Knit-A-Longs

Here's Unst #1 this morning. It was much easier to be objective yesterday at lunchtime when I was miles away from the sock. But (yeah, I started a sentence with 'but'; somewhere an English teacher is grimacing) last evening when I picked it up and looked at it I just couldn't do it. I have 3 more inches to knit before I decrease for the toe. I hope to finish this one by Saturday morning AND, since the weather is supposed to suck around here this weekend, I should be able to make great progress on Unst #2.

I'm such a wimp. But (again with the but?) I can always knit it in a solid color later, right?

Piawacket loves to knit....she loves to sit and talk and talk while the yarn loops and wriggles...I'm serious...she mewls and yips and purrs while I knit and we are both enjoying this time in her life. We've been together for 10 years this month! Fluffy, too. But Fluffy's more of a painting cat and spends a lot of her time in the art room downstairs with Chris.

Back to knitting, the September Dishcloth KAL starts tomorrow. I'm psyched! I'm gonna knit this one in red cotton. I am really enjoying this Monthly Dishcloth group. If you're looking for a diversion from your bigger more complex shawl or sweater projects, join the fun. We knit 2 dishcloths every month and there is "fun with knitting" every couple months and quarterly exchanges you can sign up for, etc. Its a groovy group. :-D

Pi Agrees - this just isn't copacetic

The big froggy question looms again

Here's Unst from a few days ago. As of last night, I'm almost finished with the gussets on sock #1 and I'm thinking that the yarn and the pattern aren't doing each other any favors. I love the pattern...but I'm thinking the yarn I'm using (Trekking XXL in green/purple/navy-white/yellow) isn't the right yarn for this sock. And I like the yarn...where its just being non-lacy-stockinette the striping pattern is showing off quite nicely. So now what has crept into the back of my mind is "Should I rip it?" Well, as all knitters learn, once that thought creeps in, it only gets stronger. So the question becomes....when will I rip it and not if. :-( How sad. Dang it anyway. Now I have to find a solid or tweed...tweed would be ok...sock yarn for this project. And find a simpler project for this Trekking. :-( I guess tonight at the weekly SnB I'll be frogging....followed by swatching...and then casting on yet again for UNST with,perhaps, some Lana Grossa Meilenweit Tweed.

Picnic in the Park

The 2nd Annual Twin Cities PicKnit was held on Sunday at the Lake Harriet Rose Gardens. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for knitting and snacking in the park! Old friends and new gathered to stitch N bitch...but not much to bitch about on this fine day. Well, except maybe the yellowjackets, and even they left us alone once we all were busy tending to our knitting. What a beautiful backdrop for our very relaxed and much enjoyed get-together. I didn't take a head count but it seemed that there were around 2 dozen knitters present. It was great to get faces and voices to go with email and blogger identities. There was Tipper, and Chris and Christy and Rina and Deepa and Julie and Gwyneth and Roxanne and Becca and Kelle and Stephania and Betty and Laura and Beth and Deb and.....others who's names I can't recall because, lets face it, that's a lot of people to remember all at once, even if you aren't as old as dirt. And Gail was there for a brief moment with her hubby, Gary! And of course we were watched over and protected by Cotton who came along with Roxanne. I think its safe to say everyone had a pleasant time.

UNST

A week or so ago I joined the Knitting on the Road Sock Knit-A-Long (knitting the socks from Nancy Bush's book) and they are in the midst of knitting Unst. I finished up the Chain Reaction Sweater finally and so I was ready to take on a new project (in addition to Shoalwater and the next dishcloth from the Monthly Dishcloth KAL).

Well. I cast on the 56 stitches and moved them evenly onto 2 circulars (my preference). I knitted the first row, then the next....hmmmm...grrrr....next. Frogged it....cast on...(did this a couple times before I finaly got to row 8 of the 12 row ribbing), oh, once I even managed to cut my live yarn. Good GRIEF! Are they cursed? Ok...so I'm knitting away yesterday at lunch on a knit row but I was still not happy - I was having issues losing stitches on the lace rows....

So on my way home yesterday afternoon I pulled out the ornery sock on the bus and looked at it and realized what needed to be done (yet again) so I ripped it all out & cast on again. This time not cutting the live yarn. I knit the first row before the bus pulled into the transit station (its only a 20-30 minute ride). Better, I thought...much better.

