle–and which I’ve been carrying around in my knitting bag the last couple of days. (And which, I might add, coordinates incredibly well with the Coral Calmer.)

  And of course, there’s the spinning. I’ve been a neglectful spinner lately. I’ve got that lovely blue-green roving from Liz, that I’ve been spinning on my drop spindle . . . and you know, I know that it should be easier to just pick up the spindle for a few minutes than to sit down at the wheel . . . and it is . . . but it never really seems to work that way! And so the spindle sits there. The only person who’s touched the waiting roving lately is Chappy . . . he pulled the roving out from my lap desk the other day . . . naughty, naughty dog! I hope he didn’t felt any of it . . . but maybe he just felt that somebody should be doing something with this lovely stuff!

And yes, I prefer to sit on the floor, leaning back against my ottoman when I work on the computer, rather than sitting at a desk. The bed table keeps the hot computer off my lap, and the side spots give me someplace to stash things (like roving or books on HTML, which I know very little about). I can fidget better than I would at a desk–especially since I don’t have a real desk chair in my bedroom, just a little Bombay Company bench–and besides, if I sit on the floor, Chappy can come and sit next to me, and really, the floor’s not that uncomfortable (grin).

You know, Medium is on right now. I started watching this around the third episode or so of the season and didn’t miss one the rest of the year . . . but I never caught the first one. The episode on right now is the first one I saw, which makes me wonder–have they already repeated the pilot and I missed it?? If so . . . darn!

Tags: Knitting/Spinning by Deb
9 Comments »

If I had realized how much fun it was going to be, hosting a Knit-along, I would have come up with one months ago.

  Well, no, it’s better that I waited until I had some idea what I was doing–AND found a pattern to get really enthusiastic about–but I’m having a good time, and I’ve barely begun (grin). We’ve got five people signed up already which I think is pretty good considering I just set this up and it’s the weekend, and all that.

In the time when I haven’t been trying to figure out Blogger and basic HTML stuff for setting things up, I’ve been working on the lace chart for my Chai shawl. It’s not a complicated lace pattern–just basic diamonds with a double row of YOs outlining them–but it’s 20 rows by 16, and my brain just hasn’t locked into the math/geometry needed to figure out how many increases I need and with what frequency to gracefully shape this into a triangular shawl. Not because it’s too hard, mind you, but just because my brain and I have been going in 20 directions at once!

I finished the front of my NbaT last night, and started the first sleeve–it’s a short little sleeve and I know it won’t take that long, but I’m not enjoying those knitted-in hems. I love the way the look, and I love the weight they give to the bottom of the pieces, but I do not like knitting them in! I think the hard part is picking up the stitch from the cast-on edge. I’ve tried it with my knitting needle point and also with a crochet hook and don’t like it either way.

Reading ahead on the Union Square Market Pullover (a mouthful of a name, but at least all easily-pronounced, recognizable words, unlike the Clapotis phenomenon)–it also has a knitted hem but it starts with a provisional cast-on whose stitches get picked up by another knitting needle before joining the hem–so it’s more like a combination of K2tog and a three-needle bind-off. I’m sure I’m going to like that a lot better.

Actually, reading ahead on the USMP pattern is a good idea. It’s a nice, challenging pattern–not a sweater you can dash off in a weekend. (Or at least, not one that I could dash off in a weekend.) It’s got all sorts of interesting touches–short rows in the slightly belled sleeves, the fold-over flap in the front, contrast edging, buttons at the shoulder . . . not a boring sweater to knit at all!

I can’t wait until that sport-weight Alpaca from KnitPicks comes so I can try a swatch and see if I’m anywhere near the gauge I need. Gosh, I ordered it on Friday and here it is Sunday . . . what’s taking them so long?

Must be the heat slowing them down. All I’ll say about this weekend’s weather is . . . ick. It didn’t rain, and we have air conditioning, but ugh. Hazy, hot, and humid. Blech!

And, I just came across my Button on another site–the first time I’ve seen it anywhere but here. Thanks, April! Which makes me wonder–has anyone else borrowed it, and I just didn’t know? If so, let me know!

Tags: Knitting/Spinning by Deb
7 Comments »

Okay, I’ll do it! I’ll host the Union Square Market Pullover Knit-Along (and therefore will only have myself to blame at the long name for the group). I even checked with Kate Gilbert (the designer) herself to ask her opinion, and she said:

Deb,
Go right ahead! I’d be honored. I have heard here and there people threatening to eventually start a knit along, but I couldn’t tell you who and who could stop you even if someone else is doing it!
Have fun and thanks for the compliments!
Kate

So that pretty much answers that!

