Not So Fancy Nancy

Days of Birch & Roses

Spring break has come and gone ... how can it be almost May?

Took the girls to my parent's in Louisville KY over our two week break. First day in the 80's, then it snowed. Made the sameness I've complained about in So Cal look pretty darned good by the end of nine days. But I did get to wear my knitting one last time this season!

My mom helped me float Birch in the cold Midwestern wind and took this photo of how I wore it.

I'd only tucked it into my bag to show my mom, but found myself thankful for its warmth when it dipped below freezing.

That Kidsilk Haze is so lightweight while still being warm. Comfortable against the neck too. Can't recommend it enough.

This yarn also has amazing regenerative properties. I pulled a hole in it the first night I wore it out  - I mean a hole -  hanging thread end and all. My mom and I looked at it (witness!), moaned a little, then I promised to darn it in the morning. We were never able to find it again. It self-healed overnight. True, you can't frog it, but you can't rip it either!

We had a great trip, but I came home and had my washing machine break on the first load. That was April 10th and I'm now waiting on a part. Let's not speak of it. Tomorrow I will get good knitting time at the laundromat. A neighbor was kind enough to run a critical load last weekend, but at this point I need the full shebang and I don't want to spend my day abusing her kindness. Guess I better do it tomorrow because my car goes in the shop on Thursday. When it rains...

Will write more about the yarn/fabric elements of my trip next post. I need to gather my links.

Since my return I've been gardening. It really won't be like this forever, but right now outside is where I want to be. Soon it will be blazing hot and I'll retreat to the shade with my iced tea and knitting. More long views soon, but for right now you can see my roses blooming in The Wench Gardens. I'm using that album as storage for the images I post on the rose forum, so that's why there are so many. Turns out rose people are just as nuts as some other people and want to know what every yarn fabric rose look like! Funny huh?

My obsession with photographing roses got pretty bad today - every time I went out the door they'd open more or changed colors. It's damned near magical. This is a new rose by David Austin called Lady Emma Hamilton. If only I could add scratch and sniff to this page. Oh my!

In the morning...

At lunchtime...

 

Birch is finished! Happy New Knitting Year

Cast off Birch just before the bell on January 1, 2007 at 11:30 PM. I wanted to start the new year with a finished object. Pre-blocked:

 

Blocking in action (wires from KnitPicks).

I belong to the "stretch the crap out of it" school of lace blocking. When I finished this thing was elevated 1" off the floor from the tension.

The wires are well worth it. They allowed me to pull each side to a very even line and adjustments were easier. Been eying these things for a while, but wasn't sure they were worth the money. I vote yes.

Did add to the kit by ordering fork pins today. This kit didn't have enough long straights and my sewing pins on hand didn't hold up well to the task. Also, as the tension increased the wires would jump the pin. Learned to turn them perpendicular so the T-top caught, which helped some, but I think the U shape will be better.

OK, another gratuitous shot, but I'm amused.

Post blocking shots to come when I'm appropriately dressed for modeling. Need to stop wearing my red bathrobe as a "house coat" but I'm not really compelled. I've always felt a certain connection to The Dude on this matter.

Kids have been off two weeks and we've all taken to spending inordinate amounts of time in our pj's. Four days in a row of playdates coming over have been the only thing knocking us into regular clothes (and not always then, as shown here).

The rill is serving its purpose as our personal woodland stream. As long as no not too much (I'm a realist) foreign matter gets added they can play. Yesterday Ems put on her swimsuit for a while until even she had to admit is wasn't that warm.

I'm enjoying putting this post together. Last week found me in a mood. Decided it was better to keep things to myself so I hibernated. In our world of "get it out there" I've found some things are better kept close. Things you can't change, or don't want to - really - but want to today. Things for which radical change would actually not be an improvement, but minor, manageable change is not immediately interesting (because your mind is having more fun with thoughts of radical change). Experience ... not grand wisdom per say, but just plain ol' years alive ... has taught me that when I feel this way I'm better off taking a wait and see approach. If I call every friend, startle every acquaintance (way too much information thanks) or bore strangers - or blog readers - with my frustrations I'll regret it. With some things talking is great. Therapeutic. Beneficial. The path to understanding. But with things like this I know that next week I'll find my way to that manageable change, but if I've talked, everyone around me will be expecting an explosion. No explosions forthcoming. 

To some degree I might attribute some moodiness to the time of year. I know I'm not alone (chin up Moni), but most of it's related to my own personal calender rather than the Gregorian one. We all have those moments of change - events that redirect our lives forever. If the work of countless poets and writers is any indication, I'd say I'm not alone in this human condition of melancholy reconsideration. Makes me envious of August and Raven. Cats understand what's important.

Yes, the photo is accurate. Raven is getting little white hairs all over her body. My vets haven't seen anything like it and they noticed it at the animal shelter too (took her back to get fixed). Her face has remained the darkest - she's gone pepper with a good dash of salt on her back. And yes, I'm such a sucker for this cat that I let her sleep on my swatches. Found her yesterday at the top of my shelves in another basket full of yarn. This kitten is no fool.

So, since I can't live lying around all day like a cat or dog, I'm a crafter. If the brain's running in circles, one might as well put the hands to work.

Ariann (in Rowan Kid Classic) progresses. Seeing the lovely finished ones all over blogland (Risa and Cara both love theirs) has spurred me on.

River (in Rowan Kidsilk Haze) is flowing again.

