Reading While Knitting

Right on schedule

2009-12-20T19:48:00.001-08:00

I am, weirdly.

But first, pictures from that three year old Christmas present.

I think she likes it. If she doesn't want to wear it, it would make a nice table runner:

Close-up of mistake free section.

Friends and acquaintances keep telling me how stressed they are by holiday preparations. I keep waiting for the "oh no oh no oh nos" to hit, but they haven't.

You see, I have a Secret Plan. It involves A List:

If I do everything on that list, in the order listed, I should arrive at Christmas morning serene and with enough sleep. We shall see. Tonight, I finished one Fetching, in Jimmy Bean's 8 ply from stash.

Here it is spokesmodeling one of the uneaten gingerbread houses I got made up and decorated with the kids yesterday. (I delivered them, fully assembled, right on time. A List.)

Now I have to go and quilt one end of a lap quilt before I go to bed. Yawn.

Knitting while Traveling

2009-11-29T17:36:00.000-08:00

A big family Thanksgiving isn't the only way to go, but every few years I like to get together with all of my cousins, or at least as many as will get together at the old farm place, and Thanksgiving is a fine time to do it. So I'm in Tennessee right now.

I brought an early Christmas present to my mom. This was started back in 2006, and put in time out for some mistakes I couldn't fix then. Denise suggested that I neither fix them, nor even find them, but bind the piece off and call it good. After I knit that edging, then pinned it out for blocking, I found the mistakes. . . but it's okay. After three years, my memory sort of softens.

She said she'd put on a nice blouse and model it for me tomorrow.

A stop at Bliss Yarns in Brentwood to meet up with some absolutely lovely Ravelers led to these two skeins of local alpaca coming home with me. I love that the name of the animal is on the label. These come from Teardrop. Teardrop has a nice gray coat.

These are going to become either Brünnhilde or Ceangaltas Mittens from Knitting New Mittens and Gloves. Is it only coincidence that they almost perfectly match the Araucania Nature Wool in this sweater?

Yes, this sweater now has only a start to a sleeve. . . I took the plunge and ripped it out after discovering (through the magic of counting) that I had cast on approximately half the stitches of the entire body for the sleeve. No wonder it got too big. My arm isn't half of the circumference of my waist; it's nearly a third. I hope this one works well. It's going to be my "flight home knitting," but I'm going to switch to a longer cable for easier magic looping.

I also discovered that the lovely orange/yellow raglan cable sweater I made for a little one has a tiny mistake in it -- right in the front. I was gazing at my littlest daughter wearing it and thinking how nice it is to see my kids wearing sweaters I make, and saw a miscounted stitch right on the front of the sweater.

Sigh.

Saddle Up/Feeling Edgy

2009-11-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

Two saddles, done and stitched into place. One sleeve, done. Cuff edge, unstretched, matches the waist measurement, unstretched. My waist and wrists are not the same diameter.

I'm going to have to strike model poses to show off these sleeves. Either that, or rip them back and do a less-extravagant increase. Denise pointed out that they weren't going to be warm in the arm area. Maybe I'll knit a ribbed and cabled set of long fingerless gauntlet/gloves to wear with it. I don't know if sleeves like this will look high-fashion, or silly knitter. She also pointed out the effect of adding a new ball of yarn. Yes, I know. It's darker. Semi-solid yarn does that sort of trick occasionally.

I have an urge to set aside the second sleeve in order to work on a design for the collar. Maybe finishing that will allow a sane decision on the sleeve width. Saner, that is, than swanning around striking model-y poses.

In 2006, I started a lace rectangle for my mom. This year, I bound off the edge and decided to see if I could get it done before a Significant Gift Giving Occasion. Nothing like a three-year hiatus, eh? A simple pointy edge, sewn on because picking up and knitting made a wonky join, and turning a large item to knit back and forth made no sense. It's altered so it's a stockinette design, and it will do. At this point, "done" is a terrific thing.