And so, I’ve designed a button and everything:

The next question is, format? I figure I’ve got two, real options:

• Either set it up as a Yahoo!Group so people can post and link to pictures and all of that, or
• Set it up as a Blogger blog, with multiple authors

Edited to add: It’s the Blogger group! And I already have one other member!

Hey, you folks know me well enough to know I’m thorough! Which one do you like better??

(Yes, I know there’s a third option where I just give weekly updates on how everyone’s doing, but in the KALs I’ve been in, I find it more fun to be able to post for myself–not to mention sharing advice and tips and questions and all that amongst the group.)

Tags: Knitting/Spinning by Deb
5 Comments »

So, Marina suggested that I host a Knit-along for the Union Square Market sweater. I don’t know . . . I’ve never hosted a KAL before! Is there some sort of protocol involved? Or do you just have to be the first to say “I’ll do it?”

What do you folks thing–I’m willing, but could use some guidance!

Vote here!

Tags: Knitting/Spinning by Deb
3 Comments »

I’d say this qualifies as a pretty good day.

  First, I got my box from my Secret Pal 5–thanks! Red Lines, Jolly Rancher lollipops–both good, though I’m really more of a chocolate girl (grin)–a copy of Cooks magazine, a container of biscuits which Chappy claims taunted him all afternoon until I got home from work, and two skeins of Debbie Bliss DK Merino. Thanks, Pal!

Second, my Interweave Knits arrived. I really do love that Union Square sweater (the cover) and hope somebody starts a KAL for that one, because, well, sign me up!

I didn’t have time to actually look at the magazine, since the mail came just as I needed to head back to work, but I did glance at the gauge for the sweater, and then at the yarn I’d bought . . . nope. Not going to work. The [expensive, French] Plassard Alpaga used in the sweater is fingering-weight alpaca, and the “Andean Silk” yarn I’d bought from Knitpicks is worsted-weight. That’s a difference of 4.5/5 stitches per inch to 6.5/7 per . . . no way that’s going to work.

So! I’m trying this instead. Yes, yes, I know. This is still not the same gauge, but it’s a whole lot closer and at almost a third of the price of trying to get the Plassard yarn (which, mind you, looks lovely), it’s worth a try. And then I’ll decide what to do with the Andean Silk. I still love the colors I picked and it’s wonderfully soft . . . it’s either save it for something else, return it to Knitpicks, or “recycle” it by giving it to someone else. I’m torn because it’s really lovely and would have been beautiful in this sweater . . . but then, it would be equally beautiful in another sweater, too, so!

Has anyone noticed how much I’m enjoying Knitpick’s new, relatively inexpensive yarns? It still blows my mind that the yarn for my Peacock shawl only cost me $15 and change. (The “change” being the 1 or 2 yards from that fourth skein that I needed to use, and that I’m still grumbling about.) I really don’t mind spending reasonable amounts of money on yarn, but if I can get the same quality at these super prices . . . even better!

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
7 Comments »

  I just made myself a little Candy Bar paper doll that looks JUST like me (except for being about 20 years younger and a bit thinner and mysteriously having a penguin). Cute, though, huh? Go make your own!

(Though, I should warn you that these things are addictive. “No, no, let’s see if I can find a better match for my hair . . . there are only 800+ options to choose from, it won’t take long.” That’s the kind of rationale you need to look out for–especially if you’re stealing the time to do this at work . . . ahem . . . not that I would!)

And, seriously, that’s all I’ve got for you right now. I’m busy charting the lace pattern for the corners of my soon-to-be Chai shawl, but therefore don’t have any knitting progress to show you. I’m just glad it’s Friday at last.

Edited to add: See? Dangerous! Now I’ve done two . . . (Couldn’t help it, it’s supposed to be in the 90s and humid this weekend, that first girl just looked too hot. I’m really just looking out for HER.) (And yes, I know, capris and 3/4 sleeves aren’t exactly heat-wave clothing, either, but I really don’t like shorts and camis.)

Tags: Uncategorized by Deb
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  Thank, you Liz! As a thank you for the yarn I sent her a couple of weeks ago, she sent me a copy of Knitting on the Edge. Wasn’t that nice of her? (And, Liz, I’d send you an e-mail, but I can’t find your address–I really should just start archiving ALL my e-mail, I know–but in the meantime, I hope you see this, my public acknowledgment of your good manners. Your mother would be proud!) Thank you!