I've found for whatever reason I can't watch TV and knit this pattern. The back and forth movement is not a hard pattern, but I found myself, to abuse the metaphor, swimming against the current.

Still undecided about the beaded scrunchy thing Rowan shows holding the wrap across the front. Did any of you River knitters make one? Do you use it?

From the lost and found files:

I was connecting the blocks on the new Christmas quilt before my little hand surgery, but five days after Christmas it just wasn't compelling. Why bother?

Jan had great thoughts on starting the new year off fresh. Well worth the read. I like her attitude. Though you must finish those blocks Jan - if only to show the rest of us what the whole quilt top looks like.

So, in the spirit of new beginnings I went to put it away and found this. Oh. Would you look at that... an unfinished Christmas quilt. At least four years old! Guess I'll finish them both in 11 months. This one makes me proud of how far I've come. Cut this fabric about 4-5 months after I got my machine. No one told me it was hard to sew to points on bias cut flannel (what's bias?). I was going to do Christmas trees - how difficult could it be? Cut out a bunch of triangles and sew right? Who needs a stinking pattern? I ended up just crazy piecing all my bits and pieces after I discovered the pack of fat quarters I'd picked up didn't necessarily add up to a full quilt top. But you know what? I kind of like it for its naive energy. It will get finished in due time.

This one's time will come sooner. My first quilt top. (That box in the bottom of the closet held so many secrets!) What really makes me laugh now is remembering how I thought that dark green with the light flower stencil print was so ... bold! This from the woman taking a Kaffe Fassett class this coming weekend.

It reminds me of fields seen from the air. I even found it with the borders already cut. Fear of quilting stopped me then and ... well here we are. I intend to overcome my fear of free-motion on this one. It's not a showpiece. It's been languishing all this time. No fear.

For those of you who don't do both, quilting and knitting patterns share common phrasing at the end ... "bind and quilt as desired" and "finish and block as desired". Time-consuming, technically challenging and often tedious processes all wrapped up in five simple words. Make-or-break steps referenced with a vague wave of the hand. Run along now, this pattern is finished. It's taking me several years of knitting and quilting to even being to understand my "desires" for finishing. ... Please know I type this stuff innocently, but see my own allusions and metaphors when I proof. Too much art. Wow, that phrase takes me back! After a semester full of lit, art and philosophy classes EVERYTHING became symbolic. "Too much art," was our cry for release from the mortal coil. Time to go out to the bars kids - there's a good band playing.

BTW, I understand now why patterns end the way they do and I know there are myriad books to fill in those technique gaps, but that's an understanding developed over time. In the beginning this self-taught knitter/quilter went numb when the pattern ended ... What now? Lot's yet to learn, but at least I'm no longer frozen.

Happy New Year!

I've earned the Good YarnKeeping seal of approval

... or at least a nice pat on the back.

Remember my swatching? Well, for once I've followed through. With a bit of swagger I threw all the finished swatches in the washer with my Noro Silk Garden entrelac and Rachel's hat and sweater. Now that I've taken before and after gauge, I got one word for you all:  SWATCH! Just a few held gauge while some relaxed and others tightened. A bunch had significant row gauge shrinkage too - enough to affect sleeve length, etc. Many bloomed or the drape changed. Generally, I liked them all better after the wash. I feel so informed.

For all my handknitting except lace I use a front loader on the "hand-wash" setting with either Eucalan or Kookobura wool wash (think I prefer the Eucalan). Everything dries flat except for the 100% cottons which get a low machine dry. Yeah, I know it would be better to dry those flat too, but I have to be honest and give my swatches real-life treatment.

Got a little geeky and made a chart with all my uncommitted yarn listed by brand, content, total yardage, label gauge/needles and actual gauge/needles, etc.

Not just looking for make-work (got enough of that thanks very much). When I browse books and mags I'm always trying to match my stash to projects, but seem to forget what I have, I'm not be sure about the gauge, or mark it, then loose the marker. I've tried putting the book with the yarn, but was then finding my library spread all over the house. The half-assed system was not cutting it. Now I can note potential projects on the list as I find them and reshelve the book. I've found several maybes already. Rogue is calling to me again, particularly after seeing Teresa and Paula's perfectly gorgeous blue ones in the making.

Order is good. Like organic apples in November. Aren't the little ones so cute? The girls love those in their lunches. And that's my new poddish devise on that plate on the left. I've been listening to The Adventure of English read by Melvyn Bragg, a Brit with an amazing ability to make the language come alive. Highly recommended.

Here's a look at our November Santa Ana sky. At least my swatches dried in about 20 minutes. OK, a little bit of an exaggeration, but with humidity less than 30% things dry pretty darned fast! If you're not familiar with these winds, here's an apt description:

Santa Anas are "those hot dry [winds] that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen." Raymond Chandler -  Red Wind

Personally, I hate this weather. Well, I do like the blue skies - I'm not a total Scrooge. But the dryness makes my contacts hurt, face pull, hair look like crap and at its worst, my nose bleeds. No part of this Scots Irish rain-loving body should be subjected to this. I'm sure to keep the carving knives safely in the drawer. Luckily, this is a mild one.

So, I'm sure many of you recognize the Weekend Knits side-to-side handwarmers. Jaime's fun orange pair reminded me that I'd been wanting to make them. (btw, I know you tagged me for that meme) That's the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran I'd bought for Gloria last year. Bagged that effort, but found myself left with 7 balls of the DB. Not enough for a garment, and with this weather do I really need another scarf or hat?

