...and I lost...

Lost at Yarn Chicken. Badly. At 5" or so into the bind-off, I realized I was toast. 

Gutted. But - I went on the Shawl Knitting FB group and asked around. Emailed Expression Fiber Arts, and got a reply from Chandi herself! And checked Ravelry, where a lovely knitter had Stone Tulips stashed and was willing to part with it. 

So. One PayPal click later, it's on its way. And I'll finish it up in about 10 days, when it gets here. 

Whew! Thank the Knitting Gods and Goddesses for generous knitters willing to share. 

So then I figured I'd go buzzing along on the Green Sock. 

Stand still, kids... I think I'm liking the green sock now. As I'm knitting on it and I can see the pattern coming along, I'm thinking I might like it. Will wonders never cease? Opal comes through again with a colorway that grows on you. This photo is a tad off - the orange isn't as "coral" as it looks here. It's actually more pumpkin - overtones of rust. And the green in the wider striped bits is a bit deeper. The first orange + white pattern got a bit lost in the tail end of the ribbing; as you can see, it's a more fun pattern in the whole section down toward the needles. 

I found a great pattern for that mohair that Kid #1 gave me a few years ago. I'm not a mohair fan, but he doesn't know that. So I have some burgundy mohair - one hank. And I'd been wondering what the heck to do with it. I found a very simple scarf, done on larger needles. Yes, mindless, but worth the yarn, if you know what I mean. It's on Ravelry, "Quick & Easy Kidsilk Haze Scarf" -- quite literally cast on about 42 stitches on size 4.5mm needles, and knit. Bind off. It's stretchy and airy and lets the yarn "halo" nicely. 

Now I just have to find that ball of yarn. But in the meantime, I listed out my current WIPs. Something familiar is going on here...

Yeah. 

The top three are "Second Socks." 

I can justify why Bigger on the Inside is in "sock time-out." It's tight. Seriously, the "Bowties are Cool" pattern is as bad as "Jaywalker" in its tightness. Even at a cast-on of 72, it's tight on my biker calves. I love the color. I love the pattern. 

I don't love the tightness. 

Sole to Sole: That got frogged. I think I dropped some stitches, so I frogged the whole thing; for the second sock, as I recall, I was only about 2" in so frogging wasn't a huge issue. 

I set aside Petty Harbour to start on the Close to You Shawl. Nothing wrong with it. I was moving along on the leg - I was at about 5" or so and I figured I'd better get skippy and do that project before I ran out of time. 

You know how it goes: "The baby isn't due till November; I have time." "The birthday is at the end of the year and it's only June. Plenty of time." "Who starts Christmas knitting in May?"

Ummmmmm. Time is moving at light-speed, my friends. This time, I figured I wanted to get that puppy blocked before  I was on the eve of the birthday. Because it would've worked out that way. 

So I figure I have about 5 - 6 days to get the yarn; then I can finish it up. I only need about 5-ish yards, but I bought the whole hank. Next up: Search Ravelry for a project using 390-ish yards of this yarn. I'm not saying that I don't like the colorway, but it's not my favorite, so I have no idea what to do with it. Something will come to me. It usually does. 

I Hate the Fourth...

As you all know by now, I've got 3 wonderful dogs. Two of them are terrified by fireworks. 

When I say "terrified," I don't mean normal skittishness. I mean drooling, whale-eyed, shaking, won't go out to pee terror. This is Quinn in the bathroom on the 4th of July. She's been there since July 2, actually. And she's still there. 

Because people are idiots. Because people insist on blowing off illegal fireworks, and not only the little rat-tat-tat ones, but half-sticks and M-80s. Those are mortars, people. 

Here's a little 4th of July trivia for you: M-80s were used by the military to simulate explosives and artillery fire. So then, they evolved into professional fireworks. 

And then, somehow, the idiots got hold of them. And started shooting them off in backyards nationwide. 

Fireworks are illegal here in Illinois. They've been illegal for a long, long time. The larger gauge ones are so dangerous it's not even funny. 

Aside from blowing off your fingers (or your face), they can damage - permanently - your hearing. The guy across the street was blowing them off on the 4th before the storms hit. Hallelujah for the storms, but still - some idiots were blowing off fireworks DURING a thunderstorm. 

I sat on the floor with my older dog for over an hour trying to keep her calm. I gave both dogs a massage with essential oils. I had diffusers going. I gave them CBD cookies. I had fans on high speed to muffle sound. And still. Quinn wouldn't budge. 

We finally got her out of the bathroom and into her crate - she likes her crate in these circumstances. 