I’m actually still looking for the right lace pattern for my Chai shawl. I thought I had it a couple days ago, but while it was nice, I didn’t love it. I think now that I’ve settled on one from “Heirloom Knitting.” I actually liked the Horseshoe Pattern (aka Fishtail) since it would have done a nice little wavy thing at the color changes, but I’ve liked this Trellis Diamond II for a while. In fact, it was my first choice. I swatched it tonight and it seems like it will work out . . . this thick-and-thin yarn makes it a little tricky. Bigger needles helped, too. I don’t know if it’s the looser gauge or if it’s the fact that I’ve knitted this same yarn several times by now, but it’s much softer now. I’m loving it, in fact.

Next step is to (1) force myself to stop looking through pattern books which keep making me doubt my choices and (2) chart out the pattern with the shaping increases included–you know, the ones I have yet to figure out.

And, oh yes, no surprise here, but the consensus seems to be that the shoes I posted about yesterday are perfect!

Here’s a a funny link from Mirabilis.ca . . . about following the so-called “Jesus Diet.” I laughed, too!

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Okay, tell me honestly.

Do you think these shoes go with my Peacock shawl?

Uh-huh.

But, do you think the colors match?

Yeah, but, more importantly, do you think I could find better shoes? You know, to wear to a wedding?

{giggle}

See? This is one of the reasons I love the internet. I would never have found these shoes in a store. They’re Kenneth Cole shoes in a color called “Pool,” and they are perfect. At this point, I could practically wear a t-shirt and shorts and be adequately dressed for this wedding–the shawl and shoes together ARE an outfit. (Okay, maybe another layer is necessary for the demands of propriety, but really…)

I tried the shoes on and they’re even reasonably comfortable, but my goodness–that toe! I’ve never worn such a pointed toe in a shoe before. But true to Stacy‘s claims, they’re not as uncomfortable as you might think. At least, you know, for five minutes of wearing them around the house. And sometimes you just have to suffer for beauty.

Look what else arrived at our house today. Eight skeins of Golden Chai yarn. Oh, so beautiful! That’s four skeins of color #36 (the lovely green at the end), two skeins of the bronzy-green in #34, and then #28 that’s mostly bronze, and #22 that’s kind of a golden-peach. These four will become a graduated shawl.

(Oh, and incidentally, there’s nothing on the label about ironing this yarn. Just thought you should know.)

Ben, one of the fellows who’s been working on my bathroom, is upstairs right now, connecting my second sink. When he finished up on Saturday, he was missing a couple parts. (More precisely, the ones he bought at Home Depot were damaged.) So, he came back yesterday, did one sink and then . . . the new box o’parts he’d bought was still missing something . . . and so he’s back again. It’s not really his fault and he’s a perfectly nice fellow, but I’m hoping he doesn’t have to come back again. I want to reclaim my bathroom now.

Chappy feels the same way–he’s sick and tired of having people working in his house, and who can blame him? And to add insult to injury, tonight, Ben showed up while Chappy was eating his supper. Can’t a boy eat in peace, for heaven’s sake?

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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  Isn’t it nice? I got a thank you gift from Amy for the yarn I sent her last month. Some peach tea and a gift card to Barnes & Noble. (And everyone knows that I can find a use for that.) Knitting people are nice.

  I made another swatch tonight for my Chai lace. As promised, I went back to my pattern books last night and picked out a couple of different possibilities–ones that are a little more “knit” and little less “air.” I came up with this diamond-shaped, trellis pattern, and knitted it up with all four of my yarn colors. Now that they’re all together, I don’t think that top one goes quite so well with the other three as I thought, but I still like it. And the sheen to this yarn! So, so gorgeous.

Now I’ve got the lace pattern picked out, I’ll figure out what I need to do to fit it into the shawl, the best shape for the shawl . . . all that kind of stuff. With luck, I’ll be already to go when the actual yarn arrives.

I pre-ordered the “3 Cornered and Long Shawl” book by Sigrídur Halldórsdóttir from Schoolhouse Press today. It’s been out of print, but is just being republished–in whichever Scandinavian language it was written in. (I’m not sure which one.) But Schoolhouse Press is offering the book–with all the illustrations and such–and the English translation of the patterns. I hope it’s worth it! This is what happens when you have a new lace addiction, I suppose.