What I do need is a cozy set of bed-gloves and bed-socks. I've got near-corpse blood pressure (90-100/70 when I'm anxious and running late) and it really falls when I lie down. I always worry the nurses at the surgi-center when I get my back injections because it falls to 50's/40's without narcotics. My hands and feet turn to ice cubes when I first go to bed, especially when my hands are out of the covers holding a book. You can imagine how much this thrills my DH. I must be a witch because I can make him levitate with just a touch. Also, we don't heat the house, so it gets in the mid-60's to high 50's in here at night during the winter months. These should be perfect. Luxuriously soft and cozy.

Originally I'd worked up the Cashmerino with a Noro cotton chenille. Didn't like the look of it and took the untouched skeins of the Noro back, but kept the DB.

Since I tried the sleeve gauge method for this I had an annoying alternating yarn pattern to rip. Couldn't just hook it up to the winder, so the piles got a little scary. Didn't help that the DB ball had fallen apart before I even started.

Reminds me of when I was 9 or 10 and the teenager across the street would allow me to unknot her wildly tangled pile of fine gold chains (it was the late 70's) while she got ready for a date. That was my payment to get a juicy peek into the teen years and I felt so privileged, thought I'm sure I was tolerated like a pet. Learned a lot since she took FOR-EVER to get ready - hours - literally. We'd put on classic 70's rock (though it wasn't called "classic" then) and she'd get in the mood. Lots of Steve Miller and Aerosmith for her. I was more partial to Zep. Still am.

Take a deep breath. Look, then look away before you cry. This is novice knitting at it's scariest - when you think you know more than you do. This is Rowan Summer Tweed gone wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. I am proud of my young knitter self for figuring out how to do the pattern (this was 3-4 years ago), but context is everything. I was going to look like a lavender Charlie Brown and ... well ... don't even ask me what I was thinking with the steeks. In rough silk/cotton? Almost embarrassed to even show this, but at least I've pulled it out of the back of my closet, exposed it to the light and righted my really wrong. All is well and the yarn stored in neat little balls now. Move on folks, it's over. Nothing more to stare at.

Hopefully, you can stare at this soon. Blackberry. In cranberry Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Chunky. Thanks Moni for moving it from the abstract to the needles. Isn't is interesting how seeing it on someones blog can take you from browsing Knitty and thinking - hey, that looks cute ... nah [click] - to actually casting on? You bloggers really do inspire me all the time. Thanks.

I'll cry myself a river ... of blue kidsilk spray

October is shaping up to be a little busy around here. Getting a yellow Labrador puppy around Halloween, but I've got lots to learn so I'm busy reading. Taking the kids to Louisville, then I'm going to NYC/Rhinebeck from there. The week after we all go to Yosemite. Got another nerve root block for my back/leg yesterday. Life is good, hectic, occasionally painful (that last one) and full of anticipation. And dirty laundry. But I've got photos... or Yarn Porn according to some nice knitters on the Knitter's Review boards. Thanks for your emails and compliments.

This...

is becoming this:

Sorry this is a little blurry, the breeze and my oh-so-tired she just couldn't hold it still one second longer eight year old weren't cooperating. This drama just moments before two hours of water balloon fights and bike riding. Guess it gives it that watery effect. The colorway is called Medici and so far it's not pooling oddly. The River pattern from the latest Rowan Magazine is pretty easy so I don't need the book anymore, which makes it a bit more portable. I've added on another repeat since this was taken. You can join the fun over at Savannahchik's KAL.

A little Rowan Cashcotton goodness:

Which is on it's way to being a garment.

I've not gotten back to this in a few weeks because I need to concentrate on the shoulder shaping.

Sleeves should be straight forward, but then I still have that all-the-frickin'-way-around ruffle which I fear will go on forever.

I've still not cast on, but have picked the pattern for the first denim sweater: a cabled cardigan called Lizzie from the first Rowan Denim book. Not planning on knitting the tie - this will be a toss-it-on and relax cardigan.

Yes, those are my new Denise needles. Explored the west coast branch of Noble Knits a few weeks back and took Tess's enthusiastic recommendation. I like them so far. Great thing about crafting... a week or so later I was at the pattern tables in JoAnn's and there was Tess wearing an oh-so-chic felted Manos hat. We started chatting and suddenly a voice piped in from behind and there was a student from my former stamping class days who also liked Noble Knits and recognized Tess. We were joined by more customers and a pleasant hour and a half passed in crafty talk. All ages and backgrounds brought together by a love of creating things. It's good to get out sometimes.

What can I say? It's lovely and very soft. Elann's Peruvian Baby Silk. Her prices and very effective "get it while you can" sales strategy strikes again. Shawl probably.

This really falls in the "What can I say???" category! Was in a bad/funky mood and didn't want to touch yarn for fear of ruining something. Cutting up plastic bags proved very therapeutic. Mine isn't as tightly knit as Knight's from Simple Knits with a Twist, but I'm just having fun being soooo ironic with my bag made of bags to hold bags. Will hang it on the laundry room wall with poo/litter bags.

On a more traditional front, I pulled out this poor forlorn sock over the weekend and added on several inches while passing time at my nephew's birthday party. Cast on a good three years ago on two circulars and just didn't click with that technique. Transferred it to dp's last year, but then it got shoved back in the depths of my closet. Seems too beautiful to leave languishing forever doesn't it?

Btw, this is my 3 yr old's delicate foot, not my Cro-Magnon appendage.

