...and Guild friends

On Sunday I gave four good reasons for enjoying my local group of the Knitters' Guild of NSW. In that post I really wanted to focus on the benefits of having access to someone else's knitting library.

Today I want to share another reason [related to reason #1]: friends take photos because they like what they see.



Thanks Diane for taking a photo of DD actually wearing her stole [albeit posing for a photo]! It has been severely cropped [i.e. DD has no head] to eliminate as many distracting details from the background as possible - it would be impossible to avoid them all given that there are 50+ people in the room!!

I need to reblock that border!!

it's been a long, lacy summer

Last October, I joined Bells' informal KAL: Long Lacy Summer.

Although I didn't produce many articles, I did spend most of my summer knitting lace in some form or other.

First there was the Myrtle Leaf Shawl from "Victorian Lace Today". I cast on in October and for the sixth and final time on 3rd January. I finished knitting on 17th January and blocked it on the 20th January. It was then I discovered the Big Bad Hole. I won't bore you, dear readers, with the details, you've already been through it once; but for new readers you can read about the beginning attempts here and here, the story of the dental floss here, the final cast on here, and my tribute poem/song to almost being finished here. The shawl was finished in enough time for DD's wedding; however the weather was so hot that even at midnight she was not cold enough to wear it outside! [And just in case you're new here and missed all the excitement: Yes, The Wedding went well, thanks].

After all the fun and games with Myrtle, I met my next Knitting Knemesis in the form of socks. Well, sock yarn to be more precise. This particular yarn has a habit of pooling in strange ways despite the short colour repeats. But finally, I found a solution: Waving Lace Socks from Favorite Socks.

I knitted the first of the socks while away on R&R after The Wedding. When WM and I returned from our week away, I intended to knit the second sock [no SSS here!] but I received an invitation to our niece/god-daughter's baby shower so I had a new project to knit.

I bought bamboo/wool [80/20] yarn and cast on without doing a swatch. I frogged the first attempt. I was using a pattern called Tumbling Blocks from Knitting Pattern Central's directory of baby blankets. The pattern was designed for thicker yarn on bigger needles. I had to guess [based on the gauge stated in the pattern and on the yarn label] how many stitches I needed. The pattern was for a smaller blanket than I wanted so I had to add 'a little extra' to compensate. My first 'guestimate' [intelligent guess] was 209 stitches. I knitted just 5cm/2inches before I finished the first ball; since I had only ten balls that obviously wasn't going to work. More thinking needed. If I had taken time to do a swatch and block it I would have known exactly what I was dealing with but enthusiasm and a deadline had me pushing ahead!

I did some more calculations based on the smallest size I thought reasonable for a baby blanket and this time cast-on 145 stitches. This seemed to give a blanket about 75cm/30inches wide before blocking so I forged ahead. Bamboo, being a cellulose fibre like cotton, would surely stretch when blocked and give me a slightly bigger size. Once I had knitted enough to gave me the chance to measure it on my needles, it looked like the blanket would be 90cm/36inches before blocking - perfect!

And so it was, dear readers, that I cast off the blanket on Friday night and blocked it before I went to bed; the baby shower was on Saturday afternoon. It blocked to 100cm/40 inches wide and 124cm/50inches long which is a little longer than I would have liked but a good size for a baby's blanket. Plenty to tuck in all around the crib! However, it wasn't dry by Saturday afternoon and I forgot to allow time to sew the ends in [I was in a hurry to block it and decided to leave the ends till after it was blocked] - I went to the Baby Shower with an IOU! :-(

So I present, for you're viewing pleasure, the modified Tumbling Block Baby Blanket. The photos were taken today, two days after the Baby Shower, so perhaps it's just as well I was disorganised! Unfortunately, the gorgeous sheen of the bamboo doesn't show up well in the photographs. The original pattern had a border of blocks and a stocking stitch centre panel but WM thought an allover lace pattern preferable and I have to say I agree with him. Thanks to Ranee Mueller for making the Tilting Blocks pattern available through Knitting Pattern Central [check it out if you haven't been there - literally hundreds of free patterns for adults and children].

And there's still lace on my needles, the second Waving Lace Sock was cast on last night and I'm off to knit it now!

It went well

Here I am exactly 24 hours since my last post. I was up for 20 hours yesterday and have had less than four hours sleep but when the brain kicks in it doesn't matter how tired the body is or how fuzzy the head is [I don't drink - I'm just very tired]!