Oh, and Cindy, one of my best friends just started a blog. She’s more of a “dog” person than a “knitting” person (though I did teach her to knit a year or two ago), but please stop by and say hello. She’s the mom of Chappy’s best friend, Horatio (the Corgi) and also owns a retired-racing Greyhound named Princess. She even has a store in Boonton called “The Greyhound and the Corgi.” (There’s a webstore, too, but she’s taken it down to do some work on it.) Anyway, take a trip over and say hello!

And, oh yes–some computer frustration. My father hit the rest button on our router and . . . poof! . . . back to the manufacturer’s settings. All the security things I had to turned on were gone . . . all except its memory of my password . . . which it refuses to agree is the same one I’ve got. So, I can’t get in to make any changes, but in the meantime, while we’re all online, we’re “insecure.” Sigh. I’ll just keep telling myself I love computers, I love computers….

Tags: General by Deb
6 Comments »

Everyone knows that swatching for things like sweaters is important. Gauge is vital to ensuring a good fit, and making a swatch gives you a chance to make sure things are on track.

It’s easy, however, to assume that these things don’t matter with lace. It’s light, it’s airy, and when it’s going to be something like a scarf or shawl, what does it matter? A little bigger, a little smaller, what real difference does it make?

Well, it does. And I’ll give you two examples.

The first one, I mentioned the other day. My Peacock Feathers shawl is big. Huge. And so long when placed around my neck that the front corners almost touch the ground. If I had bothered to make (and block) a swatch in the first place, I would have known to use either smaller needles or something less slick, like bamboo, so that the shawl would have been that little bit smaller.

The second one regards pattern. I’ve ordered Chai yarn from Artfibers in San Francisco for my next shawl, and I thought I’d picked the lace pattern I wanted to knit it in. But tonight, since I’m waiting for my order anyway, I started a swatch.

  Yes, of course it’s miniscule–I only have a little of the yarn to work with–but this is two horizontal pattern repeats, and one vertical one, and you can see no rhyme or reason to the lace pattern in this swatch. The thick-and-thin nature of the yarn conspires to hide the airy, fragile nature of the lace stitch. An entire shawl made of this would be just as warm and airy as one in a different lace, the yarn would look just as beautiful, but just from this one swatch . . . I don’t think you’d ever see the actual pattern of the lace itself.

So, back to the drawing board. Or more precisely, the lace books, looking for a pattern that can stand up to the irregularities of this beautiful yarn. Something with a little more “meat” to it, I think, and with a more regular pattern, that the eye can “intuit” as it skims over the knitted fabric. Diamonds, perhaps.

In the meantime, though, I’ve discovered that I love the sheen of this yarn, and it slides pretty nicely across my Addi Turbos, but with a tiny bit of friction from the silk–but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. (See reason number one, above.) I also liked the size 5 needles I made this swatch on–stands up nicely to the overall weight of the yarn.

See? Swatching lace is useful after all! Who knew?

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
8 Comments »

Our kitchen-and-bathroom saga is almost over. The kitchen’s been done for a couple of weeks, my parents’ bathroom was finished on Monday, and mine is 98% done. Everything except the pipe/traps under the sink (as in, if you ran the water right now, you’d end up with a puddle of water at the bottom of the vanity–not really optimal usage!

  We went from this–that’s a scrolly-shaped blue tile floor (with scrolly-shaped, impossible-to-clean grout), formica vanity, blue sink and toilet, and blue tile wainscoting on the walls–and a matching blue tub and tub-enclosure behind the door….

  … Through this–no vanity, no toilet, no floor, and um, that’s the closet door leaning against the wall…

  …Past this–that’s the new floor (a blue-gray, slate-like tile–not yet grouted), and the matching acrylic “insert” wall from inside the tub, covering the blue tile on the walls….

  … To this! New, completely mirrored medicine chests (bigger than the ones before), a dark blue counter top, maple vanity, new Moen faucets and matching hardware for the soapdish, towel racks, etc, new Koehler toilet….

  And, you know, the shower/tub . . . I know it’s a very sterile white, but that’s why I went for the dramatically dark floor and counter. A bathroom can only handle so much white without looking like a laboratory. (Not that there’s anything with with a lab, but I don’t much care to bathe in one.) Next decision is what to do with the old wallpaper . . . I mean, yeah, replace it, but with what? . . . and what accent color I want the shower curtain and towels to be. Not exactly an urgent thing to decide at all, and for now, the gold-colored curtain is fine.