The fabric passion continues:

The kitchy fun fabrics are for Christmas presents for my kids and niece. I think I'll look for some tweed to go with the French prints in the middle. The remaining on the right are just because. I really like this on-line only fabric store, Cia's Palette. She shipped on the day I ordered and everything came so perfectly folded and wrapped with a little sample cutting too. I'm so inspired by Jackie's cute bags that I'm itching to get the machine out again.

You can see from these photos that I've yet to get more than narrow stripes of sunlight anywhere in the house during the day. We get the most direct light in the winter when the sun moves south. Don't buy a house with perfect S/N orientation. The garage door gets the best light for most of the year and the back patio goes dark all winter - it's criminal from an architectural standpoint. We didn't buy the house, we grabbed the lot and said thank you. No choice about the house. Such is real estate in coastal North County San Diego.

I'll leave you with a recent photo of my angelic butterfly. Yeah, sure. Couldn't get her to pose facing the light. Oh no, that would be helping Mommy. Does this look like a sweet, helping expression? Total imp. Yarn is so much better behaved!

 

The Race is ON!

Judging by your comments on commenting I'd say many of us are trying to find the ultimate balance of connectivity and sanity. With that in mind, I'm declaring the next 38 days my personal Race to Sanity.

Sanity:  A legal term denoting that an individual is of sound mind and therefore can bear legal responsibility for his or her actions. It is generally defined in terms of the absence of insanity. It is not a medical term ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanity

And just how am I going to achieve sanity in just 38 days? (Yes, the implication here is that I am not of sound mind now.) Well, let us consider situations that may foster sanity:

(1) Experiencing the absence of small children within a 50' radius of ones body.

(2) Going on vacation.

(3) Spending three days alone with ones spouse on said vacation without small children (see #1).

(4) Listening to Stephanie, aka Yarn Harlot, read from her book, then buying another copy and actually reading it, as one was a benevolent daughter and gave ones copy to ones mother before finishing even half of it. Again, without small children (see #1). 

(5) Looking a the sun (or candlelight) shining through a glass of red wine, then looking down to admire ones completed knitting project being worn on ones body. Obviously #1 in play.

Now, in 38 days I've got numbers 1-4 lined up. We're all heading up to Portland Oregon. We'll spend the first day exploring Portland with the kids, then drive to my in-laws' home in the Redmond/Bend/Sisters triangle. Then, for four days and three nights in the middle of that visit we will drive away ... alone! Back to Portland and the Willamette Valley wine country. On the very day I turn 40 I will visit a winery or two, a yarn store or three, art galleries, restaurants and Powells where Harlot is scheduled to read. This may take some of the sting out of the day.

So that just leaves #5. Which requires at least one COMPLETED knitting project. Because I'm currently insane, I'm going for three, maybe four ... or seven. What drove me to this craziness? Yesterday I knitted three different swatches and looked through countless books and magazines. I bounced around and felt so frustrated I couldn't settle on anything or even knit on open projects. The gnawing anxiety that this trip would arrive and I'd have 10 unfinished projects sitting home - half of them off-season - while I wore my new clothes sans knitting actually kept me up last night. Let's not discuss this - I know it's pathetic; you know it's pathetic; it's pathetic. Yes, I know there are much more important things in the world that should keep me up every night that don't. What can I say, this happens to fit my personal profile for anxiety-producing situations. I even dreamed I'd missed a plane flight - you know, running lost through the strange airport, etc etc. The classic Freudian metaphor for anxiety about unfinished knitting.

To resolve #5 I'm throwing down my (yet to be knitted) gauntlet - this is war. Such violent terms for such a gentle (and gentile) sport, but I'm trying to get the needles fired up around here. Here are the seven projects with their corresponding new skirts. I haven't bought summer clothes in several years so my wardrobe was truly frayed around the edges. A little spree was required.

High priority

- Rowan Deli
- Koigu Shawl (pattern to be determined)
- Colinette Wrap

 

Medium priority

- Shapely Tee w/Sleeves by White Lies Designs in Rowan Handknit DK. (Thanks for the pattern idea Sydney!)
- Rowan Birch in Kidsilk Haze

Low priority

- Maggi Knits Linen something ???
- Cobweb in Rowan Kidsilk Haze
- Pi Shawl

For the next 38 days I will knit (along with my other duties - you know - wife, mother, etc). I will update this blog with progress photos, but little else. For the new projects listed above details will be forthcoming at CO. General comments of support will be read and thoroughly enjoyed, but only questions answered. I'll be reading blogs, but not commenting much. Saving my wrists and arms for battle.

Let the race begin!

It's June WHAT?

Sign of the 21st century:

phone rings

WENCH:  Hello

WENCH'S MOM:  Hi. (pause, then with a note of concern in voice) How's everything going? I was just wondering...

WENCH:  Because it's been so long since I blogged?

WENCH'S MOM:  (chagrined laugh) Yeah, well, it seemed odd ...

So this is what we've come to! Mothers keeping up with their children through blogs.

So yes Mom and friends, I'm doing fine. Well, almost. Lots of family activities, a weekend of gardening and then two days of laundry have whacked my back and I'm taking pain meds again, but other than that I'm fine. Here's a taste of the gardening:

I know you can buy pre-done hanging baskets and succulent pots, but I like to watch them grow. Isn't that curvy pot cool? We had many of those plants in a succulent garden out back, but it was constantly being stepped on by little feet. Safer here, and it spiffs up the front porch nicely.

Have done a bit of knitting too.