Firstly, thanks to all the people who left comments on yesterday's post. I wept as I read them. The whole day went well - no arguments at home [you should have been in my family home on my wedding day]. Beautiful hair and make-up [I had my make-up done too]. Relaxed professional photographer who directed us and helped us make sense of everything. Car on time. Neighbours who mean a lot to us dropping by to see The Bride. Arrived at the church four minutes early [after four stops along the way to make the trip longer] in 37*C [99*F] heat. Strong breeze blowing but photographer just got on with the job. Into a stifling church where the groom was on the verge of collapsing from heat and nerves. Beautiful service. MotB managed to hold it together most of the time. Lots of congratulations and photos then off to the reception venue [for all but the bridal party - they had more photos around the church and grounds].

Air conditioning on but 70+ bodies made it still very warm [better than outside though]. MotB doing her best to mingle and speak to each guest. FotB speaking to MC/DJ. Guests enjoying cold drinks, soft lounges and canapes. Bridal party having photos and one bridesmaid getting sunburnt. Bridal party is ready [6pm] and The Reception begins! Great food in large servings: prawn salad/quiche, rack of lamb/chicken cordon bleu [both with vegetables], chocolate Bavarian/fruit salad. Choice of wine [red, white or non-alcoholic], beer, soft drink or water. Speeches - five: all very different. A candle lighting ceremony [which should have been done at the church but the groom left the candles in the car!]. Cutting of the cake. The most beautiful bridal waltz [you'd never know they only learnt to dance 10 days ago] at which MotB nd FotB completely lost it. Dancing and general partying. Too hot for Myrtle although she was seen swanning around the room for about five minutes provoking oohs and ahs from some. Goodbyes - Bride clinging to MotB, both bawling. More goodbyes [an archway], more bawling from same! Presents loaded into boots of three cars! Drive home. House stifling, no breeze, air hot and thick. Presents unloaded from boots of three cars. Goodbye to occupants of two cars. Goodbye to two bridesmaids and one groomsman. Silence. Just us! Empty-nesters! Darby and Joan*! Tears. FotB went to bed. MotB wanders around house, tears in eyes. Bed 1.00am - too hot to sleep.

Wake up 5am - still hot and not a hint of a breeze - today is supposed to be even hotter than yesterday. Current temperature 23*C [73*F] - it's only 6am [5am by sun-time; it's daylight-saving here]. WM still sleeping; Myrtle sleeping on bed which used to be DD's [more tears] amid a pile of presents.

And today? WM and I taking my parents to Strathfield to catch train home to Bingara. DD and SIL fly to Tasmania at 11.15; going to airport by Airport Express. FotB and MotB at home, alone. Sleep? Tennis tonight, some knitting, still sad!

No photos - WM took his camera but didn't really have the chance to use it. Will be relying on friends to send us copies until professional photos are ready!

*According to my mother, it's a term used for empty-nesters. According to Wikipedia,

the term 'Darby and Joan' is defined by the Random House Dictionary as "a happily married couple who lead a placid, uneventful life."

to talk of many things...

• Yesterday was DD's kitchen tea/bridal shower. It was a small gathering - just nine people. WM bought batteries for my camera but I forgot to use it!! The maid-of-honour convinced us to play one game [we tried hard to avoid it] - we had to dress a bride using only a roll of toilet paper [over their clothes of course]! The two bridesmaids were the brides, The Bride was the judge [lucky her] and the other six of us were divided into two teams to dress the brides. Both teams won - in different categories! One for beach wear, one for more formal attire [I was on the latter team]. The prize was a choice of Freddo Frogs, a chocolate frog made by Cadburys. Mine was crunchie flavour, meaning it had pieces of honeycomb in the chocolate. DD had a strawberry frog, the other choice was plain. DD took some video footage but she's not here and I don't know how to download stills from her camera so, unfortunately, no photos.
  
  Most of the gifts were kitchen-ware [what a surprise]; mine was The Myrtle Leaf Shawl. It got lots of oohs and aahs and some nice comments so I guess the pain was worth it! I still intend to reblock it and I found another loose thread while I was wrapping it - it's attached so I hope it blocks out this time!



