Blogger Fail

So, I got exactly two days into the week-long blogging exercise.  My main excuse is that I had to go out of town unexpectedly Thursday to Saturday, but that really only excuses me from two days!  The Day 3 exercise was to produce an infographic of some sort.  My idea was to make a Venn diagram showing the intersection of socks, lace, and pink yarn in my projects, but I had a problem finding a Venn diagram-maker that (a) was free and (b) could deal with three concepts.

I will admit that, despite this failure, I LOVE Venn diagrams and Boolean logic.  I remember learning about Boolean logic in 6th grade and, for the first time, being interested in math.  However, I didn't see any possible use in my future life for it.  Little did I know that I would become a librarian and use Boolean logic constantly in complex MEDLINE searches!

So, although I fell down on blogging, I did cast on for a new project over the weekend, and it is neither pink nor socks.  It does involve some lace, though.

The pattern is Cladonia, which I think I queued the week it was first published!  The blue yarn is madelinetosh pashmina in Betty Draper's Blues, and the other is Blue Moon Socks That Rock Heavyweight in Corvid Fledge.  In person, the Corvid Fledge looks much more purple.  The lace edging will be in Betty Draper's Blues.  I'll be taking this project to my conference that begins Saturday in Boston.  I'm also taking a sock, for a little more portability!

Day 2: Mascot Project

For Day 2, Eskimimi wants us to select a project that "embodies that house/animal."  Although she suggests that we might blog about "the journey" to select this pattern, but frankly, since I am of the House of Bee and have already knit not one, but TWO bee-themed projects, I will cheat and talk about those!

The first was the Honeybee Stole, by the incomparable Anne Hanson, which I finished in February 2008. I made this stole for my (very) tall sister.  It was supposed to be 7 feet long, but, lightly blocked, mine turned out to be 11 feet long.  This was the project that made me admit that I have a problem with loose knitting!  I don't have a decent picture of it, but you can see some of the bee patterns here.

Rav

My other bee-based project was more recent.  I made the Buzzy Bee Baby Blanket for a friend of mine last summer.  Frankly, it was adorable.

Because I had made it from KnitPicks Swish Worsted, I threw it in the washer and dryer.  Unfortunately, one bee tried to "escape" or, maybe, commit suicide.

Rav

See the crochet hook and markers there -- I was trying to fix it!  I finally gave up and just sort of re-knit all the stitches, making this bee look like he had lost a wing.  The blanket was still pretty dang cute!

I have another bee-themed pattern (and the yarn for it) in my queue.  The Bee Fields triangle shawl has been in line since 2007.  I even purchased the suggested yarn -- Wooly Wonka Merino laceweight in Buckwheat Honey.  This is a very "not me" color, but seemed so perfect for the project.  I'm thinking this needs to move up a ways in my queue....

Busy as a Bee

I have been such a bad blogger of late.  I write blog posts in my head all the time, but actually posting them is hard. I think that's because I don't like to have a post without a picture and for some reason (maybe the grey, grey winter weather which still lingers here?), I have had no inclination to take pictures.

Steven posted about Eskimimi's Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, and I decided being forced encouraged to post daily might get me back into the groove.

Eskimimi is providing prompts for each day, and today's is to assign ourselves to a Hogwarts-style house.  It took me about 3 seconds to choose.

From the Houses of Bee, Manatee, Monkey, and Peacock, I am definitely a Bee.   Bees are described thusly:

Bees are busy and industrious, but can flit from one interesting project to the next as bright and shiny things capture their interest.

Ah, yes.  I do have a short attention span, and always have multiple projects on the needles.  I also have a tendency to abandon projects, although I will frequently pick them up later.

For example, last time I blogged, I asked about advice on what to knit out of my MadTosh Vintage.  I wanted to knit a worsted-weight shawl, with lace or some sort of interest.  I got several suggestions, but instead -- the new Knitty came out, and I started a pair of socks (one done, although I've knit twice).  I also went back to my Whispering Pines shawl, which has been languishing for well over two years!  So, yes, "bright and shiny things" to capture  my interest!