All I can tell you is that you should be safe on the 4th of July. You shouldn't shoot off fireworks unless you're a professional. And above all, remember your neighbors: the pets, the vets, the people who have sensory issues, those who are elderly and those with other chronic conditions. 

Go visit your municipal display. Leave us in peace, please. 

If You Don't Like the Weather...

Blue skies, beautiful clouds

...stick around for 10 minutes. I mean it. Usually, it's a joke, but on Thursday, these were the shots actually 10 minutes apart. I saw the clouds, around lunch time, and I thought, "How pretty!" so I buzzed out the door into the heat + humidity (nope, no walk on Wednesday) and snapped this. I went back to doing what I was doing, and then glanced up... to see Shot #2...Went out and snapped that, and heard thunder somewhere off in the distance. 

Thunderheads

Ten minutes later? Stormageddon... 

It bucketed, sheet-rain, sideways. The cloud-to-ground lightning was pretty impressive. Actually, kind of terrifying. The thunder was very loud. The rain was almost louder. 

If you can see in the last shot, right over the restaurant building? You can actually see the sheets of rain coming down, just like a Hollywood special effect. 

Sheet rain

And it just kept on coming. It lasted for well over an hour. The bad thing was that I heard a number of sirens, too, and saw at least 2 ambulances rushing down the street. I understood later that there was a big traffic issue at one of the major intersections a few miles down. It doesn't surprise me. 

And then, when it calmed down, of course, fireworks. Boomers set off in the neighborhood next to the office. Really. See paragraph above on my opinion.

In Thursday night's class, people were joking about how effective our "Yoga Rain Dance" was over the 4th of July holiday. It was effective, but not enough, apparently. 

Garden Glories...

I was at Menard's today, doing my good deed for the church. I bought play sand (jeeze, the smallest bag must weigh nearly 40 lbs!) for the "butt bins" at the church. I cleaned out one (I forgot the one at the front door). Then I put it the required 15 feet away from the door. And the group that meets at the church promptly put it back near the door. 

This does not make me happy and I'll have to address it. 

But. 

That's not the point of this section. The point was I was in Menard's. And I found something beautiful for the garden. This lovely hummingbird feeder was on sale. 

I also picked up some additional hummingbird food. We try to buy the pre-made but without the red dye. The birds don't need the red dye; it's really not good for them. 

We had a "mason jar" kind of hummingbird feeder and it didn't work out well. Bugs, probably ants, got in the feeder despite the very deep "ant well" we had on it. I think the openings were a bit wide and they managed to crawl in. This has smaller openings. The colored part is glass, so that's very pretty in the sunlight. It's under the maple tree, so it's kind of shaded. 

We haven't seen a lot of hummers lately, so I hope that this colorful feeder attracts them. The brown-eyed Susans are starting to bloom, the coneflowers are going nicely, and the pink thing that I can never remember the name of (see it right below the feeder, there) is coming up just as it does every year. The hanging baskets are a bit straggly. The wild mood swings from rain to scorching are taking their tolls on the baskets. But they're hanging in there (ba-dum)... 

And the milkweed. Wow. I don't think I've got monarch eggs after all. But they're feeding something. And we'll have some beautiful pods. 

I remember as a kid having those spray-painted silver and gold and then spray painting Michelob bottles. We'd glitter up the pods and make them into Christmas decorations. We found swamp milkweed all over the place. We'd also do cat tails. 

I expect that, this Fall, we'll have a load of milkweed. I'll have to snag it before it takes over the flower garden. Maybe I should plant some along the south side of the house. Hubby won't necessarily like it, but it's an option. And otherwise? I'll have milkweed to spare, if anyone wants some! 

Random Picture...

Speaking of garden delights, I have to say that while my basil isn't quite spiffy, and my Rosemary is sparse, the parsley? Wow. It's beautiful. Lush, and green, and fragrant. I've used it quite a bit and it's only gotten prettier. It's the prettiest we've had in a long time. I think it's better in the front garden and not in the herb trug. 

I think we're going to have to freeze some of it and maybe make parsley pesto. 

Parsley is a great herb. Yes, it's strong. But it's packed with Vitamin C, iron, and Vitamin K. It's not only good for you, but it's good for your dog! Chopped up in Fido's food, it helps with not only "doggie breath" but also with inflammation. It's antimicrobial - always a plus. And can fight some issues like arthritis. 

I'm going to try it with Quinn. Not sure if she'll eat it, but I'll give it a whack. It might be worth a try, particularly for her cysts. Not sure if cysts are caused by inflammation, but it can't hurt. 