• One day last week I began a pair of adult-sized fingerless mitts; I started them while Chris Guccione [the last Australian male in the tournament at the time] was playing so I have called them the "Gucc Mitts" [pronounced Gooch]. I knitted them in red because he has red hair. I realised that I probably wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish two so I added the black.
  
  They remind me of football jerseys. There are no teams in the National Rugby League with those colours. Red and black are the colours of the North Sydney Bears - the team my dad played for as a junior - now sadly long departed from the competition. So I looked up the team colours for the Australian Football League - another popular code of football, especially in Victoria where Chris Guccione comes from. Essendon have red and black uniforms and, interestingly, Chris Guccione comes from the Melbourne suburb of Greenvale which is relatively close to Essendon. Even more interestingly, he has said that if he wasn't playing tennis he would have liked to have played "Aussie Rules". I didn't know any of this when I started knitting; I just can't help doing a little research - academia is in my blood! LOL
  
  So, here are the Gucc Mitts which will be given to Australian Interior Ministries to keep the hands of a first Australian warm.



• On Friday night I cast on a beanie. It's blue because Roger Federer [my favourite non-Australian player] wears a blue shirt and this beanie is, naturally enough, called the Federer Beanie. It is not what I planned when I started out - it was going to have stranded colour crosses above the ribbing [he's from Switzerland, they have a white cross on the flag], but I got too engrosed in the game to fiddle with stranding! I made the beanie according to a pattern [some readers would know I rarely follow patterns] because I was knitting my first beanie in 8ply [DK] weight yarn. I obviously have much looser gauge than was intended - the beanie is way too big for either myself or WM. I'm not concerned though - I'm sure it will fit someone's head. It, too, will go to Australian Interior Ministries.
  
  
  
• I'm trying to knit only adult sized items for charity this year - every one knits for babies and children because the items are small and quickly finished but I want to help the adults too.



• I am attempting to touch type this post - it's a skill I taught myself for uni in 2003 as part of a work-based project. I make lots of mistakes especially with my right hand [I'm left-handed] and it's incredibly slow; practice makes perfect, I guess! I just want to look at the keys and get on with the typing!



• Speaking of tennis [as we were], fickle fan that I am, I stopped watching the tennis because Roger Federer was losing [two sets to love against Tomas Berdych] but I've just checked the score and Federer won the third set and is leading slightly in the fourth. I'd better get back to it [if I can stand the excitement - I'm feeling really blue! It won't help if Roger loses!!]



• Please think of me as we countdown the last week to DD's wedding. I'm very emotional and teary and too busy dealing with my own grief to notice WM's. I expect that's normal, especially for mothers of only daughters with whom they enjoy a close relationship. I just hope I can hold it together when farewells are made at the end of the reception. ;-(
  

It's done

The hole is no more.

While it may seem like I was procrastinating, I was thinking about it a lot; going over the stitch pattern in my mind. Occasionally I would even go and look at it. What threw me was not the stitches themselves, I could see where they went; it was the big loops of yarn I had that were supposed to be a complex pattern of 'bars' holding the leaf pattern together.

I just couldn't figure out how it all went together - especially the two long loops running parallel to the leaf! The hole got worse than this photo shows as I desperately tried to find where each strand belonged! I should have taken another photo before I began the repairs but that didn't occur to me.

Although I finished the repair this morning, I had been working on it for two days - I picked up the dropped stitches that I could see and yesterday I had a couple of tries to put it together but it wasn't working. More thinking, not procrastination, was needed; the shawl had given me too much trouble to rush in and do a bodgie* job.


So, here it is; I'm sure you won't have any trouble picking the repaired leaf but it's not too bad, if I do say so myself!

Thanks for the support and encouragement; it really means a lot to this often-close-to-tears-soon-to-be-mother-of-the-bride!

And now, we're off the reblock the border to our satisfaction [DD and I not the royal 'we'!]

*bodgie - something imperfect, flawed or without value

Then fix it, dear Too-Hot-to-Knit

No, I haven't done it - the hole is still there. It was too hot yesterday and I was hit with a big dark cloud [you know those moments when it's all too much]. I just didn't feel able to attempt the repair. I know it has to be fixed, and it will be done in a timely fashion, but yesterday wasn't the day.

However, I have been knitting, and frogging, and thinking about knitting.