Quandary

I am not even going to try to explain why I haven't posted since November, because there is no good reason beyond the fact that it's way easier to compose blogposts in one's head than to actually get them written.

So - if I have any readers left, I need your help!

You might remember that I knit Juneberry last winter. If you've been around a while, you know I love knitting lace, and knitting with anything heavier than DK is "big yarn" for me.  But I'm coming around to using heavier-weight yarn for lace - I love the way my Juneberry looks, even with it's one "odd" corner.  (I think it reminds me of my kitty Harley's one tan paw, although I didn't think of that when I chose the color.)

Who, me?  

I love that odd corner so much (it's Madtosh tosh vintage in Trodden) that I bought four more skeins, making, combined with the 3/4 -- at least! -- of the skein I had left from Juneberry, about 950 yards to do something.

So, I am trying to not cast on for anything else until I finish what I consider my current projects: the second Waffles! sock, the second Peerie Flooers mitten (that is, of course, the inside of mitten #1), and the Winter Arboretum* shawl.  But that doesn't stop me from making plans!

I had pretty much decided that I would use those 950 worsted-weight yarn to make Willoughby, which has been in my queue for three years. I like the idea of a rectangular wrap, rather than a triangular shawl. Then I saw Pachelbel.  Hmmm....  I love it, but I'm pretty sure I would be really, really bored during the long expanse between those gorgeous ends.

I've spent the last week or so going back and forth between those two. And then a few days ago, I cam across Leila Raabe's designs.  Suddenly, I like the idea of a "non-lace lace" shawl.  The one issue I have with Juneberry, which I wear pretty much daily, is getting things caught in the lace.  Leila's designs look like lace, even when they aren't.  Kindling and Ashby are both "non-lace" and written for worsted weight, so I've added them to my list.  Of course, if I'm going with triangular, there's also Maroni....

So what do you think:  Willoughby, Pachelbel, Kindling, Ashby, or Maroni?

*About Winter Arboretum:  If you check Ravelry, you'll see that I'm the only one knitting it.  And because of that, I've learned my lesson about being the first knitter from a designer I'm not familiar with -- even one who claims to have used a tech editor. I was most of the way through the edging, which is knit first, before I finally admitted to myself that no amount of blocking would make my garter-stitch-looking edging resemble the stockinette-based one in the pictures.  I compared the chart (which of course I had been using) to the written instructions, and realized the wrong-side rows on the chart were wrong.  The only good thing is that I had been rethinking my colors and decided that if I had to frog the whole thing, I would change the colors I was using.  I also emailed the designer.  Within a couple days, she had a corrected chart available, although I'm disappointed that she doesn't mention this in her pattern notes.  I'm sure I'm not the only person who bought the pattern, even if I was the only one knitting it.....

Where the heck have I been?

1) September 7: closed on my new townhouse
2) September 13-16: moved a lot of stuff
3) October 5-9: Rochester, Minnesota for the annual meeting of the Midwest Chapter of the Medical Library Association
3) October 12-14:  Breckenridge, Colorado for a friend's wedding
4) October 14-17:  Lubbock, Texas for the annual meeting of the South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association
5) October 17-22:  San Antonio, for a little vacation (after all, I was already in Lubbock, only an 8 hour drive away!  And my chauffeur was another knitter!)

And then I did next to nothing (except move more boxes around and, oh, yeah, go to my regular job on a daily basis) until.....

6) November 18-19:  Sister and brother-in-law visited on their way to Mom's for Thanksgiving
7) November 21-24:  Thanksgiving at Mom's!

And now -- since last Saturday, the 25th, I've been in Chicago for yet another conference.

As you can imagine, I still have boxes to unpack, but I have finished some knitting projects, including finishing a pair of much-needed and long-languishing gloves for myself.

It's really hard to take a picture of your own hand!

I also worked a bit of conductive thread into the tips of the right index finger and thumb, so I can use my iPhone while wearing them. It really works!

One of these bees....

One of these bees...

is not like the others.

One of these bees...

just doesn't belong.

On the other hand, it DOES look better than it did when I pulled it out of the dryer!

