Moving along .... slowly

Sometimes I amaze myself - I've reached row 32 of the WRS and nothing horrible has happened - no dropped stitches, no cat atrocities, no major errors (see note to self from yesterday). Maybe the Knitting gods are waiting until there are at least 300 rows, and then they will let loose with four dropped stitches that run down all the way to the waste wool ...

These pictures prolly don't look like much yet, but they at least indicate that there is a pattern to this scrunched up bit of silk, and it is increasing somewhat in size - and this is progress!

I did a few rows on the Rosebud, but it seems dull - after working with the silk, the yarn feels hairy and thick, and the pattern too simple. The Opal socks and the Rosebud were supposed to projects to enjoy when I needed to rest from the intense concentration of the WRS and instead it's turning out I need to wrench myself away from the WRS to make any progress on the others.

More Old Things

I'm getting tired of looking at so many pictures of this old, wrinkly sheet, so these will be the last of the old things I'll put here. I must have something better to use as a background
for shawls - I'll find something before the Rosebud is done.



This is the Irish Diamond Shawl from Cheryl Oberle's book - this is perhaps the only pattern I've ever done twice (I hate repeating myself), this is the second attempt. It is all mis-shapen because it is another very often used shawl, and really needs reblocking ...
It's knitted in New Enland Shetland Woodsmoke from Harrisville Designs, which is a very nice, dyed-in-the wool yarn, and has a nice depth to the color - which you prolly can't see in my crappy photos.

This next one is the Cobweb Crepe Shawl from Heirloom Knitting, the first real shetland type shawl I've attempted, and at that point the finest yarn I'd everknit with ( I suppose my lack of fear after knitting with this is what led to my attempting the WRS ... God only knows where I might go if I successfully complete that - it's not something I relish comtemplating). I really like the clematis edging on this, even though I really hate knitting edgings - they go on and on and on ....

I know there's a big "blob" in the center - it's caused by the shawl hanging over the back of the rocking chair, and is not a "feature" or error on my part - just taking pictures in a hurry so I can hide the shawl from the infamous enemy ...

Here is the last of the wrinkly, old pictures - Project 2 from Heirloom Knitting, in shetland 2 ply. It is basically the same pattern as the Cobweb crepe, done in a heavier yarn with a different edging. It is now my favorite shawl for everyday - it's kind of annoying that simple, easy to produce things are so practical and useful.




Note to Self: "The highly skilled knitters turn out lovely work, but sometimes, with a true Irish touch of 'nothing really matters', their knitting shows mistakes, always found in the simple patterns, and a careless nonchalance in the crossing of their cables!" Gladys Thompson, Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys & Arans. Maybe it's genetic?

Old Things

Up to row 22 on the WRS - but no point in taking any pictures yet, it doesn't look like much at this point. The silk is getting a bit easier to work with, the baby powder really helps move the stitches along, but dropping a stitch or making an error takes a great deal of time to fix, so I'll give those up as much as possible, adn go very slowly.

Since I don't have any pictures of new things, I'll use old stuff. This is the first shawl I ever made - I think it's called the Bell shawl and I found the pattern somewhere online ( actually I found it here: http://www.knitlist.com/96gift/giftbellshawl.htm). It's made of leftover yarn - Naturespun sport, I think. It's very well used - for curling up on the sofa, getting the mail, as a pillow, it pills a bit, but I still love it ...


This one is the Kerry Blue Shawl, my second attempt, in apricot Zephyr, that I made about 3 years ago for my son's wedding. The pattern is from Martha Waterman's Tradtional Knitted Lace Shawls. This is the project that made me fall in love with Zephyr.


I got tired of uploading shawls - so here's a sweater - done in Naturespun sport,the pattern is from Starmore's Fisherman Knits, Mystic. I love the pattern, but I wish I had done it in a better yarn, something that gave better stitch definition.

Enough old things for one night ... I'll go knit on the new socks.

New Beginnings: Part 2

Here's a picture of the Wedding Ring Shawl at row 11. You can get some idea of how thin it is when compared to the yarn used for markers and waste wool - the waste wool is size 10 crochet cotten and the markers I'm using are little scraps of the lavender cobweb. And yes, I am insane ... but the silk is so shiny and silky ... The needles are 2.25 mm Inox.


So as not to hurt its feelings, this is the Opal Petticoat sock - this yarn seems so fat - I've never used Opal before - but it's prolly just going from the silk to sock yarn that makes it pale in comparison. The colors are pretty and very spring-like, which is what I need right now ( and they should go quickly so I can wear them and get to the Regia Silk). And they are just the right thing to knit while watching Boston Legal ... so I'll go do that right now!

New Beginnings

It is Spring! I could write a bunch of mushy poetic things about that, but it's mostly been said and I don't do mushy very well - so here are some pictures instead. You can see I can even move pictures about now and put them where I want them to go ... well, at least sometimes I can. Now they seem to disappear just as I get them where I want them to go.



But this is more about knitting beginnings, although spring is a good time to begin things - I received the new sock wool in the mail, one ball of Opal Pettticoat, and two of Regia silk in denim - I really needed some spring socks, and I also needed something to knit in between the Rosebud and the Wedding Ring Shawl - they both need way too much concentration for telephone calls and such. The WRS, being knit of gossamer silk (prolly the same thread the Emperor's New Clothes were made from), is moving along - there's no doubt it will go slowly - but I may survive it - I've surprised myself by making it to row 11. It is sooo tiny it makes the sock yarn feel like bridge cables.

