Favorite Projects

These chilly spring temperatures are allowing me a few more days to wear my cabled poncho.

This was one of my first projects after reviving my knitting skills that had hibernated for 25+ years. And it's still one of my favorite pieces. It's still the "if-the-house-was-burning-and-all-living-creatures-were-out-what-would-I-grab" piece. Made from Lopi Lite in my favorite shade of green, it always makes me smile.


The cabled panel was not difficult and I enjoyed my first venture into that aspect of texturing. The ribbed panel was long and laborious and caused me to set aside the project for several months. Pull your hair out boredom. That was before I started enjoying the process.

This past weekend left very little knitting time. Any free moments I found in the afternoon were spent napping as both Saturday and Sunday required early morning wake ups. But I did manage to finish the OLD lace scarf that was sitting around on needles for several years.

I really like this scarf, because it's Mission Falls cotton which means light weight and super soft. I cannot even tell you where I found the pattern. The 6 rows of instruction had been quickly scrawled onto an index card and that is it. No name, no designer, no reference as to gauge, no suggested length. Just a lace pattern to do with as I deemed fit.

One quick non-knitting story.
Yesterday when I got to church and settled in beside some of my favorite people, a woman came up to me and said, "You're Charlotte's mom!" (I tell you that dog has more friends that I have!) It turns out that the woman is the wife of a man we visit at the local adult day stay on Fridays. I met her on a couple of occasions, but was unaware that we went to the same church. She is very sweet, but so burdened with watching her husband's decline from dementia and parkinson's. He is a gentle, kind man who likes to give Char a scratch behind the ears. I am humbled when I think of their daily struggles.

Here's to a good week of happy knitting!

ADD Knitting

As a knitter I find myself jumping around. Case in point, this:

My FIRST lace project which really turned out NOT to be my first lace project. Since starting this scarf, about 3 years ago, I have completed many, many projects—socks, baby clothes, hats, sweaters, hand warmers, and the list goes on. And I also managed to complete another lace project: the Kitchen Curtain Lace Panel from Knit Picks.

So this little scarf was set aside for other, more exciting projects. Why? I'll admit that it's the new yarn that always gets me. If I have new yarn, the force to start knitting right away with it is usually too much, and I'll drop any WIP to start something new. (Does anybody else feel their mouth watering over new yarn???) I mean I could be sitting in a room with Elizabeth Zimmerman herself, being personally tutored on the seamless yoked sweater. And if an order of yarn came in, I would probably spend the next few minutes coming up with an excuse to put down my needles and leave the room (with new yarn tucked safely in my pocket). I can practically see the look on EZ's face as I fail to pull a fast one on her.

So what's so bad about knitting this lace scarf? Nothing! The yarn is Mission Falls 1824 cotton in a lovely shade called lentel.
It's soft and easy to work up. The 6-row pattern is repeated three times across. There was no sane reason to turn my back on this scarf. This weekend as our eyes met, and I realized just how pretty this was going to be, I found my place in the pattern and pressed on. It feels good, comfortable to be with this dear old friend. The anticipation about what lies ahead for us leaves me a bit giddy as I now turn my back on the mitten and the sweater vest to pledge my true allegiance to the lace scarf. (Can anyone else hear "America the Beautiful" playing quietly in the background?)

This being said, I have sock yarn coming from Knitnpurlgurl. So we'll see where I stand after that arrives! Somedays, being wishy-washy is my only consistency. :-)

No Stitches to Report

It's already Wednesday, and I haven't made one stitch since the weekend. Even though I would categorize myself as a devoted knitter, some weeks my craft takes a back seat. Don't we all have those periods when the "to do list" gets so long or so complicated that our projects get bumped? And quite frankly, some nights when I get home, I'm just too darned pooped to pick up the needles.

I'm waiting for a Knit Picks order to arrive. My tracking through the USPS shows that it arrived in Cincinnati on the 13th, but was "missent" and is still no where in sight. I want to call the post office and say, "Please, don't put it on another incorrect truck. Just tell me where it is and I'll come and get it. It's being shipped to Paul's office which is no more than 2 miles from the main post office. And now 7 days later, we still haven't received it. I wish you could use UPS as a free shipping option with Knit Picks.