As you can tell by the presence of the crochet hook and the stitch marker, this was not immediately after I pulled it out of the dryer -- it was after I had started to lay it out to take pictures and noticed that one of the 21 bees on this blanket was missing a wing.

I can't figure out what I did to make this happen.  I first tried to re-knit it in pattern, with absolutely no luck.  So then I tried just to knit it back up. I did a little better then, but it's still not perfect.  This is a gift (obviously!) and I considered not giving it, but then I decided that, out of 21 bees, less than half of one was a mess.  My friend can just position some baby body part over that one bee, and it will be fine!

Right?  (I'm right, right?)

The pattern is the Buzzy Bee Baby Blanket, knit out of Knit Picks Swish Worsted.  Ravved here.

Oh, Hi!

Sorry for the blog silence.  Despite the fact that I am knitting a baby blanket for a baby due this week, there really hasn't been much knitting.  The non-gender-specific blanket is the Baby Buzzy Bee Blanket.  I bought the kit from Knitpicks, because it came with Swish, such a great baby yarn.  The pattern itself is a tiny bit problematic. English is not the designer's native language, so some things are a little quirky (to quote someone on Ravelry!).  For example, charts are called "schemes," and borders "planks." There is also one big error in the pattern, which is pretty obvious if you're an experienced knitter -- in one place, it says all wrong-side stitches are knit. This is not true, and the instructions later on are correct -- you "knit the knits and purl the purls" on the wrong side.  Nevertheless, it's a very cute pattern, and I'm about 2/3 done.

I've been slowed down somewhat by the summer heat -- it was 105 here one day last week, which is hot anywhere, and particularly so in Iowa.  But my main obstacle to knitting has been the fact that I am in the midst of buying a townhouse!  It's brand-new, and should be done at the end of the month. I expect to close and move in mid-August. So I'm starting to pack up and imagine window coverings.  Luckily, this move is less than 10 miles, which will be much easier (and cheaper!) than my last move from San Antonio!

Next time -- knitting pictures!

This and That, part 2

Read THIS!  I spent the weekend reading Ann Shayne's new novel, Bowling Avenue.  It was wonderful!  It's full of great characters -- I identified with almost all of them, even the ones I didn't particularly like--with an equally great story, a flood, and even a little knitting subplot.  It's simultaneously funny, sad, and bittersweet.  You know, I'm a medical librarian and the word "self-published" strikes fear, or perhaps just derision, in my heart, but I guess Ann's self-published book proves that I should be a little more open-minded (although I'm still not sure about self-published medical texts....).   I bought the Kindle version from Amazon, but it's also available in print from Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com (there's a Nook version, too).  And if you have a favorite independent bookstore, they can order if for you.  If you're not sure, you can read the first chapter for free -- if you're like me, you'll order it even before you're done with the chapter.  Go do that now, and then I'll tell you about some knitting.  I'll wait.

Now, quickly before you start reading Ann's book -- remember long ago, at the end of my last post, I mentioned THAT gorgeous Tussah silk yarn I had ordered from DyeForYarn in Germany?  I ordered it especially for Fragile Heart (Rav link, which seems to be the only link available) -- it was the yarn the designer used.  The yarn is gorgeous, and a really good buy (about $35 for over 750 yards of lace-weight, and only $5 shipping!)  I will definitely order from them again.

The pattern was well-written, too, and I really enjoyed knitting it.  If you knit lace, it was both interesting and easy, if you know what I mean.  I was never bored (except during the picot bind-off!), but I was never frustrated, either.  The shawl is beaded, which slowed me down a bit, but it was worth it.  I used size 6/0 clear A/B beads that were lined in copper.  The designer, Boo Knits, has several other pretty shawls that I may need to knit, too.

Blocking, rather unevenly....

Closer up, although it's still hard to see the beads.

Here's my Ravelry post, if you want more details.

This and That

I wouldn't say I exactly have startitis, but I have started several new projects recently.

Back in March, during the Honey Cowl craze, I cast on for one, using two colors of madelinetosh pashmina -- Betty Draper's Blues (the same color, although different yarn base, that I used for my sister's Saroyan) and Mica.  I haven't gotten far on it, but I'm going to a conference soon, so I need some straightforward knitting.