Fire

Last night I was awoken out of a sound sleep by someone pounding on my front door - at first I thought it was just someone with the wrong apt, but when I realized it was barely 4 am, and had almost fallen asleep again - I thought perhaps I should check it out, and besides I heard voices outside, pounding on more doors, and someone shouting, Evacuate! (It's amazing I didn't just fall back to sleep;I could sleep through anything). As I peeked through the curtain, I saw a bright orange glow - the apartment complex down the street was on fire due to a lightening strike. It was a bit scary to watch how fast the fire spread along the rooftop, unimpeded by the efforts of the firefighters. It was even more frightening to see the wind change direction and start to blow toward us, dumping ashes and live cinders - but the firefighter quickly doused the two closest buildings of our complex with water, and it began to drizzle a bit, too. It was almost six hours later that the last fire truck left and it was finally over, leaving not much more than a shell of a building ...


Thankfully, no one was injured, and it was confined to only this one complex, but I feel so badly for all those people who lost everything ....

Rosebud

Here is the Rosebud - the center is half finished - I have enough non-eaten yarn to finish the center - I'll have to wait for the reinforcement yarn to arrive to go any further, since the cobweb was destroyed.


It's on 3.25 mm Addis, with Sharon Miller's lavender 1 ply cobweb - so far (except for the damn beetles) it's been quite easy and fast and now that I've finally memorized the pattern, I can even talk and watch tv while knitting.

A Picture is worth ...

HWSNBN has informed me blogs need Pictures - and I replied digital cameras need Batteries - having purchased the requisite batteries I will post pictures of all things knitted before they go into isolation. I thought I would start with HWSNBN's socks, so at least he can see what they look like since I've been so slow about getting to the post office (with my Gemini gift of distorting language or perhaps it is my Irish gift of Blarney, I think I've convinced him that wool socks have such remarkable insulating properties that they will cool your feet in summer as well as keeping them warm in winter - thus giving me more room for procrastination!)

These were such fun to knit - they are done in Regia Silk - the color is Prato. The colors don't show up well in the picture - they are richer than they appear. The color stripes actually pair up the same on both socks - this isn't due to compulsive fiddling on my part - I really don't have patience for that sort of thing - but it is nice that they look like I did ...

I'll post more historical pictures along with the Rosebud progress and the Wedding Ring swatch as soon as I figure out how to place pictures better ...

Invasion!

The absolutely worst thing that can befall (is that a word?) a knitter, worse than simple things like dropped stitches, cats who play hockey with lace weight yarn, children who shout out random numbers when you're doing a 300 stitch cast on - that nameless terroristic event you believe will only happen to other knitters - well, it happened, and to me!

I was innocently knitting along on the Rosebud, which was going nicely, and quicker than I expected it would. Thinking I'd need it soon, I decided to wind another skein - and I found the skein had been neatly cut in several places, and checking the rest, found similar cuts on all but two of the remaining skeins - after much screaming, wailing and gnashing of teeth - I girded myself for battle - but the enemy had retreated and were no where in sight, so my visions of wielding flamethrowers or doing battle with a large sword faded quickly. I needed a better battle plan - I would need to fight the enemy in its lair - so some espionage was in order.

Being slightly more intelligent than the average carpet beetle ( believing this was my only hope at this point) I made a quick mental inventory of the location of all woolens in the house. A quick race upstairs confirmed it - the pair of Regina gringasco skeins living in a basket on the bookcase in my bedroom - were cut to shreds - they had been there for several years while I made up my mind what they wanted to be, except for a trip downstairs to share a basket for a few days with the lavender cobweb. But there was still no sign of the enemy - though their headquarters must be nearby. Some place dark and forbidding, a place I rarely go - the depths of the closet!

Sitting on the floor in the corner of the closet, I advanced slowly, both hoping this was the source, and yet dreading what I'd find - the decrepit old green suitcase. I couldn't even remember what it held, it had been so long since I'd peeked inside. There it was - the infamous kilt - all wool, made in Scotland kilt that I've been hoarding for lo these many years (what was I thinking? that a famine would overtake the land and I'd quickly need some size 2 clothing?) - it had several holes, as did the ugly green wool and silk sweater from my earliest knitting days. Fortunately, the baby sweaters were done in acrylic and survived the assault.

For once, I am thankful I don't keep a large stash - just some odds and ends of leftover sock yarn are left - everything woolen washed and isolated in its own plastic bag, mothballs and lavender soap will be set in place, the new gossamer silk encased in several layers of protection - this battle is over and I can only hope the war is as well ...

In the meantime there is nothing else to be done -

'Knit on with confidence and hope, through all crises'.
Elizabeth Zimmerman

Lenten Musings

"Here we are in Lent. No one would expect me to give up knitting, so that’s all right." This is why Jean's Knitting is my favorite blog ... she often seems to echo things I'm thinking, but she says it much better than I do. Not that I was contemplating giving up knitting for Lent, I may think fuzzy in the early morning hours, but not that fuzzy.

I was thinking about chocolate doughnuts and the different perspectives taken towards Lent pre- and post Vatican II. In the all female Catholic high school I was so fortunate to attend (incarcerated in) during those years, we were encouraged pre Vatican II to "give up" things in order to discourage our vices, while post Vatican II we were encouraged to actually "do things" to promote the growth of some virtue. I think this was probably a positive development that prevented the Lenten season from declining into a sort of "Diet for Catholics" instituted to lower the average mass of the school by 5 lbs./student. But I do really miss those chocolate doughnuts sold in the cafeteria every morning (they constituted my breakfast for four years) and I would gladly give them up if I could get my hands on one today ...

But sadly they don't seem to exist any more, so I'll have to "do something" instead. I'll knit more!


Note to Self: this isn't really as decadently self-centered a proposal as it sounds .. you aren't knitting anything for yourself, so actually finishing things and packing them and sending them ... will promote the virtue of ... umm ... charity, diligence and clothing the naked!