As soon as that order arrives, I will be happy to show what new stuff I splurged on. Let's just say there are socks in my future done two at a time the magic loop way. No more clues!

Some knitting, some stuff

Work continues on the Bird in Hand mitten #2. It's looking good and I'm almost to the end of the thumb gusset. Little goals, little victories.

Also on the needles is a button-down sweater vest for my better, nicer half. I'm using Cascade 220 in a rich dark blue. You can't tell from this picture, but the color is really nice. There are tiny bits of green, teal and red. But not enough as to seem heathery or feminine. Hubby likes this kind of vest, and so far it seems to be pretty much a no-brainer. The pattern comes from Knitting the Easy Way, which I found for $5.99 in a local book store. This project is what I work on when I'm visiting with someone or in the car or when my brain is past its prime. The stitch pattern is super easy; knit a row followed by one row of k1p1. So far, so good.


Just a couple of non-knitting items.

First, my boss sent me this little blurb from the newspaper. I'm probably the only knitter who didn't know this tidbit of info. "Help birds build nests by giving them leftover yarn. Cut the yarn into 3-inch strips and put them in a netted bag, similar to the ones garlic or onions come in. Hang the bag in a tree to attract nest makers." I thought this was very clever, and will now start stock piling all those tiny scraps. Think of how beautiful these new birds' nests will be with some shots of Noro Kureyon and other fun striped sock yarns.

Finally, while wandering alone in Hobby Lobby last week, I ran across a fairly large display of bandanas. Char likes to get a bit dressed up when we go places, so I indulged her. Here are just a few that I selected for her.

No more news from this end of the needles.

Back to Knitting

With all that crazy snow management, there was no time or energy left to do even one single stitch. Today is much better for sitting with a project. I have started Mitten #2, and am pleased with the progress. I bought a 47" Addi Turbo Lace needle to use for the magic loop method. I like the magic loop so much better than dpns. It seems less cumbersome, and I feel like it's going faster. Here's where I am so far.


On Friday my tiny, but very important, order from Schoolhouse Press came. I now have patterns for Aspen-Yoke Sweater, EZ's Rib Warmer, Baby Surprise Jacket and a Top-Down Seamless sweater. What a little treasure!

I think the Baby Surprise Jacket will be the first to tackle. How exactly does it go together? I cannot wait to find out.

One Last Snow, Hopefully!

Here are some picks from today. It started snowing here about 9 a.m. yesterday morning and finally stopped today about 3 or 4 p.m. I had shoveled about 3 inches off the driveway yesterday afternoon. And, of course, you couldn't even see that anything had been done by the time Paul and I got out there today. It's lovely, but cabin fever is setting in. We were on a level 3 snow emergency which means "Stay put!" You know it's bad when the malls close!

Char spent an hour in search of one lost tennis ball. It was like she was trying to find her keys. She worked and worked but to no avail.

Finally, she sat in front of me to ask me to help her look. Isn't she just so beautiful?

More Cold Temps - a good thing

Yesterday I finished weaving in the ends on the Fake Isle Hat. I like the finished product and am happy with the few slight changed I made to the pattern. I'm still thinking about adding a little tassle braid at the top. Anyway, it was nice to see the temps dip again so that I could wear it today. Wearing brand new knitted items is ALWAYS so pleasant. Even if it meant yet another day of winter.

I'm still trying to figure out all the formatting and what size pictures should be. But you get the drift of how the hat turned out. So just for the record, the ribbed edge got changed to a rolled stockinette edge. And I don't think you can really tell from these pics, but I added one row of purl right before I started the very top. For my odd-shaped head, I needed just a bit of separation between sides and top.

Not much else to report from this end. I bought a long addi turbo to try the second bird in hand mitten. But am kind of ignoring that right now. For some strange reason, the dpns really annoyed me this time around. That's never happened before and now I'll try the magic loop. That kind of scares me just a bit. Oh well, nothing ventured and all that.

Tonight I got home and listened to David Reidy's latest podcast. I really enjoy listening to his show. He just sounds like such a nice guy, and he always picks great things to share (words and music).

That's it for now.



Big day at work tomorrow. Our corporate spelling bee which is loads of fun, but lots of work. We've been planning since last year.