A block here, a block there

Just add another block, and then another. You'll get there eventually.



I'm about half way.

And now a word from our sponsor

Not exactly. But I do want to let you know about an upcoming event. My friend H (of L&H fame) is participating in a craft show and sale that's happening in just a couple of weeks. You can read all the pertinent stuff over here. Personally I can hardly wait.

Progress continues on the topographical scarf. Another skein added yesterday. I'll be working on it today while I'm at A Stitch in Time. If it's as quiet as it was on Monday I should be able to get a lot more done.

Topographical

scarf. Sitting around the table at Unraveled and admiring the textures and colors of this scarf, we all agreed that it really looked like the hills that surround the area where we mostly live. At any rate it's more descriptive than just plain Entrelac.

This is turning out to be pretty rustic. Even more than I usually prefer. I still have another seven skeins to go then I have to decide if I want to block it or leave it all hilly and bumpy. On the other hand, it may never be finished. I do get bored when things are this repetitive.

Some scarves

Last week while I was moping around I knit this scarf. It's a pattern I found on Ravelry and it's named The Mystery of Marie Roger Scarf. I'm not sure what exactly appealed to me about this scarf but I couldn't wait to get it going. My friend Mendy had three skeins of Kureyon that looked like they'd work well together even though they were different color numbers. So I bought those last Tuesday. I finished the scarf on Friday night.

The stitch pattern is pretty easy and the scarf is knit lengthwise. I taught myself the Lucy Neatby loose cast off. It's in her book Cool Socks, Warm Feet. I like it and will probably use it a lot, especially for scarves and shawls.



I started my stash reduction project on Sunday. It's not going very fast. I found nine balls of this unknown yarn. Hmm. I wonder what that is and how it would look knit up. (Mind you, I was only in the first box.) So I went to my Ravelry queue and found this pattern for an entrelac scarf. I've never actually made anything in entrelac even though I have done it as a teaching exercise.

I'm not sure what this yarn is as I seem to have discarded all the labels. I think it might be some KFI Kureopatra. Not sure if that's available anymore. I'm going to check with L (of L&H fame) and see if she knows. Her memory is encyclopedic for stuff like this. She'll probably even know the color number. Anyway, the yarn is rustic, a sort of contrived wabi sabi. I like it a whole lot. But I have to start over as my swatch is way too wide for a scarf plus there's not a lot of yardage in the individual skeins and I'd probably not have enough if I kept going.

Happy Easter

"they're never too cute to eat!"

One of the things I like about my daughter is her sense of the irreverent. Hope you're all having a great holiday weekend whether it's Easter of Welcome Spring.

Why yes, I'm still here.

Why do you ask? I'm just off taking care of other stuff. And I'm still dealing with the residual effects of that cold I had a couple of weeks ago.

There is some knitting going on but it's kinda minor stuff. A scarf here, a sock there. Nothing you could really get too excited about. I'm in the early stages of sorting through all my stash, getting rid of yarn that I know I'll never knit. I moved most of the boxes of yarn into my living room so I have to look at it all the time. The cat is most distressed by this but we're both coping. I'm not sure if putting everything on Ravelry is worth the effort. Do you ever look there to find yarn? Is there a separate section for books that are for sale?

Anyway, I'm still here and will get back to blogging on a more regular basis soon. Or at least that's the plan.

Simply Knitting

Sunday was an incredibly beautiful day. The sky was so blue and the clouds so white that it almost hurt your eyes. The California poppies were in bloom, strewn along the side of the highway in painterly abandon. Well, of course, I forgot my camera.

My friend L (of L&H fame) and I went to see a new-to-us yarn shop in Santa Clarita, about a forty five minute drive from where we live. Simply Knitting is a relatively new shop. About four years old I think. I had worked with one of the founders a while before that, helping her hone her knitting skills. I didn't quite believe her when she told me she was going to open a yarn shop. But she did and it's a really nice place.

I got some Mirasol Miski Baby Llama. And the knitting bag that it's resting on. Karen, the other original owner, gave it to me as a souvenir. I'd say that most of the yarns they stock are on the upscale side but the prices seemed very competitive, even a little less in some cases. It was a longer than usual drive but definitely worth it.

Back, kinda

Patrick doesn't get daylight savings time. His own internal clock still functions on regular time. That's great for me. He thinks it's 4AM but it's now 5AM so I've been sleeping a bit later than usual. Only an hour, but still, it's an hour I wasn't getting before. And right now I need plenty of sleep.