Firstly, the knitting. I made another beanie from the hand-dyed salvaged yarn. This one started with the thicker yarn that took up the colour much better. When it graduated to the thinner yarn, which didn't take up the colour so well, I increased the number of stitches. Then decreased again for the thicker yarn [the dark blue about one third of the way up the beanie] and increased again when necessary. I knit the body of the hat in a chevron pattern because going around in stocking stitch is boring after spending so many hours knitting complicated lace! And I thought about the pattern and realised that 'chevron' must mean a horizontal zigzag [some people are sloooooow!] not just the name of a fancy hotel in Sydney during my childhood. Ad then it occurred to me that Chevron had also been the name of the home brand of a certain department store starting with W - duh, Lynne!

Then there's the pair of fingerless mitts [known to me as the Rafa Mitts] which I "designed" on the needles while watching Rafael Nadal win his first round match of the Australian Open. They are also knit from the same salvaged hand-dyed yarn [just the thinner stuff]. There's not much to them, I know; I wanted to concentrate on the tennis not the knitting! They are too small for any hands in this house but children need mitts too and these will go [as will the two beanies] to Australian Interior Ministries which is one of the April recipents on the Knit4Charities calendar. These are obviously still WIPs - I have yet to sew them up [I can't seam and watch tennis]! Despite appearances, they are actually the same size.

As for frogging, well that poor Online Supersocke yarn better be good for multiple knitting because I have frogged again. I started knitting a modified version of the "Flame Wave" pattern from Favourite Socks but the variegated colour of the yarn disguised the subtle pattern so I frogged the twenty four rounds I had done after the ribbing.Then I sat and watched tennis and thought and watched tennis and got frustrated and watched tennis and thought and tried a couple of things and thought and then frogged the 12 rounds of ribbing too! I cast on 60 stitches this time [the Flame Wave had only 56] - I know I could have just increased four stitches but the K1P1 rib wouldn't work with the pattern I had chosen - I had already tried that!! I decided to use the same pattern I used in Version 2 of the socks - a Mock Cable which involves PSSO rather than a cable needle. I've only done about 16 rounds of Version 4 so there's really nothing to show yet. This photo shows them in their second incarnation; the first attempt with the mock cable pattern - I frogged these because I didn't like the shape of the toe! If I've confused you, I'll summarise:
Version 1 - plain stocking stitch - cuff down - finished - too big in the foot length by at least an inch and a half and too big around the foot
Version 2 - mock cable pattern - toe up socks - misshapen toes [I increased every round instead of every second round]
Version 3 - cuff down - Flame Wave pattern too subtle for colours of yarn
Version 4 - cuff down - in progress with mock cable pattern

And finally, some more thinking - about what I could knit in some of the acrylic yarn I brought back from Wangaratta. I have 5x500 grams of a bouclé yarn in five different colours - that would be the orange/green/purple/gold [sounds awful doesn't it?], the lemon, the mauve/pink, the pink/white and the blue/grey in the photo - so I guess there's enough there to make some child-size sweaters. I will have to swatch because I'm not sure what 'ply' it is - maybe 10ply [Aran]. The weather [40*C - 104*F] is not appropriate for knitting sweaters at the moment so I think I'll stick to socks, beanies and mitts.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the tennis!

There's a hole in my shawl, dear readers...

The tennis started at 11am; Lleyton Hewitt wasn't playing till 2pm. Plenty of time to graft and block!

First the grafting - I had to do it twice; the first time I realised I had eight stitches on the front needle but 10 on the back needle; something was obviously wrong somewhere. The second time was successful and didn't look too bad.


Adam Lindsay Gordon wrote a poem which contained the line: "Life is mostly froth and bubble". I think that describes the Myrtle Leaf shawl very well. Above is the froth and below is the knitted bubble wrap! ;-)

Now the blocking. For Jocelyn, who asked about surfaces for blocking, first I lay out the cutting board, which is 190cm x 100cm [76"x40"], and cover it with a disposable white plastic table cloth. That way the cardboard stays dry but I can still see the grid underneath.
Now thread the rods through. I have never used blocking wires before even though I have had them for almost twelve months. It's a tedious process threading those burred edged rods though acres [so it seems] of lace, isn't it? Finally a bit of a stretch here and some more easing there and the shawl was approximately the size it was supposed to be [it's about 4" short but the correct width]. One good thing about the wires - a lot less pins are needed!!


