It would be a better picture, of course, if I had cleaned the mirror first, but beggars can’t be choosy.

This one’s not much better. The mirror is cleaner, but my camera focused on the actual mirror, not the reflection. So, you know, take your pick.

This little guy has been quiet today. I took him to the vet for his annual check-up yesterday and, $192 later, it turns out that he has an ear infection.

Not a bad one, mind you. In fact, the vet told me we’d caught it really early. The part that astounded her was that this is the FIRST ear infection my 9-year old spaniel has ever had. When I said so, her jaw dropped. “A spaniel?” So obviously we’ve been doing something right, huh?

Of course, now I get to be Chappy’s FAVORITE person because two times a day for the next two weeks, I get to put drops in his ear. You know, those cold, oozy things that tickle and itch all the way down the ear canal? Yeah, those. Chappy just loves those.

Now, here’s something you never thought you’d see here. I won a contest over at FiberFarm.com and the prize was six skeins (Six!) in one of three colors of yarn. I asked Susan which she thought would be best for me and she suggested “Catcher in the Rye,” which came yesterday. Except, um, I think this is really well named because it looks to me like the shade of orange deer hunters wear to make sure they’re not accidentally shot. (Trust me, it’s even brighter in person than it appears in the photo.) I like orange–you know that–but this is bright orange, and well, I don’t like it. Much as I adored using her yarn for my Salem Hooded Jacket (as seen above), and think her yarn and colors are generally awesome, and grateful as I am to have won a sweater’s worth of yarn … I’m sending it back with regrets. If I had any dyeing skills at all, I might have kept it and tried over-dyeing to tone the orange down to something a little rustier, but since I don’t, I figure it’s better for the farm to get the yarn back to sell than for it to sit in my stash unused and unappreciated. (Well, not unappreciated, because like I said, I’m super grateful, but under-appreciated as regards to color.) It’s great yarn and it deserves better. So … back it goes, with my thanks, because that seems the right thing to do.

I know. You’re really grateful that you were sitting down while you read this, aren’t you? That news would have made me fall over in shock, too.

One more thing–remember when I mentioned this adorable book a couple months ago? IT’S A BOOK by Lane Smith? Oh my God, it’s like the best picture book EVER.

Here’s a reminder:

The perfect children’s books for all us book lovers … because, as much as I love and appreciated computers and e-readers and smart phones and all that? A real, paper book is still something unique.

Now, wish me luck. Tomorrow I go to the ondontist for a root canal that my regular dentist doesn’t feel equipped to deal with, for a tooth that’s apparently infected and more urgent than the one that fractured a couple weeks ago and still has a little, temporary seal on it until it can be addressed. Which, likely, means it’s going to be pulled, along with my one and only wisdom tooth, just as soon as this OTHER trouble-making tooth is taken care of. Yikes. My mouth and my checkbook are neither of them looking forward to this. I’ve never had a tooth pulled before.

(Yes, I only have the one wisdom tooth, the other 3 just aren’t there, and we wonder if my having been 7 weeks premature might have had something to do with that. Anyway, it’s hung in there for decades, now, but it’s at a point where it needs more work than it’s worth and it’s better off just being pulled, and since it’s right next to the fractured tooth that would really need an implant to fix properly anyway … might as well do them both at the same time. Ouch. Not looking forward to that, either. And, did I mention that my checkbook is terrified? But, really, let’s not talk about it, huh? Tomorrow, though, is a root canal on a completely different tooth on the other side of my mouth. Sigh. Have I mentioned how much I hate my teeth?)

• Tags: Chappy, Finished Knitting • Permalink:Tuesday // 6 Comments »

Hurray! At least I accomplished something today.

This is the Salem Hooded Jacket from New England Knits (a book I whole-heartedly recommend. It’s wonderful.)

Anyway, remember how I had said that one of the skeins was a different color than the other three? (As in, looking like it was from another batch, not that it was, you know, DIFFERENT.) And then when Susan had her summer sale and this color was one of the ones available for $10 a skein, so I bought a fifth skein? SO glad I did.

The 5th skein actually matched the other three much better than the 4th one I already had, so I moved it up in the rotation, and used it for the hood. In fact, I had about ONE yard left when I finished the hood. That means that, if I hadn’t ordered a new skein, the pockets would have needed to be a different yarn–and I could have lived with that.

But. if you look at that picture… the flaps at the top of the pockets look just a little … greener … than the rest of the sweater.

Since that color difference is ONLY for the two pocket flaps (and the inside of the pockets), I don’t care. It’s almost like a design element. But I’m so glad I don’t have a horizontal line going across the yoke or between the sleeves and the rest of the sweater from a skein that didn’t QUITE match.

But, it’s done, isn’t that wonderful?

Though, I’m still not sure about the snaps that hold it shut. I still think it needs buttons…

(I do love the argyle-grosgrain ribbon, though! It’s perfect.)

Otherwise, I’ve been sickeningly lazy all day. I baked a cake and watered my plants, but that’s about it. There was definitely napping involved.

Which, of course, was something that CHAPPY whole-heartedly agreed with.

Yesterday? I got my hair cut for the first time since January. I bought myself a new pair of Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars in my favorite shade of green, (I had a DSW coupon), and generally had a nice morning out with Mom.

I’ve been watching “Homefront” on YouTube lately. Does anyone else remember this post-WWII tv series from 1991? With Kyle Chandler? (Yes, I’ve always loved Kyle Chandler, starting with his stint as Jeff on this show–that and Ginger’s hair-styles and clothes alone would have made me love it.) WHY is this show not available on DVD yet? And what’s a girl to do when YouTube starts getting stubborn and simply won’t play the episodes? (Sigh)

Tomorrow, Chappy’s got a check-up at the vet, and Wednesday, I have to go to an Ondontist to start some of this expensive, extensive dental work I need. (Much bigger sigh.) Hence the haircut and the new shoes BEFORE those bills start rolling in to depress me.