For humans: bone health, an immune booster, full of antioxidants. Helps combat constipation, gas, indigestion. The only thing to worry about, and that's if you eat -- like that whole pot up there -- is that it can cause problems with high blood pressure and water retention. Which is odd, because it's supposed to help with UTIs and keep things flowing, if you know what I mean. Check this link for WebMD for more information. Just so you know I'm not making this up! 

Five Inches...

Yep. 5 inches. I was soooooooooo excited last night. The "watermelon" (and that's how I shall forever refer to it, because it looks as much like a "watermelon" as I do a super-model) sock was coming along although it's been a rough 10 days or so. And I thought, "wheeeeeeeeee - I'm at 5" so I can start the heel flap."

My Better Angel whispered in my ear, "You'd better look at the notes you made." And it's a good thing I did. Because "watermelon" sock #1 is actually SEVEN inches on the leg. I heaved a sigh, put the sock aside and went to bed. 

Today, I shall knit 2 more inches. 

That's how knitting works sometimes. Those next 2 inches will take forever. Or at least it'll seem like that, until the last quarter inch or so, when it comes down to one or two rows before I can set it up for the flap. 

I sort of have a small case of "start-itis" - but I don't know what I want to start. So I will knit on. 

I'm being tempted by Jean's Knitting because she's been writing about hap shawls. So I purchased one from Ravelry, the Hansel half-sized pattern. Graciously, the designer includes the full-sized pattern as well, so it's in my queue. 

While I'm typing, I think I'll toss my socks in the wash. It's also time for me to update my Ravelry page some...

This Makes Me Smile...

Yep. Bought a Bernie mug. Nope, not taking it to work. 

I think I've probably lost friends on this one, but I do not like Hillary. And I am incredibly dismayed that the AP -- the one "news" source that was supposed to be reputable -- is claiming a Hillary victory. If indeed the remaining ballots are not yet counted in California, and if indeed there remain votes, then count them. And no - you can't count the "super delegates" because -- let's go over this once again, kids -- they don't vote till late July. Calling the game now is premature. It's also bad journalism. If "good journalism" exists anymore; and I'm not sure about that anymore. Anything can happen between now and then. A veteran like Hillary would know better, don't you think?

Or has she bribed her way in? 

Do we need a female president? Yes. It should have happened a long while ago. 

But not her. Not now. 

Perhaps the saying is true: Familiarity breeds contempt. She's been around the scene for a long, long time. We're "familiar" with her. And I don't like her. 

Don't get me wrong. I don't want my politicians hide-bound. I don't want them so mired in their own dogma that they can't see past it. 

But I don't want my head to spin with the flip-flops... She's changed her mind not out of any sense of "this is the right thing to do for the larger good" - but for "this makes me look better in the polls now." 

I want someone, not unlike Bernie, who will stand the establishment on its head. I'd love it if it was a female. But either way - we need change. Now. 

I was talking to my "almost conservative" brother and he said something that I was rather proud of: "Even if Bernie gets this-much (fingers about 1" apart) done, it would be more than what has been done recently and it would be progress." 

Hillary isn't a progressive. She's so establishment that she bleeds the Republican red of her origins. And that scares me. I'm afraid expediency will triumph over progress. But it will be wrapped in "progress" for those who're swayed by the gloss of a "successful female president."

As I told my mom, she'll have to prove she's tough. That typically means EXTENDING wars. Not finishing them. We need them to finish. We've been at war most of our years as a country. 

But we bill ourselves as a peace-loving "christian" nation. Facts speak otherwise. 

And I think she'd likely want to distance herself from Bill, so as not to give him a "third term." So she'll do it her way - and I'm not certain of what that way is. Because it seems to change. A lot. 

Speaking of Policy Change...

There's this. This is 3 months of my seizure/migraine medicine. This is after we have met our deductible. Our "improved" insurance policy says that, because I need the brand name and am unable to take the generic, even though we've met our deductible, I have to pay a premium for the brand name prescription. And I've tried the generic. If you're not aware, there is a difference on a molecular level between generics and brand names. I asked a couple of doctors a while ago, because I noticed that there was an issue, and I thought perhaps I was imagining it. There has to be a slight difference for the sake of a copyright. Sometimes, the person taking the drug responds differently to that one- or two-molecule change. Sometimes, you can't tell - actually, MOST times, you don't know the difference. 

I actually take 2 other prescriptions that are generic, and they work fine. But in the case of a person who DOES react differently, that can be a big deal. This is a medication I take for seizures, and it has the "happy" side effect of helping prevent migraines, too. So yeah, it's a big deal that I was having breakthroughs with the generic and my doctor, who's a neurologist and has - you know - gone to school to know this stuff, actually knows what to prescribe. 

Better than the bean-counters who run the insurance company. 