If only the sinks had running water . . .

Chappy, meantime, is exhausted, but happily collapsed next to me right now, glad to have just his family in the house–no workmen. (He doesn’t know that Ben is supposed to come back later to finish hooking up the sinks. I think I’ll wait to break the news.) I did some cleaning this morning, but have been trying to let him get some rest.

I’m almost done with the front of my NbaT–at least, I’m just about at the armhole. I got quite a bit of knitting done out on the deck with Chappy yesterday, though I didn’t do any last night–I was too tired. Instead, we watched “In Good Company” with Dennis Quaid, and I read through “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” (Next Saturday, it’s on to book #3!)

The fiction that I’m reading now is “World Without End” by Sean Russell, one of my favorites. It’s a fantasy book that takes place in a world similar to ours in the 19th century–except this world used to have mages, who have since died out. The main character, Tristam Flattery, is similar to Darwin, in that he’s a naturalist, interested in the study of plants and animals, unwilling to accept that there might be some magic left in the world. I love the book, love the world, love the characters, love the writing, love the story. This is the first book I’d read of this author, and remains my favorite, though his writing style is just superb. Eminently readable, interesting.

My Dad is having a good Father’s Day, too. I defrosted the little, mini, Christmas Stollen that’s been in the freezer since December for his breakfast. (Stollen is one of his absolute favorite things to eat, ever, which is the only reason I go to the extreme trouble of making it for him every year. He IS worth it.) He got out for golf. He came home to an apple pie and a happy grand-dog, and is now watching the US Open (or some other sport thing–he flips channels). Pot roast for supper. And, oh yes, at his Member-Guest tournament yesterday, they named something for my uncle, the “Boyken Pull” in honor of him and my Dad. Isn’t that nice of them??

Tags: Family, General, Reading by Deb
4 Comments »

  Life is just a bowl of cherries.

Or, it was.

Apparently, it’s not safe to be a cherry around me, because I bought a bag of cherries at the grocery store today–a pound of them–and this is all that’s left.

I seem to have no will-power whatsoever where cherries are concerned. But, at least, they’ve got some nutritional value. (And I should endeavor to be grateful that I resisted the bags of potato chips at the store–they’re another weakness, but one which we luckily don’t have around very often.)

  I also spent some of my afternoon doing homework–the fun kind–browsing through pattern books, looking for a lace to grab my attention.

You know, I had the best intentions of knitting a stole next, using the Zephyr that’s been in my closet since about January. But now that I’ve ordered those four colors of Chai . . . I keep thinking about them. And you know how it is . . . when the creative urge strikes, you got to go with the flow . . . or some such mixed metaphor as that. So I spent a good hour this afternoon sticking post-its next to all the laces that I thought would match my inner vision of what to do with this yarn. Next I’ll weed them out, narrow it down, and hopefully by the time the yarn arrives, I’ll know what I’m going to do with it.

I’m thinking either a triangle or a half-circle, but I haven’t decided yet. I think that will depend on the lace pattern I choose–some are more angular, some or more curvy, and I’ll want whichever shape best fits the lace I select.

In the meantime, isn’t it lovely that I have enough yarn to swatch with??

Edited to add: I’ve got it narrowed down to two possiblities, and I plan on swatching both of them to see how they look in the yarn. It’ll give me something to do while waiting for my yarn delivery (grin)

All in all, I’ve had a very nice afternoon. I took it off from work–it gave Mom a chance to get out of the house (she was kind of stressed today), and gave me some extra time to putter around. I made another pound cake to go with the strawberries I bought . . . that’s one of my favorite desserts, with whipped cream on top, and the second time I’ve made it in a month.

I’m still looking for a really good pound cake recipe, though. My dear, departed grandmother made the world’s best pound cake (or so my childhood memories insist), only I wasn’t foresighted enough to ask her for her recipe. I’ve got her layer-cake-with-chocolate-frosting recipe (which is so famous in my family, it’s simply known as “Grandma Cake”) and given a choice, that IS the one I would have. But still, I keep trying pound cake after pound cake, looking for one that will remind me of hers. I’ve tried just about every one in every cookbook I’ve got, as well as trying various magazine versions, and still . . . no luck. They’ve been perfectly decent, but not like hers.