Hope your weekend was wonderful! Now, I need to go swatch for my next project…

• Tags: Finished Knitting • Permalink:Salem Hooded Jacket // 4 Comments »

First things first–happy birthday, Grandpa!

He’s been gone since 1967 and we never had a chance to know each other. I was 10 months old when he died of Alzheimer’s which, I figure, puts us at about the same mental level for most of the ten months our time here on earth overlapped. It doesn’t allow for many memories, though.

I have exactly one thing of his. (You know, other than his little boy, my father.) Although I suppose that technically my Grandmother’s secretary desk used to be their secretary desk, but well, we’re talking personal items here. And this is it. A monogrammed handkerchief.

I don’t quite remember how I ended up with this. It was in my father’s dresser for years and then, one day, it was in mine, but I don’t remember how or why. I don’t know for sure who embroidered it, either. It could have come from the store this way, or it could have been my grandmother. I don’t really know. I just know that Dad told me it belonged to his father, and that makes me appreciate it all the more. On the rare occasion I need a handkerchief, this is the one I reach for.

My Dad gets good-grandfather points, too. I was busy in the kitchen today getting ready for Chappy’s birthday party tomorrow … and it was a little too hot for me, anyway … so Dad took Chappy for a walk. Don’t they look happy? You know, it’s really unusual for me to see Chappy from a distance.

I’m blocking my shawl and enjoying the usual blocking magic. It wouldn’t fit on the blocking board itself, though, because the corners stretched past the edge (making pinning difficult).

So, I folded it in half. Not only does that mean it fits on the blocking board, but … only half the amount of pinning!

And, right now? I’ve got the blocking board standing up against the bookcases in the hall. I’m just hoping that Chappy doesn’t try to rub his head on it (as he is wont to do) and poke his eyes on the pins. But I told him not to, so…

It sure looks pretty, though, huh? The shawl, you’ll remember, is the Shetland Shawl from “Folk Wraps”, knitted in my handspun Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm cormo. (Yes, I know, Susan’s farm is Juniper Moon now, but this was from my first share of MVFF, so … Martha’s Vineyard.)

Oh, and Buttons and Lucky are having fun. They picked out our movie for tonight, too.

• Tags: Family, Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Grandpa’s Birthday // 1 Comment »

I finished my shawl last night. It’s not blocked yet, of course, but it’s done. All in my own handspun cormo.
Sigh. Bliss.

Now, just think how much prettier it will look once it’s blocked!

You know, once I figure out WHERE to block it.

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Lace // 2 Comments »

Well, my sweater is done–all but the buttons.

The sad part is that it’s a little too small (sigh).

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Miss BB // 6 Comments »

As requested (and with Mom’s help), the modelled shots:

(Yes, even with my gray roots  and that pesky waistline showing. Interesting, though. I so seldom get to see what my hair looks like from the back!)

Before I go on, first things first. There’s a tiny little lamb–whose real name is Rushworth but is mostly known as Mr. Tiny because is IS–who needs some prayers and good will sent his way. After a rally his first day, he’s weak today, and his shepherds are worrying about him.

Then, what do you think of Knitting Scholar’s new logo?

How about these incredible photos from the “Beetle Cam“? (Not pictures of insects, but of wild animals. Very cool.)

Very cool picture of wild Icelandic horses running away from the volcano. (Good thing they didn’t need to fly.)

Just what every bake sale (or, heck, freezer) needs … individual blueberry cobblers baked in jars. Yum!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Upon Request // 12 Comments »

Yep. The sweater is done. Done, done, done! Which means it’s time to pick out buttons. I pulled out all the good possibilities from my button stash.

Narrowed it down to my favorites, and then asked Mom for her opinion. Luckily, she agreed with me on the one that was best.

I’ve had these in mind for this sweater for weeks. First, the brass color of them was perfect for the warm, golden-brown yarn. I loved the concentric circles on the buttons, which went so well with the circles in the cables, and they fit perfectly into the Os on the X-and-O cabled button-bands.

I sewed them on tonight AND ran a length of ribbon down the inside to give a little extra support. If I’d been smart, I would have used those little plastic rounds on the inside, but I didn’t give it a thought … and didn’t have any anyway. This ribbon, though? I bought it online a month or two ago and it’s the perfect color–a deep copper that goes perfectly with the yarn (and even matched the thread I used to sew on the buttons)–but that is ALSO exactly the same width as the cable.

In other news for today, Mom and I went out to look for a frame for the counted cross-stitch picture SHE just finished. I hope you’re impressed, too, because Michael’s is right next door to a Borders book store and not only did we park in front of the bookstore, but when we left the craft store, we got directly into the car and drove away. I know. Shocking behavior for me, right?

We headed over to Macy’s instead, which was having one of it’s rare (cough) “One Day Sales” and I bought some socks and a couple t-shirts. I was ridiculously happy to find any t-shirts at all that were plain, a decent weight, and not absurdly expensive. When did it become so impossible to find good t-shirts? It seems like most of the ones I see–even assuming I can find any at all that aren’t ruched or covered with print, beads, sequins or heaven knows what else–are (1) too long, (2) too thin/cheap, (3) too tight, or all of the above. So finding a few decent crew necks that were a relatively good fit despite my waistline issues? Very nice.

And, before you say anything about my BUYING socks, yes, I adore my handknit socks, but I can’t knit the really thin little anklet socks that are light enough to wear in summertime under sneakers.

Chappy rested while we were gone, but we took him for a walk when we got home. Doesn’t he look adorable snuggled into MY yellow afghan? The one he keeps trying to tell me should be his?

