Reporting in...

Okay, its been a while, so I must report in on the knitting happenings around here:

First, DH surprised me yesterday by appearing from the basement with a replacement for the broken arm of my swift. One of the crosspieces snapped back in July or August at the center rivet, and the whole thing has been unusable since. It was so pitiful with the pieces dangling. Luckily we have a fully stocked workshop, so he and I were able to install the replacement piece, put a new holding wire at the top (the manufacturer had left nothing extra, so once we untwisted the original wire it had to be replaced), and put a new rivet in at the join. I reattached the bottom pieces with a piece of the wire instead of the twine that had been there. It should wear a lot better.

Next, I've been playing around with that really cute Knitting Needle bag from Knitting Daily. I started it with one yarn, then switched to some Lamb's Pride Worsted thats been hanging out in the stash. Ever go to the LYS and have a yarn call out to you because of the color? Well, this was one of those. Its in such a wonderful green. Not too bright, not too blue, just this wonder color. I had bought 2 skeins without anything really in mind. (Two was all they had) There was some vague notion of making the Mukluks from an Interweave magazine, but those really called for a lot more yarn. I just finished the first skein, and spit spliced on the second. I'm about 70% done, should finish in the next day or two. Then it will be off to the craft store to buy the knitting needles that will be glued in place as the bag frame. Or maybe I should haunt e-bay?

Finally, I'm waiting on the next pattern from Six_Sox KAL. Its going to be in a heavier DK weight, so I don't know if it will appeal. Depending on what it is, I may adapt it to a sock weight yarn. Tomorrow morning is the release.....

Green!

See what I found? A little quiz to see what color green you are. And green is my absolute favorite color!

You Are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you. Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible. While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks. Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have.

What Color Green Are You?

And yes, I am certainly a unique, wonderful individual!

Warm feet

There is just no substitute for warm feet. Tonight was the "Almost Overnight" for Cub Scouts. Its been cool around here, and its not any warmer up in the mountain where the Scout camp is located. While you can still wear shorts and sandals around the house, clearly that wasn't going to cut it at camp.

Long sleeves and pants were a given - last time the Cub Scouts did this, we were just freezing. I decided that some handknit socks were the way to go; after all, even if it wasn't too cold, at least the wool breathes to adjust. Well, it was the right move. My feet were toasty warm all evening, even after the sun went down. I didn't have to put on a fleecy, although others around me were searching for gloves and hats. I will swear that my warm feet really made all the difference!

My knitting came along - the socks in Terrain Twist. Still working on the foot part in a ribbing pattern, so it doesn't require much attention (p3, k3, p3, k1 - repeat 3 times, then knit plain on the bottom of the foot). Didn't get to do much though - had to go teach the kiddies how to use a pocket knife properly. But tomorrow will be 2 hours of car travel, so I'll get to sit quietly and make progress.

Oh, and my Knit Picks needles came bright and early this morning! Yeah! Already trying them out with the Zephyr for the Secret of the Stole swatch (4's and 5's, but its not clear which one will win yet), and moved the Terrain Twist socks onto the 2.25 needles this evening. They are great - definitely wood and not bamboo (ich!), but I've gotten very used to the slippery surface of the Options, so its going to depend on the yarn. The needle binder is looking pretty full......

New stuff

Well, the kids finally went back to school. I love having them around, but they do prevent me from doing so many things, like cleaning. And I come home from the supermarket with only half of my groceries, since their constant bickering and chatting prevents me from thinking and remembering what I needed to buy.

Anyway, I've been playing around on Ravelry quite a bit. My ID there is "Arlene". And tonight, when I went to check out the forums, there were a whole bunch of threads about new Knit Picks needles. Well, that needed to be checked out immediately!

Pretty, pretty, pretty! Must Have! And since DH is a woodworker, this he was willing for me to splurge on. He thought I should just order the entire set immediately, but I showed some self-control. I had no use for the clear plastic case or more cables (sheesh, I already own the cables in every size but 40", and I have every size of the metal tips, with duplicates on sizes 8 & 9). So, I ONLY ordered the tips for sizes 4, 5, 6, and 8. The ones I use a lot. And I also ordered the full set of the wooden dp's for sock knitting. They were just too beautiful to not own. And I love wood needles for my straights. (Note I said wood, NOT bamboo).

Of course, I'll probably fill in all the other sizes as I make more Knit Picks orders. Its always good to want something else there, so you can make the $45 free shipping limit.

I've signed up for the Secret of the Stole knitalong (SOTS) which is going to start at the beginning of October. I swatched up some of the Silk City yarn I bought, but they just didn't work. So, I'm trading some of the black Zephyr I have left with a local friend, who used a very pretty Marine blue Zephyr for her MS3. Yes, I was the enabler there. Oh, and on the SOTS too. Bad me. I don't think I could face that black again. Too boring. My friend also gave me the two extra tubes of beads from the MS3, so I'm all set.




The I Love Gansey socks have become a whole lot easier. I turned both heels using short-rows instead of the gusset flap in the pattern - it just fits so much better. It goes faster without having to work Cable C, I no longer need the pattern in front of me all the time. And with the plain bottom of the foot, the amount of work is really much less. I should be at the toes soon.


With the kids back in school, I was back to exercising today. The Michelle's shawl is going to live next to the stationary bicycle, so it will get some attention again. Takes about 30 minutes to do a row on it, so the visible progress is really reduced. Must use up that mystery yarn, though. Get it out of the stash.

I have these incredible urges to cast-on more and more projects. So far, I am resisting, but its all so tempting......

Ravelry invite!

Just a fast entry....

My invite for Ravelry FINALLY came today!!!! I'm so excited!!!!!