Pi is slogging along. On the night I started the 576 st/rd section I cast aside my pattern finalists and this dark horse took the race. Four criteria developed as I was perusing the pattern books:  (1) must have similar pattern motifs for continuity (diamonds and chevrons - no curves), (2) must be a multiple of 8, 12, 18 or 24 to fit with the 12 points of the middle section's flower/star, (3) must be purl only on the wrong side and (4) must be busier than the pattern thus far (I was getting bored), but not so busy that it would seem disjointed. I think this works, but only blocking will tell.

Will choose the edging when I get there.

Details for you Pi-KALers:  This 24 stitch repeat is lifted from the Faux Russian Stole pattern in A Gathering of Lace.

Took the book to the library to make a copy I could mark up, but didn't manage it (no change, active kids, closing time), so I don't have much to show. I'm just marking the working line with a post-it and making the modifications in my head as I go. Basically, I'm switching all the decrease/YO combos to match the style of Pi (they're reversed on this pattern) and I've added one row to the top and bottom of the pattern band with a yo/k2tog every 12 stitches to blend the band with the section below. Added bonus is that those two extra rows bring the row count to exactly the same as the Pi pattern I'm replacing. This is an easy to follow pattern with just a little more going on to keep it interesting.

Haven't done as much on Deli, but I've made it though another decrease row since I last photographed it. This is my nod to English gardens that I begged my DH to let me to plant in our otherwise xeriscaped garden.

Looking for something easy and portable, I started a sock with this very funky Elann Sock it to Me Esprit, a cotton yarn with a 1.7% elastic core that allows it to stretch from 100 to 186 yards that knits on US #7's (impulse buy). Problem is that I'm not an experienced sock knitter so I don't have that "Oh, I'll use my favorite pattern" thing happening yet. I was in a really lazy mood and looking for easy distraction, not more work - I wanted plug and play. Got frustrated when I found this yarn didn't plug anywhere except for some thigh-high KMD&FM socks on Knitty and this Little Arrowhead Lace Sock pattern by Nancy Bush. I know, this textured yarn is poorly suited to lace, but I've been wanting to try lace socks and with this fat yarn it's flying along. And the colorway -- what was I thinking? Yeah, definitely an impulse buy! I own nothing in these colors. These are not "my colors" - they even wash my feet out! Oh well, they're just for around the house anyway.

Risa mentioned a while back finding a free on-line "What season am I?" site and I found one too after wading through a thousand people who wanted to charge between $19.95 and $395 for the privilege. Sorry, I don't seem to have bookmarked it. Anyway, like Risa, I was surprised to find that all these years I've been told I was a winter, when in fact I may be a "clear spring." When I'm shopping I have faith in my eyes to make good choices, but it's easy to get into safety zones (black and white for me). Also, I'd like to have more confidence with on-line yarn buying. I stick with my tried-and-trues for fear of having a sweater of bad colors instead of just socks, but I'm getting way too narrow, as evidenced by this:

Yes, I'm going to have a lot of deep plum knitwear. Need a little variety don'tcha think?

The really interesting thing about the clear spring color chart is that four of the colors that I'd never name as mine (aqua, yellow/green, evergreen, terra cotta red) are in fact the colors of some of my favorite pieces of clothing. Going to shell out the $12 and buy Color Me Beautiful.

Anyway, how did it get to be June 8th? Wasn't Memorial Day yesterday? Just as time slows down when you're looking forward, it speeds up when you only want it to stop. School's out next Friday and I'm not ready. I wish I could be one of those moms who's excited, looking forward to relaxing days with their darling children doing crafty things and lounging poolside. I adore my girls, but I am not one of those moms. Speaking of my girls, here's my knit photo helper in deep need of a bang cut and suddenly shy after begging to be photo blogged (phlogged?).

I treasure the three days a week that both girls are in school at the same time. I love the time I don't have to talk (incessantly with the 7-yr-old) or wonder what's happening up there (always with the 3-yr-old). Time to think, run errands, knit, read, blog ... time alone. This may sound self-centered, but my husband works until 6:45 or 7 and several days a week he's not home until after they're in bed. I have a long day. Twelve hours of MOOOOMMM! She's _________! everyday until mid August might just put me over the edge. Thank goodness for summer camps at the Y! One nice thing is that I won't be a room mom at the YMCA - I've been in the classroom three times since the holiday weekend and am on a field trip tomorrow. Wonderful in so many ways, but less knitting time. Gotta watch those priorities.

Rowan Cashcotton, Pi Shawl CO & random thoughts

I'm in passionate love with Rowan's Cashcotton. It's the softest, easiest to knit cotton that's ever slid across my needles. No problems with splitting either. There's a fluffy, hazy finish from the cashmere, but that's a huge part of the charm. This certainly won't wear like mercerized cotton, but it's got the luxury feel Rowan claims. Here in coastal So Cal it's a perfect weight for cool evenings.

I've heard this yarn doesn't like to be frogged, but I did rip back five rows of both front panels without issue. Had a forehead slapping moment after realizing I'd missed the bottom shaping. I'd noted that shaping before cast on - really - but then promptly forgotten when I picked it up two days later for some mindless knitting. A little too mindless obviously. Anyway, it re-knitted just fine, but those rows were only about 30 minutes old before the mistake was corrected, so the stitches hadn't set. With the fuzziness, I can imagine a big jump in the frog pond might affect the yarn's finish.