I baked some Apple-Oatmeal Bread this afternoon, too, though I baked it in a Bundt pan instead of a loaf pan because I tend to have trouble with quick breads in loaf pans, so it looks more like a cake, but no worries there. Tonight, Mom and I watched 1967′s “Barefoot in the Park” with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford and just laughed and laughed and laughed. It’s been years since I’ve seen it and I enjoyed it just as much as the other times I’d seen it. The laughs began when they comment on their honeymoon at New York’s Plaza hotel costing (gasp) $30 a night! And then, there are all those stairs…

Now, my new sweater and I are going to go relax for a while…

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Finished! // 8 Comments »

I finally figured out where to put my blocking board. If I clear off the table in my little room/office, I can balance it on the top. It’s not a terrible fit, either–it’s larger than the table, but only by about about 5″ on each side, so while a little inconvenient, it at least works.

Of course, I don’t know what I’m going to do the first time I have a lace shawl to block–those never fit entirely on the blocking board, so that’s going to be interesting…

Of course, this means I was finally able to block my ribbed-cabled cardigan that I finished last month. The poor thing has been waiting for weeks and weeks to get its final wash.

My orange sweater is blocking, too–laid on a towel on the cedar chest. I had recently torn out the button bands that had stopped halfway up, because I was never happy with that. So I just reknit them, finishing them last night. So, that’s drying now, too.

After I had laid everything out and sat down to rest, I glanced over … the blocking board was just as eye level. (You folks know I sit on the floor when I’m using my computer, right?), and I loved the ripple the ribbed edge made.

Now, I just need to pick out the buttons.

On the plus side, it’s not going to take long for these to dry. Not only did I spin most of the water out in the washing machine, so they’re damp/wet, not sopping, but … it’s warm up here! We joke that this townhouse is a Goldilocks house… the downstairs is too cold, the upstairs is too warm, and the middle is juuuust riiiiight. And on days like today, when it’s really cold outside (like, 20 degrees) so that the heat is on a lot? The upstairs is extra warm. In fact, I’m sitting here right now in jeans and a tank top, having shrugged off my sweater. When I get up to go down to the kitchen for lunch, I’ll grab it, but for now? Too warm for a sweater.

Yes, I know, it’s weird. And we’re all a little worried about what’s going to happen this summer, if the heat rises this dramatically–especially with that huge window of ours.

In fact, we’re trying to figure out what to do about that window. It’s beautiful, but it’s HUGE, and it lets in way too much sun in the afternoon. (As in, it’s blinding in the kitchen.) Not only that, since that’s a large amount of glass, it’s letting too much cold air in now and is going to make things extra hot in the summer.

We’re desperately trying to think of something we can do to cover this window enough to (1) cut down the glare, (2) add some thermal protection, (3) still let in some light because we like the whole natural-light thing, and (4) won’t be too expensive.

This is harder than it might seem. First, the three of us all have different ideas on what will or won’t work, or how it shoul be done. And, second … even if we agree on a drape or blind or something, installation is going to be HARD. This window is about level with the second floor, so it’s HIGH. Even if we owned a ladder–which we don’t–there’s no way it would be tall enough to reach ABOVE the window to hang, say, a drapery rod. And that’s assuming you could find the floor space to put the ladder, because we have almost none, and our huge behemoth of an unmovable tv is in the corner right in front of the window. We can’t move it even an inch. Even if we find some affordable kind of cover that we can all agree on? Installation is going to cost a fortune …

I don’t suppose any of you have any ideas, huh?

And now? Do you realize that I don’t have any knitting projects? I’m still trying to find a pattern for all that lovely Black Water Abbey yarn I unravelled, but … haven’t found one. Which means that the only thing I’ve got to knit right now is the sock in my purse (yawn).

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General • Permalink:Knitting Horizons // 4 Comments »

I was starting to think the button band was going to take forever.

I started the sweater back in December, and the button band-slash-collar took me about a week. Insane, right?

Now I just need to pick a button. These are just a few of the ones in my button collection. Some, you’ve seen before. And yes, I actually do have a favorite from these.

Oh, and my Chuck contest? I’m working on picking the winner, and was all set to go, but my printer won’t print out the list of entrants. I don’t really want to write them all out just to be able to pick the winner. I could just assign a number to each one and use a random number generator, but where’s the fun in that? Though, honestly, that’s probably what I’m going to do. Just not right this minute.

Right now? Back to work on my book. I’ve got all my plot holes plugged. I drew an Excel sheet with a row for each character, a column for each day and plotted out everything I had happening, and made sure that, character-for-character, I wasn’t missing anything (too) obvious. Because I knew I was missing some things, and was afraid of dropping others … or of things happening too soon/too late … it was easier at this point just to plot the whole thing out. (“Oh, okay, I need a scene that explains why the reporter knows what Adam wrote in his school essay.” “What if his classmates gave him a gift that proved that he had friends and really was happy in that school? Then, how do I make sure the lawyers know about it?” Stuff like that.)

Then I went back and moved some chapters around and added a few so that the holes weren’t so ankle-twisting for the readers.

So, I’m kind of calling it Second Draft now, and it clocks in at 93,696 words.

Next step–reading through the whole thing again, this time watching for continuity errors, grammar-and-spelling type things, and filling in some of the details for some of the newer chapters that are, at the moment, mostly dialogue. I love writing dialogue, but sometimes forget to have my characters DOING things while they’re talking!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Finally! // 4 Comments »

There she is in all her glory–isn’t she pretty?

And, yes, I went with the leather buttons. I agree that the brass ones looked great, too, but when I laid they om the sweater and stepped back … it felt like they took away from it. And the plastic ones were just too … plastic. (Not to mention that, since I bought them stapled to a piece of cardboard, every single one had a piece of wire threaded through it which I would have had to somehow remove before sewing onto the sweater. That was just too much work.)

I wore it to work today and am happy to report that the sleeves behaved themselves. Long sleeves–especially sweater sleeves–usually knock all my piles of paper over when I’m sorting stuff.

The view from the front isn’t really as good, since it shows way too much of my waistline.

You’ll be glad to know that Chappy approves of the sweater, though!

Now–the weekend is starting a day early for me because tomorrow is the infamous Stollen Day. I’ve got the dough rising on the counter as we speak and Mom and Dad are heading to the movies tomorrow afternoon, where it’s safe.