One of my problems is that I'm not sure that it wouldn't look better with the colors reversed, so that the lighter blue (Mica) is at the edge.  Part of me is pretty sure it won't make much difference!  I'd be happy to hear opinions on this....

I've also cast on for a pair of socks.  I'm taking part in Anne Hanson's Bare Naked Knitspot.  I will say that I am not good about knitting the pattern of the month with that month's yarn.  But I cast on immediately in April for the Waffle Creams socks with the natural merino/alpaca yarn that came with the pattern. (No links yet because it's the latest club project.)

Usually, I knit socks on size 1 needles on around 66 stitches.  These were 68 stitches, but the fabric on size 1s was too loose, so I frogged and switched to size 0 needles.  The fabric was beautiful, but when I got almost to the heel, I tried the sock on, and although I could get it on, it was too small, and I knew the instep would be an issue.  So I frogged again (although I wish I had taken a picture first -- the fabric rally was gorgeous!) and cast on for the next size up, 76 stitches.  The good news is that I definitely have the cable, over 7 stitches with a twist in the middle, down pat, even without a cable needle!  This will be another conference project.

The yarn is actually a little more tan than this....

And finally -- a while back I ordered a skein of silk lace yarn all the way from Germany.  It's Tussah Silk from DyeForYarn and the yarn-maker was in Fuerth, a suburb of Nuernberg (Nuremberg).  Eons ago, I was an Army wife, and we lived in another Nuernberg suburb.  The big PX and commissary for our region was in Fuerth, and I spent much time there. Obviously it was meant to be!

But I think I'll wait until next time to show you more about this one....

Another finished object!

I know -- you are all amazed at this!  This one has actually been finished since April 9, but it was a gift so I had to make sure it was received before I posted.

The same day that Simon went to kitty heaven, Home Ec Workshop had their anniversary party/sale.  As you have probably figured out, I'm on a real madtosh kick right now, and while I was fondling the tosh dk in Betty Draper's Blues, it occurred to me that my sister would love that color.  The friend standing next to me suggested that I really should knit something for her, sort of in Simon's memory, so I bought two skeins, not really knowing what I would use it for.

Looking at my Ravelry queue, I realized that Saroyan has been there for a long, long time and would be perfect for the yarn, especially since the size is easily customizable for the amount of yarn you've got.  This was a fun, quick knit -- there was enough stockinette to make it go fast, but not so much to bore me.  And the leaves were really fun to knit!  You can see the details on my Rav page.

Imperfect FO

As soon as I saw Jared Flood's Juneberry, I knew I had to make.  I knew it had to be red.  A while back, I bought 3 skeins of madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in Amber Trinket.  Amber Trinket is an interesting color -- if you go through a lot of Ravelry stashes (sorry - link will only work if you are a Rav member.  But why aren't you?), you'll see the sometimes it looks red, sometimes it looks brown or orange or copper.  Mine was definitely a deep red.  Eventually I realized that Juneberry and Amber Trinket were made for each other.

I cast on on New Year's Eve and finished a couple weeks ago.  I do love my Juneberry, but if I had to do it over, I would definitely use size 7 needles, not size 8.  The fabric, which in places is supposed to be very open, is a little TOO open.  And even though I had 600 yards of yarn for a pattern that called for 480, I ran out.  (This is because of my incredibly loose knitting - it's not a problem with the pattern.) Because Amber Trinket is such a unique and unmatchable color, I didn't even try.  Instead, I used madtosh Vintage in Trodden, which is composed of shades of tan and light brown, with the occasional rosy smudge.  It goes well with my version of Amber Trinket, but I'd rather I didn't have to use it!  I keep thinking about how, when I used to cross-stitch, errors were said to "make it your own."  But I think this is just a little too much "my own"!

This WAS a fun knit, though! I enjoyed the many, many bobbles, and even learned how to knit backwards so I didn't have to constantly flip my knitting over for each bobble.

Please excuse the unwoven ends that are VERY noticeable in these pictures.  

