Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Actually I'm much better

I'm at the end, I hope, of the first cold I've had in years. Just the coughing and tissue consumption left. Maybe by the weekend I'll be over it. I worked Monday but probably shouldn't have. Hope no one caught anything.

But I have been knitting, some.



This is my Windschief hat. It's a Stephen West pattern. I really like his designs. This one comes with a pattern for a cowl using the same motif of twisted knit stitches. The yarn is Noro Retro, two skeins. I've wanted to knit something with this yarn for a long time. I'd use it again but probably knit it on a larger needle. I used a 7US but the yarn calls for 9US. Anyway, the hat is done and I'm back to working on some WIPs.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Practically more of the same

Things are pretty quiet around here. I don't have much to report. I'm going to be working at Skein, where I used to teach before I moved to A Stitch in Time. I'll be there today, tomorrow and Saturday (2/16, 2/17 & 2/19) in case anyone wants to stop by for a lesson or a visit.




I'm still knitting hats, among other things. This one is my fourth or fifth Turn A Square by Brooklyn Tweed. I used some scraps from some very old Reynolds Paterna. I guess they don't make it anymore since I couldn't find it anywhere on-line. I used to have a lot of it but some local moths started using it as a drive-thru. This was all I managed to rescue. I really like this pattern. I've yet to make it in anything like the original yarn.



I also knit this ribbed hat using some Colinette Iona that I recycled from a beret I was making. I realized I wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish so I frogged it and made the ribbed hat. This is another yarn that no longer exists, according to their website. I didn't read the pattern very carefully so I worked a 2X2 rib instead of 3X3. That meant I had to create the decreasing at the top. It worked out just fine. I didn't get a final picture, one with my daughter wearing it, but it looked really cute on her.

I'm still working on the latest Boneyard shawl as well as the cardigan I started back in November. The rows are long so progress is slow.

Also, I had a birthday last week.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Yarn omelette

Did you know that the groundhog doesn't actually see or not see his shadow? The whole thing is decided weeks in advance by a committee. It's true. It must be. I read it on the internet.

This is so wrong. First, Santa Claus, then the Easter Bunny and now the Groundhog. I'm so depressed. But I hope that committee was right. All this crazy weather needs to end and "they" said he saw his shadow so we only have six more weeks of winter. Or was it that he didn't see his shadow. It hardly matters.

But that isn't what I started to write anyway. You know the expression "you have to break eggs to make an omelette." Well, that's what I have going in my house right now. I told you about having to move a bunch of stuff to get to the loom that I was giving away. Well, all that stuff is still stacked, willy-nilly, on the far side of my bed. Or it was. Some of it is now in my living room while I go through each of the bags (there's a lot of them) and decide which projects that were started sometime in the past, are worthy of saving and which ones need to be frogged. Also, which yarns can I comfortably donate or give to friends. The stack of yarns to be donated isn't anywhere near as big as it should be. I'd show you but I'd die of embarrassment.

No pictures of anything I'm knitting. The Boneyard shawl proceeds apace. It's going to be awesome in its tweedy blueness. I've done a few rows on the top down cardigan. That's my Tuesday night simple knitting for when I'm at knitting group. I also have a pair of socks that is only about four months old. The first sock is more than half way done. Pictures soon.

In one of the bags I found a scarf that I started four or five years ago. It's cabled and I used it to practice cabling without a cable needle. Taking a break from sorting, I tried a couple of rows. It was fun. I think I'll go work on it some more.