Many delightful things already this month; many delightful things to come. One child has become so mature, with double digits and all, that she didn't even mind that I dorked her birthday cake pretty badly. I didn't have enough red icing to spell out "Happy Birthday," so I told her I was abbreviating it. She didn't seem to mind.

And today, I decided off the cuff to gather the three youngest and head out to Marine World for the homeschooler's day. Turned out it was probably the right decision. We got to see Sarafina (who had already made plans to go separately) and her friends -- who were cool enough to take an almost-8 year old Tor on big coasters with them, and I discovered that all four of my children have their mother's affinity for roller coasters.

This bodes really well for the future.

Jumping for joy

2009-10-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

Not because anything is done on the knitting front, but just because, well, you know. . .

Halloween is just so exciting. We had dinner at a friend's house (well, some of us did). The older one has her own tribe thing going every year.

Eric worked hard and made a useful pumpkin guillotine. Many evil winter squash were dispatched.

And Sarafina was fierce as Trinity.

The little ones got tired early enough so that I was able to hang out with our neighbors while they played with light sabers. A good night all around!

Making it up as I wait in line

2009-10-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

One reason I try to make up my own sweater ideas is that I can't always find exactly what I have in mind in a pattern. Not that they don't exist out there, but even with the power of Ravelry, I can't always find them, and I'm certainly too impatient to keep hunting until I find The One. Besides, I generally alter patterns in some way anyhow. And this way, I can go, "yarn first, then pattern," and since I buy faster than I knit, well, there you go.

Ha. It sounds as though I know what I'm doing. I don't; it's just that this is the way my person leans. Doing otherwise would be like doing bonsai: possible, but a lot of work.

At any rate, the sweater that's fun to wear but a bear to knit now has one shoulder:

I tried, I really really tried, to make this a seamless saddle-shoulder. I did two or three iterations of picking up the stitches along the fronts and backs, only to find that I had picked up different numbers on each side; that preloading the stitches to be picked up on needles felt like wrestling a catatonic octopus ; that finally what I wanted wasn't a purist "no seams allowed here!" sweater, but one with a saddle I liked.

Bowing to the inevitable, I knit a saddle, seamed it in, then proceeded to do some sort of knit back and forth cap for a few rows, then joined in the round, discovered I had picked up enough stitches for a nice sleeve cap but too many for an arm, and while standing in line to see Mortified in the city with my sister and some friends, figured that I could create a little reverse-gusset by placing markers on each side of some underarm stitches and decreasing them as I went down the sleeve.

And it worked! Easy-peasy lemon squeezy, as they say. Click for a sort of gussety close-up.

So now I'm just chugging along, enjoying myself. That is, until I get either to the end of this sleeve and have to try out my stylish idea and see if it makes me look like a dork, or love it and then just have to knit a. whole. other. sleeve. Not to mention something around the neck, I guess. Also, not to mention that "counting to three" is still a skill I'm struggling with. I just noticed two purl stitches lurking down in some knit ribs. Thank goodness for crochet hooks!

Either way, I want to get it done and out of the way, to make mental room for the gloves I just swatched for. Yessiree Bob, 14 stitches to the inch and I just can't wait.

Finally done

2009-10-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

So, four weeks after the baby, the sweater is done and gifted:

Back:

Lazy Daisy detail:

The yarn, Mission Falls Superwash, seemed splitty and a little fussy to work with. That reminds me -- I had better tell the (understandably sleepy) new mom that it can be washed. I hope it still fits -- it seems quite wee when I look at it. I'll start the Christmas knitting now, after the camping trip this weekend when I intend to make great strides on my gray sweater. Inspired by Denise, I'm contemplating bell sleeves. . .

MIssion Creep

2009-09-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

That baby sweater really is almost done. Good thing, too, because I'm not sure it's going to fit the wee lass who is now already three weeks old. Sheesh. Some day I'm going to need to crank this knitting speed thing up a bit.

