japanese vines

japanese vines

Originally uploaded by ainhpetS.

Here is my progress on the Japanese Vines scarf as of June 23rd. I figure this is a long-term project. I’m knitting it in the Cherry Tree Hill I got the 2008 Loopy Ewe Sock Club.

accomplishments

Too often I don’t give myself enough credit. Or any. I focus on what I haven’t done rather than what I have. I’m not as cynical as I was as a teenager, but…

And there it is. The little but that I really need to get rid of.

So here is my accomplishment of the (week/month/whatever).

Knitting: Sent off Earth Day Swap Package. I sent it internationally if that’s a hint to my partner.

Knitting: Knit 5″ of Juno Regina. (Since this is the accomplishment of the moment, I will NOT talk now about how I haven’t given you the photograph yet).

Happy New Year!

I got all the way down to the ankle of the second Bells and Whistles sock, but I don’t think I’ll finish it in time for the Socks In the Cities Knit Along as I’m throwing a party.  It will have to wait until 2008. Good thing that it will still qualify for Sock Knitter’s Anonymous (r).

r=ravelry link

the makeover

@#$! early bed times

I am working very far away from home. Far enough that I have a home away from home, which currently does not have internet access. I got far enough on the Swallowtail Shawl today that I am binding off. It’s a an i-cord bind off as near as I can tell. Unfortunately, there are 323 stitches to bind off and because it’s an i-cord bind off it’s like binding off 642 of them or so.

I went home tonight so I could go out to dinner with a friend of mine (and my husband’s), so it’s an hour and a half commute to work in the morning. So it’s 10:30 and it’s bed time. Just as well as I haven’t got time to block it now. I suppose I can take it to knitting group tomorrow night, where I will be a brand new member. Then I can magically bind it off. So, expect to see a picture of one blocked Swallowtail this Sunday.

Since I’m here, I’ll also mention that I got more miters from Karrie (Girl on the Rocks) and that I do have some photos in the camera of the other miters. There will be internet access in the room I’m renting very soon I’m told. So until then, hold tight. Thanks for the pins Karrie! And the miters are gorgeous. They are going to look fantastic with the others.

I don’t have enough miters, so I’m thinking I will extend the deadline to December 1. Remember we like green cascade 220. They don’t have to be green, but some green is definitely appreciated.

And Sock Wars starts very soon. If you knit in the Salem, Oregon area and want details about the knitting group that is meeting this Sunday afternoon, please leave me a note.

off to see terry pratchett

I will intersperse yarny goodness with a blather about my personal life in an effort to shed some light on why I may not have my own second sock done for Second Sock September. I’m almost done with the first of three border stitch patterns for my Swallowtail Shawl. This is such an exciting thing that I can’t bear to work on the socks. I’d post a picture, but do you really need another picture of lump lace?

Tonight I’m going to go introduce the Ankh Morpork knitter’s guild to Terry Pratchett, because he’s going to be in Beaverton at Powell’s hawking his new book, Making Money. I was just saying to Josh that I’d love another book about Moist van Lipwig. And then I turned around and there it was. Not literally.  I can’t work on the shawl during the book talk, but maybe I can quietly work on the socks. Incidentally, Beaverton is the home of the Farmhouse Knit Shop. I don’t think there’s time to go and there’s good no reason to go, having just invested in BMFA products on Saturday, but I want there to be.

Today was run around day. I went and picked up some amount of supplies for my husband’s birthday party, which is happening this Friday. I’m going to make Spanakopita, Baba Ganoush, Hummus, Tabouli, Samosa and some kind of chili/cheese dip. Do you think it’s wrong to use old chili for a party dip? I got some of the spinach at the farmer’s market along with some garlic. Yummy. I’m going to have to mix it up with some stuff from the grocery store though. I knew 1 1/2 lbs wouldn’t be enough. I’m gonna need another whole pound! (Probably more. There’s less after you’ve removed the stems, which I think I’ll do.)

I may have an apartment. I realized last night that I really don’t want to move out even for only a year. However, this morning I remembered that I really really need a place to stay some nights and I don’ t have to sleep at my second apartment if I don’t want to.

This weekend I’m going to go and get some furniture for my new place. Lamps mainly. And maybe a curtain. Nothing like a temporary apartment when it’s so spartan it doesn’t feel like home. I’ve got a $50.00 gift certificate to Pier One. I don’t want to use it. I’d rather go to IKEA. Does anyone want to buy it for $42.00? (That includes insured shipping.) Josh agreed that I can have the sales price for my yarn stash. I plan to invest all the proceeds into a cheap online source for Claudia, Louet and Cherry Tree Hill through google’s ads no less. It’s called The Sheep’s Tale. Has anyone bought from them? By invest, I mean buy yarn of course!

There are no subliminal (buy yarn, eat food, read books) messages in this post. None. Really.

healthcare 2, automotive 2 (addi Lace needles in review)

I had a lot of errands to do this morning. The first one was the doctor’s office, where I had to have an appointment so they could order a bunch of fun blood tests. Some of this stuff drives me crazy – where you need an actual appointment so that they can send you elsewhere on another day. Anyway, in the office, I knit two rows on my Swallowtail Shawl.

Then I did some failed errands (I attempted to buy blocking pins) and managed to end up in Silverton at their knitting shop. I caved and bought some Size 6 Addi Lace needles. And then I had to try them out. So I knit three or four rows there. I’m going to have to get the pins at the hardware store or maybe at OFF. They will be cheaper at the hardware store.