I'm using INOX 40" circs. I often prefer bamboo needles, but with this yarn they will probably slow you down a lot. Here's the progress so far:

Takes a little yarn management to do all sides at once, but it will be sweet when I do those shoulder joins! If you don't have little girls this may not be part of your world, but plastic hair bands are perfect for containing the CO tail for later seaming. I've also used them for making temporary ends on DP's to create a short pair of needles for knitting an edging, etc. They make good stitch markers and can be cut out easily if they need to be knitted into the fabric. One more:  they wrap around the tips of DP's with socks in progress for safe transport. Only a penny or two each, so you can abuse them and lose them without tears.

Emily finally got to wear the sweater I finished two years ago, months before we even met her. Can you tell I've been waiting waiting waiting to claim "It fits! Time to wear it!"? OK, I'm pushing that window, but hey, it's got grow room.

Can't see it in these photos, but the color matches her beautiful eyes exactly. She's at the age of CHEESE! Didn't have time before pre-school to let her calm down and get some natural shots, but I wanted to capture it before she gives it a day of her special treatment. It's a Debbie Bliss pattern using Classic Elite Provence (the blue #2607) and Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (the cream).

Non, ceci n'est pas un chapeau.

Finally got my first Pi Shawl on the needles! I say first because I've heard they're addictive. The EZasPi KAL had another CO Day, so I decided it was time. Especially since I'd just received my hank of Shine from Joslyn's Fiber Farm. This is the Treebark colorway. I love the shine of silk/wool laceweight and I thought this pattern knitted in the round would play up the variegation well with minimum pooling. Seems to be working so far...

Survived learning the crocheted loop cast on and the first few rounds on DP's, but the crease between my brows may be a bit deeper. Can you work up a sweat only moving your fingers? Still need to even out my first increase round - YO's are a bit fussy to make on DP's - but I'm pretty happy with it. Only other knitters can understand the glory of those first few rounds, no bigger than a baby mouse in your palm, held up with ecstasy like you've conquered the world.

After that it's been smooth sailing. Decided to stay with the basic EZ pattern from Knitter's Almanac, which again, I think works well with the variegated yarn. I'm saving my mushroom colored Zephyr laceweight for a more intricate pattern. Harlot ignited a debate last fall about the merits (or demerits) of variegated yarn and lace. Personally, I like it if the yarn and the overall design and the stitch patterns complement each other.

Non-knitting content:

Sometimes I read through all of Harlot's comments because it's practically a forum in itself (like the variegated debate). A few days ago she was commenting humorously on the real vs. emotional geography of the US. I love the variations in culture across this nation - keeps in intersesting. My born and bred CA neighbor just came back from a trip to New Orleans over the weekend and her first words were "The people were so nice and friendly!". Some stereotypes have merit.

Someone gave the link below where you can produce your version of this map. I didn't do the world map because it was such a depressing reminder of how few of the places on my wish list I've seen. Only plus was that Russia is a huge land mass. For the US, my rule was that I must have set foot on the soil and seen the place at least in passing, so I didn't include a state if I'd only changed planes there - otherwise I'd also have MI, MN and MO. Been in spitting distance (not that I spit mind you) of WY, WI and VT, but didn't pass the border signs so no points for those. Guess I need to do an Upper Mid-West trip huh?

create your own personalized map of the USA.

Another reader suggested Garreau's book Nine Nations of North America, which I've just now put on hold for pick up at my local library (don'tcha love on-line catalogs!). I've read another of his books, Edge City, so I'm looking forward to seeing this although it's out of date (1980). Love David Brooks' books too: On Paradise Drive and Bobos in Paradise. I'm putting in the Amazon links so you can read reviews, but these should all be at your local library as well. If you're into this kind of thing (which sounds slightly risque), feel free to comment with further reading suggestions.

Booga Bag III & Favorite Knits

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. My mom came out from KY to visit, so we had a great time knitting, visiting knit stores and talking about knitting. Oh, yeah, and we hung out with the kids and ate out for almost every meal except the breakfast and dinner my DH made Sunday. For us it ranked pretty darned close to perfect.

For those of you in or visiting the San Diego area, be sure to visit Knitting in La Jolla at 909 Prospect Street, La Jolla (in the village). I knew a store was down there somewhere, but hadn't had a chance to explore. We stopped by on a whim while driving up from the airport and were so pleased we took the detour. Owner Suzanne Pineau has filled her shop with an incredibly diverse collection of yarns and books. Highly recommended. I'll try to snap pics next time I visit. Did pick up The Opinionated Knitter: Elizabeth Zimmermann Newsletters 1958-1968 and A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting. Maybe there's a kitty bed or two in Claude and August's futures?

My family doesn't do much in the way of gifts between adults, but I was driven to distraction by my mom's gorgeous Blue Sky Alpaca wrap (sportweight, deep navy blue) on the needles in a grocery store plastic bag. Simply sinful! It just had to be addressed. I gave her my Big Kureyon and mohair big Booga Bag (right). She's happy. I'm a good daughter. Everything's great. Except I don't have a bag that I used a lot. What's a knitter to do???

Come on. What do you think I did? I ran right over to my LYS. This is two hanks of Brown Sheep's Burly Spun variegated wool (Forest Floor colorway). Couldn't resist including the lone volunteer CA poppy.

Used US 19's and the Booga Bag pattern with the addition of YO eyelets on row 30 (rather than poking holes after felting as the pattern suggests). Otherwise, I followed the pattern, though I would consider fewer CO stitches and more height if doing it with this yarn again. Of course I could have added height, but I didn't want to go to three hanks. When I ran out of the Burly on row 31/34, I finished with an odd-lot of Brown Sheep's Bulky from stash. Nice when stash actually works. Pre and post felting pics below. The cereal boxes are for shape - still haven't found a good form for this yet. It really helps if you can find a box to fill out the shape completely. Still working on the handle cord.