So. Did I spend my free afternoon finishing the sweater with adorable embroidered flowers and clever ties? No! I spent it bringing to conclusion my first foray into Japanese sewing books. I tend to try to keep my book acquisitiveness in some kind of control --mostly it just pops out in something like garden seeds -- but these books really got to me. I love sewing, and I'm not great at it, but my kids will sometimes wear what I make, and these just look so -- well, like things I'd love to see my kids in.

The books are all in Japanese, but they're pretty clear if you've done any sewing. My big challenge is recognizing which pattern pieces go with which pattern, as they're all on one paper and you're to trace your own cutting copy. Not reading Japanese means that I did my best. I didn't actually use a pattern for the trim, though! (And I just realized that I omitted the pocket. Must add that. . .)

So here is the little beauty resting on a bed of kale I went on to thin drastically:

And from the back, on the child it's meant for. It's been warm here -- good for the skirt, bad for a baby sweater -- so she'll be able to wear it this week to school.

After a hard day's play, her hair is less sleek than it was when Bridget braided it this morning:

I'm looking forward to doing more sewing soon. I noticed some really yummy flannel and couldn't help thinking of matching Christmas pajamas. Ha! Maybe I should finish some matching Christmas gloves for Sarafina before I get completely nuts.

Sweet Stages

2009-09-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

Spinning and knitting continue apace. I now have a 3x3 rib halter sweater in charcoal. That's what I'd have if I stopped and added straps to the saddle shoulder hate to knit/love to wear sweater. There has to be a name in that somewhere. Baby sweater for neighbor #1 (I've heard tell there is going to be a crop of the baby kind here soon, so I'm planning more) is coming along nicely. Lately, I've put evening knitting aside for paid work, and daytime knitting aside for yard work. Whew! Someday, I'll sit and knit in my yard, and won't that be the bees' knees?

I don't want to embarrass anyone or cause family friction, but right now I'm finding my eldest child easy to enjoy. Thoroughly. A wise friend told me to enjoy it but not assume it will stay. Said child also reminded me that five years ago I thought frequently and longingly of boarding school for her, so there is hope for the younger set at home. She's right.

But she just emerged from her bedroom and said, "Gleaves go over your boots, right?"
I must have looked owlishly at her, because she said, "Leg armor?" hopefully. I said yes, I assumed that over made sense.
"Right," she said, and disappeared back into her room.

Finished things

2009-09-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

I realized that I didn't explain the helmet hair in the last post. We've been riding our bikes and we all have wonky hair after pulling off our super-duper bike helmets. Oh well, small price to pay, I guess. Plus, my hair is often damp so I just do some heavy-duty finger fluffing once I get home.

The latest hat will probably mash hair much more thoroughly than a bike helmet, though. My own 3/2 rib design, quickly put up in Lamb's Pride worsted, in the same color I knit my very first sweater for me in, about 12 years ago. I have got to get this yarn all used up! Maybe I'll knit feltable potholders or something.

I liked the decreases when I was done:

The yarn dyed with indigo has been humming in my head ever since it was dry: "Wonder what I'll loooooooook like? Wonder how I'll spinnnnnnn. . . " I may not be able to resist heedlessly starting new knitting projects as the whim takes me, but I can wait on spinning, partially because I only have a few bobbins and it's hard to spin over other yarn. Besides, I had to finish that lavender wool that I had 3/4 spun up. So I did.

618 yards of two-ply laceweight. I haven't figured out the wpi yet, and it clearly varies. I'm toying with the idea of replying it. It's nicely balanced, but it's very loosely plied. I obviously need some remedial spinning help.

The color is sort of all over the place. Some of the white appears yellowish to me, but the lavender is kind of appealing. A swatch would tell a truer story.

Maybe when I finish the two sweaters just hanging about on the needles, that's just what I'll do. Or else I'll spin indigo. . .

Helmet hair and a lump in my throat

2009-08-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

I deliberately sent two of my always-homeschooled kids off to school today.