So, finally, at 1.30, time to have lunch then into the lounge [living] room to check the blocking. Don't want it shrinking or tearing while drying, do we? And then I found it. I know it's hard to see ivory knitting on a white background but I'm sure you can see what I saw to my horror and dismay.
At the moment I don't know how to fix it - but I'm sure I will think of a reasonable solution in time! The wedding is still 11 days away and I'm sure it will just entail a deft hand with an embroidery needle; I'm certainly not going to undo the graft, rip out the border, frog back about 20 rows then try and pick up the stitches. Oh no, there will be some creative embroidery happening when I am calm and less hot! BTW, It got to 40*C [104*F] here again today and although the aircon is set at 24*C [75*F] it's still quite warm! And Lleyton Hewitt lost in five sets! :-(

Tennis v. Finishing

The tennis season began two weeks ago. We've had the Hopman Cup in Perth, the Sydney International, the Brisbane International, the Koorong Classic in Melbourne and the Australian Open [a Grand Slam event] started yesterday. I love watching tennis. I saw the first two games of the Hopman Cup and haven't sen any tennis since; I've had my head down knitting Myrtle.

Yesterday, I decided I was going to watch the tennis before it was all over. I got myself an easy knitting task and settled in front of the television. Good choice - I saw Bernard Tomic, a 16yo Australian, become the youngest man ever to win at the Australian Open! What a thrilling match it was - especially the third set!

I also watched Jelena Dokic [an Australian] struggle to win her game, the first set played by another Aussie Casey Dellaqua [then we went for our daily walk] and finally Roger Federer playing against a worthy opponent, Andreas Seppi, until after midnight.

Consequently, I didn't finish Myrtle yesterday.

Tennis v. Myrtle - 4:0!

I did, however, finish knitting a pair of fingerless mitts - only they weren't a pair because the yarn was irregular in thickness so they knitted up differently. They have been frogged and the yarn rewound to be used for non-paired items! DD spliced the yarn together from odds and ends we bought at Bendigo Woollen Mill, I don't think she realised at the time that she was putting different thicknesses together. You can see the yarn in a ball here. We hand-dyed the yarn and not only is it different thicknesses, it is different blends - we know that because it took up the colour differently! Here is the beanie I knitted yesterday with the same yarn [the light colours are the thinner - DK yarn; the darker colours near the crown are the thicker yarn]. The large stitches you can see at random are where the splicing has felted - it makes for a unique look!! LOL

And... I cast on the first sock from the Online Supersocke yarn I frogged in December. I'm knitting a modified version of Flame Wave from Favourite Socks.

Today, another Australian, Lleyton Hewitt, a former World #1, will try to regain some of his former glory. He enters this tournament unseeded and has a tough draw against 2007 finalist, Fernando Gonzales.

Wish me luck in getting away from the TV today!

the best laid plans...

I wrote to some of the people who commented on yesterday's post. I told them the knitting is finished [which it is! Hurrah!!] I also told them that it would be grafted and blocked today. Alas - the best laid plans [you know how it goes]...

We had people coming and going today, including guests from The Wedding. I always block my knitting on the lounge [living] room floor - it has the largest amount of open space. So, with constant interruptions, there was no chance of grafting and with visitors, no chance of blocking.

I've got my fingers crossed for tomorrow...

Almost finished

And now, the end is near;
As I approach the final corner.
If someone wants to knit this shawl
It's for certain, I'd have to warn 'er.

Ive tinked and ripped and frogged
Ive screamed and cursed and blogged
But through it all,
I've beat that shawl,
It's almost finished.

Regrets, I've had a few;
And sometimes moments of confusion.
But I did what I had to do
And saw it through to its conclusion.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I sucked it up and knit it out.
I faced it all
And knit that shawl;
It's almost finished.

It took two weeks, no time at all
Yet many hours of labour
Soon it will be grafted and then blocked
That moment will be savoured.

To think I made it through;
Sometimes it felt I wouldn't.
It's nearly time for me to brag,
Although I know I shouldn't.

For what is yarn, what has it got?
It must yield, it must be taught.
Read the pattern is what I did
The stitches must do as I bid.
This blog shows
I took the blows -
And almost finished Myrtle!

I've turned a corner!

Actually I've turned two! Yesterday I began the long trek up the side of the stole, 57 repeats of an eight row pattern. I completed 30 repeats before calling it a day. This morning I started again - only to discover I had actually completed 40 repeats so was closer to the corner than first anticipated! I turned the first corner early this afternoon [despite the 40*C - 104*F - heat] and have just now completed the second corner! I'm on the home straight [so to speak].