(Okay, there was that one that was so dense that when the outside was completely baked and it tested as fully done because it was thick enough to “wipe” off the toothpick on its way out of the loaf but was in fact still raw in the middle so that it fell apart as I turned it out of the loaf pan and landed on poor Jilly although luckily it didn’t burn her but that one really didn’t come out well at all unless you count the fact that it came out of the pan so easily even if it didn’t hold together if you know what I mean but anyway that’s why I don’t make pound cake in loaf pans any more because I think they’re just too dense for that and so I use a Bundt pan instead and that works really well as well as looking pretty, you know?) (Hmmm, I need to remember to breathe when I do that!)

Anyway, afternoon at home. Beautiful weather this afternoon, in the 70s and mostly sunny. I sat out on the deck with Chappy for a while, and we even got out for a walk. Sure, sure, big deal, taking the dog out for a walk. You would think so, but with the heat, the household chaos, the passing thunderstorms, the tearing up of our neighborhood streets, it’s been two weeks since the poor boy got a walk. He’s had plenty of exercise guarding the house, and he’s had a few romps in the backyard–but the leash thing, where you leave the property? We’d almost forgotten how to do it.

My Dad’s playing in his club’s Member-Guest golf tournament this weekend, like he does every year . . . with the change, of course, that his partner is not my uncle. (You’ll remember that he passed away in April.) It’s got to be kind of sad for my Dad, but we’re glad that he’s playing. Originally, he was going to skip the tournament altogether.

Wish me luck, too. I’m getting my haircut tomorrow morning, and you know–that can be good or bad!

Tags: Baking, Family, General by Deb
3 Comments »

So, my shawl is exhausted from her day of strutting around the office, preening herself in front of my co-workers. (She’s shamless, really, quite vain.) Thank all of you for the compliments. Really, I’m flattered!

In a week or two, when the bathroom is done, and the guest room is back to normal, I’m going to try re-blocking her. Beautiful as she is, the width (i.e., the length of the front corners when short little me is wearing it) is a problem. I’m going to try to stretch it a little longer in the back and shorter in the front . . . more of an equilateral triangle. If it works, that will be great, and if it doesn’t, it won’t hurt anything!

Now, the one thing for sure I know I’m going to wear my Peacock for is a wedding that I’m [pretty sure to be] going to in August. My sister’s brother-in-law is getting married, and my parents and I are pretty sure we’ll be getting an invitation. (About which we’re all excited, we really like Betty and are thrilled for Tim. It’ll be fun!) Anyway, don’t you think my Peacock would just love going to a wedding??

  So the next step is to find the right dress and shoes. The dress, really, is going to be as simple a dress as I can come up with–the Peacock will be the star of this outfit. But I did just find what I think will be the perfect shoes–assuming they fit and are comfortable and all that! I just ordered them online, so we’ll see . . . but I’m hoping. Don’t you think they’re just about perfect to compliment my shawl?

I gave my best shot at making stitch markers tonight, which I’m not going to show you. Could someone give me some tips? I’ve never tried this whole bead-and-wire thing before . . . how are you supposed to hold the marker-on-ring still so that you can wrap the wire around the thing? I’ve found a couple good tutorial sites, though, here, here and here. It’s just a matter of getting my fingers to figure it out! If I can figure it out, I’ll sign up for “Marker Mania.”

I ordered that Chai yarn, too . . . too luscious an idea to pass up!

Do you know that as of tomorrow, the 17th, I’ll be out of high school for 20 years?? How is that possible? And as of yesterday, my niece is a Junior in high school, and my nephew is in 7th grade. Time is going just too darn fast.

Tags: Family, General by Deb
3 Comments »

Wow, thank you! My shawl got so many compliments yesterday, she’s turning a blush pink. My blog has gotten over 900 hits in the last 24 hours (that’s unheard of for me), and I just breezed past the 500 mark for total Comments. I’m touched. Really! I feel like Sally Field (“You like me. You really, really like me!”) And, honestly, trying not to let it all go to my head (though my shawl is preening.)

Anyway, here’s our picture. (Mom called this the “Betty Grable Shot.”)

In response to a couple questions: The bed that the shawl would not fit on is a standard, double/full-size bed (not twin, not queen, not king). But I also tend to knit loosely, and I used Addi Turbos which probably accelerated the process. I’m sure that if I had used, say, bamboo needles, or a smaller size, the whole shawl would have come out smaller–thereby at least not going into that fourth skein.