See if you can guess which one is the focus of this effort:

She didn't quite get what her brother was doing:

He's still homeschooling in his head, I think:

But it's an experiment he's willing to go along with:

Many paths, no destination

2009-08-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well, at least none yet. Once that rainbow sweater was all done (except of course it's not all done because I have to reseam the arms. . .) I gleefully continued with other things.

Although I still have that lavender wool (about 75% spun up) hogging my wheel, a garden expansion required that I harvest all of the Japanese indigo I grew this summer. I'd tried once to dye with it, but it turned out a shade that didn't do it for me thanks to an equipment malfunction. This time?

I got blue. I can hardly wait to spin up "old blue jeans." The fiber is a Sheep Shed mill end, the kind with a bit of mohair in it. Should be fun to make and fun to use!

Mostly, it's been all summer work around here. Canning produce,

taking little ones out to do some fishing in the local lakes,

and doing the big honey harvest for the year. I may get some more in October, but 52 pounds was the haul this time. Not bad, not great, but maybe enough to see this honey-loving family through to next year.

Sarafina got her braces put on, and she's dealing with the not-fun parts of sore teeth and expanded hygiene requirements. My teeth moved quickly under my braces, so I'm hoping she'll have the same experience. Ellie is currently visiting grandparents out of town, and being celebrated in the ways only grandparents and aunts and uncles can do. I miss her and believe she's having a great time. Tor is reading more every day, and playing a lot with his little sister, who is currently sick. That's why she's leaning against my leg in the canning picture. She just feels rotten.

Ellie and I took a beginning crochet class. I can make at least one type of granny square and just need some practice and maybe I'll give a pattern a try after that. I'd like to make market bags as gifts, I think, and this seems a quick way to do it. No pictures -- maybe after I practice some more!

Through all of this, I am doing some knitting, though. From extreme left to right clockwise, a swatch in Mission Falls' Merino Superwas, for a baby due next month -- and a little bird tells me another one might be on the way in the neighborhood, so I'll have to get cracking on that, too -- then the Extremely Boring To Knit Yet Fun To Wear saddle shoulder sweater, up to the armpits. I'm actually having trouble figuring out how to make symmetrical armholes. That's when walking away seemed like a very good idea. Then another pair of Embossed Leaves socks, or at least the cuff, in Piedmont Yarn's kettle dyed sock yarn, then a quick hat in Brown Sheep's Bulky. I had actually finished the hat and realized that the decreases drew it above my ears -- a common hat experience for me -- and it's been picked out and set to go again.

I keep getting projects started and realizing that what I need is mindless knitting (hence the hat) for little bits of distracted time. But I do have to get that baby sweater moving, so perhaps it will draw the other projects along in its wake. Of course I promised Sarafina some wickedly complicated colorwork mittens for Christmas, and Cat has requested a Dale of Norway sweater, and I caved and bought the yarn, so who knows when anything will get finished?

The check is in the

2009-07-22T19:36:00.001-07:00

. . . not the mail, but my sister's hands.

Denise sweetly went all the way out to the fair to claim our goods. She picked up a sweater, a skein of yarn, and some marmalade for me, in addition to her award-winning jam. There were envelopes with our prizewinning ribbons in them.

And. . . checks! Apparently the powers that be aggregate your winnings and cut one check. So that sunflower bread? I won $10 . . . in addition to the free tickets and such. A nice bit of fun, that.

The sweater got $10 also -- whee! As Turltlegirl pointed out, they don't seem to care that the wondrous colors are the responsibility of the dyer, not the knitter. They did say my stitches were nice and even, though. And not a word about the horrifying seams.

I'm just delighted with it all. It seems like one of the most fun things to do in a summer.

The other one is picking blackberries, and lo how the season is upon us. In my refrigerator rests a bowl of macerating fruit, to put into jam tomorrow, and in the oven rests a blackberry silk pie -- seedless puree plus a custard. I'm already thinking of how I can alter this for future attempts. I've never felt that I had enough berries to cast away the leftover pulp, but this year? More berries than I think I've ever seen.

