1 WIP & 1/2 FO

Remember that Tuscon Lattice Shawl I cast on the other day? I already frogged it. The very thin and hairy yarn was hard to knit and I wasn't getting very far very fast and got impatient. It wasn't a very complex lace pattern, just k2tog then yo, so I found the Jennifer's Scarf pattern on Ravelry and decided to make it double-wide so I'd have a shawl instead of a scarf. Another motivation for changing it was the yarn is making very definite stripes and I thought it'd look silly in that lattice pattern, kind of like a rugby scarf made out of inappropriate yarn. We'll see how this turns out.

And I finished mitt #1 of the Twisted Harvest Wristwarmers. (colors not at all correct in this picture) Writing out the directions, row by row, helped me a lot. Now I just have to turn the paper over and make the left one. I'm counting this as half a Finished Object.

Ah, An Idea That Made Me Smile

Rereading the previous post and getting tired all over again, I thought, it's like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers with Ginger doing everything Fred did, only backwards and in high heels. Guess knitting these mitts makes me both Fred and Ginger. I always wanted to be Ginger.

Frustrating

I'm getting pretty good at following knitting patterns (*knock wood* don't want to irk the knitting gods, you know), but the pattern for this cabled fingerless mitt has me frustrated. There are 4 different cable rows, which isn't bad, and the full cable panel pattern is 12 rows, also not bad, but then there are 4 rows combining the rib and cable panel, followed by a line saying, "Beg with row 5 of cable panel, patt 22 more rows, ending with row 10 of cable panel." So I'm assuming that means repeat the 4 rows set above, melding them with the 12 cable panel rows from over on the side of the page. (However, counting from row 1, row 22 gets you to row 10 of the cable panel, knitting 22 more rows takes you to row 26 overall and row 2 of the cable panel. I stopped at row 22.) Since 12 is a multiple of 4 I managed to work my way through that. Then I got to the "Shape thumb gusset" part. Each and every row is marked "Next row", no number, no indication of which cable row should be a part of it. Now the first section ended with row 10 of the cable panel. Does that mean that I start with row 11? I assume so, since I want the cable panel to look right. So that's what I did, but I can't for the life of me keep it straight which cable row goes with which "next" row. So I'm sitting at the computer, transcribing the pattern row by row, writing every stitch out, knitting as I go. It's a very slow way to knit a mitt. And do you want to know what's even better? The other mitt is a mirror image since there's only one cable panel and it must go on the back of the hand, not the palm. I get to do this backwards. Yikes.

A Terrible Case of Startitis

The other night after I finished the Mitered Hanging Towel and hung it in the kitchen I looked down at my feet to decide which of my WIPs to pick up next. I crocheted a row on the latest Market Bag but really felt like something new. So I cast on the next Sudoku square since I have 72 left to make before I start assembling the throw.



But it wasn't very satisfying. I had bought all that new yarn and 2 new pattern books, surely I could cast on something NEW instead of work on my boring old things. Right? Right!

For months now I've been buying skeins of thin and mohair-y yarn thinking I'd try my hand at making a spiderwebby shawl to drape elegantly over my shoulders, so I cast on this. It's the Tuscon Lattice Shawl from this book.








But there was that variegated wool I bought too. And a pattern for cabled fingerless mitts in the new accessories book. I'd better cast that on too. What the hell.






That's what I did on Tuesday. Imagine what I can get started with the whole weekend at my disposal, I have lots of needles and hooks.

Towel Ta-Da!

Last night after a lovely bowl of chicken dumpling stoup (a sort of stew/soup) with crusty bread to dip in it (and I only dripped one drop on my shirt), I finished the Mason-Dixon Hanging Mitered Towel. Ta-da!

Some Yarn, Some Jam

I got Mason-Dixon's new book, Knitting Outside the Lines, on Friday and had to plunge right in. I'd been saving this ball of Sugar 'n Cream in Oriental Ocher for something special and the Mitered Hanging towel turned out to be it. I did have to use some of my birthday gift card to get a 14" pair of US 7s so I wasn't cramming the early rows on the needle. But now I'm in the home stretch finishing up the handle (despite what the picture shows).

Durwood's been harvesting raspberries from the plants he inherited from our son (who abandoned them to move to Montana with his bride to brew beer) and he's got a lot of them. Saturday he made a pie and yesterday I talked him through making his first batch of jam. He'll be picking little seeds out of his teeth for weeks and weeks.