  That might not have been a horrible thing, either–now that I’ve had a chance to try my now-blocked shawl, the one problem is that it’s long. I’m only 5’3″ and with the shawl on my shoulders, and flat shoes . . . I’m in danger of stepping on the corners. Can you believe that?

Oh, and I started the shawl in March (on the 9th ot 10th), so . . . it took me three months. I have nothing but good to say about the pattern–it was by far the most challenging piece of lace I’ve ever knitted. As beautiful as the finished product is (and it is), I couldn’t have done it without having such a great pattern to work with.

Now, next project? I’m definitely thinking about a designing a stole for myself. A little more brain work than following somebody else’s pattern, but one that will be easier for my fingers to knit (grin). I’ll probably use the copper-colored Zephyr I’ve had in my closet for a while. I haven’t knitted anything with Zephyr yet, but have heard such good things about it, I’m looking forward to it.

There is another alternative, though. I called Artfibers in San Francisco for samples of their Chai yarn the other day. You know, famous from the Flower Basket Shawl that Stephanie made in April, and that Shelley is making now.

As an aside, not only does Artfibers have gorgeous yarn (and I hear the shop is just wonderful), but for those of us 3,000 miles away, they have a nice little outreach program–they’ll send good, substantial samples of several yards of their yarns (for a minimal fee) so that you can see the colors, knit a swatch, get a feel for the yarn–all before indulging in a “real” purchase. Very nice indeed.

Anyway, so I asked for samples of 4 colors, which came yesterday. I opened the envelope and immediately picked my favorite, then put the whole thing on my dresser before heading out for the dentist (grumble, grumble). Later, Mom and I were checking out the colors (she doesn’t knit, but has good taste in colors), and it occurred to me–all four look simply wonderful together. And, wouldn’t a shawl knit in graduated colors in all four be just stunning?? Kind of like that Koigu Charlotte’s Web shawl which made the blog-rounds not too long ago?

Yes, I think so, too!

I almost finished the waist shaping on my NbaT last night–and would have, too–had the power not gone out, again, just as I finished up a row. Now, I know the electric company has been doing serious work, digging up our neighborhood streets for over a month now, but this was 9:20 last night. Nobody was out there working. And it cut off right in the middle of watching “Veronica Mars,” too.

So, we lit candles, got out the battery-lanterns. I even added a little “flasher” onto Chappy’s collar so we’d be able to see him in the dark. (He really didn’t like it, though, and kept trying to grab it in his mouth.) I tried some spinning, but it wasn’t terribly successful by candle-light . . . which just makes me appreciate my ancestors all the more. I did read for a while, but ended up turning the light out . . . er . . . blowing the light out around 10:15.

I’m kind of disappointed about Veronica Mars, though–I was enjoying seeing the pilot again. It’s such a bad time of year for television (unless you’re a Reality-show fan, which I am not). I’ve got some good shows on DVD, though, including the newly-released “Lois & Clark,” which I used to love. Now I’m just hoping for “Jack & Bobby” on DVD . . .

Oh, and this is funny: http://www.knittersanonymous.com/

Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
12 Comments »

Well, here she is! My Peacock Feathers shawl, laid out in all her glory.

I’m sure you’ll notice right away that it’s not on the bed. There was just no way that shawl was going to fit. I spread it out and the corners weren’t just hanging over the edge, they were dragging on the floor. There was no way I could block it like that.

As it is, the shawl didn’t even fit on the comforter cover I put underneath it, but we did our best. And the important thing is that she is stretched out and resting comfortably.

I’m really happy with the color. I used, you’ll remember the KnitPicks Shimmer, in Turquoise Splendor. I’m not always a fan of variegated yarns, especially for lace, but I like the way this came out. I like how, since it’s not a solid color, it mimics all those stunning shades in a real Peacock’s tail, and yet (now that it’s blocked) does not take away from the lace.

I suppose that a solid color might be marginally better because it wouldn’t detract from the lace even a little, but I have absolutely no regrets for picking this over a solid color. None. The yarn was a delight to work with, incredibly soft, and I didn’t find a single knot. I’ll definitely recommend it to anyone.

So, what did I learn making this shawl?