So, I'm sure you'll cheer me on as we race towards the finish line and that you'll forgive my late post today.

I'm already planning my next project - probably socks; it's been a long time since I've been monogamous with my knitting. LOL

Oops! [a progress? report]

I was hoping to finish the centre panel - after all, I had only six repeats to go. But it wasn't to be!

First, I spent too much fun time writing my post about 'old' things. Then we got talking about seating arrangements for The Wedding; always a fun topic, right?

Finally I got around to knitting two repeats. I should backtrack and say that I had stopped using stitch markers at Round 18 which means I have to count every stitch and/or watch my knitting closely. I also hadn't put a lifeline in the last six rounds [72 rows]. Getting too cocky, that's for sure! On Row 10 of the second repeat I realised I'd made a mistake and started to tink back just a few stitches. Then 'it' happened. I looked down and saw a big hole in my knitting! Fortunately it was only two rounds below but it was still there and getting larger as I watched! Quickly I had my capable assistant [aka DD] pass me a safety pin and grabbed the offending six stitches. They had been one but had decided to go their separate ways in their bid for freedom! I had obviously dropped one when tinking back in an earlier row. Well, three hours later [including time for dinner] I had tinked back to that hole and an hour and half later I was back to where I was when I saw It!

So total for the day: knit two rounds, tink two rounds, knit two rounds! Total = 36 rounds [of 40]!

Something old

First, an old topic - the Myrtle Leaf shawl:
I'm running for the finish line on the centre panel with 34 repeats [of 40] completed!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now for the Wedding Rhyme Game. I started this game so I'd better set some rules!

1. The object must be yarn related.


2. "old" is relative but I'm thinking anything older than DD who will be 23 in April. After all, life before DD seems like a long time ago, back in the "olden days"! In fact, the day after my 21st birthday one of my students said: "Mrs Too Hot To Knit, back in the olden days when you were a little girl..."; so obviously 21 is old!


3. "new" can be new to the owner, even if it's not brand-new!


4. "borrowed" is something that doesn't actually belong to me although it is now in my possession


5. "blue" - something that is mostly blue or nearly blue; heck, this is a game - if I say it's blue, it's blue! LOL

So, here we go:

Oldest pattern
This is the oldest pattern I own, in the sense that it is the beginning of my pattern collection. It's the first full garment I ever knitted [mum did the v-neck and sleeve openings and sewed it together but who's counting?] Mine was aqua blue with white stripes and I was very proud of it. I still had it when I started teaching several years later - I wonder what became of it? I probably became tired of it and gave it to charity.

But the vest pattern isn't the oldest pattern in my possession, I borrowed this one from my MIL when I was pregnant with DD and it was bought for one of her children [WM is the eldest] so it is at least 43 years old.




Oldest book
I remember borrowing Kaffe Fassett's "Glorious Colour" from the local library many years ago and being stunned by what I saw. Here was someone who bent the rules [he even knots his yarns!!] - a far cry from my experience of one colour jumpers [except the striped 'Dolly' jumper I had as a teenager in the early seventies]. I had to own this book! I was inspired and even designed and knitted my own gloriously coloured jumper [I'll save that for another post]. In terms of publishing, this is the oldest hardcover book in my collection but it is not the book I've owned the longest.
That honour goes to this book. I bought this about 28 years ago when SIL#1 was pregnant with the first grandchild in the family. I knitted a lemon cardigan but it may have been too girly - it had lace panels as I recall! I certainly never saw nephew #1 in that cardigan. I still use this book occasionally - I knitted a cardigan from it in 2007-2008. This view shows the back cover - I scanned the wrong page!

Have to go - it's nearly 1:30pm and I haven't even finished one repeat! More 'old' tomorrow!

Something new [part 3]

Firstly, thanks to all those who dropped by and wished me well on the anniversary of my blog's existence. While I was 'redecorating', I considered changing my blog's name. I thought something simple like "Lynne Knits" but I also crochet and dye so that was too exclusive. I rather like "Life, the Yarniverse and Everything" or "Life in the Yarniverse" but there's a yarn store called Yarniverse and I don't think they'd appreciate it. Since I knit mostly for charity [although you'd never know it at the moment between the ungiven baby blanket and the wedding stole] I also considered "Knit to Give" but, again, I also have other yarn habits! Maybe that should be my blog name!!