WELLLLLLL.....

When I tried the next 3 rows at home I found missing stitches again! Grrr....So I ripped it again. (I've lost count of how many times I've cast on for this...6 maybe?) Got out my Ott Light (haven't used it since winter!) and started again after supper with bifocals firmly in place and light gleaming over my shoulder. Oh, yeah...I also wrote down the pattern so each row was on a single line in my little notebook and worked from that. Seems sorta dumb but its less confusing since I use a graphic notation for the (sl1 k2tog psso) bit.

Success! Not only did I finish the 12 rows of the "ribbing" lace but I've begun in earnest on the leg. Hurray!!!

I was almost convinced that I was going to have to give up on this pattern. Persistance? Determination? Stubborness? Anyway, I'm off and knitting it!

On a different subject...I have to find out whatever happened to the Oddessy Glitz tank top I mailed from Sturgeon Bay to Jane in Atlanta in mid-July. No word of its arrival...nada. :-( From now on I get confirmations on all packages! Word to the wise from the previously trusting and naive package poster.

What year do I belong in? According to the quiz...

I Belong in 1966

I am a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too.

What Year Do You Belong In?

Best laid plans of mice and knitters...

...often go awry! Well, I didn't get the CR sweater finished...although I think I knitted a half-dozen rows on it last night. I did finish the August dishcloth yesterday. Once again I do NOT have the picture of the FO here while I'm talking about it...later, later....

It was a beautiful day yesterday in the Twin Cities and I ran a couple of errands in the afternoon and frittered away the day just enjoying not having the AC on and running in and out of the house doing little things. It has been so doggone hot lately and the puppesses needed to go for a nice long walk so that's what we did between dinner and Deadwood.

On a somber note, I got a phone call yesterday from one of the managers at work telling me that one of my coworkers passed away on Saturday. Unexpected. Stunned. Still stunned.

Here's something about language that I don't understand even though I do it as well. Why do we shy away from the word 'dead' or 'died' when we talk about someone who has just done so? Why the need for euphemisms? Is it any less final to say someone has passed away rather than saying they died? Is it the same in other cultures and languages? I wonder...

My First Monthly Dishcloth KAL

I don't know why I can't figure out my camera and take a decent picture consistently but maybe if I take the class that National Camera offers when you buy a new camera I will figure this damn thing out! Anyway, what you see here is the August Knit-A-Long Dishcloth from the MonthlyDishclothes group after 4o rows. At first I thought it was a spider....then I thought it might be a fly when the last set of legs weren't appearing... Last night when I finished knitting day 4's rows....I could tell what it is for real. Can you?

Chain Reaction in Progress

I'm almost finished with the front of the Chain Reaction Sweater; the back is completed and awaiting its "better half". :-) I was hoping to finish this last night but another project got in my way. I think I'm going to have a whole skein of this Fantasy Naturale mercerized cotton left over. :-) Maybe I'll make a kitchen doily of some sort....

Dishcloths, Mop Covers, and WIPs

I joined the Monthly Dishcloth group/KAL on yahoo on Wednesday. They knit 2 dishcloths a month. I love knitting with cotton (Caliope Shell, Chain Reaction Sweater) and I love making dishcloths because they are 1) portable and 2) fast and fun and 3) useful.

Someone posted on the MD group how they used their old worn out dishcloths on their mop which lead to some chatter about it and a link to a free pattern for a mop cover and spiderweb chaser called Zoom and Fly. So now I have something else to knit. :-S :-)

I've been working furiously to finish the Chain Reaction sweater and I'm to the yoke on the front. Its done in garter stitch so its flying off the needles. The back is finished (I think I posted that a while back). Pictures will come someday eh?

I cast on the Shoalwater Shawl using Noro Silk Garden Lite in colorway 2013 (pink, purple, gray) last weekend. But it started to feel addicting so I had to put it down and finish that CR sweater for Betsy. :-( I will return to this hopefully by Sunday evening. :-)

I'm looking for a sport sock pattern for that Supersocke 100 Summer from OnLine in the orange-yellow colorway (that I bought a couple weeks ago at Temptations in Sturgeon Bay, picture posted) or just make something up. I figure 1.5 " of 1x1 ribbing..a couple rounds of knitting and then start the heal flap. and do a simple st st foot. I might be able to get 2 pairs out of this one ball maybe....we'll see.