Come to think of it, I should really be resting.

Do you realize, though? As of this minute, the only knitting project I have is the sock in my purse, that I’ve been working on for months.

Yikes!

I was thinking about the Redhook pattern by Jarod Flood … especially if the yarn I bought at Rhinebeck works, gauge-wise. (It’s also handy that Kim lent me her copy of Made in Brooklyn, which has some really great patterns in it.)

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:And… Finished! // 10 Comments »

Let’s pause a moment to admire this lovely sweater, shall we?

Here’s the really poor modelled shot–because, well, you can only do so much while holding a camera to your face.

It’s a quick hello and goodbye, because this sweater is (hopefully) on its way to a new home tomorrow. I told you I offered it to our realtor, if she found us a good home, right? Well, if things go the way they should, tomorrow, we should have one. We’ll be handing over a check (well, four, actually) to our new landlord tomorrow afternoon.

About the only glitch likely to happen at this point? I didn’t know until lunchtime today that I would have to give a certified and/or cashier’s check tomorrow. So, I called Fidelity and arranged for a wire transfer, which I was assured would go through today, so that I could go to my local Sovereign branch tomorrow and get my cashier’s check … except … apparently he was wrong. The transfer won’t go through until tomorrow. It’s supposed to be first thing in the morning, and it’s supposed to be instantaneous, but … if the money isn’t in there by, say, lunchtime when I go to get the Cashier’s checks, there’s going to be a problem!

Well, at least the sweater is done. You’ll note I opted for my second-choice buttons. Not because the others weren’t perfect (they were), but because I love them. I had sewn them onto a cardigan I made about 15 years ago and cut them off before I got rid of it. Since this sweater is going to a new home (appropriate, you’ll agree), I decided to keep those other buttons in the family and use these instead.

What else is news?

Forty-six years ago today, my Mom and Dad got married. Thank you, Mom and Dad! I’ve had so much fun with you these past 42 years 11 months, I only regret that I wasn’t here to enjoy the first four years with you, too. (Although, in retrospect, judging from some of the new-parenting stories I’ve heard about you and Patty … like taking her carriage out for a walk without her … coming second (well, technically third) was still probably the wise choice.)

• Tags: Family, Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Hail and Farewell // 8 Comments »

Typical. I make him something nice and try to take a picture, and instead, he turns his head and sticks his tongue out…

And acts completely bored by the whole thing.

But at least the blanket cooperated.

I washed this after work and tossed it in the dryer on the “delicate” cycle. One of the reasons I picked this yarn in the first place was because it was a wool/acrylic blend that I’d be able to toss in the dryer. It dried surprisingly quickly, too!

Still … I think he likes it!

• Tags: Chappy, Finished Knitting • Permalink:Typical // 4 Comments »

Looking quite autumnal, with the green lace draped over an orange blanket… my Maplewing.

I’m not going to write much tonight because my eyes are stingingly tired, but I wanted to show you my unpinned shawl. (Or, the little bit of it I was able to photograph, anyway.)

(And, anyway, I’ve got a plot idea bubbling away for my has-been-stuck-for-years novel and would rather use whatever computer time my eyes will allow tonight working on that. You understand.)

I do have one great link for you–check out this fantastic photo, of a squirrel saying “Cheese!” while two people laugh in the background. Love that!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General • Permalink:Maple // 2 Comments »

I found just enough floorspace in the guest room to block my shawl. (Chappy wanted to help, I want you to know, but I didn’t want him stepping on the pins.)

This is not my best blocking job. I pulled out my wires but was having such a hard time seeing the pattern of the lace, I couldn’t quite figure out where to put them. (Yes, I know. Pathetic.)

This will have to do, though. I only pinned the shawl out at the end of each scallop at the bottom, and that only because it insisted on curling. I didn’t get them pinned as well as they deserved, either, but … green shawl on green carpet. I truly could not see the pattern well enough to figure out where the pins should go. So I guessed!

Oh, and in response to comment yesterday about how a shawl can’t be too big. I refer you to this post about my Peacock shawl. The one I’ve since given away because it was just too big for me to wear without tripping on it!

Now. Do you realize? This means my shawl is finished! Which means I can go on to my next project. (Not forgetting the blanket for Chappy, of course.)

First option? The Gray Cardigan from Mother-Daughter Knits. The pattern that made me buy the book. I know, of course, that I will have gauge issues (don’t I always have gauge issues), but I still love the pattern.

But, then, there’s sweater #4 from the new Vogue Knitting. It’s been a while since I fell in love with a VK pattern, but … look at this! (And, three cheers for this 3-D turn-the-model-around video clip that they do with their patterns these days. I missed all the fabulous details of this sweater when I saw it in the magazine. But, oh, isn’t it pretty?

The drawback? I’d have to buy yarn to make it, since I don’t have enough DK wool in my stash … which is ironic because DK is my favorite weight yarn for sweaters. Though, I DO have Silky Wool, which I love working with, but that’s a very tricky yarn for me. Every sweater I’ve made with that yarn has come out radically too big, no matter how much gauge-swatching-math I do.

Of course, this could be my excuse to try Peace Fleece, which I’ve wanted to try forever. (They need more color options for their DK weight, though.) That comes out to $41.25 for the sweater, which is a pretty good deal, don’t you think?

Be at ease, though, I cast on for the Gray Cardigan last night.First, because I still love it, Second because I went to all the trouble of doing the gauge-math to try to match my funky gauge, and, Third because the first skein of yarn has been sitting on my dresser for over a month and it looked sad and pathetic. And who wants that?

I’m just so intrigued by this cabled sweater–the construction, the horizontal cables at the waist and the cuffs … interesting! The body is knit in one piece, too. Love the complex/intriguing aspects. Wonder if maybe moving the waistband cable up a bit (since I am waistline-challenged) wouldn’t be a good idea. Definitely want to give this a try…

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Maplewing Pinned // 7 Comments »

Chappy wanted to help show you my Maplewing shawl. I know, it’s still hard to see its true gorgeousness because it still looks more or less like a lacy blob, but … it’s done, except for the blocking.