On a different trip to my LYS I switched to Rowan's Cashcotton for the Classic Cafe Deli pattern (the spec'd yarn).

Both the flowers and the yarn really are this intense! Just loved this color and I think it will be a better match for the pattern. Got gauge, so I CO the back and two front panels - only had a 40" metal circ set open and I had to do something with that space didn't I? I don't turn my work to purl on the WS; instead I knit backwards across the front, which means no problems with tangling. Hope it will mean all my decreases will align. I'll let you know when I do how I plan to re-direct my Lavold Silky Wool - want to try and use the 4" I've knitted so far.

Dearest Risa has once again lead me down the path of yarn acquisition. (Looking just now at her MDS&W posts I think she's ahead of me on that slippery slope!) Just what I needed, a link to Kaleidoscope Yarns, who have Blue Sky Alpaca and Rowan Cork, among others, on sale. The prices are great, so click at your own expense. I'll save my pattern thoughts for when I photograph my in-transit yarn. Between the Blue Sky Bears and Froggy's versions of Kate Gilbert's Bunnies my guess is half the knit bloggers are kicking out some sort of stuffed animal right now - definitely perfect little gifts.

A few days ago Jacqueline (who btw didn't do so badly herself at MDS&W!)answered the following question:  "What's your most often used knitted object?" Thought I would too. Join in if you'd like. Rather than nominate one object, I'll show three workhorses in our house.

The Manos Throw, Spring '02. I've got to include the before shots so you can appreciate the after. This was one of my first big projects and I was so proud. Pre-digital pics, so sorry, but I've got to photograph my scrapbook page.

It was soooo pretty before three years of daily use by kids, cats and adults. Now it's been machine washed (yeah, I know, but it needed it) and received exactly one defuzzing before I gave up and gave in to the inevitable. Trust me, it actually looks worse in person, but the colors are still so wonderful. The housekeepers always fold it up into a very tiny square and stuff it under the throw pillows in the corner of the sofa - they must wonder what the heck this rag is doing spread like a cloth of gold on the family room sofa. But like a loving mother of a ner' do well, I still see it as it was in its glory. And it's darned warm.

The Surfer/Skater Hat, Spring '02. Learned some simple cables and bobbles on the Manos Throw and made this one-ball Noro Kureyon hat to play with my new techniques. The first time a hip young dude at a surf/skate shop said to my older DD "Cool hat!", I knew I had a winner. She wore it until she'd grown so much it was popping up on her head. Younger DD just discovered it buried in the closet last week - I think it will have a second life.

The Harry Potter sweater, early Spring '03. No pattern (didn't know the Rowan one existed at the time), Mission Falls 1824 cotton (sadly discontinued), little knitting experience, and a kindergartner who desperately wanted me to be Mrs. Weasley. She wore it literally every day until summer and most of first grade too. Couldn't ask for more.

Btw, after seeing these scrapbook pages, aren't you glad this blog is typed?

I'll close with non-knitting thoughts: 

Know thyself.
Know thy limits.
Share your feelings.

Laziness
Success is a journey, not a destination. So stop running.

Dare to Slack
When birds fly in the right formation, they need only exert half the effort. Even in nature, teamwork results in collective laziness.

Amused? There are many more, some much more snarky. Well worth a quick look:  Demotivators® at Despair Inc.

Beats the heck out of the motivational posters with which my former boss covered our pre-fab, icky fabric-covered walls. Yeah, you may have figured it out, but I'm not a team-player. My dislike of teams began early in school when, inevitably, my grade potential was attached to the performance of the biggest idiot in class. I do understand that self-formed or competitively selected teams can do amazing things - whole greater than the parts, yadda yadda - but who among us hasn't been a victim of this:  "OK kids/workers, let's form teams - it'll be FUN! I've already selected the members of each team..."

Knitty Cozy is that indeed

Wow, the last two weeks have gone ... somewhere? Anyway, I have been knitting. And thinking about knitting. Just not blogging. Thanks for all your wonderful comments on Charlotte's Web. She's been worn several times and continues to please me.

In addition to knitting, I'm trying to take up cooking (surprise surprise - this is more popular with the rest of the family). Made a lasagna from scratch yesterday. OK, not the pasta, but I made the Bolognese and bechamel sauces. Added sauteed Swiss chard to the ricotta layer and sauteed brown mushrooms to the bechamel layer. Yummy. Very yummy. If you want to understand Italian cooking, get Marcella Hazan's The Classic Italian Cookbook. I'm a new cook but what I've made from this book tastes like I've been doing it all my life - that's a good cookbook!

Finally finished Knitty's Cozy wrap. Pushed on through balls five, six and seven in about four days after getting that bug to JUST FINISH IT. Almost stopped at ball six, but decided that I wanted a little more drape. I've only got about two yards of ball seven left. Final measurements after an hour of wear are 67" x 22", though I blocked it wider/shorter (about 62ish x 25ish) knowing this yarn/pattern had a strong tendency to stretch long. The pattern uses eight balls of a different yarn and measured 67.5 x 19.75, so this was a pretty close substitution.

I've found I can pin it like a poncho or just wrap it. I'm wearing it at the PC right now and it lives up to it's name nicely. The pattern is two simple lace rows shifted over an eight row repeat A-B-A-B, so once you get comfortable it flies along, which is good since it seems to goes on and on at the end!