Also, after I looked at these, I went back and re-pinned the points to make them more even!

Ooh!  There's some sort of stain on my blocking quilt. Sorry!

Happy and Sad

First, the Happy:

I can finally share my stealth-knitting project, Wool Leaves.  I really love how this turned out!

The yarn is Madelinetosh tosh dk, held doubled.  The color is called Calligraphy, and is a gorgeous neutral -- sort of parchment with hints of tan and grey.  The blanket is for Bezzie and her new baby girl.*  I wanted something kind of girly, without being pink (which I realize is weird for me).  I'm really happy with how this turned out, even after knitting it the equivalent of twice -- first, I knit half on size 10 needles, which was too tight, then almost half on 11s, which was too loose.  10.5's finally seemed just right, though!

And now the Sad:

I'm sure many of you remember Simon, who lived with me for years, first while my sister and I lived together, and then after she got married. Simon and my Harley were the best of friends, so we didn't split them up until I moved from San Antonio to Iowa City.

Anyway, at the ripe old age of almost 18, after having been on heart meds for at least 12 of those years, Simon succumbed to old age on Friday.  This wasn't a real surprise, but was still heart-breaking for both my sister and me.  I'm glad I got to spend some special time with Simon at Christmastime.


*  Just in case you wondered, I don't knit for every pregnant blogger I read.  I met, and knitted with, Bezzie during her brief time in San Antonio.  In fact, we even worked on the same campus!

A Couple FOs

I spent the last week at my mom's. She's doing really great and I could see her doing better and better daily. I knew she was feeling better on Friday, when I found her in the kitchen, mixing up a batch of cookies. No big deal, she said -- they're bar cookies! Today, she started cardiac rehab and also got to start driving again, so that really makes things more normal for her.

Being at Mom's gave me time to knit a couple small, much-needed projects.

First, Thor got his sweater.  Here he's sitting on my mom's lap -- much to my niece's chagrin, Mom is his very favorite person!

It's a little big. I think I may have to make him another one in a non-acrylic yarn that keeps its shape better. The patter is Little Penny and the yarn is Caron Simply Soft. I adapted the pattern to better fit Thor's neck, shoulders, and chest which are all just about the same size. The shawl-style collar helped with that. I also trimmed the leg holes with a couple rows of single crochet in navy blue. Details here.

And after washing a few dishes, I realized that Mom desperately needed new dishcloths.  She likes the Ballband Dishcloths I've made for her, but hers are in tatters, so I whipped out a new one Friday evening/Saturday morning.

Details here.

And -- the stealth project is blocking right now!!

What I've been up to

Sorry for the long silence!  Life has been both boring and hectic.  Boring because in winter, there is no way I can get a decent picture of my knitting anywhere in my house, so I feel dumb posting knitting pictures posts without photos.  Also, I've finished a major stealth knitting project.  Once it's washed, blocked, and mailed away, I'll show y'all some pictures (although they may very well be dark and gloomy, for the previously stated reason).

And hectic because I've been back and forth between my mom's house and mine (220 miles each way) several times in the last couple weeks.  On February 15, Mom had open-heart surgery to repair two leaky heart valves.  She had a triple bypass plus mitral valve repair in 2003, and really felt fine.  But she went to a new cardiologist (her original one died of cancer a while back, and she didn't like his replacement, so this is HIS replacement) who saw something wonky with her mitral and tricuspid valves.  He said she's in such good physical condition that they weren't bothering her yet, but would be.  He was afraid that the mitral valve might have to be replaced, but the surgeon was able to repair it instead.

Since her surgery in 2003, Mom has been going to the gym three times a week.  For the most part, her recovery this time has been much faster, and I think it's because she's in such good shape.  We heard from more than one person in the hospital that they really couldn't believe her age.  Her only problem this time is that her heart wants to beat really slowly.  It was very slow for the first few days after surgery, then sped up to a more normal rate (low to mid-60s).  But this week, it has slowed back down to around 50, causing her to be tired and have a horrible headache.  She may yet need to have a pacemaker, but that is very minor surgery compared to what she's had.