Which is going to be more challenging than usual, since I usually the guest room for blocking and right now, we kind of don’t really have one. Or at least, it’s overtaken with stuff and doesn’t really have the floor space needed to pin this out.

I’m going to have to pin this very carefully, though, because it’s already huge. You KNOW about my crazy, loose gauge issues that, if anything, are getting worse. Well, thank heaven I knit the small size because it’s about 3 feet long in the back already. A strenuous blocking would make it really, really, really big for me!

Let’s have a hand for my able assistant!

Now, a few links for you:

Have you seen this very nifty video? A human chorus doing “Rain.” As in, they sound exactly like a rainstorm (and the thunder really deserves the cheers it gets from the audience).

Who else remembers the 80s? Check out this very funny, tongue-in-cheek music video. (The music style isn’t exactly my favorite, but it’s worth it for the funniness.)

Did you see my review of Ann Budd’s new book, Knitted Gifts? I loved this one!

Did you know there’s a new Beatles-inspired clothing line? I would have particularly adored this in high school, but still find them snazzy now.

How’s this for a cool USB computer gadget? I sure could use one next to my laptop!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General • Permalink:Chappy Wanted to Help // 4 Comments »

Yep, my Fountain Pen Shawl is done. Isn’t it pretty?

This is Susan‘s pattern from the IK Spring 2009 issue.

I made it with the MVFF Cormo that came from my Spring 2008 share, that Jessica dyed for me in MVFF colors, and that I spun myself.

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Fountain Pen // 18 Comments »

Yep. If you didn’t get the hint before, I was trying to tell you that my afghan is DONE.

The only thing left is to weave in the ends from the border.

The whole thing measures about 55″ x 65″. It took just about exactly 23 skeins of the Bollicine Victor yarn I used for it, and I’m very happy with it.

Well–the one thing I would change? I like the way the border ruffles on the side, but don’t love the way it kind of pulls the afghan out of shape–it doesn’t like to lay flat as a rectangle, and that slightly offends my sense of order. Rectangles should look like rectangles! But, since the only way to fix that would be to redo most of the border, well … I can deal.

I DID think about running a line of crochet around the border, where it meets the original, center rectangle, to give it a little more firmness. I might decide to do that, but for the moment, I’m just enjoying the fact that it’s done and so darn pretty. And, you know, trying to convince Chappy that it is not his.

It’s done just in the nick of time, too, because it was 80 degrees today. Beautiful day, but a little warm for sitting under this much wool in my lap. I spent the afternoon at Jessica’s, happily spinning outside with my NJ fiber friends, which was as much fun as usual. (And, no, I didn’t take any pictures.)

I’ve been telling you all about the MV Fiber Farm Lambcam for a while now. (Would you believe that they had NINE baby goats born yesterday? Four sets of twins, and one single. Wow.) Did you know that they were featured on Cute Overload yesterday?

Ooh, and folks, look! Chuck Season Two is available to pre-order on DVD!

Do I need to tell you again how great the show is and that you not only should watch it, but that you really SHOULD order the DVD set so you can see the whole thing?

(And, yes, I don’t care how tight money is, I have already pre-ordered mine. At this stage of my Chuck obsession, it’s not a luxury; it’s a necessity. Like listening to the 31 songs I’ve downloaded for my MP3 player in the last week. That show has GREAT music.)

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Just the Weaving // 9 Comments »

As promised, here’s me in my Briar Rose sweater. (And, hmm, the t-shirt color doesn’t look as good with the yarn as I thought it did when I got dressed this  morning!)

Some more yarn pictures. This cormo–especially the undyed skein–is so light and airy, I keep worrying it’s going to float away!

And then, my afghan.

I started to lay it down to show you how big it’s getting, and…

My helper came in.

Wasn’t it nice of him to come and provide the picture with something for scale?

Now. First, I laid down my orange throw blanket on the floor, and then my in-progress afghan on top, for comparison’s sake. The orange blanket is good size for me, after all. Dad thinks it’s too small, but he’s 6’2″ so he’s got an extra foot of body length to cover up with a blanket.

What I’m thinking of doing–instead of putting two side panels alongside the main one–is just adding a wide, cabled border around the four sides. By the time I’m done knitting this part, adding a border that’s, say, 8″ around should make this just about the same size as that orange blanket.

And I think I found the perfect cable for it, too.

There’s just one problem.

Chappy says it belongs to him, now!

Oh–do you know anybody with a yarn shop? Read (and point them to) this fabulous post of advice for LYS-owners. Really GREAT tips on how to get, keep, satisfy customers–some of which is obvious, but some of which I’ve never heard before. Seriously. Most of you readers are knitters and you probably know a yarn shop … send them that link. It’s pure gold!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:As Modelled By // 11 Comments »

First, I apologize for the blurry final picture–it was the best of the first batch I took, where my camera mysteriously chose to focus on the wall behind me, but which I didn’t notice until the tripod was away, the sweater back on the bed, and all the pictures copied off the camera, and I was finally sitting DOWN. So … well, at least the others came out okay. It’s just that I only had it buttoned all the way in the first group, but, well, you folks have imaginations, right?

The sweater, you’ll remember, is the Harvest Cardigan from Pam Allen and Ann Budd’s Color Style. (Which was a book I was really impressed with.) For reasons beyond comprehension, there are only 3 of these being made on Ravelry, since it’s such a beautiful pattern.

I made mine out of Elsebeth Lavold’s Silky Wool rather than the Shetland called for in the book, and naturally I had gauge issues, so mine came out longer than it should have but … it fits well, looks great, and the only problem I had was that a 3-stitch steek really just is NOT wide enough for Silky Wool yarn. If I were doing it over, I’d do at least 7 stitches across for the steeks. The only modification I DID make? I made the button bands wider than in the pattern … just in case I had picked a larger button.