But there's still plenty of tomatoes for Tomato Boy, too.




Now I've got the jam-making bug. I want to make cherry, maybe plum, mango, and a recipe I found in the Settlement cookbook for Pineapple/Orange/Strawberry Jam. Doesn't that sound yummy? I need more jars.

I Had The Most-est Fun!

I spent a few hours today spending my birthday gift cards and other gift cards to lighten my wallet. What a blast!

I spent my $5 Stein's card on a red and yellow daisy-like perennial plant that'll last for years, and my 2-$5 Target cards on two nice collared shirts for work (I had to add some cash to that, okay, I added ten bucks, but it was half free!)



I got a gift card for Michaels for my birthday from my lovely daughter. Thanks, Ann! I picked out 2 skeins of Patons Classic Wool in Harvest, 1 skein of Classic Wool Merino in Palais (I'm thinking maybe Fetchings or some convertible mittens/fingerless mitts), 3 balls of Sugar 'n Cream (2 variegated & 1 solid), and a pair of 14" bamboo US 7 needles to make the button kitchen towel in Mason-Dixon Knitting's new book. Dang it, I forgot to get a button!






From Durwood came a gift card from JoAnn's. That brought 2 skeins of Lion Brand Landscapes in Deep Sea colorway (I'm a slave to that yarn!), 3 balls of Sugar 'n Cream (2 variegated & 1 solid--are you seeing a pattern here?), and a Knitted Accessories book (cute stuff in there).

Each of the above benefitted from a 40 or 50% off on one item coupon, so it was like an extra bonus gift. Squee!



I had a Walmart card I was convinced had less than $1 on but since I was out to clear out my wallet, I went there too and picked out 3 balls of Peaches and Creme dishcloth cotton (all variegated. I can not for the life of me buy solid color dishcloth cotton, it's just too dull.) Happily, I only used up half of what was on the card but by then I was too pooped to go back and spend the other $3.



In a completely un-gift-carded stop at Loops and Links, I blew my mad money bankroll on 2 skeins of Lamb's Pride Bulky in Prairie Goldenrod and 3 skeins of Zitron Prisma in the festively named color 410. Evidently I'm destined to try my hand at shawl knitting because I can't resist buying the thin and fuzzy stuff lately.

Swap!

When I got back from writing camp last weekend there was a package waiting for me from my new blog-friend Rochard. I sent her some yarn and she sent me 2 books! I've already marked a couple of sweaters to look more closely at and I know I won't be able to resist making some crocheted bath buddies. Hilarious! Coming to a stocking near you!!

One Down, Eight To Go

I finished the last square for the first Sudoku afghan block tonight then I amused myself by laying them out in all nine arrangements. It's going to look cool once I get it done--someday.

I'm Back!

I admit, I got home Saturday afternoon, but I've been busy getting sucked back into normal life. Arrgh. I didn't do a lot of knitting/crocheting at The Clearing; I took walks and I wrote and I ate--a lot. Now I'm back to where there's no bell that rings and no nice ladies bring yummy food 3 times a day, there's only Durwood and me and whatever food's around. Ah well, I can adjust.

I worked on some stealth knitting:






And I started another crocheted market bag. Love the lime color.

I'm Off To Camp!

Writer camp, not knitter camp, but it's still camp and I'm excited. I'll be back next Saturday with a smile on my face and lots of stories to tell.

In the meantime I want to show you what $.69 (that's sixty-nine cents) will buy you at Goodwill if you're lucky. Isn't she the cutest little thing?



And this wooly worm has been hanging around our mailbox for the last few days. Doesn't he/she look like a great idea for a knitted purse?

Bibbed Out

I finished the 4 bibs for my writing friend's incipient twin grandsons. Whew. The babies aren't due until the end of the year but I'm spending the week with her at a writing workshop next week. Giving them to her then will allow me to see her reaction when she opens the package. Smart, et?

I Love This Hat!

After making four BIG Pointy Hats in wild colors I decided to try my hand at making a Meathead Hat in regular sized yarn. I love it! Of course, it's red, and two shades of red at that. And I pinned a lovely amber and silver spider pin on it just to make it absolutely perfect. *sigh* Red yarn knit on DPNs, amber and a spider; what could be better?