A SMALL AMOUNT OF KNITTING
Actually, it seems like I've knit quite a bit lately but a fair amount of frogging has been going on too.
The Green Sweater. I made this up a few years ago - The Somewhat Cowl by Wendy Bernard. I loved it but when I washed the yarn it blossomed and became a shapeless mess. My knit night group is going through a wave of Clapotis-itis and I think this gorgeous Sundara yarn (DK Silky Merino discontinued and she warned me it would blossom a bit. Just goes to show you: Do a decent sized swatch and wash/block it!) will be perfect. After I get a handle on some of my UFO's I may start one up. So, I've been ribbiting away. I'm actually a bit impressed at how well I knit this thing. I like the SWC pattern a lot and will likely reknit it at some point. It's top down, easy to fit, and quite flattering.
I frogged the cable section of my knotty glove and have since reknit it. There were too many little things that bothered me. Still approaching the Feared Finger Bits while listening to Twilight.
I finished the baby hat and completely forgot to take another photo of it before I mailed it off. I've been experimenting with companion socks. This one had a short row wrapped heel that just didn't work for me. I ended up with huge holes along the side. I went back and tidied up with extra yarn but I'm still not happy with it. Must get someone to show me how the short row wrap thing is really supposed to work out.
EYE CANDY FRIDAY
Ollie then Opie. Opie loves all things wool. Ollie loves the hammock - which is rapidly becoming unraveled. Living outside does that to cotton types of things. At least I assume it's cotton or rope of some sort. One of these days he's going to toss his 17 lb body up into it and fall through. I hope I'm there with a camera.
Fall crocus.
Zinnias. No, no, picotee cosmos. Thank you Luci!
A birdhouse in the process of being absorbed.
Green things with a morning glory. I've posted similar pictures in the past but I still like it. Other than knitting and frogging I've been working in the garden getting ready for winter. With the price of food I'm putting more effort into growing the things that I can.
DOWN AND UPOR
JUST
DOWN
DOWN
DOWN
Such fun times lately with money evaporating before our very eyes and the people responsible cashing in and leaving the rest of us to struggle along. Personally, I lean towards throwing them in jail...except they really didn't break the law. Still, immoral is immoral whether there is a law against what was done or not. Shame on them.
Back to knitting.
I've been struggling along with my vest to the point that I couldn't stand it any more and segued away to something else. Actually, a couple of things. I've up to the finger part of my
Knotty Gloves knit in Koigu Kersti in the lyrically named dye code "K827". I just love this yarn and I LOVE the pattern. I'm going to get a lot of wear out of these this winter. I admit that I'm having a bit of "doing the finger bits" anxiety having never done such a thing before. Toss in that I have a totally different gauge from the pattern and will have to figure out a lot of it myself and I may go into a complete panic attack.
If the pattern says 6 and I'm getting...um, let's see...so that makes it 2/3 of gauge so I should try subtracting 3, no, that doesn't really work. Okay, let's try 2...
I was reminded (very graciously) that I had offered to make a baby hat so I did. To make it more interesting, and needing the practice, I threw in a little color work. I thought it turned out fairly nicely. Some of the stranding is a little long and there was a teensy amount of scrunching up that was resolved with some gentle tugging. I experimented with two different pompoms and came to what I already knew. I don't really like pompoms on me or anything else. Babies included. No real pattern, just gauge, baby head measurements, and Barbara Zimmerman. Yarn was from existing stash. Some lovely baby yarn that I haven't a clue to what it is other than "wool" and some RY Cashsoft.
The only other real excitement has been that a mountain lion was seen over by one of my favorite places to walk Omar. I know they, and other wild animals are around. I'd just rather not meeting them Up Close and Personal. Besides, Omar can outrun me. So, a few days of walking in "safer" places then back we go.
Now, on to the finger bits and (deep breath) the vest.
We had an oak tree (actually a group of three trunks) die earlier this spring. It was in a tricky spot so we brought in a professional to remove it. Even as the last trunk was being pulled over (it leaned towards the garage - see the rope?) the hummingbirds were flying around trying to figure out what was happening. It's the spot they nest and rest in while flying back and forth to the feeder outside our bedroom window. It seems so strange to wake up and not see the tree. The tree people thought it was death due to beetles. Not a good thing at all. On the bright side we have LOTS of firewood for the next couple of years. We've gone from very hot to rather chilly in literally a couple of days. Very weird.