Yes. I chose button #2. As torn as I was between it and button #1, it ultimately came down to no contest at all. Because while both of them would have been more or less perfect for this sweater …

Button #1 is EQUALLY perfect for my upcoming Briar Rose sweater. Don’t those buttons look fabulous with its orangey goodness?

So, with one button that was perfect for this sweater and only this sweater, and one that was perfect for two, well … no contest.

And, can you believe how long my hair is getting? Good thing I have a haircut appointment for Saturday. Would you believe it’s been since August that I stretched this last cut? I took this picture last night, incidentally. For whatever reason, my hair was badly tangled from skimming over my shoulders all day, so I pulled out my hairbrush before I took my shower … You know, it always amazes me how smooth and silky my hair feels after I brush it. I’m so used to the clumps of curls. And, it looked so pretty, pulled over my head, I figured I’d take its picture before I got it wet.

And, the reason I don’t usually brush my hair? Look how full it looks right now, with the clumps broken up and each hair doing its own thing … if I left it like that and went about my day, it would be about twice that volume in about 30 minutes and would make me look like a crazy person. The curls keep everything under control, but the trick to that (and to avoiding frizz, if you’ve got curly hair) is NOT TO TOUCH it. Not ever. Never, ever break up a curl clump if you don’t have to … that just frees each individual strand to curl on its own and is the start of chaos.

Oh … I just realized something. The sweater in the book had some embroidery on it … maybe I’m not 100% finished after all!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Hair, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Too Early for Harvesting // 16 Comments »

Well, we’re guessing that this is some kind of marketing scheme…

But we could be wrong, I suppose. All we really know is that this box of fudge from Mrs. Fields arrived today with a note: “Hey– just wanted to wish you a Happy Holiday season, and to tell you this: YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET. Many surprises on the way.”

What do you think? A marketing ploy? Or some, nice friend trying to give my Dad a smile?

I get to work on my sweater again tomorrow because–yay!–I finished the hat I was working on. This is for a gift for our mail carrier–the one who stops her truck so she can say hello to Chappy whenever she sees us out walking. The one who always stops to chat when she can. The one who went out of her way to make sure I got my Little Gem on my birthday two years ago. I made her a pair of “Fetching” mitts last year, and a couple of weeks ago, she stopped to say to Chappy on our walk on a cold day, and commented on Dad’s hat, saying she wanted one. Well, I didn’t think that she would have looked right in a “Tychus,” so I made her this instead. Cute, huh?

Okay, a couple more links.

You remember those cinnamon buns that I mentioned on Tuesday? Apparently I’m not the only one to think so! Not only  have I  been having email conversations about them, I’m seeing links for them all over the place.

Not only that, Susan also linked to these–Ice Wreaths. How beautiful is that! And so simple, too … as long as you live somewhere cold.

Have you heard about Trikkes? Both parents were talking about these … not a cycle that you pedal, not a scooter that you push, not a Segue that does everything for you … but kind of a combination of all three–environmentally friendly AND good exercise. And portable. Who knew? (Though, since I don’t see how you could walk your dog while using one, well…)

And … mmm. This sounds like the tastiest Vanilla ever. Have I ever told you how much I like vanilla? I read about it in this post about some really delicious-sounding cookies. It’s making me hungry.

It is nasty weather out there tonight. We’re getting some serious rain and the temperature is hovering around freezing and it’s expected to be icy in the morning. I don’t mind snow, but ice is awful. But … so strange! We’ve got rain here in New Jersey while Houston, Galveston, New Orlenas … places that are serious Deep South territory … got inches of SNOW today. That’s just backwards!

Oh, and I hope you’re proud of me. I only finally got all three of my blogs updated to the current (and same) version of WordPress a couple weeks ago, and now version 2.7 is out. So … I updated all three of them again tonight, so we are current … again! Phew.

• Tags: Baking, Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning, Weather • Permalink:Fields // 2 Comments »

First and most important? Chappy seems much more himself today.

So–Mom and I headed down to Wightman’s Farms for apple cider for Thanksgiving, and then went to Starbucks in Bernardsville for coffee before heading home. And while we were there, we saw these lovely ladies knitting … and, obviously, we struck up a conversation. This is Karen and Kathy, both fairly newish knitters, but they knit and sell hats to raise money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer–isn’t that great? And so nice to make new, knitting friends, too.

We were having a nice time, and then they mentioned the reason they were there–the LYS in Bernardsville, the Knitting Lab, was closing and having a sale of up to 70% off their stock, but it didn’t open until 12:00.

You see where this is going, right? Because, yes, we followed them to the store.

And, do you know, they were having a GREAT sale. (That’s the problem with Going Out Of Business sales … the prices are great, but it means that the store isn’t going to be there long.) But, well, they WERE having a good sale, and they had Cascade 200 in that shade of green that my whole family adores, so …

Yeah, I bought a little. More like 14 skeins of it–7 of the green, 4 beige, and 3 in a gorgeous, rusty orange. Plus, on the recommendation of the owner, 4 skeins of matching kid mohair because she said when you knit it WITH the Cascade 220, it looks fabulous–and who was I to disagree? And all for $80.

I was planning on turning them into sweaters, but then I started thinking that this yarn would make a great afghan–something I keep meaning to make, but have never gotten around to doing. The main sticking point is that, well, how do you WASH a blanket made out of wool? Even if you gently spin it clean in the washing machine, it’s not like you can put it in the dryer, and who has the floor space to lay it flat to dry?

Also, while sitting and chatting at Starbucks, I finished my second sock. These were made out of Meillenweit and the colors are great, even if it was kind of “splitty” yarn to knit with. I just need to weave that last end in, and they’re ready to wear.