I have almost every day picking plans, in addition to dealing with my ongoing fascination with the idea of a harvest hovercraft and/or elastic arms. Today I realized how lucky I am to be picking fat, luscious berries without the humidity I associated with picking as a child -- Tennessee was the only place I knew you could go and pick. While we possibly could have found them in Southern California, no one I knew did that sort of thing. I'm hugely grateful to be that sort of person and to have the berries to indulge her.

It's a major award!

2009-07-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

Anyone else remember that line from "A Christmas Story"? I didn't get a leg lamp, but I got something oh so very exciting at the fair last week.

It all started with a letter. A letter that said, essentially, you've won an award, there's going to be a ceremony, here are some tickets and a parking pass, please come.

Oh, well, it's really not that difficult to get me to go to a fair. I love almost everything about them. And an award! What could it be? About my sweater? It must be, I thought. So Eric and I ditched the kids ("You've been to the fair," we reminded them. This is about me.)

Yes -- what I do not appreciate at the fair? Heat. Lots and lots and lots of heat. The previous visits were during an unseasonable cool snap, and it was actually kind of fun to be there. Even going on little rides wasn't bad, and as I mentioned before, the concert was all we could ask for.

Not this time. It was hot. I'd dressed as loosely as possible, and I was still melty.

So, we sit outside with a crowd, and sit through what felt like fifty sponsored awards. It was then I started to get suspicious. The fair applications are pages and pages long, and I do read my sections pretty carefully. The baked good section had a little asterisked comment that since the fair theme was "sunflowers," using sunflower seeds or oil could get you a special award.

I'd used sunflower seeds in my second-place bread.

Then they called my name, and I got to shake hands and get the special award envelope.

After posing for a picture by the crazed-looking fair photographer, Eric and I looked though my special award envelope.

Not a lamp. A letter, saying "Dear award winner, congratulations for winning a sponsored award for ___________" and in the space was handwritten "best use of sunflower seeds/oil in a baked good."

We just cracked up.

Then I went to visit the unawarded spinning and the sweater and we sweltered home again. Still, the worst day at the fair isn't that bad and soon I get my sweater back.

(I'll laugh more if I actually get any prize past a letter -- but I'm not holding my breath.)

A fair Fair

2009-07-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

The first concert for three of my four children, all of whom ended up down in what passed for a mosh pit, prizes for both me and my sister for our entries, and lovely weather. We couldn't have asked for more. Except maybe fewer spinny rides. Click to make the collage bigger, if you wanna see.

Boring, with exciting mistakes

2009-07-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

This is how far I've gotten in my new sweater project. Miles and miles and miles of 3 by 3 ribbing. It's the bottom portion of a seamless saddle shoulder sweater I'm working up. I think I'll block it so it's not the completely body-conscious shape it fits as now, but still slim. Araucania Nature Wool, in the gray multi that the hood for the little elf green sweater was knit with. Size 6 needles, and occasionally I'm finding a purl stitch at the end of the knit part. There's one right about the middle of the sweater. Fixing those with crochet hooks is about as exciting as it's gonna get for a good number of rows more.

Another race tomorrow morning before the small town parade, then Sunday is the cheesecake competition at the county fair. I get to find out about my rainbow sweater and bread and jam without having to deal with the kids, because Eric's going to keep them at home (thank you!!). As I said, I don't expect to win, but it's fun to see them there.

More needle holders

2009-06-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

This time we're visiting the continent of Australia (with a side trip into the land of Acrylic).

The Coolibah tree was, of course made famous in the song Waltzing Matilda. The Mallee tree was used for medicine by the aboriginal inhabitants of Australia. The Sheoak is (surprise!) like an English oak tree, but weaker, so the dratted Victorians called it a "She" oak. Grrr.

Anyhow, $25 paypalled to drhpang AT verizon DOT net, with a clear description (material, number of bumps, etc.) of which holder you'd like will get it mailed to you from me. You can also email me directly.

All done and off

2009-06-13T20:05:00.001-07:00

The cardigan's finished, as of last night, and it's sitting (damply) on a judging table at the fairgrounds.