Anyway, I've decided to leave it as it is for now - I feel I'm only just getting known in Blogland so now may not be the time to change!! Feel free to share your opinion - I really want to know what readers think.

Speaking of my blog, you have probably noticed that I have finally figured out how to put a photo on my blog header - one of my own hand-dyed yarns from last January, photo courtesy of WM. It was all in getting the 800x200 picture size!

Lastly, - the wedding stole* progresses - I'm now up to 28 repeats [the end of the centre panel is in sight, people].

*Somewhere along life's journey I have learnt shawl = triangular, stole is used for rectangular pieces so even though Jane Sowerby calls it 'Myrtle Leaf Shawl' my head keeps saying 'stole'.

I'm off to knit!

Something new [part 2]

It occurred to me after publishing my post yesterday that with a wedding rapidly approaching, I might continue with the theme I started: "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."

Update on the wedding stole: I've fallen a little behind schedule but I'll try to make it up today; I've now done 23 repeats.

And the most exciting news that I only thought of in the wee hours of this morning: this blog is two years old today! Happy blogiversary to me!

Something new

My self confidence in knitting lace is slowly returning; I'm more than half way through the centre panel.

Instead of letting it get to me [which is easy when things are going well as they are now] I've decided to focus on other things I can do!

You'll remember that WM gave me this book for Christmas; on Boxing Day I managed - after four rip outs - to complete this. this was the first time I had followed a crochet pattern so I'm pretty happy with it as a first attempt. I'm not sure of its destiny yet - at the moment is a test swatch but it could become part of a panel in something larger.

There's more than one way to make lace!! LOL

Ssshhh!

It's coming along! [Knitpicks Harmony circulars included for scale]



Because I think readers are becoming bored with the one topic of conversation knitting around here I have posted a special progress report in the sidebar.

FO - a diversion

Here is the baby blanket I finished knitting some months ago. The photo is a bit dark but true to colour. Tomodachi [a.k.a. Tom] is snooping around in the right of the picture. I sewed in the ends of the blanket on 28th December during my avoidance-of-lace-but-finishing-other-things period. It was blocked last week and photos were finally taken today - mostly to distract readers from the boringness of that "other project"! Here's another photo taken by WM in the role of photographer with my 51yr old bear [Ted] and Tomodachi assisting!



Although I didn't strictly knit this during the Long Lacy Summer, I did finish it during that time. It qualifies as lace [having both yo's and K2tog.] so this blanket is my first contribution to LLS.

The pattern is Snow Berries Blanket from "Easy Afghans for Knitters". I knitted mine in Cleckheaton Fiddle De Dee [100% cotton] on 4.5mm [US size 7] needles. I used the 500g I bought on special at Australian Country Spinners' Mill Shop when I was in Wangaratta in July. This photo shows how much of the ten balls I have left - from the last ball which was not enough to do another circuit of the blanket and the leftovers of two other balls.

It's a pity this yarn is discontinued - it's lovely and soft, and knits up quickly.

I made it for my next-door neighbour who is expecting her first child in February. I love it so much I might keep it for my first grand-child and knit something else for the neighbour. Hopefully, NDN will have a girl because this is such a boy's blanket! [Just kidding - I really want to keep it!] DD says I'm rushing things a bit - they're not even married yet; besides I knitted it for NDN so I should give it to her. I don't agree. I knitted it - I can choose who the recipient should be, can't I?

For those of you still following that "other project" - I have completed 10 repeats; that's a quarter of the centre panel!

Some progress

Six repeats!

And then so tired I had to tink back several times - I think that means 'stop' for a while, don't you?

Psst...

...I've done three and a half repeats and I can't find any dropped stitches. I'm being extra careful with that K2 tog! I was tempted to turn it into SSK but have stuck with the pattern - why should I let lace get the better of me? And, no more TV [boo hoo - the tennis season is just starting]; it's talking books only for me - I won't be taking my eyes off that knitting for one single stitch!

Thanks to all who commented. I really appreciate your support. Perhaps if the stole was for me I'd have given up and knitted some easier pattern - one with a rest row on WS. But this is the one the Bride has chosen so this is the one she will have! Off to knit - truly, thank you all so much, your comments and support mean more than you know!