Also finished? The fingerless mitts I tested for Ruth. Remember last week, when I said I had run out of yarn an inch from the end of the second? Well, I went back to the first one, ripped out the ribbing, and then finished the leaf-section of the second one with the blue, and then added the coordinating brown as the ribbing on both of them. I had JUST the right amount to do the second thumb in blue–so they match, which is a great comfort. It was bugging me that they wouldn’t! And now they REALLY look like my Ingenue.

All in all, a great pattern, Ruth. I love the embossed leaf,I like the long cuff, and honestly, the fact that it almost completely hides my little finger is just because it’s so much shorter than my other fingers, not the fault of the mitt at all. (The other night, I was so chilly sitting here at the computer, that I put the one, completed one on because it was right next to the computer anyway, and then had trouble typing because my little finger kept “disappearing”! But, really, that’s ME, not the pattern.)

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go start a new pair of socks to stash in my purse. Or maybe knit a swatch out of Silky Wool so that I can test the steek thing before I go any further on my sweater. I’d much rather tear back the last 20 or so rows and then turn the whole thing into a cardigan than risk the entire thing unravelling on me when I cut it! I mean, it’s not superwash wool like Kristy’s, but it’s got silk in it, so … better safe than sorry, right? Although, there’s always the machine-stitching option–and, well, again, better than having the whole thing unravel… (Although, according to this thread on Ravelry, it seems like it should be okay.)

And, Karen and Kathy? It was great meeting you!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Unexpected Knitting Adventure // 9 Comments »

Well, here she is. Ingenue. Completely, totally DONE. As in, not only finished (which she was several days ago), but now finally dry, too.

Although, in retrospect, the neckline might not be the best choice for me and my short neck, and it’s probably going to tangle my hair … but, that’s okay! I’m thrilled, anyway. And also very glad I added those three extra ridges at the bottom, or this really would be too short. This is a refreshing change from most other recent sweaters made from patterns, where my row gauge ended up being way too loose and the sweaters turned out much longer than they should have been.

And look what else I have today! Finally. I’ve only read the first few essays, but am charmed.

And, folks, if you hadn’t realized this yet, I need to tell you that Chappy is silly. Three times in the last few days, he’s gone into the office down the hall and started barking at my Secretary desk. We’re not sure why. The desk is beautiful and belonged to my grandmother. I’ve almost never used it as a desk, more for general storage, and the hutch on the top is where I keep little knick-knacks that I have nowhere else to put. Well, we don’t know if Chappy’s barking at the picture of Katy, or the little stuffed “Little Brother” from Disney’s Mulan, or what, but he stares up at the hutch and barks. I mean, I know it’s dusty, but does he have to be so vocal about it?

(Although, come to think of it, that could be the explanation right there. My grandmother in heaven is appalled at the dust on HER desk and is spectrally trying to clean it, making Chappy come in to either bark at her (since he never met her), or bark FOR her, as in trying to draw attention. Hmm. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt me to get out the Windex and Pledge, huh?)

So, today was my first day back to work after a four-day weekend, and all I can say is it’s lucky I didn’t take that time off to try to relax. Because within an hour of being back at my desk, I was stressed. Our (currently) most demanding client not only was being demanding and impatient over something we’ve been trying to get her to finish for weeks, but which she left until the day AFTER it was supposed to be complete and then dropped a whole slew of changes on us … not only was she being demanding and nasty about it, but she had the gall to complain that I wasn’t there on Friday. “What do you mean there’s no backup?” If she had gotten her changes to us by the time they were due on Wednesday, that wouldn’t have been a problem now, would it? And, sheesh, we’re a small company, and getting anything from her is like pulling teeth, but anytime she asks for something, she needs it immediately, and it had better be perfect–but she’ll complain for an hour about doing something we require that would have taken five minutes…

Ahem. Let’s just say that my day was stressful. If I HAD been all nice and relaxed from a weekend with my feet up (which it wasn’t), it would all have been wasted by 8:45 this morning. As it is, the four-day weekend went by in a blur, I was so busy. It barely feels like I had a weekend at all, much less an extra-long one!

Ah well, what can you do? At least I have Stephanie’s new book to help lift my spirits!

Oh, and that new sweater.

Okay–got to go and get my September reading list post ready to go for tomorrow morning!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Ready for her Close-Up 2 // 7 Comments »

Well, Ingenue is ready for her close-up!

Because she is totally finished. Ends woven in. Neckband seam sewn. And blocked and drying as we speak.

Which, okay, means she’s not actually ready to be WORN just yet, but the hold-up is more a matter of laundry than knitting. I did everything I could. The rest is just a matter of water evaporation and I have no control over that. I did spin the excess water out in the dryer, though, so it should be a speedier process than when I hand-wash in the sink. (A towel can only absorb so much, you know?)

Anyway, you should be proud of me. I went through my entire pile of items waiting for those final little details, and it took remarkably little time. Weaving in the final end of three socks and a pair of wrist warmers, for example, took about 8.3 minutes. I also tossed my Flutter-Sleeve Cardigan in the dryer this morning (final result, if any, still undetermined). The only thing left to really figure out is what to do with Autumn Rose.

There was one, tragic ending, though. My beloved Susan Bates darning needle that I’ve had for about 20 years wove in its last end. While giving a pull on the seaming yarn for Ingenue’s neckband, there was a “pop!” and … this. The eye of the needle is no longer an eye.

This isn’t world-ending, of course, but seriously. I’ve had this needle since I started to knit–about 1987. I’ve tried Chibis and other metal needles but have never been satisfied. The eyes are too big, the needle too stiff. I’ve even tried to find replacement plastic needles as backup for just this sort of occurence, but haven’t been able to find one. Again, the eyes are always too big. This one was perfect–big enough to thread easily, but small enough to weave in and out without snagging at the knitting. (You can actually get a pretty fair idea of the size of the eye from the picture on this post from last year.)

(Sniffle.) I guess I’m stuck with Chibis now, huh? How ironic. My veteran needle shuffles permanently off-stage just as Ingenue makes her debut. … like 42nd Street without all the tap-dancing and catchy tunes.