Then I decided to find out why the car has been rattling, so I took the car to the exhaust guys and they had a look. They decided to remove an after-market part and the car seems to be quieter. Cost to me? Nothing. Score one for the car guys While there I knit another two rows or so. The funny thing is that of all my errands, the car one was the shortest. I’m thinking it’s the new Addi Lace needles. They really are faster.

There is no way that I’ll be done in time for OFF. In meantime, I’m in denial and knitting as fast as I can knit lace, which on these needles, is pd fast. I’ve finished the 10th repeat on the Budding Lace 2 chart and am working had to get to the next set of charts. I suspect I’ll be slowed down significantly by those. If anyone has any advice on blocking sea cell, let me know please. I hear I need less soaking time.

yarn change

I ripped out the beginnings of my Swallowtail Shawl and replaced the Cherry Tree Hill with the Sea Silk. I love the Cherry Tree Hill, but it was knitting up way too small. After doing half the repeats, it’s starting to get a bit unwieldly. Do you think I can finish it in time to have it blocked and cry for the Oregon Fiber Festival?

Have I mentioned that this is my first fiber festival? I’ve been to the Scottish festival in Vermont and that includes some fiber related activities (sheepdog trials for example), but never one wholly dedicated to fiber. And this after living a few hours from Estes, Colorado. Although, Estes looked like it might be a crowded that weekend. The last time I didn’t go because I’d been to a wedding in Boulder the day before and hadn’t felt like driving over 2 hours north 2 days in a row.

I want to take a class, but I can’t justify it unless the apartment I end up with turns out to be less than $500 a month.

when in doubt knit lace

I have a large number of projects going on right now. I just finished a pair of monkey socks a week ago and supposedly I’m knitting miters and a hat for my pal Liz. Neither of these projects is “hard” enough, so I’ve been playing around with my stash looking for something else to do.

I’ve knit lacy patterns before, but the lightest yarn I’ve used is fingering weight. So, I thought I’d try out the Cherry Tree Hill Suri Lace that I bought on sale last spring. I’m pretty sure it was over half off. I’m not entirely trusting of the whole lace blocking process. I tried an early half-hearted attempt at blocking and I wasn’t too excited about how it worked out. I tried the soak and block method (I didn’t soak it for more than a minute or two though) and all it did was fade and fuzz up. So, when I do it I’ll probably block it and then spritz it.

Anyone have any advice?

backyard leaves scarf

Here is the first completed Pomatomus sock. I will get to the second sock soon, but I needed a break to work on something a little less challenging.

 

 

The Backyard Leaves pattern isn’t exactly simple, but since I had finished the first piece already (the scarf is knit in two equal length pieces so that your leaves are the same when wearing your scarf) I knew I could manage the pattern. This is definitely one of those cases, where blocking seriously improves the overall look of the finished project. It also significantly increased the length. I probably should have blocked the first piece – I would have shortened the second piece somewhat. However, it will look terrific doubled up and will keep my neck warm in Minnesota. Or my sister’s neck if she wants the scarf.

Backyard Leaves was completed 6/2/2006 on U.S. size 8 Needles (5.0MM) and rendered in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in “Pea Green.” I think it took between 13 and 23 hours. I started it a long long time ago, but finished the second half of it this week in about 8 hours.

As a a reward, I got myself more sock yarn. Am I a glutton for punishment or what? Maybe just a glutton. This is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Green Mtn. Madness. Apparently I got 470 yards for $22.05 (US) and I have little feet. Not bad. It’s 100% Merino.

more on pomatomus socks and other things

Oh my god was I sick. I started to feel a little better Monday night so I went out and got a little sushi with friends, but that just made everything worse. This is because I had stomach flu… I finally broke down and went to the doctor on Tuesday and he put me on a liquid diet for 48 hours. And then I could have soft foods (think tonsilitis foods, but no dairy). I had real food for the first time for dinner last night and I overdid it a little, so I think tomorrow I will take it pretty easy. At least I won’t overeat again. My stomach seems to have shrunk a lot. I lost at least six pounds, but I wouldn’t recommend this diet. It’s far too painful. And it will probably all come back by the end of the week.

Of course, I tried to knit during this time and proceeded to screw up the gusset of the sock over and over and over again. I think maybe the sick part was screwing with my concentration, but it was hard to resist getting knitting done. Anyway, I’ve fixed all my errors and have safely made it into the foot. There are some funky things you have to do to keep the lace pattern rectangular over the top of the foot, but at least I haven’t left them out this time.

I finally understand why row 1 of pattern B has a stitch that you don’t use the first time you knit pattern B. This is because pattern B results in an increase of one stitch.

I did one job application, so I was able purchase a skein for my stash! I got a skein of Cascade Pastaza and I plan to make the PDA holder in Alterknits. Unfortunately, my local yarn shop is really nice and they wind a lot of the yarn for you. So the photo is not of a skein and doesn’t show the color as well.

Today, I got an advance on my next application. It’s a skein of Noro Kureyon, but it’s not for anything exciting. I lost a mitten from a pair I made and so I’ll make a new one. Still I have a lot of things to finish in order to fulfill my promise of getting four of my incomplete projects done.

I also got some more yarn packed into boxes and selected a few things to go to Goodwill. I’m not sure if they’ll take yarn without the label, but it’s worth a try. I tried to throw it out, I really did.