I was really unhappy with the arms -- both the sleeves and armscyes just stink. Partly my skills (I kept thinking about all the advice about poor finishing ruining a good knitting job) and partly because the sleeves were too big at the top. Too big for a good fit either on me or into the arm holes.

I may get out the sewing machine after the fair and have a go at it. It's already cut; I don't see that I can ruin it any more. But I'll ask a more experienced finisher for advice first.

It sure is pretty, though.

Steeking while Camping

2009-06-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

My sister and I were in charge of activities on this camping trip. We planned none.

I had joked about having "steeking" being an activity, but was sure I was going to get to it after I'd done all the preparation needed for a camping trip. I didn't.

So it turned out to be something to do while we were there. (Hey, you can't play dodge ball, wade in the creek, or hike all the time!)

I cleared a space on the Stump By The Fire, and started in.

I didn't bother sewing stay stitches on these, because I planned to sew up the sleeves using mattress stitch right away, and they aren't going to be under any stress. I just sort of eyeballed a line down the middle.

The back side was fairly attractive.

But apparently the euphoria of cutting apart knitting got to me, because modeling them seemed like an appropriate behavior.

And then it was serious time.

They went together fairly easily, although I'm not thrilled with the seam myself, it will definitely do.

Once they were seamed, I couldn't resist a little creative basting.

I did get one sewn into the armhole, but realized afterwards that I'd wandered off the straight line and have to pick it out. After that I put them away in a fit of pique and darned an old sock instead. Plenty of time to seam, weave ends, wash and block before Saturday, right?

Guess who showed up?

2009-06-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

While I was moving camping equipment down in the basement yesterday in preparation for a weekend away, I found a shed snakeskin. It was pretty big. "Uh oh," I thought.

Then I looked up and saw 5" of tail sticking out from behind a piece of wall. I must confess, I seriously considered not telling Ellie and just letting him be -- obviously he is/was thriving! But he's not, technically, my snake. So I took a deep breath, and called her.

To her credit, she worked for about 1/2 hour, with an ice pack, a long sleeved jacket, and a lot of patient tugging, enduring being hissed at and even snapped at once, and she's got her Zipper back.

Sigh.

Going, going, almost gone

2009-06-02T08:37:00.001-07:00

More of the needle cases are gone, off to new homes to make their owners very happy. My father in law has a new set, based on Australian hardwoods, that are coming available, but you can see here which ones are still around.

Haven't cut the sleeve steeks yet, because I had a wild, wild day in the beehive yesterday, followed by many household responsibility-before-going-camping sorts of things. I did discover that Costco sells bagels that I love and the balance bars my spouse eats at work are less expensive there than at Trader Joe's. The things you learn.

Finish Line in Sight

2009-05-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if folks get tired of slow as molasses knitting pictures. I know I prefer ones where it seems as though the knitter has a bunch of "Shoemaker and the Elves" helpers, buying yarn and then having it seem to magically knit itself up into exquisitely finished garments, presto-changeo.

My knitting is not like that. I don't knit much, and I knit slowly. This is a theme in my life, apparently.

But, even a slow knitter makes progress. Sometimes, that progress is even serendipitous. For instance, when I chose to knit the sleeves for my current project at the same time, planning to steek and sew them later, it was to make the color runs approximately the same size as the body.

I didn't know they would also be a close match.

And now, despite having absolutely zero elves of the helpful-in-handwork category, the sleeves are almost done.

All that's left is to bind off the steek stitches, and then figure out whether to connect the remaining stitches into two separate rounds, and knit the cuffs before cutting the steeks, or cut the steeks, sew the sleeves into tubes, and then knit the cuffs. I think I had better ask around -- I'm tired and can't quite figure out what order to do them. I want it to be done well ahead of the fair, but also done well.

And why am I so tired, you might wonder? Remember how I don't think I knit much or fast? Well, I know for a fact that I don't run much, and that not very fast.