• You can never have too much yarn. I had to dip into my fourth skein for about 2 yards’ worth of yarn, but I was so, so grateful that I had it in the house when I needed it, instead of needing to buy more!
• You can never have too many T-pins. Because blocking this required a lot of them. I used up ever T-pin I had, and then every quilt pin, and then a handful of old, sewing pins that haven’t been out of my sewing basket in years.
• Stitch markers are a girl’s best friend–especially where complicated lace patterns are concerned. They were absolutely invaluable for this pattern, with so many repeats, but whose main, lace pattern changed from row to row.
• Counting the number of stitches between markers while purling the back side of the pattern is invaluable. If you come up with 23 stitches instead of 24, you can catch whatever error you made now rather than while you’re knitting the lace on the next row. It’s easy, at that point, to add in a YO or to slip one stitch over another in the correct place so that everything is where it should be.
• Patterns which require you to move the stitch markers to the right or left as you knit are evil.
• Moving the markers while on the purl-backs (wrong side) of the previous row in said patterns, so that when it came to knitting the lace rows, the makers were already in the correct place, is a sanity-saver.
• Noting whether l/r means to move the markers inward toward the center or outward toward the edge makes this much easier while on the flip side, than trying to figure out, “If it should be moved to the right on the front, since I’m on the back, that means move it to the left, right?”
• Fiddlesticks patterns are as much fun as they are beautiful!

Yay!

Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
56 Comments »

Well, the Peacock needles have left the building!

  I have a 95% completed bundle of Peacock loveliness. I’m so happy with the colors of this shawl–I don’t think the variations are going to take away from the lace pattern at all (once it’s blocked).

  The remaining 5%? The blocking!

What, you ask, am I waiting for?

  Well, the guest room–where I usually do my blocking–is a bit of a mess right now. Filled with refugees from the bathroom renovation–all the stuff from the closet, the vacuum cleaner, the new medicine chests, waiting for their new home…

Mom’s going to try to clear off the bed for me tomorrow–which would be wonderful. Of course, I’m not entirely sure Peacock is going to FIT on the bed, and for obvious reasons, the floor (right now, at least) is not an option! But I’ll at least give it a try. I’m taking tomorrow afternoon off from work so Mom can get to her physical therapy appointment and I can go to the dentist (again!), but I’ll have a couple hours there to putter around, pinning out my shawl . . . Really, the timing would be perfect. (Cross your fingers for me.)

Meanwhile, I’ve spent the last hour flipping through pattern books and magazines, looking for something fun to fill in the rest of my Summer of Lace, but nothing’s really hit me. I mean, there are some lovely patterns out there, and I’ve got some books with great lace shawl patterns, but . . .

Here are my requirements: Having just (mostly) finished Peacock, I want something a little simpler–one where I can memorize the lace pattern and that will be a little easier to knit. Still beautiful and lacy, but . . . easier. I’d like something that doesn’t end up with impossibly long rows as the shawl gets bigger–my last three shawls did that. Ideally, I want the next project to stay the same (like a stole) or get smaller (like Birch did). And last, I’d like to make one that (no offense) not everybody else out there has made (grin). As great as some of the existing patterns are, and as beautiful as everyone’s renditions have been, I’m just thinking it would be nice to make something original.

So my next step is to browse through my lace pattern “treasury” books, looking for a lace pattern to grab my attention and then, most likely, turn it into a stole. I could use a rectangular, lace creation anyway!

The yarn? Three choices: Kid Silk Haze, Zephyr, or (if I choose to wait until I can choose a color and for the order to come in) Artfiber’s Chai.

  Oh, and I totally agree with Cassie . . . even in hot weather, I’d rather knit with wool than cotton, anyday.

I’ve also pretty much decided to retire my “Elfin” cardigan. I think I’ve completely lost interest–which is a shame, really, since I have the back done and half of the two fronts, but . . . I still think it’s lovely, but don’t think I’d ever wear it anyway. So the question is . . . do I frog it, give it away as is in case someone wants to try to save the project, or just trash it?

Meanwhile–yay! My all except for the magic, Peacock is done!

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
7 Comments »

  What’s wrong with this picture?

Okay, other than the aesthetic issues of the carpet background detracting from the pattern, and the careless triangle of unblocked lace, and all that. Other than that.

You have to look closer.

No, closer.

That’s it.

Yep. I’m that close to finishing my Peacock, and my skein ran out.

Can you believe it?

  Luckily, all is not lost. I do have another skein, right here in the house. I mean, I’ll be able to finish tomorrow, so it’s not like the end of the world. It’s just utterly ridiculous to be this close to being done and then have to stop . . . and then use just a couple of feet from this new skein?

Sheesh!

At least I knew that all of you would understand . . .

Sigh.

Tags: Knitting/Spinning by Deb
10 Comments »