So -- I'm at Mom's right now, and will spend the week here.  After I get home, I'll block the stealth project, and show it to you.  And since I have knitting with me, maybe there will be pictures of that, too!

Catching up

Mom, my brother, my niece, and I spent the week between Christmas and New Year's in San Antonio, at my sister's.  I got to see my family and a few friends, and ate quite a lot of Tex-Mex. (Yes, we have Mexican restaurants in Iowa City.  Some of the owners are even Mexican-American.  No, it's not the same.)

On New Year's Even we went to Pico de Gallo for dinner.  They had decorated for the holidays with rows of silver papel picado alternating with strings of colored lights.  It was so amazingly sparkly -- I may have to do something like it next Christmas!

That's my niece, under the papel picado.

These pictures really don't do it justice -- too much sparkle!

They also had a beautiful Dia de los Muertos-themed tree:

********

I almost called this post "Cat Tales," because I've got two great stories, including one with pictures!

Pictureless story:

One night last week, I woke up around 4:00 a.m., because I thought I heard kittens.  Once I was awake, I didn't hear kittens anymore, but I did realize that neither Harley or Alice were in bed with me.  Although Harley comes and goes, Alice always sleeps with me, usually in a manner that makes it impossible to move my legs.

So I went downstairs -- two floors -- and as I stepped into the living room, I saw Harley scurrying away from the laundry room door.  Alice loves the laundry room, but isn't allowed in it -- she has to back out from behind the washer and dryer, and I worry that something might happen.  She's pretty good about staying out, although she always watches me closely while I'm in there.  I guess she had slipped in as I finished up my laundry the evening before.  Sure enough, I opened the door and she darted out, and ran across the room to Harley, who rather frantically licked her head.  It was so cute -- Harley acts like she doesn't like Alice, or at least that she's too energetic for her, but apparently she had been worried!  In fact, we all went upstairs, and in the morning, instead of hanging out with me while I put on my makeup, Harley was sacked out on the guest room bed.  I think she had been sitting in front of the laundry room, worrying, all night!

With pictures:

Despite not being a kitten anymore, Alice still like to chase her own tail.  Here she is, chasing it across the back of the couch.

And finally -- not a story, just a picture.  I know a lot of you remember Simon, my sister's cat who lived with me in San Antonio (that's him as my avatar over on the right).  Simon is almost 18 years old, and has had a bad heart since he was about 5.  He's definitely become an old man kitty and spends a lot of his day asleep.  However, the smell of chicken still perks him up!  Here he is, trying to get a bite of my Taco Cabana chicken fajita bowl --

Maybe next time I'll have some knitting to show you....

FOs

One cowl done:

Pattern:  Pei
Yarn:  Brooklyn Tweed LOFT, in Postcard

This was a quick and easy knit, although when I finished, I realized my cast-on (the scalloped edge at the top of this photo) was a little tight.  The yarn is the new fingering-weight from Jared Flood/Brooklyn Tweed.  It's very traditional, maybe a little rough, but soaking and blocking really softened it up, and it's very comfy to wear. That's good, because I've got a couple more skeins that I plan on using for mittens!  It's also a little lighter in color than the picture, really a pale grey with a little lavender tinge, and tiny flecks of pink and blue.

34 tiny jars of cranberry-apricot chutney done:

For many years, I made lots of mini-loaves of Carrot Coconut Bread for co-workers and friends.  Two years ago, I became obsessed with Cranberry-Apricot Chutney, after buying a jar at Williams Sonoma.  I made several different recipes and finally combined what I liked into the recipe I use now.  I can it in 4-ounce jars; last year, I bought real canning supplies, and let me tell you, some of those extra things that seem unnecessary, like the canning rack with handles and the magnet-on-a-stick to retrieve lids, really come in handy!

Cranberry Apricot Chutney

Makes about 4 cups

1 bag fresh cranberries

1 cup dried apricots, diced

1½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1/2 cup orange juice

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Peel of 1 large orange, grated 

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root

Combine ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium high and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved, most of the berries have popped, and the mixture is very thick.