But this is what's worrisome: if I did not have insurance, this would be over $3,000 every 3 months. Think about that. Think about having to wonder whether or if you can afford your very necessary medication. 

That "rough ten days" I referred to at the beginning of today's entry? Well - it was because our pharmacy let me run out of this prescription. "It's hard to get." No - it's not. You didn't want to order it because it's expensive. 

I can't help that the price rose TWENTY PERCENT from 2015 to 2016. I didn't do that. 

I can't help that this is the only prescription that works for me. 

I can't help that you didn't order it promptly. 

I was FIVE DAYS without this medication. And during that time, I was under a good deal of stress (just imagine...). I made two BIG errors at work. Errors that perhaps would've cost me my job in other circumstances. 

I have good (or so I thought) insurance. I shouldn't HAVE to worry about this. There's been a lot of talk about changing the system and the way Big Pharma works. The way they price drugs without regard to people who actually have to BUY them to treat medical conditions. This is troublesome. 

So if Hillary is in the pockets of Big Pharma like she's in cahoots with Wall Street and the REAL "Welfare Queens," she's not likely to change this scenario. She's going to benefit by their continued donations. She's feathering her own nest. 

I don't care if she's wearing a $12,000 Armani jacket. Notice how nobody says how much money the MEN spend on their suits?? 

What I really DO care about is that she really has no idea of what it really costs to live a "middle class" lifestyle. 

And worse? She doesn't care. 

Look, she's made hers. That's fine. But if you stand at the bully pulpit and you holler about equality and shattering glass ceilings, you have to bring the rest of us up with you. You can't step on us on the way up. And then forget that WE remember that on YOUR way down... 

And So the Garden Grows...

We have radishes. And kale. And lettuce. Those radishes are deceptive. They're beautiful: both the globe and the French (the long ones). They're juicy, they have TASTE, and they're spicy. And then there's the after-burn. WOWZA! You think "wow, radishes that actually have flavor, and not just crunch?" That's the home-grown difference. The round ones have a fresh flavor and the "spark" hits you when you swallow. The long ones are sweet at the root end and get more spicy toward the "greens" end. 

I understand you can actually use the radish greens; I have to research that a little better. There are a number of articles out there, but I do have a problem with a leaf that's describe as "hairy." Ummmmmmm. No. Thanks, but no. 

So I'll wander out to the garden and see what our radish tops look like and go from there. 

Yoga @ The Fields...

Not that I need to teach another class (I'm now teaching 4 classes a week, which isn't much, except for that full-time job thing...), but I couldn't resist the offer of the manager of The Fields, a premier nursery and garden center about 3 blocks from my yoga studio. "Bring your yoga classes out here as often as you want - and I'm not charging you any rent!" 

Heck yeah! The downside is that, of course, it's June and hot... But I took our first class out at 10:15 a.m. and it was fine. This was our practice area. The breeze was there, the grass was cool, and it worked well. Teaching without props was different. I didn't realize how much I relied on blocks! But it was nice to stretch my brain and give my students a unique experience. we have use of the space till the weather gets too cool for outside yoga. A win-win for all of us: my students and I get to practice outdoors (and I make a little $$$) and The Fields gets foot traffic because we have to walk through it to get to the practice space. 

New Theme...

So how do you like the new theme? I'm not jazzed about the way it handles pictures (with the frame around, and it tends to kick paragraphs in an odd way), but I think I like the new theme overall. 

Comments? Input welcome. 

Random Picture...

My watercolors need work. This is the first one I've done in a while that was a real "picture" - though the concept came from my head. I need to work on my perspective and getting it to look like there's depth there. To me, it looks flat. But I haven't picked up watercolors since high school, so I think I can be forgiven for being a little rusty. 

My friend Alice has taken watercolor classes; she's a real honest-to-goodness artist. I'd love to do that. When I have time. Sometime. Maybe. 

The System "Mostly" Works...

With back-to-back-to-back meetings on Friday, I didn't meet with my usual knitting peeps. Instead, I played a rousing game of "let's herd cats" with a diverse group of people who try to share the same mission but appear to now have vastly different views on how to accomplish that mission.

That being said, I was only subbing for the president of this group. Next year, I'm in charge. Thank goodness that this didn't happen while I was president of the other "herd of cats" - the women's group I've belonged to for about 10 - 12 years!! I don't think I could handle it. 

I may have to take up drinking or cussing. 

Essentially, we have a local organization that's faced with a lot of new challenges. Part of it comes from a change at the top of the organization, another part from a bad case of "Founder's Disease," and a final part comes from situations outside of the organization over which we have no control. 

