Long time no we...

How can it be June 17th already????? "Doo doo doo doo" (Twilight Zone theme music) It's a time warp this time of year.


But...knitting has been accomplished...a little bit. I finished the Dusk socks; I'm further along (several inches worth) with the Orenberg Lace Scarf, the first sleeve of DD's sweater has made it up to the sleeve-cap decreases (and has only been re-knit twice), I've cast on and got two inches past the heel on Wendy's Rivulet socks (click on "free patterns" near the top of her blog-screen) - but didn't like the lace pattern expanded as it was for the large size - so frogged it back to nuttin', reworked the pattern, cast-on again and am barely past the toe. Sheesh - you'd think I might have noticed that I didn't like the expanded large pattern before I turned the heel at least...but no. Just a word or two about Wendy...She is one of the most influential people in my life when it comes to knitting... I heart Wendy.


Remember how I said I was looking forward to doing a "Judy's Magic Cast-On" toe, but doing it in garter stitch? Well, I'm still going to pursue that notion on some future pair of socks, but when I got "sucked-in" to the Rivulet socks I decided that I didn't want a garter stitch toe, (or heel either for that matter), but I did spend a day or so figuring out a heel alternative. I love the way Wendy's heels (at least those that I've knit so far) look. But I hate, Hate, HATE the wrap-and-turn part of that kind of heel. Actually, it's the "Pick-up-the-wrap-and-knit-it-with-the-stitch-it-wraps" part that drives me bonkers. I don't know if it's because of eye-sight problems, or just an old fashioned mental block, but that part of the heel (only eight stitches or so of the whole thing!) makes me break out in cold sweats! I invariably get one of those crucial stitches fouled up somehow and am reduced to a blubbering blob while I try to frog back and repair the damage...


So, I think I've mentioned before how much I like knitting the Priscilla Gibson-Roberts type heel - (Google Priscilla's Dream Socks and read the little box on the right side of page 1 to see an explanation of her yarn-over technique with no holes) but I like the looks of the Wendy-type heel (and they fit my feet just fine)... I figured out how to use PGR's special stitch instead of a wrap and turn stitch to fill-in the hole you'd get if you didn't use one or the other - and the test heel I made with scrap yarn turned out lookin' fine. It wasn't all that hard! I know this kind of thing is old hat to experienced knitters (I'm not one of them, more's the pity) but for me, this was a super WOW accomplishment.


And I've been stitchin' on my two WIP quilt tops. I have plenty to keep me occupied and you might think that would keep me from launching off on other projects, but (again) no. A dear friend mentioned a couple of weeks ago that she needed some way to organize and store her knitting needles, so what did I do? I piped right up and said, "Hey, I'll make you one of those fabric jelly-roll things for your needle storage." I just got her cute little bag of all-things-knitting-needle-related stuff yesterday and spent part of the morning sketching out a holder for her DPs. I'm thinking that her single points will get their own holder and I'm not sure what I'll do with her circs. (Unlike some of us knitters she only has a "reasonable" amount of knitting needles - Me? If there was such a thing as a jelly-roll type holder for all my needles, it would have to have its own zip-code!