I canned this using 4-oz (1/2 cup) jars, processing for 10 minutes.  Ball has some good instructions on their website, if you haven't canned before. I would also recommend their book, Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

Yarn, Yarn, and More Yarn

I need to post tonight so I'll have two posts this month!

Although I am knitting along on my second Entangled Stitches glove and Pei cowl, my yarn stash is, as usual, growing faster than my FOs!

About a week and a half ago, I saw (on Ravelry) the prototype for Boo Knits' Fragile Hearts, and knew that, not only did I need to knit it, but that I needed to knit it in the same yarn -- DyeForYarn's Tussah Silk Lace.  This yarn is made in Germany and until recently was sold only through their Etsy shop.  (Just last week, they opened a brick-and-mortar shop in Furth, Germany.   Weirdly enough, when I lived in Germany 30 years ago, it was near Furth -- our "big PX" was there!)

Anyway, I ordered a skein from their Etsy shop, and it came all the way from Germany in just 8 days!  I don't think I've ever knitted with 100% silk before.  Hopefully, I'll start this soon.  So pretty!

It's actually a little pinker than this....

Then, last Saturday, I made a quick trip from Mom's (where I spent Thanksgiving) to Champaign to have lunch with my cousin.  I could go there without hitting Needleworks, where I left with three skeins of worsted weight yarn.  I never buy worsted weight unless I have a specific purpose -- I don't know what came over me!

Two skeins of Berroco Lustra, a wool/tencel combination, in a color that's kind of red and a little orange that they call Capucine.  Maybe it's coral.  Maybe someday I'll get a better picture...

One skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Candy Floss Mix, which I think is a fantastic color name!  The color is sort of a darker, pinker version of the LOFT yarn I'm using for my Pei.  I'm hoping one skein is enough for some sort of hat -- they only had one skein of this color left.

I'll try to post sooner next time and with better pictures.  I just hate trying to take pictures in the winter dark...

Well, hello there!

If I have any followers left -- I had a very busy October and am just now recovering from it!

Mostly, it was "work busy," since I was at two conferences.  There was knitting at both, but the second, in Baton Rouge, was best, at least in part because I got to see Steven!

I was working on a sock while I was there -- the Lenore socks I talked about in my last, long-ago post.  I worried that they might be too small, remember?  After I turned the heel on the first one, I decided to slip it on to see how it fit -- and it was huge!

Can you see?  They're practically baggy -- and they actually are baggy around the foot!  Steven admitted that when he saw them, before the heel turn even, that he thought they looked awfully big...

I love this pattern, but I'm thinking the I'm going to frog this and make something simpler -- ribs, maybe, with an eye of partridge heel....

I've also been working on the Sugared Violets shawl.  I have to admit that the sparkles make this yarn a little scratchy  But -- still very cute!  And not as eye-searingly bright as it might appear here....

My third currently-active project is (are?) my Entangled Stitches gloves.  I'm working on the index finger of the right glove right now, but what you see here is just the back of the hand.  There's a mis-crossed cable there, but we won't talk about that.

I am suddenly very take with several of Jared Flood's designs, so I ordered several skeins of his new LOFT yarn, from which I plan to make the Carlisle mittens and the Pei cowl.  I ordered three colors:  Postcard, Homemade Jam, and Stormcloud (top to bottom):

There's another skein of Postcard (a gorgeous pale grey with flecks of pink hidden in it), which Alice had some fun with in the few minutes between when I dropped in and when I realized it was gone.

I think it will be fine.  I hope so, since I plan to use one skein for Pei, and the other, with Homemade Jam, for the mittens.  I'm not sure what the Stormcloud will be -- when I ordered it, I thought I might use it for the mittens (with Postcard), but I think Homemade Jam is a better choice.

High on my queue is also Jared's Juneberry Triangle, which I plan on making from Madeline Tosh Vintage in Amber Trinket, which is an absolutely lovely color -- a mix of reds and ambers and bronzes, and a little darker than my picture.

However, I really need to get to working on the sweater I promised my niece for her miniature chihuahua, Thor, who, at 4 pounds, is half the size of the smallest cat I've ever had! Yes, a dog sweater.....