I finally got mad enough to say, "It's this way. Change or die. We can either move forward and grow or we can take the key and toss it in the canal on our way out as we lock the door of this place." Needless to say, I got a sour-faced stink-eye from some of the Founder's Disease folks. 

Tough. In this particular time, moving forward and changing is imperative. Absolutely IMPERATIVE. We just can't sit and "do it the way we've always done it" -- that's the most prominent indicator of a bad case of Founder's Disease. This ailment is always fatal to an organization. Always. Both in the non-profit and for-profit sector. I've seen it happen.

Anyway, after that, I came home, made and drank about 4 cups of tea (not all at once) and just couldn't face anyone because I felt like a wrung-out washcloth. I needed tea, sympathy, my dogs and knitting. Not necessarily in that order. 

So I sat. And worked on this...

Knitting...

Kid #2's afghan is underway!! It was underway a while ago, but I screwed up the lace. (Note to self: STITCH MARKERS!!!) So I had to frog and re-set 249 stitches. Hey, it's an afghan.

Start of the ripple

The pattern is a lovely Ann Norling called Ripple to Knit & Crochet. You can find it at your LYS, or here at Jimmy Bean's - one of my favorite online shops! I'm using Caron's Simply Soft, which I wouldn't normally. But I figure that Kid #2, while he absolutely knows how to care for the nicer yarns, would be ok with the acrylic. The colors are an homage to his university. He picked them and I asked if he wanted great swaths of each or if he wanted tighter stripes. So every 2 pattern repeats, I will switch colors, ending with the grey. Fingers crossed, it'll all work out that way. It's "knit till it's long enough" so it should be fine. And I have scads of this yarn. 

What I like about this is that the pattern gives you size variations from crib size to afghan size. There are 2 styles of each, knit and crochet. The one is soooo similar to what my granny crocheted. One day I'll attempt that, in a baby blanket. 

The other thing is, there's a chart for each one so you can knit with yarn from 4 different gauges (from DK/Sport up to Chunky) and it gives you everything: how much to cast on, how much yardage... And the pattern I'm doing (Style 1 in the knitted version) is really easy to memorize.

Having said that, use stitch markers on the lace bits. Seriously. You don't need a life-line, but when, just say, your crazy-mad, puppy-brained Siberian Husky thinks she's invisible and tries to pull a Ninja move of ever-so-gently removing a grey skein from your bag while you are knitting with that skein, you might get a tad distracted... Stitch markers at least allow you to frog back to the last pattern repeat. 

If I'm not sick of it, I could potentially make a matching pillow. We shall see what's left. 

Yarn & Notebook

If you all recall (and you probably don't - that's ok), on my Ravelry page, I have a jewel-toned afghan that I did in Simply Soft. It's here - see "Baby Afghan" at the bottom. Or just go look for me at Riverknits520 (there's apparently another Riverknits there...) - anyhow, that one was crocheted, and I used the leftovers for some amazing baby hats (also on that project page). 

The yarn is nicely soft, drapes very gently and I just like the way it feels on the needles. I'll go ahead and block this, even though you know acrylic "is what it is" - just so perhaps the points and the y/o sections pop a bit. 

As always, I'm using a project notebook. And an index card, this time. I don't want to have to flip back and forth to check my pattern and row count. And for the life of me - I have 5 katcha-katchas and I can't use them! I keep forgetting where I put them and then when I do use them, I find it cumbersome. A great idea, but obviously not in my knitting wheelhouse. 

Oh - oh!! Handy Knitting Tip!!! I brought this to work today (It's a Saturday. I'm bored.) and I thought I'd forgotten said stitch markers.  Thinking fast, I realized that in our big supply cabinet, we had a small drawer full of rubber bands. Some of them were about the width of a dime, which would work!! Problem solved! And anyway - who can use a dime-width rubber band??? 

So if you have a project you're working on at lunch and you need stitch markers, rubber bands work nicely in a pinch. 

The System...

My system of "a project a day" is working sort of. Since I didn't meet up with the Peeps, I figured I'd just keep plowing away on Kid 2 Afghan. Thursday was technically Afghan day. Friday is Blue Baby Jacket. But I was on a roll. And today is "free choice" so I figured I'd just get a whack of it done, so that at least he sees progress. 

It was supposed to be done for high school graduation. Then he never left home through college. So now, it's "when you buy your house." Which hopefully will be this year or next. He's saving like a mad squirrel and we hope he finds what he wants. 

So while I deviated slightly, it seems to be working in that I can at least get a few hours on each project. And rotating keeps me from getting "Start-itis" and adding to my already-bursting WIP list. 

Random Picture...