This cold, the worst I can remember, has been hanging on and on. All I can do is sleep when I can. I try to knit but I go to sleep. I think I'm getting better and then I have a day where I'm just totally out of it. Still plenty of coughing. But that's how it goes, or at least that's what I hear from others who've already been there.

So that explains why I haven't been posting. And also I've not been doing any hardcore knitting. I've started several things, socks mostly, but haven't been happy with how they look. So there's been lots of frogging and starting over. I think because I'm just fuzzy headed right now that I've made some poor choices in yarn and pattern combinations. So I'm just sticking with an Irish Hiking Scarf, a pattern I've used before, so there are no unwanted surprises. And it doesn't require any thinking at all.

It's been quite warm around here. But that's changing again and we're supposed to get some rain this weekend. That'll be nice. I'm working today and expect to be busy. There's always my Friday morning group coming in for their weekly catch-up on each other. And I have a couple of new knitters who'll probably be in for some tutoring. Tomorrow I'm going to hang out at Unraveled, or as we refer to it locally, UR. I heard there would be some sock yarn on sale.

86 the 196!

I tried to get a picture but it's too early. No sun as yet.

I've been working on a pair of socks for a couple of months now. Socks that I've simply called Stansfield 196 since that's the name of the stitch pattern I was using. The first sock was finished a couple of weeks ago. The second sock should have been done yesterday.

I was about eight rows of gusset decreases when I noticed a split yarn sticking out near the end of the heel turn. No problem. I'll just ladder down when I get there and fix it. Big mistake! The offending stitch was actually part of the final SSK of the heel turn. When I laddered down the whole thing came apart. Not really but it was mess just the same.

So I tinked back and got the offending stitch repaired and continued on my way. I'd been a little uncomfortable with this stitch pattern all along. There are some yarn overs that fall right at the edge of the pattern as it goes down the foot. These yarn overs really stretch open in a most unattractive way when the sock is on. So much so that the laciness is lost and just becomes a distorted mess. But I kept going thinking that the socks would be okay if not great.

Then about mid-evening I decided to check the second sock against the first one. That's when I decided I'd had enough. There's about half an inch difference in the leg, the second sock being longer. After studying the first sock I realized that I has missed some rows in the pattern as well as starting a new pattern repeat at the wrong point.

I don't like these socks well enough to keep going. I'd have to rip the first one anyway if I wanted to fix the discrepancy. So I'm just frogging the whole thing. This is my second sock disaster in a row. The last pair has one sock that's a half an inch short. That I can fix. This pair though has too many issues for me.

I am not well, but I am better.

First of all, thanks to everyone who wrote with good wishes and ideas for treating the most ferocious of all colds. The margaritas with chips and salsa was an especially tempting remedy. But I couldn't manage the stairs or the drive. I'm still at the point where the least bit of exertion wipes me out.

I was able to knit yesterday, between naps. I hope to finish the Stanfield 196 socks today. We don't have knitting group this week but I would probably not go even if we did. I think I'll be okay for going to work tomorrow.

It's a cold.

Yesterday I thought I might be coming down with a cold. Today it is a definite. It's been at least four years since I've had a cold and this one is really making up for lost time. I'm groggy. My eyes burn. And I'm hoping I have enough tissue on hand to last the day. So I probably won't be doing any knitting today. And I'll miss seeing my peeps this afternoon. Altogether it's not a fun day.

Shih Tzu!

Gesundheit! I think I'm coming down with a cold but it could just be the aftermath of an evening at my friend Robert's. I went over there yesterday to meet his new shih tzu puppy. Her name is Susy and she's really the cutest little thing I've seen in a long time.

I've never seen a shih tzu this color, medium brown with brushing of charcoal at the edges. Her eyes are not really that blue but you know how it is with cameras and flashes. Throw in a few glasses of wine and this is what you get. I told Robert he was too old to handle a puppy with this much energy but he still wouldn't let me bring her home with me.

It was a very quiet weekend otherwise. I spent some time at Unraveled on Saturday them come home and worked on my Lehmus shawl. Progress is good. I'm only one repeat behind my plan. There have been a number of adjustments to the stitch pattern along the way. Mostly missed y/o's. I have the pattern well enough in my mind that I can pretty much ignore the print out, except for the start of the rows. And I'm up to about 120 stitches per row now.

The yarn I'm using is a bother. It splits easily and snags a lot. Possibly not a good choice for a shawl but I like the color and I needed to find a use for the yarn. I used a Russian join when I added a new ball. It's okay, better than a knot, but still not as discreet as I would like.

Pictures maybe next weekend.