EYE CANDY FRIDAY
At this time of year bits and pieces of the garden are pretty but for the most part things are winding down. I've been having mental conversations with myself about getting outside and getting things cleaned up. Soon. Really. Soon.
Banana tree in the early morning sunshine.
It's always such a delight when the pineapple sage comes into bloom perking up the Fall garden.
Lavender.
A pink rose after its bath.
Pelargonium. Such a lovely shade of red/purple.
CELTIC FESTIVAL 2008
The 14th annual Sebastopol Celtic Festival happen a short time ago. I went a day early to spend time with Marion (far left). We were sad to find that the local yarn store had closed. We checked the phone book and found that the nearest one was down the freeway in Petaluma. Braving Friday afternoon commuter traffic we headed down to Knitterly where we nearly fell on the floor in stunned delight.
Their business card reads, "Fine yarns - Finest Service" and WOW did that ever prove to be true. The owner spent ages with us helping us select yarn and discussing the pros and cons. Would this work with that pattern? It was a delight to shop there. Alas, they are not yet on-line but I was assured that it was in the works.
Having yet to master my new Fujifilm camera my photos are pretty hit and miss. I bought some Koigu Kersti to make a scarf with matching fingered gloves to go with my (soon to be made) red wool coat. I also bought some Classic Elite Waterlily in Goldenrod which I am attempting to make Stone Walls from Folk Vests. More on
that later in the post.
Oh, behind me, and in front of Marion, is another couple of walls and tables of yarn plus more over to the side. What a selection!
I bought my Mason-Dixon book a week or so earlier and have been spending time sighing over patterns. Linen table runners! Why do I not know lots of adorable little girls to knit for? I want to make the Kid Silk Haze cardigan. NOW!!!
I also bought one lone ball of roving. No, not for spinning but to wrap around Omar's feet before I slip them into his winter booties. Got to keep those toes warm when playing in the snow.
The festival was somewhat off it's mark this year. At least for me. Smaller venue, fewer vendors, and the group I really wanted to see, Vassen, wasn't playing until late on Sunday long after I had headed back home. Nothing was off the mark with being with my friends though and we had a wonderful time visiting, eating too much, and laughing late into the night. My bags were greatly appreciated and admired and somehow I didn't think to take a photo of them all stuffed with goodies.
The Towel Man was there. I recently had a conversation with several friends about TTM. Seems he goes to A LOT of festivals and dances away in the corner.
One of the more interesting young bands was
Culann's Hounds. The female performer, Renee de la Prade, reminded me of a young Janis Joplin (yeah, I'm
that old).
THE VEST
Man, I can hardly tell you what a pain in the patooie this thing has been. First off, it's a gorgeous vest. I love the book BUT... The first edition had lots of errors. Guess who owns the first edition. After tearing my hair out one of my knit night buddies, Luci, looked on-line and found the errata. Glad someone has brains. That said I still had problems. I strongly suspect that not all the errors have been documented. I've reknit the ribbing at least three times. (Wrong needle size, one of the errta was how many stitches to cast on.) I can no longer remember. Failing around on the floor foaming at the mouth affects my memory for some reason. Then I could not get the side section to work. Cable pattern was dead on. Gail, also of KN rode to my rescue. So around and around I went until I managed to skip something important and things no long aligned quite right. I kept knitting. Today I frogged about half of the 5 or so inches and am now figuring out if I'm on row 14 or 15 of the chart. Thankfully, I love the yarn, the sizing seems to be working (maybe a little generous but better than too small). Stay tuned. I might have to go have a rest cure at this rate or start drinking heavily.
EYE CANDY FRIDAY
Getting the software to load and work properly with my new camera has taken some time. Many thanks to my patient hubby for figuring out and fixing it. Now to get this focus this to work.
An orchid, which was a gift from my friends Liz and Patti, has re-bloomed. I don't seem to have anything else for some reason.
Fall crocus.
A birdhouse in the process of being absorbed.