Well, this will be a shorter entry, obviously. I was hoping to perhaps get a nice shot of some robins. My assistant came in on Thursday griping about how "at least 8 or 9 robins" decorated his car... So I figured our field next door ought to attract its usual number of the birds. But so far, nothing. And the weather report says that we will get more snow this week. Mother Nature is seriously annoyed with us for screwing with the climate!

Anyway, here's a shot that I particularly like. Mostly because I have a healthy sense of irony.

This was taken on the bus trip my mom and I went on. This one was on my camera, but I actually took one with the Big Camera and I entered it in a contest. Title? 

"Ironic." 

Pictures! We Got Pictures!!

I still have to clean off the 2 memory cards, one of which is full (which is really weird because it's a big honkin' memory card). But here are some pictures.

Baby afghans are done. D.O.N.E.  It'll be a while, I hope, before I have to knit another one. I have one ball each of the yarns left, so I can make hats with the remainder when I give K her sweaters around Christmas -- or more likely, we'll give them to her at Thanksgiving so that she can have them for the kiddies.

Here's the both of them - the afghans, I mean, though the babies are apparently ready any time now:  As you can see, the blankets are very different in texture, but about the same size. I don't know which kid will get which one, but since I made Kid #1's larger blanket in yellow, I'm thinking his little brother will get orange and his little sister will get the yellow one.

I have to say, I tried a new soap: Indigo Wild's ZumBaby soap. And it didn't work out so well. I mean, it got them nice and fresh, but we ended up washing them THREE times, finally using All Free 'N Clear to get some of the soap scum off. I wonder whether it's because the blankets are 75% wool and we did them in cold water? Because we did some silk stuff with the same soap and those came out fine.

Anyway, this is Encore Worsted, 2 strands held together for both, so they're plenty warm.  Here's a closer shot so you can see the patterns. It's not my greatest shot, but I'm short!! The pattern on the orange one is actually a 'pinwheel' and the other is what Encore's 8-Hour Afghan book calls 'Textured.' That one almost looks like a broken rib or a variation on baskeweave. I like both of them. But I would NEVER have been able to do either one in "8 hours."

Now...........FINALLY. I can do something different. So my mom and I are taking a bus trip (God help me) -- I will need knitting. But something mindless. So I am doing the "Before And After Bias Scarf" from Churchmouse Classics. Find it on Ravelry or here. My colorways are Silky Alpaca Lace 2481 and 2446. You can find those here. Nuts. I don't have the beads with me. However, they're a "peacock" color and a "peridot" color. I left them at home.

So, the yarn: It's 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk. This is a gorgeous, GORGEOUS yarn. I'm using Addis to knit it because the birch needles I started with (a) were straights; and (b) had too much "stick" and the yarn wasn't moving nicely. The Addi needles, a circular, are much speedier than I would normally like, but hey - you use what you've got!

The pattern says "...it's so ugly (truly!) before it's blocked and so beautiful after." Well, they're right. Here's the peacock colorway. It's lovely and it's knitting up with a nice yellow-green "swirl" thing happening. But it's really one of those "Is this going to HAPPEN?" kind of projects. You can't really see the bias till you've knitted a ways. And you have to knit 97" of this. NINETY SEVEN INCHES. Make one at the beginning and K2tog at the end...the provisional cast on is because you'll be able to bind off with beads, which I wasn't going to do but after thinking about it, the beads (size 6) will add a little "drape" to this already drapey scarf. 

I am doing 2 of them - the pattern shows the model wearing a variegated one and a solid; my freezer -- oops, OFFICE -- is cold most of the summer, so I thought that I would at least have the option of wearing 2 of them if I wanted to. I thought that starting with the variegated one would keep me happy on the bus. That, and a fully-charged Kindle! So far, I have about 7" done (yay - only 90 to go!) and it is finally starting to "look like something." You can see the bias and while Hubby thought it was socks, it's clearly not. It's somewhat fiddly on the Addi needles, but that's ok. This picture is obviously not a 7" chunk of fabric, but it gives you an idea of the lacy feel of this project.

Now I get to decide what to do with the Five Dog Yarn, and perhaps that will be my next project. Or better, maybe, restarting the washcloth stuff or a cotton tee. I have lots of "passed over" yarn from my friend Doris, who's "cleaning house." She's got great taste. I also bought the "Shawls from Sock Yarns" book (that's so not the title, but I don't have the book handy....). Doris gave me some TOTALLY SCRUMPTIOUS Madelaine Tosh yarn in forest green color tones. That is the perfect weight for one of those shawls. I also have some silk/merino in a pretty lavender which I could use for a cardigan since it's DK weight.

While I truly do enjoy knitting for the family, it's nice to have "me knitting" instead of "obligation knitting" to do.