The yarn is Rowan Summer Tweed. I LOVE this color. You can see from all these photos how it changes in different light. It's my favorite shade of red with the added bonus of orange flecks. But, I'd be hard pressed to recommend this yarn for this pattern - nothing about it is conducive to knitting lace. It's a thick, rough 70% silk/30% cotton worsted weight blend that can be very hard on the hands for lace stitches like K2togtbl. Still, it does create a wonderful texture. Ah, the price of art.

Click this photo on the left to get a good look at the orange flecks.

I've read a lot of opinions about Summer Tweed, so I'll just give you my experience so far. First, it does indeed soften significantly in the wash. It's still got a rustic hand, but softer with a nice drape. After CO, I machine washed it in a front-loading washer on the delicate/cold cycle with Eucalan. I would have used the "handwash" cycle, which has an even gentler agitation and spin, but I was in the middle of kid-management and simply forgot until I heard the spinning. Still, it survived without issue, though this fiber doesn't look like it will tolerate too much agitation.

From there I gently wet-blocked it on the futon - no pins, just repeated tugging to measurements. Someone on the Cozy KAL told me their Summer Tweed bled badly, so I put a color catch sheet in the wash (it was the only thing in the load, I was just curious). The sheet came out red, but there was no bleeding on the cream futon after Cozy laid on it wet over night (yeah, I live on the edge), so I'd call it colorfast, though I'll probably always wash it alone to be careful and reduce agitation. I put in in the dryer on the lowest setting for about three minutes after it was completely dry just to de-fuzz it and soften it a touch more. Finally, this yarn has not broken on me yet, but it can be pulled apart fairly easily, so I'm going to have to be very careful around our door handles (they've torn my shirts and sweaters in the past as I've dashed around our house - maybe I should dash less?).

Caution to other Cozy knitters... I made the same mistake three times over the last four feet:  I dropped the inside K2tog stitch on a [slip, K2tog, psso]. They fell behind the new stitch and were virtually invisible until I examined the knitting from the back. Luckily (in this case) the yarn is so sticky it doesn't run. Caught one while it was still on the needles and just dropped down about three inches to fix it. The other two showed up during blocking, so I fixed them from the back by pulling the yarn up through the back, cutting (yes, cringe), then knotting. Totally hidden by the pattern.

Have a new sweater in process too, but will blog that another day.

Gonna wrap myself in ...

If you've been to enough Kindergarten recitals, you've probably heard this song. This and the chorus in Beethoven's 9th are guaranteed to bring tears to my eyes. Our music teacher always works this into the K-3 performances and the sight of all those little hands doing the gestures with great passion but totally out of sync gets me every year.

I'm gonna wrap myself in paper;
I'm gonna dab myself with glue.
Stick some stamps on top of my head;
I'm gonna mail myself to you!

When you see me in your mailbox,
cut the string and let me out.
Wipe the glue off my fingers,
and stick some bubblegum in my mouth!

So, why was I singing this song this morning? Well, while engaging a very relaxing KID FREE (school's back in session - yippee) game of Nancy the Knit Stylist (my dream career you know) I couldn't stop that song in my head and it morphed to I'm gonna wrap myself in Colinette, Rowan and Koigu...

Koigu Charlotte's Web is almost complete! Just started merging the last ball on the right. After 10 more merged rows there will be 16 rows of just the blue and then I'll be done. Of course, as many of you know, it gets much slower at the end. Not planning on doing fringe, so I still need to pick my bindoff pattern, which may add a little knit time. I'm weighing each ball after that color is done and will post my totals when finished so those of you with leftover sock yarn can see if it might work into a Charlotte somehow. I think by forgoing fringe one might get two, or at least close to two, Charlotte's out of 5 skeins.

This poor Colinette wrap has been on the needles since last spring, so I think it deserves to be finished up. I've made it my car knitting now, which should help. No pattern, I just CO a bunch of stitches on 10's and am alternating Colinette Giotto (1 hank) and Colinette Enigma (1 hank) with Classic Elite Avignon Cotton Silk (3 balls) running between each row of the Colinettes (whose name I've been misspelling with two L's all this time! Sorry, will change). It's all garter stitch and I'm just knitting until the yarn runs out. Couldn't be easier, but now I'm thinking of doing short rows to shape the shoulders so it hangs better. Can't have things too easy huh?

Cozy in Rowan Summer Tweed has not been forgotten either.

Doesn't it look nice against our spiffy new chair? Married over 8 years and we finally bought living room chairs! We agreed immediately on them and the sale was made in about 10 minutes with the kids in tow - miracles do happen!

I'm almost finished with the fifth ball with three remaining, but may stop if I feel it's gotten to a length I like. Jen on the Cozy KAL posted a photo of her Summer Tweed version using only six balls and it made a perfect shoulder wrap when fixed with a pin.

Oh heck, let's put all this talk of design aside and tell the truth - after ball six I'll stop when I'm so sick of it I can't imagine another repeat. Pathetic but true.

Jen reports that it does indeed wash to a softer hand, which I've heard elsewhere about Summer Tweed. Also planning to block it hard to bring out the pattern.

Finally, a wrap to be:

A very kind knitblogger sent this Zephyr laceweight silk/wool to me. The amazing thing is that I'd just ordered Fiber Trends' Pacific Northwest Shawl pattern. Karma? Serendipity? Athena is happy with me? All I know is that it looked so beautiful on August the orange boy lounging in the morning sun, until...