I signed up back on June 18 (DH was on a work trip, and I stayed up half the night poking around on the computer), and was number 9847 [or something like that].

I've already put in the 3 current WIP's, and I'll need to do pictures and stuff. Maybe next week - DH is off on another business trip again. But I need to find some "friends" - anyone out there? I'm plain old "Arlene" in Ravelry.

MS3 Finished!!!!

Done! Done! Done!

All knitted, washed, and now blocked! The MS3 just needs to dry, and then its ready to be worn. (And if NJ stays as cold as it did today, I'm going to wear it very soon....)

I didn't get to start it on Friday when the last clue was released, since we were away. I printed the clue Friday evening, but was just too exhausted. But I've been working steadily all day today (Sunday), and finished the knitting this afternoon. After snapping this quick picture

the stole was off for a nice wool wash bath and then up to the blocking board. It took a while to string the blocking wires - here it is when I paused for dinner.

And now its all done. Pinned, stretched to 22" x 80", and clearly exceeding the 48" of my blocking board.

A bit of the detail at the ends of the "feathers"


If I'm going to continue making these large lace projects, I'm either going to have to get some sort of extension for the blocking board, or at least find a solid colored sheet so the photos look better.

Its a bit strange looking - seems more like a lace "knife" than a stole. I'll have to get used to it, I guess. I did get up this morning and made this shawl pin to go with the "Swan Lake" theme of the MS3.

Its the copper wire I use in my stained glass work. I twisted 2 strands, shaped them to my pencil drawing (I did my research with Audubon pictures), and then lightly hammered the wire. I also added an eye using my stained glass solder - not only does it make an eye and add a contrasting color, it also covers the rough edges of the wire ends. I also made a "feather" stick to complete it. The stick may be a bit long - I'll have to try it out once the shawl dries.

So, where does that leave me? I now have no big project going. I'll probably finish my bright-striped Regia socks now, all they need is a picot bind-off on the second sock, and then to weave the ends. I've already started my I Love Gansey socks. Some more sock yarn came this past week - I'm going to make some socks to gift to someone who always has cold feet. And my Michelle's shawl is at least half done, and perfect for working on when I exercise on the bicycle. No major projects........ I hope some sort of inspiration comes along soon.

Scout summer camp & STASH ENHANCEMENT

Well, a trip to Boy Scout summer camp both hinders and helps knitting. Last weekend's 2 night/3 day extravaganza of living in the woods, using a latrine, and being surrounded by lots of barely-in-control teenage boys had its ups and downs. I was pretty excited to go with the troop to the archery and rifle ranges, where I got to try new things. Yep, I've never done either before, and, I'm very proud to say, I hit the targets almost all of the time!! But there was a lot of down time, as I sat in the site playing responsible adult while the boys came and went to their various Merit Badge activities.

The MS3 just wasn't the right project to take on that kind of adventure. Between the light colored fine yarn, the crucial, but easily lost, crochet hook, and the 100's of little beads, it just wasn't going to happen. The second half of clue 5 had to stay home and wait for me. But my socks came along, as did some size 8 perle cotton destined to be a swirl yarmulke. In the 3 days there, I managed to knit the entire leg portion of a sock, and make good progress on that yarmulke. I even incorporated one of the boy's idea to add a gold ring every 10 rows.


The rest of the week has just been BUSY. DS #2 has finished his summer activities, and just wanted me to DO things with him. So, we played games, I read him stories, we went out on "adventures" (which are also known to the world as errands and lunch with Daddy). I am just about done with the leg of the other sock, but I couldn't keep my eyes open last night. Maybe later. And clue 6 hasn't been touched, even though I've had it in my hands for more than a day.

I'm not sure what to make of the MS3. I have taken the plunge and will "wing" it, but I'm still unsure of that symmetry thing. And -- although this might be blasphemous -- its BORING to knit. Its gotten all repetitive with the feather design. Even the short rows don't save it. I'm sure I'll finish it and wear it, after all, there are only clues 6 and 7 left, but its sure has lost its glamour. I do think I'll make a shawl pin for it out of copper, similar to the one that someone is selling. I was ready to plunk down my money, but DH looked at it and said "You can make that..." I think I'll twist 2 finer threads of copper together, solder the end points with a ball of my stained glass silver solder to keep it smooth, and then use the silver dot as the swan's eye. I found some nice drawings by Audubon that I can use as a design basis (don't want to copy someone else's work). I'll also give it a light hammering on the anvil. Hopefully the copper will match the beads on the stole.


And finally, to cheer myself up, and because I won't be able to get there when the kids have to be at shul on Saturday morning's, DS #2 and I ran over to Paterson this morning, home of the Silk City Outlet. Great stash enhancement place! For not too much money, I got all this:

Well, the 4 cones on the lower right were actually free, but still, where else am I going to get 6 weeks of lace knitting enjoyment per project for less than $15 per cone? The 3 cones on the lower left are wool crepe, the blue & maroon still in wrappers are 5/2 cotton, the copper colored cone is some sort of rayon/viscose and I have no clue what the beige colored yarn in the middle is, but it has a gold thread overwrap and twinkles so pretty. I just couldn't walk away from it, although I did sort through the box to find the smallest cone -- and its still enough yardage to make at least 3 large shawls. And each of the other cones is enough for multiple projects too. Overall, its probably enough for a year or more, if I every truly use all of it.


DH is starting to feel overwhelmed in the house, so I'm toying with selling off some of the Silk City stuff that I've already used for a project. I know myself, I'll never use it again. Might as well send it to new homes. I've never done that before. I'll probably try over at Knitswap on Yahoo! first before I pay Ebay for the privilege of listing it. Keep an eye out.....