THREE More Off The List...

The bolero is DONE!! And it FITS!! And I wore it last night. Whew.

So it's Knit One Crochet Too cotton, and I did it in a different colorway than they specified. I'd love to do another one in a solid color, maybe in one of their wools. The pattern is Yin Yang Bolero, and you can find it at your LYS or on Ravelry.

Here's the "pile of color" that was about the mid-way point. The colorways were similar, and I was looking for a "beachy" feel to it. Remarkably (why am I surprised?), this garment is HEAVY. Cotton weighs a ton and I can see why the Blueberry t-shirt I've got on the needles will be interesting to wear - I think I'll have to have a tank or camisole under that one!

The garment knitted up very quickly, even with a couple of additions insofar as adding some additional rows on the bottom to get a tad more length, and adding a few more rows at the shoulder to widen up the arms. The T-construction is quite simple, and once I got the hang of the weaving, the seaming up the sides was quick. A little quirky at the "rounded" part of the armhole, but I can't figure out how to do it any other way. I'm sure there is another way, but I wasn't going to futz with it.

Here's the completed bolero, front and back. I wore it with khakis and a white t-shirt. I have a purple shirt that kind of resembles the "heather" look of the purple on the bolero, but I thought it would pop better with the white. I guess that I could also wear it with black, and of course with a long-sleeved shirt, too.

I need to work on my posture... I like the way the blues and blue-greens blended here. And you know I'm a purple-nut, so it was nice to see the frankly purple areas and the more subdued periwinkle tones. This was pretty straightforward, mindless knitting in a plain stockinette pattern. The yarn did the work, and I just had to pay attention to some increases and decreases, plus areas where you cast on at the end of the row. Doing it again, I'd probably use a cable cast-on, but for this one, I think I did a backward loop.

Here's a shot of the fish button. The vertical buttonhole works marvelously, just have to remember to go "tail first" with the button so it lays right. All I did for that was run two lengths of yarn through the buttonholes separately and knot them in the back.

I'll be uploading a few of these pics to my Ravelry page, and I'm so tickled that I can "cross this off" and move on to some of the other patterns I've been itching to start. Patience, right? My friend Sue is fond of quoting "Patience obtaineth all things." But she's one of those quirky crocheters who only works on one piece at a time, and doesn't have a stash! She calls me a "yarn snob" but that's ok. Her only real fault is that she's a White Sox fan...I can live with that, though. LOL

Oh, and I guess I should mention that BOTH earflap hats are done. No pics; they're on the blocking board, so I have to get that taken care of in the next day or so. For Kid #1, he has I-cords. Kid #2 got braids. Honestly, I do like Kid #1's hat better - the colors are subdued. What I did wrong with them is that I picked up too many stitches around the earflaps for the edging, so they kind of "bow" out a bit, but I don't think it's a huge deal.

So now I'm just working on afghan squares. I need to pull out the headband for Kid #1's girlfriend; that should work up quickly. And the sweater that was originally for me? I'm so scared that it won't even go together that I may shove it in a bag, stick it in the yarn closet and let it marinate till I have more courage to face my obvious screw-up. Sometimes, you just need to let things get space and perspective. Right off the needle, the thing may have ended up in the trash. I spent a good chunk of money on it, so I'm hoping it goes together. But right now, I don't think I could tolerate it if it doesn't work out right. Perhaps a bit of meditation over my most expensive hank of yarn. Some deep breathing. Some prayer and definitely a plea to the Knitting Godesses...

The Finished Mitts

As I promised, here is the finished product. A pair of Liberty Wool "Chevron Lace Mitts" for your enjoyment. FYI, the spelling is correct. A "mitt" is a woman's glove that does not cover the fingers. I looked it up. And again, this is a free pattern. My LYS is doing a program where if you buy a certain yarn (they change up every time), you get a free pattern with it. I have yet to post this on Ravelry, but it'll happen eventually.

Blocking

Here is a shot of the blocking on the right-hand mitt. OK, they're designed for "either hand" but since I have one wonky thumb, the one thumb hole is a little larger than the other. So there... You can see how the colors lay out. What I did wrong was that when I blocked mitt #2, I didn't measure them correctly. And also, per directions, you block after you sew them up. I blocked flat, which wouldn't make a difference had I measured them so that each flat mitt was equal.

I really like this chevron lace. I'm thinking I'm a "lace person" after all. The next shot shows the lace up close. It is quite subtle, and there's a definite "wrong" side to it. As you will see in the closer shot, the "right" side of the lacework shows the texture quite nicely. These would be equally as lovely in a solid color.