Baby Sophisticate #2, etc.

Baby Sophisticate #1 got its buttons and has been gifted.  I will say that the KnitPicks Swish really bled in the wash -- the water of the first wash was as red as the yarn!  I washed and rinsed it three times, and really should warn the recipients that it might still run a bit. However, I really like knitting with Swish and the washability makes it great for baby gifts.

Baby Sophisticate #2 is almost done -- it needs to have ends woven in, buttons added, and a wash.  This one is from Eco Alpaca, which is undyed, so it shouldn't run!  Of course, it's also not machine-washable and dryable, but the soon-to-be mother is a knitter so I think she'll appreciate it!

This yarn is just a little bit thinner than the KnitPick Swish, although both are considered worsted.  While knitting this, I also realized that I knit stockinette a lot tighter in the round.  This shouldn't be a surprise, since I tend to purl loosely.  For some reason, this problem seemed exacerbated in this yarn, so I went up a needle size for the sleeves in the round.

I'm about to leave for two conferences -- Midwest MLA in Indianapolis, followed just a few days later by South Central Chapter/MLA in Baton Rouge -- so I need travel knitting.  While I'm sure several of my WIPs would fill this bill, I have cast on for two new projects!

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Lenore socks have been in my queue for ages.  I even bought the yarn they were designed for (Blue Moon STR Lightweight in the Lenore colorway).

I'm glad I cast on for these before I left.  Socks tend to work best on my feet if I cast on between 62 and 66 stitches on size 1s.  The regular size Lenores are 60 stitch socks.  I didn't want to go up a needle size, since I don't like a floppy sock, so I first tried casting on the large (72 stitch) size on size 0s.  Whoa!  Talk about huge!  I got through most of the lace cuff and admitted this wasn't working.  So now I'm doing the regular size on 1s -- I think they'll be fine!  I really need to get over the idea that I need to knit big socks!

I also cast on Sugared Violets, a pretty little shawlette that will be perfect for knitting during meetings - the pattern is very straight-forward.

The yarn is Dream in Color Starry in Punky Fuchsia.  Starry is a sock-weight yarn shot through with silver fibers.  It's very pretty and not as flashy as it might sound!

Look! FOs!

To continue the saga of the dying computer -- well, it's dead.  I am posting from my pretty new MacBook Pro.  It's a bit heavier than the MacBook Air I had before (which was first-generation and taught me to avoid first-gen in the future) but I like it a lot -- and I won't have to keep editing the contents of my hard drive to keep it below the 80 gigs of my old MBA.

The big news, though, is that I have finished two projects!  Well, almost -- if you're really picky and insist that the ends be all woven in and the buttons on and all the blocking finished, well, then, they aren't done. But they're close enough for me!

Several days ago, I finished the knitting on my Catkin.  Here is Alice, helping with the blocking (and notice the ball of yarn, which she picked up out of the yarn basket and carried around without unrolling it!):

Sorry about the laser eyes!

Here's a perhaps better picture:

The yarn is madelinetosh sock in Citrus and Baltic (aka, Illini orange and blue).  Because of my freaky loose knitting, I ran out of Baltic and had to order a replacement skein from the Loopy Ewe, whose service was amazingly fast.  And the second skein matched just fine. Because I then had so much extra of the blue, I diverted from the pattern a bit, doing the last bit in blue rather than orange, and adding a couple extra rows, too.  I still need to weave in some ends and find buttons, but it's so close to done!

The second almost-finished Finished Object is the first of two Baby Sophisticates.  Two of my co-workers are expecting baby boys in the next few weeks, so they will have coordinating sweaters.  I'm making both in the 6-12 month size because Ravelry says the pattern runs small.

Pardon the weird looking hand...

The yarn was some stash-busting Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Fired Brick.  Swish is a great yarn - I'm glad I had enough in the stash for this project.  This was a quick knit - Ravelry says it took me about 3 weeks, but most of the knitting was done in the last week.  I need to find buttons for it, too.

So - there you go -- a new computer, two finished objects, and yet another cat assisting with the blocking!