I’ve gotten some spinning done. This is the 4 oz of “Floral Camisole” I started the other day. I’ve got the first bobbin done, and am about halfway through the second bobbin. This is exceptionally speedy for me, I know, but the sooner I get this done, the sooner I can start on my MVFF cormo, so, why dawdle?

Otherwise? Today? It’s felt like Sunday, and the fact that I spent most of the morning in the kitchen, baking, didn’t help–since that’s something I usually only do on Sundays. I baked the cake for tomorrow, and then I made one of those two-layer oatmeal cookie/brownie things I’ve made before.  And, yes, just as yummy as it was the first time. We’re all looking forward to seeing the family tomorrow!

Anybody else sad to hear about Paul Newman?

And, incidentally, did you know that today is the Worldwide Day of Play?? I didn’t, either, until I read about it at Liz Strauss‘s.

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Ready for her Close-Up // 9 Comments »

  Okay, who guessed hood?

I’m really very happy with the way this came out.

Let’s recap:

The outside, you’ll remember, is one skein of the MV Fiber Farm yarn I bought in April. 70% kid mohair/30% cormo in the color Saffron. So, so soft, and such a gorgeous color.

I started knitting this in June, and finished the outside just a couple days after Chappy’s birthday. I used a “light” cable stitch and, in fact, used the exact same stitch on the socks I made for Susan, it just seemed appropriate, somehow.

Then, using some of the Sublime Yarn I’ve had in my stash for ages, I started the lining. (I bought it in July 2007 and, except for the yarn for my Autumn Rose, the STR at Rhinebeck, and those couple skeins at the MV Fiber Festival, it was more or less the last yarn I bought.) Anyway, it IS sublime: 75% extra fine merino, 20% silk, 5% cashmere, and just heavenly soft. About its only flaw is that it splits fairly easily, but it’s so gorgeous, it’s worth it.

I picked up stitches along one of the long edges and then knit the lining in a nice, textured stitch. I forget what it’s called or which stitch dictionary I got it from, but it’s like a double moss stitch. You knit into the front and back of the first stitch, purl into the front and back of the next stitch, and alternate all along your row. Then when you turn the work, you knit-2-together, purl-2-together all the way back. This gives this really lush, textured, thick fabric.

The idea was for this to resemble shearling–with the smooth outside and the fluffy inside. I did this for a couple of reasons. One, since the MV Fiber Farm yarn has so much mohair, I wanted to cut down on the amount of friction to avoid pills for as long as possible.

Two, the one other time I tried knitting a hood, it looked fine but it did nothing to keep my head warm when the wind blew–the wind would go straight through all the little gaps between stitches. I wanted this one to have a fair shot at keeping my head warm, so it’s got the outer layer with mohair, the inner layer with extra-thick moss stitch, and seems like it should have a fair chance.

The only thing left to do is to add something to the neck to keep it on. (Because, you know, one of the advantages of a hood is you can slide it off your head and not have to CARRY it–something you can’t do with a hat!)

I’m thinking either something along the lines of a frog knit out of matching yarn, or maybe some I-cord with a couple tassels at the bottom. I had also knit eyelets along all four borders, in case I decided I wanted a drawstring, and am thinking that  I could run a ribbon down the back of the hood for decoration. I had thought about lacing it together in the back, but decided I wanted something more secure and wind-tight, and sewed the back seam instead. But the eyelets are there if I want them!

I said yesterday that it hadn’t come out quite the way I wanted? So, what, you’re wondering, is the problem? Well, my gauge issues being what they are, I ended up with vastly different-sized rectangles for the outside and the lining, but since they were already joined at the one edge, there was nothing I could do. I had planned on the lining being longer, so that I could fold it over at the front edge, but I didn’t expect it to be so much wider, and for a little while, I was afraid I had ruined the project with my poor gauge skills.

But, it turns out, the extra white hanging down past the front corner actually looks pretty nice, and it will give me some place to attach the closure (whatever it turns out to be), so … even though I didn’t plan that, it worked. The problem is that I don’t see how I could write up the pattern and sell it without re-thinking all the math to either fix it or take the happy-circumstance into account so that it can be duplicated with people whose gauge does NOT change in the middle of a project.

Anyway, I’m really happy with the way it came out, and it feels so nice on my head–warm and cozy, with some real weight and substance to it.

Just what you need on an August night.

So far as weekend plans go, I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow. You can see how badly it needs a trim. My last one was March 29th, and this cut has done really, really well, growing out. Now, it’s not looking its best in this picture. I had it in a french braid all day today (because I figured I won’t be able to do a “decent” length braid after tomorrow’s cut, so I should take advantage while I could). And then I wore the hood for the photos–though hopefully it will be ‘curl-friendly’ come winter–so my hair looks a little less curly and a little flatter than usual. But, still. It’s definitely getting long. No complaints about the hair cut, though–even though it’s been almost five months, it still looks good–not all over-grown and “poufy,” so, no complaints. But, really, see how long it is? Especially around my face? It definitely needs some more shape!

And, one more question: My review of Wendy’s book went over so well the other day, I was thinking I’d make it a regular thing. But let me ask you–when you read a review of a knitting book, what specific details are you looking for in the review?

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Hoodwinked! // 6 Comments »

Well, it’s done … What do you think it is?

Now, I haven’t shown it before because I was hoping to maybe sell the pattern, but there were a couple glitches, so it’s not a perfect pattern. (Yet?)

That said, I am really, really pleased with the way it came out, so who cares about glitches? It’s really just what I hoped it would be. It just needs one final touch.

The big question? What do you think it is?

(I, of course, already know.)

Oh, and the Bias Eyelet Stole? It’s hit a second snag. While knitting earlier, somehow the yarn got too tightly wound and it broke on the stitch I was trying to knit into. Which means, of course, that the whole thing is in danger of unravelling. This is two problems so far, and I’m leery about a third! But, we’ll see.

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Well, it LOOKS finished // 7 Comments »