Nevertheless, I ran my first (and perhaps last) 5k today with two really good buddies. Even with approximately 2500 other women running, it felt like it was just us, and Eric and Caterina, who came out to cheer me on. The slower of us in the threesome had dubbed today the "Chasing Grace" day, and it was. I lost her quickly at the beginning and never caught up. I know I ran a faster first mile than I would have thought, because I heard someone call the time. I paid for it, and finished the race with an average of (wait for it) -- ten minutes a mile! So a fast first, slow second and medium third. Sheesh. I could have done that without the crowds and tags and electronic timing.

Oh well. I figured I deserved a little something (although the free massages afterward were wonderful), so I drove my friend's yarn store and picked up some treats for my feet.

Saucon Sock in "Forest" and Rio de La Plata Multicolor Sock in some combination of "Wood Thrush, Crimson, Posy Green, Chestnut, Indial Teal and Black." It's pretty, anyhow. They'll make cushy socks.

And after this sweater, I'm going to want something a little smaller to work on.

I am knitting

2009-05-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

But who wants to see pictures of 1/3 of a pair of sleeves?

In order to ensure that I get this monster done, the Alameda County Fair is going to expect me to be there on the 13th of June with it finished to submit it for judging. I don't expect much, but a) it's fun to enter things and b) I get a free ticket for everything I enter, I think. Since one of our favorite bands is playing there -- I know, is there anything more pathetic than the fair circuit? -- we're looking forward to a night out.

I am, however, doing lots of stuff on the gardening blog. See you there if you'd like, otherwise stay tuned. Pictures of finished sleeves next time, I promise.

Buzz on the garden blog

2009-05-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging bees at the garden blog today.

Buzz.

Strike up the bands; more needle cases

2009-04-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

I keep saying, "I only have to do the sleeves," and Sarafina keeps muttering, "You keep using 'only' and 'sleeves' in the same sentence, and I cannot think of one instance where you haven't knit each sleeve at least three times. So you actually have six sleeves left."

Pish tosh, is what I say. I'm pleased with the fit, I'm pleased with the bands, and I do need to figure out where in the color sequence to start the sleeves. I think I'm going to make two at a time, with an in-between steek, to keep the color repeats similar in length to the body. Fortunately, even before I began knitting at all on them, I realized I'm going to have to have a selvedge to sew into the arm holes, so I should make a few extra rows before the pattern. See? That's two sleeves' worth of mistakes I don't have to make!

Still, it's something of a long road between here and finishing completely.

I sewed the bee buttons on just today, while watching "Life in Cold Blood," lent to us by Susan of Homeschooling in the Kitchen fame, using a needle from my olivewood needle holder.

Unless Rosi G. and Kim M. release their claims on the walnut burl and the Shiro plum, these are the seven needle cases I have left until the Australian Hardwood series hits my mailbox. I was thinking that, while these pictures are nice, sometimes it's helpful to see them up close. So I took individual pictures.

This is the maple burl. It's very smooth (he does lovely finishing work).

This is a pecan burl.

This one is taken.~~This is one of the dyed and laminated wood ones. When I look at it in sunlight, it's mostly gray and red. The Knitpicks laminated wood needles use the same technique.~~

Also gone.~~This is another of the pecan heartwood burl ones.~~

All gone.~~The last of the blue acrylic. I like the silver findings on it.~~

These are the red acrylic ones. He's calling these "uncut rubies." They look like a pile of crushed red glass, but of course are very smooth. One has thirds turned into it, the other is more bilaterally symmetrical.

So, if you want them, you can paypal the maker at drhpang AT verizon DOT net, and we'll get them out to you asap.

Oh, Deary Me

2009-04-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

Just realized I'm supposed to be part of a symposium on growing local food on Saturday. I suppose I can talk about how I got a whole pound and a half of snowpeas out of my garden. . . how's that for local (but possibly not very impressive)?

I think I'd feel better with a bit more preparation. So today after I grade, that's what I'll work on. Sheesh.

Generally, I'm really happy to speak in public, but I prefer to feel as though I have some clue about my subject.