Chevron Lace

The other thing I might do if I do these again is that I'd make them a little longer. They hit right at my watch, just up my arm from the base of the wrist. They're very "square" and don't hug the wrist much; so if I made them a little longer, they'd be a tad warmer, I think. It's an easy fix.

I have some lovely alpaca/merino in a soft pink; this would be a nice pattern on which to experiment. What you can do to give your knits a little "shape" is to make a "waist" by knitting those rows on smaller needles. That way, you don't necessarily have to do decreases but it gives it a very subtle shape. I will probably try that with the pink yarn; it'll give it a little "snug" at the wrist. You could also do a plain knit mitt and do yarn overs for a couple of rows to make holes, and then run a ribbon through - that would also snug them up a bit, but I like the idea of the smaller needles so I don't go all girly on the ribbon. I have my standards!

Here is the "topside" view. Remember, now...this is Liberty Wool self patterning. These were knit from the same ball of yarn. Hubby took these shots this morning; I couldn't quite figure out how to take the pictures while wearing the mitts!! See how short they are? But this isn't bad; it's a good length for the summer and the A/C vent that's at the right side of my desk. I really feel it on days like today because it's sunny outside but the HVAC can't decide if it's spring or still a little chilly outside.

You can see the longer thumb hole on the left hand. This is the neat thing; you can kind of adjust where your thumbs are and even if you want the mitt a little shorter or farther up your palms, you do have a little wriggle room.

Bottom side

Here's the backside of the mitts. Notice, again, the color changes. The mitts are actually reversible - you can wear them on either hand. I like that, and I like that the Liberty Wool is superwash; I can dip these in some Woolite and lay them out to dry with maybe a little towel inside to help the drying along.

The stitch definition is really nice on this yarn. I'm not sure I'd do a whole sweater out of it -- maybe the solids, but definitely not the stripes! Or a cardigan, though...that would be nice if you had the striped yarn on the button band and collar? It could work. I just have to add that to my "Knitting Bucket List."

I have bought a pinks-and-greens yarn for my mother-in-law and I will try to finish hers (in size small) for Hubby's visit over Easter. I have no clue what the center of this pinks-and-greens ball holds; as you can see, the purple-to-grey ball went to taupe and red! Luckily, she's easy to please. As soon as I get a chance, I'll take pictures of the work-in-progress and you can see how they're coming along.

In the meantime, knit. It's good for your mind and your soul.

The Hat is DONE!! First project of 2012...

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! The hat is DONE! And in time to meet Sonda for lunch! Hope she likes what I've done since it's her sock yarn.

Here's my version of the Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure of Bohoknits.  I call it the "Not-So- Slouchy-Sock-Hat."

Mind you, Kelly's pattern is lovely. I've seen it done by some of the knitters in our shop, and they've done it exactly to her specs, and it's adorable.

I just like hats that fit closer to my head. So I altered this a bit. It's got a 4" 2x2 rib, and then you do a 9" body before you do the decreases.

I did a 7" body and then did the decreases. It fits closer to my head, and I can adjust the ribbing to pull down nicely over my ears. The size 2 circs and then DPNs were small!! I know - there are knitters out there that think those size needles are "logs." But I don't knit socks (yet) on anything smaller than a size 5. I'm working on it!

Here's a shot of the decreases. It just tickles me. Just the mechanics of doing the decreases, coupled with the self-striping yarn - it just fascinates me that we do that with string and 5 sticks (at that point, you're working on the DPNs).

Frankly, this pattern was much more clearly written than the pattern I used for the (temporarily misplaced) periwinkle alpaca hat. Those decreases were all over the place, and Kelly's pattern lays them out for you so neatly that it's a breeze to do this and make it look spectacular. And really, I had been working steadily at it, but also - it knitted up kind of quickly - for me.

I'm looking forward to wearing this today, since we got our last blow of snow (till Saturday, at least) and I've got a couple places to go.

The yarn is 40% alpaca (see, I still snuck it in there), 40% superwash merino, and 20% nylon. It feels very light, but as many of you know, alpaca is really, really warm without a lot of bulk.

So, next, I warm my hands up (its 17* here...brrrrrrrrrrrrr) and then relax a bit before I pick up the March Baby Blanket. Heck, that's on size 9 needles - THOSE will feel like I'm knitting with logs.

Go visit Kelly's etsy site. She's also bohoknits on Ravelry so if you want to post what you've done with her pattern, or just look at what others have done, I think that'd be great.

I've completed my first project of 2012! That bodes well for the rest of my WIPs and all those things that I'm sure will scramble the project list for the year.

I haven't bothered to figure out how many stitches it is. After all, I don't want to lose my knitting mojo!